Troublemakers Blog

Oil Tanker Mates Fight for First Contract Against Familiar Employer Stalling Tactics [1]

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June 01, 2026 / Daniel Ginsberg-Jaeckle

Imagine sleeping each night above more than a million barrels of oil while navigating the open ocean, maneuvering through narrow channels, and passing beneath bridges in some of the country’s most congested waterways. The hours are long, the work is physically demanding, and the risks are ever present. » [1]

‘We Demand Freedom’: Immigrants on Strike in New Jersey Prison [2]

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May 29, 2026 / Luis Feliz Leon [3]

On a patch of sidewalk on a busy industrial corridor in Newark, federal agents with rifles, metal batons, flak vests, and balaclavas faced off against unarmed activists with cardboard signs and a bullhorn. Detained workers could be heard on the soccer field behind the prison walls, shouting in Spanish, “¡Libertad!” (Freedom!) » [2]

Portland Community College Workers Defeat Budget Cuts in Wall-to-Wall Strike [4]

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May 29, 2026 / Michelle DuBarry

Two unions representing 2,300 workers at Portland Community College went on strike for three weeks in March. It was the first-ever community college strike in Oregon, and a rare wall-to-wall strike where both educators and support staff walked out together. » [4]

Green Shoots of Hope in the Labor Movement [5]

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May 28, 2026 / Alexandra Bradbury [6]

Gardeners have a saying about newly planted perennials: “They sleep, then creep, then leap.” Last summer I pulled a lot of grass out of my yard (hard work!) and planted a garden. The new plants stayed small through the winter, gathering strength. Now suddenly my garden is teeming with new leaves. » [5]

May Day Actions Call for 'Workers Over Billionaires' [7]

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May 22, 2026 / Rene Cabrera and Priscila Esparza

On May First—International Workers’ Day—people across the U.S. and the world joined rallies and other actions calling for “Workers over Billionaires.” In the U.S., workers organized over 4,000 May Day actions in big cities and small towns. They focused on three demands: tax the wealthy, no to ICE, and expand democracy, not corporate power. » [7]

Secrets of a Successful Organizer Now Available in Nine Languages [8]

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May 13, 2026 / Dan DiMaggio [9]

We are happy to report that Secrets of a Successful Organizer has now been translated into eight languages: Spanish, Japanese, German, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Swedish, Danish, Quebecois French, and, most recently, Korean [10]. » [8]

La gerencia les cobraba 100 dólares semanales por trabajar, alegan los trabajadores. Pero están luchando por sus derechos. [11]

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May 08, 2026 / Natascha Elena Uhlmann [12]

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 » [11]

Management Charged Them $100 a Week to Work, Workers Say. They’re Fighting Back. [13]

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May 08, 2026 / Natascha Elena Uhlmann [12]

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. » [13]

Rutgers Labor Center to Celebrate Life and Legacy of Tony Mazzocchi [14]

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April 29, 2026 / Steve Early and Rand Wilson

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. » [14]

It’s Our Money: Union Members Fight for Good Public Pension Investments [15]

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April 29, 2026 / Dan Nicolai

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. » [15]