Labor disputes are as old as capitalism itself, but the battlefields they play out on are continually evolving.
That's a lesson that Ralphs learned this week when — after grocery workers across Southern California voted to authorize a strike — a digital activist threw a TikTok-shaped wrench in the chain's efforts to preempt walkouts by hiring temporary "scab" workers.
"Let's say you've always wanted to work at a Ralphs," said activist Sean Wiggs, posting under the screen-name Sean Black, in a viral video he uploaded to TikTok on Tuesday. "Let's say you've always had a dream to submit a — or multiple — application to this specific Ralphs store."
