Category: worker strikes

Update 13/6: Due to government repression, only 20% of the airport workers were able to strike. Brazilian courts threatened to fine the union crippling amounts of money each hour until the strike ended. Early on, workers blocked traffic causing some people to miss their flights. The strike was “suspended,” so this might not be the

The post Airport Workers in Rio de Janeiro to Begin 24 Hour Strike for Wage Increase and World Cup Bonus – Updates appeared first on revolution-news.com.

Saint Paul, MN – On Feb. 10 the Executive Board of the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers voted unanimously to call a strike vote for their members on Feb. 24. This comes after almost nine months of contract negotiations in which teachers have put forward bold proposals to defend and improve public education in Saint Paul, which have garnered the support of parents and community members but drawn negative responses from School District officials.

The teachers’ proposals include limiting class sizes and increasing the numbers of counselors, nurses, librarians and art teachers in the schools. These proposals would address universally-acknowledged needs in the schools, but School District officials reject them, saying setting firm limits would be too expensive and would take away “flexibility.”

In light of research that shows that pre-kindergarten education is important to closing the gap between white students and students of color, the teachers also proposed expanding pre-kindergarten access. And in another bold proposal the teachers want the district to agree to opt out of the state’s annual math, reading and science tests, since they force teachers to spend enormous amounts of resources and class time teaching to the standardized test rather than engaging in quality classroom interaction.

The watershed strike by Chicago teachers in late 2012 turned on many similar issues. There is a well-funded and nationally orchestrated push for corporate-backed education reform which is playing out in cities across the country. Central to the corporate education reform playbook in their drive for privatization is blaming teachers for every problem large and small in public schools, and then pushing to weaken teachers’ unions as a supposed obstacle to solutions.

For years most teachers’ unions responded timidly in the face of such attacks, and kept their negotiations narrowly focused on teachers’ wages and benefits. But this approach just opened teachers up to attack for allegedly being ‘selfish’ and not caring about students or their communities or the huge problems facing urban public schools across the country. The Chicago teachers’ strike marked a turning point as the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) directly took on the corporate education reform agenda in their negotiations, making common cause with parents and communities.

Teachers around the country watched Chicago closely and appear to have taken the lessons to heart – timidity in the face of attack has led to defeat, while Chicago teachers’ approach of standing up in defense of public education in alliances with students, parents and communities changed the game. This month in Portland, Oregon teachers voted to strike while raising a broad agenda in defense of public education, and now Saint Paul teachers are also moving toward a strike vote with a broad agenda in favor of students, their communities, and public education.

The next negotiation date is set for February 20, just prior to the Feb. 24 strike vote. If the members vote to strike, a strike could begin anytime after a 10-day notice. School District officials said all classes will be canceled if teachers strike. The St. Paul Federation of Teachers is calling on supporters to sign their petition. They are also calling on members and supporters to mobilize for the Feb. 18 School Board meeting, gathering at 5:00 p.m. at the flagpole in front of district headquarters, at 360 Colborne St., Saint Paul. Follow developments on the St. Paul Federation of Teachers facebook page, and the I Stand with SPFT facebook group.

Hialeah, FL – In coordination with other Walmart workers across the nation, fourteen Walmart workers walked out of their workplace in Hialeah, Florida on Monday, November 25, 2013. They were joined by a group of around 50 demonstrators rallying in solidarity with the workers.

Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart) is gearing up for larger walk outs planned for Black Friday on November 29. Last year, about 300 workers walked out, and this year 1,500 workers are expected to participate. This activity marks the first organized labor resistance to Walmart’s employment practices.

Workers are demanding wages of $25,000 a year, full time positions for those who want them, and an end to retaliation against striking workers.

OUR Walmart points out that the Walton family heirs own more wealth than the bottom 40% of Americans put together. To demonstrate their frustration with income inequality, demonstrators in Hialeah broke open a golden Walton turkey.

Energy was high as workers and supporters chanted, “Who’s Walmart? Our Walmart!”

Supporters can join demonstrations on Black Friday in their area by searching the action network list of events: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/black-friday-near-you

Saint Paul, MN – More than 240 members of Workers United Local 150 walked off the job from Health Systems Cooperative Laundries, August 5, forming picket lines at the plant entrances in a strike over unfair labor practices, which include the company’s unilateral discontinuation of sick-day benefits.

Workers poured out of the building starting at 1:00 p.m., completely shutting down operations at the commercial laundry facility.

Many of the striking workers are Latino and Asian immigrants. They work in conditions that often include temperatures inside the building in excess of 100 degrees. They have walked the picket lines twice this summer during contract negotiations to protest the company’s unfair labor practices. Worker say money is not the issue, but rather protecting workplace rights, which they have had in their labor agreement for many years, including the sick-day benefit the company unilaterally discontinued in April.

Union members nearly unanimously voted down the company’s “last, best and final offer” on July 26. Since then, Workers United – along with other labor organizations such as SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and area labor federations and councils – have been urging hospitals, clinics, doctors and the board of directors that oversees the operation of the laundry to restore the benefits and drop oppressive and unnecessary demands.

Negotiations resumed between the union and the laundry the morning of August 5 at the offices of Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services in Minneapolis, but at this point have been unsuccessful.

Workers at Health Systems Cooperative Laundries provide linens to nearly every hospital in the Twin Cities. The linens are typically used the day they are laundered, delivered to hospitals in carts specially set up for distinct uses. It is unclear where the hospitals will obtain linen service, but it will likely be at a much higher cost and without assurance that they will receive the same service that the striking workers provide.

“Going on strike is not something we want to do. We want to provide linens for the hospitals so healthcare workers and medical staff can continue caring for patients with the quality linens they are used to,” said Anita Beachler, a member of the union’s negotiating committee, who has worked in the laundry for over 30 years. “The company already took our sick-day benefits, and the contract they proposed would strip us of important leave of absence language, limit our bargaining rights over mid-term changes imposed by the employer and give us no protection should they sell the business to a new owner.

“The work we do is extremely valuable. Hopefully our bosses will understand that we deserve to be treated with respect, and that they need to give back our sick days and move off their anti-worker proposals in order to avoid a strike,” continued Beachler.

There is no indication as to how long a strike could last.

Members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota are supporting Workers United and will be joining them on the picket line.