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Book Review: Refinery Town Political Revolution »

March 28, 2017 | David Cohen

On a snowy winter day, 25 people gathered in a library meeting room in Greenfield, Massachusetts, to hear how a movement of progressive activists had won elections and taken power in Richmond, California.

In Colombia, All-Women Childcare Union Emerges as National Player »

March 24, 2017 | Neil Martin

Sixty thousand women childcare workers in Colombia are on the verge of winning pensions and back pay, after decades of making just half the minimum wage.

Momentum Builds for May Day Strikes »

March 23, 2017 | Jonathan Rosenblum

Shop steward Tomas Mejia sensed something was different when 600 janitors streamed into the Los Angeles union hall February 16—far more than for a regular membership meeting. Chanting “Huelga! Huelga!” (“Strike! Strike!”), they voted unanimously to strike on May Day.

How We're Setting Our Contract Bargaining Tables to Advance Racial Justice »

March 15, 2017 | by Luster Howard, Maricruz Manzanarez, and Seth Newton Patel

Employers often use race to divide workers against one another. At University of California campuses and hospitals, we’re seeing the problem get worse now that President Donald Trump’s administration is unleashing new waves of racism and attacks on immigrants.

Are Strikes Dead, or Just Happening Under the Radar? Report Your Strike »

March 9, 2017 | Kim Moody and Sheila Cohen

Year after year, the official statistics tell us the strike is all but disappearing from the United States. But is this the whole story?


The Bureau of Labor Statistics only reports strikes of 1,000 or more workers. There were just 15 of those last year.

Breaking the Silence on Sexual Harassment »

March 8, 2017 | Sonia Singh

When we think of the biggest issues at work, wages and benefits usually top the list. But in many industries, sexual harassment and assault are huge concerns—even if nobody’s talking about it.

Workers Run This Hotel »

March 3, 2017 | Minsun Ji and Jane Slaughter

Fourteen years ago workers in Buenos Aires, Argentina, occupied a downtown hotel that its owners had abandoned.

AT&T Mobility Workers Dial It Up »

March 2, 2017 | Dan DiMaggio

AT&T Mobility workers are waging their largest-ever contract mobilization.

Tens of Thousands Strike on Day without Immigrants »

February 23, 2017 | Dan DiMaggio | Sonia Singh

Arkansas poultry workers, Brooklyn warehouse workers and house cleaners, Twin Cities roofers, and thousands of students in places like Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Illinois State Workers Authorize Strike Against Governor Who Invoked Legacy of PATCO »

February 23, 2017 | Chris Brooks

For the first time in four decades as a union, 28,000 Illinois state workers could be going on strike, facing down a Republican governor who campaigned on the promise to force a showdown with the union.

How We Got Out of a 401(k) and into a Real Pension »

February 21, 2017 | James W. Russell

After being trapped in an inferior 401(k)-style retirement plan, is it possible for a union to reverse the trend and switch back to a traditional defined-benefit pension?

Minneapolis Bakery Workers Call Out Super Bowl Hypocrisy with ‘Taste of Justice’ »

February 20, 2017 | Steve Payne

Every year on the eve of the Super Bowl, celebrity chefs, National Football League players, and Hollywood stars come together in the game’s host city for an opulent fundraiser for local and national food banks. It’s called the Taste of the NFL.

More Repression, More Fightback! El Salvador's Labor Movement Defends the Minimum Wage »

February 17, 2017 | Luke Walsh-Mellet

On January 1, workers in El Salvador won a big increase in the minimum wage—in some cases doubling their pay.

Viewpoint: The Boeing Vote Was Not a Referendum on Organizing the South »

February 17, 2017 | Chris Brooks

The Machinists’ loss in the February 15 union vote at Boeing was devastating. Out of 3,000 workers eligible to cast ballots at the Charleston, South Carolina, plant, 2,097 voted against unionization, and only 731 in favor.

Viewpoints: Building Trades Activists Argue for a Different Approach to Trump »

February 15, 2017 | Len Shindel and Kevin Norton

After national leaders of the Building Trades unions met with President Donald Trump January 25 and heaped praise on him, two readers sent in their thoughts. One is a local assistant business manager, the other a retired communications staffer for the Electrical Workers (IBEW).

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