unions

The Labor Movement Has a Game Plan for the Biden Era

Leave a Comment / PRO Act, unions / By max cyril

As the Democrats take control of the White House and both houses of Congress amid overlapping national crises, labor leaders say it is now more critical than ever that Washington deliver significant material gains for the working class. Democrats partly owe their recent electoral victories in places like Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia to the extensive get-out-the-vote efforts of unions …

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Opening the Door to a More Democratic UAW

Leave a Comment / unions, United Auto Workers / By max cyril

In December the leadership of the United Auto Workers reached a settlement with the Justice Department that opens the door to election of top union officers by referendum vote of the membership. That might well end more than 70 years of one-party control and help democratize a union once known for animated internal debate and competitive leadership …

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Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Sacramento Central Labor Council Brings Holiday Joy to Children with Disabilities

Leave a Comment / Community Service, unions / By max cyril

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. The Sacramento Central Labor Council delivered groceries to more than 200 union families in need …

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Swarming Solidarity: How Contract Negotiations in 2021 Could Be Flashpoints in the U.S. Class Struggle

Leave a Comment / Collective Bargaining, unions / By max cyril

The labor movement’s pundits and prognosticators ring in the New Year like commentators anywhere. They make pronouncements about what “will” happen and what “should” happen to revitalize the shrinking U.S. trade union movement. At 6.2 percent density in the private sector, U.S. unions aren’t even treading water; we are drowning. That makes it more imperative …

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U.S. Chamber calls for governments to fund rapid training programs

Leave a Comment / labor, Pandemic / By max cyril

U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said Tuesday that a broad-based economic recovery in 2021 depends on reskilling and supporting workers. The usually conservative Chamber is embracing a radical shift on skills policy. “Our lawmakers should fund rapid training programs to connect the unemployed with jobs in new sectors,” Donohue said in a State …

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Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Alaska Public Employees Pay Off Student School Meal Balances

Leave a Comment / Community Service, Pandemic / By max cyril

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 the pandemic hitting everyone economically, the members of the Alaska Public Employees Association/AFT elected …

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The Animal Legal Defense Fund Is Busting Its Union With a Smile

Leave a Comment / unionbusting, unions / By max cyril

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) is a major nonprofit that boasts of its more than 40 years of ?“tireless pursuit of justice for animals.” When it comes to the pursuit of justice for working humans, however, its own employees say that it is badly failing the test. In mid-December, ALDF’s employees told the organization’s management that they intended to unionize with the Nonprofit Professional …

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Bay Area Transit Unions Join Forces to Win Safety Protections and Beat Back Layoffs

Leave a Comment / Pandemic, unions / By max cyril

Transit workers have been hit hard by the pandemic. Last year at least 100 from the Amalgamated Transit Union and 131 from the Transport Workers lost their lives to Covid-19. Before Covid, transit unions in the Bay Area—six ATU locals, and one local each of TWU and the Teamsters—often faced their individual struggles in isolation. …

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With Democrats in Full Control, It’s Time to Pass the PRO Act

Leave a Comment / election, unions / By max cyril

In this special episode, we talk with three representatives of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades — Jim Williams (General Vice President), Kellie Morgan (Political Director & Community Organizer, District Council 77), and Salvador Herrera (Director of Organizing, District Council 88) — about labor’s fight to pass the PRO Act. We break down what the PRO Act …

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Why Workers Fought and Died for Union Hiring Halls

Leave a Comment / union mobilizing, unions / By max cyril

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 …

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