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Turning an Issue into a Campaign »

August 11, 2015 | Ellen David Friedman

When you turn a workplace issue into a campaign, grievances become a tool for building union power.

How Social Workers Unionized at Portland's Janus Youth Programs »

August 10, 2015 | Christopher Zimmerly-Beck

What happens when social workers grow tired of poor working conditions and poverty wages? At my workplace, we formed a union.

‘Teach for America’ Teachers Can Join the Union »

August 7, 2015 | Patrick Sheehan

In a good sign for teacher union drives around the country, a Labor Board hearing officer opted to include Teach for America teachers in the union vote at a Detroit charter school chain.

'She Was the Sparkplug': Gillian Furst, 1933-2015 »

August 6, 2015 | Labor Notes Staff

The outstanding unionist and feminist Gillian Furst, a longtime activist in Teamsters for a Democratic Union and many other causes, died at her home in Minneapolis on July 20, at age 81.

Verizon Contract Expires with No Deal In Sight »

August 3, 2015 | Dan DiMaggio

The contract covering 39,000 Verizon workers from Massachusetts to Virginia expired August 1.

In First Contract, UConn Grad Assistants Win Raises and Much More »

July 31, 2015 | Todd Vachon, Gayatri Phadke, and Maria Seger

One tactic was a public "work-in" to draw attention to their labor. Graduate assistants at the University of Connecticut teach thousands of undergraduates and conduct research that helps bring in more than $150 million a year.

Organizing Is the Key to Surviving Friedrichs »

July 30, 2015 | Samantha Winslow

A decision that makes the whole public sector “right to work” could be devastating. But public sector workers didn’t always have legal protection to unionize, bargain, or strike. They won those rights—by organizing without them.

New York Assembly Backs Single Payer »

July 28, 2015 | Mark Dudzic

New York’s State Assembly in May overwhelmingly passed a bill to establish a single-payer-style health care system, with unprecedented support from unions.

It Took Direct Action to Make This Boss Pay Seattle’s New Minimum Wage »

July 23, 2015 | Chelsea Harris

Even with laws on the books, it often takes direct action to make bosses pay up the wages they owe—as servers in a Seattle club discovered.

Can Auto Shed Its Tiers? »

July 22, 2015 | Alexandra Bradbury

Eight years after accepting a drastic two-tier system of wages and benefits—and nearly a decade since the first tier got a raise—the United Auto Workers are bargaining with the Big 3 automakers.

'This American Life' on Auto Workers: A Hack Job »

July 21, 2015 | Mike Parker

In reality the Toyota Production System, or “lean production,” taught managers how to slice up jobs to make them more repetitive and require less skill—thus increasing stress on workers and discarding them when their bodies and minds could no longer take it

Good Jobs On the Line in Verizon Rematch »

July 20, 2015 | Pam Galpern

Verizon wants to drive down costs, shrink its union workforce even further, and get out of the landline business. But in negotiations this summer it’s coming head-to-head with its unions, who want to protect gains won through decades of struggle.

Support for Sanders Grows in Unions »

July 17, 2015 | Dan DiMaggio

Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president is drawing impressive crowds to rallies across the country. Many union members are part of this groundswell of support, and he’s won the backing of a number of local unions and state AFL-CIOs.

Grocery Workers Find Their Voice »

July 16, 2015 | Sonia Singh

After years of wage concessions, workers at Canada’s largest grocery chain voted down a first deal, forcing their employer back to the table to do better.

Northeast ‘Joe Hill 100 Roadshow’ Kicks Off in DC »

July 10, 2015 | George Mann

On a summer night, what could be better than laughing, singing, and toe-tapping your way through some radical labor history?

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