By Barbara Madeloni “Don’t start those buses tomorrow,” said Joe White, executive director of the West Virginia School Service Personnel Association. He was announcing the second statewide education strike in West Virginia in a year, alongside the leaders of the state’s two teacher unions. The next morning, February 19, buses throughout the state sat idle Continue readingWest Virginia Strikes Again, Defeating Privatization Bill in a Single Day
Labor Notes
By Gerard Di Trolio The 2018 edition of the Labor Notes conference was the largest in its history with about 2800 attendees. When I arrived at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare just north of Chicago on the morning of Friday April 6, I could already see a larger crowd registering than I did in 2016. With Continue readingReflections on Labor Notes 2018
By Gerard Di Trolio and Andrew Stevens With a record number of participants, 2016 Labor Notes conference in Chicago started off with a bang. Day one of the conference launched amidst demonstrations across the city, as the members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) staged events at schools, prisons, universities, and fast food outlets demanding economic and Continue readingReflections on Labor Notes 2016
Every two years, a handful of movers and shakers north of the 49th parallel make their way to Chicago to take part in cross-border conspiring with thousands of North American labour activists. The Feb. 15 early bird registration deadline is fast approaching. Don’t miss out. Want to bring stories of struggle back to Canada? Help Continue readingHey early birds! Register now for the 2016 Labour Notes Conference
By Sonia Singh These days we hear a lot about how Uber and other apps are driving a new “gig economy” where it’s every worker for themself. But Uber drivers in Seattle are banding together to pursue an old-fashioned goal: collective bargaining. In December their city council backed them up with an unconventional law that Continue readingSeattle Uber drivers win right to bargain
By Sonia Singh When you’re working without a union, it can feel impossible to take on workplace problems. What if you lose your job? But Somos un Pueblo Unido, a New Mexico worker center, is honing a process to help even tiny groups of workers win changes through small collective actions—while staving off retaliation. Willing Continue readingHow to Beat Retaliation, Even without a Union
When you turn a workplace issue into a campaign, grievances become a tool for building union power. By Ellen David Friedman Sandi walks up to you, the steward, just as the hallways start filling with noisy high schoolers heading for the bus. She is ready to blow her top, and over the din she tells Continue readingTurning an issue into a campaign
By Sonia Singh It’s been a whirlwind spring of precedent-setting wins for North America’s migrant workers, who are making connections across borders. After three months of strikes and protests, 30,000 berry pickers in Baja California, Mexico, won raises of up to $4 a day and rights to social security benefits and overtime pay. These workers, Continue readingHow Migrant Farmworkers Are Cross-Pollinating Strategies and Winning
USW 9176 members and supporters held a Day of Action at Beer Stores across Ontario on December 13, encouraging people to by bottled beer instead of cans to protest the treatment of workers on strike at Crown Holding’s factory in Toronto. The strike has been going on for sixteen months. Tembec, Unifor agree to end Continue readingR&F’s labour news update – December 15, 2014
Union members sit on labor-management committees on training, health and safety, technology, and a host of other issues. Labor educator Charley Richardson wrote “Representing Your Co-workers” for the Maine State Employees Association as a guide to “acting like a union” on these committees. After Richardson’s death in 2013, many of his materials were archived at charleyrichardson.org—including, Continue readingHow to ‘act like a union’ on a labour-management committee
By David Bush In part 1 of this series I spoke with Kimberly Bowsky an activist in the Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) and a member of the Caucus Of Rank-and-file Educators (CORE) about how they got involved with CORE and some of the challenges the CTU faces. I also spoke to two activists in the Detroit area who are fighting Continue readingVoices From Labor Notes – Part 2
By David Bush On April 4 Labor Notes, a network of rank-and-file labour activists from across the United States, held its 17th conference. The three day conference in Chicago saw over 2000 attendees participate in over a 100 workshops and meetings ranging in topic from labour and independent politics, to beating the boss in discipline Continue readingVoices From Labor Notes – Part 1