Troublemakers Blog
April 29, 2011 /
When it comes to budget cuts and policies that hurt students and campus workers, student activists are refusing to sit down…unless it’s in their president’s office. This week and last, students at five universities staged sit-ins for student and worker rights, and this seems to be only the beginning.
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April 27, 2011 /
The U.S. and Colombian governments signed a “Labor Action Plan” on April 7 that sets the groundwork for a Congressional vote on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. But the trade deal is still a bad idea, “action plan” or no. USLEAP provides five reasons why.
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April 26, 2011 /
Peter Olney reviews Rebel Rank and File: Labor Militancy and Revolt from Below during the Long 1970s. He says the book provides a jolt of adrenalin; it's an antidote to labor organizing that does not begin with the centrality of power in the workplace.
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April 25, 2011 /
Thousands of graduate students across nine University of California campuses will vote this week on new leadership for their union. A slate of challengers is pushing to make the local more member-driven and active in the fight to save public education in the state.
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April 22, 2011 / Mischa Gaus
The National Labor Relations Board told Boeing this week that it can’t retaliate against workers who exercise their right to strike, a fundamental right guaranteed by labor law for 80 years. The airplane manufacturer took work away from union shops in Washington state, shifting its production to right-to-work South Carolina, where »
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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