Nov
5
Today marks the 95th anniversary of the Everett Massacre. Labor historian Eric Loomis offers a capsule summary.
Nov
3
Additional ULP charge likely in Target election case
efink | November 3, 2011 | Tagged NLRB, organizing, unfair labor practices, unions | Comments Off
The Brooklyn body of the National Labor Relations Board has gathered more evidence that Target intimidated workers by threatening to close a store if a union was approved in a vote this summer.
The new charges could be enough evidence for an administrative law judge to recommend that the election results be overturned, Alvin Blyer of the regional NLRB told the Minnesota Independent.The union lost the June election at Valley Stream, N.Y., 137-85, but has filed a number of objections with the NLRB for intimidation and illegal firing of a union supporter, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
The NLRB has already filed one complaint of its investigation of Target. Blyer told the Minnesota Independent that the regional NLRB would likely file a second complaint documenting the agency’s findings next week.
Nov
1
The Bisbee Deportation
efink | November 1, 2011 | Tagged Bisbee deportation, history, IWW, labor, strikes, unions | Comments Off
The University of Arizona library has an online collection relating to the 1917 deportation of striking IWW miners from Bisbee, Arizona (as discussed in the movie, The Wobblies). The material includes deposition testimony and exhibits from Michael Simmons v. El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Company, a civil suit brought by the family of one deportee.
Oct
5
Law-breaking as union strategy?
efink | October 5, 2011 | Tagged labor, strikes, unions | Comments Off
Looking at recent actions by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) in Washington State, labor journalist Mike Elk asks whether the labor movement “should revisit the idea of breaking the law as a strategy for victory.”
Oct
4
AFSCME: The F*ckin’ Union That Works for You!
efink | October 4, 2011 | | Comments Off
Sep
15
High School history texts neglect, distort role of labor unions, study concludes
efink | September 15, 2011 | Tagged education, history, labor, unions | Comments Off
A new report from the union-supported Albert Shanker Institute finds that the labor movement gets short shrift in U.S. high school history classes.
Sep
15
Did Retailer Target Employee for Pro-Union Stance?
efink | September 15, 2011 | Tagged labor, NLRB, unfair labor practices, unions | Comments Off
Last month Target fired Tashawna Green — but not for being bad at her job. They fired her, she says, for trying to make her job better. Green, a 21-year-old single mom, was the most public supporter of a campaign to unionize the workers at her Long Island, New York store. Before an unsuccessful union vote there, she told The New York Times and other media outlets about the challenge of supporting her daughter on $8 an hour and insufficient hours. Her photo appeared in several newspapers.
Target, which has more than 1,760 American stores, earned $704 million in profits in the second quarter. Like its big-box competitor Walmart, Target has zero union employees in the United States. That means none of Target’s workers may bargain collectively over wages or the company’s refusal to schedule more workers for full-time hours. More than 50 of Costco’s nearly 600 stores, in contrast, are unionized.
Target isn’t claiming Green didn’t show up to work, or couldn’t do the job. Instead, the company put out a statement saying she was fired for acting “in an overly hostile, disruptive manner.” Green and representatives of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union say that’s just a tricky way of saying she wanted to join a union, and Target doesn’t want its employees to have that option. The UFCW is filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), saying Target illegally punished her for engaging in activism.
Sep
14
Rethinking “Jobs”
efink | September 14, 2011 | Tagged employment, jobs | Comments Off
Are Jobs on Their Way to Becoming Obsolete? And Is That a Good Thing?
A nice overview of an important discussion.
Sep
9
Scenes From the Class War in Washington State
efink | September 9, 2011 | | Comments Off
Craig Merrilees, Communications Director for the ILWU, discusses the union’s fight in Longview, Washington.
Sep
7
Organizing an “inside strike”
efink | September 7, 2011 | Tagged labor, strikes, unions | Comments Off
A retired auto worker discusses “work to rule” as an alternative union tactic to the traditional strike.
