It looks very likely that Democrats will win control of the Senate. That means that for the first time in more than a decade, the Democrats will control both the White House and Congress. The labor movement will and should view this as the time to collect on their hefty investment in the Democratic Party. This …
This is Part II of our special two-part episode with Tacoma longshore workers Zack Pattin and Brian ?“Skiff” Skiffington. Zack and Skiff are both members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 23 and organizing leaders with the ILWU Young Workers Committee. In Part I of our conversation with Zack and Skiff, we talked about their winding …
Why Workers Fought and Died for Union Hiring Halls Read More »
Although President Donald Trump will be leaving the White House, progressives must reckon with the fact that 74 million people?—?almost a third of whom came from households making under $50,000—voted for him. It is alarming that so many working-class people would vote against their class interests, but perhaps most alarming of all are the union members who were drawn …
The Union Members Who Voted for Trump Have to Be Organized—Not Ignored Read More »
On March 5, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed H.B. 364, a major overhaul of New Mexico’s system of public sector labor relations. Hailed by the Teamsters as a necessary modernization and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) as a ?“big step” in the fight for public employees, many of the bill’s marquee reforms provide procedural overhauls for New Mexico’s system of …
The Stunning Workers’ Victory in New Mexico That You Haven’t Heard About Read More »
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Members of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 103 in Boston came together over the weekend to …
Dear Mackenzie Scott, This week, you announced that you’ve made $4.2 billion in charitable donations in the past four months. For that you deserve an extremely modest amount of congratulations! You are, no doubt, besieged at all times by people who come to kiss your ass and beg for money. We come to you today with something different: moral …
Dear Mackenzie: There’s One More Donation You Owe to the World Read More »
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Dozens of members of the Bloomington & Normal (Illinois) Trades & Labor Assembly turned out …
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was supposed to keep small businesses from laying off workers during the coronavirus pandemic. (Disclosure: Kos Media received a Paycheck Protection Program loan.) It hasn’t always worked out that way. Trump and Kushner businesses got loans, as did predatory payday lenders, but many of the businesses that needed the loans most were left out. UNITE HERE, …
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. With hundreds of transit workers killed, including 96 ATU members, from COVID-19, the Amalgamated Transit …
Musician Josephine Shetty, aka Kohinoorgasm, was preparing for her West Coast spring tour in March when the pandemic-related cancellations started rolling in. Like many musicians, Shetty’s livelihood is pieced together from part-time work. She performs at underground spaces and small clubs, releases her own music and teaches middle school music classes. ?“When you’re a person who works so …
With Gigs Canceled and No Relief, Musicians Form a Nationwide Union Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
