Author(s):
Mark Brenner

Excerpt:
Following months of criticism and sharp internal debate, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) ended its controversial partnership agreement with a group of California nursing homes on May 31. The four-and-a-half-year-old deal was a quid pro quo arrangement that brought over 3,000 workers into SEIU after the union secured higher state government payments to nursing homes that care for Medicaid patients. In addition to giving SEIU organizing access to a number of nursing homes, the agreement provided “template” contract language for these newly organized workplaces. . . .

Available Online:
Yes

Author(s):
William Johnson

Excerpt:
One million workers across South Africa went on strike June 1, shutting down public services throughout the country. The strike is the country’s largest since apartheid rule ended in 1994. . . .

Available Online:
Yes

Author(s):
David Bacon

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Daniel Ximenez

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Tiffany Ten Eyck

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Tiffany Ten Eyck

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Gary Goff

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Marsha Niemeijer

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Marsha Niemeijer

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Chris Kutalik

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Claude Fields

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Joshua Devries

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
Herman Benson, Matt Noyes

Available Online:
No

Author(s):
David Cohen

Excerpt:
The retirement system in our country is under attack. Everyday we hear of large corporations terminating their defined benefit pension plans and replacing them with 401k or other defined contribution plans that will provide employees with a lower standard of living when they retire. . . .

Body:
The retirement system in our country is under attack. Everyday we hear of large corporations terminating their defined benefit pension plans and replacing them with 401k or other defined contribution plans that will provide employees with a lower standard of living when they retire.

In every recent United Electrical Workers (UE) negotiation, whether in the private or public sector, the workers have faced demands to pay more for health insurance and to take cuts in their pension plans. Our response has been to step up our educational programs for members on how to bargain, fight for, and defend pensions and health insurance.

Available Online:
Yes

Body:
Restaurant workers in New York City are organizing a boycott against local restaurant chain Saigon Grill. The boycott comes in response to firings and a March lockout of workers by the chain’s owners. Fired Saigon Grill workers, with support from other service workers from uptown and midtown Manhattan restaurants, have joined the “Justice Will Be Served!” campaign. Justice Will Be Served! is a coalition composed of the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association (CSWA), National Mobilization Against Sweatshops, and 318 Restaurant Workers Union (an independent union for workers in New York’s Chinatown). Uniting restaurant, hotel, and other service workers in New York, “Justice Will Be Served! fights common service industry abuses such as long hours, sub-minimum wages, and stolen tips.

Expiration Date:
Tue, 07/31/2007 - 11:59pm

Body:
Twenty-five members of Painters Local 391 have been striking since March 19 in Stoneham, Massachusetts. They had worked on posting for Clear Channel Outdoor Advertising, which unilaterally implemented a piece-work pay system and a seven-day work week. The company also eliminated pension funds and cut health insurance benefits.

Two weeks after the billboard workers walked out, two members of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 103, who also worked for the company, joined the strike. Unions across the state and in New York joined pickets at the company’s offices. Over 1,000 union members participated in the strike’s one-month anniversary rally on April 19.

Expiration Date:
Tue, 07/31/2007 - 11:59pm