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Symphony of Solidarity: Striking Detroit Musicians Win a Round »

October 13, 2010 | Doug Cornelson

Striking musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra received an additional bravo after their successful self-produced concert October 10. As they left the stage they learned that their campaign to get internationally acclaimed violin soloist Sarah Chang to cancel management's replacement...

Chicago Part-Time Professors Defeat Firings »

October 12, 2010 | Joe Berry

What are workers to do when, after they file a petition for a union election, the employer declares the entire workforce no longer employed? That’s what happened early this summer to adjunct faculty trying to organize at East-West University in Chicago.


Interview: Reformer Challenges Hoffa for Teamster Presidency »

October 11, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

Sandy Pope, a local president in New York, announced she will run against James Hoffa for the presidency of the Teamsters, in a three-way race. Pope criticized Hoffa for bargaining weak contracts, and said the union needs to re-organize trucking.

Fear Wins as Service Employees Fend off NUHW at Kaiser »

October 8, 2010 | Mark Brenner

Ballot counting wrapped up late Thursday in one of the most hotly contested union elections in years. Workers at Kaiser Permanente’s 331 California hospitals and clinics stuck with the Service Employees (SEIU) third-largest local, UHW.

A Postal Worker Talks Back to FOX »

October 8, 2010 | David Yao

[This article was written for the newsletter of the American Postal Workers Union Greater Seattle Area Local, where David Yao is vice president.]


The following is my own transcribed version of the notorious September 16 episode of a Fox Business Network show that insulted postal workers...

Not ‘Too Dumb to Vote’: Railroad Workers Block Plan to End Rank-and-File Voting for Officers »

October 7, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

Railroad engineers saved their right to vote for top officers, voting 3 to 1 in a national referendum to preserve it. A last-gasp bid by the old guard this week was dropped.

No Vote Allowed on Half Wages in Detroit-area Auto Plant »

October 7, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

The United Auto Workers have signed an agreement to let General Motors pay half wages to 40 percent of its employees at a suburban Detroit assembly plant. The “Tier 2” workers would make roughly $14 working alongside so-called “legacy” or Tier 1 workers making the current production wage, about...

One Nation: Unions Can Still Turn Out »

October 5, 2010 | Mark Brenner

Saturday’s One Nation rally on the Mall in Washington, D.C. proved one important point: unions can still turn out. The big question is whether it will be the launching pad for a more challenging relationship with labor's “friends in Washington.”


Demonstrators Press for Action on Jobs Emergency »

October 3, 2010 | Eduardo Soriano-Castillo

Thousands of Jobs with Justice activists and community allies hit the streets in more than 100 cities across the nation September 15 to warn of a “Jobs Emergency.” Their warning: “If Congress won’t act to create jobs, then maybe they don’t deserve to have jobs.”

Reformer Elected to Head ATU Transit Union »

September 30, 2010 | Mark Brenner

Update! Thursday, Sept. 30


Larry Hanley was elected president today of the 190,000-member Amalgamated Transit Union, which organizes bus drivers in cities across the U.S. and Canada, by delegates to the ATU Convention. Hanley helped found the Keep America Moving coalition to build...

Unions, Allies Warm Up for Election at 'One Nation' Rally »

September 30, 2010 | Mischa Gaus & Jane Slaughter

Are there more of us than there are of the Tea Party? The One Nation Working Together rally in Washington October 2 is the union movement’s answer to the Tea Party-Glenn Beck types, says Steve Kramer, vice president of a union that hopes to send 50,000 members on buses to D.C.


Can Labor Out-Organize the Tea Party? »

September 30, 2010 | Jane Slaughter & Mark Brenner

As tens of thousands of activists rally in D.C. October 2, not all union members will be on the same page. A minority are open to the Tea Party's message of government-bashing and fear of foreigners.

Wildcat Strikes Halt East Coast Shipping »

September 29, 2010 | Mischa Gaus
UPDATE!

Wednesday afternoon, the major shipping carriers agreed to negotiate and the ILA announced a return to work. Longshore workers had shut the East Coast’s biggest port yesterday and today, honoring a picket line by Philadelphia ILA members.

Battle Between SEIU and NUHW Is Largest Union Representation Election Since 1941: Union Hope and Fear Collide in California Health Care »

September 24, 2010 | Steve Early

Stereotypical union battles of the past were fought by burly working-class heroes on picket lines. Think of tough-looking guys marching along San Francisco’s waterfront in 1934. Their enemies were not just longshore bosses but a corrupt and management-friendly East Coast dockers union that...

Work Till You Drop, or You’re 70, Whichever Comes First »

September 24, 2010 | Jane Slaughter

Unlike in France, the U.S. Social Security system is running a surplus—$2.3 trillion, in fact, projected to last till 2037. Yet raising the retirement age, as high as 70, seems to be Washington’s favorite bright idea. President Obama appointed a Deficit Commission to figure out how to bring...

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