A wave of strikes is coming in the US.

After rising inflation and the pandemic period in the US, companies made extremely high profits and workers stood up. If the ongoing negotiations do not have a positive result, it is possible that key sectors such as transport and automobiles will join the ongoing strike in the cinema sector.

While walkouts by actors and writers in Hollywood have rocked the arts and culture industry, workers at United Parcel Service (UPS), a US-based multinational shipping and supply chain management company, and three major Detroit auto companies are also preparing to strike.

If the collective negotiations at the auto companies fail, the strike will begin in the coming weeks. In addition, UPS workers will go on strike if there is no agreement by July 31.

WORKERS ASSAULTED

“This is really going to be the biggest strike moment since the 1970s,” said Nelson Lichtenstein, a labor historian and director of the Center for the Study of Labor and Democracy at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Both the number of strikes and the number of striking workers increased in the first half of this year, according to Bloomberg Law workforce data. “There is an ambition here that I think is new,” Lichtenstein said. The workers are on the attack,” he said.

The critical hits in the US were as follows:

HOLLYWOOD STRIKE

The Screen Actors Association (SAG), American Television-Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Motion Picture and Television Producers Association (AMPTP) decided to strike because negotiations on wages and job security in the face of artificial intelligence were inconclusive.

Movie theater workers went on strike in the city of Los Angeles on July 15, as they were unable to obtain any results from the negotiations they held with the television production companies demanding guarantees and salary guarantees.

The Writers Association of America (WGA) also announced that they went on strike on May 2, alleging that they worked under more difficult conditions in recent years, when there was a rapid increase in the annual production of series and films, and they were paid less in return, and then the two strikes were combined.

The last time the writers went on strike was in 2007, and laying off 100 days of employees caused losses of about $2 billion. The joint strike, initiated by the cinema workers for job guarantees and salary guarantees, is entering its second week and there is still no pronouncement on the agreement.

UPS WORKERS PREPARE FOR STRIKE

UPS workers have not forgotten how “important” their jobs are during the pandemic shutdowns and feel they should be paid accordingly.

While UPS has agreed to install air conditioning in vans and make improvements for lower-wage workers, disagreements continue over pay and benefits for part-time workers, who make up more than half of the UPS workforce.

UPS employees handle about a quarter of package deliveries in the United States and serve nearly every city and town in the country. It is estimated that one quarter of the 59 million packages shipped in the US each day go through UPS trucks.

Shipping experts warn that a strike could delay millions of deliveries, including Amazon.com orders, electronic components and life-saving prescription drugs. It is also believed that this situation may exacerbate supply chain bottlenecks that fuel inflation.

DETROIT TRIO

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Ahead of contract negotiations that began in early July, Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW), announced that they were ready to attack the Big Three US automakers.

Some 150,000 workers could go on strike if Ford, Stellantis and General Motors do not meet their demands. According to the union, whether there is a strike depends on the attitude of these three companies. Talks between the UAW and the Big Three end on September 14.

“If the Big Three don’t give us our fair share, then they have chosen to attack us,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. We are also not afraid to take action, ”he warned.