Labor Notes Magazine, February 2008, No. 347

Call Center Workers Win in Test of Card Check Ruling

-- Mischa Gaus

In New Hampshire's biggest private sector organizing win in four decades, 588 AT&T call center workers who handle passport processing questions joined Communications Workers (CWA) Local 1298 in early January... Read More

Labor’s Political Game Falls Short Without Pressure From Below

-- Chris Kutalik

The noise, exhilaration, and sheer drama of horse races don’t lend themselves to sober reflection. As the political fortunes of the Bush administration have waned, many labor activists have been on their feet with excitement, watching the wide-open presidential primary contest unfold. But serious questions remain. . . . Read More

Battles Over Nurse Staffing Ratios Spread Across Nation

-- Mischa Gaus

After a patient quietly died in registered nurse Danielle Magaña’s hospital hallway, she decided she’d had enough. Although an autopsy later said the woman had died of natural causes, Magaña said the incident was waiting to happen at her chronically short-staffed San Antonio hospital. . . . Read More

Viewpoint: Canadian Auto Workers Moves from Fighting Back to Cooperating

-- Herman Rosenfeld

For many labor activists around the world, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), a union born in the refusal to accept the concessions agenda of the 1980s, has been an inspiring example. . . . Read More

As Cargo Chains Grow, So Does Workers’ Leverage

-- Mark Brenner

Truck drivers at HUDD Distribution, a division of shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, walked off the job December 17 at the company’s facilities in South Gate and Mira Loma, California. The drivers, primarily Latino immigrants known as troqueros, shuttle goods between the massive port of Los Angeles/Long Beach and the company’s inland warehouses. . . . Read More

SEIU to Raid Union Representing 40,000 Teachers in Puerto Rico

-- César Rosado Marzán

Dennis Rivera, chair of the national SEIU Healthcare union, announced December 28 that an organization of teachers and school principals in Puerto Rico would affiliate with SEIU and seek to challenge the incumbent Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (FMPR). Read More

Tentative Freight Deal Shores Up Benefits, Weakens Standards

-- Mark Brenner

Indian Jeans Manufacturer Sues Labor Rights Activists and Demands Their Arrest

-- Tessel Pauli

Sri Lankan Workers Protest Garment Worker Murder

-- Teófilo Reyes

American Union Delegation Talks With Vietnamese Labor Federation

-- Kent Wong

Union Spending in State Politics on the Rise

-- Mischa Gaus

A New Contract and a New Kind of Steward

-- Hetty Rosenstein

More than two years ago, the Communications Workers, told New Jersey CWA locals that the union was beginning an organizing drive for the state’s 12,000 home childcare workers. The plan was to get assistance from ACORN community organizers and knock on 12,000 doors.... Read More

Polish Coal Miners Looking for Solidarity

Support Locked-Out Sears Technicians