How Managers Can Advocate for Their Warehouse
The protection of blue-collar workers is just as important as that of office workers, and it should be at the forefront of advocacy efforts.
Yes, Abortion Rights Are a Union Issue
Abortion: it’s a topic unions shy away from. The logic is, why go there? Contrary to the narrative, abortion is a labor issue.
Every Boss Has a Weak Spot. Find and Use It.
An excerpt from Labor Notes’ book, “Secrets of a Successful Organizer,” this blog advises employees to influence their workplaces from within.
The New ‘Lavender Scare’ Is an Attack on the Working Class
A new wave of attacks on queer and trans rights is here. The Working People podcast asks veteran LGBTQ+ labor organizers how workers can fight back.
Starbucks Holds Life-Saving Benefits Over Trans Workers’ Heads
OVERLAND PARK, KAN.—Maddie Doran worked at the Starbucks on 75th Street and Interstate 35 for 10 months, “not only to pay the bills,” she says, but because the company’s health insurance covers gender-affirming surgery. Many health plans exclude gender-affirming care, despite the fact that the medically necessary procedures can be lifesaving—Harvard research shows gender-affirming care can significantly reduce suicidal ideation, for example. And without Starbucks’ …
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Working people are so screwed: Rents spike and minimum wage hits its lowest value since 1956
The average wage needed for someone to afford a market-rate one-bedroom apartment rental in this country is $21.25 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. It’s not hard to see the problem here. Both sides of the equation are responsible: The rent is too damn high and the pay is too damn low. …
What Can Unions Do Now to Defend Abortion Rights?
The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health on June 24 overturned the Roe v. Wade precedent, erasing the constitutional right to an abortion. Already for years, large parts of the U.S. have severely restricted abortion—especially hurting those least likely to have resources to travel for care, including poor, Black, indigenous, undocumented, and disabled people. The U.S. …
What Can Unions Do Now to Defend Abortion Rights? Read More »
International Students in Ontario Are Fighting Wage Theft—And Winning
In Brampton, Ontario, a small team of young organizers has begun taking on the businesses that exploit them, one case at a time. The Naujawan Support Network, a collective of international students and migrant workers from Punjab, India, has won back more than $200,000 Canadian ($154,000 U.S.) in stolen wages in just over a year. …
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Nurses in the U.S. Are Suffering “Moral Injury”
Minnesota emergency room nurse Cliff Willmeng remembers, during the early days of the pandemic, treating a patient at United Hospital who asked how the nurses were doing. The man was a Vietnam veteran, and Willmeng recalls that he said, “This is your war.” “I kind of laughed, like what do you mean by that?” said Willmeng, who recalled he …
Inflation and Your Next Union Contract
What’s going on with inflation? It’s a question that everyone is asking, and one that is particularly important for anyone entering bargaining this year. We can’t predict what is to come, but the evidence from the past year hasn’t been good for workers. The Consumer Price Index rose by more than 8 percent, its fastest …
