Continue Reading Below Advertisement

We should point out here that in every labor dispute, there are competing narratives about which side is full of "goons" resorting to petty violence -- we'll have stories later on about strikers complaining of equally rough treatment at the hands of the strikebreakers. Each party is going to portray themselves as hard-working folk just trying to make a living despite the bullies standing in their way.

"This hospital in Oakland had this really nasty strike going on, and we were even warned before going in," says Jermaine. "Leading some replacements in the front, the nurses would twist the signs as I passed by, moving the top sign part right to my face. I got three paper cuts on my cheek and ear."

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Luckily, he was already at the hospital so he was quickly treated and- oh, right.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

On another occasion, he says he was driving a bus full of replacement workers when strikers began tapping its windows with their signs. He points out that that's normal, "but this one union guy tapped pool-cue style, smashed the driver side window next to me, and sent glass everywhere. I got a bunch of nasty cuts on my hand, but nothing on my face. No one got a good look, and since the union wouldn't rat him out, we never knew who did it. I was back the next day, and I made sure to wave at them with my bandaged hand on the way in."