Skip to content

Victory

Teachers Union In Ohio Went On Strike For Students—And Won

August 31, 2022 Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams. , , , ,
Columbus, Ohio - Students, teachers, and support staff in Ohio's largest school district returned to the classroom on Monday after the Columbus Education Association won a new contract and ended its weeklong strike. Gathered at the local minor league ballpark on Sunday, CEA members voted 71% to 29% to approve a three-year contract with Columbus City Schools that satisfies most of the union's demands, which revolved around improving students' learning environments and opportunities. "We are so excited to get back to where we belong—our classrooms—doing what we do best: educating our students and shaping the future of our great city," CEA spokesperson Regina Fuentes said at a press conference.

REI Workers At Berkeley Store Vote To Unionize In Another Win For Labor

August 26, 2022 Dave Jamieson, Huffington Post. , , , ,
Berkeley, California - REI employees in Berkeley, California, have formed the outdoor retailer’s second union, extending a winning streak for organized labor at largely non-union companies. Workers at the Berkeley store voted 56 to 38 in favor of joining the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union in a mail-in election this month, according to a vote count held Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board. Employees at REI’s store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City were the first to unionize earlier this year. “As we have said throughout this process, REI believes in the right of every employee to vote for or against union representation,” the company said in a statement following the vote count. “We fully supported the vote process in Berkeley and will continue to support our employees going forward.”

A Chipotle Restaurant In Michigan Becomes The First To Unionize

August 26, 2022 Ayana Archie, KTEP. , , , ,
Lansing, Michigan - A Chipotle restaurant in Lansing, Mich., voted Thursday to unionize, making it the first of the chain's nearly 3,000 locations to do so. The employees are seeking improved schedules and higher wages, and first filed for a union election July 5. "Today's victory is an amazing moment for our team that has worked so hard and spent many months organizing," said Samantha Smith, 18, a crew member who has worked at the location for over two years. "We set out to show that our generation can make substantial change in this world and improve our working conditions by taking action collectively. Employees at the location first filed for a union election July 5. They are being backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a union with 1.2 million members across professions such as warehouse workers, pilots, public defenders and more.

Judge Reinstates Obama-Era Coal Leasing Moratorium On Federal Lands

August 13, 2022 Center for Biological Diversity. , , ,
Great Falls, Montana - A federal judge in Montana District Court ruled today to reinstate a moratorium on new coal leasing on public lands, halting all coal leasing on federal lands until the Bureau of Land Management completes a more sufficient environmental analysis. The original moratorium set by the Obama administration in 2016 was overturned by Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in 2017. The Biden administration revoked the Zinke order last year, but did not reinstate the moratorium. “The Tribe has fought and sacrificed to protect our homelands for generations, and our lands and waters mean everything to us. We are thrilled that the court is requiring what we have always asked for: serious consideration of the impacts of the federal coal leasing program on the Tribe and our way of life,” said President Serena Wetherelt of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

Chipotle To Pay $20 Million To Settle Case Alleging Workplace Violations

August 10, 2022 Claudia Irizarry Aponte, The CIty. , , ,
Chipotle Mexican Grill, the fast-casual Tex-Mex chain, has agreed to a $20 million settlement with the city in connection with city allegations it violated workplace protection laws around fair scheduling and paid sick leave. The payout, the result of a four-year investigation and complaint filed by the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection in 2018 through the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, is the largest settlement of its kind, according to DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. Around 13,000 workers will receive restitution as part of the agreement, to be doled out in the coming weeks, according to DCWP officials. Under the deal, Chipotle also agreed to pay an additional $1 million in civil penalties to the city.

How A Small Town In Maine Stopped A Silver Mine

August 4, 2022 Julia Conley, In These Times. , , ,
Pembroke, Maine — One May evening, residents packed into a Pembroke meeting room to decide the future of their town. On the agenda: Should Pembroke ban industrial metal mining? The coalition of farmers, environmentalists and retirees who had called the vote wasn’t sure what to expect. Pembroke, a town of fewer than 900, isn’t exactly a liberal stronghold — Donald Trump carried the county twice. But this was not a national election, and the mining threat was not abstract: In 2021, Canadian company Wolfden Resources unveiled plans to mine for silver uphill from the wells residents rely on for water and just 2 miles from the rich estuary of Cobscook Bay. Severine von Tscharner Fleming, one of the leaders of the grassroots effort to stop the mine, puts it this way: In Pembroke, “people are not all in the same part of the political spectrum, but our common ground is literally our common ground.”

Kansas Votes Overwhelmingly To Protect Abortion

August 3, 2022 Tatiana Cozzarelli, Left Voice. , , , ,
Kansas - Kansans have voted to protect abortion rights in their state. Yes, Kansas — the deep red state where Trump won by more than 15 percentage points last election cycle has voted to protect abortion rights. In fact, Kansas has a history of violence against abortion providers, including the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller in 2009.But the vote wasn’t even close. At the time of publishing, the vote was roughly 60% in favor of abortion rights and 40% against. It was overwhelmingly in favor of protecting abortion rights in the state, with a huge voter turnout and by a wide margin. Amidst the dystopian chaos that is the post-Roe world, legislators in Kansas tried to slip one past Kansans, holding a referendum in the middle of the summer, during a mostly Republican primary, in an effort to capture a repeal of the state’s constitutional protection for the right to abortion in a low-turnout event.

