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Unions Rally to Protect Contraceptive Coverage »

February 21, 2012 | Carolyn Jacobson

While Catholic bishops are organizing to get religious-affiliated institutions exempted from providing contraceptive coverage, some unions and women’s organizations are counter-mobilizing. They want to defeat a proposal that would allow employers or insurance companies to refuse coverage of any...

Help Us Blow Out the Candles »

February 20, 2012 | Mark Brenner

Hard to believe, but a scrappy rank-and-file magazine and organizing institute, founded in 1979 to bring together leaders from an inspiring string of wildcat strikes and union reform caucuses, turns 33 today.



Labor Notes has grown a lot since then, training thousands of activists at 10...

Michigan Unions Look to Amend Constitution to Block Anti-Labor Bills »

February 20, 2012 | Jane Slaughter

Michigan’s top union leaders are deciding whether to attempt to amend the state constitution to block emergency managers and a "right to work" law through a ballot initiative this November.

Why Did Single Payer Health Care Fail in California? »

February 17, 2012 | Lenny Potash

Though it’s passed the legislature twice before, a bill to establish a single-payer universal health insurance system in California failed in the state senate in January. Democrats and much of labor hung back, showing how the national health care law looms over state efforts.

Obama, Democrats Deal Setback To Airline Workers »

February 16, 2012 | Theresa Moran

Two years after President Obama and Democrats abandoned labor’s much-anticipated Employee Free Choice Act, they have refused to block Republicans intent on making life miserable for airline and rail workers.

ILWU Takes Risks, Breaks Rules, Gets Deal with Grain Company »

February 16, 2012 | Jane Slaughter

Ending the most heated conflict labor has seen in years, the Longshore Union (ILWU) and transnational grain exporter EGT announced they had reached a deal. The union's path there was filled with risks.

Obama, Democrats Deal Setback to Airline Workers »

February 15, 2012 | Theresa Moran

Two years after President Obama and Democrats abandoned labor’s much-anticipated Employee Free Choice Act, they have refused to block Republicans intent on making life miserable for airline and rail workers.

Can Labor Organize the Unemployed? »

February 14, 2012 | Jenny Brown

Wrenching testimonies from laid-off workers are overflowing the internet, crying out from the pages of policy reports, and popping up in commercial media. But unions are still grappling with how to organize the unemployed into a political force.


Sudden Business Closures in Chicago Prompt Wage Theft Fights »

February 13, 2012 | Jerry Mead-Lucero

Two Chicago worker centers are fighting for hundreds of laid-off workers left in the wake of sudden business closures, still owed back pay. Advocates say such mass firings are not uncommon.

New Rules for Wisconsin Unions: No Rules »

February 10, 2012 | Theresa Moran

Wisconsin public workers face harsher work rules and shrinking paychecks as contracts expire and Governor Scott Walker’s anti-union bill sets in. Unions find they must shift from a servicing model to organizing in order to survive.

Transit Workers Look to Bust the Austerity Box »

February 9, 2012 | Tim Schermerhorn

Like public sector workers everywhere, New York City’s transit workers face a withering attack on our compensation and our collective organization. The conditions for austerity began long ago, but resistance to these political decisions is possible, though not easy.

Against the Tide, Michigan Graduate Employees Fight for a Union »

February 8, 2012 | Liz DeLisle Rodrigues, Jim McAsey

Research assistants at the University of Michigan are finding their battle to unionize caught up in the larger fight over public sector workers’ right to bargain.

Stealing the Nest Egg »

February 7, 2012 | Thomas F. Adams

When millions lost their jobs and homes when the credit bubble burst in 2008, one slower-motion rip-off gained speed as well. In 2009, 50 million workers lost over $1 trillion invested in their 401(k) retirement accounts.



The dream of a dignified retirement didn’t just evaporate,...

Will Apple's Exposés Produce Reform or Just Hand-Wringing? »

February 6, 2012 | Mischa Gaus

The media watchdog group FAIR followed up Jeff Ballinger's piece for Labor Notes with a segment on their weekly round-up show "Counterspin." Ballinger questioned the motivations behind Apple's response to reports on appalling factory conditions.

Caterpillar Cracks the Whipsaw, Closing Ontario Plant »

February 6, 2012 | Herman Rosenfeld

Caterpillar announced Friday it would close its London, Ontario, locomotive plant after 465 workers there refused to grant concessions that would cut their wages in half. Cat will ship the jobs to a non-union plant in Indiana.

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