13 Comments
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Brian Repko's avatar

A general strike to make stock buybacks illegal again. A corporation can increase the dividend, invest in the company, pay workers more - but no more stock manipulation.

Hammond's avatar

It's not "manipulation" any more than issuing new shares is, and banning buybacks mean that a company permanently loses equity when they issue shares which would be dumb. They also don't always have much of an effect on stock price - sometimes the effect is negative, because the company spent money on stock instead of investing it. Just another one of those knee jerk things people attack which will have zero benefit to workers.

Brian Repko's avatar

Robert Reich is smarter than I am and here he is… https://youtu.be/5RiRUJuvEgI?feature=shared

Kirsten Powers's avatar

I'm so here for this.

Diana van Eyk's avatar

What a great idea!

PoetOwen's avatar

I'm a delegate for the IWW, currently negotiating contracts with small shops. Companies push for no-strike clauses. Our union is opposed to these (obviously), but we have to fight hard to leave them off of contracts. There are some terrible precedents at work here, thanks to the big unions. I would love to see a column around no-strike. Thanks and solidarity!

Hamilton Nolan's avatar

No strike clauses are a big issue and getting rid of them would be great. But the purpose of aligning the expiration dates is that you can strike AFTER the expiration date, so strikes would be allowed at that point.

Carey's avatar

Want to get you to Raleigh, NC. Or Wilmimgton. Hmmmm.

belfryo's avatar

" It’s not like they’re dedicating all their time to organizing a general strike. They’re in the midst of trying to organize the South"

right on...It a real game of balance...you direct your momentum, but you don't spread it too thin too soon

Steven Cherry's avatar

Is there any thought to a general strike, here in early 2025, to support the government workers losing their jobs in violation of various civil service laws, regulations, and union contracts? Everyone I know is wondering how we can resist and protest and challenge the destruction of democracy. A general strike for a single day could have an impact and also be a focal point for all that as-yet-undirected energy.

Cathie Schau's avatar

A long time ago I pitched this concept to Robert Reich and Michael Moore. They both said it sounded great. You could think of it as one giant union for all American workers. That was pre-Trump. Couldn’t get anybody to jump on it tho. Still think it’s an idea worth considering. Americanwageearners.org

https://0498c155-af6f-495d-978b-49ae4bce8c62.filesusr.com/ugd/7de634_b47589fbe85c4cc196e8f5382b9cccad.pdf

https://0498c155-af6f-495d-978b-49ae4bce8c62.filesusr.com/ugd/7de634_28d9ce9aac774b39acab561af0539100.pdf

Carey's avatar

For the book tour!