These days, it’s impossible to make your way through Portland, Oregon without noticing the commercial construction boom. That steady boom was brought to a standstill June 1, however, by raucous picket lines. . . .
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. . . .
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. . . .
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. . . .
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.
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.
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.
