The word “strike” itself comes from maritime workers, first used in 1768 when London sailors “struck” the sails to protest pay and conditions. Today, dockworkers and seafarers still occupy chokepoints in global trade, able to disrupt the bottlenecks that keep capitalism and imperialism moving.

Despite sweeping changes in the industry, from containerisation to automation, a tradition of internationalism remains visible. Australian maritime unions boycotted apartheid cargo, Italian dockers have blocked arms shipments to Israel, and US longshore workers stopped work for Black Lives Matter.

Join this session to explore the history and ongoing global power of workers on the waterfront.