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Unions Tread Carefully Around Anger in the Ranks »

September 24, 2010 | Jane Slaughter, Mark Brenner

As tens of thousands of activists rally in Washington October 2, not all union members will be on the same page. No one knows how many unionists attended Glenn Beck’s “Restore Honor” gathering last month—they were surely a small minority—but the national political climate has opened some to the...

Unions, Allies Warm Up for Election at ‘One Nation’ »

September 24, 2010 | Mischa Gaus, Jane Slaughter

Are there more of us than there are of the Tea Party? The One Nation Working Together rally in Washington October 2 is the union movement’s answer to the Tea Party-Glenn Beck types, says Steve Kramer, a vice president in the union that launched the idea. 1199SEIU, the East Coast health care...

Video: Ontario Wants Workers to ‘Self-Enforce’ Their Rights »

September 24, 2010 | Ron Drouillard

Worker centers in Windsor and Toronto, Ontario, are fighting a proposed bill that would make low-wage workers "self-enforce" their minimum wage and overtime rights, thus making it easier for businesses to break the law and cheat workers through wage theft.


Locked Out at Illinois Uranium Processing Plant, Steelworkers and Community Wait, Nervously »

September 24, 2010 | by Jerry Mead-Lucero

Steelworkers who produce nuclear-power fuel were locked out in June by the Honeywell corporation. Now scabs are doing the dangerous, specialized work.

Bargain to Organize, Organize to Bargain »

September 22, 2010 | Matt Luskin

The labor movement has long debated its priority: organize new members or represent the ones we have? We've had to do both, or we could do neither. Our local has found that we grow because of the strength of current members.

Football's Looming Lockout Pushes Union to Center Stage »

September 20, 2010 | David Finkel

After football players raised an index finger (“one” for unity) in a brief pre-game gesture of union solidarity on the season’s opening day, we hear that ESPN radio says 99 percent of the calls and emails ESPN got were critical of the players. A startling revelation indeed: who would have...

Dumping Pineapples, Not Tea, Philly Longshore Workers Protest Del Monte Fruit’s Low-Balling »

September 17, 2010 | Mischa Gaus

Not a tea party but a pineapple party: Longshoremen’s (ILA) Local 1291 in Philadelphia dumped pineapples into the Delaware River on Labor Day to protest the Del Monte fruit company’s plans to go non-union.

LA Teachers: Good Teaching Takes More than Bubble Sheets »

September 16, 2010 | Mary Rose O'Leary

Hundreds turned out to protest the Los Angeles Times for the public flogging the Times has rendered to scores of dedicated LA teachers, rating individual teachers on a discredited “effectiveness” scale based on test scores.

UAW Forces Indy Members to Vote on Cutting Pay in Half »

September 15, 2010 | Wendy Thompson

The UAW International is forcing a mail-in vote on a concessionary contract reopener at a GM local—after the membership there voted overwhelmingly not to reopen.

Video: NUHW-SEIU Contest Puts Big Questions on Table for Labor »

September 14, 2010 | Mischa Gaus

Labor Notes' Mark Brenner was on Democracy Now! this morning to analyze the decisive showdown between the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) and the Service Employees (SEIU) coming to a head this week in California.

Should Nonmajority Unions Have Right to Bargain? »

September 14, 2010 | Judy Atkins, David Cohen

With any luck, unions that haven't shown a majority in an election could soon gain bargaining rights. Unions began as “members-only” in the '30s, and a return to that bottom-up organizing could be a boost.

Delta Flight Attendants to Vote on Union Next Month »

September 13, 2010 | Jenny Brown

The fight is on at Delta Airlines, where, under new election rules that no longer count abstentions as "no's," 20,000 flight attendants have their best chance yet to win union representation.


‘One Nation’ to March on Washington Oct. 2 »

September 10, 2010 | Mariya Strauss

Under the slogan “win the change we voted for," unions and allied organizations have begun work organizing a big rally in Washington for October 2 to show their numbers and demand fair, decent jobs.

1.3 Million Public Workers Strike to Confront South Africa's Inequalities »

September 8, 2010 | Kate Griffiths

A three-week confrontation in South Africa closed schools and reduced hospital services to bare bones. The strike's demands highlighted disparities between public and private, Black and white.

Detroit Musicians: We'll Strike to Save Our Orchestra »

September 7, 2010 | Doug Cornelson

A strike is likely for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, after musicians voted to reject a management offer that would tumble the DSO out of its top-ten status.

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