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Unions Beat Anti-Teacher Agenda in Illinois »

February 3, 2011 | Howard Ryan

A billionaire gang headed by Bill Gates and Eli Broad wants to capture the billions spent on America’s public schools and convert them into a corporate-owned test-score factory. But their plan faces teacher resistance, and nowhere more than in Chicago, where a feisty new leadership is heading...

Download the School Wars PDF »

February 2, 2011 | Labor Notes

A handful of conservative billionaires with enormous political and media savvy are leading an all-out war on public education and its unionized teachers. Download a PDF version of Labor Notes' six-page special report on the attacks on public schools and what it means for the future of education...

How’s Partnership Working for Teachers? »

February 2, 2011 | Howard Ryan

With a few local exceptions, America’s teachers unions have met billionaire school reform with surrender, accommodation, and ill-advised partnership. The AFT’s largest local is a case study in the turn-the-cheek approach.

NYC Mayor's School Closings Snow Job Not Fooling Anyone »

February 2, 2011 | Julie Cavanagh

Education in New York City has turned into a hotbed of activist activity, as demonstrators endured freezing temperatures and blizzards to protest Mayor Michael Bloomberg's destructive schools policies.


Privatizers Chase Education’s Billions »

February 1, 2011 | Mark Brenner

Wonder what’s at stake in the charter school debate? How about a pot of money as big as the Pentagon budget? That’s about $562 billion in the 2006-07 school year, according to the latest numbers on local, state, and federal education spending.

Billionaires’ School Reform: What It Means for Teachers and Students »

February 1, 2011 | Julie Cavanagh

It’s no coincidence that those fueling and funding school reform are millionaires, billionaires, and large corporations. To believe that their interest lies in helping children would require a suspension of logic and a denial of our history.

Unions, Allies Block Entrance to Billionaires’ Meeting »

January 31, 2011 | Fong Chuu

Hundreds protested Sunday outside a Southern California resort where corporate executives and conservative political leaders gathered to strategize. Twenty-five were arrested when they sat in the street, blocking the resort entrance.

Canadians Rally to Defend Pensions in U.S. Steel Lockout »

January 31, 2011 | Mike Williams

As many as 10,000 unionists and supporters converged on downtown Hamilton, Ontario, to support locked-out Steelworkers and decry their employer, U.S. Steel, for failing to honor its commitments.

Machinists Sue South Carolina Governor for Anti-Union Threats »

January 28, 2011 | Jenny Brown

Anti-union rhetoric and threats are emanating from new governors in several states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, and Florida. But none has been so explicit as South Carolina, where incoming Governor Nikki Haley has announced her determination to specifically keep unions out of a new Boeing plant...

Unions Can Address Jobs Crisis with Bold Action to Protect the Climate »

January 28, 2011 | Sean Sweeney

Unions can use the promise of a Green New Deal to turn climate negotiations into a rallying point. Some U.S. unions could start by breaking ties with polluting employers.


What If Executives Feared Prison Time For Health and Safety Crimes? »

January 27, 2011 | Jenny Brown

In the U.S., executives at companies like BP, responsible for 11 deaths in last year’s Gulf oil rig explosion, never face jail time for the workers they kill. In Canada, it's different.

Teamsters Election Supervisor Dings Hoffa for Attempted Bribes »

January 26, 2011 | Jenny Brown

Teamster officials in the James Hoffa, Jr. administration tried to bribe election opponents into supporting the Hoffa slate, according to the federally appointed supervisor of Teamster elections.

Locked-Out Steelworkers Hit Honeywell for Cheating on Test to Run Uranium Plant »

January 26, 2011 | Mischa Gaus

Steelworkers locked out at the nation’s only uranium conversion facility issued a report condemning their employer for coaching scabs during the tests required to run the plant.

UAW’s Organizing Guidelines Undercut Workers’ Rights »

January 24, 2011 | Roy J. Adams

The United Auto Workers’ “Principles for Fair Union Elections” legitimize ideas labor should be challenging. The guidelines put collective bargaining and its authoritarian alternative on equal footing, and accept that unions must acquire majority support to bargain. Neither idea has any basis...

UAW Says It Will Go ‘All In’ To Organize Foreign-Owned Auto Plants »

January 24, 2011 | Jane Slaughter

The United Auto Workers announced a $60 million plan to organize foreign-owned auto plants. UAW President Bob King said it's an “all-in hand. If we lose, we’ll die quicker. If we win, we rebuild the UAW.”

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