Troublemakers Blog

How NYC Teachers Ran a Slate to Build Member Power [1]

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August 27, 2025 / Olivia Swisher

Teachers measure time in school years, not calendar years. As the new school year begins, I’ve been reflecting on my experiences from last year as an unexpected candidate for president of the 200,000-member United Federation of Teachers in New York City. » [1]

Uncover How Your Employer’s Power Flows [2]

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August 19, 2025 / Jenny Brown [3]

Review of What the Boss Doesn’t Want Us to Know: Discovering Power and Winning Campaigns [4] by Tom Juravich, Olivia Geho, and Andrew Gorry (PM Press, 2025) » [2]

Salts and Peppers Build a Union at Starbucks [5]

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August 13, 2025 / Jenny Brown [3]

Review of Jaz Brisack, Get on the Job and Organize (Atria/One Signal, 2025). Starbucks Workers United recently celebrated the unionization of their 600th store, disproving reams of conventional wisdom: you can’t organize small shops… you can’t organize high-turnover workplaces… you can’t organize young people. » [5]

Why the UAW Endorsed Zohran When Other New York City Unions Held Back [6]

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August 07, 2025 / Sam Feldman

Zohran Mamdani’s shock victory in this year’s New York City Democratic mayoral primary upended New York politics and called into question the effectiveness of big local unions, which mostly lined up behind loser Andrew Cuomo. » [6]

Zohran’s New York City Primary Win Shows People Are Ready to Organize [7]

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August 04, 2025 / Danielle Smith [8]

Back in February, few New Yorkers were thinking about the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary, and even fewer had heard of the New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. » [7]

In Small-Town Oregon, Teacher Strike Threat and Community Support Stop Bad Proposal [9]

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July 30, 2025 / Barbara Madeloni [10]

As educators fend off attacks at the federal and state level, they’re also seeing some local wins. From striking for more recess to demanding more nurses and support personnel, teachers across the country have successfully organized for policies that improve children’s school day. » [9]

In Italy, Immigrant Workers Launch a Wave of Strikes for a 40-Hour Week [11]

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July 30, 2025 / Morganne Blais-McPherson and Sarah Caudiero

Since early April, immigrant workers in the Tuscan city of Prato have staged a wave of strikes demanding their right to a 40-hour work week, or “8x5.” » [11]

In Uncertain Times for Entertainment, IATSE Reformers See a Way Forward [12]

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July 21, 2025 / Greg Loebell

The International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) will hold its Quadrennial Convention in Hawaii starting July 28. The 2025 “Quad” convention would be business as usual, if not for an upstart group of IATSE members in a reform caucus called CREW [13] that believes they can fix some of their union’s worst flaws. » [12]

Inside Your Union, You Have Due Process Rights [14]

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July 17, 2025 / Cathy Highet

Suppose you run for local union office on a reform slate, and nearly win… but then the incumbent leaders trump up charges against you. You’re sure your only crime is challenging them, but they brand your organizing “dual unionism” or “conduct unbecoming a member.” They hold a trial, find you guilty, and suspend your membership. Do you have any recourse? » [14]

Longshore Workers Remember the Struggle to Free the Charleston Five [15]

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July 08, 2025 / Kerry Taylor

Dockworkers from around the world reunited in South Carolina for a week in June to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the successful campaign to “Free the Charleston 5” and the founding of the International Dockworkers Council. » [15]