Communication is crucial during any strike campaign, as announcements, information, and instructions must be shared as quickly as possible. But how do you communicate with 48,000 workers during a strike across multiple campuses who access information in a variety of ways? During the UAW Fair UC Now 2022 Campaign, workers used all kinds of information channels to get the word out to their co-workers, including private servers like Signal, WhatsApp, and Discord, as well as public-facing social media on Instagram and Twitter (now, X). Memes became a primary medium for summarizing key bargaining points, major events, and airing criticisms across all platforms. Although ephemeral by nature, these visual relics often carried deeper meaning for their creators. As the contributor of this meme from UC Merced described, for union members, memes became “an outlet for their frustration,” many opting for sarcasm and humor as they became disillusioned with the bargaining process.
A large collection of memes like these are part of the UAW Fair UC Now 2022 Campaign Collection, part of the Wayne State Reuther Library.