SDS Condemns the Supreme Court’s Ruling against the Right to Strike

On June 1, the Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in favor of a lawsuit that will impede the rights of striking workers. Their ruling in Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters will allow companies to sue workers who damage company property as part of a strike.

The lower court ruling in favor of the Teamsters protecting the right to strike was overturned by the Biden administration, enabling the Supreme Court to issue a bipartisan assault on workers' rights. Despite the Court's claim that the decision is not inherently anti-strike, it imposes additional financial burdens on striking workers, further constraining their actions.

This ruling continues a trend of anti-labor decisions from the Supreme Court in recent years. In 2018 and 2021, it attacked the ability of unions to organize and collect funding. Now they are going after the strike. The pattern is clear: the Supreme Court is afraid of organized labor, and they are doing everything they can to stamp it out.

As students, many of us will be entering the workforce or are already working. Like any other worker, youth have a stake in their workplace. But like any other worker, youth are met with incredible exploitation, overworking, and poor working conditions. As such, it is our right to demand power in the workplace, to join and organize unions, and to strike.

Therefore, Students for a Democratic Society condemns the Supreme Court’s ruling against the right to strike. We recognize this ruling as a disgraceful attack on workers’ rights. As students, we stand in solidarity with workers!

Respect the right to strike!
Hands off Unions!