Strikes have become rare; open-ended strikes at industrial plants even more so. 2,000 workers have been on strike in northern Wisconsin for several weeks. The odds are against them, and they need support. What is the future of the labor movement if unions lost the ability to launch and win strikes?
The Chicago Teachers Union has formally told its membership to start saving money for what could be "a protracted strike."
History has shown that Guatemala’s elite will fight viciously to protect their wealth and privilege, regardless of the incalculable human costs of doing so. But its people have demonstrated remarkable resilience, courage and tenacity in their pursuit of justice and democracy. At this critical juncture, the U.S. should not send more money, nor should it insist on blind allegiance to elections that would stabilize the status quo when Guatemala needs profound change.
Verizon in 2005 was nearly 70 percent union. Today it's about 27 percent.
"We cannot allow them to do what they are doing--and neither can the public," said newly elected CWA President Chris Shelton on the town hall call. "Because if they get away with it with us, they'll get away with it with everybody else, and there will be no more middle class in this country."
A historic farmworker uprising ignited this March in Baja California, Mexico. Thousands of crop pickers stopped work at peak harvest in the valley of San Quintin, a major source of the U.S.’s tomatoes, cucumbers and berries, demanding better pay, legally mandated benefits and an end to sexual harassment in the fields. Fault Lines’ “Invisible Hands” premieres on Al Jazeera America on Monday, June 22nd at 10 p.m. Eastern time/ 7 p.m. Pacific.
Five years ago, workers at Nanhai Honda in China captured the world's attention in a wildcat strike that shut down Honda production. Workers demanded a large pay increase and the chance to elect their own union representatives. What has happened since? The current situation at Nanhai Honda presents both a challenge and an opportunity to the trade union.
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