Joe Burns, “Reviving the Strike: How Working People Can Regain Power and Transform America,” Ig Publishing (May 31, 2011), 224 pp.Mainstream union officials in what remains the world’s richest country believe the strike is a quaint relic of bygone times, ineffective and even dangerous today. This reinforces their attempts to forge “partnership” with the employers.Some … Continue reading A fresh look at a basic tactic of the labor movement
Category: Labor
May Day Around the World
May 1 marked the 125th anniversary of the Haymarket riot (which occurred on May 4, 1886, in Chicago) and International Workers’ Day. Marches and rallies in solidarity with working-class movements were organized across the United States and around the world to commemorate the day and to voice the current demands of the working class. In the … Continue reading May Day Around the World
Public Workers Under Attack
This article is based on a presentation by the author to a recent Socialist Action forum in Philadelphia. Marty Goodman is a transit worker in New York City, and a longtime activist in Transport Workers Union Local 100. On May 26 a Wisconsin judge voided the infamous legislation that would have radically restricted union bargaining … Continue reading Public Workers Under Attack
Lock-out looms over NFL season
If the 2011 NFL draft was lacking in dramatic last-minute deals, fans can thank the owners. They have chosen to lock players out, stopping trades and barring players from training camps. If a deal is not reached soon, the league will be forced to cancel at least some preseason games. The traditional rookie symposium in … Continue reading Lock-out looms over NFL season
Chicago teachers union votes to oppose anti-labor law
CHICAGO—The executive board of the Chicago Teachers Union voted on May 2 to oppose a union-busting law passed by the Illinois Statehouse and Senate that would effectively eliminate seniority, make it close to impossible for Chicago teachers to strike, and limit collective bargaining rights.The vote of the executive board, later passed by the union’s house … Continue reading Chicago teachers union votes to oppose anti-labor law
Red Cross workers strike
PHILADELPHIA—On May 24, workers at Red Cross blood donation centers here and across the river in southern New Jersey went on strike. They are striking over their health care as well as unsafe conditions, both for the workers and for the blood they collect. The Health Professional and Allied Employees Local 5103 strike is the … Continue reading Red Cross workers strike
Michigan workers protest EFM
by Mike KowalskiGRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—In January of this year, newly elected Republican Gov. Rick Snyder introduced into the legislature the anti-labor “Emergency Financial Managers Bill” (EFM). On March 9 Michigan’s Senate passed the bill, and Gov. Snyder signed it into law on March 17. The law creates a group of super-czars empowered to take control … Continue reading Michigan workers protest EFM
Teachers Ba-ad!
by Mumia Abu-Jamal Have you noticed that politicians flit from boogey-man to boogey-man, a process of demonization that is usually little more than misdirection from more pressing problems? According to a number of new governors across the country, the newest boogey-men (and I guess boogey-women) are teachers, who are portrayed as greedy, selfish, and overpaid. … Continue reading Teachers Ba-ad!
April 9 & 10 antiwar rallies to express solidarity with Wisconsin workers
by Christine Marie“Stop the War on the Unions! Money for Jobs and Education, Not for War and Occupation!” So began a leaflet distributed by United National Antiwar Committee supporters at the Feb. 26 rally of 100,000 workers at the Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison.UNAC team members traveled from Minneapolis, Virginia, and Vermont to display … Continue reading April 9 & 10 antiwar rallies to express solidarity with Wisconsin workers
Owners threaten football lock-out
by David BerntFollowing a year of record-breaking TV ratings and team profits, one would expect the NFL to be basking in the glow of its emergence as the most popular sport in the United States. Instead, the cloud of an impending owners’ lockout of players looms over the 2011 season. The owners and the NFL … Continue reading Owners threaten football lock-out
Massive Wisconsin labor uprising fights all-out assault on unions
by Carl SackMADISON, Wis.—Tens of thousands of workers, students, and their allies from around Wisconsin and beyond have been protesting in Capitol Square every day since Sunday, Feb. 20 to save their benefits and collective bargaining rights.Schools have closed due to teacher absences and student walkouts, firefighters and prison guards have taken off work despite … Continue reading Massive Wisconsin labor uprising fights all-out assault on unions
U.S. public sector under attack
by Andrew PollackPoliticians of both major parties in the United States, from the federal level down to the smallest towns, are making clear the next big ruling-class assault will come in the public sector. While the labor movement is ill prepared to combat that assault, it is ironically in that sector where workers can perhaps … Continue reading U.S. public sector under attack
Obama, Congress call for austerity; U.S. workers are their prime target
