Portside

Teachers in Hungary went on strike, even though striking is illegal, in protest against educational reforms. Teachers claim the reforms are hurting educational quality and disadvantaged students, and giving teachers less freedom to do their jobs. The strike has garnered popular support and may lead to a general strike, mobilizing large numbers of people who are dissatisfied with the government and who are pushing for greater economic and social justice.

Even when writers explain how working-class whites’ “racial fears and anxieties” are based in their deteriorating living standards and working conditions, they inadvertently deploy the bigot-class framework.

An analysis focusing on his opinions in cases involving the NLRB reveals one particular theme: agency deference. This deference to the NLRB has had favorable consequences for labor and unions.

Union members from across the country have donated time and resources to Flint -- helping provide a sense of humanity to a community that needs it. The one-two punch of auto plants moving to places like Mexico, combined with the further economic damage of the Great Recession, means that this city which once had a population of 200,000 now has half that number, 40% of whom live at or below the poverty level.

President Lee Saunders, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, congratulates Secretary Hillary Clinton on her victories in Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Florida.

President Lee Saunders, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, statement congratulating Secretary Hillary Clinton on her victories in Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Florida.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's slate of labor-busting measures has touched off a lengthy budget impasse in Springfield.

California Assemblywoman Lorena S. Gonzalez introduced a bill to allow groups of 10 or more independent contractors working for "hosting platforms" such as Uber to join worker organizations and bargain over pay and working conditions. This would allow workers to have union-like associations, but they would still be considered contractors and not employees.

What’s unspoken is that the best proof that the unions didn’t have much of a role in the protest is that historically they’ve shown little ability to mobilize significant numbers of students in the Bay State. Typically, union-backed coalitions like BEJA will pull a few dozen to a few hundred people to such protests. Students or non-students, the story is always the same. The people who turn out will be a mix of union and nonprofit staffers.

Gig workers include Uber and Lyft drivers, DoorDash and Postmates food delivery drivers, Handy house cleaners and Amazon "flex" workers who deliver packages. They are technically independent contractors who set their own terms of employment — taking as many or as few jobs as they want — but they have no control over wages, which can be changed at a whim by the companies in charge.