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Blood, Cold, Heat, Gore...Organizing Meatpacking Hell »

September 29, 2006 | Jane Slaughter

"Our union is not in a hurry, we’re not rushing it,” says Eduardo Peña, lead organizer for the United Food and Commercial Workers’ (UFCW) campaign at the Smithfield Foods hog-processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina...

Canadians Campaign to Stop Postal Closure and Service Cuts »

September 29, 2006 | Richard McGrath

Canada Post’s CEO,Moya Greene, took office last year with the announcement that she wanted a “no surprises” relationship with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). Greene’s first major public decision was to close the mail sorting plant in Québec City, eliminating hundreds of jobs. CUPW’...

Review: Film Highlights Mexican Teachers’ Fight for Education, Democratic Union »

September 29, 2006 | Kate Levin

Colorful murals, mostly of people in struggle, splash across the walls of Mactumactza, the school featured in the opening scenes of the documentary Granito de Arena. The students we see walking the grounds of the rural public college, located in the Mexican state of Chiapas, are studying to be...

Mexican Teachers Beat Back Police, But End 44-Day Sit-In without Wage Increase »

September 29, 2006 | Dan La Botz

More than 60,000 teachers in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, members of the teachers union (SNTE) Local 22, ended their 44-day strike on July 5 without having won their demands for higher wages and the resignation of Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz...

Build a Stewards Council from the Bottom Up »

September 28, 2006 | Paul Krehbiel

I was a rank-and-file worker at a company with a good steward structure years ago, so I knew something about how it worked. After I began working as a union representative for Service Employees (SEIU) Local 660, I was assigned to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. I saw immediately that...

As Auto Workers Meet, Concessions Continue and Union Remains Silent »

September 28, 2006 | Tiffany Ten Eyck

As United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger opened the union’s Constitutional Convention in Las Vegas June 12, discontent from the ranks rumbled around him. Bankrupt Delphi Corp. reported more losses, workers had to decide whether to jump ship with a buyout, and DaimlerChrysler workers’...

Large Carhauler Uses Bankruptcy to Toss Out National Contract »

September 28, 2006 | Chris Kutalik

Following a familiar script, Allied Holdings—the largest carhauling company in North America—has filed for bankruptcy and is trying to force its workers to accept major givebacks. In response, the Teamsters (IBT) union is threatening to strike...

Local President Jailed: New York Transit Workers Approve Previously-Rejected Contract »

September 28, 2006 | William Johnson

It’s been a busy few months for New York City’s transit workers. Since they went on strike last December, they’ve voted down a contract, been given a re-vote on the same contract (it passed the second time), paid hefty fines for striking (public employee strikes are illegal in New York), seen...

As Immigrants Strike, Truckers Shut Down Nation’s Largest Port »

September 28, 2006 | Chris Kutalik

During the countdown to the May Day immigrant walkouts, transportation industry commentators worried about the impact that immigrant strikes would have on the nation’s ports. Many feared repeats of the 2004 and 2005 strikes by mostly immigrant Latino port truckers (or troqueros), which crippled...

Nine Hundred Activists Discuss 'Building Solidarity From Below' »

September 28, 2006 | Jane Slaughter, Wendy Thompson and Joshua Devries

When we started organizing the 2006 conference nearly a year ago, our thinking was along the lines of: "How in the world are we going to we cheer these folks up?" As it turned out, participants brought their own good spirits...

Facing Financial Crisis, Puerto Rican Government Lays Off 100,000: Union Response Is Divided »

September 28, 2006 | César F. Rosado Marzán

Over 100,000 workers in Puerto Rico were tossed off the job May 1 when their employer, the Puerto Rican Commonwealth’s government, shut down. Claiming that it could not afford to pay its employees’ salaries, the government closed up most of its operations, including all public schools...

Viewpoint: Immigration “Compromises” Fall Short »

September 28, 2006 | David Mitchell

The immigration reform bill that passed in the House of Representatives in December is an open attack on all immigrants. It makes being an undocumented worker a felony, provides no legitimate path to citizenship and exploits workers to the benefit of their employer...

Failed Solidarity: The ICFTU, AFL-CIO, ILO, and ORIT in Haiti »

September 28, 2006 | Jeb Sprague

‘Unity, Democracy, Militancy’: New Trade Union Initiative Launched In India »

September 28, 2006 | Robin Alexander

When President Bush arrived in India in early March, he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of protesters. Fortunately, when I arrived in India a few days later, I received a much warmer welcome. As a representative of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), I was...

Soldiers of Solidarity Stands Up for Delphi Workers »