Posted in Labor News

‘The fight has just begun’: Amazon Labor Union

The loss came on the heels of a landmark vote at a separate Amazon facility in Staten Island which formed the company’s first-ever union in the United States. by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams Tuesday, May 3,…

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Posted in Analysis Minimum wage Workers

Restaurant owners got 30 times more federal Covid aid than workers

“If the subminimum wage for tipped workers persists, the restaurant industry is unlikely to recover from its growing labor crisis, regardless of how much money the federal government hands out to business owners.” by Kenny Stancil,…

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Posted in Columns Labor Wade Rathke Workers

Lessons in Starbucks rising

by Wade Rathke January 14, 2022     Marble Falls     You have to keep these things in perspective of course. Winning union elections in two of Starbucks 9000 stores is not exactly an example of…

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Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts arrive to hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Posted in Analysis Labor Restart 2021

UMW coal miners’ union rebukes Manchin for effort to kill Build Back Better

“Manchin has lost the coal miners with this latest betrayal,” said one labor reporter.   by Julia Conley, Common Dreams Tuesday, December 21, 2021 The push for passage of the Build Back Better Act got a…

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"If you decide to return with your packages it will be viewed as you refusing your route, which will ultimately end with you not having a job come tomorrow morning," an Amazon boss told a delivery driver minutes before a tornado hit Edwardsville, Illinois on December 10, 2021. (Photo: Athena Coalition/Twitter)
Posted in Investigations News Worker Safety

Amid deadly tornado, texts show Amazon threatened to fire driver if packages not delivered

“I’m literally stuck in this damn van without a safe place to go with a tornado on the ground!” by Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams Friday, December 17, 2021 More damning information about last week’s deadly workplace…

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Starbucks employees celebrate after voting to unionize on December 9, 2021 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo: Eleonore Sens/AFP via Getty Images)
Posted in News Workers

Starbucks union drive spreads to Mass, Ariz,

‘Next!’ “We want the company to succeed,” organizers of the Mesa unionization effort said, “and we want our work lives to be the best they can be.” by Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams Friday, December 17, 2021…

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New polling from CNN and SRSS found that 75% of Democratic respondents favor a Build Back Better bill with more ambitious social and climate spending. (Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Unbendable Media)
Posted in Analysis Infrastructure Restart 2021 Workers

75% of Democrats want party to go big on social spending, climate action

“The people delivered Democrats the House, Senate, and White House. Now it’s time for us to deliver them paid leave, child care, climate action, lower healthcare costs, pre-k, community college, affordable housing, and so much more.”…

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Low-wage workers, economists, faith leaders, and a progressive lawmaker spoke about Democrats' budget reconciliation package outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on October 12, 2021. (Photo: Poor People's Campaign/Twitter)
Posted in Analysis Restart 2021 Workers

Essential, low-wage workers share why they need reconciliation package

‘Please Help Us’ “We’ve heard the voices of the poor. We’ve heard the voices crying out, demanding justice. All I want to know right now, Joe Manchin, is which side are you on?” by Jessica Corbett,…

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It's cannot be described as a labor shortage, explains Reich, when "many American workers are now engaged in the equivalent of a general strike." (Photo: Shutterstock)
Posted in Columns Jobs Robert Reich Workers

This isn’t a labor shortage—It’s a strike by workers kicked in the face by low wages for too long

A lot of those now out of work simply don’t want to return to backbreaking, low-wage shit jobs. Why should they? by Robert Reich October 10, 2021 The U.S. added just 194,000 jobs in September, down…

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Members of Britain's GMB Union demonstrate outside Amazon's United Kingdom headquarters on May 26, 2021 as part of a #MakeAmazonPay global day of action for workers' rights. (Photo: War on Want/Twitter)
Posted in Corporate Taxes Labor Wealth

Workers stage Global Day of Action to #MakeAmazonPay

“Loud and clear, Amazon’s producers, distributors, and delivery drivers are telling Jeff Bezos: pay your workers.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer   Asserting that workers—not CEO Jeff Bezos—drive Amazon’s success, employees of the world’s largest online…

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Posted in Columns Restart 2021 Wade Rathke Workers

Are unemployed workers striking?

