(LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK) - The Working Man’s Boxing Champ and Member of Laborers Local 66 - Joe Smith, Jr., won the vacant WBO Light Heavyweight Title during a nationally televised championship bout on ESPN over the weekend. The 31-year-old fighter from Long Island edged Maxim Vlasov over 12 rounds to capture the crown. Scores were 114-114 and more»

This is what was learned from a year-long investigation by The Guardian and Kaiser Health News (KHN) to count Health Care Worker deaths, tracing the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice: More than 3,600 U.S. Health Care Workers died in the first year of the Coronavirus Pandemic according to Lost on the Frontline, which tracked such deaths. Lost more»

(CHICAGO, ILLINOIS) - The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters has launched an aggressive campaign to raise public awareness about pervasive tax fraud in the construction industry and is calling on elected officials to help crack down on subcontractors who cheat the system. In coordination with the 500,000-Member United Brotherhood of Carpenters and more»

(BESSEMER, ALABAMA) - Some 5,800 Workers at Amazon's facility in Bessemer, Alabama held a historic vote on whether to form the company's first Warehouse Union, but when the votes were tallied, it became apparent the majority of Workers did not vote in favor of Unionizing. The final tally was 1,798 votes against and 738 votes for joining the Retail, more»

The U.S. Labor Movement has been moribund for decades, but a high-profile Unionization Drive at Amazon may be just what it needs to revive its fortunes. That's because Amazon Workers embody a new Working Class that may start to develop the kind of solidarity that existed among Factory Workers during the last century. The last 40 years haven't been good to more»

(MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA) - In a big win in court for U.S. Pork Plant Workers, a Federal Judge in Minneapolis has trumped former GOP Oval Office occupant Donald Trump’s Agriculture Department’s rule eliminating speed limits on pork plant processing lines. Instead, District Judge Joan Ericksen bounced the issue back to U.S. Department of more»

(CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA) – West Virginia Governor Jim Justice’s recently held some town halls that were meant to persuade the public. The Governor achieved his goal in at least one respect: Senate Democrats were vocal about one part of the speech they really, really liked - tweeting, “He is right.” That was the moment Justice, more»

States with politically conservative leadership have productive Workers, but Anti-Union State Laws tamp down Employee earnings without promoting local economic growth, according to new Cornell University research published in the Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society. Mildred Warner, Professor of City and Regional Planning in the College of more»

(BESSEMER, ALABAMA) - Counting is currently under way for the historic Union Election at Amazon’s Warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama and Union Organizers and Leaders throughout the Labor Movement are hoping the effort will help galvanize support for Workers and Unions in the South and across the United States. Tevita Uhatafe, 35, a Member of Transport more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The National AFL-CIO plans a National Day of Action on April 8th, during the Congressional recess, to have Workers lobby Senators to pass the Protect The Right To Organize (Pro) Act, American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President Mark Dimondstein announced. If four Democratic holdouts and one Independent can be turned around the act more»

(DUESSELDORF, GERMANY) - Reuters reports Germany's largest Trade Union - IG Metall, agreed a 2.3% wage increase, to be paid either in full or as part of a switch to a four-day week, in a key industrial region, setting the benchmark for 3.9 million Metal and Engineering Workers nationwide. Salaries will increase from July, but the additional money will not more»

(THE STATE OF ALABAMA) - The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) have issued a Strike Notice against Warrior Met Coal, which is set to begin at 10:30 p.m. today (Thursday, April 1st). The notice covers more than 1,100 Workers at all of the company’s operations, including the No. 4 mine, the No. 5 preparation plant, the No. 7 mine and its central more»

After one of the most high-profile and consequential Unionization Drives in recent American History, ballots are set to be counted in an election to determine whether Amazon Warehouse Workers in Bessemer, Alabama form a Union. Amazon has been bitterly opposed to the effort and the retail giant has come under criticism across the globe over its working more»

(SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA) - More than 700 hundred Janitors working in San Francisco are out of Strike in protest of low pay, Worker's Rights and a lack of protections. The protest was spread into two groups: one outside of the city's tallest building, the Salesforce Tower, and a second outside another large building. According to NBC Bay Area, the more»

Martin Levitt - who renounced his 20-year career as an Anti-Union Consultant to write a landmark memoir: Confessions of a Union Buster, in the early 1990s - famously said that Union Busting is a “dirty business” which is “Populated by bullies and built on deceit. A campaign against a Union is an assault on individuals and a war on the more»

Newsweek Editor’s Note: Stuart Appelbaum is President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which is conducting the Unionization Drive for the Workers employed at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Bessemer, Alabama. Right now, in Bessemer, Alabama, the most important Labor struggle in more than half a century is unfolding as more»

