Troublemakers Blog
October 25, 2016 / Leah Fried
Extracting wins from the boss has never been easy—and union membership hovering at a low 11 percent isn’t making it any easier. But a good way to boost our numbers and power is to partner with people who are organized in other ways, building a broader movement as we build our unions. »
October 14, 2016 /
Have you ever tried to counter racist attacks with facts and reasoned arguments? Yeah, it never works for me, either.
That’s because racism isn’t rational—it’s emotional. When politicians and their media mouthpieces blame immigrants for crime, low wages, and unemployment, they’re casting the newcomers as a faceless crowd, stirring up feelings of fear, jealousy »
October 13, 2016 /
Deciding to strike is always a tough call—but with their orchestra’s survival on the line, the 67 musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra felt they had no other choice. On September 8, they walked out. »
October 06, 2016 /
Editor’s note: A month into their strike, 5,000 nurses at five Twin Cities hospitals are holding strong. A majority voted on October 3 to reject the Allina hospital chain’s latest contract proposal. »
September 29, 2016 / Jane Slaughter
The 15 stories gathered here are meant as an “instruction manual for other workers considering direct action.” Workers can learn, sometimes by negative example—because defeats and partial victories are common—“how to formulate demands and select representatives, the various strategies bosses use to coopt representatives, what to look for as signs that the boss »
September 28, 2016 /
In August the National Labor Relations Board ruled that graduate employees at private universities have the right to unionize. Cartoon: Daniel Mendez Moore
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September 15, 2016 /
On the eve of Labor Day, students and alumni of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Labor Center discovered that the program was under attack.
Professor Eve Weinbaum, the center’s respected director, alerted alumni and students by email that she was being ousted, and that the university administration was slashing funding for many aspects of the nationally »
September 12, 2016 /
Ever wanted to know what it’s really like to work in retail? “Superstore” is the show to watch. »
September 08, 2016 /
The Space Needle, Seattle’s iconic landmark and tourist destination, is also home to Washington state’s highest-grossing restaurant. »