By Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer There has been much recent talk about the impact of money on politics, especially in the wake of the Citizens United ruling that ratcheted up the role of corporate money in political campaigns. Organized labor was quick to blame this ruling for its defeat in Wisconsin. Many assume that…
This article originally appeared at Counterpunch.org. By Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer Unions were originally built on the principle of solidarity. Workers soon realized that as individuals they were powerless when trying to defend their interests in relation to their profit-maximizing employers. But when they were organized and stood together, their combination gave them the…
by Shamus Cooke The labor movement had better do some deep soul searching, and fast. Although the defeat in Wisconsin is the horrible end to a local drama, the corporate winners hope to turn their victory into the beginning chapter of a national novel. The opening sentence was perhaps written recently in San Diego and…
UPDATED at 10:10 a.m. According to a report from Occupy Portland Labor Solidarity committee, teachers and the school district have reached a tentative agreement and are going back to work at 10 a.m. this morning. By Emily Crum and Adam Sanchez After months at the negotiating table with intransigent school boards, 550 teachers from the…
By Jamie Partridge Over two hundred Portland-area letter carriers, other postal workers, family members and allies held a picket and rally Tuesday, April 17, 2012 (tax day), calling attention to tax-free solutions to fix postal service. As last minute tax filers drove up to the blue postal collection boxes, picket signs calling for no closures,…
by K. Kendall TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane is directing TriMet as a corporation and not as a public service, according to James, an Occupier whose wife, daughter, and granddaughter have all been TriMet drivers. “He’s giving the fare inspectors quotas,” James says with outrage. “They have to give four citations an hour from now on,…
by Greg Margolis On March 20, 2012, an estimated crowd of 1,500 teachers and community members, including parents and students, gathered in the Gresham High School gymnasium to rally and march in support of the Gresham-Barlow Education Association, Reynolds Education Association and Parkrose Faculty Association in their efforts to bargain a fair contract with the…
by Jeremy Brecher Based on a talk by Jeremy Brecher to Occupy University, Zuccotti Park. Last December, Occupy Los Angeles proposed a General Strike on May 1 “for migrant rights, jobs for all, a moratorium on foreclosures, and peace – and to recognize housing, education and health care as human rights.” The idea has spread…
By Shawn Fleek A threatened closure of a window factory in Chicago has been delayed 90 days, after workers there occupied their factory for three days. The factory may still close, or a similar occupation may again take place, if the union or management can not find a new owner. The factory closure threatened 50…
By Howard Peter Former and current Portland-area postal workers turned out for a rally at Pioneer Square this past Sunday, January 8, to get the message out that there are some bad changes are coming to America in the form of House Res. 2309 & Senate Bill 1789. Jamie Partridge, a retired postal worker at…
