A chemical plant near Muscle Shoals, Ala., in the 1940s.Credit.Buyenlarge/Getty Images
The Deep South is not generally known for its labor agitation, which is why it might come as a surprise for some to learn that it is in Alabama where workers have mounted one of the largest and most aggressive efforts to unionize Amazon in recent memory.
More than 2,000 workers at a fulfillment center in the city of Bessemer, just outside Birmingham, have indicated support for a union election. An estimated 85 percent of the work force is Black, and their union drive which ties labor issues to Black Lives Matter and issues of racial equality illustrates the extent to which racism and class exploitation are tied up with each other.
south, i live in virginia which used to be all red, now it s purple. it is note blue. before you were born it was all red. come on now, when was it all red, virginia, when. what do you mean, 1964 was the last time a democrat carried it until obama. come on, it s been red. i am talking about just even in the state. am i missing something. no, you are not. i have known senators for years down there. in alabama what happened i thought roy moore would win by a little bit. i think most people did. what happened was white women and african-americans said no dice. they made the difference in this. the demographics count. me too is bigger than anybody thinks, women s stories matter. what has changed. the black belt in cotton south, if you look at the map back this days of the civil war there was 40%, big percentage of african-americans in the states.
red, virginia, when. what do you mean, 1964 was the last time a democrat carried it until obama. come on, it s been red. i am talking about just even in the state. am i missing something. no, you are not. i have known senators for years down there. in alabama what happened i thought roy moore would win by a little bit. i think most people did. what happened was white women and african-americans said no dice. they made the difference in this. the demographics count. me too is bigger than anybody thinks, women s stories matter. what has changed. the black belt in cotton south, if you look at the map back this days of the civil war there was 40%, big percentage of african-americans in the states. more percentage of womens, more african-americans, more educated, more centrists. kind of demographics. yes. here s what i think about