Rank-and-file unionism, nationally, is taking center stage in many strikes and union actions across the country. “The labor movement was becoming hot, members were really getting activated and needed a way to organize and funnel that energy.”
High unionization levels are associated with positive outcomes across multiple indicators of economic, personal, and democratic well-being. Unions give workers a voice at work, and also give workers a voice in shaping their communities
For a vast majority of Americans democracy ends when work hours begin. Most people in this country are subject, as workers, to the nearly unmediated authority of their employers, which can discipline, sanction or fire them for nearly any reason
“This is the single biggest new union filing in any industry, definitely this year if not this decade,” said UC Berkeley student researcher Tanzil Chowdhury. “Seventeen thousand new workers just joined the labor movement, which is historic.”
Now’s the perfect time to fight for the right to return to a job once a strike is over. The United States is experiencing a wave of worker militancy and a White House that actually wants to take concrete actions to defend and grow labor unions.
If you watch television, or films, you should think about who is making them and under what conditions. Eighteen-hour workdays, no lunch breaks. Car accidents caused by sleep deprivation. A crew member who returned to set the day after a miscarriage.
Well-planned strikes are not only a union's most potent weapon, but also the public's best chance of forcing substantive policy changes to improve working conditions, living conditions, and the health of the planet.
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The United States Postal Service (USPS) has taken the most dramatic step in a half-century to re-establish a postal banking system. The test allows customers to cash business or payroll checks at the post office and place them onto a gift card.
Amid the bleak political landscape of Clinton’s America, a 1996 summit of union organizers and intellectuals proved a surprise success. It also showed the weakness of left ideas without a strong labor movement.
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