It was a freezing afternoon in February 2011 as I marched up State Street to the Wisconsin State Capitol. I was between undergraduate classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison when I caught word that a group of Graduate Student Workers were delivering valentines to Republican Governor Scott Walker and holding a rally at the Capitol urging him not to more»

(NEW YORK CITY) - The National AFL-CIO, the Nation’s largest Federation of Labor Unions, has announced a groundbreaking collaboration with Wilmington Trust, BNY Mellon, PGIM Fixed Income and AFL-CIO ITC Financial to distribute 12 new target date Collective Investment Trust (CIT) Funds, expanding retirement planning options for its 56 Unions and 12.5 more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) - which represents 1.3 million Front Line Workers in food and retail across the United States, including 32 King Soopers Grocery Workers who work at the Boulder, Colorado store where this week’s shooting took place, is condemning the senseless violence. UFCW more»

(THE STATE OF COLORADO) - The Employees of farms, ranches and other agricultural businesses are excluded from some of the protections other Colorado Workers currently have, but a sweeping new Bill at the State legislature would change that, granting new rights on everything from wages to Union Organizing. “Generations of Workers have been exploited more»

In March 2020, Amanda Lee McCarty was laid off from her job. For years, she had been working in the fashion industry as a Buyer and Product Developer, but as COVID-19 cases surged and lockdown orders were implemented across the world, retailers were faced with a dramatic plummet in consumer demand for clothing. McCarty, who had been the sole breadwinner more»

(THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT) - Nearly 75% of Connecticut’s Public Sector Workforce is part of a Union, according to new numbers released by Unionstats.com, making Connecticut’s Government Workforce the most Unionized in the U.S. The figures derived from 2020 Current Population Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau show that 74.1% of more»

The National AFL-CIO, as well as Unions and their Leadership across the country, is voicing shock and outrage over the racist attack on Asian women in Atlanta: National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka: “Asian American Workers are a vital part of our Labor Movement and have shown an immense amount of dedication throughout this pandemic. We will not more»

As companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Google fight aggressively (and insidiously) against Workers’ attempts to Unionize, it’s a good time to get familiar with what unions can actually do for people - because Unions can help Workers win more rights, companies sometimes take months before recognizing a Union (like at BuzzFeed) or concluding more»

(GRIMES & IOWA CITY, IOWA) - A Unionization effort is underway among Employees of Amazon.com's Iowa warehouses, with Organizers threatening a Strike. Teamsters Local 238 Organizing Director Buzz Malone says he’s been recruiting Workers to organize since November. He said the Union has approached "400 to 500" current or former Employees, more»

Cincinnati.com Editor’s Note: Brian Garry is a Democratic candidate for Cincinnati City Council. He is chair of the Human Services Coalition of the Faith Community Alliance, co-founder of the Cincinnati Racial Justice Coalition and owner of Green City Ecostruction, which creates net-zero homes that are affordable. Cincinnati is a world-class city more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The U.S. House of Representative has passed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, with 42 House Democrats from Southern states as co-sponsors. The Bill is one of the most ambitious attempts to strengthen the rights of Workers and Unions in decades. Its centerpiece is a provision that would override so-called Right-To-Work more»

(THE STATE OF MONTANA) - The Labor Movement in Montana recently scored a historic win when a coalition of Democrats and Moderate Republicans defeated a Right-To-Work (for less) Bill on the floor of the Montana House of Representatives. What makes it more surprising is that the Bill had the support of the state’s Governor and legislative leaders, as more»

(LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA) - The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union - which represents 1.3 million Essential Front Line Workers in grocery, meatpacking and other critical industries, is condemning Kroger’s action to close additional grocery stores in Southern California, threatening the food supply for communities hit hard more»

On a November evening in 1909, hundreds of Shirtwaist Workers, many of whom were Jewish Immigrants, packed the Great Hall of New York City’s Cooper Union. Local 25 of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) had organized a meeting that night to discuss the possibility of an industry-wide Strike, a practice that was still illegal at the more»

Drop your cards, shake out your note-taking hand, and get ready to tell a junior Employee that HR ultimately works for the boss, because we’re calling it now: 2021’s hottest trend is being Pro-Union. Don’t believe me? Ask any of 17.1 million people who watched Meghan Markle drop a very special shout out into her exclusive, tell-all more»

(WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS) – Around 800 Nurses represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) went on an open-ended Strike Monday (March 8th) in Worcester, Massachusetts after talks broke down with hospital owners Tenet Healthcare over staffing levels. Hundreds gathered in the cold weather outside St. Vincent Hospital, with those attending more»

A string of recent attacks against Asian Americans has communities and advocates on high alert, but there isn't evidence to prove that these incidents were only motivated by anti-Asian bigotry. However, authorities and advocates for the Asian Community say that hate and violence against Asians has been brewing for several months and needs to be addressed. more»

