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Wage Laws Could Include Homecare Workers, Finally »

February 28, 2012 | Jenny Brown

Two million homecare workers are finally getting a little respect under U.S. labor law. New Labor Department rules extending overtime and minimum wage protections to home health aides and personal care assistants could go into force next month.


Living Wage Laws: Worth the Effort? »

February 27, 2012 | Stephanie Luce

Activists have won more than 125 living wage ordinances in cities and counties, and state and federal minimum wage increases. Yet the number of workers earning poverty wages remains as high as ever. Are the laws worth the effort?

Occupying Parents Win an Audience, but Chicago Schools Still Privatize »

February 25, 2012 | Howard Ryan

After parents occupied Chicago’s Brian Piccolo Elementary School February 17, they won a commitment from the school board to meet and discuss the “turnarounds” at Piccolo and a neighboring school—measures that would mean firing all the staff and handing the schools over to a private operator....

UE Occupies Chicago Window Plant Again, and Wins Reprieve »

February 24, 2012 | Jane Slaughter

Members of the United Electrical Workers won another reprieve for a Chicago window factory, re-occupying the plant they famously held in 2008. UE took over the plant yesterday after local management said it would close immediately.

A Shallow Victory on Living Wages in New York City »

February 23, 2012 | Jenny Brown

After New York’s retail union announced a living wage deal, activists greeted the news with mixed feelings. Only a small number of workers will be affected, but activists think the campaign changed the conversation on low wages.

Chicago Occupation Challenges Corporate School Agenda »

February 22, 2012 | Howard Ryan

Parents raised the stakes in the battle over the corporate takeover of education when they occupied a Chicago school Friday. They didn't reverse the school board's "turnaround," but they did crack a wall of silence from city leaders.

Unions Rally to Protect Contraceptive Coverage »

February 21, 2012 | Carolyn Jacobson

While Catholic bishops are organizing to get religious-affiliated institutions exempted from providing contraceptive coverage, some unions and women’s organizations are counter-mobilizing. They want to defeat a proposal that would allow employers or insurance companies to refuse coverage of any...

Help Us Blow Out the Candles »

February 20, 2012 | Mark Brenner

Hard to believe, but a scrappy rank-and-file magazine and organizing institute, founded in 1979 to bring together leaders from an inspiring string of wildcat strikes and union reform caucuses, turns 33 today.



Labor Notes has grown a lot since then, training thousands of activists at 10...

Michigan Unions Look to Amend Constitution to Block Anti-Labor Bills »

February 20, 2012 | Jane Slaughter

Michigan’s top union leaders are deciding whether to attempt to amend the state constitution to block emergency managers and a "right to work" law through a ballot initiative this November.

Why Did Single Payer Health Care Fail in California? »

February 17, 2012 | Lenny Potash

Though it’s passed the legislature twice before, a bill to establish a single-payer universal health insurance system in California failed in the state senate in January. Democrats and much of labor hung back, showing how the national health care law looms over state efforts.

Obama, Democrats Deal Setback To Airline Workers »

February 16, 2012 | Theresa Moran

Two years after President Obama and Democrats abandoned labor’s much-anticipated Employee Free Choice Act, they have refused to block Republicans intent on making life miserable for airline and rail workers.

ILWU Takes Risks, Breaks Rules, Gets Deal with Grain Company »

February 16, 2012 | Jane Slaughter

Ending the most heated conflict labor has seen in years, the Longshore Union (ILWU) and transnational grain exporter EGT announced they had reached a deal. The union's path there was filled with risks.

Obama, Democrats Deal Setback to Airline Workers »

February 15, 2012 | Theresa Moran

Two years after President Obama and Democrats abandoned labor’s much-anticipated Employee Free Choice Act, they have refused to block Republicans intent on making life miserable for airline and rail workers.

Can Labor Organize the Unemployed? »

February 14, 2012 | Jenny Brown

Wrenching testimonies from laid-off workers are overflowing the internet, crying out from the pages of policy reports, and popping up in commercial media. But unions are still grappling with how to organize the unemployed into a political force.


Sudden Business Closures in Chicago Prompt Wage Theft Fights »

February 13, 2012 | Jerry Mead-Lucero

Two Chicago worker centers are fighting for hundreds of laid-off workers left in the wake of sudden business closures, still owed back pay. Advocates say such mass firings are not uncommon.

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