I believe that the article in the Jan, 7, 2019, issue of the Militant titled “Walmart Worker Hits Bosses’ Abuses Over Intercom” did not belong in the On the Picket Line column.
The article describes how a worker used the store intercom to voice his grievances and announce that he was quitting his job. It gives Militant readers the idea that his action is an example for other workers in how to deal with their problems in the workplace.
The action of this young worker in response to his grievances, however justified, did nothing to increase the confidence of workers or move in the direction of collective action toward organizing a union to advance our interests.
Compare this article to the front-page article of the same issue where Amazon workers and their supporters in Minnesota rallied in front of a distribution warehouse opposing speedup and demanding that they be treated with dignity. They used their collective strength to win public support, including from the Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters. Their action is the kind of example Militant readers and other workers can learn from.
Edwin Fruit
Seattle, Washington
Editor’s note: The reader is right, the article didn’t help point a road forward for workers in dealing with the attacks of the bosses, we shouldn’t have run it.