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Strikes

Dockworkers On Strike At Ports In New York, New Jersey And Elsewhere

October 1, 2024 Daniel Munoz, NorthJersey.com. , , , , , ,
Dockworkers at ports from Maine to New Jersey to Texas went on strike Tuesday, for the first time since 1977, in a move that some experts say could disrupt the supply chain and billions of dollars worth of products for weeks or more just before the holiday shopping season kicks off. The North Jersey-based International Longshoremen’s Association walked off the job, seeking a big increase in pay, as its last contract expired at midnight Tuesday. The workers also oppose automation at the ports, which poses a threat to their jobs. Striking dockworkers stood at several locations outside the Port of Newark and Port of Elizabeth on Tuesday morning with signs that read "Automation hurts families: ILA stands for job protection." Occasionally someone would drive by honking and holding up a fist in support.

A Port Strike Has Already Hit Canada As US Prepares For Walkouts

September 30, 2024 William Gavin, Yahoo News. , , , , ,
As the U.S. economy prepares for a potentially devastating strike across its East Coast ports, Canada is already dealing with its own. About 320 longshoreman represented by a local affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, began a 72-hour strike on Monday morning, freezing work at two terminals at the Port of Montreal. Those terminals, which are operated by Termont, represent about 40% of the containers that move through the port. The Port of Montreal impacts 37,774 jobs and contributes $2.7 billion to Canada’s economy every year, according to a 2023 study. It also provides more than 2,000 jobs to the U.S. and $145 million in economic benefits.

Dispatch From The Boeing Picket Lines

September 27, 2024 Samuel Karlin, Left Voice. , , , , ,
When I booked a trip to the Pacific Northwest back in April, I didn’t think for a second that it would align perfectly with the largest strike in the United States so far this year. I just thought I’d be hiking and see the world’s largest rubber chicken in Seattle. But then 33,000 machinists at Boeing voted overwhelmingly to strike, despite the International Association of Machinists bureaucracy pushing workers to accept a sell-out contract. Less than a week later I was lucky enough to meet some of these workers on the picket lines. The flight from Newark to Seattle was six hours on a Boeing plane, so even before reaching the picket I was reminded of just how different mine and so many people’s lives would be if not for the machines these workers build.

Boeing Workers Are Uniquely Situated To Disrupt The Global Economy

September 26, 2024 Jason Koslowski and James Dennis Hoff, Left Voice. , , , , ,
It’s been almost two weeks since more than 33,000 Boeing workers in Washington and Oregon went on strike, crippling one of the largest aerospace companies in the world. Since then Boeing has lost more than $500 million and is losing millions more every day. Thanks in large part to a series of terrible decisions, they seem unprepared to weather a long strike, but the struggle at Boeing has significant international implications as well. Boeing, after all, is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value, the biggest supplier of commercial aircraft in the United States, and one of the main manufacturers of the weapons that Israel is using in both its genocide in Gaza and its war against Lebanon.

Strike Threat Wins Boarding And Retro Pay At American Airlines

September 26, 2024 Jenny Brown, Labor Notes. , , , , ,
Flight attendants at American Airlines were celebrating September 12 after approving a new five-year agreement by 87 percent, with 95 percent turnout. They won a big retroactive pay package and an immediate wage increase of 20 percent. They also became the first flight attendants to nail down boarding pay in a union contract. Flight attendants typically are not paid until the aircraft doors close. All that greeting, seating, sorting out problems, and assistance with bags is off the clock. “The coolest thing is I had people from so many different unions across the country texting me congratulations,” said Alyssa Kovacs, a flight attendant in Chicago.

Can The Machinists Save Boeing From Its Management?

September 24, 2024 Jenny Brown, Labor Notes. , , ,
Boeing has increased its offer to striking Machinists, hoping to end a work stoppage that entered its eleventh day today. According to the Seattle Times, the new proposal would raise wages 30 percent over four years, as opposed to 25 percent in the offer that workers rejected by 94.6 percent. Mediated talks with Boeing broke off September 18, the union said, with nothing more scheduled. Then on Monday morning, the company announced a new offer in the press. Twelve hours later, the union responded that Boeing “has missed the mark with this proposal.” In a scathing statement, the negotiating team noted that the company misled the press “by wrongfully stating that the union membership is required to vote on the their latest offer... They are trying to drive a wedge between members with this divisive strategy.”

AT&T Southeast Workers End Month-Long Strike

September 23, 2024 Dan DiMaggio, Labor Notes. , , ,
Seventeen thousand AT&T workers in the Southeast returned to work September 16 following a month-long strike. Members of the Communications Workers (CWA) in nine states from Kentucky to Florida walked out on an unfair labor practice strike August 16 over accusations the telecom giant was bargaining in bad faith. The strike included technicians, call center workers, and others who build and maintain the AT&T network. AT&T pulled in $24 billion in profits in 2023. CWA represents over 150,000 AT&T workers in the U.S., scattered across more than a dozen collective bargaining agreements.

