The linked article from the World Socialist Web Site analyzes the increasing global wave of strikes and protests driven by economic hardship, inflation, and deteriorating working conditions. It argues that these struggles, while significant, are often fragmented and isolated due to the role of established trade unions, which the article accuses of sabotaging workers’ demands and collaborating with corporations and governments to suppress strikes.
The article highlights examples of worker unrest across various sectors, including healthcare, education, transportation, and manufacturing, spanning countries like the US, UK, France, Germany, and Sri Lanka. It asserts that these strikes reveal a growing disconnect between the rank-and-file workers and the union bureaucracy, accusing unions of prioritizing negotiations that ultimately accept concessions and prevent a unified, powerful movement.
The article posits that a critical obstacle to successful worker mobilization is the nationalist perspective promoted by the unions. It claims that the unions pit workers in different countries against each other, undermining international solidarity. The article advocates for the establishment of independent rank-and-file committees, democratically controlled by the workers themselves, to overcome the limitations imposed by the existing trade union structure. These committees, according to the article, are crucial for coordinating struggles across different workplaces, industries, and national borders to effectively challenge the power of corporations and governments. The article emphasizes the need for international unity and a socialist program to address the fundamental problems faced by the working class globally.
find the original article here: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/06/01/67e9-j01.html