Jane Slaughter

Coping with Michigan's Right-to-Work Law

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April 19, 2013

Teachers quickly settled contracts before Michigan’s right-to-work law took effect, locking in dues deduction. But most deals gave up a lot.

Harassment an Issue in UPS Bargaining, as Big Brown Becomes Big Brother

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March 25, 2013

The company’s tight control of drivers makes them nearly as regimented as workers on an assembly line.

Warehouse Strategies Squeeze Walmart’s Pressure Points

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January 23, 2013

The most clear-cut victories along the Walmart supply chain—though small in absolute terms—have been in warehouses, which is not surprising, because warehouses are a chokepoint in Walmart’s sophisticated logistics operations.

The $2.2 trillion in goods that enters the U.S. from abroad each year must pass quickly through the hands of logistics workers—dockworkers, port truckers, railroad workers, truck drivers, and warehouse workers—before ending up in stores. A work stoppage at any point blocks the flow of not just iPhones and pajamas but also profits.

Auto Workers Protest 'Maquila' Conditions in U.S.

Jane Slaughter

A group of auto workers and supporters will demonstrate at the International Auto Show in Detroit next Sunday and Monday, to call attention to the “maquiladora model” they say the auto companies are applying in their U.S. plants.

They decry “an agenda that allows permanent 'temporaries,' outsources in-plant jobs to companies paying as low as $9 an hour, and increases the pace of work.” Management, they say, no longer wants long-term employees but “prefers the maquiladora model, where one rarely lasts more than ten years.”

Coercive Wellness Programs Create Headaches

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January 07, 2013

The New Year brings promises to ourselves: to join the gym, quit smoking, get back on the diet wagon. In looking for help, watch out for management "wellness" programs: they have a not-so-hidden agenda.

Ten Thousand Aghast as 'Right to Work' Passes in Michigan

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December 11, 2012

Union protesters at the Michigan Capitol today knocked down a tent erected by the Koch brothers, who helped bring right to work to the state. But despite the crowd’s anger, the governor signed the bills.

Will Social Security Get Tossed Off the Fiscal Cliff?

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December 05, 2012

Advocates of Social Security are holding informational pickets today at 100 Social Security offices in 22 states. They’re led by workers from inside the offices themselves, who know firsthand how much the monthly check means to retirees and people with disabilities.

Undermining Social Security from Within

Jane Slaughter

When the Alliance for Retired Americans rallied at an Orlando Social Security office November 8, workers came out, spoke to the crowd, and said they would put up “Don’t Cut My Social Security” signs in their cubicles.

Social Security unionists see threats to the program from the inside, in some ways more subtle than benefit cuts, but just as insidious over the long run.

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