labor

Labor Wrestles With Its Future

Harold Meyerson The Washington Post
Unions face an existential problem: If they can’t represent more than a sliver of American workers on the job, what is their mission? Are there other ways they can advance workers’ interests even if those workers aren’t their members? A new labor movement might resemble a latter-day version of the Knights of Labor, the workers’ organization of the 1880s that was a cross between a union federation, a working-class political vehicle, and a fraternal lodge.

labor

Labor's Plan B

Abby Rapoport The American Prospect
Faced with the very real threat of extinction, unions have largely put collective bargaining on the back burner, and instead must try to remind American workers of the basic concept of worker solidarity. “We start from the point of view that, because so few people are in unions these days, very few people have personal experience with collective power,” explains Karen Nussbaum, the executive director of Working America.

Who Can Stop the Koch Brothers From Buying the Tribune Papers? Unions Can, and Should

Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone
The potential Tribune sale would be a high-profile litmus test of the unions' financial self-awareness. Public-sector workers from Massachusetts to California can force their investment managers to make a choice: sell to the Kochs, or keep managing their retirement billions. If the Kochs want to buy newspapers, this is a free country, and nobody can stop them. But the people whose benefits they want to slash don't have to help them get there.

A New Era for Worker Ownership, 5 Years in the Making

Kari Lydersen In These Times
The New Era Windows Cooperative opens its doors (and windows) for business. The workers know launching and running a company won't be easy, but given their deep knowledge of the industry and their personal investment in the project, they are confident they can do it.

Tidbits - May 9, 2013

Portside
Reader's Comments - End of the War in Viet Nam; Paid Sick Leave Law in New York; Guantanamo; Dodging Corporate Taxes; Working Class; Education; Health Care; Songs for May Day; Interview with Rene Gonzalez; What Can I Do - Portside emails have suddenly stopped? Alert for Earthlink, Mindspring, IGC PeoplePC readers Announcement - New York City Troublemakers School, May 18; International Forum on Globalization - Peoples of the Pacific - Berkeley Teach-In - June 1 & 2

In Another Blow to NLRB, Court Says Bosses Don't Have To Notify Workers of Rights

Moshe Marvit In These Times
Appeals Court rules NLRB cannot require employers to post notices informing employees of their labor rights. The decision, which comes less than three weeks after lack of regulatory enforcement led to a fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas that killed 14 and left about 200 injured, opens the door for businesses to challenge requirements that workers be informed of their health, safety and employment rights.

labor

8 Killed in Bangladesh Garment Factory Fire, Protests Grow

S. Quadir, R. Paul, J. Zarroli, K. Bhasin, M. Mosk, B. Ross
Eight people were killed when a fire swept through a clothing factory in Bangladesh on Wednesday, as the death toll from the collapse of another factory building two weeks ago climbed above 900. Meanwhile, multinational corporations are coming under growing scrutiny and facing mounting protests over their involvement in the exploitation of Bangladeshi workers. One U.S. union is targeting Gap, Inc.

Inspired by Freedom Riders, Workers Plan Caravans to Walmart Convention

Josh Eidelson The Nation
Los Angeles Walmart worker Tsehai Almaz told The Nation that after visiting the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and meeting with local clergy, she and other OUR Walmart leaders were inspired to follow the example of the 1961 freedom riders. “I feel like we’re facing many of the same issues,” said Almaz, “even though it’s not necessarily about race—this time it’s about respect. And being able to feed our families, and having good working conditions.”

labor

Solidarity NOT Forever: How the Supreme Court Kicked Retirees Into the Gutter

Prof. Ellen Dannin and Ann Hodges, Truthout News Analysis Truthout
The Supreme Court's decision in Allied Chemical Workers v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass to give employers complete control of retiree benefits undercuts the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act and leaves vulnerable, retired employees powerless to protect themselves from costly changes in benefits.

Tidbits - April 25, 2013

Portside
Readers Comments: Henry Kissinger; Richie Havens; Chechnya, Terrorism; Whither the Socialist Left; Korea; Venezuela; Texas Plant; Nude Protests; Robin Hood Tax; Labor's Organizing Model; Announcements: Angela Y. Davis, Feminism & Abolition: Theories & Practices for 21st Century - Chicago - May 3; Labor Historians - AFL-CIO Needs Your Help: Organizing: New & Forgotten Methods; Maudelle Shirek Memorial - Berkeley - Apr 30; Resource: Workers Memorial Day - April 28
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