IKEA workers sign first collective bargaining agreement

Workers at the IKEA furniture plant in Danville, Virginia on December 17 ratified their first collective bargaining agreement that takes effect on January 1. The new contract marks a new stage in the three-year fight for worker dignity and respect at the plant, which is operated by Swedwood, a wholly owned subsidiary of the international retail furniture […]

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Texas union builds campaign to save community care from privatization

A state-operated program that allows 56,000 South Texas elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients to live at home instead of a nursing facility may soon come to an end. When the Texas Legislature cut the state budget last year, it mandated that South Texas Medicaid recipients in the Community Care for the Aged and Disabled (CCAD) […]

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Students, parents, teachers, and Occupy stand together to stop school privatization

Monday, December 19 was a long day for opponents of a plan to privatize two Austin public schools. It didn’t end well, but it was an inspiring day that saw parents, students, teachers, and Occupy activists work in unison in a last-ditch effort to stop a Chamber of Commerce initiated plan to turn over the operation of Allan […]

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Retirement Heist: A review

A plan by a group of Houston millionaires to eliminate traditional pension benefits for Texas’ public employees has begun to take shape. The Texas State Employees Union recently broadcast an outline of a proposal from an anti-public service policy organization for eliminating pensions for local and state government employees, public school teachers and other staff, […]

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Nurses stand up to corporate health care

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/hub.htmlNational Nurses United recently announced actions by local affiliates aimed at improving patient care and resisting corporate attempts to reduce or eliminate employee benefits. In California, 6,000 Registered Nurses belonging to the California Nurses Association will conduct a one-day strike on December 22 against two corporate hospital chains. On December 20, members of the Massachusetts […]

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Postal Service cuts on hold for now

The US Postal Service on December 13 announced that it will delay for five months the implementation of its plan to close postal facilities, eliminate 100,000 jobs, and increase mail delivery time.  The moratorium was requested by senators who want time to develop legislation that will address the problems that led to the Postal Service’s planned cuts. Postal workers, local postmasters, […]

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West Coast ports shut down as Occupy movement shifts focus

A number of West Coast ports were shut down on December 12 as the Occupy movement shifted its focus from occupying public space like parks to occupying public space that corporations use to turn a profit. Ports are public facilities that corporations like Stevedore Services of America (SSA) and EGT, a grain terminal operator, use to conduct […]

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Austin union members rally for jobs and help for the unemployed

A spirited group of about 70 union members and their supporters marched from Austin City Hall  to the downtown Chase Bank building where they rallied to urge Texas US Senator John Cornyn and other lawmakers to support the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act, which extends unemployment benefits past the 26-week limit. Without passage of this bill, 2.1 million […]

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Take Back the Capitol shuts down K Street, demands jobs and new priorities

More than 1,000 people On December 7 converged on K Street, the home of lobbyists who represent corporations from all over the world in Washington DC. They were demanding a new set of priorities for the US–priorities that address the needs of the 99 percent, such as jobs, health care, and protection from corporations that cut benefits and […]

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Upper Big Branch settlement results in financial penalty but no criminal charges

The US Justice Department on December 6 announced that it reached a settlement agreement with Alpha Natural Resources of Virginia in which the corporation agrees to pay $209 million to clear itself of further responsibility for the deaths of 29 miners who died in the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. The […]

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Cooling-off period extensions avert rail strike

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters (BMWED) announced on December 2 that it reached an agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC) to extend a 30-day cooling-off period implemented in November and set to expire on December 6. As a result, a nationwide rail strike that could have begun on December 6 […]

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American Airlines files bankruptcy to reduce labor costs

After being unable to reach an agreement with its pilots’ union during contract talks, AMR, the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, on November 29 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court. “(AMR’s action) is not a defensive move, but an offensive bankruptcy where they go after their labor groups to […]

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IAM and Boeing reach surprise tentative agreement

IAM District 751  on November 30 announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with Boeing on a new contract. Members will begin voting on the agreement next week. The agreement, which came as a surprise, includes what the IAM negotiating team calls ”an unprecedented commitment” to job security by the company for workers in the Puget […]

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Two million UK public sector workers strike

Two million public sector workers in the United Kingdom walked off their jobs on November 30 to protest government plans to reduce their pensions and take home pay. Morning Star called the mass action “the strongest show of union strength in a generation.” Thirty unions took part in the historic one-day strike that included teachers, health […]

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