Fast Food Strikes Study Group (Boston)

Study Group: Fast Food Workers, Recent Strikes, and "Alternative" Labor

Photo: Jenny Brown Originally posted on Labor Notes

Saturday September 21st: 6-8 PM
Community Church of Boston
565 Boylston Street, Boston, MA (Copley Square)

This Summer, fast food workers across the country have launched strikes and pushed for unions and better jobs. SEIU has played a large role in this movement, utilizing a "new" or "alternative" labor model, supporting smaller, independent workers' initiatives, organizing symbolic strikes, and pushing for a higher national minimum wage. Locally, workers at Insomnia Cookies recently launched a strike and joined the Industrial Workers of the World.

Join us to discuss the strategies of and relationships between "Alt" labor, industrial and direct-action unionism, and the growing movement of fast food workers, with three short readings to guide our discussion. For PDF's of the readings, send an email to boston@commonstruggle.org.

Readings:

1. Fast food strikes to massively expand: “They’re thinking much bigger” by Josh Eidelson

2. Venture Syndicalism: Fanning and dousing the flames of discontent by Nate Hawthorne

3. Striking Workers at Insomnia Cookies Join the IWW by Jake Carman

-Optional supplemental reading:

1. Upper Crust Pizzeria To Reopen as 'The Just Crust.' by Nikki D. Erlick