Troublemakers Blog

May 08, 2026 / Natascha Elena Uhlmann
Cuando Evelyn comenzó a trabajar en Marder Trawling, un centro de procesamiento de mariscos en New Bedford, Massachusetts, se enteró de una condición de trabajo inusual: tendría que pagar discretamente a su gerente $100 dólares semanales por el privilegio de trabajar, dijo. “Yo no tenía trabajo, y tengo a mis niños. Yo le dije, ‘Está bien. Con tal de tener un »
May 08, 2026 / Natascha Elena Uhlmann
When Evelyn began work at New Bedford, Massachusetts, seafood processing center Marder Trawling, she learned of an unusual condition of employment: She’d need to quietly pay her manager $100 per week for the privilege of working, she said. “I didn’t have work, and I have kids,” she said. “So I told him, ‘All right,’ just to have a job. »
A bearded man speaks at a microphone with his hands wide open
April 29, 2026 /
In the 1960s and 70s, conservative leaders of the AFL-CIO and many national unions viewed militant activists in the civil rights, anti-war, environmental, and women’s movements with alarm. When student radicals started migrating from campus and community organizing to unionized workplaces, labor officials did not welcome them. »
April 29, 2026 /
Union members in many states and cities are pushing for a stronger voice in pension investments. And sometimes they’re actually winning: They’re holding pension boards accountable and advocating for investments that insure worker protections, climate resiliency, and decent retirement benefits. »
workers march with “no contract, no coffee” signs, one with a megaphone
April 16, 2026 / Jenny Brown
Union baristas are finally back to the negotiating table with Starbucks, but the workers charge that rather than progressing, the company is reopening already agreed-upon issues. »
A vintage black-and-white photo shows a line of workers standing outside, one calling into a megaphone, facing down cops with folded arms. They are photographed from a low, dramatic angle.
April 15, 2026 /
In response to Jane Slaughter's interview of Frank Bardacke, I think Bardacke is right in pointing to the lack of democracy in the United Farmworkers as one reason why Cesar Chavez went unchallenged for so many years after sexually abusing women in the farmworker »
March 31, 2026 /
For months, the country and the world have been watching Minnesota, where the Trump administration’s military occupation by ICE, Border Patrol, and Homeland Security has been met by a multi-faceted grassroots resistance. »
Youngish workers pose with raised fists on a city street. Printed green signs say "OPEIU Local 153, Kickstarter United, On strike," One handwritten sign says "Protect the 4DWW"
March 18, 2026 /
When it comes to A.I., there’s a stark gap in ambition between business and labor. »
March 13, 2026 /
Labor Notes is delighted to welcome two terrific new staff writer-organizers and three great interns as we get ready for our big conference in Chicago in June. We’re also bidding a fond farewell to a retiring colleague. »
A group of green-shirted union members hold strike signs and smile.
March 12, 2026 /
The 24,000-member Oregon Nurses Association has elected a slate of reform candidates to statewide leadership positions. The Caucus for Powerful Reform (CPR) won 15 out of the 21 seats it ran for, including the presidency, vice-presidency, secretary, and a majority of board of director seats. »

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