Troublemakers Blog

November 09, 2021 /
If you thought union raids had gone out of fashion around the time of the jitterbug, think again. Raids are making a comeback, courtesy of the American Federation of Teachers. »
Hundreds of Columbia students gather for a rally on the main quad.
November 05, 2021 /
While the 10,000 United Auto Workers members on strike at John Deere have drawn the national spotlight over the past three weeks, several thousand UAW members have also struck at two other billionaire employers: Harvard and Columbia »
Picketers in yellow vests holding "ON STRIKE FOR FAIR WAGES AGAINST SELLER CONSTRUCTION" signs outside in dim dawn light.
November 04, 2021 /
A hundred thousand American workers either went on strike or authorized strikes in October, now known as Striketober. Here in the Pacific Northwest, carpenters began a courageous strike in September, rejecting four tentative agreements in an effort to win a contract that would put them more on pace with the higher-earning trades. »
People sit around a big table, leaning in. One is drawing a workplace map on big paper, while another points something out. They're in a hotel conference room. Other table groups are visible behind them.
November 02, 2021 /
When a lot happens in the labor movement, a lot happens at Labor Notes. Visit labornotes.org/events for details on online workshops and stewards trainings, as well as in-person Troublemakers Schools. Some highlights: »
A group of students and lecturers march holding banners and signs.
November 01, 2021 /
After more than two years of stalled negotiations, 6,000 University of California lecturers are preparing to strike. The lecturers do one-third of all teaching but earn just a fraction of what their tenure-track counterparts do, with little in the way of job security. »
A group of mainly Pakistani immigrant workers stand at a rally while a union organizer speaks through a bullhorn.
October 28, 2021 /
Tired of working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, immigrant textile workers are at the center of a growing movement by Italy's workers for the right to “8x5”—eight-hour days, five days a week. »
About 20 UPS workers in brown shorts uniforms pose for the camera together in a sunny parking lot. Many are smiling.
October 27, 2021 / Alexandra Bradbury
Like letter carriers at the Postal Service, UPS drivers are also facing forced overtime—and the problem is only going to get worse as the holidays get closer. »
Two taco bell workers with masks holding up a sign in front of a taco bell that says "our health is just as essential."
October 27, 2021 / Barbara Madeloni
The safety of the community as a whole requires vaccines and vaccine mandates. But conversations about mandates have stumbled over questions about the power of employers and the rights of workers. When unions avoid taking a stand for vaccine requirements (or even support resistance to mandates) they fall into three traps. »
Man in blue shirt with right arm raised and left arm holding microphone addressing crowd, Fuera LUMA flag visible in foreground, building of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)
October 26, 2021 /
UPDATE, November 12: A response from IBEW has been added at the end of this piece.
UPDATE, January 14, 2022: A further response from UTIER has been added at the end of this piece. »
Frito-Lay workers hold signs on the picket line.
October 25, 2021 / Dan DiMaggio
Frito-Lay workers won one guaranteed day off per week and put an end to forced “suicide” shifts after a 20-day strike this summer at their plant in Topeka, Kansas. »

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