The monthslong Kellogg’s strike that ended last week capped a year of national unrest among workers in industries from entertainment to health care and manufacturing, as the country continues to grapple with the effects of the pandemic.
“There have been years where we thought we could see potential for ‘Year of the Worker’ but arguably it’s hard to see a year that’s been so full of worker activation,” said Ariel Avgar, a professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “This year happened really quickly but it happened on the foundation of a slower shift. I think there are factors that are economic and attitudinal that have collided in a way that’s rare.”
Many of the workers who mobilized for better working conditions this year were deemed essential by their employers, lawmakers and the media. However, after nearly two years of balancing their health and safety working on the front lines of the pandemic, some of these workers began to question that classification.
“There’s a huge gap between the claimed essentiality and the actual working conditions and lived realities of these workers,” Avgar said.
Low-wage workers suffered disproportionately during the pandemic and began demanding improvements in the form of increased wages, meal and rest breaks, better benefits and shorter shifts. The pandemic served as a wake-up call of sorts for them by exacerbating existing issues and highlighting the fact that work could literally pose a threat to their...
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