Portside

Workers at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank, have been working without a first contract for 2 years, and bargaining for 18 months. The property is one of only a handful on the Las Vegas Strip that does not have Culinary Union 226 union standards in place, including employer paid healthcare, pension, and housekeeping workload provisions. Over 2,000 workers have picketed the Cosmo 3 times in 2 months.

How would a German-style labor organization work in the United States? For more than a year, leaders with the United Auto Workers Union have been eyeing Chattanooga's Volkswagen plant, and reports this week that the organization has talked with Volkswagen AG executives about a German-style labor board at the local plant have raised a number of questions.

When organizing drives prove unsuccessful, some groups of low-wage workers are using ballot initiatives to take their case to the voters. And they've been winning.

Artists, writers,musicians and similar occupations are under attack. Low pay and lack of health benefits for most are major problems. Can unions help make their lives better? The author gives a brief history of organizing in these fields.

A cooperative model places union members firmly in the role of being innovators. It allows the labor movement not only to promote a positive vision of members realizing their best selves in the workplace, but also to provide the skills that will enable people to do that.