Ray Valentine describes how a scheme to privatize transit in the DC area backfired when workers at the private company went on strike
Review of America’s Social Arsonist: Fred Ross and Grassroots Organizing in the Twentieth Century
Eric Dirnbach reviews a biography of one of the US’s most influential organizers of the 20th century
Workers at a cooperative refinery walk the picket line
Workers at the Co-operative Refinery Complex in Regina, Saskatchewan have been locked out for two weeks, after serving the employer with job action notice. Marianne Garneau interviews Kevin Bittman, refinery worker and president of the union local
Neutrality agreements: A political primer
Marianne Garneau looks at the evolution and significance of “neutrality agreements” between unions and employers, which establish the ground rules for an organizing campaign, independent of the NLRB and its processes
How can workers defy anti-strike legislation?
A postal worker in Canada describes how they are building capacity to defy back-to-work legislation, by “taking back the workfloor”
Tough times organizing street canvassers
A street canvasser reflects on a successful NLRB election at Grassroots Campaigns Inc. in Seattle, before the company shuttered the office in retaliation for the union effort
No Shortcuts, but to where?
Nick Driedger reviews Jane McAlevey’s “No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age”
Are worker centers unions?
A DOL investigation of a worker center seeks to reclassify it as a union. Eric Dirnbach and Marianne Garneau look at the differences between these kinds of organizations, and the potential impact of this change.
Breaking legs and organizing workers: a Teamster reviews Scorsese’s “The Irishman”
A former Teamster at UPS and alternate shop steward reviews Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.”