On April 1, the solidarity of Chicago Teachers, along with the solidarity of more than 50 union, community, and student organizations, was on full display before the entire city and state, and across the country. Nearly 20,000 teachers and supporters flooded the streets in a late-afternoon rally and march in Chicago’s “Loop,” capping a powerful Day of Action on the theme “Fund Our Futures.”
By MARTY GOODMAN NEW YORK—Braving union-busting layoffs and retribution, workers at Brod Kitchen (formerly Hot and Crusty), located on 63rd St. in the wealthy Upper East Side of Manhattan, are fighting to save their union and their jobs. On Jan. 14, the Hot and Crusty Workers Association, a mostly Hispanic immigrant workforce of 19, entered into … Continue reading Victory to NYC restaurant workers!
BY JEFF MACKLER Under capitalist law what was legal yesterday, indeed for the past 40 years, can become instantly illegal today. Such will likely be the outcome with regard to the lawsuit that guts public-employee union rights, which was filed by Los Angeles school teacher Rebecca Friedrichs and nine other California teachers. Friedrichs v. California … Continue reading Friedrichs: Threat to public worker unions
By BILL ONASCH The first Tentative Agreement between the UAW leadership and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was shot down by the ranks—by a two-to-one margin. It was the first defeat of a Big Three national TA in a generation. But while this venting of disappointment was widespread, it was not very organized or focused. Though an … Continue reading UAW-Chrysler ‘partners’ retain inequality
By JOE AUCIELLO Every four years the presidential election season sprouts another set of politicians singing songs of social reform, a chorus as predictable as carolers at Christmas. Winter voices ring with words of cheer: “Peace on earth, good will to men”—words as routine and meaningless as any campaign promise of “hope and change” or … Continue reading How capitalism blunts social reforms
By ANN MONTAGUE Socialist Action has published several articles in recent issues exposing Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party. This included a look at past primary elections that were used to raise workers’ hopes that there would be a place for their aspirations within the Democratic Party. Another article looked at Sanders’ role in Congress … Continue reading Bernie Sanders & the labor movement
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 … Continue reading $15 wage movement makes gains
By BILL ONASCH “Largest Protest By Low Wage Workers In US History.” That was the Guardian headline above a perceptive story about the 4/15 4 15 actions by Steven Greenhouse and Jana Kasperkevic. They wrote, “Some 60,000 workers took part in the Fight for $15 demonstrations. ... The demonstrations were the latest in a series … Continue reading April 15: Huge protest by low-wage workers
By CARL SACK — MADISON, Wis. — As many here expected, so-called Right-To-Work legislation has come to Wisconsin. Republicans, who control both houses of the legislature, announced on Feb. 20 that they would seek to fast-track a Right-To-Work bill over the following two weeks. It passed both houses of the legislature, and Governor Scott Walker, … Continue reading ‘Right to Work’ battle in Wisconsin
By DAVID JONES MINNEAPOLIS—Two hundred and fifty enthusiastic supporters of a $15 an hour minimum wage in this city crowded into the Minneapolis Labor Center on Sunday, Feb. 15, to hear from organizers and supporters including socialist Seattle city council member Kshama Sawant. It was Sawant's upset election a little over a year ago that … Continue reading Minn. $15 supporters hear Kshama Sawant
By ADAM RITSCHER — SUPERIOR, Wis. — Jan. 11 was the last day of work for 27 janitors and grounds keepers at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. They lost their jobs after a dramatic nine-month battle with university administrators. Like many colleges across the state, the University of Wisconsin-Superior is facing a major budget crisis. This … Continue reading U. Wisconsin-Superior outsources jobs
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 … Continue reading Low-wage workers unite for $15 Now
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: … Continue reading Fast food strikers say: $15 and a union!
By DAVID BERNT The grassroots rank-and-file Vote No movement against the proposed UPS contract won a major victory when the contract was rejected in several regions of the U.S. The tentative agreement, which covers 235,000 Teamsters nationally, passed by a narrow margin, 53 to 47 percent. However, the Teamster (IBT) constitution requires all supplemental agreements to be … Continue reading UPS workers reject health care concessions
By DAVID BERNT A groundswell of resistance has developed among rank-and-file workers to a proposed concessionary contract at shipping giant United Parcel Service. Details of the five-year tentative agreement, which covers 240,000 workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, were revealed in early May at a meeting of local union officers. The UPS contract … Continue reading Resistance grows to UPS contract proposal
By ANN MONTAGUE The economic burdens on women are triple—working in undervalued jobs, domestic work, and cutbacks in social services used by women. In the first place, women’s work continues to be undervalued and underpaid. Women are half the labor force and continue to earn 76 cents on the dollar earned by men. There remains … Continue reading Women face triple economic burden
By CHRISTINE MARIE This article is based on a portion of the resolution on the oppression of women, written by the author, that was approved by the 2012 Socialist Action convention. “Such demands [from the women’s liberation movement] go to the very heart of the specific oppression of women exercised through the family and strike … Continue reading Women & coming working-class fightback
By DANIEL XAVIER During the course of the past two months, retail super-giant Walmart, notorious for its low wages, unfair labor practices, and union-busting agenda, faced the first strikes in the United States since the company’s founding in 1962. In September, warehouse workers contracted in Walmart’s supply chain walked off the job in Illinois and … Continue reading Workers confront abuses at Walmart
By DAVID BERNT CHICAGO—After a nine-day strike that electrified this city and won broad support from working people, the 26,000 members of the Chicago Teachers Union returned, heads held high, to the classroom Sept. 19 after successfully pushing back against an all-out attack against their union. The teachers’ strike ended the day before by a vote … Continue reading Chicago teachers defeat plan to gut schools
