All Articles

Searches titles and body text
Group of singers in line, with arms around each other, at 2018 Labor Notes Conference.

Building Power in a Pandemic: Virtual Labor Notes Conference Draws Thousands »

April 20, 2020 | Labor Notes staff

Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates led off the first-ever Labor Notes Virtual Conference April 18, calling on workplace activists to “pivot from mourning into action.
Two postal workers talking to each other inside an office.

Shop Steward in a Pandemic »

April 20, 2020 | C.J. Jenkins

I’ve had the honor and privilege to serve my fellow Baltimore postal workers as a shop steward for the last decade.
Group of protesters in Honduras assembled in the street with signs

Corona Capitalism in Honduras »

April 17, 2020 | Karen Spring and Judy Ancel

On April 10 residents of Choloma, an industrial town in northern Honduras, blocked the main highway connecting the city of San Pedro Sula to the Port of Cortes. Choloma and nearby towns are the center of sweatshop production for U.S. brands in factories called maquilas.

'All Union Members Are Hereby Fired' »

April 17, 2020 | Andrew Tillett-Saks

While workers around the world scramble for physical and economic safety in the pandemic, some factory owners in Southeast Asia see an opportunity to attack unions to increase their profits.

Nurses Across the U.S. Protest Dangerous Conditions and For-Profit Health Care »

April 16, 2020 | Labor Notes staff

Nurse union activists organized actions at hospitals across the country yesterday, a national day of action to draw attention to how the U.S.’s profit-driven health care system is failing workers and patients alike.

Over 100 Hospitals Cut Staff as Pandemic Spreads »

April 15, 2020 | Chris Brooks

More than 100 hospitals in the U.S. have laid off workers since the pandemic began. Tens of thousands of medical workers are furloughed at the exact moment hospitals should be staffing up and training everyone in intensive care.

Worker with forklift in front of cases of pallets on shelves in warehouse

Workers' Just-in-Time Moment »

April 15, 2020 | Kim Moody

From the Black Plague of the Middle Ages to the flu pandemic of 1918 to COVID-19, disease and pestilence have always followed two of humanity’s most well-trod paths: those of war and trade.
Protest in 2017 with signs that support Medicare for All, people marching in the street

How Medicare for All Would Fix Both Public Health and the Economy »

April 15, 2020 | Mark Dudzic

Big problems demand bold solutions. The Labor Campaign for Single Payer is calling on Congress to expand Medicare coverage to everyone in America for the duration of the crisis.

What Are My Rights to Paid Leave and Unemployment During the Pandemic? »

April 14, 2020 | Robert M. Schwartz

Note: this article was updated on April 22, 2020 to reflect new guidance from the Department of Labor -Editors.

Threats and Opportunities: What’s the Post-Crisis Forecast for Workers? »

April 14, 2020 | Alexandra Bradbury

This pandemic creates openings for privatizers and budget-choppers to make their plays. But it also creates some new openings for workers to build power.

GE Workers Protest, Demand to Make Ventilators »

April 13, 2020 | Katie Ferrari

Last Wednesday union members at General Electric plants across the country protested to pressure the $88 billion company to shift production to ventilators and ensure safe working conditions during COVID-19.

Interview: Noam Chomsky on How Bosses Are Making Coronavirus ‘Worse, for Their Benefit’ »

April 13, 2020 | Chris Brooks

For decades Noam Chomsky has been a leading intellectual troublemaker. His books and speeches have helped to explain how a world run by corporations and billionaires has led to endless war and catastrophic climate change.
Nurses hold signs and demonstrate outside of Provident Hospital in Chicago.

Why Are They Shutting Down a Chicago Emergency Room During a Pandemic? »

April 10, 2020 | Alan Maass

The emergency room of a public hospital in the heart of Chicago’s mostly Black South Side is being closed down for a month by Cook County officials, just as the coronavirus pandemic is surging in Chicago.
CWA protester holding a sign that says "We Need PPE"

Saving Workers’ Health and Lives in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Tools for the Fight »

April 10, 2020 | Nancy Lessin

In this time of emergency, organizing that might have taken months in the past now needs to happen in a matter of days.

Auto Union Official Fired for Warning about COVID-19 »

April 10, 2020 | Dianne Feeley

Travis Watkins, chair of an Auto Workers (UAW) bargaining unit in Wyoming, Michigan was fired March 18. The charge was violating Shop Rule #2: “Assaulting, fighting, threatening, intimidating, coercing, or interfering with employees or supervision.”

Pages