National Strike Research Articles

We want ourselves alive and debt free!

Verónica Gago is Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and author of Neoliberalism From Below (Duke 2017); Feminist International: How to Change Everything (Verso 2020); and, with Lucí Cavallero, A Feminist Theory of Debt (Pluto, 2021). She is an active member of the grassroots feminist movement Ni Una Menos, founded by a group of artists, activists and academics in Argentina. Ni Una Menos has described itself as a 'collective scream against machista violence'. It has regularly held protests against femicides, and has connected femicide to a range of other issues, including sexual harassment, abortion and reproductive rights, transgender and sex worker rights, the gender pay gap, gender roles, neoliberalism and debt. Its first demonstration was organised in the wake of a 14-year old pregnant girl, Chiara Paez, being beaten to death by her boyfriend, in Buenos Aires in 2015. This brought together 200,000 people. In 2016 the movement came to wider attention on social media through the hashtag #NiUnaMenos, and protests spread throughout Latin America, particularly in Chile, Uruguay and Peru, where it prompted what has been described as the largest demonstration in Peruvian history. In 2016 Ni Una Menos launched a national women's strike. After sustained campaigning, in 2020 abortion became legal in Argentina; and in 2021 a law was passed giving employment rights to travestis and trans people. Its campaigns to reclaim rights and resources continue. In this interview, conducted in July 2021, Jo Littler talks to Verónica Gago about Ni Una Menos, her work and activism.

Social Uprising, Racism, and Resistance in Cali’s National Strike

To understand the social uprising that occurred in Colombia starting on the day of the national strike, April 28, 2021, particularly in the city of Santiago de Cali, this article examines three postulates: (1) Cali is an ethnicized/racialized and young city; (2) Colombia has one of the highest rates of extreme poverty, inequality, and violence on the continent; (3) being both Black and poor is not exactly a coincidence. Although there are many reasons behind the protests in Colombia, this article focuses on the structural and everyday expressions of racism that lead to a multiplicity of oppressions that fall on the bodies of racialized men and women in a city with an intensely racist imaginary. In the strike, these people, young people without a future, said enough is enough and strengthened their dignity through struggle.

The Strike in Colombia

This article examines the recent conjuncture of the national strike in Colombia, analyzing its demands in relation to the structural problems that gave rise to them. The text draws from experiences in the mobilizations and theoretical reflections that have emerged from them to suggest a few interpretative keys that can be used to understand the Colombian situation in light of the problem of accumulation and the heterogeneity of social mobilization in the country.

Data Science in Social Politics with Particular Emphasis on Sentiment Analysis

The social network Twitter has become a way of promoting opinions that have not gone unnoticed in current societies' social and political events. This research focuses on performing sentiment analysis of the publications on the social network Twitter from March 2021 to August 2021 to analyze users' feelings, reactions, and perceptions regarding the 2021 National Strike in Cali-Colombia, through techniques based on Text Mining and Machine Learning. A five stages methodology is proposed, which is composed of: data set identification, data extraction, data pre-processing, data processing, and results. This work intends to serve as a basic methodological instrument for future research implementing the use of computational tools, particularly sentiment analysis, to identify and analyze behavior patterns based on information related to citizens' reactions in social networks.

COLOMBIA 2021: BETWEEN CRISES AND HOPE

Although in the last few years Colombia has faced significant civil society mobilization, 2021 represented critical juncture in social mobilization that was the result of three converging crises. The COVID-19 pandemic, a health crisis, triggered an economic crisis that exacerbated existing social and economic inequalities. Together they aggravated a pre-existing governability crisis. Unions and other actors convened a national strike on April 28 and the violent police response ignited the protest. The strike lasted almost two months and framed the legislative and presidential elections in 2022. This paper analyzes these events, their effects, and the perspectives for the future.

