Public service workers can make a difference in people’s lives. For example, last year workers in the Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) division of the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) investigated more than 175,000 charges of child abuse involving 297,000 children and removed 17,000 children from abusive homes. The work of these public servants no doubt […]
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Archive | March, 2012
German public service workers stage warning strikes
March 29, 2012 
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After two days of warning strikes, ver.di, the union representing federal and municipal workers in Germany, returned to the bargaining table on Thursday for the latest round of negotiations with the German government. On Tuesday, ver.di’s leader Frank Bsriske told striking workers at the Frankfurt airport, “We’re at a crossroads” as the union prepares to hold […]
Read moreTeen’s death, Wisconsin workers have one thing in common
March 28, 2012 0 Comments
At first glance, it might not appear that Trayvon Martin and public service workers in Wisconsin had much in common. Martin lived in Florida about 1,300 miles away from Wisconsin. Martin was a bright teenager with a promising future ahead of him. Those serving the public in Wisconsin are adults, most of whom are well into […]
Read moreTexans rally to save our schools
March 27, 2012 0 Comments
About 4,500 educators, parents, and other public education supporters rallied in Austin on March 24 to save Texas’ public schools, which suffered $5.5 billion in funding cuts last year and are facing more on the horizon. Speakers at the rally, organized by the Save Our Schools coalition, said that if public school supporters waited until next year to fight […]
Read moreUnions’ day of action kicks off 99 Percent Spring
March 26, 2012 1 Comment
Carrying a banner reading, “Fight for good jobs, stand up to corporate greed at Verizon,” members of the Communication Workers of America, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, other union members, and other supporters marched across downtown Washington DC to rally in front of Verizon Center’s F Street entrance. The DC demonstration was one of more than […]
Read moreUnions join movement against foreclosures
March 22, 2012 0 Comments
In San Francisco, members of ILWU Local 91 joined community activists to occupy the home of a union member whose family was evicted after Well Fargo foreclosed on their home. In Detroit, members of the UAW and other unions joined a protest in front of the JP Morgan Chase Detroit headquarters. Protestors delivered a Notice of […]
Read moreDictatorship of the technocrats in Greece and Detroit
March 21, 2012 1 Comment
More than 20 years ago, Lucio Magri of the now defunct Communist Party of Italy observed that because of capitalism’s internal logic, which is to expand privilege for the few at the expense of the many, Capital from time to time runs afoul of formal democracy. When this happens Capital’s impulse is to suppress democracy. Post-industrial […]
Read moreAfter striking, Phoenix bus drivers vow to continue their “fight for workers’ rights”
March 19, 2012 0 Comments
Bus drivers and Veolia Transportation late last week settled a week-long strike in Phoenix and neighboring Tempe, Arizona, but acrimony remains between the company and its workers, and the drivers’ union, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1433, has vowed to block company efforts to renew bus service contracts with the two cities, one of which goes up […]
Read moreNY workers lose pension fight
March 16, 2012 3 Comments
The New York Legislature early Thursday morning voted to reduce the pension benefit for newly hired state and some local government workers. The pension cuts are part of an austerity package proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to reduce government budget shortfalls. The new pension plan known as Tier 6 creates a sixth tier of benefit levels for newly hired […]
Read moreWoman driver takes a rest stop, gets fired by trucking company
March 15, 2012 1 Comment
After leaving the Port of Los Angeles with a full load, Xiomara Perez-Barragan parked her short-haul truck at a McDonald’s to use the restroom and grab a quick bite to eat. She came back to her truck about ten minutes later and delivered her load on time. Three days later her employer, Toll Group, fired her for her rest stop. Stopping […]
Read moreAustin rally tells governor, “don’t mess with Texas women’s health”
March 14, 2012 1 Comment
The focus of the war on women shifted to Texas today as Gov. Rick Perry prepares to carry out his plan to terminate the Women’s Health Program, which provides health services including, Pap smears, breast exams, and contraception to 130,000 low-income, working class women. On the eve of the program’s proposed demise, more than 800 people rallied in Austin urging the governor to back off […]
Read moreFlorida lawmakers considering legislation to make it more difficult to punish wage theft
March 12, 2012 1 Comment
A coalition of labor rights groups stepped up its efforts to block proposed legislation that will make it more difficult to punish wage theft in Florida. After picketing a Home Deport near Fort Lauderdale, members of the Florida Wage Theft Task Force said that they will be presenting a petition with more than 6,000 signatures […]
Read moreSouth African unions strike against precarious labor and toll roads
March 9, 2012 0 Comments
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) cheered the success of Wednesday’s general strike against precarious labor and privatized toll roads. The strike shut down key businesses and disrupted transportation throughout the country. In all, COSATU reported rallies and marches in 32 different cities and towns in the country. “The protest was a brilliant […]
Read moreEast, West Coast carwash workers organize, fight for respect
March 8, 2012 0 Comments
The CLEAN Carwash Campaign announced that two more Los Angeles carwashes have signed union contracts making them the second and third businesses in the area to become union carwashes. Meanwhile in New York City, members of Wash New York, a carwash organizing coalition, on Tuesday released a report documenting the unjust working conditions at the city’s carwashes […]
Read moreStudents, teachers fight California higher education cut backs.
March 7, 2012 0 Comments
A series of actions aimed at stopping proposed budget cuts to higher education in California, culminated Monday in Sacramento, the state’s capital, with a huge rally in front of the statehouse, a massive grassroots lobbying effort, and a sit-in and people’s assembly in the Capitol itself. The protestors supported a Millionaire’s Tax that if enacted would generate […]
Read moreWarehouse workers score huge victory; systemic abuses still persist
March 6, 2012 0 Comments
Warehouse Workers United recently announced that workers at a Walmart distribution center in Southern California won a “huge victory” against the warehouse operator and its staffing agencies. “After weeks of legal wrangling and uncertainty. . . , Schneider Logistics agreed to comply with the court’s order and keep workers on a full-time basis converting them […]
Read moreWho benefits from standardized testing?
March 6, 2012 0 Comments
Carl Webb provided the following information about a brown bag seminar on standardized testing at UT Austin on Thursday, May 8. The seminar’s presentation will take place twice, first at noon and then at 5:00. Here’s the information. The Texas Center for Educational Policy (TCEP) will host a brown bag seminar entitled Exploring Texas’ High-Stakes Testing System: A […]
Read moreAustin rally against standardized testing part of a growing movement for true education reform
March 5, 2012 1 Comment
In Austin, a spirited group of people on Friday joined a growing movement across the country to protest the dominant role that standardized testing is playing the country’s K-12 public education system. The protest, which began with a rally in front of the Texas state capital and after a short march ended at the Texas Education Agency building, was organized by […]
Read moreWorkers resist AMR’s attempt to use bankruptcy as excuse for gutting union contracts
March 1, 2012 0 Comments
American Airlines workers facing the loss of their jobs and benefits on Wednesday set up informational picket lines at terminals at 13 US airports including Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Tulsa, and Miami. American’s parent company AMR in January filed for bankruptcy protection in order to break its contracts with unions representing American workers. In February, American submitted […]
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