Power to The People

In the world of workforce, there is constantly a silent warfare going on between employees and employers. Employees demand more and employers try to give as less as possible, at least for the most part. Although workers have more rights protected under the law nowadays, there are thousands of employers who mistreat their employees and suffer no consequences. What’s an employee to do when the employer refuses to pay for a national holiday like 4th of July? Quitting is an option, but when you’re desperate enough to accept a job offer where you get no paid holidays in the first place, it might not be the most viable option. If you asked community-based organizer Saul Alinsky, he would probably tell you to revolt.

Alinsky recognized the power in numbers and unity and used this strategy to bring communities together against corrupt corporations (Schneider, 2012). He also realized that these corporations and government agencies do not want negative attention from the public and the media, so they would try to avoid mass uproar at any cost (Schneider, 2012). Alinsky emphasized the importance of demonstrations and public gatherings in areas where they can be noticed (Schneider, 2012). It is through protests like these that teachers demand for pay raises, minorities request social justice and the oppressed ask for equality.

I attended my first peaceful protest back in post-Soviet Armenia when I was a freshman (I like freshwoman better though) at Yerevan State University. People were sick and tired of the corrupt president at the time, and I was one of them showing up to voice my concerns. Of course, at that time, I thought that only Soviet countries were infested with oligarchy and corruption. From afar, I imagined United States was the land of the free and home of the brave and everybody was equal, and everyone’s rights were protected. I experienced my first injustice at workplace when my previous employer failed to honor the paid holidays we were promised at the beginning of the year. My coworkers at the time and I realized the only way to get what we wanted was to come together. It wasn’t easy to bring everybody on board at once, but we managed to get enough employees together to impose our demands. After many talks and negotiations, we were honored our paid holidays. We all learned an invaluable lesson that when people come together, they have more power and influence than the “untouchable” rich man.

References

Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., Counts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology. New Dehli: SAGE Publications

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