Jane Slaughter

Viewpoint: We Won’t Win Until We’re Troublemakers

Jane Slaughter
A woman with a strike picket sign and a ‘Teamsters Against Trump’ T-shirt looks past the camera

Unions weren’t strong enough, in numbers or in influence with their members, to make a difference in this election. One sample showed union households at only 54 percent for Kamala Harris vs. 43 percent for the billionaire, with non-union households at 51 percent Trump, 47 percent Harris. If union voters had listened to their officers, Trump’s numbers would have been in single digits.

UAW Reformers Muster Forces to Hold Bosses to Their Word

Main Image: 
An audience listens to a man at a lectern. One audience member has a blue shirt with “Union Strong” on the back.
October 02, 2024

A year after the United Auto Workers’ Stand-Up Strike, the union caucus that helped make it possible is setting out to transform locals still stuck in the mud. Their first step is to fight a new onslaught of layoffs, broken promises, and retaliation from CEOs.

Marathon Petroleum Teamsters Strike

Main Image: 
a group of picketers face three police officers. They are holding strike signs. A refinery truck is to the left.
September 19, 2024

For the first time in 30 years, Teamsters at the Marathon oil refinery in Detroit are on strike. Close to 300 workers walked out September 4. Welders, firefighters, and heavy equipment operators in the union are demanding a raise that keeps up with cost of living, along with better hours. See a great video here.

Alabama Mercedes Workers Lose First Union Election, Vow to Fight On

Main Image: 
A person in a T-shirt with the message "#RidinwithRico" and a Mercedes logo hat looks down at their phone. They are standing in front of a vending machine.
May 17, 2024

A no-holds-barred campaign by Mercedes management convinced a majority of workers at its Alabama factory complex to vote against forming a union.

In addition to anti-union videos and mailings, captive-audience meetings, firings, and an onslaught of pressure from state politicians and even a local pastor, the winning move was to fire the company’s U.S. CEO and replace him with a vice president who promised to care about the “team members.”

Ford Caves

Main Image: 
Workers six workers seen from far away hold picket signs by a burn barrel.
October 26, 2023

Since 1979, union auto workers have endured round after round of concessions. That era is over. On Wednesday, the 41st day of the union’s Stand Up Strike against the Big 3, Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain announced a deal with Ford. The contract gains are substantial.

Work Overtime During a Strike? Auto Workers Say ‘Eight and Skate’

Main Image: 
Nine workers (most of them Black, a mix of women and men) pose in red T-shirts and blue work overalls, apparently inside the plant. Their pose evinces camaraderie and confidence. One man in the front has a particularly dynamic pose with a lunge, crossed arms, and a big smile.
September 18, 2023

Only 13,000 of 146,000 auto workers at the Big 3 companies are on strike, so far. But others still on the job are turning up the heat by refusing voluntary overtime.

At all three companies—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—Auto Workers (UAW) members have told Labor Notes about overtime refusals. Many Big 3 plants are hugely dependent on overtime to make up for understaffing.

‘No Justice, No Jeeps!’ Scenes from the Auto Workers Strike

Main Image: 
Workers hold signs at night--they are backlit by traffic and street lights but one sign is legible, saying ‘everyone tier one.’
September 15, 2023

The strike is on. Last night the Auto Workers (UAW) shut down three major assembly plants at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler). It’s the first time in history the union has struck all three companies at once.

Pages