by Andrew PollackWhile their European competitors impose countrywide austerity plans, and their Chinese trade rivals focus on continued state support for booming industries, capitalists here at home seek to boost their global competitive stance, and overcome their profitability crisis, with their longstanding policy of misery by a thousand cuts. That means attacking the U.S. working … Continue reading Obama, Congress call for austerity; U.S. workers are their prime target
Reformer Sandy Pope to oppose Hoffa for Teamster president
by David Bernt Veteran Teamster reform activist Sandy Pope has announced her candidacy for the union presidency in next year’s election. Pope will face off against 12-year incumbent Jimmy Hoffa Jr. and a slate headed by Fred Gegare, a current vice president who was elected on the Hoffa slate in 2006. A former freight driver, … Continue reading Reformer Sandy Pope to oppose Hoffa for Teamster president
Hundreds march for justice for cleaning workers
by Lisa Luinenburg MINNEAPOLIS—On Nov. 6, over 300 retail cleaning workers, union leaders, people of faith, and other allies marched together down Lake Street to demand improvements in wages and working conditions for low-wage cleaning workers in the Twin Cities. This march was the public launch of the Campaign for Justice in Retail Cleaning organized … Continue reading Hundreds march for justice for cleaning workers
The New Unemployed Union: Lessons from the Past and a Movement for the Future
by Marlon Pierre-AntoineUNEMPLOYED? ORGANIZE!Eight months ago, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Founded Ur Union of the Unemployed (UCubed, http://www.unionofunemployed.com), the first nation-wide organization to unite unemployed and underemployed workers on a fighting basis to win jobs and dignity since the 1930s. UCubed has registered some gains so far, with its roughly three thousand … Continue reading The New Unemployed Union: Lessons from the Past and a Movement for the Future
Labor’s fight against war, racism and unemployment
By ANDREW POLLACK With the economic crisis worsening, how can labor fight back? There are some small but significant examples of struggles waged recently, or coming soon, that hold out hope for the kind of wider fightback needed in such a crisis. * An opposition slate in the Chicago Teachers Union turned out the old … Continue reading Labor’s fight against war, racism and unemployment
Farrell Dobbs: His Work in the 1934 Mpls Truckers Strike
Toyota & the Myth of Quality
by Mike Parker* Created Mar 23 2010 - 2:19pm Two myths have surrounded Toyota’s rise to dominance in the global auto industry: (1) Toyota is about quality for the customer, and (2) Toyota’s quality and productivity are forged on respect for its workforce. So strong are these myths that they have a halo effect. Pundits … Continue reading Toyota & the Myth of Quality
Pattern Bargaining in Reverse: UAW Pushes for More Concessions at Delphi
Delphi workers are fighting demands for further concessions pushed by the United Auto Workers, which is trying to split apart the master agreement at the company. The International didn’t anticipate rank-and-file anger, which has halted its concessions locomotive.Government-owned GM can’t live without parts supplier Delphi but can’t live with union wages. So the United Auto … Continue reading Pattern Bargaining in Reverse: UAW Pushes for More Concessions at Delphi
Drivers at Renzenberger Inc. Vote to Join UE
UE (the United Electrical workers' union)gained 160 new members today as drivers who work at Renzenberger Incorporated in Chicago voted by a 3 to 1 margin to join UE. The election victory is also a win for Warehouse Workers for Justice (WWJ), a broad campaign to improve conditions for thousands of transportation and logistics workers … Continue reading Drivers at Renzenberger Inc. Vote to Join UE
“We Won’t Go Back!” Battle for Reform Continues in Teamsters Local 743
January 18, 2010: Teamsters in Chicago Local 743 have been battling to free their 11,000-member local from mob and old guard control for many years. Now the top Chicago officials are escalating the fight. But members are uniting to say “We Won’t Go Back.” Local 743 members are saying “We Won’t Go Back” to the … Continue reading “We Won’t Go Back!” Battle for Reform Continues in Teamsters Local 743
Solidarity from Saks to Sheikh Jarrah
by Andrew Pollack Two weeks before Christmas, New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue played Scrooge by firing 115 workers in its cosmetics department in retaliation for their having joined a union. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rwdsu-local-1102-files-federal-charges-against-saks-80726962.html) Saks then announced it would convert the department to a “vendor-staffed model,” i.e. an outside contractor would hire new workers and employ them at … Continue reading Solidarity from Saks to Sheikh Jarrah
Union Busters Close Stella D’Oro Bakery
by Marty GoodmanWhat began in August 2008 as a strike at the Stella D’Oro bakery in the Bronx became an 11-month protracted war and one of the great labor battles in recent New York history. The Stella D’Oro workers became a national symbol of resistance to a heartless economic system.Stella bosses had demanded slashing wages … Continue reading Union Busters Close Stella D’Oro Bakery
Philadelphia Transit Workers Vote to Authorize SEPTA Strike
On Sunday October 25, members of the Transit Workers Union, TWU Local 234,voted to authorize a strike, due to stalled contract negotiations with SEPTA. TWU Local 234, which represents 4,700 workers in the city, has been operating without a contract since March of 2009. As a TWU flyer explains, SEPTA management has rejected any salary … Continue reading Philadelphia Transit Workers Vote to Authorize SEPTA Strike