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After the Grocery Strike: Forum Looks at Next Steps »

May 31, 2004 | Bill Pearson

There is no question that there was great support during the strike from other unions and groups of activists. But, suffice to say, no one who attended the forum was pleased with the employers’ actions, and they were even more disturbed by the union’s lack of aggressive response...

“Vote No” Campaign Heats Up Over East Coast Longshore Union Contract »

May 31, 2004 | Carl Biers and Marsha Niemeijer

A group of members and local officers in the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is calling on members to reject a tentative master contract covering over 15,000 East Coast dock workers. They are demanding a “wage bridge” to end a multi-tier system that leaves many longshore workers...

Para-Transit Bus Drivers Overcome Local’s Inertia, Win Two-Week Strike »

May 31, 2004 | Carl Biers

One thousand bus drivers won raises and other benefits after a two-week strike against four private companies that provide para-transit service to the elderly and disabled in New York City. The strike was led by members of the Drivers Coalition, a rank-and-file caucus that has been organizing...

Reform Groups Build Pressure on Carpenter Leadership »

May 31, 2004 | Nick Robinson

Concerns are mounting inside the Carpenters over International President Doug McCarron's controversial restructuring plan and other initiatives. Rank-and-file opposition has started to gel over moves by the International-moves, members say, have undermined democracy inside the union...

The Loyal Opposition in New York's Teachers Union Collapses After Making Deal with Unity Caucus »

May 17, 2004 | Marian Swerdlow

Recent elections in New York’s United Federation of Teachers -- the nation’s largest teachers union local -- marked a sea change in the union’s internal politics.


In the short term, no serious challenge is posed to the Unity caucus, an efficient monolith which has dominated the UFT for...

Yikes! A Politician On The Shop Floor »

May 1, 2004 | Dan La Botz

Unions often ask politicians to come speak at a union rally. But AFSCME Local 3299 in California has found it more useful to have the politician visit the workplace. . . .

Tyson Decert Try Foiled By Teamster Reformers »

April 30, 2004 | David Levin

Teamster reformers have beaten back a campaign by Tyson Foods to decertify the union representing 1,500 meatpackers at its Pasco, Washington plant. In balloting conducted by the NLRB on April 8 and 9, members voted 708 to 657 to keep Teamsters Local 556 as their bargaining agent.

What’s Behind the Jobless Recovery? »

April 30, 2004 | Charlie Post

In case you hadn't heard, things are looking up. After a brief recession, corporate profits are again rising, and productivity is increasing. The economic recovery is in full swing.


But unemployment is still high. The growth of new jobs (most of which are in the low-paying service sector...

Globalization and Labor Stir It Up on the Plantations of Bengal »

April 30, 2004 | Anannya Bhattacharjee

Our convoy of vans maneuvered through the roads of Northern West Bengal in the northeast of India, past vast stretches of tea gardens (plantations) in varying shades of green. We were close to the Himalayas, in an area called Duars, adjacent to Darjeeling, a name that has become synonymous with...

Bay Area Grocery Locals Must Overcome Hurdles To Avoid Southern California’s Concessions »

April 30, 2004 | Vincent Bourbourg

In the wake of the southern California strike, clerks in eight United Food and Commercial Workers locals in northern California face a day of reckoning September 11, the day their contracts expire.

Lessons from the recent failure of Weirton Steel's ESOP »

April 30, 2004 | John D. Russell

Weirton Steel's 20-year experiment in worker-ownership ended in bankruptcy May 2003 leaving thousands of workers with worthless stock. Pension promises have since been broken and health benefits terminated. Moreover, under the best case scenario, in which "vulture" investment financier Wilber L...

Two-Tiered Grocery Contract Leaves Anger, Questions »

April 1, 2004 | N. Renuka Uthappa

On the last day of February, striking and locked-out grocery workers in Southern California ended their stand against Safeway-owned Vons/Pavillions, Albertsons, and Kroger-owned Ralphs chains.

The UNITE-HERE Merger: Is It a Step Forward … or Business as Usual? »

April 1, 2004 | William Johnson

It’s been a few months now since we heard anything from the New Unity Partnership (NUP), the coalition first described here in October 2003. This coalition-composed of the presidents of the Service Employees (SEIU), Hotel and Restaurant Employees (HERE), Garment and Textile Workers (UNITE),...

What We Can Learn from the Grocery Strike »

April 1, 2004 | Chris Kutalik and N. Renuka Uthappa

In the wake of the settlement of the grocery strike/lockout, the media have given us scores of sober assessments and “Monday morning quarterbacking” about the extent of the defeat and the UFCW’s piecemeal strategic approach.


The criticisms that rank-and-file grocery and warehouse workers...

A Response to Steve Early More Thoughts on the Worker-Student Alliance »

April 1, 2004 | Lance Compa

When Kim Moody called me a "veteran labor activist" in the 1980s, I protested then that I was still a young Turk. When my Cornell colleague and labor historian Jefferson Cowie started teaching a course titled "Labor in the 70s" a couple of years ago, I complained, "That's not history, Jeff, it'...

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