Troublemakers Blog

July 10, 2012 /
It surprised many when the National Union of Healthcare Workers—a quintessential service sector union—announced in February its intent to affiliate with the Machinists, which has an extensive industrial union history. An interview with three principal players delves into the thinking behind the match. »
July 06, 2012 /
Community supporters are turning out once again at a small grocery store in the Kensington neighborhood in Brooklyn to aid workers fighting for their union. »
June 28, 2012 /
A racially mixed workforce in an Alabama poultry plant defeated management’s attempts to exploit their diversity, turning aside the divide-and-conquer tactics and voting in the union. »
June 25, 2012 /
Postal and community activists began a hunger strike today to protest cuts that could devastate the Post Office. A new coalition, Communities and Postal Workers United, announced the four-day fast to put heat on Congress for starving the U.S. Postal Service to the point where drastic service cuts have been announced. The 10 hunger strikers in D.C. are members »
June 22, 2012 / Steve Early
While the nation waits for an overdue Supreme Court decision that will decide the fate of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, another health care drama with wide implications for universal health care is just starting in Vermont. »
June 18, 2012 / Theresa Moran
AFSCME delegates will vote Thursday at their convention in Los Angeles for a new president to replace 30-year incumbent Gerry McEntee. Labor Notes interviewed Alice Goff, who is running for secretary-treasurer on a ticket that challenges incumbent Secretary-Treasurer and McEntee favorite Lee Saunders, about how her slate would make a difference for AFSCME »
June 13, 2012 /
United Academics was certified April 27 to represent more than 1,800 professors and researchers at the University of Oregon. The union represents teaching employees across the board: full-time and part-time, tenure track and non-tenure track. The drive was motivated by U of O's creeping corporatization. »
June 08, 2012 /
The results of the Wisconsin recall election were very similar to the first run of this matchup in November 2010, when Scott Walker beat Tom Barrett. How can a government of the 1% receive so much support from the 99%? »
June 07, 2012 / Jenny Brown
The food that reaches our tables travels a labyrinth of abusive employers, low-paying jobs, and general disregard for the workers and the food. On Monday Mexican guest workers at a seafood processor in Louisiana walked off the job, driven to the wall by a manager's threats of violence. »
June 05, 2012 /
GM is offering its salaried retirees a deal. Not a gratuity or a bonus after a record-breaking year of profit, but a cash-in-your-chips kiss-off: one lump-sum payment in lieu of their monthly checks. Rumor has it that union hourly retirees are next. »

Pages