Portside

With huge shifts over the past decade in the way doctors are employed — half of all doctors now work for a health system or large medical group — the idea of unionizing is not only being explored but gaining traction within the profession.

"We’re asking and fighting for what we deserve," a worker says before strike votes this week from Boston to Honolulu.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace has funneled resources into a new pharmacy guild, hiring organizers and launching a website – which crashed the first day when more than 30,000 people tried to visit.

The UAW’s newish president won Detroit auto workers their best deals in decades. Now he’s out to organize Tesla and the rest of the industry’s EV jobs.

Pending cases could boost the potency of worker strikes, expand the scope of labor law protections, and make other changes that bolster worker and union power.

Legislation gives incentives to companies to manufacture electric vehicles without protections for workers, according to autoworkers union head Shawn Fain.

The strike is part of a wave of recent labor actions in the nation’s second-largest metropolis, where high costs of living have made it difficult for many workers — from housekeepers to Hollywood writers — to stay afloat.

Just because not all jobs can be done at home does not mean that no jobs should be done at home. Working from home won’t end exploitation, but it’s nonetheless an important front on which labor can strive to secure improved working arrangements.

If the effort to organize the Buffalo facility succeeds, it would become Tesla’s first unionized workplace. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has expressed opposition to unions in the past.

Employers are using heavy-handed tactics to prevent workers from organizing, and U.S. labor union density is falling as a result.