Industrial unrest in France 1917–1918, the Loire and the Isère

Abstract In May 1918, a strike movement began in Paris and swiftly spread throughout much of the country. The strikes came at a time of heightened military danger and were promptly suppressed by the Clemenceau Government. Whereas a more widespread French labour unrest in 1917 had concentrated on wage demands, in 1918 the strikes were initiated by the radical far left of the Confédération générale du travail (CGT, France’s largest labour union) and were marked by internationalist and pacifist demands. In the months leading up to the spring of 1918, radical labour leaders in the Loire and the Isère were encouraged by federal colleagues in the CGT and its radical affiliate, the Comité de défense syndicaliste (CDS), to prepare for a series of general strikes. The launching of the Ludendorff Offensives, however, persuaded the CDS to postpone a coordinated national general strike until after the military emergency subsided. Labour leaders in the Loire and the Isère disregarded these directives and launched strikes in May and June that alienated local labour movements from their already tenuous political support from Paris. Using materials from both departmental and national archives, this study examines the political dynamics which precipitated and then accelerated the appointment of far-left radicals to leadership positions within the labour movements of the Loire and much of the Isère. It argues that the industrial significance of both areas, the anarcho-syndicalist rhetoric of local union leaders, poorly timed strike actions and the Clemenceau Government’s uncompromising jusqu’au boutisme worked together as factors to condemn this understudied movement to failure.

The audiovisual mobilizing object: YouTube, Colombia National Strike 2019

The purpose of this work is to review the dialectical relationship between El noticiero de RCN Colombian public television channel and independent journalism published on YouTube, specifically the case of the opinion column La Pulla of the newspaper El espectador, the project conducted an analysis of material referring to the National Strike both of the RCN channel and the column, taking into account the political-social situation of the country. The research methodology was based on the case study during the end of 2019. A review of the theory of social movements and their implications was conducted. At the same time, it appealed to the postulates of journalism itself. It is concluded that the audiovisual can be implemented as a mobilizing object that has enormous potential not only for collective manipulation, but also for social revolutions. This makes it a political trigger that, following Puttnam (1998), has a powerful influence on society.

NSF Response Case Study: Hazardous Materials Release at Intercontinental Terminal Company, Deer Park, Texas

ABSTRACT On March 17th, 2019 the Intercontinental Terminal Company (ITC) Deer Park, Texas river terminal and storage facility, comprised of 242 above ground storage tanks with a site capacity of 13.1 million barrels of hazardous products, experienced a tank fire. This incident would also become known as the “2nd 80s Fire” based on the identification of tanks impacted. The fire was contained to a single grouping of 15 tanks, with stored products including Naphtha, Toluene, Xylene, Benzene, Pyrolysis Gasoline, and Gasoline Blend stocks. Extended firefighting efforts resulted in volumes of water and firefighting foam that exceeded the capacity of the containment systems, resulting in the subsequent containment failure on March 22nd, which enabled the hazardous chemicals and mixture of various products to eventually reach the Houston Ship Channel. The surrounding industrial and residential communities experienced shelter-in-place orders due to the air quality concerns, and the vital waterway was shut down to commercial traffic. On-water benzene levels exceeded 20 parts per million (ppm) during the initial phases of the response near the facility while many areas within five miles exceeded the Occupational Safety Health Agency (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for benzene exposures. Benzene remained the primary chemical hazard to response crews seeking to contain, remove, and reopen the waterways for more than two weeks past the initial chemical release events. An interagency agreement was developed between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to assist in response activities, which included containing, collecting, recovering and disposing of the released materials from the shoreline and the surface water. The National Strike Force (NSF) deployed 52 personnel from each of the three Strike Teams, Public Information Assist Team (PIAT) and CG-Incident Management and Assistance Team (CG-IMAT). Due to the elevated presence of benzene, the NSF was the only USCG trained, experienced and qualified organic response resource prepared to respond to environmental threats with elevated concentrations of products that represented an inhalation hazard requiring respiratory protection devices. This paper demonstrates the significance of NSF's respiratory protection program, and how their capabilities can be used for both technical operations support, and also for site safety management, especially during complex spills or releases.

