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Auto Workers Local Reaffirms Opposition to War- The Eagle Weeps! »

April 30, 2003 | UAW Local 600 Leadership

George W. Bush has now taken the first step in the invasion of Iraq. This is his response to a failing economy, massive job losses, and unfair trade practices that have, for the year 2002, the largest U.S. Trade deficit imbalance in history.


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'The Best of the Worst'- Portland Teachers Yield to Budget Squeeze; Accept Two Weeks Work Without Pay »

April 30, 2003 | Michael Connor

Teachers in Oregon's largest district took two historic votes within a week of each other, first to authorize a strike, then days later to approve a contract with huge concessions. Portland teachers, who have never gone on strike, overwhelmingly approved a new contract that requires teachers to...

Then and Now- Thoughts on the "Worker-Student Alliance" »

April 30, 2003 | Steve Early

Thirty years ago this winter, I was welcomed into the labor movement while watching retired miners, stoop-shouldered and short of breath, trudge through a gauntlet of union goons to get into the American Legion hall in Tamaqua, Pa. It wasn't a pretty sight--or a warm welcome.


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The CWA's Experience: A Tale of Two Card-Check Agreements »

April 1, 2003 | Erin Bowie

Bargaining to organize” is a central goal of many unions-but it doesn’t always work as planned. The CWA (Communications Workers) has had polar opposite experiences with bargaining to organize at two phone industry giants. The differences were related to both the employers’ good faith, or lack...

Health Care Workers Fight Privatization in British Columbia »

April 1, 2003 | William Johnson

"When 5,000 skilled, experienced [health care] workers are put out on the street, will that make the care patients receive better, or worse?” The answer to this question, posed by Chris Allnutt, Secretary-Business Manager of British Columbia’s Hospital Employees Union, seems pretty obvious. Yet...

Tomato Pickers Want 1¢ More Per Pound- Florida Farmworkers Stage Ten-Day Hunger Strike at Taco Bell Headquarters »

April 1, 2003 | N. Renuka Uthappa

More than 50 Florida farmworkers and their supporters put their health on the line to end sweatshop working conditions in the tomato fields that supply Taco Bell. Outside the fast food giant’s headquarters in Irvine, California, they held a 10-day hunger strike during which three fasters had to...

Five-Day Strike at Yale Seeks Better Working Conditions and Respect »

April 1, 2003 | Debra Chernoff

Thousands of workers at Yale, President crossed the Bush’s alma mater, began a five-day strike on March 3, seeking decent wages, better pensions, training and advancement opportunities, and job security......

Craft Union Conflict Railroads Workers »

April 1, 2003 | Ron Hume

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) are conducting merger talks. At first glance, this is not that surprising, considering that many smaller unions (like the BLE) are amalgamating into larger ones these days. Also, from an industrial...

FIAT on the Ropes »

April 1, 2003 | Michal Kohout

Over 11,000 workers may be downsized in the largest mass layoffs in Italy since the 1950s, as FIAT Auto threatens to close two plants and limit production in another. The largest Italian labor federation, CGIL, claims the firings will spread to include over 50,000 workers in affiliated...

Au-delà des résolutions- À l'Intérieur des Syndicats, les Forces Anti-Guerre Mobilisent l'Opposition »

April 1, 2003 | Chris Kutalik et William Johnson- Traduction: Ingrid Haegeman/Coorditrad, traducteurs bénévoles

Depuis quelques mois une sensation de dynamisme grandissante, quoique inégale, contre une guerre imminente en Irak s'est répandue à travers le mouvement travailliste aux Etats-Unis et dans le monde......

Letter to the editor: A New Vision for Organizing »

March 2, 2003 | Ed Rothstein

I have read with much interest the opinions of many bright union activists who written in Labor Notes on the subject of the future. That's great and refreshing. But let's be honest with ourselves and say that much like a dying tree, the labor movement has many dead limbs. They can't or won't be...

The Other Side of Organizing -- Winning the First Contract »

March 1, 2003 | Allen Gottheil

Labor Notes’ series on Organizing the Unorganized is examining a vital area of concern for labor unions everywhere. However, I believe that there are two distinct and separate issues being discussed simultaneously in this excellent series. At times, I think this results in cloaking certain key...

Skyway Robbery- US Airways and United Management Lead Savage Industry Restructuring »

March 1, 2003 | Jennifer Salazar Biddle and Rodney Ward

p>Several weeks into bankruptcy, United Airlines gave mechanics the Christmas present of 560 layoffs. At a meeting with management in San Francisco mechanics asked if they should expect more layoffs. The station's general manager laughed and said this was just the beginning......

From Street Corners to Congress- Day Laborers Are Organizing »

March 1, 2003 | N. Renuka Uthappa

In a few months, day labor groups around the country will see their grassroots organizing work take the national stage. Congressman Luis Gutierrez’ (D-Chicago) planned introduction of the federal Day Labor Fairness and Protection (DLFP) Act will be, in the words of Portland organizer Pedro Sosa...

UAW Workers Hold the Line at Williams Control- Fighting 50% Wage Cuts »

March 1, 2003 | William Johnson

p>Not one Williams Control worker has crossed the picket line since members of UAW Local 492 in Tigard, Oregon, began striking last September, protesting a proposed contract that one worker described as “a slavery agreement.”.....

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