Troublemakers Blog

February 14, 2022 /
Despite the short flurry of support (it seems so long ago) for workers on the front lines, many of the folks who help hold our health and the economy together feel abandoned and used up. The Covid calamity and the escalating climate crisis are creating worker sacrifice zones. »
Young people of various races, fists in air, all masked. Some wear yellow "Gig Worker United" shirts and those in front hold a big banner with the group's logo and the initials of the Canadian postal union.
February 11, 2022 /
Less than 12 hours after co-sponsoring a labour-led discussion on the rights of gig workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW) announced it had come to a deal with Uber to represent 100,000 of its workers. »
Medical officer in blue scrubs, green bandana, and surgical mask preparing vaccine for administration
February 02, 2022 / Saurav Sarkar
My grandmother, Ila Bose, passed away in October after several days in the hospital. The exact trajectory leading to her death is not known—she had pneumonia towards the end—but my mother (also a physician) suspects she may have had lingering effects from a previous Covid case. »
January 20, 2022 /
Mike Parker, the author of four Labor Notes books and a close supporter and key strategist throughout our 43-year history, died January 15 of pancreatic cancer. Read more about Mike his contributions to the labor movement here. —Editors »
December 23, 2021 / Alexandra Bradbury
To protest the unfair firing of a co-worker, on the morning of Tuesday, December 21, 150 UPS drivers in Chicago took a simple action: they didn’t go into work early. Instead, they gathered outside with an inflatable fat cat. They grilled food, played music, and then walked in together, right on time. »
Kids stand in a row, with Santa among them, inside the union hall at a Christmas function
December 22, 2021 / Luis Feliz Leon
This Christmas, as millions of families settle in to adorn fir trees, the children of striking coal miners in Alabama have asked mainly for practical gifts. Shoes and clothes top their lists, followed by Barbies and Rainbow High dolls, Legos, Nerf guns, and makeup kits. »
December 22, 2021 / Barbara Madeloni
When Frank Carrico talks about why he and his co-workers at the Heaven Hill distillery went on strike, he talks about family. “I missed out on my kids’ activities” because of forced weekend shifts, he says. »
December 20, 2021 /
Several years ago, Don Cohen, a former central labor council staffer from San Diego, appeared on a panel discussing the privatization threats faced by union members across the country. He and other speakers were addressing a conference of state, county, and municipal workers represented by the Communications Workers (CWA). »
People in masks and nametags seated inside. One woman in red sweater is gesturing while speaking; others are listening.
December 16, 2021 /
“They called us essential workers, so we believed them.” The labor shortage taught workers we could use the crisis to our advantage. A hundred thousand American workers either went on strike or authorized strikes in Striketober. And on November 20, 210 union members and allies showed up for a Troublemakers School in Detroit, eager to learn how to build power in »
December 08, 2021 / Jane Slaughter


Since the Chief Nurse Executive was “in a meeting,” the nurses taped their petition to a door with a red bow... »

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