Ridesharing to the Rescue: Usage and Welfare Impact of BlaBlaCar during the 2018 French Railway Strike

This work estimates the impact of the 2018 French national railway strike (April to June) on the inter-city ridesharing usage and user welfare. We collected daily trip-level data from the API of BlaBlaCar, the largest inter-city ridesharing platform in Europe, and show that on an average strike day, demand increased by 29% while supply increased by 7% during the strike period. We conduct a calibration exercise to estimate the consumer surplus of each route per day, and then use propensity score matching to extend our estimates to additional routes to measure the overall impact in France. On an average non-strike day, BlaBlaCar generated roughly 145,000 € of consumer surplus, while on an average strike day, it generated 179,000 €, an increase of 34,000 €. Our result shows that inter-city ridesharing contributes to the social welfare, especially during a major disruption in the transport system, and serves as a flexible substitute for the railway service. We suggest that policy-makers integrate ridesharing into the design and management of the transportation network.

An analysis of wildlife strikes to aircraft in Brazil: 2011-2018

Purpose: Aircraft accidents due to wildlife hazards have become a growing safety and economic problem to the Brazilian and international aviation industries. These safety occurrences have resulted in significant direct and indirect economic losses as well injuries and fatalities worldwide. The purpose of this study was to develop empirical information obtained from the analysis of wildlife strike and aircraft operations data in Brazil that could be used for accident prevention efforts.Design/methodology: The research team collected and analyzed aircraft operations as well as wildlife strike data from the 32 busiest commercial airports in Brazil, from 2011 through 2018. Researchers obtained the number of aircraft operations at each of those 32 Brazilian airports from the Brazilian air traffic operations annual reports published by the Air Traffic Control Department. Wildlife strike data from the studied airports were obtained from the Brazilian national wildlife strike database. Descriptive data analysis was adopted to provide an intuitive and overall trend of wildlife strikes at and the 32 busiest commercial airports in Brazil.Findings: Results indicate that the number of wildlife strikes at and around the investigated airports increased 70% even though the number of aircraft operations at these airports declined by 12% during the period studied. Birds were involved in 88% of the reported events. Most reported strikes (59%) and damaging strikes (39%) occurred during the arrival phases-of-flight. Most (33%) strikes were reported by airport personnel. A finding of concern was that the majority of wildlife strikes (97%) and damaging wildlife strikes (96%) occurred within the airport environment.Originality/value: The current project contributes to the safety management of wildlife hazards in Brazil by conducting a comprehensive analysis of wildlife strike and aircraft operations data (2011-2018) in the 32 busiest Brazilian commercial airports.

Evaluation of the impact of the national strike of the road freight transport sector on the air quality of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In May 2018, there was a road freight transport standstill in Brazil that lasted 11 days. During this period, several impacts on Rio de Janeiro’s daily life were reported, such as the reduction of road passenger transport services and lack of fuels. This study aimed to evaluate the impact on the air quality of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro (MRRJ) of the reduction of heavy-duty vehicles on the streets and roads. For this purpose, the reductions of PM10, NOx, SOx and CO emissions, due to low circulation of buses and trucks, were estimated in order to assess the levels of air pollution indirectly. Besides, air quality data (PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO) monitored before and during the strike were used. The results showed a reduction in total emissions of local air pollutants, harmful to human health from 22 % to 43 % during strike days. However, the air quality reflexes were not observed in the same proportion, on the contrary, increases were observed in pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere during traffic stoppage in the study areas, due to different weather conditions in the two periods, which directly influenced air pollutants dispersion.

Peddlers and the Policing of National Indifference in Palestine, 1920–1948

Abstract This article explores nationalism and consumption in British-mandate Palestine using a history-from-below approach. It focuses on Arab and Jewish peddlers who regularly crossed national, cultural, and geographic borders in order to conduct petty trade with customers. Colonial and nationalist actors worked hard to curb the ubiquitous presence of such peddlers for various reasons. First, British colonial officials regarded urban hawking as unhygienic, noisy, and not modern. Second, many Zionist actors deemed Jewish-Arab trade threatening to the Zionist principle of ‘Hebrew consumption’. Zionist leaders also expressed concern about the presence of Jewish peddlers whom they viewed as the antithesis of the idealized, Hebrew-speaking Zionist ‘New Jew’. Third, Palestinian Arab nationalists policed Arab peddlers who violated the six-month national strike in 1936 by continuing to hawk their goods. In short, in the eyes of various nationalist actors, these peddlers displayed ‘national indifference’ that needed to be controlled. By studying how nationalist actors policed everyday, small-scale peddler-consumer exchanges, we are able to understand how a ‘culture of nationalism’ arose in mandatory Palestine.

