Portside

The essential workers who fought for their lives during the pandemic are now fighting for a union.

When kitchen workers at Twin Peaks in TN walked out, protesting a racist manager along with unfair firings and wage theft, they were joined by wait staff who had been abused by the same manager.

Teamsters won their strike at America's largest wholesale food distributor with an old-fashioned militant tactic: the mass picket line. “It was old school—unions shutting the thing down,” said a UPS driver. “It’s a magical feeling, the solidarity and the power that comes with it; the connection that’s made by standing together shoulder to shoulder, holding the line."

Workers are using direct action to protest dangerous conditions at Amazon warehouses.

“If we can unionize Amazon…, then workers anywhere can unionize their workplaces. That means you.” - Angelika Maldonado

Teamster-affiliated Uber drivers in Seattle have won raises & benefits through city legislation. Now the union & employers are backing a bill that would take some benefits statewide—but would preempt Seattle from regulating the companies.

Mexico’s labor law reform went into effect in 2019, requiring unions to hold secret-ballot votes to validate all existing contracts by May 2023. Next week, workers at Tridonex will hold a vote and attempt to get rid of their employer-friendly union.

After striking for 10 weeks, student workers at Columbia University have a tentative agreement that members will vote on, but they also have a stronger, more democratic union.

After narrowly rejecting a contract offer, the union representing 11,600 working carpenters in Washington state is set to start a strike.

A California law limiting warehouse quotas could also help with high turnover, giving workers more opportunities to organize.