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Fighter plane in flight

St. Louis Boeing Plant Workers to Strike »

July 28, 2022 | Jonah Furman

Next Monday 2.500 workers who make fighter jets, missiles, and drones for Boeing in the St. Louis area are set to strike. It would be the largest strike at the aerospace giant since 2008, and the biggest manufacturing strike since last year’s showdown at John Deere.

Every Boss Has a Weak Spot. Find and Use It. »

July 28, 2022 | Alexandra Bradbury, Jane Slaughter, and Mark Brenner

This article is excerpted from the Labor Notes book Secrets of a Successful Organizer, available for $15 at labornotes.org/secrets.
Women shout and raise their fists at a rally. Many are wearing green bandannas and one is holding the bandanna up in the air: it says "Bans off our bodies." A sign held up in background says "We won't go back."

What Can Unions Do Now to Defend Abortion Rights? »

July 27, 2022 | Sarah Hughes

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health on June 24 overturned the Roe v. Wade precedent, erasing the constitutional right to an abortion.
Women march behind a giant banner. The part we can see reads "OUR ABORTION." Other signs visible say "If it's not your body, it's not your choice" and "Our bodies, our future."

Yes, Abortion Rights Are a Union Issue »

July 27, 2022 | Alexandra Bradbury | Sarah Hughes

Abortion: it’s a topic unions shy away from. The logic is, why go there? You might alienate conservative workers who otherwise share your workplace concerns.

2022 Labor Notes: ‘A Special Moment for the Labor Movement’ »

July 21, 2022 | Angela Bunay

Despite nationwide flight cancellations due to weather conditions and labor shortages, the 2022 Labor Notes Conference drew a huge and diverse crowd of more than 4,000 workers from across the globe.

Housekeepers at the University of Pennsylvania rally holding signs that say "Hard work deserves respect: equal pay for equal work."

UPenn Teamsters Defeat Two-Tier »

July 21, 2022 | Liana Kallman and Alexandra Bradbury

Teamsters Local 115 members at the University of Pennsylvania are celebrating a contract victory that eliminates two-tier pay for housekeepers, over the resistance of their own union officials.
Members of the Naujawan Support Network march holding signs that say "This employer is a wage thief."

International Students in Ontario Are Fighting Wage Theft—And Winning »

July 21, 2022 | Caitlyn Clark

In Brampton, Ontario, a small team of young organizers has begun taking on the businesses that exploit them, one case at a time.
Two men talk inside an auto plant locker room, looking together at leaflets. Both wear masks and one wears an orange reflective vest.

UAW Delegates Head to Convention and Prepare for First Direct Elections »

July 19, 2022 | Jonah Furman

This story was updated July 20 with additional info, including a new sidebar describing the federal monitor's latest report. —Editors
Strikers picket in red shirts. Most prominent is a woman with a sign: "Today's lesson: equity and justice are worth fighting for." Behind her is a man with a partially obscured sign listing "Part-time jobs I've worked so I can afford to be a teacher in Massachusetts" including Lyft driver, nightclub bouncer, Doordash, adjunct.

How Educators in Brookline, Massachusetts, Won an Illegal Strike »

July 14, 2022 | Maggie Canniff

Striking has been illegal for public employees in Massachusetts since 1919. But in Brookline, a small suburb of Boston, we did it anyway.
A group of smiling people in yellow vests stands inside a cafeteria. Several hold signs "CUPW Local 730 stands with you." Many have their fists in the air.

‘Direct Action Revitalized Our Union’: New Canadian Postal Veep Has a Plan to Revive Militancy Coast to Coast »

July 14, 2022 | Alexandra Bradbury

A letter carrier who helped organize a militant campaign of refusing forced overtime has won national office in the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, with the goal of taking that direct action approach nationwide.
Head shots of Courtney Smith, Alejandra Quintero, Angela Bunay, and Caitlyn Clark.

Welcome, Courtney, Alejandra, Angela, and Caitlyn! »

July 13, 2022 | Labor Notes staff

We’re excited to welcome a new member to the Labor Notes staff: Courtney Smith!
Chevron gas prices photo starting at $6.39 a gallon for regular

Inflation and Your Next Union Contract »

July 8, 2022 | Samir Sonti

What’s going on with inflation? It’s a question that everyone is asking, and one that is particularly important for anyone entering bargaining this year.

‘A Loud, Magical Movement’: Strippers Fight for a Union »

July 7, 2022 | Caitlyn Clark

A typical picket line has picket signs, megaphones, and fed-up workers. But the picket line at Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood, California, has all that and more: taco carts, dance poles, and themed costume nights like Woodstock and the French Revolution.
Young workers lean over a table, all peering intently at one laptop screen. They look excited and happy.

Viewpoint: The NLRB is Underfunded and Understaffed—And That’s a Big Threat to the Current Organizing Wave »

July 6, 2022 | Gay Semel

The budget for the National Labor Relations Board for fiscal year 2022 was $274 million, which might sound like a lot of money. But it is the same amount as the Board’s budget for Trump-era fiscal years 2021 and 2020, and that is a problem.

A masked worker in a straw hat speaks while an older unmasked man in a sweatshirt, the grower, listens, smiling or grimacing. Both are holding paper. A younger man in a red jacket, unmasked, stands impassive. Other masked people circle them, one with resolutely crossed arms.

Spring of Discontent: Mexican Berry Pickers Strike for a Bigger Share of Profits »

July 5, 2022 | James Daria

In a major agro-export region four hours south of the U.S-Mexican border, berry pickers went on strike May 28 to demand a bigger share of the profits they produce.

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