By BILL ONASCH Good News, Bad News From SEIU—In recent years, this paper has often had good news to report about the two-million member Service Employees International Union. They have played an exemplary role in championing long neglected low-wage workers. The Fight for 15 Dollars and a Union has become the most important and inspiring…
By ANN MONTAGUE In Richmond, Va., on Aug. 12-13, the new chapter of the Fight For 15 and a Union movement once again expanded its reach and broadened its scope. The first Fight For 15 and a Union Convention was called to bring together low-wage workers from across the country to energize the Fight For…
By WILLIAM WOOD — CHICAGO — Despite a torrential downpour and thunderstorms, more than 2000 low-wage workers and supporters marched up 22nd St. in Oak Brook, Ill., to the McDonald’s national headquarters on May 25 to demand a $15 minimum wage and union rights. The company’s annual shareholders’ meeting was held there the following…
By MARK UGOLINI — CHICAGO — Low-wage workers and their supporters turned out in force at over 300 locations in the U.S. and over 40 countries on April 14 demanding a $15 minimum wage and union organizing rights. The prime target was McDonald’s Corporation, referred to as a “poster-child” for unfair labor practices and poverty…
By BILL ONASCH Two Wins For UE—The United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers registered two important victories from the National Labor Relations Board over the past month. The first was an award of two weeks’ back pay to 270 workers at bankrupt Republic Windows in Chicago. This caps a seven-year struggle that began with a…
By BILL ONASCH • 2000 UAW Kohler plumbing fixture workers in Sheboygan County, Wis., returned to work the week before Christmas after a 32-day strike. It was marked by strong solidarity among unions and in the community. Although less than 20 percent of the membership would have benefited, the biggest issue was the union’s push…
By ANN MONTAGUE June was a good month for the fight for a $15 minimum wage. On June 13, Los Angeles, the second largest city in the country, saw the mayor sign the bill passed by the city council that raised the minimum wage from $9 to $15 over the next five years. This will…
By BILL ONASCH [This post contains three articles on the $15 minimum wage movement.] Fight for Fifteen 4/15 — It’s an easy date to remember; April 15 is income tax day in the USA. This year there will be marches and rallies in most cities across the country. But these protests are not against the…
By ANN MONTAGUE Labor activists, including Fight for $15 and the Service Employees International Union, have been staging demonstrations and employee walkouts at MacDonald’s and other fast-food chains for the past two years, demanding a $15 minimum wage and the right to a union. Along the way, the movement has scored a couple of legal…
By ANN MONTAGUE — PORTLAND, Ore. — On Dec. 4, the 2nd anniversary of the first Fast Food strikes—when 200 workers walked out—strike actions increased in number to include over 190 cities in the United States alone. Moreover, workers at convenience stores joined them. As we go to press on Dec. 4, reports indicate that home-care…
The web newsletter, “Anticapitalisme et Revolution,” which represents a current in the French New Anticapitalist Party (NPA), recently interviewed Socialist Action member Ann Montague in regard to the growing movement in the United States for a minimum wage of $15.. The interview appears below. The French-language version can be found at: http://anticapitalisme-et-revolution.blogspot.fr/2014/09/nous-sommes-un-mouvement-maintenant.html Anticapitalisme et Revolution:…
By ANN MONTAGUE SEIU 503 announced it supports a living wage for its workers in Oregon, and is taking the issue to the bargaining table and possibly to the streets. While President Obama has proposed an increase in the Federal Minimum Wage to $9 an hour, SEIU doesn’t believe that is the solution. Oregon’s minimum…
By MARIE MARTIN On Jan. 3, the CNA (California Nurses Association) issued a press release to announce their fightback campaign against California’s large hospital chains such as Kaiser and Sutter Health. They were also announcing an affiliation agreement with NUHW (National Union Of Healthcare Workers). This is not a new relationship, as the two unions…
