Skip to content

Worker Rights

Modern Abolitionist Movement Needed To Free 50 million Enslaved Globally

July 12, 2026 Roger McKenzie, People's World. , , ,
More than 50 million people around the globe are estimated to be in enslavement according to 2022 reports by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations. During the horrific transatlantic trade in African people from the 16th to the 19th centuries, more than 20 million African people were captured and enslaved by Western colonial powers. The difference in numbers is both stark and an indictment of modern-day society as much as it was on those involved and who benefited (and whose ancestors still benefit) from the transatlantic trade in humans. But why is enslavement still taking place and, it seems, still increasing?

AI Is Turbocharging Bosses’ Efforts To Spy On Their Workers

July 10, 2026 Michael Arria, Truthout. , , , ,
In March, The Lever reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had hired the infamous software company Palantir to implement its controversial return-to-office directive, warning that the contract could bring surveillance technology — commonly referred to as “Bossware” — to the federal workforce. Days later, those suspicions were confirmed. A published disclosure reveals that the company will “design, configure, deploy, and manage a secure, user-friendly tool to track USDA employees’ return to the office.” “AI has supercharged surveillance,” Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, told Truthout.

Power Workers Independence Day Strike Wins Pensions

July 10, 2026 Mindy Isser, Labor Notes. , , , ,
Workers at PECO, the electric company for the Philadelphia region and Pennsylvania’s largest electric and natural gas utility, went on strike just after midnight on Saturday, July 4, winning a tentative agreement for the 1,500 workers just before midnight on Monday, July 6. They restored defined-benefit pensions for the 600 newer hires who had been relegated to 401(k)s, and won full medical coverage in retirement. They had leverage: Philadelphia celebrates the July Fourth holiday massively, with a giant concert in Center City, and this year was even bigger with the country celebrating its 250th birthday and the city hosting some World Cup games.

Philadelphia Hot ‘Strike Summer’ Rages On

July 9, 2026 Emma Glazer and Angel Rodriguez Gomez, People's World. , , , , ,
Philadelphia—So far, it’s been “strike summer” here in Philadelphia. As the city prepared to take the global stage for the 2026 World Cup and the nation’s 250th anniversary, the battle lines of the class struggle were squared up across the city. On one side stood corporations raking in ever-increasing, record-breaking profits. On the other side stood the workers—the bedrock of the city’s economy—holding the line on the pavement in oppressive, historic heatwaves. Anticipating a massive influx of international tourists and booming profits for local hospitality monopolies ahead of the World Cup and America 250 celebrations, hotel workers, organized with Unite HERE Local 274, took the offensive by announcing their intent to strike.

23 Union Locals Sue Trump War Department To Get Contracts Back

July 8, 2026 People's World. , , ,
Greenbelt, Md.—Some 23 union locals—20 from the Government Employees (AFGE) and three from the National Federation of Federal Employees/IAM—sued Trump War/Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in federal court in Greenbelt, Md., on July 2 to restore their union contracts.  The locals represent at least 62,000 workers combined, including 60,000-plus in AFGE and 2,169 in NFFE. The lawsuit says that after delaying for a year and with literally 24 hours’ notice and no reason given except  “national security,” Hegseth canceled all the contracts. Many had lasted for decades.

Strike Six: New Orleans Nurses Fight For First Contract

July 6, 2026 Lee Abbott, Labor Notes. , , , ,
Two years and six strikes into bargaining—after switching law firms, cancelling negotiation sessions, firing union leaders, and allegedly backing a decertification effort—perhaps it’s dawning on University Medical Center in New Orleans that nurses don’t tire out easily. On May 1 the nurses held their sixth strike—at five days, the longest yet—and their picket lines keep growing. There was dance music blasting, spontaneous line-dancing, boiled crawfish and jambalaya. “We have first-time strikers out here who are brand new nurses!” said endoscopy nurse Hailey Dupré, a member of the bargaining team. “You understand that you can take your job into your hands and shape the future of it.”

Learning, Recharging, Uniting At Labor Notes 2026

July 5, 2026 Alexandra Bradbury and Luis Feliz Leon, Labor Notes. , , ,
In a time when there’s real cause for fear and despair—and when the Trump administration is pushing hard to divide us—the Labor Notes Conference June 12-14 in Chicago was an oasis of inspiration and solidarity. In every hallway you could feel the electric buzz of conversation, of strategies in the making. Labor Notes gives workers a rare chance to come together across unions, sectors, and identities. Conferencegoers packed into sessions on overcoming division: “Organizing in the Multiethnic Workplace,” “Building Unity Across Job Classifications,” “Overcoming Generational Divides.”

