Troublemakers Blog

First Tire Workers to Organize in 40 Years Win First Contract

Workers outside a big plant approach a car with leaflets.
September 26, 2023 / Finley Williams
It was late summer 2017 at the Overtyme Bar and Grill, a hotspot off a busy highway in Macon, Georgia, and Kumho Tire plant worker Mario Smith had important questions for local United Steelworkers (USW) president Alex Perkins: he wanted to know how he could bring a union to the one-year-old factory. »

Viewpoint: With No Reform Caucus, Auto Workers Would Not Be on Strike

Workers in red shirts picket outside. Many of the picket signs are white with UAW logo, Local 412, and the words "Stellantis Bargaining in Bad Faith."
September 26, 2023 / Jane Slaughter
What can workers seeking to reinvigorate their unions learn from the new spirit in the United Auto Workers? »

Ford and GM Agree to End At Least One Tier, Stellantis Still Holding Out

Workers in red shirts chant. Most are Black women. Many fists in air, one blowing whistle, one speaking into bullhorn. Printed signs say "UAW Stand Up, COLA and Fair Pay Now"
September 25, 2023 / Jane Slaughter
The Auto Workers announced encouraging progress in their negotiations with Ford and General Motors September 22, including an end to one of the many concessionary tiers in the union’s contract. »

En México, trabajadores automotrices enfrentan lista negra después de campaña sindical

September 25, 2023 / Charlie Saperstein y Daniel DiMaggio
En agosto de 2022, los trabajadores automotrices de VU Manufacturing ganaron una elección histórica para obtener el reconocimiento de un nuevo sindicato independiente, La Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana. Un año más tarde, después de negarse a negociar un nuevo contrato, la compañía ha cerrado, dejando a 400 trabajadores sin trabajo y a 70 trabajadores sin su »

Viewpoint: Auto Bargaining in Canada—Stuck in the Past?

A man and a woman in suits stand holding a binder together in front of a screen that has Ford and Unifor logos projected on it.
September 21, 2023 / Tony Leah
Bargaining with the Detroit 3 auto corporations is happening in Canada and the United States at the same time this year—the first time that bargaining has aligned since the disastrous bankruptcy negotiations and forced concessions of 2009. »

VA Firings Reversed, So Trump Makes Grievance Settlement a Campaign Issue

several people are jammed together as part of a march with blue signs with gold lettering, saying “Proud VA Worker Serving Veterans, #SaveMyVA”
September 18, 2023 / Steve Early, Suzanne Gordon
It’s rare that a union grievance settlement becomes a U.S. presidential campaign issue. »

Don’t Do the Boss Any Favors

An autoworker tightens bolts on a car chassis above his head.
September 13, 2023 / Joe DeManuelle-Hall
Management everywhere relies on workers “going the extra mile.” We cut corners, we skip breaks, and we look the other way on common violations of the contract, work rules, or even safety. But it’s also possible, when the time is right, to just stop doing the boss these favors. After all, how often does management do workers a favor? »

So Ready to Strike

A group of autoworkers stand around outside looking at the camera--the closest is a blonde woman with a red shirt that says “UAW Back in the Fight.”
September 12, 2023 / E. Steele
Conventional wisdom tells us we would rather not strike if we can avoid it. Labor Notes’ Secrets of a Successful Organizer says to start small and build escalating campaigns of bigger and riskier actions. This is not the attitude, however, at Stellantis’s stamping plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan. »

Fight for Safety, Own the Shop Floor

A group of workers in red, blue, or grey shirts hold signs saying “United for a Strong Contract,” and “COLA and Fair Pay Now”
September 08, 2023 / Keith Brower Brown
Earlier this year, on the Ford stamping line in Buffalo, sewage started pouring onto the floor. Careless managers had shut down a pump to install new equipment and caused a deluge. The workers didn't work meekly through the dizzying stench. They shut down their line, fast. And they did it with so much unity that their manager decided not to fight back. »

Lessons from Lively Picket Lines

A crowd surrounds a large festive purple piggy-bank piñata suspended above them. It is labeled NYU and is in school colors, purple and gold.
August 29, 2023 / Luis Feliz Leon, / Alexandra Bradbury
The heat was scorching in Louisville, Kentucky, last Thursday. But what the windless day lacked in gusts, it made up in guts. The union-made placards read: “United for a Strong Contract.” That resonated with auto workers at Ford who hadn’t been part of a contract rally for as long as anyone can remember. »

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