#Paro21denoviembre: un análisis de redes sociales sobre las interacciones y protagonistas de la actividad política en Twitter

El Paro Nacional del 21 del noviembre representó un punto de inflexión, tanto en las calles como en las redes. Esta investigación se propone comprender la composición de los grupos que participaron el primer día de la protesta desde Twitter, así como determinar los patrones de interacción en línea que tuvieron los usuarios de la plataforma digital. Por tanto, este artículo primero hace un breve repaso teórico sobre la relación política- internet. En el segundo apartado, explica el método escogido para la investigación: Análisis de Redes Sociales (ARS). En tercer lugar, expone el procedimiento de recolección de los datos. En el cuarto apartado, se expone la forma en la que se realizó el grafo. Enseguida, se analiza el gráfico de redes que se obtuvo. Finalmente, se concluye con una serie de reflexiones sobre las posibles interpretaciones políticas aplicadas al escenario colombiano.

The popular and indigenous national strike in Ecuador 2019. An ethnographic chronicle from the coast

Chronicle of the events of the national strike in Ecuador in October, focused from the coast and the city of Guayaquil.

Civil War and Labor Strikes: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops

The B&O roundhouse complex in Martinsburg, West Virginia, contains key examples of America’s 19th-century railroad infrastructure—and was ground zero for America’s first national strike.

Intra-union conflict and the 1970 dock strike in Britain

ABSTRACT The docks are one of the most academically scrutinised sectors of the British economy and, due to the industry’s historical reputation for strike-proneness, episodes of workplace conflict are generally popular sources for research. Nevertheless, one dispute remains curiously under-examined – the 1970 national dock strike. This is particularly remarkable since it constituted the first national strike in the industry for nearly half a century, lasted almost three weeks, led to the declaration of a State of Emergency and required a government-sponsored inquiry to reach a resolution. On the surface, it was provoked by disagreement between the national employers’ association and the union over basic weekly wage bargaining. Behind the scenes, however, the course, nature and outcome of the dispute is best understood in the context of the relationship between the membership and officialdom of the union, which was rooted in a history of antagonism, and the revolutionary technological changes taking place in cargo handling at this time. What follows is a detailed account of the 1970 national dock strike and the events surrounding it, considered in the context of the literature relating to hierarchical divisions in trade union organisations. Abbreviations LMC: Local Modernisation Committee NAPE: National Association of Port Employers NASDU: National Amalgamated Stevedores and Dockers Union NDLB: National Dock Labour Board NDLS: National Dock Labour Scheme NJC: National Joint Council for the Port Transport Industry NPSSC: National Ports Shop Steward Committee TGWU: Transport and General Workers’ Union TUC: Trades Union Congress TUR: Temporary Unattached Register

Protest und Streiks in der Schweiz in der zweiten Hälfte des Ersten Weltkriegs

Zusammenfassung Switzerland was spared direct involvement into the First World War, nevertheless the global conflict had tremendous political and economic impact on the neutral republic. Major antagonisms emerged between the different linguistic groups sympathising with opposing belligerent coalitions as well as between different social strata. Food and fuel shortages and wartime inflation as well as a lack of integration of the labour movement into the political system and its partial shift to the left resulted in a wave of strikes and protest in the second half of the war that continued into the first two post-war years. Its culmination was a national general strike in November 1918 lasting for three days upon the war’s conclusion, and that in bourgeois circles was wrongly considered an attempted revolution. Whilst this is considered the most severe crisis in modern Swiss history, from a transnational perspective, it was no more than a relatively mild variation of the worldwide upheavals going on at the time.

