Troublemakers Blog

February 16, 2023 /
The editing team at Labor Notes has recently doubled in size. Joining longtime Editor Alexandra Bradbury and Assistant Editor Dan DiMaggio are two more assistant editors: Jenny Brown (right) and Luis Feliz Leon. »
February 15, 2023 /
John Womack is well-known in the United States as one of the foremost historians of the Mexican revolution, as the author of the seminal Zapata and the Mexican Revolution. However, his writings on strategic sectors and strategic workers have »
A group of striking garment workers stand in front of their factory in 1958.
February 15, 2023 /
John Womack Jr.’s new book, Labor Power and Strategy (PM Press, 2023), edited by Peter Olney and Glenn Perusek and with responses from 10 organizers, labor activists, and educators, is a timely consideration of some basic strategic principles. »
A person works outside among leafless trees, slicing through the trunk of one with an orange chainsaw. The person is wearing a neon green shirt and protective gear: gloves, a hardhat, sunglasses, a gaiter mask, and thick orange pants or chaps.
February 10, 2023 /
Unionism has seen a resurgence in popularity the past few years. The problem is, it’s very difficult to get our members organizing in their communities when they hate the way our leadership (I use that word loosely) is operating. »
February 09, 2023 /
The below is an appeal for support from auto parts workers at VU Manufacturing in the border city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila. Workers there voted to form an independent union last year, and are now fighting for a first contract. They have set a strike date of February 20. »
January 25, 2023 /
Self-organizing a union on a shoestring? Winning the supposedly unwinnable? Workers at a local burger chain out of Portland, Oregon, were doing it before it was cool. »
January 20, 2023 / Dan DiMaggio
The run-off election for president of the United Auto Workers is underway. Ballots hit the mail January 12 and counting will start March 1. »
Book cover shows a person bending over a table, indoors, welding. On the table is a bright diorama of a farm with miniature barn, buffalos, and a farmer pouring a bucket of water on the same spot where the welder is aiming.
January 17, 2023 /
A woman navigating the challenges of the male workplace makes a good story, and Hilary Peach does the genre proud in her new book, Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood. »
In the foreground we see the backs of a few strikers in red UAW 2865 T-shirts, one holding a strike sign, sitting at a table. Facing them is a huge crowd of strikers, standing, with picket signs, outdoors. The signs say "UAW on strike, unfair labor practice."
January 05, 2023 /
In December, the contract bargaining team for Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2865 brought back a tentative agreement with the University of California and presented it to its membership of teaching assistants, graders and tutors for ratification. A lively “vote no” campaign arose. »
January 05, 2023 /
One of the fun things about the 2022 Labor Notes Conference was the presence and enthusiasm of young people. To this labor veteran, it was encouraging to see the young blood and new faces; it was clear that we have a new generation of leaders emerging in the labor movement. And that is more than welcome! »

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