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In 2011 Frank Bardacke published an 800-page history of the Farm Workers union: Trampling Out the Vintage: Cesar Chavez and the Two Souls of the United Farm Workers. It opened many eyes to the reasons the UFW became a shadow of its former self.

Bardacke starts the book with an epigraph, a quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “O what a fall was there, my countrymen! Then I, and you, and all of us fell down...”

A Lack of Democracy in the United Farm Workers Gave Chavez Immunity

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Seven women stand by a car holding a Farmworkers Union flag

Six thousand San Francisco educators won fully funded health care, sanctuary schools, and an up to 8.5 percent raise over two years by walking out for the first time in nearly 50 years.

After just four days on strike, February 9 to 12, they won their top demands—some of which the district had previously refused even to bargain over.

“It was hard and it was joyful and we f-ing beat them,” said Ilan Desai-Geller, a high school teacher who served on the bargaining committee and as a regional strike captain. “They found the money all of a sudden.

Overwhelmed by Strike, San Francisco Schools Found the Money for Top Union Demands

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Smiling strikers pose outdoors with a bright yellow banner handpainted "On strike for our schools" in red. Most people visible in this photo appear to be white or Asian women. Many wear UESF hats. Other visible handmade signs say "Boo Su, give us a fair contract now!" "Keep our counselors" and "Invest in oiur largest asset: children." Palm trees are visible against gray sky. Some people raise fists or a victory/peace sign.

In less than a quarter-mile stretch of sidewalk, chatter in 57 languages overlaps with the sound of dancehall, bachata, Thai pop, Haitian kompa, and Micronesian hip-hop. At sunset, dozens gather for iftar, breaking their Ramadan fast; the music, pulsing from boomboxes and cell phones held up to megaphones, swells into one shared hum.

In this sliver of land across from the sprawling JBS beef processing plant—among the largest in the country—workers from around the world have united in the largest U.S. meatpacking strike in 40 years.

In 57 Languages, Meatpackers Strike for the First Time in 40 Years

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Last year a network of unions and community organizations organized the largest May Day actions in U.S. history: 1,200 actions in all 50 states. This year, the stakes are even higher, and the examples inspiring us are even bolder.

Gearing Up for May Day: Solidarity Schools Spread

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A group of people in chairs crowd a room listening to a speaker.

Desde que más de 4.000 agentes del ICE llegaron a la ciudad de Minneapolis, el barista de Starbucks Alex Rivers ha intentado a equilibrar la rigurosa concentración que exige el trabajo–se espera que los baristas escriban en cada vaso y completen cada pedido en cuatro minutos o menos, según él–con el miedo persistente de que los agentes puedan irrumpir en cualquier momento.

Mantengan a ICE fuera de las tiendas, dicen los trabajadores de Starbucks

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Lee and Paul

A corporate artificial intelligence frenzy is sowing fear for workers on a massive scale. Seventy-one percent of people in the U.S., according to a Reuters poll on A.I., are concerned “too many people will lose jobs.”

Four Union Strategies to Fight on A.I.

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Women workers in red scrubs rally and chant, outdoors on a sunny day. They hold printed NNU signs. The woman most visible, in big sunglasses, holds a printed sign reading "Trust nurses, not A.I."

North Carolina is one of six states that prohibit collective bargaining for public school staff. But unionized workers in two school districts have built enough bottom-up power to force their employers to “meet and confer,” a non-binding form of negotiation.

Labor Notes’ Ellen David Friedman talked with Carlos Perez and Allison Swaim of the Durham Association of Educators, representing 5,000 teachers and classified staff.

Forcing the Boss to Bargain—Even When They Don't Have To

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Update, February 20: After staying out for an additional week, the 4,200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospitals have reached a new tentative agreement, recommended by the hospital bargaining committee. They will vote on it starting today. —Editors

The largest and longest nurses strike in the city’s history will continue at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospitals after nurses there decisively rejected the hospital chain’s contract offer 3,099 to 867.

Striking Nurses Reach Tentative Deal at Manhattan’s Richest Hospital Complex

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Three smiling nurses stand against a barrier with signs about patient care

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