Troublemakers Blog
April 27, 2018 /
March 30, 2018 /
Despite the “World” in its name, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) has largely been viewed as an American or North American union. Indeed, the proposed name “Industrial Workers of America” was considered and rejected at its first convention. »
March 28, 2018 / Jane Slaughter
As rank-and-file teachers waged their audacious strike in my home state, lots of people cited West Virginia’s stirring labor heritage: the epic mine wars in the 1920s, including the Battle of Blair Mountain, when planes dropped bombs on striking miners, fighting to unionize and end the dictatorship of the coal barons. Teachers proudly wore the miners’ red »
March 27, 2018 /
A recent New York Times article detailed the ways California as a state has become the Trump administration's bête noire. According to reporter Tim Arango, the morning after Trump was elected, "Kevin de León, the State Senate leader, and his counterpart in the Assembly, Anthony Rendon, said they 'woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land.'" »
March 14, 2018 /
Well before the Trump era, U.S. presidents failed to address urban problems, or made them worse. Congress, state legislatures, and governors were the same. The job of fighting poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation shifted to the municipal level, where activist mayors have tried to mobilize the limited resources of local government on behalf of »
March 13, 2018 /
“No capitulation!” That slogan sped around social media and appeared on picket lines Tuesday morning, after 42,000 academics and academic support staff at more than 60 British universities rejected a deal negotiated by their union that would have brought their 11-day strike to an end. »
March 12, 2018 / Dan DiMaggio
While I'm excited about seeing many of our regulars, I’m especially looking forward to meeting first-time attendees at what could be the biggest Labor Notes Conference yet, in Chicago April 6-8. Here's how I know they're going to »
March 08, 2018 /
The outrage is palpable in Dying to Work, the book to read if you want to know what’s happening with worker health and safety in these difficult times. »
March 02, 2018 /
Snow falls on the picket line by the main entrance to Loughborough University, in the English East Midlands. Those not handing out leaflets are huddled around the brazier (burn barrel), hands in their pockets. They include tenured professors, tenure-track faculty, teachers on short-term contracts, academic support staff, and students there to show support. »
February 28, 2018 / Samantha Winslow
What started last year with teachers in Seattle and Philadelphia has picked up steam.
Teachers in Chicago, Newark, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, and Los Angeles joined this year’s Black Lives Matter at Schools week of action, often organized by a rank-and-file caucus in the local union.
They shared a list of demands: »