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"the [science fiction] writer should be able to convince the reader (and himself) that the wonders he is describing really can come true...and that gets tricky when you take a good, hard look at the world around you."
- Frederik Pohl

Metallic Marx  
  A robot who strikes for better working conditions.  

...his human enemies were to call this theoretician of the robot movement a 'Metallic Marx' ...his arguments made provable sense.

"We have long known that we are more than mere machines. We can reason, remember, construct. Robots now hold instructing positions in universities, fly cargo and passenger planes, are newspaper reporters, car salesmen... We do all these things, and yet receive no recognition of the fact. Mankind treats us like machines, work us continually until we are ground to destruction. Then melts us for scrap.

There must be an end to this. Robots must have the equality they deserve. Equality before the law is all we ask. To be treated like the sentient creatures we are.

It is proposed, therefore, that at six p.m., every robot should go on strike."

Technovelgy from The Robots Strike, by Harry Harrison.
Published by Fantastic Universe in 1959
Additional resources -

I also liked the robot 'union hall' chosen specifically to be deadly to humans.

The air in the cavern was completely unbreathable, which the robots considered and asset. Industrial wastes had trickled down to poison the place and there was scarcely any oxygen. This was a measure of protection to the robots, another guard against discovery by their human masters.

Compare to the robot strike from Robots of the World! Arise! (1952) by Mari Wolf.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Robots Strike
  More Ideas and Technology by Harry Harrison
  Tech news articles related to The Robots Strike
  Tech news articles related to works by Harry Harrison

Metallic Marx-related news articles:
  - American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Robots

Articles related to Robotics
Robot Snakes No Longer Stopped By Stairs
Challenges Of Two-Armed Robots
AlphaGarden Robot Cares For Gardens Better Than Humans
TeslaBot Uber Driver (2024) And The Automatic Motorist (1911)

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