Troublemakers Blog

April 19, 2011 /
Deep into a six-month strike, the Detroit Symphony had cancelled the fall and spring seasons. Music fans were afraid management unwillingness to seriously negotiate with the musicians would cost Detroit its magnificent orchestra. But musicians ratified a contract last week in a rush of bargaining capped by a 27-hour negotiating session. »
April 14, 2011 /
Demonstrators dogged Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker this morning as he testified on Capitol Hill about his plan to attack public employees' rights. Police threatened arrests and dispersed the “unpermitted demonstration” organized by National Nurses United. »
April 12, 2011 /
Twelve state legislatures are seeking to pass right-to-work bills, which allow workers to get the benefits of union representation without joining or contributing. Right to work came to Louisiana in 1976 and drastically changed my family’s work—for the worse. »
April 08, 2011 /
Madison troublemakers went to school April 1-2. They’ve had plenty of reasons to get together in recent months, but the school gave them a chance to make sense of it all—and start planning next steps. »
April 08, 2011 / Mischa Gaus
The U.S. Trade Representative announced a new “action plan” Wednesday to improve Colombia’s horrific history of thousands of unpunished murders of union activists. The Steelworkers and AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka opposed the deal, saying the “situation in Colombia remains unacceptably violent.” »
April 07, 2011 / Jane Slaughter
Wisconsin labor put its candidate, Joanne Kloppenburg, on the state Supreme Court in statewide voting Tuesday, beating David Prosser, a Republican supporter of the governor, by just 204 votes. The upset was a remarkable repudiation of Governor Scott Walker’s attack on workers’ standard of living, though it will be challenged with a recount. »
April 04, 2011 /
Chanting “we are one!” thousands of activists across the nation marched on Monday—the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Longshore workers in the ILWU shut down the Port of Oakland in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in the public sector, and students at Penn State walked out. »
April 01, 2011 / Mischa Gaus
Thousands rallied at the Georgia state Capitol last week, protesting anti-immigrant legislation. While Arizona-like bills are advancing in other Southern states, Georgia was the first to have a big show of opposition. Adelina Nicholls, executive director of Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, explained why. »
March 30, 2011 / Mischa Gaus
A New York City telephone workers local will be overseen by a monitor, after a union investigation revealed top leaders engaged in “a number of highly questionable practices involving compensation.” »
March 29, 2011 / Jenny Brown
Exiled Indiana Democratic state legislators returned from Illinois March 28 and were greeted by hundreds of union well-wishers as they re-entered the Indianapolis statehouse after five weeks’ absence. During that time daily rallies echoed through the Capitol dome as tens of »

Pages