Der Streik hat mir geholfen, als junger Mensch Kraft aufzubauen / The strike helped me build strength as a young person.": Migrant struggles against exploitation and racism

The migrant struggles for humane working conditions and fair wages are also a courageous fight against the injustices of capitalism and racism since the early 1960s. A high point of these struggles was a series of migrant strikes in the summer of 1973. In the consciousness of the political left and migrant trade unionists, these strikes are deeply ingrained as turning points in the resistance against exploitation and racist structures. In this respect, the spontaneous strikes of migrants in the summer of 1973 are more than just historical events—they are symbols of the struggle for justice, solidarity, and dignity. These struggles have changed the world of work and shaped our understanding of cohesion and resistance in a society that, unfortunately, all too often divides rather than unites in solidarity. Therefore, these struggles are a memorial, but also a source of inspiration for future generations. Undoubtedly, these spontaneous strikes against capitalist exploitation have enormously strengthened trade unions. It was the spontaneous waves of strikes since the early 1960s, and intensified in the summer of 1973, that prompted the trade unions to achieve widespread implementation of the humanization of the workplace, the abolition of discriminatory low-wage categories for women, the extension of collectively agreed vacation time, and the reduction of the workweek.