Troublemakers Blog
September 28, 2020 /
Our health care employer announced hundreds of unnecessary layoffs this spring. Outraged at its poorly disguised greed, we didn’t just rely on negotiations. Instead, the members of our union voted unanimously to take the fight to the streets and into the community. We spent the summer fighting back—including holding our local’s first-ever pickets. »
September 25, 2020 /
#NeverForget. #SupportOurTroops. #BostonStrong. Americans often react to tragedy with calls for unity. People want to feel that we’re in this together.
But as fires burn throughout the West Coast, I’d like to offer an alternative vision. What we need now is to point the finger at those responsible. Rather than unity, we need blame and accountability. »
September 24, 2020 /
In their righteous wildcat strikes, professional athletes showed us both how collective action can directly challenge power but also how a workplace campaign can get cut short if we’re not prepared. »
September 23, 2020 /
Restaurant workers in Nashville are experimenting with new forms of organizing in response to years of management abuse and the new threat of COVID-19. »
September 22, 2020 /
Outside the gates of Brooklyn’s P.S. 139 hung a poster with a report card for the Department of Education. Teachers frustrated with the ever-evolving plan to reopen schools had issued the DOE the following grades: »
September 18, 2020 /
Labor Notes is pleased to present a series of free webinars taught by veteran Boston labor lawyer Robert M. Schwartz. »
September 16, 2020 /
On Friday a Cook County judge filed a partial injunction against nearly 5,500 health care workers preparing to strike the University of Illinois at Chicago’s hospital, clinics, and other campus divisions. The judge cited a “clear and present danger” to patients, reducing the number of union members who could participate in the strike. »
September 14, 2020 /
UPDATE, September 18: GEO membership voted to accept the University of Michigan’s second offer on September 16 and end the nine-day strike. At the union’s largest membership meeting yet, 78 percent of nearly 1,400 members in attendance voted in favor of the agreement. »
September 14, 2020 / Barbara Madeloni
UPDATE, September 18: Amid continued protests, yesterday Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the start of in-person school in New York City will be further delayed for most students. Pre-K and special ed schools will still open September 21, but elementary school reopening has been pushed back to September 29, and middle and high school to October 1. —Editors »
September 14, 2020 /
My school district put me on administrative leave for organizing workers at my school. Then students and community members led a huge campaign that forced my reinstatement in just three days. »