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Oregon Unions Save Services, Tapping Voter Anger to Tax Wealthy »

February 18, 2010 | by Margaret Butler

Faced with more public services blood-letting, Oregon voters chose to tax those most able to pay. It’s given union activists hope that relentless organizing can settle bulging state deficits by targeting recipients of the bubble economy's billions.

Oregon Tax Fight: Did We Win the Battle to Lose the War? »

February 18, 2010 | by Bill Resnick

Yes, Oregon voters raised taxes on the rich. Slightly. But instead of countering right-wing fear-mongering about taxes, we almost seemed to agree. We need to tell people why taxes, always defined as the price of civilization, have now become even more necessary.

Sisters in the Brotherhoods »

February 18, 2010 | Lisa Serrano

Book Review: Sisters in the Brotherhoods: Working Women Organizing for Equality in New York City, by Jane LaTour. As a journeyman electrician in Portland, Oregon, I hadn’t thought of my choice to enter the trades as a political act. It was eye-opening to learn from Jane LaTour’s book that for...

Young California Unionists on Their Way to Detroit »

February 16, 2010 | Mike Parker

A Labor Notes fundraising party in the Bay Area on Superbowl Sunday raised more than $1,500 to send young activists to the Labor Notes Conference April 23-25 in Detroit. At the “Superbowl/Anti-Superbowl” party, guests divided into separate spaces to watch the game or to ignore it. We asked for...

A Pattern of Retreat: The Decline of Pattern Bargaining »

February 16, 2010 | Kim Moody

The age-old goal of unions has been to “take wages out of competition.” But after a 30-year employer onslaught, national pattern bargaining has been largely devastated or has become a top-down conduit for concessions.

Service Unions Try for Patterns »

February 16, 2010 | Mark Brenner

A few unions are forcing new types of pattern bargaining onto the table. While service sector unions usually have limited themselves to setting standards within local labor markets, UNITE HERE is using its Hotel Workers Rising campaign to push for a sort of pattern in the major chains it has...

UAW–Ford 'No' vote still echoes through plants »

February 15, 2010 | Eric Truss and Ron Lare

October’s national “No” vote on concessions is still ricocheting off shop floors at Ford.

The scene is the UAW Local 600 Ford Rouge DDMP (vehicle frame) Plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Management “creatively” proposes a shift that would hurt family life even without overtime! But workers...

Bloodshed Feared as Mexican Mine Company Asks Army to Dislodge Strikers »

February 12, 2010 | by Enku Ide

Class war in Northern Mexico, being fought in the Cananea copper mine, could soon turn much bloodier. The Mexican government is going after 13,000 striking miners determined to hold their ground—and their mines.

Turning an Issue into a Campaign »

February 12, 2010 | Ellen David Friedman

Grievances, while necessary tools, can make workplace problems seem like individual problems rather than collective ones that can be solved through collective action. As the campaign organizer, your goal is not just to help members solve their workplace problems but to help them build...

Reality TV Gives Corporate America a Big Wet Kiss »

February 11, 2010 | Mark Brenner

Want to know what chutzpah means? Look no further than TV's newest reality show, “Undercover Boss.” Apparently the titans of industry aren't satisfied that they burned our economy to the ground and got nothing but a slap on the wrist from Washington. They want us to like them, too.

Steelworkers Protest US Steel’s ‘Wholesale Indifference’ »

February 11, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

Ask a union member what’s the bedrock of a union contract, and most will answer “seniority.” Long established as the way to keep the manager’s brother-in-law from getting the good jobs, companies have learned to live with taking turns and following recall lists.

Worker Center Reports on Restaurant Industry: Bad Jobs—and Lots of Them »

February 10, 2010 | Paul Abowd

It’s apparent now more than ever why restaurant workers are urgently organizing. While members of the Restaurant Opportunities Center roll on with workplace justice campaigns in several cities, affiliates of the national worker center released reports this week from Chicago, New Orleans,...

DC Teachers Could See Shakeup in Union's Spring Election »

February 9, 2010 | Paul Abowd

An outspoken critic of D.C. schools Superintendent Michelle Rhee has entered the race to lead the Washington Teachers Union (WTU). Nathan Saunders, the union’s current vice-president, says the May election is a chance for teachers to take a different direction in contract talks with Rhee, which...