Alexandra Bradbury

Letter Carriers are Organizing Against an Insulting 1.3 Percent Raise

At least 32 letter carriers in uniform, holding "no" signs printed in various fonts, pose in a post office parking lot. The group looks diverse in race and gender. Several give the "thumbs-down" hand signal.
November 14, 2024

A wave of anger is cresting at post offices across the country. Letter carriers are looking at the big raises that other union members have won—38 percent over four years at Boeing, 62 percent in six years at the East Coast ports, $7.50 in five years at UPS.

They’re comparing those gains to the tentative agreement their president handed them in October: 1.3 percent a year for three years.

Consolidation Threatens to Rip ‘Service’ Out of Postal Service

A blue box shows with the notation: “Photo license expired”
October 30, 2024

Workers are battling an overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service that would cost thousands of jobs and slow the mail for half the country.

In the name of efficiency, a letter mailed within Cheyenne, Wyoming, would travel to Denver and back. And if you miss a package, your local post office would no longer have it. It might be 45 minutes away.

In March, Buffalo became the first place to fend off the closure of its mail processing plant, in a team effort by Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 3 and Postal Workers (APWU) Local 374.

Work to Rule and Open Bargaining Back Down Kroger Warehouse Bosses

A group of men in sweatshirts gather around a table and sign things, a parking lot is behind them.
August 26, 2024

Teamsters in an Indiana grocery warehouse scored big this year with a contract campaign like never before.

They organized in five languages and sported a multilingual union button. They opened up bargaining sessions for any member to come observe—on the peak day, 150 showed up. They even pulled off a daring work-to-rule action the week before bargaining kicked off, to start from a position of strength.

Viewpoint: O’Brien Speech Played into Republicans’ Phony Pro-Worker Rebrand

Screenshot of O'Brien, a white man in a suit, wearing a Teamsters lapel pin, speaking at the convention
July 18, 2024

Teamsters President Sean O’Brien spoke at Trump’s Republican National Convention on Monday. This was a bad move.

Much of the speech would have been fine if he had delivered it somewhere else. O’Brien railed against corporate greed, singling out Amazon and the private equity vultures that killed Yellow Freight. He called for stronger labor laws. Nobody says that stuff at the Republican convention, so some unionists were pleased to hear righteous themes reach a new audience.

Viewpoint: Migration Isn't Going Away. Unions Have to Get Sharper on It.

Alexandra Bradbury
Workers in red UNITE HERE shirts and carrying round matching signs stand on steps outside. Those in front hold a large printed banner: "Tech Cafeteria Workers Say... No Ban, No Wall, Sanctuary for All."

The Trump campaign is doing a great job of stirring up anti-immigrant sentiment. Maybe you’re getting an earful from co-workers. Maybe you’re worried yourself.

Sixty-two percent of voters, including two-thirds of white people and even a majority of Latinos, an Axios poll found in June, now say they support what Trump is promising: mass deportations.

Free Download of Shawn Fain's 'Other Bible,' A Troublemaker's Handbook

Seen from the side/back, Shawn Fain in a red hoodie holds up a battered purple copy of A Troublemaker's Handbook. Arrayed in front of him can be seen a huge seated crowd in the ballroom for the closing plenary.
April 25, 2024

North Pole Elves Win Big with Escalating Strike

Alexandra Bradbury
Illustration of the Troublemakers Union slingshot logo with a Santa hat on top

NEW: Listen to a wonderful radio version of this story (including additional quotes from Vixen), created by the good folks of Labor Radio on WORT in Madison, Wisconsin.

“Yes, Virginia, there is a S.A.N.T.A. clause!” shouted Elves, Reindeer, and Candy Stripers Local 1224 President Cindy Lou Who to whoops and cheers as North Pole workers celebrated their new contract, ending a two-month strike.

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