Portside

Tennessee, Volkswagen, and the Future of Labor

We never know what is actually possible until we test it. It may seem a long road from a union trying to protect jobs to a union setting out an alternative agenda for the economy. But surely the main lesson of recent years is that since capitalist corporations think big as a matter of course then we will surely lose if we continue to think small. If we don't raise our expectations, they will be lowered for us. •

400 workers at Just Born Quality confections in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania have gone out on strike. The company's most famous product is Peeps. Management wants to replace their pension with a 401(K).

In his speech on immigration, the Republican presidential candidate echoed hardline stances once voiced by unions. But decades of union campaigns have drawn immigrants and minority voters into their fold.

For the third year in a row, union density has gone up in New York City. Over one-quarter of New York City workers now belong to unions. The growth has come primarily in the private sector.

Tens of millions of public sector workers have gone on a day-long strike across India, protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, particularly his plans to push for greater privatization. Thousands of state-run banks, government offices and factories were closed on Friday, and public transport disrupted, in the strike called by 10 trade unions.

This paper finds that Black union workers of today are very different from Black union workers of the past. In particular, Black union workers today are more likely to be female, older, have more years of formal education, be immigrants, and work in the public sector. Black union workers also enjoy higher wages, and better access to health insurance and retirement benefits than their non-union peers.

The Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM – Migrant Rights Centre), accuses Canada of discrimination in hiring and the allocation of work, the general exclusion of women from the temporary work programmes and the failure to ensure compliance with laws against discrimination in employment.

The 1.4 million International Brotherhood of Teamsters has endorsed Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. This was a blow to Donald Trump who had campaigned for their endorsement.

A new report links the drop in union membership with the rise in income inequality. But labor activists are finding new ways to help workers.