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Center fielder Curt Flood smiles in a close-up head shot with stadium seating behind him.

Baseball Players Defeated Non-Competes to Build Union »

February 20, 2023 | Brian Callaci

Banning non-compete clauses is a complement to, not a substitute for, union power. Just ask trailblazing baseball star Curt Flood.

How to Get Un-Fired »

February 16, 2023 | Jenny Brown

In a few days Austin Locke will walk back into the Queens, New York, Starbucks store he was fired from seven months ago. He’ll also get a wad of back pay, and money from civil penalties.

Labor Notes Editorial Team Grows »

February 16, 2023 | Editors

The editing team at Labor Notes has recently doubled in size. Joining longtime Editor Alexandra Bradbury and Assistant Editor Dan DiMaggio are two more assistant editors: Jenny Brown (right) and Luis Feliz Leon.

Labor Power and Strategy Helps Organizers Think Seriously About Chokepoints »

February 15, 2023 | Peter Olney and Rand Wilson

John Womack is well-known in the United States as one of the foremost historians of the Mexican revolution, as the author of the seminal Zapata and the Mexican Revolution.
A group of striking garment workers stand in front of their factory in 1958.

Review: Labor Power and Strategy: Learning from the Garment Workers »

February 15, 2023 | Jeffery Hermanson

John Womack Jr.’s new book, Labor Power and Strategy (PM Press, 2023), edited by Peter Olney and Glenn Perusek and with responses from 10 organizers, labor activists, and educators, is a timely consideration of some ba
A person works outside among leafless trees, slicing through the trunk of one with an orange chainsaw. The person is wearing a neon green shirt and protective gear: gloves, a hardhat, sunglasses, a gaiter mask, and thick orange pants or chaps.

Viewpoint: To Change the World, Our Unions Must Change »

February 10, 2023 | David Story

Unionism has seen a resurgence in popularity the past few years. The problem is, it’s very difficult to get our members organizing in their communities when they hate the way our leadership (I use that word loosely) is operating.

A Request for Support from the Independent Union at VU Manufacturing in Mexico »

February 9, 2023 | La Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana

The below is an appeal for support from auto parts workers at VU Manufacturing in the border city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila. Workers there voted to form an independent union last year, and are now fighting for a first contract. They have set a strike date of February 20.

Three black and white flyers side by side, for a Teamsters contract campaign, for a Teamsters leadership election, and nurses on why the support Bernie Sanders

Steward’s Corner: Secrets of a Successful Flyer »

February 9, 2023 | Dan Lutz

It was a snowy morning in 2002, I was a brand-new shop steward in CWA Local 3372 in Lexington, Kentucky, and I had volunteered to hand out the flyers for our contract campaign.

Four members of the bargaining committee at Saint Gobain pose in front of their union's banner.

Mexican Auto Glass Workers Withstand Threats to Form Independent Union »

February 7, 2023 | Alejandra Quintero

Workers who produce glass for automakers including Ford, Volkswagen, and Tesla at a big auto glass plant in Mexico are pushing for a new contract, after forming an independent union despite threats of violence from a powerful, employer-friendly union.
A woman in a safety vest high-fives two others in front of a fence while others stand by with strike signs

How My Co-Workers Got Me Reinstated at Amazon's San Bernardino Air Hub »

February 6, 2023 | Sara Fee

I’ve never organized before. What we’re doing at Amazon is all new to me.
A couple stand by a wall with a Hyatt sign

Non-Compete Agreement Leaves Workers Homeless and Jobless »

February 2, 2023 | Luis Feliz Leon

Kevin Borowske is still mulling it over after being fired last week—and evicted as of February 28. Was he a scientist with the proprietary recipe for a cleaning solution? Was he the holder of a confidential blueprint concealing the secret rooms in the condo?

Steps chalked in blue and pink with the words we can't learn if we can't breathe with a few students feet and shoes visible

Victory Against Polluter Points Way to Clean, Green, and Fully Funded Schools »

January 31, 2023 | Lauren Bianchi

For two years, teachers and staff in my workplace, George Washington High School, helped lead a community campaign to stop a hazardous industrial metal shredder, General Iron, from moving a few blocks from our school.

Union from The Start (You Don’t Have to Wait) »

January 30, 2023 | Colette Perold and Eric Dirnbach

Win a union election, and it’s a long road to a signed contract. Lose a union election, and workers may think the fight is over.

Viewpoint: Burgerville Workers’ Lessons for Independent Unions »

January 25, 2023 | Kevin Van Meter

Self-organizing a union on a shoestring? Winning the supposedly unwinnable? Workers at a local burger chain out of Portland, Oregon, were doing it before it was cool.
People and photographers gather at KCTU headquarters during the raid.

South Korea: Intelligence Agency Raids Top Union Confederation »

January 24, 2023 | Kap Seol

South Korea’s intelligence agency raided the offices of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country’s largest organization of independent unions, and an affiliate on January 18.

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