Troublemakers Blog

‘No More Blood for Oil’: Global Labor Movement Opposes Trump’s Attacks on Venezuela

A handpainted sign on a city street reads in red letters "no war with Venezuela."
January 07, 2026 / Luis Feliz Leon
Labor federations around the world are condemning the Trump administration’s acts of war in Venezuela. In a raw display of imperialist aggression, the United States bombed the country, kidnapped its president and his wife, and imprisoned them in New York City on January 4. Special forces and military aircraft killed 80 civilians and military personnel. »

100 Years Ago, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Changed Black Politics

Three black-and-white photos show a Black man, dressed in the white coat and black slacks of a Pullman porter, putting up a bed on an upper berth, resting on a bench seat looking out the train window, and standing on the train stairs. It is not clear whether the three photos show the same man or different men.
December 18, 2025 / Paul Prescod
The fact that the meeting was even happening was enough to produce an air of subversive excitement. One hundred years ago on August 25, 1925, Black sleeping car porters, hoping to form a union at the Pullman company, packed the Elks Hall in Harlem. Company spies were probably in the audience as well. »

Union Members Distribute Food for Federal Workers

Three women work around a table with blue cloth grocery bags, outdoors. A man in a red T-shirt walks behind them. A truck is also visible.
December 17, 2025 / Kerry Taylor
More than a dozen volunteers gathered on November 14 at the Community Resource Center in North Charleston for a large-scale food distribution aimed at supporting federal employees reeling from the effects of the recent government shutdown. »

From Temp Trap to Union Jobs: Building Pathways for Workers with Criminal Records

Several Black workers, women and men, sit around a conference table. In the middle of the frame, a man in an orange T-shirt is talking, looking around at the group; others are listening thoughtfully. Everyone's expression is serious.
December 17, 2025 / Maya Ragsdale
During a factory organizing drive, the Steelworkers in Chester, South Carolina, saw how criminal legal barriers were undermining its organizing efforts. Many of the workers had felony records and were afraid of losing their jobs, while others in the community were barred from getting these jobs in the first place. »

'We Are Fed Up': Winnipeg Bacon Workers Unite for Better Contract

December 16, 2025 / The North Star Manitoba Committee
Originally published in The North Star, an independent newsroom covering labor and people's struggles in Canada. After months of stalled negotiations, workers at a big Maple Leaf bacon plant in Winnipeg voted overwhelmingly last month to »

Viewpoint: SEIU California Sits Out Fight Against Classroom Censorship

Eight people hold printed signs, many in the yellow/purple SEIU style: "AB 715 = genocide censorship." "Fight back my ass!" "Opposed AB 715: CFA, CFT, ACLU, CTA, CNA... [but not] SEIU." "SEIU CA: Selective + politically safe. Fight back!" "You can't be neutral on a moving train." "When we fight we win! When we're neutral we lose!" Big white signs with black & red letters: "AB 715 censors education on Palestine." "What's next? Censoring education on: Slavery, Queer/Ethnic Studies, Japanese Internment?"
December 15, 2025 / Larry Bradshaw, Anne Wolf, and Noga Wizansky
SEIU California routinely uses fighting words. Unfortunately, when it was time to “stand up” and “fight back” against legislation that threatens the working conditions of tens of thousands of SEIU education workers, our union’s spirited rhetoric dissipated. SEIU California stood down. »

Review: Who’s Got the Power: Hope for Troubled Times

December 03, 2025 / Eric Dirnbach
Every few years a book comes out that tries to explain what’s happening in the labor movement and maybe cheer us up from the bad news of union decline. Dave Kamper’s new book, Who’s Got the Power: The Resurgence of American Unions, does the job. »

Texas College Teacher Fired for Free Speech

Tom Alter, a white man with a short haircut, squints into the sun and speaks into a megaphone, He is surrounded by a tightly packed crowd, diverse in race and gender, holding signs with slogans like "Defend Free Speech," "Defend All Public Workers," and "Reinstate Tom Alter."
November 25, 2025 / David Finkel
Support is building within the labor, academic, and Palestine solidarity movements in defense of Tom Alter, a history professor at Texas State University in San Marcos. »

Viewpoint: Why Our Members Put in 650 Hours Canvassing for Katie Wilson for Seattle Mayor

November 20, 2025 / Natalie Wellen
Much is going to be written about the path to victory of Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson—a political newcomer who came from behind to win an incredible upset. They will say how her campaign benefited from Trump’s presidency and some vague generalized anger toward all politicians. »

Texas Electricians Open Up Negotiations and Win Big

A band performs in a union hall. The guitarist in front is a tall man in a red T-shirt with a design that starts "No Power" (his guitar blocks the rest of hte slogan" and the arm says "Stronger." There's a woman on bass, a man in a cowboy hat on drums, and a man holding an accordion sitting at a keyboard. Behind them is a yellow AFL-CIO banner. For some reason a black T-shirt is draped over a framed item on the wall.
November 06, 2025 / Paul Steiner
The building trades can be a tough place for union reformers. Union business is typically conducted behind the scenes, with little involvement from members, while the bosses stall and derail negotiations. »

Pages