Los días y los años de Luis González de Alba: ¿escritura condicionada o escritura liberadora?

Si bien los libros hablan a sus lectores por medio de sus contenidos, también lo hacen desde las situaciones en las que fueron creados. A través de estas líneas revisaré el proceso de escritura del libro Los días y los años (1971), de Luis González de Alba, tanto desde algunas de las ventajas que reportó a su autor como desde ciertos condicionamientos (políticos, de grupo y de género) a los que se vio sujeto durante su creación. Esta obra representó, en su momento, un contrapeso a la versión oficial que se manejó tras los sucesos del 2 de octubre de 1968, por medio de la cual varias generaciones pudieron conocer el movimiento estudiantil en voz de sus dirigentes. Algunos escritos, sobre todo aquellos que surgen en momentos coyunturales o en situaciones de excepción, como el que aquí nos ocupa, se encuentran sujetos a diversos intereses y tensiones que los moldean, o incluso, los determinan. Los días y los años resulta paradigmático pues, además de haberse escrito en la cárcel y de tener un origen colectivo, cuenta con una historia paralela, escrita casi 40 años después, la cual descubre aspectos del autor velados en el primer libro. ¿Desde qué “lugar” creó González de Alba su historia del ’68 mexicano, qué ventajas le reportó y cuáles fueron los condicionamientos que influyeron en su escritura? Con base en fuentes primarias como el libro objeto de estudio y las entrevistas que realicé a su autor, Luis González de Alba, y al representante del Consejo Nacional de Huelga, Raúl Álvarez Garín, y desde las nuevas perspectivas de la historia del libro y la lectura, se intenta tener un acercamiento no solo al libro y las circunstancias de su escritura, sino a aquellos procesos de índole social, política y cultural que marcaron una época.

El paro nacional agrario de 2013 y la política agropecuaria 2006-2014

El objetivo general del presente trabajo fue analizar las condiciones y consecuencias del Paro nacional agrario de 2013 y la política agropecuaria 2006-2014, a través de un diagnóstico del sector agropecuario en Colombia en ese lapso, incluyendo los antecedentes (una mirada a las políticas económicas, neoliberalismo y apertura económica en el país) situación nacional actual, derechos del campesino aprobados recientemente, realidad agropecuaria del campesinado frente a los derechos humanos y el análisis dela jurisprudencia.

Invocability of the action of compliance against the commitments subscribed to end the agrarian national strike of 2013: an analysis from the regulation of certified seeds in Colombia

espanolEste articulo analiza el rol de la accion de cumplimiento tras el escenario que supuso el incumplimiento del Gobierno sobre lo pactado en los acuerdos regionales que motivaron la terminacion del Paro Nacional Agrario de 2013, mediante los cuales se suscribio el compromiso de suspender mecanismos policivos de decomiso y destruccion de semillas no certificadas, asi como de mejorar condiciones para continuar con las practicas tradicionales de resiembra que a los campesinos les ha garantizado su soberania alimentaria durante generaciones. El problema juridico que se busca abordar es de si tal incumplimiento se genero o no en un contexto de inseguridad juridica para las comunidades campesinas, en su condicion de administrados y, si en tal sentido, se presento una defraudacion de su confianza legitima. Se propone que, a traves de la legitima confianza y la buena fe como enfoques interpretativos, la accion de cumplimiento seria invocable en esta situacion particular. EnglishThe article analyzes the role of the compliance action after the scenario supposing the failure of the Government to comply with the regional agreements that led to the termination of the National Agrarian Strike in 2013 through which commitment to suspend police confiscation mechanisms and destruction of non-certified seeds, as well as to improve conditions to continue with the traditional practices of replanting, which have guaranteed peasants their food sovereignty for generations, was signed. The legal problem to be addressed is whether the non-compliance was generated in a context of legal uncertainty for the peasant communities in their condition of being administered and, in that sense, if defrauding of their legitimate expectations was present. It is proposed that, through legitimate trust and good faith as interpretive approaches, enforcement action would be invoked in this situation.