Lawmakers in several states have launched a broadside against public employees, aiming to cut their pay, slash their benefits, and strip them of their collective bargaining rights. Pivoting off the myth that public employees are getting paid more than their private sector counterparts, governors and state legislatures are scapegoating public workers for their states’ respective …
From Vancouver to New York City, Actions Will Span One Week and One Continent This week, people across the United States and Canada will demonstrate at Mexican consulates and embassies in protest of violations of the right to organize in Mexico. Of particular concern to protesters will be the bitter strikes and repression of unions …
Some 400 members from dozens of Minnesota unions—backed by more than 1,000 e-mails and phone calls—helped score a victory for working families last week. They jammed a state House hearing room in opposition to a bill that called for a wage freeze for state employees, elimination of vital parts of the state’s Public Employment Labor …
Minnesota Union Members Rally Against Anti-Worker Bill Read More »
Last month, President Obama wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal calling for “a government-wide review of the rules already on the books to remove outdated regulations that stifle job creation and make our economy less competitive.” The announcement by Obama to eliminate burdensome regulation was seen as dramatic tilt to the right for …
Obama Admin Blocks Two Workplace Safety Regulations, Pleasing Big Business Read More »
Since the November elections attacks on public employees and their unions have exploded. Everywhere you turn you read of attacks on public sector workers, from teachers to janitors, firefighters to administrators. Wealthy right-wing corporations and their political pawns and media enablers have tried to make public employees into public enemies. Even in union-dense states like …
Union-Haters Want to Make Public Employees Public Enemies Read More »
So-called “free trade” is part of the relentless class warfare under way in America. And the so-called “free trade” deal with South Korea is no exception. That said, a lot of the shallow criticism of the UAW’s support for the deal is–well, shallow. Here’s my view about how we should engage the UAW–my union–via an …
Class Warfare and Korea “Free Trade”: An Open Letter to UAW, My Union Read More »
In July 2008, Republican Governor of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuño enacted Law 7 in a two-day period. He then invoked the law in 2009, effectively firing 28,000 employees across all sectors of public services–and all without demonstrating any alternative solutions or proving financial necessity. As a direct result of Law 7, thousands of working people …
Puerto Rico’s working families to appeal Governor’s massive layoffs Read More »
If the National Football League owners lock out the players next season, not only will millions of fans not have games to watch on Sunday afternoon, but more than 115,000 jobs could be lost, according to a new study. The 32 NFL teams employ on average 3,739 people each, including players, concession workers and office …
NFL Lockout Could Cost $160 Million, 115,000 Jobs Read More »
Julius Getman’s latest book offers a compelling answer In the early 1990s, trade unionists in the United States abandoned the strike as a central component of trade union strategy. In its place, unionists and academic supporters focused on organizing the unorganized, one-day strikes and community campaigns. Yet on the main concern of the traditional labor …
Many countries around the world, including the United States, depend on immigrant labor to boost economic development, but do not protect the rights of their immigrant workers. Trade union representatives at the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GMFD) meeting in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last week called on the world’s governments to respect and protect the …
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.
