The standoff in the deep South between a black working-class community and a global auto giant reflects a broader anti-Trump resistance emerging in the labor movement, fueled by frustration with the empty promises of neoliberal “development” policies.
Since 16 March, over 100,000 workers across India have participated in work stoppages after a court sentenced 13 unionists to life imprisonment. The charges stem from deadly clashes that took place at the at the Maruti Suzuki India Limited auto plant in 2012 after management refused to recognize a union formed in a bid to end the mass casualisation of jobs and improve working conditions. India's auto industry is one of the world's largest.
We never know what is actually possible until we test it. It may seem a long road from a union trying to protect jobs to a union setting out an alternative agenda for the economy. But surely the main lesson of recent years is that since capitalist corporations think big as a matter of course then we will surely lose if we continue to think small. If we don't raise our expectations, they will be lowered for us. •
Spread the word