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Left Out of Labor Law Protections, Excluded Workers Want In—And More »

July 17, 2010 | Tiffany Ten Eyck

What if workers excluded from today’s labor laws and unions’ organizing campaigns were able to collectively bargain? What if we were able to overturn historically racist exclusions and see a whole new group of workers “stand in the doorway to a new labor movement,” as one organizer put it?

Union Troublemakers Meet Agitators for Every Cause Under the Sun at Social Forum »

July 17, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

The U.S. Social Forum proved to be a place where union troublemakers could meet up with agitators for every other cause under the sun. Organizers say 15,000 people registered for the five-day event, which hosted 1,000 workshops in downtown Detroit.

New at Emory: Labor Activism »

July 17, 2010 | Andrea Nichols

This year saw the first labor protests in recent memory at Emory University, as students and food service workers put the screws to Sodexo.

The College Try: SEIU Makes Another Go at Sodexo »

July 17, 2010 | Sofia Lipko

As Georgia State University cafeteria workers cornered their manager one day this May, students wearing orange ribbons joined in, demanding a workplace free of intimidation against unions.

GM Seeks to Cut Wages in Half at Indianapolis Stamping Plant »

July 17, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

GM stamping plant workers in Indianapolis have told the company they won’t cut their wages in half, even when threatened with a shutdown. A prospective buyer of the 650-worker factory has indicated he wants United Auto Workers members to drop from $29 an hour to $14.65.


Some Family Leave Rights Extended to Same-Sex Couples »

July 16, 2010 | Robert Schwartz

The U.S. Department of Labor dramatically expanded Family and Medical Leave Act rights for members of same-sex and other “nontraditional” families June 22.

Rare Election in AFSCME: Contested and Close »

July 16, 2010 | Cherrene Horazuk

A contested election in AFSCME is a rare thing. A close election is even more rare. The International convention in Boston in early July saw both, as Lee Saunders edged out Danny Donohue in a hard-fought election for secretary-treasurer. Saunders took 50.1 percent of 1.3 million votes.

Twin Cities Nurses Roll Back Hospitals’ Attacks »

July 16, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

The day an open-ended strike by 12,000 Twin Cities nurses was set to begin, the nurses instead ratified a three-year contract by 90 percent.

After a Year on Strike, Vale Inco Miners In Ontario Take Their Lumps »

July 16, 2010 | Mischa Gaus

Steelworkers at Ontario’s Vale Inco nickel and copper mines took their lumps and accepted a concessionary contract one week ahead of the July 13 one-year anniversary of their strike.

Iraq Oil Union Leaders Face Arrest, Threats »

July 16, 2010 | Labor Notes Staff

The outspokenness of Iraq’s Federation of Oil Unions against foreign military occupation and corporate incursions into the oil fields has gained it a lot of powerful enemies.


Since the 2003 U.S. invasion, it has been organizing workers in publicly owned oil fields into the nation’s...

Coke Tastes Like Repression in Pakistan »

July 16, 2010 | Labor Notes Staff

Coca-Cola, a top sponsor of the World Cup, was slammed with a red card by supporters of workers at a bottling plant in southern Pakistan. The shaming of the beverage giant came at a rally in Lahore that coincided with the World Cup semi-finals. A soccer match was held at the rally, and...

New York Chemical Workers Vote No but See Contract Ratified »

July 16, 2010 | Jon Flanders

In a development that has many in upstate New York’s labor community scratching their heads, workers at a chemical plant that mobilized for a year against wage cuts saw their new contract ratified despite voting against it.

Nurses Decry Multitude of Sins at Union-Busting Catholic Hospitals »

July 15, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

Less than 6 percent of Ascension Health’s 110,000 workers are union members, but apparently that’s 6 percent too many for the country’s largest Catholic health system. Management is on a concerted campaign to bust unions at its hospitals in Michigan, say the Teamsters, the Michigan Nurses...

Immigrant Workers at Non-Union Chicken Plant Stop Work over Dangerous Conditions »

July 15, 2010 | Francisco Risso

Chicken processing workers stopped the line for an hour at the Case Farms plant in Morganton, North Carolina, over dangerous and abusive conditions. The remarkable wildcat action won the non-union and largely immigrant workforce several gains.

NYC Retail Workers Win Settlement, Look to Fight for Living Wage »

July 14, 2010 | Diane Krauthamer

Low-wage retail jobs in New York City aren't easy, and discrimination, wage theft, and hazardous conditions make them even lousier. A settlement for 17 workers could be a springboard to a citywide living wage, though.



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