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A woman speaks into a mic in foreground. Others wearing ALU T-shirts look on in background. The speaker and the listener nearest her are smiling. They are outdoors and it is sunny.

‘They’re Playing Really Dirty’: Amazon Lashes Back in Staten Island Warehouses »

April 14, 2022 | Luis Feliz Leon

The company has billed itself as the everything store. Now Amazon is the throw-everything-at-them union-buster—trying every trick in the playbook to throttle worker organizing at its Staten Island warehouses in New York City.

Review: On the Line: A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women’s Epic Fight to Build a Union »

April 12, 2022 | Luis Feliz Leon

Working in the industrial laundry factories of Phoenix, Arizona, is a dirty and dangerous job. Immigrant workers must sort through a tangle of soiled hospital linen with thinly gloved hands. When the conveyor belt is sped up, workers can prick their fingers with syringes and scalpels.

Tight crowd of people outdoors embracing and yelling in celebration. Most visible person in center, face upturned, wears a red baseball cap and a T-shirt that says The Congress of Essential Workers. Behind, many people hold up cameras capturing the moment.

Viewpoint: Amazon Win Shows We Need an Eclectic and Class-Wide Approach »

April 8, 2022 | Rand Wilson and Peter Olney

Against nearly impossible odds, a new independent union called the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) has won the first NLRB-supervised union certification election at an Amazon warehouse in the U.S.
A speaker talks to a roomful of union members who sit in chairs.

How Student Workers at Grinnell College Are Winning a Wall-to-Wall Union »

April 4, 2022 | Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers Executive Board

The Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) on March 4 signed a first-of-its-kind neutrality and election agreement with Grinnell College.
Four actors on stage in front of a black background.

'Coal Country' Mines Seam of Class Anger in West Virginia Explosion »

April 4, 2022 | Jenny Brown

If Don Blankenship were a fictional character, critics would say he was a cartoon evil capitalist. Unfortunately, he’s real.

Amazon Workers on Staten Island Clinch a Historic Victory »

April 1, 2022 | Luis Feliz Leon

It’s the magical stuff of Disney movies.

When Workers Swapped Segregation for Solidarity »

April 1, 2022 | Toni Gilpin

Solidarity: we celebrate it in song, emblazon it on picket signs, and insert the word into Twitter hashtags. Inducing workers to overcome divisions and unite as a class, however, is far easier said (or sung about) than done.
An exuberant group of young workers, diverse in race and gender, pose in a huddle and throw fists in the air

Staten Island Amazon Workers Pull into the Lead, While Bessemer Re-Vote Is Too Close to Call »

March 31, 2022 | Luis Feliz Leon

In initial vote tallies today, Amazon warehouse workers in New York are ahead by hundreds of votes in favor of forming a union, while in Alabama the election is too close to call, pending a court hearing.
Black and white photo shows workers raising their hands, some holding kids, indoors with a small Rosie the Riveter poster on a nearby wall.

Trouble in the Tulips: Organized Farmworkers Win Basic Demands in a Quick Strike »

March 30, 2022 | David Bacon

MT. VERNON, WASHINGTON, March 28—Tulips and daffodils symbolize the arrival of spring, but the fields are bitterly cold when workers’ labors begin. Snow still covers the ground when workers go into the tulip rows to plant bulbs in northwest Washington state, near the Canadian border.
Warehouse lit up against dark sky. Directly under the "Amazon" logo the message "Vote yes!" is projected on the wall. A few people are visible coming and going near the doors below.

Staten Island Amazon Workers Vote on a Union »

March 29, 2022 | Luis Feliz Leon

As the country cheers on Starbucks workers organizing, the votes will be counted this week in two big union drives at Amazon warehouses—one in Alabama and one in New York.

TV Review: Workers of Deep Space Unite! »

March 24, 2022 | Eric Dirnbach and Ksenia Fir

This is part of an occasional series where we look back at the “labor episode” of a TV show. The Star Trek series Deep Space Nine has a great union episode with lessons about organizing in a customer service industry.

Stung by Ascension's Union-Busting, Michigan Nurses Gird for Contract Battle »

March 23, 2022 | Lori Batzloff

The recent surge in union action has been met by an increase in union-busting by greedy employers—even in companies whose purpose is to serve and heal, such as hospitals.
A group of workers marches down the sidewalk chanting. One holds a sign that says Fair Pay Now.

Steward's Corner: Sustaining the Organizing Surge »

March 21, 2022 | Ellen David Friedman

It seems that union organizing has become both necessary and cool. Can this surge be sustained—and what will it take?

Huge, shouting crowd of people in blue hats, many with picket signs "On strike for smaller class sizes." One prominent handmade sign says "Bryn Mawr." A big banner at front of crowd says, in artsy spray-painted style, "District refuses to pay for ESPs, our children's education heroes!" The S in ESPs is the Superman logo.

Minneapolis Strikers Demand a Living Wage for the Lowest-Paid Educators »

March 18, 2022 | Barbara Madeloni

Labor is on fire in the Twin Cities. Educators in Minneapolis are wrapping up their second week on strike, and cafeteria workers are poised to join them.
Crowd of excited owrkers stands outside warehouse in the dark holding up handmade signs. Most prominent ones read "Amazon burns workers," "Amazon exploits workers," "Amazonians unite! Without us they're nothing."

Walkouts Hit Amazon’s Last-Mile Stations »

March 16, 2022 | Luis Feliz Leon

Around 60 workers at three Amazon delivery stations—the final stop in the company’s logistics chain—staged a work stoppage early this morning.

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