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In a Year of Bad News, Stories of Courage and Resistance »

December 30, 2009 | Labor Notes Staff

After an exuberant opening of 2009, the year brought mostly bad news for workers and the labor movement. As always, though, some soldiered on, creating the stories of courage and resistance to inspire the rest of us.

Steward's Corner: Txt & Tweet 2 Org & Inform »

December 30, 2009 | Paul Abowd

Online social media tools like Twitter are often dismissed as time-wasters for the procrastinator in all of us. But they’re also being harnessed for greater causes. You can use Twitter and text messaging to keep members educated and mobilize them for action.

Guatemala: A Dangerous Place To Be a Union Member »

December 29, 2009 | Lupita Aguila

The Guatemalan labor movement is facing a sharp upsurge in assassinations and violence against trade unionists. Six unionists were murdered in 2009, believably for their union activities.


Detroit Teachers Agree to New Contract Deal—Sort Of »

December 23, 2009 | Paul Abowd

The pieces of the Obama education plan are coming together in one of the country’s most troubled school districts—but not everyone in Detroit is happy about it.

One Million Climate Jobs Now »

December 22, 2009 | Wendy Thompson

As a member of Autoworkers’ Caravan, I was happy to see "One Million Climate Jobs Now," a pamphlet from union members in Britain. It shows very plainly and simply how to create the new jobs that are needed if we are going to avoid disastrous climate change—that is, global warming.


Campus Unions, Students Defy Attack on Higher Education in California »

December 21, 2009 | Kate Maich, Paul Abowd

An unprecedented coalition of students and workers is responding to the attacks on higher education with strikes, marches, teach-ins, and building occupations.

The Early Bird Gets the Holiday Gifts! »

December 21, 2009 | Sally Kim

Are your worry lines deepening after a hard year on the job? Are you tired of seeing the big guys’ contracts honored while ours are under the gun? Between the bailout blues and the nonstop assault at the workplace, 2009 has been a helluva year for labor activists. So get ready for a much-needed...

NUHW is Decisive in Santa Rosa, SEIU Tries to Postpone Defeat »

December 18, 2009 | Mark Brenner

Workers capped a six year campaign to organize Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital tonight, with 283 voting to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) against 263 votes for "no union."


Steelworkers Locked Out at Carquest »

December 18, 2009 | Labor Notes Staff

Nearly 70 Steelworkers at a Carquest parts warehouse in Bay City, Michigan, have been locked out since September 25. The company brought a stack of proposals as big as the contract itself this summer, but stormed out when the union refused to yield as much as management wanted.

Requiem For A Heavyweight, Telephone Labor Division »

December 18, 2009 | Steve Early

Former IBEW Local 2222 Vice President Jerry Leary was laid to rest yesterday under the raised and arched booms of two telephone company bucket trucks, with a union banner strung between the two. In the face of the grotesque caricatures of unionism projected today, it’s easy to forget what being...

Life Under SEIU Trusteeship »

December 18, 2009 | Ellen Dillinger

When our union, United Healthcare Workers-West, was trusteed last January by the Service Employees, there was an initial flurry of activity centered around decertifying SEIU and electing the National Union of Healthcare Workers. My plan was to lie low until our contract was up and we had the...

Workers and Homebuyers Pummel Pulte »

December 16, 2009 | Evan Enku

Bloomfield Hills is a Detroit suburb dotted with sprawling corporate office compounds, columned mansions, and stores like Saks Fifth Avenue—a haven for members of the managing class, insulated from the blight and devastation they helped create that surrounds them in Southeast Michigan.


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Colorado Grocery Workers Split on Swallowing Big Concessions »

December 16, 2009 | by Amy Rosner and Ric Urrutia

A Colorado grocery chain received an early holiday present this year: a concession-filled contract, rammed through by UFCW International over local objections.

Finally, NUHW Squares Off Against SEIU in Two Hospital Elections »

December 16, 2009 | Mark Brenner

Nearly eleven months of courtroom stalling has slowed the upstart NUHW but a break in the legal logjam may be coming—finally giving California’s health care workers the ability to choose their union.

U.S., Canadian Delegation Supports Embattled Mexican Electrical Workers »

December 14, 2009 | Dan La Botz

A delegation of U.S. and Canadian labor leaders visited Mexico November 29-December 3 in solidarity with fired electrical workers of the former Light and Power Company. On October 11 President Felipe Calderón sent police to occupy the facilities of the government-owned company and fired its 44...

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