Workers Struggles
Barnard College contingent faculty vote on strike authorization
By Sandy English, 19 November 2016
Part-time and temporary faculty at Columbia University’s Barnard College in New York City began voting on a strike authorization this week.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
19 November 2016
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Contract worker killed at Indiana steel mill
By Jessica Goldstein, 18 November 2016
The death of a contract truck driver at ArcelorMittal in Burns Harbor, Indiana, highlights the deadly consequences of the corporate cost-cutting drive backed by the unions.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
18 November 2016
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“Workers are going to see Trump is not going to do anything for them”
Autoworkers react to the election of Trump
By Shannon Jones, 17 November 2016
Autoworkers contacted by the WSWS acknowledged that Trump had been able to tap into the deep social anger and alienation among workers towards the political establishment.
Philadelphia transit workers must reject sellout deal
By Alan Whyte, 17 November 2016
Nearly 5,000 Philadelphia transit workers are voting on a sellout deal this Friday, after the union shut down their six-day strike on the eve of Election Day.
Pittsburgh Symphony musician strike longest in history
By Evan Winters and Samuel Davidson, 15 November 2016
On November 15, the strike will surpass the 46-day strike of 1975, the only other in the orchestra's history.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
15 November 2016
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Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
12 November 2016
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Pittsburgh symphony musicians continue strike against wage cuts and job losses
By Samuel Davidson, 11 November 2016
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians have been on strike for over a month against management demands for a 15 percent pay cut, the elimination defined pension benefits and a reduction the size of the orchestra.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
11 November 2016
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Strikers at Momentive plants vote down union-backed sellout deal
By Philip Guelpa, 9 November 2016
By a more than a 2-to-1 margin, Momentive workers rejected a second contract offer that was even worse than the first.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
9 November 2016
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To boost Clinton, unions shut down Philadelphia transit strike
By Alan Whyte, 8 November 2016
The Transport Workers Union ended the six-day shutdown of the Philadelphia transit system Monday morning in order to bolster Clinton’s electoral prospects in the pivotal state of Pennsylvania.
Transit officials, Democrats seek injunction to break Philadelphia transit strike
By Alan Whyte, 7 November 2016
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Democrats on the local and state level want to use the courts to end the strike.
Momentive workers strongly oppose tentative agreement
By Philip Guelpa, 7 November 2016
Momentive Performance Materials is seeking major concessions from its thousand-strong workforce, continuing the trend in past contracts.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
5 November 2016
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California state workers to vote on strike authorization
By Dan Conway, 4 November 2016
The union fears that a strike will cut across its support for the Democratic Brown administration and the Democratic Party.
Sri Lanka: Deeside plantation workers form action committee
By our correspondents, 4 November 2016
The committee’s establishment is an important step toward breaking from the trade unions, which function as industrial police for big business and the government.
Australia: Hazelwood power station closure threatens thousands of jobs
By Oscar Grenfell, 4 November 2016
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union is seeking to impose an “orderly closure” of the plant.
Class struggle in US intensifies on eve of election
By Jerry White, 4 November 2016
There is growing opposition among American workers to corporate and government demands for endless rollbacks in wages, health care and pension benefits.
UK: South Yorkshire cleaning workers continue strike
By Barry Mason, 4 November 2016
The three cleaning workers’ strike is being isolated by the trade unions.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
4 November 2016
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Nearly one-third of Chicago teachers reject CTU concessions deal
By Alexander Fangmann, 3 November 2016
The Chicago Teachers Union on Tuesday announced the ratification of a concessions-laden contract.
Pittsburgh Symphony musicians begin their second month on strike
By Samuel Davidson, 3 November 2016
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians are fighting against pay cuts and job reductions.
Musicians speak out at Pittsburgh Symphony strike support concert
By Evan Winters, 3 November 2016
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians spoke to the World Socialist Web Site on the importance public access to arts, especially in schools, after a Halloween-themed concert to support striking orchestra musicians. Over sixty musicians played to an enthusiastic audience of 350.
Strike pits Philadelphia transit workers against budget-cutting Democrats
By Alan Whyte, 3 November 2016
The strike by nearly 5,000 Philadelphia transit workers is an expression of the growing militancy of workers on the eve of the US presidential elections.
Officials threaten court action against Philadelphia transit strikers
By Alan Whyte, 2 November 2016
Transit workers are in a battle against the attack on health benefits, which is being spearheaded by the Obama administration.
Philadelphia transit workers go on strike
By Alan Whyte, 1 November 2016
The nearly 5,000 transit workers are seeking improvements in pensions and resisting management demands for increased health care costs.
Workers Struggles: the Americas
1 November 2016
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Vote by Chicago teachers on concessions contract begins today, after postponement
By Kristina Betinis, 31 October 2016
The decision by the Chicago Teachers Union to delay the vote by two days, supposedly to allow teachers to read the contract, is an indication that there is widespread opposition.
Harvard concedes main demands of dining hall workers to end strike
By Mike Ingram, 31 October 2016
The strike of Harvard dining hall workers ended after three weeks with a new contract that appears to satisfy the main issues of health care and wages that prompted the strike.