by Wade Rathke May 12, 2021 A small group of state governors have announced that their states may abandon the supplemental unemployment program way before its September expiration. The number of Republican governors making the announcement…

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Food delivery driver Jorge Vargas honks a horn while driving his vehicle in a car caravan strike by fast food workers and their supporters on February 9, 2021 in Los Angeles. (Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
Posted in Labor Minimum wage News

Pay a Living Wage or ‘Flip your own damn burgers’: progressives blast right-wing narrative on jobs

“If one in four recipients are making more off unemployment than they did working, that’s not an indictment of $300 a week in UI benefits. It’s an indictment of corporations paying starvation wages.” by Kenny Stancil,…

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A sign thanking nurses at the South Entrance of Maine Medical Center on May 12, 2020 in Portland, Maine. (Photo: Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Posted in Labor News Nurses

Nurses at Maine’s largest hospital vote to unionize

‘A Dream Come True’ “It’s a new day for nurses and patients across Maine.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Friday, April 30, 2021   Registered nurses at Maine’s largest hospital have voted to form their first…

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Posted in Analysis Wealth Tax Workers

How Biden’s paid leave proposal would benefit workers, their families and their employers too

by  Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts Amherst Friday, April 30, 2021   Making ends meet when you have a newborn is easier with paid family leave.   John Moore/Getty Images.   The Biden administration is proposing a…

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Posted in Analysis Toxic Chemicals Worker Safety

Arizona study examines health risks faced by female firefighters

By Emma Ascott/Cronkite News April 15, 2021 PHOENIX  –  Nicole Minnick had been a firefighter for seven years when she gave birth in 2008 to her first child, a girl named Kyndal. A few months later,…

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Posted in Columns Labor Wade Rathke

A hard look at the Amazon Bessemer union election – Part I

by Wade Rathke April 10, 2021 Pearl River The results of the union election at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama are finally tallied and the scorecard by the numbers was 1798 voting NO to be…

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Posted in Columns Labor Wade Rathke

A Hard Look at the Amazon Bessemer Union Election – Part II

by Wade Rathke April 11, 2021 Pearl River    There’s no way to put sugar in your coffee. The union’s loss at Amazon is deeply disappointing. A victory would have been a huge blast of wind…

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Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos speaks to the media on the company's sustainability efforts on September 19, 2019 in Washington, D.C.
Posted in Labor News Worker Safety Workers

NLRB says Amazon firing of workers illegal retaliation

The workers are demanding better climate, labor policies. “It’s clear that Amazon has been violating the law when it tries to silence workers who speak out,” said Christy Hofmann, general secretary of UNI Global Union. by…

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Posted in Labor Labor News

A huge, huge deal’: Biden issues public statement of support for unionizing Alabama Amazon workers

“We haven’t had this aggressive and positive of a statement from a president of the United States on behalf of workers in decades.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Monday, March 1, 2021   Declaring that all…

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Posted in Agriculture Analysis Labor

Indian farmers are a powerful force in Indian politics, and here’s why their protests matter

by Surupa Gupta, University of Mary Washington Tuesday, February 16, 2021 A large number of women have joined the protests against new farm laws in India. Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images For over two months, farmers…

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Posted in Columns Labor Wade Rathke

The continued call to organize the South

by Wade Rathke December 26, 2020 Pearl River   Ben Speight is a seasoned labor organizer based in Atlanta. I’ve known him for a while, initially as an organizer with the Teamsters locals there. More recently…

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Posted in Green Jobs Green New Deal Labor News

Climate groups call on Biden to nominate Andy Levin as Labor Secretary

“He has a long record of fighting for working people, and understands the climate imperative but knows the transition won’t happen without proper buy-in and support.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Wednesday, December 23, 2020 Highlighting…

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Posted in Columns Labor Wade Rathke

Labor law and leverage

by Wade Rathke December 19, 2020 New Orleans   One of the cabinet positions still waiting for a nomination from President-Elect Biden is the Labor Department, where the devastation of workers’ rights and protections has been…

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Posted in Columns Labor Wade Rathke

Essential workers and pay equity

by Wade Rathke Monday, November 16, 2020 New Orleans   In a moment of youthful recklessness more than fifty years ago, I allowed myself to get into one of those dangerous political conversations with the father…

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