The Missourian Editor’s Note: Jordan Kahrhoff studies Political Science at Westminster College and is a Presidential Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. Growing up, I was taught Democrats advocated for Working People. It was a sentiment that was passed on to me from three generations of Electricians who were staunch more»

(BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA) - Homelessness has many causes, but one near-universal effect: hopelessness. But thanks to a unique partnership with a local shelter, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 136 in Birmingham, Alabama is tackling the issue in an innovative way, offering hope to a portion of the city’s homeless population in more»

(PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA) - The United Steelworkers (USW) is preparing for a Strike Authorization at Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, the union’s international vice president confirmed this week. Although the contract that expired Sunday (February 28th) was extended and Employees were told to continue to report to work, “the Locals have more»

(HELENA, MONTANA) - Surrounded by Union Members who filled the gallery and packed Capitol hallways in opposition to Right-To-Work (for less) Legislation, the Montana House on Tuesday (March 2nd) voted down the proposal by a tally of 38-to-62, with some Republicans joining Democrats in opposition to the Bill. In Colorado, a similar Right-To-Work Bill was more»

Rarely has the chasm between Rank-and-File-Workers and the extremely wealthy been this wide. While millions of people have lost jobs, gone hungry and struggled to pay for their basic needs, billionaires' wealth soared to new heights in 2020. And although the Coronavirus Pandemic made things worse, America's wealth gap has largely been expanding since the more»

(SEATTLE, WASHINGTON) - In a major victory for Unions representing Railroad Workers, a Federal Court of Appeals has ruled the Trump Administration violated the law when it attempted to override state regulations governing the number of Crew Members needed to safely operate a train. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, along with two other states more»

(BESSEMER, ALABAMA) - Roughly 100 Organizers have been calling Workers from Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse in recent weeks, making the case for why they should Unionize. The robust phone-banking operation reflects the high stakes for Organized Labor as Workers at the facility consider forming the first Amazon Union in the U.S. The organizing more»

(HELENA, MONTANA) - States that have adopted Right-To-Work (for less) Laws, which prohibit Union Contracts from requiring Non-Member Workers to share in the cost of bargaining efforts on their behalf, lag behind other states in a broad range of social and economic indicators, a study from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute says. The study by the more»

Dave Dell Isola, the son and grandson of Union Members, grew up grateful for the family-sustaining wages and benefits that Organized Labor won for Working People, but he never fully grasped the might of solidarity until he and his wife, Barbara, and their two sons lost everything in an apartment fire. Dell Isola’s Brothers and Sisters in the United more»

(BESSEMER, ALABAMA) - An annual program in which Amazon offers to pay Workers at least $1,000 to quit their jobs could threaten a Unionization Drive in Bessemer, Alabama. There are concerns on Twitter that the drive was specifically targeted at the Bessemer warehouse, but Amazon runs this program nationally and has for several years. This year’s more»

Calling raising the Minimum Wage to $15 an hour “as big a fight as the ones for FDR’s New Deal during the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s,” a coalition of Unions and Activists held rallies in eight cities on Monday (February 22nd) to demand the Senate include the increase in any COVID-19 more»

Workers Unionizing with the Retail Workers and Wholesale Distribution Union (RWDSU) at an Amazon Distribution Center in Bessemer, Alabama, have been met with a range of tactics to dissuade them from voting for a Union - including frequent text messages, paid Social Media advertisements, and “classes” intended to warn them against Unionization. more»

As wealth inequality accelerates, Essential Workers organize for Coronavirus Pandemic protections and President Biden makes promises to be “the most Pro-Union President you’ve ever seen,” interest in Labor Unions appears to be on the rise. In January, hundreds of Google Employees voted to Unionize, and this month, thousands of Amazon more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Labor Leaders Wednesday (February 17th) to discuss his proposed COVID relief package and investing in infrastructure. "Every once in a while as President, you get to invite close friends into the Oval," Biden told reporters, according to pool reports. "A lot of these folks more»

(BESSEMER, ALABAMA) - Overcoming one final company-crafted hurdle, almost 6,000 Workers - most of them Black in a 70% Black city - at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama are now voting by mail on whether to Unionize. Final results of the balloting on whether the Workers will join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU), a sector of more»

Fast Food Workers in 15 cities are holding a Black History Month Strike today (Tuesday, February 16th) to demand the McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s restaurant chains pay them $15 an hour. The action comes as Congress prepares to debate a Federal rise in the Minimum Wage to $15 from its current rate of $7.25, the first Federal raise since more»

Social Media creators have a new way to join Hollywood’s biggest Union. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has approved an Influencer Agreement that expands coverage and Membership options to on-line content creators. The term influencer is interchangeable with creator or content creator. The more»