Over 2022-3, Britain has seen the biggest wave of strikes in a generation. Workers are fighting back. This short book provides an initial balance sheet of the experiences of these strikes. The rediscovery by significant numbers of workers of their ability to take collective action is something to be celebrated. But too often union leaders have put forward only a limited strike strategy - and been willing to accept deals far short of what is needed or that could be achieved. The book examines the nature of the trade union bureaucracy and looks at some of the grassroots challenges to it in the past. It also asks what we can learn from the strikes over pensions in France, why Labour doesn't support the strikes, and what role socialist politics has in the workplace. It argues for a sharp challenge to the union bureaucracy and lays out a strategy for the way forward.

Over 2022-3, Britain has seen the biggest wave of strikes in a generation. Workers are fighting back. This short book provides an initial balance sheet of the experiences of these strikes. The rediscovery by significant numbers of workers of their ability to take collective action is something to be celebrated. But too often union leaders have put forward only a limited strike strategy - and been willing to accept deals far short of what is needed or that could be achieved. The book examines the nature of the trade union bureaucracy and looks at some of the grassroots challenges to it in the past. It also asks what we can learn from the strikes over pensions in France, why Labour doesn't support the strikes, and what role socialist politics has in the workplace. It argues for a sharp challenge to the union bureaucracy and lays out a strategy for the way forward.