Kshama Sawant wears many hats. She’s a politician, she served on the Seattle City Council from 2014-2023, she’s written a book, she’s an economist. And she’s the co-founder of ‘Workers Strike Back’. Bored Panda reached out to Sawant on the day of the U.S. elections, and she was kind enough to take time out of her very busy schedule to answer some of our questions. 

We began by asking Sawant to tell us a bit more about the movement she co-founded. “Workers Strike Back is an independent movement organizing in our workplaces and on the streets against the bosses and their political servants," said the activist. “We are building the fight for living wages, including a $25/hour minimum wage, free healthcare funded by taxing the wealthy, quality affordable housing and rent control, and good union jobs for all.” In case you missed it, the movement is not affiliated with the subreddit of the same name.

Sawant also stressed that the movement is “against the genocidal war on Gaza” and is calling for a permanent ceasefire. “We're fighting for an end to the brutal occupation and all U.S. military funding for Israel,” she said.

Sawant describes herself as a Socialist and Marxist on her "X" bio. So what does capitalism mean to her? "Capitalism is a system of amassing untold wealth for a few at the top based upon the exploitation of working and oppressed people—the vast majority of humanity—and the destruction of the planet," she told us during our chat. "Racism, sexism, xenophobia and genocide are features of this system and in fact it is impossible for capitalism to exist without them."

Sawant says that more and more working-class people are waking up to the realities of life under capitalism and want to change it. "The mass protests of the last decade are a reflection of this, as are the growth of workplace unionization and strike action," she said, adding that "these actions are coming about after decades of working-class organizations being actively undermined by the ruling class."

Sawant says while we've made progress, there's still a long way to go. "Workers are still finding their footing and the bosses, their politicians and (unfortunately) a large section of the labor leadership are committed to maintaining the status quo. It will not be easy, and victory is not guaranteed but working and young people are fighting back!"

Strikes are one way workers can make their voices heard amid an onslaught of capitalism. And we've seen many over the years. Just recently, 30,000 Boeing employees downed tools for weeks, as they fought for a 40% pay increase. The damaging strike eventually ended with workers accepting a 38% pay rise over the next four years. But just as that deal was signed, New York Times tech workers announced they’re officially on strike over unfair labor practices. It came right on the eve of the U.S. presidential election. 

Meanwhile in Europe, November could see several strikes taking place in the travel industry. Tube workers are planning to down tools in the U.K. Staff at bus, tram, commuter train, metro and ferry operators across Italy want to walk out over bad pay and working conditions. Airport strikes are set down in Naples and Rome. And there’s talk of an EasyJet strike in France in the coming weeks.

While strike action can sometimes be seen as an inconvenience to the public, the International Labor Organization says it’s important to remember that “strike action is one of the fundamental means available to workers and their organizations to promote their economic and social interests.”

The organization notes that while it’s the “most visible and controversial form of collective action”, strike action is often seen as the last resort of workers when they are pursuing their demands. And, as the r/WorkersStrikeBack mods wrote on the page, “we have to take action and use what power we have to hold the government (and their corporate & billionaire owner/donors) accountable.”

"Billionaires should not exist and we will no longer allow them to maintain their lavish lifestyles on the backs of the working people who actually create the vast wealth in the world," adds Sawant. "We are going to fight and we are going to win!"

"Withholding our labor is one of the most powerful weapons that working people have at our disposal. Militant strike action is the best way to win the things working people need," Sawant told Bored Panda. "But working-class gains will always be under attack by the bosses." She says in addition to work stoppages, workers must recognize that strikes are "political actions and must be linked to the wider working class as a whole".

The Economic Policy Institute reported that between 2018 and 2019, the number of workers involved in major work stoppages hit its highest levels in almost three decades. According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 33 “major work stoppages” in 2023.

Around 458,900 workers downed tools at some point in the year, in a bid to fight for their rights. 2009 saw only 5 major work stoppages. While 1952 was a bad year for bosses, with thousands of workers taking part in a total of 470 big strikes.

The Bureau defines a major work stoppage as a strike “involving 1,000 or more workers” that “lasts at least one shift during the work week, Monday through Friday excluding Federal holidays”.

In terms of the industries affected, the Bureau notes that more than 86% of striking workers in 2023 worked in service-providing positions. Breaking it down further, the education and health services sector accounted for the “idling” of 188,900 workers, the information sector for 171,500 workers, and the other sectors for 37,300 workers. The manufacturing sector was also an unhappy place to be for many in 2023, with 61,200 workers downing tools in the goods-producing industries.

On the other end of the spectrum, global HR-tech company Remote released its list of top countries to live and work in 2024. Remote looked at work-life balance, and took into account statutory annual leave, minimum statutory sick pay percentage and the amount of paid maternity leave.

If you’re in the mood for a change, you might want to head over to New Zealand. The country topped the list as the all-round best place to be for a great work-life balance. And it's apparently not too bad on the eye either, with its "snow-capped mountains, sweeping beaches, ancient volcanic peaks and craters, lush native forests, glassy lakes and fjords".

Remote's research shows that most workers in New Zealand get 26 paid weeks of maternity leave, a relatively high minimum wage, 32 days of statutory annual leave and a minimum 80% statutory sick pay percentage. They also have a universal government-funded healthcare system.

Separate data released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) revealed that New Zealand households have a higher disposable income than the average American household. And that “when asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, New Zealanders gave it a 7.3 grade on average”. That’s higher than the OECD average of 6.7.

But as the BBC reported, New Zealand isn’t all perfect. “14% of employees work more than 50 hours per week… And some of the government support that other wealthy countries offer, such as worker insurance in case of unemployment aren't provided by New Zealand, while childcare costs are high and on the rise.”

The country also isn’t immune to labor protests and strikes. Just last month, thousands took to the lawn’s of New Zealand's parliament, picketing against “relentless and unprecedented attacks on the rights of workers”. Among the crowd were nurses, public servants, teachers, transport workers and trade union representatives. And it was part of a nationwide demonstration.

The New Zealand Herald quoted Public Service Association national secretary Duane Leo as saying it's the “most anti-worker Government we’ve seen in decades.”

“Government cuts and unprecedented attacks on the services we provide are doing long-term damage and risk eroding public faith in these services," continued Leo. "Workers who keep their jobs are shouldering additional workloads. This has health and safety impacts as well as threats to service delivery.”