Inoculate Yourself Against Anti-Worker Media Attacks
Capital breaks out the anti-labor playbook to slander the International Longshoreman's Association.
Inoculation is a crucial step in organizing a union. When discussing unionization with coworkers, you want to “inoculate” them against the boss’ inevitable anti-union campaign by telling them how the company will respond. What will their manager say to convince them to vote no? (“We’re a family, we don’t need a union!”) What steps will the boss take to stop the movement? (Brining in a union-busting firm or firing pro-union workers.) By proactively answering these questions before the boss takes action, you’ll have prepared your coworkers for the coming counterattack. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, when the boss does try the tactics you predicted, it will build trust and show them that the anti-union campaign is nothing but another malicious attempt to protect corporate profits.
Inoculation is an excellent tool for unionizing your workplace, but its power isn’t limited to single-shop organizing. It’s a vital tactic to ensure that all labor acts—unionizing, bargaining, and striking—are maximally influential and provide the best outcome for workers. Just as bosses run anti-union campaigns inside the workplace, they also run anti-labor mass media campaigns through their allies in corporate media. Such a campaign was launched last week against the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), which struck for six days before reaching a tentative agreement. Before the longshoremen even raised their picket signs, legacy media attacked them with the same slander they use against baristas, electricians, or any other worker who threatens capital’s oh-so-precious profits.
While the ILA reached a temporary agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (a.k.a USMX, the group that negotiates for East Coast ports) to return to work through January 15th, 2025, their predictable attempts to degrade these workers in the eyes of the public are nothing new. Their attack lines have been used before, and they’ll be used again — against the Longshoremen, the IBEW, Starbucks Workers United, and any other group that stands up to the bosses. By studying these media attacks, we can inoculate ourselves and the public against them, empowering us to see through the capitalist nonsense and stand with workers in unwavering solidarity.
Attack #1: These Workers Are Greedy!
This is the most common lie told about striking workers. As soon as their employees walk out, every boss cries: “They’re asking for too much! They’re being unreasonable!” Employed last year against Teamsters UPS drivers, this whining attempts to sway public opinion by stoking resentment against the striking party.
The ILA’s initial proposal to USMX requested a 77% raise over six years with a ban on automation (more on that below). USMX returned with an offer for a 50% raise and no automation ban, which the ILA rejected. As USMX knew they would. By giving a nice, neat, and easy-to-remember “50%” offer, the shipping merchants sought to generate headlines that painted the Longshoremen as greedy. As evidenced by the one below, some media outlets were happy to help.
Any American would gladly take a 50% raise, so the ILA declining one (as USMX knew they would) creates the narrative that dockworkers are asking for too much. Based on my Twitter mentions, this public relations strategy has borne fruit for the capitalists.
However, the notion that dock workers are demanding an unreasonable slice of the pie only holds up without context. Recently, the shipping industry has been a cash cow. In 2020, the companies represented by USMX profited $16 billion. That increased near-ten-fold to $150 billion in 2021 and even further to $215 in 2022.1 So, while a 77% pay increase might sound high, given the grueling demands of dock work, the around-the-clock schedule, the willingness to work through COVID, and the astronomical increase in profits the workers created for the company, a 77% raise over six years is more than fair. Someone’s being greedy here. But it isn’t the workers. (The tentative agreement between the ILA and USMX gave workers a 62% pay increase while other issues are negotiated.)
Attack #2: “Their Demands are Unreasonable!”
Another attack on ILA workers is their request for restrictions on automation. At a time when workers fear being replaced by machines, it’s no wonder this is a central demand. (The automation question is still being negotiated. If the ILA goes back on strike, it will likely be the reason.) USMX’s counteroffer limited automation restrictions to those in the previous contract, which the ILA called insufficient. Always a lackey for capital, a Fox News reporter recently tried to position the unions’ demands as ridiculous during an interview with ILA President Harold Daggett.
Automation restrictions were also a demand in the Hollywood strikes, which called for rules on how actors’ likeness could be replicated by computers. You don’t have to be a Silicon Valley exec to know the rate of technological advancement is happening at break-neck speeds. As companies are inventing new technologies to replace workers and increase profits (as well as cheating the current restrictions in place), it’s only fitting that ILA, or any union, protect its workers against the latest technological threats.
Attack #3: “Unions Are Corrupt!”
As always, the media told us that the ILA is corrupt union, allegedly ripping off members and employers alike. One day into the strike, The New York Post meant to make an issue of ILA President Harold Daggett’s wealth.
Obviously, this attack in bad faith. First, it contradicts with the previous two points, which claimed the union was demanding too much. Now, it’s claiming it’s corrupt and purposeless. Conservative media has positioned the ILA as Schrodinger’s Union — it’s so effective it’s demanding too much for its members, but also it’s ineffective and stealing from them. Make up your mind people.
Furthermore, if companies are concerned that the union boss is too rich, I remind them they made $215 billion in one year. If we want to go this route, let’s start examining the bank accounts of the CEOs represented by USMX. I’d wager every cent to my name they have far more zeros in their net worth than Daggett, or any other union leader. Regardless, what’s the issue with an effective union boss making a lot of money? The rich should be heavily taxed regardless of their trade, but people like Daggett actually provides something to society, unlike the parasitical capitalist collecting fat checks for sitting in a board room all day.
Attack #4: “These Workers are Hurting Everyday Americans!”
This attack line was launched before the strike began and was intensified when Hurricane Helene devastated the East Coast. While this slander is nothing new, as many Americans are just recovering from the financial strains of inflation, it was doubly impactful.
However, to believe it is the workers who are hurting the economy is to misunderstand the dynamics between labor and capital. USMX has the power to accept the ILA’s demands, avoid any economic suffering, and still reap a hefty profit. They chose not to. Why? Well, because they’re greedy, of course. I don’t call them “greedy” as a pejorative but as a fact. Capital’s main objective is to protect its profits by any means necessary. That includes shutting down the American economy. It is not the workers holding the economy hostage, but the merchant capitalists who don’t want to slip from being ultra-mega-ultra wealthy to a measly ultra-mega wealthy.
Of all the attacks we’ve examined, this is the most malicious. It’s also the most dangerous to the working class, as it divides us. If building materials aren’t imported due to the Longshoremen’s strike, construction will slow, and those workers might lose their jobs. The capitalist at USMX point the finger at the ILA, the media parrots them, and suddenly construction workers have a grudge against dockworkers. Not only does this put pressure on the ILA to accept a subpar deal, but with longshoremen and construction workers are at odds, the former are unlikely to aid the latter when they are on strike. Rinse and repeat for every worker group, and we see how capital divides the American proletariat to keep us from uniting against them. It is for the preservation of our class solidarity that we must inoculate ourselves against these distortions, manipulations, and lies.
Today, the Longshoremen are under attack by capital and its media. Tomorrow, it might be electricians, bartenders, Uber drivers, or any other member of the American working class. These slanders will be copy-and-pasted into press releases handed to mainstream media which will print them unchallenged. If Americans believe these lies, then we will be further divided. While the ILA strike has quieted for the moment, their fight for a just life continues, as does every worker’s fight against daily exploitation. Recognizing capital’s media tactics so we can inoculate ourselves against future attacks is imperative to the conditions of your life and the well-being of every working American.
Today, the Longshoremen are the target of capital’s defamation. Tomorrow, it could be you.
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In Solidarity — Joe
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/port-strike-draws-frustration-pandemic-era-profit-boom/story?id=114421269
Great article, really appreciated your use of data to show the disparity between wages and profits. Important to be empowered with this knowledge!
Love the content!!!