Portside

Recently, unions have been taking a closer look at the work-without-a-contract strategy. Some have changed their mantra from “no contract, no work” to “no contract, no peace.” With a helpful December 2012 Labor Board (NLRB) ruling (see below), this trend is likely to gain momentum.

A large demonstration was held in Anchorage to protest the Mayor's attempt to institute sweeping changes he believes are needed to streamline labor negotiations and deliver city services cheaper and more efficiently. As written, the plan would limit raises, eliminate the right to strike and give the Assembly the final word on stalled labor disputes, among many new provisions.

Many new state workers — ranging from teachers to police officers to street cleaners — will retire with fewer retirement benefits than their current counterparts. Since 2009, faced with ballooning bills and strained budgets, 45 states have either cut pension benefits or increased mandatory employee retirement plan contributions, or both.

The medical marijuana shop next to a tattoo parlor on a busy street in Los Angeles looks much like hundreds of other pot dispensaries that dot the city. Except for one thing: On the glass door - under a green cross signaling that cannabis can be bought there for medical purposes - is a sticker for the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW), the nation's largest retail union.

The Center for Media and Democracy says the Pennsylvania effort is part of a nationwide campaign against unions by right-wing business groups, such as the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party organization FreedomWorks.

Republicans say it’s a simple change, opting out to opting in. But by making it more difficult for public employee unions to collect dues, GOP lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri could weaken a chief political nemesis. If organized labor is dealt that blow this year, the stage could be set in subsequent years in Missouri to push for a right-to-work law — the most contentious of disputes between management and unions played out in state legislatures across the nation.

Now that we're well past the euphoria of election night, it's time to consider what the vote really meant, and how unions can move forward. First, it's clear that we in labor can't dedicate ourselves to "holding the president accountable" because Obama is not, in fact, accountable to us. He raised $1 billion for his re-election, and most of it was not from us.