Troublemakers Blog

Four city workers and supporters rallying to link police brutality and the conditions that city workers face from their bosses.
August 05, 2020 /
While today's wave of protests focuses on the role of police in our society, we cannot ignore another big looming crisis for Black lives: the destruction of the public sector. »
August 04, 2020 /
All of us in the labor movement are—hopefully—scrambling to figure out how to construct defenses and get positioned to deal with the rapidly deteriorating bargaining climate. Every employer is either on the attack or soon will be. »
August 03, 2020 /
Shop stewards at the Strand, a prominent New York City bookstore, are denouncing owner Nancy Bass-Wyden for accepting federal loans but failing to keep workers on the payroll. »
A crowd holding signs saying Support Somerville Educators and Living Wage for Paras
July 29, 2020 /
The ask was clear and self-explanatory: a starting salary of $25,000 and permanent status after four years. Somerville’s paraprofessional educators made this demand over and over during the course of protracted and contentious negotiations over a contract that expired August 31, 2019. We made the demand on social media, at community meetings and rallies, and in »
A woman drives a car with the words "Schools are not safe!" "I love teachers" and "People over profit" painted on the windows
July 29, 2020 /
This piece originally ran on July 26 at Jacobin. On July 28, the American Federation of Teachers announced it would back local safety strikes around reopening.—Eds. »
July 24, 2020 /
Relief—that’s what Niki Gurgen, a personal support worker (PSW) at the Hillcrest Reactivation Centre rehabilitation hospital in Toronto felt when she heard about the $4 per hour “pandemic premium” the Ontario government was providing to health care and other essential workers. »
Herman Benson at podium in blue jacket with arm raised
July 24, 2020 /
The battle for union democracy is uphill but crucial to reviving a fighting labor movement. No person did more to advance it than Herman Benson (1915-2020), founder of the Association for Union Democracy. »
July 24, 2020 /
When your hospital’s business plan is built around making workers less safe from COVID, the path to striking during a pandemic becomes much clearer. Workers at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in Sonoma County, California, are wrapping up a five-day strike today. It’s the largest health care worker strike during COVID and, as insane as it might sound, we’re fighting »
Group shot of LGBTQ Economic Justice summit of about 40 people
July 21, 2020 /
I felt a jolt when I heard the news of the Supreme Court’s ruling: the 1964 Civil Rights Act (which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in hiring, promoting, and firing) also protects LGBTQ workers. »
July 20, 2020 /
Detroit-area teachers mounted a five-stop car caravan today, determined to tell administrators “Safe School or No School!” »

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