Massachusetts Trader Joe’s Becomes First To Unionize

July 31, 2022 Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams. , , , ,
Massachusetts - Workers at a Massachusetts Trader Joe's on Thursday voted to become the first of the supermarket chain's more than 500 locations to unionize, a historic development that comes amid a nationwide labor organizing wave. Employees at the Trader Joe's in Hadley, a suburb of Springfield, voted 45-31 to form a union, according to the National Labor Relations Board. "WE WON!!! Today, Trader Joe's Hadley became the first unionized Trader Joe's location, ever," the new union, Trader Joe's United, tweeted. "This victory is historic, but not a surprise. Since the moment we announced our campaign, a majority of the crew have enthusiastically supported our union, and despite the company's best efforts to bust us, our majority has never wavered."

Panamanian Trade Unions Reach Agreement With Government

July 27, 2022 People's Dispatch. , , ,
After three weeks of national strike and nationwide demonstrations and roadblocks in protest against the cost of living crisis in Panama, the right-wing government of President Laurentino Cortizo was forced to engage in negotiations with the organizations behind the protests in Penonomé on July 21. On July 24, the fourth day of negotiations, representatives from various popular movements and social organizations, which have been mobilizing across the country since July 1, reached the first agreement with the government. The leaders of the People United for Life Alliance from the capital Panama City, the National Alliance for the Rights of the Organized People (ANADEPO) from Veraguas, and the Indigenous organizations from the Ngäbe Buglé region, the three organizers of the ongoing national strike, succeeded in convincing the national government to reduce the cost of essential commodities by 30%.

Recent Wins Inspire Organizing At Trader Joe’s, REI, Target, And Apple

July 2, 2022 Dan Dimaggio and Angela Bunay, Labor Notes. , , ,
“Seven months ago if you asked me about a union I would’ve said, ‘I don’t know, cops have them?’” says Sarah Pappin, a shift supervisor at a Seattle Starbucks. But on June 6, she and her co-workers voted unanimously to join Starbucks Workers United, part of an upsurge of organizing by younger workers with little union experience that is breathing new life into the labor movement. Now they’re dreaming even bigger. “We want to not just open the door for the rest of the food service industry, we want to kick it down,” said Pappin, who’s worked full-time at Starbucks for eight years.

Union Kitchen Workers Declare Victory In Their Efforts To Unionize

June 23, 2022 Amanda Michelle Gomez, DCist. , , ,
The National Labor Relations Board determined Tuesday that a majority of Union Kitchen workers voted to unionize, according to the freshly-minted labor union’s collective bargaining agent, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400. The NLRB reviewed the results of the formal election, which took place three months ago, after CEO and founder Cullen Gilchrist challenged some ballots — including those of two vocally pro-union workers who cast ballots but were fired before their votes had been counted. NLRB press secretary Kayla Blado confirmed that a majority of valid votes cast had been in favor of the union, 20 to 11. Barring no new objections, Blado says certification will happen by June 29.

Gustavo Petro To Be First Left-Wing President And Francia Márquez The First Afro-Descendant Woman VP

June 20, 2022 Julie Varughese, Toward Freedom. , , ,
Celebrations took place this evening as people took to the streets of Colombia after left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro was deemed the winner of the second-round election. This victory makes his running mate, Francia Márquez, the first Afro-descendant woman who will serve as vice president once the term begins in August. The Pacto Histórico coalition candidates won more than 50 percent of votes. Petro’s competitor, Rodolfo Hernández, conceded the election, congratulating Petro. “I called Gustavo to congratulate him on his victory and offer him my support to fulfill the promises of change for which Colombia voted today,” Hernández tweeted. The millionaire ran on the League of Anti-Corruption Governors ticket and had been likened to a “Colombian Trump” for his brash manner. “Colombia will always count on me.”

Apple Retail Workers Vote To Unionize A Store In Maryland

June 19, 2022 Mitchell Clark, The Verge. , , , ,
Workers at Apple’s Towson Town Center store in Maryland have voted to unionize, with 65 yeses and 33 nos. Around 110 employees were eligible to vote in the election. The store is the first Apple retail location in the US to hold a union election, after organizers in Atlanta withdrew their petition to hold a union vote, which had been scheduled to take place in early May. Organizing at the Towson store has been done by a group of employees that called themselves AppleCORE (an acronym for Coalition of Organized Retail Employees). The workers have said they want to expand their rights, specifically asking for a say when it came to pay, hours, and safety. AppleCORE is associated with a larger, established union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Truckers’ Strike In South Korea Ends In Victory

June 16, 2022 People's Dispatch. , , ,
The formidable truckers’ strike in South Korea came to an end after a tentative agreement was struck after late-night negotiations on Tuesday, June 14. Truck drivers returned to work on Wednesday after the deal approving the key demands put forward by the union was approved by the nation’s transport ministry. Organized by Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union, thousands of truck drivers were on an indefinite strike from June 7, bringing all ports and movement of crucial industrial goods and major exports to a standstill. Truckers were demanding government intervention to arrest the rising fuel prices and inflation. They had also demanded a significant pay hike and a guarantee towards continuance of the minimum wage rule that was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mounting Public Pressure Forces DA To Drop All Charges Against Queens Man

June 10, 2022 Amanda Yee, Liberation News. , , ,
On June 6 on the steps of Queens Criminal Courthouse, community members celebrated a hard-fought victory after nearly eight years of struggle: the dismissal of all murder charges against 22-year-old Prakash Churaman. Those celebrating with Churaman included his attorney, family members, members of the press as well as community organizations that have worked closely with Churaman over the years he had been fighting the charges, including Desis Rising Up and Moving, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, How Our Lives Link Altogether, Voices of Community Activists and Leaders New York, and the Free Prakash Alliance. In 2014 a then-15-year-old Churaman was arrested and coerced by New York Police Department into a false confession for the murder of his friend Taquane Clark during a robbery.
«12345678910»

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Donate Here

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Donate Here
Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.