Lisa Xu

Strikes and a Boycott Win a Better Deal from Macy’s

Fans of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade may have noticed one glaring omission in its cast of charismatic balloons and floats: Scabby the Rat, who for some reason, has never been invited.

But what employer wouldn’t want a reminder from Scabby—“an imposing 12-foot inflatable rat, replete with red eyes, fangs, and claws,” as the National Labor Relations Board puts it—to stay on its best behavior?

Grocery Workers Make Waves in the Land of Lakes

It wasn’t such a merry Christmas for grocery store management in central Minnesota. Five hundred grocery workers in the Brainerd Lakes area walked out on an unfair labor practice strike, deserting five stores between December 22 and 25.

Management tried to keep the stores running, but workers said they turned into disaster zones.

VIDEO Ceasefire Now: Workplace Organizing for Palestine

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Author(s): 
Lisa Xu



On November 15, Labor Notes hosted a Zoom call to hear reports from workers who are organizing to stop an escalating genocide in Palestine. Many are also fighting against the repression of workers who are speaking up for a ceasefire and against Israel’s occupation. We heard speakers from unions in education, health care, construction, and others who have organized their co-workers into action.

Speakers:

IATSE Members Launch Reform Caucus as Hollywood Strikes Wrap

After supporting screenwriters and actors through a months-long double strike, film and television crew workers are finally stepping into the spotlight themselves.

Dissatisfied with their union’s leadership and direction, a group of members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) is launching a reform caucus called CREW, or the Caucus of Rank-and-File Entertainment Workers.

Auto Workers Halt Stellantis’s Biggest Moneymaker

Today 6,800 Auto Workers (UAW) struck the most profitable Stellantis plant in the world.

At 10 a.m. workers streamed out of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP), near Detroit, where they build the Ram 1500 pickup.

“It’s just real now,” said Crystal Pasarcik, the sergeant-at-arms at Local 1700, which represents the plant.

UAW Supporters to Hit the Pavement at Dealerships

Last Friday, some 5,000 Auto Workers (UAW) at 38 after-market parts distribution centers across General Motors and Stellantis joined the escalating “Stand-Up Strike.” Even with the scabs GM has deployed, the dealerships that receive parts from these PDCs will soon be feeling the inventory pinch for everything from replacement bumpers to Jeep handlebars.

Auto Workers Strike Spreads to 38 Parts Depots

The clock has ticked and tocked for two of the Big 3 automakers. At noon 5,000 more members of the Auto Workers (UAW) at 38 parts distribution centers for Stellantis and General Motors walked off the job. The facilities are spread across 20 states.

Big 3 Focus on Auto Parts Centers in Strike Prep

The automakers General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis are hurtling towards a showdown with United Auto Workers (UAW) as contract talks approach the September 14 strike deadline.

As the Big 3 automakers scramble to make contingency plans, they are shining a spotlight on one specific part of the supply chain: the parts distribution centers that supply after-sales spare parts and accessories to dealerships.

Steward’s Corner: Ten-Minute Meetings

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Author(s): 
Lisa Xu

As auto workers prepare for the expiration of the Big 3 auto contracts covering 150,000 members September 14, some are turning to a valuable tool they saw UPS Teamsters use: the 10-minute meeting.

It’s simply an in-person meeting with your co-workers that is just 10 minutes long—and which, crucially, is held at work. Instead of scheduling a long meeting offsite on off-time, you’re bringing the meeting to them, and making it as convenient as possible.