Labor Disaster: Remembering America’s Worst Industrial Accident

Mark Hand CounterPunch
The number of deaths is probably greater than the number who perished with the sinking of the Titanic, The passengers on the Titanic included scions of wealthy families — people whose passing was deemed important enough to memorialize in books and movies. By contrast, the five thousand workers at Hawk’s Nest were poor, predominantly Black, and considered expendable in the early years of the Great Depression.

 The Unionization of Digital Media

Michelle Chen The Nation
A recent string of campaigns show that while unions at “legacy” newspapers are eroding, organizing still has a place in the digital space.

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Unionization Important to Closing Racial Wage Gap, Study Says

Benjamin Mueller The New York Times
Union density went up in New York City and New York state this past year, according to a new study by Ruth Milkman and Stephanie Luce. They also found that nearly nearly 40 percent of black workers of New York City are union members. Unions raise wages for all workers compared to nonunion workers, but the pay boost is larger for black workers. Unions also help reduce inequality between nonblack and black workers.

No Union Mines Left in Kentucky

Dylan Lovan Statesboro Herald
"When the coal industry rebounds to the extent that it does, and non-union operators take a look around and see that there's no union competition, and they'll see that they can begin to cut wages, they can begin to cut benefits, they can begin to cut corners on safety, they'll do that," said Phil Smith, a national spokesman for the miner's union.

Tidbits - September 3, 2015 - Unions and BDS; Farm worker Rebellion; Cornel West; Solidarity Confinement Victory; Drones in Dakota; lots of announcements...

Portside
Reader Comments: U.S. Trade Union Support for BDS; Pacific Coast Farm Worker Rebellion; Cornel West - Sanders, Trump and BLM; Selma - Site of National Dumping; North Dakota Legalizes Drone Strikes; Solidarity Confinement Victory in California; Israel, Iran; Sex Trade, Sex Workers and Amnesty International; Announcements: - New App for Worker Rights; Charleston, Chicago, Brooklyn, Bay Area, New York

Black Labor Organizers Urge AFL-CIO to Reexamine Its Ties to the Police

Sarah Jaffe Truthout
Police ... sometimes are workers who make very little money, oftentimes receive very little benefits in terms of the capitalist system that we live in and we want to recognize that . . . If police were to excise police brutality and anti-Blackness from their institution, I think we'd be having a very different conversation. And that's also a conversation that I would be happy to have.

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San Francisco Teachers Elect Reformers to Lead Union

Cynthia Lasden and Tom Edminster Labor Notes
In an upset victory, San Francisco educators have elected a new union president who promises to empower members, take on standardized testing, and back struggles for affordable housing.

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Teachers Unions Tackle Social Justice to Improve Schools, Communities

Melissa Sanchez Catalyst Chicago
The Chicago Teachers Union has gained a reputation for organizing alongside community groups over broader social justice issues of race and class. Now, from Saint Paul to Los Angeles, more teachers unions are following their lead and embracing a similar progressive model. That model includes building developing relationships with community groups and other unions and taking broader issues that impact their students’ lives to the bargaining table.

New Rule Speeds Unionization Votes, Say Organizers

Dan DiMaggio Labor Notes
“Delay hurts,” says Kate Bronfenbrenner of the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, “because they can fire one more worker, or engage in five more captive-audience meetings or three more supervisor one-on-ones per person.” Because of these aggressive tactics, there are far fewer NLRB elections today than in the past.
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