A few months ago, my coworkers and I unionized the shelter we work at! This was our third attempt in five years—the employer having sabotaged the previous two attempts. This attempt, too, did not come without its difficulties.
We learned from experience. Instead of taking a few weeks to do the vote and giving management ample time to sabotage like we did in 2022, we decided to go ahead with the union drive, called all our coworkers, and went ahead with the vote in the span of six days. We already knew how folks would vote, since it had only been one-and-a-half years since the last attempt.
Suspicious things started happening. People dropped out of the group chat and asked to withdraw their union cards, rumours began circulating daily, secret meetings were held between some sections of the workers and management, our promised wage increase was indefinitely postponed.
It was in these moments that I was incredibly grateful to be a Marxist. I kept a level head, and saw through the b.s., whereas some workers got caught up in some rumours or caved to the boss’s pressures. I called a meeting of the organizers and argued that we abolish “secrets” amongst us—that if we heard a nasty rumour, we should report it to the group. It became very clear (and is now known) that these rumours were deliberately planted.
Marxism was like my lighthouse in a stormy sea of sabotage by the administration, and my RCP experience, as well as the rapport I’d built with my coworkers made me a trusted source even when they didn’t initially agree with me.
Sure enough, I was vindicated on every count. All of the boss’s attempts at division (based on religion, race, job type, etc.) have failed. Now, our union is doing better than ever. New workers even express gratitude to be working at one of the rare unionized shelters!
Though the court did step in to give the bosses a slap on the wrist for their attacks on the union, that barely slowed them down. The most effective thing has been hosting meetings wherein workers can openly ask their questions and democratically decide on next steps to counter the misinformation, going forward united in action.
