Dear Columbia: Denying Student Workers Healthcare and a Living Wage Is the Real Violence

Columbia University’s administration has denounced the “violence” at this week’s completely peaceful picket by student workers. Do not be fooled: the real violence is the university denying student workers healthcare, a living wage, and neutral third-party arbitration.

It’s Time to Keep the Scabs Out of the Kellogg Plants

The rejection by Kellogg workers of a tentative agreement, which means they’ll continue the strike they began in early October, demands a response by the entire working class. It’s time to show what solidarity really means.

Kellogg Workers Reject Tentative Agreement, Continue Strike

After nine weeks on strike, workers at four Kellogg plants have rejected a temporary agreement that doesn’t meet their demands. They’ll continue to fight the bosses — and need the entire U.S. labor movement to join their struggle.

Why Are There So Few Large Strikes? Blame the Democratic Party

The number of large strikes has plummeted since the 1970s. The main reason is the link between union leaders and the Democratic Party. That link has to be cut.

The Shorter Workweek and a Revolutionary Program for Working Hours

Shortening the workweek has become an issue in the French presidential campaign. Workers there won a 35-hour standard in 2000, but the bosses circumvent the law. Many workers are now demanding a 32-hour workweek. While the French system differs that of the United States, the Marxist argument for reducing working time spelled out here — and how to win that demand — applies to workers everywhere.

Unite Our Struggles: All Out for Columbia Student Workers

Student workers at Columbia University have been fighting to win a first contract for almost four years and are once again on strike. In order to win, they will need the support and solidarity of students and faculty across the city and across the country.

Columbia University Threatens Striking Student Workers with Permanent Replacement

On Thursday, Columbia University sent an email threatening to replace striking student workers permanently if they do not return to work by December 10. Unions in New York City and across the country must throw their full support behind the strike.

From Strike to Class Struggle: Building a Fighting Labor Movement in the Ruins of Neoliberalism

Workers are going on strike and millions are resigning from their jobs. But we should not see the current and recent strikes in a vacuum or solely analyze the potential of these strikes by looking at the working class in its workplaces. This is only half the picture. There is a broader rupture, amongst working-class and oppressed people, with what was considered common sense in the neoliberal era.

“We Need to Take Back Our Union”: An IATSE Worker on Organizing for Change

A retired member of IATSE Local 80 describes the transformative process of organizing for union democracy in the wake of a disappointing contract fight.