Portside

We should not to romanticise the work of the past, indulge in ‘smokestack nostalgia’, but equally we need to acknowledge a world we may be losing. While the ‘job for life’ may have been a fleeting experience for a few, the social patterns that that stability engendered were profound for generations of workers and can still be seen working their way through the contemporary workplace

The victory by the car wash workers is the ninth negotiated since the Wash New York Campaign was launched three years ago.

This downturn and recovery have been different than others, and workers of all types have suffered.

The conflict over fast track is fundamental. Organized labor wants to kill the legislation. Obama wants to sign it. The rough outlines of the bill would enable Congress to make its preferences known and receive updates while trade negotiations are under way in exchange for a clean vote -- no amendments -- on a final trade agreement.

Dozens of former UNITE HERE staffers and members are accusing the union of betraying its progressive principles in Local 1's endorsement of Rahm Emanuel.

A growing number of German construction and public works companies are using labor subcontractors. They are not genuine construction firms. They look like it on paper, but their only activity is to supply labour at a low cost. They often only pay wages for the first few months. They then stop paying and expect the workers to keep going until the job is finished, in the hopes that they will be paid at the end of the contract.

While the fast-food movement may not be close to persuading McDonald’s to adopt a $15 minimum wage, even the campaign’s critics acknowledge it has achieved some of its goals by prompting a national debate about low-wage work and nudging various cities and states to raise their minimum wage.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President Lee Saunders announced AFSCME was relocating its 2015 National Women's Conference from Indiana out of disgust at its passage of a Religious Liberty Law. He called it an un-American law.

While the fast-food movement may not be close to persuading McDonald’s to adopt a $15 minimum wage, even the campaign’s critics acknowledge it has achieved some of its goals by prompting a national debate about low-wage work and nudging various cities and states to raise their minimum wage.

A major agricultural labor action is entering its second week in Mexico, where such walkouts are rare. But workers report that they gained experience in the US - via the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida, or with the UFW on the west coast - and those lessons helped inspire workers to organize and fight for their rights in Mexico.