A large and growing wave of worker strikes and protests is sweeping across China. Last year alone, there were over 2,700 actions — double the total for 2014. And over a thousand have taken place so far this year.

Workers face an uphill battle. The Chinese Communist Party — unmoved by worker invocations of the CCP’s avowed values, including a commitment to working-class liberation — is cracking down on the unrest. They’ve arrested activists and closed key autonomous worker centers.

But the political turmoil engulfing the party has also created a potential opening for workers.