City council passes "wage theft" law that threatens license of violating companies. Will other cities follow?

As New York City school bus drivers head toward a strike, slated for Wednesday morning, the national president of the drivers' union accused Mayor Michael Bloomberg of trying to gut standards for workers in public services, comparing the mayor to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who controversially rolled back collective bargaining rights for public employees in that state.

Teachers unions and other educational service workers across the country - in New York, Seattle, and Hawaii - are fighting against further cuts in school budgets, for better quality education for their students. In New York, school bus drivers prepare to strike for job security for trained professional drivers; in Seattle, teachers vote to refuse to give standardized tests; in Hawaii teachers campaign for a penny tax increase dedicated to education.

Healthcare unions united in California. The California Nurses Association (CNA) and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) unveil their formal affiliation this past week. Major target is Kaiser Permanente, the giant California health care chain that made $6 billion in profits since 2009 but still wants union job cuts and contract givebacks.

Healthcare unions united in California. The California Nurses Association (CNA) and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) unveil their formal affiliation this past week. Major target is Kaiser Permanente, the giant California health care chain that made $6 billion in profits since 2009 but still wants union job cuts and contract givebacks.

Employer-created wellness programs are about what workers should do on their own time, not what the employer could do to stop making them sick at work...Wellness programs are growing fast. In firms with more than 200 workers, 94 percent had such programs in 2012

The passage of a so-called "right-to-work" law in Michigan recently left the labor movement feeling gut-punched. AlterNet talks with Stephen Lerner, Jonathan Westin, Ruth Milkman, Bill Fletcher Jr., Jane McAlevey, Eric Robertson & Ben Speight for their suggestions on how labor can go on the offensive in the next year. Amy Dean, former president of the South Bay (CA) AFL-CIO Labor Council looks at best & worst developments of 2012 in the labor and social movements.

This much is clear: the teachers and staff at the Sandy Hook Elementary School reacted with astonishing courage to the unthinkable, the terrifying intrusion of a man intent on murdering them and their students. With no thought of their own safety, they defended their children. Everyone of them is a hero, those who died and those who survived....we were reminded that the first first responders at schools displayed courage. They did their jobs.

Labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein looks at the role of labor unions in our country's history - there has not been any progress when unions have been weakend.

The tidal wave of bull dukey that accompanied this year's elections was more than matched by progressive analysis and advocacy . . . if you knew where to find it. The fact is that mass struggles impacted every aspect of life in the U.S. in 2012. We hope you found Portside a timely and reliable source of news, left analysis and advocacy not only for domestic issues by for historic events internationally.