United Auto Workers Indict ‘Free’ Trade

July 2, 2026 Cameron Harrison, People's World. , , , , ,
Detroit—The United Auto Workers (UAW) is challenging the big capitalist-driven trade policies that have gutted American manufacturing and wrecked working-class communities across the country. In a new white paper, “Trade and the American Dream: NAFTA, the USMCA, and the Future of the Working Class,” the union lays out its indictment of “free trade” policies and proposes an alternative: “NAFTA and the like are the social contract as written by multinational corporations,” UAW President Shawn Fain said. “It’s time we rip it up and start over.”

More Than 4,000 Mass General Brigham Nurses To Strike On July 8

June 28, 2026 Beth Treffeisen, Portside. , , , ,
Approximately 4,500 nurses and clinicians at two Mass General Brigham units will walk off the job on July 8 unless hospital executives reach new labor agreements, setting the stage for what the union says will be the largest nurses’ strike in Massachusetts history. The Massachusetts Nurses Association issued the required 10-day strike notice, saying workers are seeking contracts that include competitive wages, affordable health insurance, investments in the permanent nursing workforce, and stronger protections for patient care. The planned walkout includes more than 4,000 registered nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and about 450 clinicians at Mass General Brigham Home Care.

Building Our Missing Care Infrastructure: New ‘Coops Of Coops’

June 26, 2026 Elias Crim, Solidarity Hall. , , ,
When big financial interests buy up a local software company, its own employees may feel the change but its home community will likely not even notice. Not so with businesses providing social care—child care, elder care, disabled care. When these small enterprises are bought up—often in multiples—by large holding companies, suddenly employees find themselves tied to an app and new work procedures. The result usually forces them to lower care quality standards which can impact their clients adversely. Home care is a sector of social care under tremendous pressures—in terms of job quality, low wages, low worker retention rates, and so on.

Teamsters’ Beverage Market Strike Enters Seventh Week

June 25, 2026 John Case, People's World. , , ,
A sharp, existential struggle for Teamsters Local 175 in southern West Virginia has emerged from a punitive bargaining conflict scarred by blatant unfair labor practices into a strike that is now entering its seventh week. This is an extreme example of bad faith bargaining. Around 50 members of the union who work for The Beverage Market in the capital city have reported no progress in contract negotiations. Despite the absence of any evidence or claim of financial hardship, the company demands blatant and still unexplained wage cuts, job cuts, benefit cuts, and other demands, including a contract of “indeterminant” length that would force resignations and effectively wipe out the union.

Mexico’s Gig Workers Won Recognition As Employees

June 24, 2026 Natascha Elena Uhlmann, Labor Notes. , , ,
Chanting, “We are not partners, we are workers,” hundreds of workers across Mexico who provide rides and deliveries through apps held a two-hour work stoppage on May 15 demanding fair rates, an end to unjustified deactivations, and ultimately, a collective labor agreement with app giants like Uber, Didi, and Rappi (two Uber-Eats style delivery platforms). The National App Workers Union (la Union Nacional de Trabajadores por Aplicación, UNTA) said the work stoppage included workers in five states and Mexico City. They were joined by app workers in at least 15 countries who held similar stoppages during peak hours.

Mental Health Workers Fight For Living Wages

June 24, 2026 Mary Rose Quinn, People's World. , , , ,
Houston, TX—For the mental health workers at the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), the work is a calling. But for many, it’s also a financial struggle that forces them to hold two or even three jobs just to make ends meet. In an interview with People’s World, Brian O’Reilly, a counselor at the Harris Center and member of United Workers of Harris Center-CWA Local 6154, described conditions on the front lines of Houston’s public mental health system as dire—and getting worse. “Generally speaking, conditions are poor, and morale is low,” he said.

Batesville Products Teamsters Reach Day 40 Of Strike

June 22, 2026 Fight Back! News. , , , ,
Lawrenceburg, IN – Workers at Batesville Products Inc. (BPI) have been on strike since May 11 after voting unanimously to withhold their labor and demand recognition of their union, Teamsters Local 135. The strike began after a supermajority of workers signed authorization cards seeking Teamsters representation and demanded voluntary recognition from the company. BPI management refused to recognize the union, prompting the filing of a representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Rather than allowing workers to move quickly toward an election, the company challenged which employees should be included in the proposed bargaining unit through the NLRB's pre-election hearing process.

UE Local 255 Fights For Coworker And Wins!

June 14, 2026 Bevin Barber-Campbell and Tim Rousseau, US Union. , , ,
Montpelier, VT - After a five-month, well-organized campaign, UE Local 255 won an important battle with Hunger Mountain Co-op, pressuring management to uphold the internal hiring procedures specified in our contract.  “When we fight, we win,” said Toby Madrone, our local’s president. “We led an intentional and thoughtful internal campaign that included educating our coworkers, which helped them understand and unify around our fight. And it worked!” In December 2025, beloved coworker Genesis VanDyke applied for a production cook position in the prepared foods department.
«12345678910»
assetto corsa mods

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.