France: Viva la strike wave! Militant strikes have swept across France since March. Students and teachers kicked off the months of demonstrations by denouncing their government’s proposed changes to the country’s strong labor laws. Striking workers have blockaded oil refineries and disrupted nuclear power plants. Half of France’s 10,000 gas stations were out of or… Read more »
Posts in: labor
La corrupción y los abusos a los trabajadores se ciernen sobre la Copa Mundial de 2022
Dicen que la Copa Mundial de la FIFA debe ser un espectáculo mundial. El campeonato cuatrienal de lo que algunos llaman futbol — y algunos llaman soccer — reúne a los representantes de las naciones de todo el mundo, proporcionando una experiencia cultural compartida por todos los rincones del globo. Incluso en los Estados Unidos,… Read more »
Corruption and worker abuse loom over 2022 World Cup in Qatar
They say the FIFA World Cup should be a world showcase. The quadrennial championship of what some call football — and some call soccer — brings together representatives of nations throughout the world, providing a shared cultural experience in every corner of the globe. Even in the United States, media outlets like ESPN and cranky… Read more »
Seattle OWLS challenges anti-union Freedom Foundation
Washington state is quickly becoming a hot spot in labor’s war against “Right to Work” laws. Emboldened by court rulings and legislative victories in the Midwest, wealthy groups and individuals are bankrolling the Freedom Foundation (Foundation), a right-wing “think tank” whose stated goal is to “defund and bankrupt public employee unions.” Unionists and labor activists… Read more »
National prisoner labor strike spurs resistance to a new level
On Sept. 9 prison inmates across the U.S. began a unprecedented nationwide labor strike to end slave labor in jails and prisons. This date commemorates the 45th anniversary of the Attica uprising, when a thousand prisoners seized control of the notorious New York prison and demanded political rights and better living conditions. After four days… Read more »
Labor Weather Report for October 2016
In Progress — Brewery workers on strike! Thousands of Australians marched through Melbourne in September to support 55 striking maintenance workers at Carlton United Breweries. Refusing a 65 percent wage cut under a new sub-contracting arrangement, their unions have mounted round-the-clock protests at the plants. Boycotts of CUB beers spread from Australia to the United… Read more »
1916 Everett Massacre: deadly attack on Wobblies in the Pacific Northwest
Nov. 5 of this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Everett Massacre in Washington state, where members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or “Wobblies”) were shot by vigilantes. Though a tragic day in local labor history, it was one of many milestones in the growth of labor militancy in response to… Read more »
India’s general strike largest in history
It’s almost impossible to imagine 180 million workers on strike and marching against their government. But it happened. In India. On Sept. 2, 2016. And it will happen again. It’s not impossible to understand why this strike was so mammoth and intense. Half the Indian population — 1.6 billion — live without enough food, energy,… Read more »
Court workers take the lead: Bay Area unionists gear up for contract fights
After eight years of no pay raises and continuous short-staffing, the court clerks and janitorial staff at the Santa Clara Superior Courts were fed up. In August, over 300 workers walked off the job. In wealthy Silicon Valley, the clerks and janitorial staff at the Superior Courts have suffered continuous short-staffing and no wage increases… Read more »
Victory for Orlando Barrantes!
For 16 years the Costa Rican government persecuted radical labor leader Orlando Barrantes (in a blue shirt, first raised, center of photo) with trumped-up charges pertaining to his political and union activities. In August, they threw in the towel and dropped all charges. This is a massive victory and a tribute to the steadfast struggle… Read more »
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