Musicians rarely strike, but on Sept. 8, members of the Fort Worth Symphony packed up their instruments. After 15 months of non-productive negotiations, the American Federation of Musicians Local 72-147 are striking “to save our orchestra.” Management imposed a 13.5 percent pay cut in 2010. This year its “offer” included more wage cuts, plus a… Read more »
Posts in: labor
Who’ll watch the kids?
As a parent, finding childcare that’s affordable, high-quality, and able to fit an unconventional work schedule can be difficult to impossible. When I had my first child, it was actually easier and more affordable for me to stay home. So many parents, especially mothers, face this reality that maternity leave and daycare got some attention… Read more »
Only an independent labor party can speak for the working class
The steep price that U.S. workers pay for having no independent political voice is hitting home with Donald Trump’s upset victory. Many voters, squeezed between shrinking paychecks and inflation, saw this election as a referendum on the beltway insiders they associate with neoliberalism. With no working class option to choose, many white working class voters… Read more »
Affirmative action = class solidarity
The election to the presidency of a man who stoked the fires of racial resentment and misogyny sparked protests by thousands in cities across the U.S. Now working people need to plan the next steps in stopping a potential right-wing dystopia. High on the list should be a drive to restore affirmative action, one of… Read more »
México: Divisiones en el movimiento de derechos indígenas después de la liberación de Nestora Salgado
Conseguir la liberación de la líder de la policía comunitaria, Nestora Salgado, presa durante dos años y medio en México bajo falsas acusaciones de secuestro, fue una emocionante victoria para la solidaridad de la clase obrera internacional, especialmente en una época de profunda reacción. La campaña “Liberar a Nestora” fue un completo repudio al lema… Read more »
Freedom Socialist Letters to the Editor — February 2017
ELECTION ANALYSIS Succinct and accurate As usual the Freedom Socialist hits the nail on the head with Andrea Bauer’s lead article in the December issue [Don’t mourn, organize! Donald J. Trump and the year of voting dangerously, Vol. 37, No. 6]. What makes her analysis so useful is not only is it right — no… Read more »
Labor Weather Report for February 2017
January 2017 — Statewide UC strike. Teamsters Local 2010, which represents 14,000 University of California workers, staged a one-day strike at all 10 UC campuses and medical centers on Jan. 10. Union members picketed to demand a fair contract and increased wages. January 2017 — Oil workers settle. After six years of frozen wages, the… Read more »
Rise of the robots and disappearing jobs
The U.S. unemployment rate is a low 4.9 percent, so they say. But current figures don’t cover anyone not actively seeking work because of age, disability, discouragement, or lack of nearby work. Government figures are rigged and most folks know it. Unemployment is a spiraling crisis. Trump blames bad foreign trade deals and “swarms” of… Read more »
Taking on the big lie of “Right to Work”
The Feb. 15 vote by workers at Boeing’s South Carolina Dreamliner plant against being represented by the Machinists union was portrayed in the press as another case of workers saying, “Union, No!” That’s not the whole story. Before the vote, Boeing saturated the airwaves with hype designed to scare their employees into rejecting unionization. Workers… Read more »
Labor Weather Report for April 2017
February 2017 — Strike vote — 81 percent! For the first time ever AFSCME Council 31, representing 38,000 Illinois state workers, authorized a strike. Since their contract ran out in July 2015, the union has fought against Gov. Rauner’s demand for a four year pay freeze and doubling health insurance costs. February 2017 — South… Read more »
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