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Want to Stop Trump? Take a Page From These Dockworkers, and Stop Work

Peter Cole Working In These Times
Dockworkers in Oakland, California refused to show up to work to show their opposition to Trump's agenda on the day of his inauguration. Their strike demonstrated the potential power ordinary people have on the job, when organized.

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For Unions, Sometimes a Lockout Is Better Than a Strike

Peter Olney Labor Notes
Whether you’re expecting a strike or lockout, the steps are similar—and there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Union-busting law firms pass around the same employer playbook. Our side has rich experience in preparation. Ask for advice and help from combatants who’ve been through a strike or a lockout and emerged victorious.

Recycling Workers Fight Firings and Win a Union

David Bacon; Photos by David Bacon The Progressive - On the Line
Workers from Alameda County Industries made the decision to join ILWU Local 6. They convinced the city to provide funding to raise their wages in a new union contract. Their wages are now steadily increasing and will reach $20.94/hour in 2019. Photo essay by David Bacon.

The Spiritual in the Struggle: A Book Review

Peter Olney The Stansbury Forum
Living Peace: Connecting Your Spirituality with Your Work for Justice, by Victor Narro 2014, a new book on the spiritual side of organizing, is just over 100 pages long. This little volume is broaching a topic that might raise cynical eyebrows in certain quarters in our labor movement. Narro's thesis intrigued me and in the spirit of self-mindedness I read the book and reflected on my own recent experience with ILWU Local 6 and the Campaign for Sustainable Recycling.

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Simmering Labor Fight Brings Crippling Delays to West Coast Seaports

Erik Eckholm New York Times
"...owners said they would suspend the unloading of container and other cargo ships on Thursday, Monday and the weekend because of what they called "a strike with pay." The move followed a similar two-day limit on work last weekend that angered many port workers. They saw it as a ploy to punish them and increase pressure to settle on a new labor contract after nine months of negotiations, which continue with the aid of a federal mediator."

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Union Faces Fresh Questions in West Coast Longshore Standoff

Mark Brenner Labor Notes
If ILWU members don’t figure out how to use their ship-side strength to bolster unionization across the logistics industry, they will see their power erode, as shippers and terminal operators continue to shift work off the docks and away from the waterfront. The ILWU’s members, with their rich history, deserve as much from their union. They still have time to avoid the fate of once-strong unions like the UAW.

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The Latest Defeat

Robert Brenner Jacobin
The tentative agreement reached between the ILWU and the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association (PNGHA) would impose a major reduction in working conditions and shop floor power, including the loss of the union controlled hiring hall, and no overtime pay until after 12 hours. The agreement would prevent work stoppages because it would allow the employer the right to use its own managers to replace union workers during work stoppages.

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Unions That Used to Strike

Robert Brenner and Suzi Weissman Jacobin
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, once known for its militancy and political radicalism, faces a choice between nurturing rank-and-file power and a slow, painful death.
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