Labor Movement
Australia: Almost 100 dock workers sacked by Hutchison Ports
On August 6, at half an hour before midnight, almost 100 dock workers received text messages on their mobile telephones asking them to check their emails. These members of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) unsuspectingly logged on to their accounts only to find out that Hutchison Ports Australia had sacked them all by email.
Sean Robertson
August 13, 2015“Labor Needs to Get its Own House in Order Around Race”
In this interview, economist and labor educator Michael Yates* talks about the crisis of the labor movement, its relationship with the anti-racist movement, FightFor15 and much more.
Michael D Yates
August 12, 2015Madygraf: One Year of workers’ control
The RR Donnelley factory (today Madygraf) has been occupied for over one year and remains in the hands of the workers.
Left Voice
August 12, 2015Madygraf: Behind Every Worker is a Family
Author Wendy Goldman talks about her visit to Argentina and to the worker-controlled factory, Madygraf.
Wendy Z. Goldman
August 11, 2015Bus Drivers of Line 60 defeat employer sackings and lock out
After a marathon 41 day struggle, the 1,200 bus drivers of the Line 60 bus service in Buenos Aires returned to work on August 5 after winning the reinstatement of fifty sacked workmates. This historic strike by the drivers, known as “choferes” in Argentina, successfully ‘twisted the arm’ of the triple alliance of bosses, government and the leadership of the Union Tranviarios Automotor (UTA - Tram Drivers Union) that was lined up against them.
Sean Robertson
August 11, 2015No Place for Cops in Our Unions
Last week, Local 2865 of the United Auto Workers passed a resolution calling on the AFL-CIO to end its affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations. This call offers a way in which workers can take up the fight against police brutality at their jobs, and put pressure on their unions to sign on to this demand.
Julia Wallace
August 7, 2015Victory in the fight for $15 in New York
An advisory board has recommended that New York State raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for fast-food workers. The national movement for $15 has recently won important fights in some cities and gained nationwide momentum. However there remain some important unresolved questions about the potential of this movement.
Juan Cruz Ferre
July 28, 2015Maritime Union of Australia elections: continuity and change
The Quadrennial Elections of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) have just been finalised, with newly elected officials taking office on July 1. The election results in the union which covers the economically strategic areas of shipping, stevedoring and the offshore oil and gas industry were a real mixed bag. The Maritime Union and its predecessor unions have had a long association with Communism, an association which has left behind a contradictory legacy.
Sean Robertson
July 22, 2015Biggest attack on trade unions’ rights for 30 years
Yesterday the British government unveiled its Trade Union Bill – a draconian set of proposals that will affect working conditions and trade union’s rights and shift the balance of power in favour of the bosses. The new bill represents the biggest crackdown on trade union rights in 30 years since Margaret Thatcher introduced her anti-union laws in the 80s.
Alejandra Ríos
July 17, 2015‘The key is the organization of the supply-chains for fast food and the new retail stores’
Charlie Post is a Professor at City University of New York and a socialist activist. He is the author of the book American Road to Capitalism. In this interview originally published in Esquerda Diario, he talks about the concept of Precariat, the novel ways of workplace organizing and the challenges for the Left.
Left Voice
July 16, 2015