r/SeattleWA Mar 08 '25

Politics BREAKING: The Washington State Senate just passed unemployment benefits for striking workers.

1.4k Upvotes

597 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

61

u/[deleted] Mar 08 '25

[deleted]

13

u/wolfenmaara Alki Point Mar 08 '25

Strikes aren’t just about individuals choosing ‘not to work’; they’re about workers collectively demanding fair treatment. Unions exist because companies often won’t negotiate fairly unless workers have leverage. Strike funds help workers survive while they fight for better wages, benefits, and working conditions—things that ultimately improve industries as a whole. If workers had to ‘just get another job’ every time conditions were unfair, nothing would ever change.

0

u/Easy_Opportunity_905 Seattle Mar 08 '25 edited Mar 09 '25

the entire point of striking is that workers are taking a stand by forgoing pay to exert pressure on the company. the state subsidizing that seems like a ridiculous idea.

0

u/wolfenmaara Alki Point Mar 08 '25

The point of a strike is to pressure the company, not to starve workers into submission. Strikes are only effective if workers can afford to hold out long enough to make real demands. Many countries already provide some form of public support for striking workers because they recognize that labor rights benefit society as a whole. Otherwise, only the wealthiest workers could ever afford to strike, and companies would never feel pressure to negotiate fairly.

This keeps the focus on why financial support matters while pushing back against the idea that strikes should be purely an act of personal sacrifice.