Now is the time for workers to realize their power.

In the last few months, strikes from the Writer’s Guild of America, UPS, and United Auto Workers unions have captured unprecedented nationwide attention. President Biden became the first sitting President ever to join strikers when he visited UAW picket lines in Michigan.

The surge in strikes from major unions across the nation should send a clear message to workers everywhere that when united, the power to fight for better wages and conditions is unlimited.

Time and time again throughout American history, labor unions and strikes have pushed for every standard of living that we enjoy today, including 8-hour workdays, the weekend, sick leave, maternity leave, and other benefits. They’re the reason I’m writing this column right now and you’re reading it instead of spending our 16th consecutive hour in the coal mines.

American workers largely have the wrong idea about the dynamic between them and their bosses. Many workers assume that because their jobs are sources of income and benefits like insurance, that they need their bosses more than their bosses need them. On an individual level, that may be true.

However, when a sizable chunk of their workers is missing, companies can’t function, and then it is the bosses and executives who become desperate and sacrifice their bloated salaries for the sake of the company.

The recent UPS strike is a prime recent example of the power of an organized group of workers. The union representing the workers said that 86 percent of its 340,000 members voted in favor of a contract to raise the wages of part and full time union workers by $7.50 an hour by the end of the five year contract.  Thanks to this strike and new contract, the average full-time UPS driver will make about $170,000 per year in pay and benefits.

The benefits of the new contract go beyond simply pay. The company agreed to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a full holiday, end forced overtime on drivers’ days off, and equip more trucks with air conditioning.

This new UPS deal is just one example of how strikes, even if little by little, can improve the pay and working conditions of laborers in all industries.

With all the massive strikes happening across the country, it is important for all citizens to see what happens when workers unite and demand better. Standing up for your rights as a worker is understandably intimidating, especially if you work for a massive corporation that is prepared to fight the formation of unions and commencement of strikes at any given moment.

But under that fear lies a simple truth that corporations exist to make money. If workers don’t work, executives don’t make money. Once this dynamic is understood by workers, nothing can stop them.

Working class people should use the momentum in place to start forming unions and consider striking if they are unsatisfied with their conditions.

It is a lesson that bears repeating, and is especially prevalent now, that greedy executives don’t stand a chance against united workers.

Columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.