Labor Notes Stewards Corner
The Mood in Wisconsin: Shaken, Angry, but ProudWisconsin public sector unionists face a sobering situation after weeks of unprecedented activism—for many, no contracts. Yet their mood is proud and angry. They're acutely aware how their struggle has inspired others. NY Cabbies, Modern-Day Sharecroppers, Bid for Health CareThe New York Taxi Workers Alliance released a groundbreaking plan yesterday to win health care for drivers. Classified as independent contractors, the city’s 50,000 licensed cabbies are uninsured at twice the rate of other New Yorkers—52 percent lack coverage, according to a city councilman’s 2009 survey. Teachers Are Singled Out in Attacks on Public EmployeesLike other public employees, teachers find their bargaining rights under fire in the Republican-governed states. But the attacks on teacher job security and the drive to replace public schools with charters are universal—and bipartisan. AT&T Bid For T-Mobile Boosts Union DriveAs mostly organized AT&T looks to scoop up union-resistant T-Mobile, the Communications Workers are fast at work attempting to organize its call centers and retail stores. T-Mobile workers worry they’d lose jobs first following the $39 billion mega-merger. California Grad Students Sit Down for Union DemocracyAfraid you might lose the vote? Stop the count and run. That’s what incumbent leaders did in United Auto Workers Local 2865, representing 12,000 graduate student workers at the University of California. Members of a reform caucus responded with sit-downs at their union headquarters, demanding their union resume the vote count immediately. May Day Marches See Labor Join Immigrants' Struggle for RightsTens of thousands marched nationwide May Day, demanding an end to attacks on workers and immigrants. “We have had all we can take,” said an immigrant organizer, noting record deportations. They Will Never Keep Us DownYou are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly. swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.labornotes.org/sites/default/modules/swftools/shared/1pixelout/player.swf", "swfobject2-id-13046589341", "290", "24", "7", "", {"soundFile":"http:\/\/www.labornotes.org\/files\/theyllneverkeepusdown.mp3"}, {"swliveconnect":"default","play":"true","loop":"true","menu":"false","quality":"autohigh","scale":"showall","align":"l","salign":"tl","wmode":"opaque","bgcolor":"#FFFFFF","version":"7","allowfullscreen":"true","allowscriptaccess":"sameDomain","base":"\/","src":"http:\/\/www.labornotes.org\/sites\/default\/modules\/swftools\/shared\/1pixelout\/player.swf","height":24,"width":290}, {"id":"swf13046589341"});Labor Notes mourns the passing in April of singer, songwriter, double bassist, and guitarist Hazel Dickens. VIDEO: Student Occupations at Five CampusesWhen it comes to budget cuts and policies that hurt students and campus workers, student activists are refusing to sit down…unless it’s in their president’s office. This week and last, students at five universities staged sit-ins for student and worker rights, and this seems to be only the beginning. Right-Wing Hoaxster Smears Labor EducatorsTwo Missouri labor educators are under attack in the right-wing blogosphere from notorious hoaxster Andrew Breitbart. Like he did with ACORN before, Breitbart uses deceptive video editing to smear his opponents. He claims labor educators tell union members to gain power through violence and intimidation. Health Care for All Takes Big Stride in VermontVermont is as close to winning “single-payer” health care legislation any U.S. state have ever been. Activists are fighting for every inch as they near the goal line: Legislation ensuring health care for all has passed both houses and was reconciled May 3. How Do We Stop Workplace Fatalities? Eliminate the HazardsAs unions mark Workers Memorial Day, a fatal rail tragedy last month serves as a reminder that "behavior-based" safety programs, which blame workers for their own injuries, aren't fixing the root causes of deadly accidents on the job.
Five Reasons Why Colombia Trade Agreement Is Still a Bad IdeaThe U.S. and Colombian governments signed a “Labor Action Plan” on April 7 that sets the groundwork for a Congressional vote on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. But the trade deal is still a bad idea, “action plan” or no. USLEAP provides five reasons why. Gains and Losses in LA Teachers Union ElectionThe future of teacher-led education reform in Los Angeles was thrown into question last month, when a bread-and-butter candidate won out over a reformer running on a social justice platform to lead the LA teachers union. Rebel Rank and File: Learning from the 1970sPeter Olney reviews Rebel Rank and File: Labor Militancy and Revolt from Below during the Long 1970s. He says the book provides a jolt of adrenalin; it's an antidote to labor organizing that does not begin with the centrality of power in the workplace. Union-Busting Bill Stopped by Union Action—in MexicoTens of thousands of protesters spent weeks in the streets fighting a right-wing attempt to dismantle union rights. No, this is not Wisconsin but Mexico, where independent unions and allies forced legislators to shelve a union-busting bill.
California Grad Students Seek a Bottom-Up UnionThousands of graduate students across nine University of California campuses will vote this week on new leadership for their union. A slate of challengers is pushing to make the local more member-driven and active in the fight to save public education in the state. VIDEO: NLRB Slaps Boeing for Punishing StrikersThe National Labor Relations Board told Boeing this week that it can’t retaliate against workers who exercise their right to strike, a fundamental right guaranteed by labor law for 80 years. The airplane manufacturer took work away from union shops in Washington state, shifting its production to right-to-work South Carolina, where executives had already crushed the Machinists union. Egyptian Teachers Protest Government Snooping, Strike BanThe Egyptian military government’s push to ban the right to strike, coupled with rising teacher grievances, sparked protests this week demanding the impeachment of the education minister. Postal Union Brings Back Work, but Divides ItDebate is raging inside the Postal Workers over a tentative contract that brings back thousands of contracted-out jobs, but creates a lower wage scale for new employees and an additional second-class workforce.
Mass Teacher Layoffs and School Closures Hit DetroitDetroit is now a trendsetter in the dismantling of public schools and stripping of teachers’ union rights. The schools' chief handed layoff notices to all 5,466 teachers and staff, in a bid to pick and choose who stays and who goes. |
