The workers at Law360 use direct action

 

Photo take from the AFL-CIO

The AFL-CIO's Daily Brief and a dispatch from The News Guild are both highlighting a one-day job action carried on yesterday by the unionized workers at Law360. Many of us use Law360 in our work. The company is owned by LexisNexis and the workers and their union are trying to settle their union contract negotiations on favorable terms. These negotiations have been going on since November of last year.

The closing paragraph of the union's press release describes some of what happened yesterday as follows:

Workers will march in a day-long picket line beginning at 10:30 a.m. outside LexisNexis headquarters at 230 Park Ave. in Manhattan. At 2 p.m, the Guild will hold a rally on the north side of the building on 46th Street featuring speakers including NewsGuild-CWA President Jon Schleuss, NewsGuild of New York President Susan DeCarava and members of the Law360 Union. Throughout the walkout: Law360 members at offices around the country will gather via Zoom.

I think that this brief description of what occurred yesterday gives a good picture of what a disruptive one-day job action can look like. These actions certainly test the water and raise the bar and assert union and worker power when they involve critical numbers of union members and when they disrupt operations. For many workers such actions may be used to lead up to a more protracted period of protest or to a longer, and hopefully successful, strike.

What occurred yesterday raises some good questions about the increasing use of short strikes and direct action at work. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has detailed how an extended period of worker-led disruption at work in support of reasonable union demands can look like. The Washington State Labor Council has had much to say as these tactics were put into practice at Alaska Airlines. I mention the workers in the airlines in order to make the point that coordinated union disruption at work can win support from many places that we might not expect. Taking direct action can be scary, but it is much easier to do when you can be confident that you will have support and that others have your back.

Thank you to the workers at Law360 for your bravery!

(The views expressed here are the views of the author only.)