Labor disputes today inevitably lead to someone getting called a scab – an insult used to smear people who cross picket lines, break up strikes, or refuse to join a union.

The UAW president called Trump a “scab” this month after the ex-president suggested to Elon Musk that striking workers ought to be illegally fired.

Labor’s ‘scabs’ were among the first Americans identified as sellouts for betraying their own.
https://theconversation.com/how-organized-labor-shames-its-traitors-the-story-of-the-scab-235849
#Histodons @histodons #LaborDay #Unions

How organized labor shames its traitors − the story of the ‘scab’

It’s too reductive to simply smear scabs as sellouts. It’s important to understand why some workers might be motivated to weather scorn, rejection and even violence from their peers.

^{The Conversation}