Troublemakers Blog
October 22, 2019 / Chris Brooks
Within the massive and stunningly persistent social insurgency in Hong Kong against authoritarian domination, thousands of unionized workers are risking white terror... the threat of constant surveillance, discipline and loss of livelihood. »
October 21, 2019 / Chris Brooks
Forty-nine thousand auto workers are on strike at General Motors in the largest private sector strike since the last time union and company clashed, in 2007. Now, there is a tentative agreement with the company. »
October 21, 2019 / Jane Slaughter
The Detroit Free Press did its bit Friday toward convincing GM workers to vote yes on their proposed contract. »
October 17, 2019 / Chris Brooks
They thought they were oh so clever. Back in 2011, destroyers of public education bragged that “the unions cannot strike in Chicago.” And yet they did, in 2012 and again starting today, with 32,000 school employees now on the picket lines. »
October 15, 2019 / Jane Slaughter
The GM strike jumped off suddenly September 16. At the start, it wasn't clear what the bargainers were going for—including to members themselves. »
October 11, 2019 / Chris Brooks
Let's be honest: Picket lines can be tedious, especially if strikers simply repeat the same hackneyed chants over and over again.
But not always. To break up the monotony, workers often make up their own chants, dances and songs. »
October 08, 2019 /
This is Day 23 for the United Auto Workers' strike vs. GM. Today’s Detroit Free Press says at least three items have not been resolved: »
October 04, 2019 /
You’ve probably noticed that Hollywood doesn’t turn out many movies about unions. But, says film buff and labor historian Toni Gilpin, there are some overlooked movies out there that depict working people and their lives on the job even though they might lack scenes with picket lines. This is her latest installment in an occasional series of viewing »
October 02, 2019 / Jane Slaughter
General Motors workers have been on the picket lines for 17 days now, and just picked up their first weekly strike pay of $250. Strikers wonder who will hold out the longest—a workforce seeking justice or an immensely profitable corporation »
September 30, 2019 / Chris Brooks, / Saurav Sarkar
At times it can seem like international solidarity is just a rallying cry, devoid of the oomph that would make it a force to build power among workers across borders. But this past August, we had the chance to witness international solidarity in action. »