Marathon Oil Teamsters Strike

September 22, 2024 Keith Brower Brown and Jane Slaughter, Labor Notes. , , , , , ,
For the first time in 30 years, Teamsters at the Marathon oil refinery in Detroit are on strike. Close to 300 workers walked out September 4. Welders, firefighters, and heavy equipment operators in the union are demanding a raise that keeps up with cost of living, along with better hours. Above all, refinery Teamsters are trying to win a guarantee against outsourcing and to strengthen their union for the future. Although Michigan repealed its "right-to-work" law in 2022, Marathon managers are refusing a clause that requires every worker covered by the contract to pay their share, and they have aggressively expanded subcontracting with non-union labor.

Will Auto Workers Strike To Hold Stellantis To Its Promises?

September 21, 2024 Luis Feliz Leon, Labor Notes. , , , ,
Contracts come and contracts go, but the bosses keep on scheming forever. So workers’ resistance must be permanent. In August, 17 union locals representing tens of thousands of workers charged the automaker Stellantis with failing to honor its agreements by reneging on investment promises, including the celebrated reopening of the Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois. Today, the United Auto Workers filed unfair labor practice charges against Stellantis with the National Labor Relations Board over the company’s refusal to provide information about its plans for product commitments. Union locals also filed grievances over the company’s plan to move production of the Dodge Durango out of Michigan, to Canada, in violation of the national agreement.

Boeing Should Stop Making Weapons For Genocide

September 19, 2024 Mike Pappas, Left Voice. , , , , , ,
Recently, Boeing employees, members of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), voted overwhelmingly to not only turn down a terrible union backed tentative agreement, but go out on strike. These workers are showing they are willing to fight for more and are tired of being forced to cut corners on production, putting the public in danger to maximize profits for Boeing’s executives. If cutting corners wasn’t bad enough, Boeing’s leadership has focused on continuing to supply weapons to Israel supporting its genocidal campaign on Palestine. Boeing needs to stop making weapons for genocide and start fixing their planes. 

AT&T Southeast Strike Nears One Month

September 15, 2024 Dan DiMaggio, Labor Notes. , , , , ,
Seventeen thousand AT&T workers in the Southeast have been on strike since August 16. They may be joined soon by another 8,500 workers at AT&T in California and Nevada. Workers in nine Southeast states walked out on an unfair labor practice strike four weeks ago over accusations the telecom giant has been bargaining in bad faith, including engaging in surface bargaining, not sending representatives with real authority to the table, and reneging on commitments to bargain to lower health care costs. Their contract expired August 3. “They got people at the table who can’t make the decisions—they’re just there,” said Clarence Adams, a wire technician with Communications Workers Local 3611 outside Raleigh, North Carolina.

Boeing Machinists Strike

September 14, 2024 Jenny Brown, Labor Notes. , , ,
Third-shift workers walked out of Boeing’s giant factories at Renton and Everett, Washington, as their contract expired early Friday morning, blasting music and airhorns, shooting off fireworks, and waving hand-made signs. They immediately formed picket lines and began setting up homemade burn barrels with “IAM” carved in the side. “People are really excited to strike,” said Ky Carlson, a third-shift assembler who walked out at midnight and was picketing the Everett plant at 3 am. She said they were aiming for what the union demanded at the beginning of negotiations, 40 percent raises and restoration of the pension.

WFSE Local 1488 Workers At University Of Washington Rally

September 14, 2024 Fight Back! News. , , , ,
Seattle, WA – On Tuesday, September 10, over 100 members of WFSE Local 1488 walked out ahead of their current contract expiring in a few weeks. The union, representing food service, custodial, maintenance and other workers at the University of Washington, has been bargaining since the beginning of June for a strong contract, with university administration stalling. Workers rallied in front of the administration building on Red Square, as well as at a picket line in front of the University of Washington Medical Center. The walkouts at the University of Washington were part of a larger, coordinated walkout by WFSE members across the state of Washington, with thousands walking out in total.

Can A National Strike Save A Closed Plant?

September 12, 2024 Sarah Lazare, In These Times. , , , , ,
Dawn Simms has been out of work for a year and a half. The Stellantis auto plant where she, her father and grandfather worked most of their adult years now sits idle, ringed with tall grass and weeds. Almost all of the members of her union, United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1268, have been laid off, too, and the effects have rippled through the northern Illinois town of Belvidere, where restaurants have closed and business at others has slowed, as the need at food pantries has increased. It’s a familiar Rust Belt story, with a twist. Sitting in the union hall, a five minute drive from the shuttered plant, Simms does not talk like someone resigned to the loss of her livelihood or her home town’s vibrancy.

‘Hard No’: Boeing Workers React To Tentative Agreement

September 11, 2024 Jenny Brown, Labor Notes. , , ,
With their contract expiring at midnight on Thursday, the Machinists union at the aircraft giant Boeing announced a tentative contract agreement September 8. It was a shock to many union members. “Insulting,” “Joke of a contract,” and “Hard no” were some of the more polite reactions registered on X in response to the proposal, which would raise wages 25 percent over the four-year life of the deal, but eliminate an annual bonus of 3 to 6 percent of wages. The 32,000 members of Machinists (IAM) District 751 in Washington and District W24 in Gresham, Oregon, will vote in person September 12 on the deal. A walkout requires a majority vote to reject the agreement plus two-thirds support for a strike.
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