Blockade of the state border: Strikers on the Rhine bridge between Wiesbaden (Hesse) and Mainz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Image: Lando Hass
The pilots of the airline Discover are on strike at the weekend, and Verdi has threatened work stoppages for the public sector in Hesse. The right to this is a valuable asset in Germany. But the unions should be careful not to lose society in the process.
DThe labor movement already knew how to mobilize the masses 150 years ago. “Man of work, woke up! And recognize your power! All wheels stand still when your strong arm wants it.” A century and a half after these lines were written on the occasion of the founding of the General German Workers’ Association, which is considered the oldest root of the SPD, they are more relevant than ever. At least felt.
Over the past few months, the general population has gained the impression that the wheels are currently standing still because the strong arm of the workforce wants it that way – and that everyone else is suffering from it, more than ever. Because the blockades by farmers, the strikes by bus drivers, the work stoppages by train drivers, the closure of doctors' practices, they all have a direct impact on the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people and thus receive enormous publicity.
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