The Rise of the Unorganizable
Wildcat strikes in informal sectors are challenging unions' assumptions about where and who to organize.
On August 11, surrounded by 150 wildcatting Deliveroo drivers, a union activist read out a list of concessions won by British couriers, all of whom organized with the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union.
Courier workers won a 28 percent raise; CitySprint workers won 17 percent — their first in ten years. At Mach1, riders won higher pay, company-provided uniforms, and an end to equipment rental fees.
Just a week earlier, cleaners ended the longest strike in the City of London’s history — sixty-one days — after securing the London living wage (currently £9.40 an hour). They organized under United Voices of the World (UVW). In February of this year, UVW won occupational sick pay for casualized security guards and cleaners in a highly public campaign at Sotheby’s.
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