Strikes end at Libbey Glass in Ohio and Jim Beam in Kentucky
By Shannon Jones, 29 October 2016
The strikes by glassmakers and distillery workers are part of a nationwide uptick in strike activity that reflects a growing spirit of resistance.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
29 October 2016
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“They are picking on the most vulnerable sections of society”
Blue Cross retirees stage picket over health care cuts
By Shannon Jones, 28 October 2016
Scores of retirees protested in downtown Detroit Thursday to oppose management's attempts to slash their health care benefits.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
28 October 2016
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SAG-AFTRA picketers discuss strike, US elections
By Marc Wells, 26 October 2016
SAG-AFTRA video games actors went on strike Monday for better pay, safety and transparency.
Musicians speak out at concert to support Pittsburgh Symphony strike
By Evan Winters, 26 October 2016
Members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, together with other musicians and PSO students, played to hundreds of people in person and thousands more online.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
25 October 2016
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Boston: Two excavation workers drown in a 12-foot-deep trench
By John Marion, 24 October 2016
While the contractor for the job has been cited dozens of times for safety violations, it is not the only construction company risking the lives of Massachusetts workers.
Union ends strike at Pennsylvania state campuses, pushes concessions
By Samuel Davidson, 22 October 2016
Union leaders ordered 5,500 striking faculty and coaches to take down picket lines Friday, caving in to management demands for salary and benefit cuts.
SAG-AFTRA video game performers on strike
By Marc Wells, 22 October 2016
Video games actors went on strike Friday against several large corporations for better pay, safety, transparency.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
22 October 2016
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 October 2016
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Five thousand faculty strike at Pennsylvania state campuses
By Samuel Davidson and Douglas Lyons, 20 October 2016
The strike by Pennsylvania faculty is an expression of growing social opposition among different sections of workers in the run-up to the US election.
Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates approves concessions contract
By our reporter, 20 October 2016
Both district officials and union leaders are hailing as a success a contract that will escalate the attack on teachers, while paving the way for the closure of more public schools.
Chicago charter school union announces contract deal
By Jeff Lusanne, 20 October 2016
The American Federation of Teachers has helped craft a new contract for charter school teachers in Chicago that mirrors a concessions contract accepted for public school teachers.
Ohio glass workers discuss strike with SEP presidential candidate Jerry White
By a WSWS reporting team, 20 October 2016
Workers in the second week of their strike against the multinational glass maker are determined to resist further attacks on working conditions, health insurance and pay.
Philadelphia transit workers vote to strike
By Alan Whyte, 19 October 2016
Nearly 6,000 bus, subway and trolley operators, cashiers and mechanics have voted to stop work if a new labor agreement is not reached by October 31.
Cleveland teacher denounces sellout contract
By Phyllis Steele, 18 October 2016
Teachers rejected a contract backed by the unions and the entire political establishment that would accelerate the attack on public education.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
18 October 2016
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Food safety concerns as Harvard dining workers’ strike enters second week
By Mike Ingram, 15 October 2016
The ongoing strike by Harvard dining workers has led to concerns over food safety amid reports of under-cooked food being served to students.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
15 October 2016
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Minnesota nurses’ union claims contract ratification amidst opposition
By Matt Rigel and Anthony Bertolt, 14 October 2016
The contract presented and supported by the MNA is nearly identical to proposals previously rejected four times by nurses, who had been on strike for six weeks.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
14 October 2016
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Minnesota nurses’ union seeks to ram through concessions contract
By Anthony Bertolt and Matt Rigel, 12 October 2016
The WSWS calls on nurses to reject the sellout contract and combine this rejection with a political mobilization of the working class in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and beyond.
UK: Southern GTR railworkers strike
By Michael Barnes, 12 October 2016
Rail workers’ determined resistance has been sabotaged at every stage.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
11 October 2016
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Harvard dining hall workers continue strike
By Mike Ingram, 10 October 2016
Harvard University Dining Services workers are continuing their strike over health care and wages, the first since 1983.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
8 October 2016
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 October 2016
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Workers struggles mount in run-up to US election
By Jerry White, 6 October 2016
Strikes by nurses, orchestra musicians other sections of public and private sector workers reveals the broad scope of social opposition in the United States.
Harvard dining hall workers strike over health insurance, wages
By Kate Randall, 6 October 2016
The strike by Harvard University Dining Services workers is the first since 1983, and the first ever during the academic year.
Faculty set October 19 strike date at Pennsylvania universities
By Samuel Davidson, 6 October 2016
Professors and faculty members at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-run universities have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike against cuts to health benefits and the expanded use of adjunct professors.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
4 October 2016
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Philadelphia and Pittsburgh orchestra musicians on strike
By Fred Mazelis, 3 October 2016
The musicians in both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony face demands for concessions from wealthy patrons and management.
Worker killed at US Steel mill in Indiana
By Jessica Goldstein, 3 October 2016
The death of Jonathan Arrizola comes amid a wave of layoffs at the US Steel mill in Gary, Indiana and rising complaints over unsafe conditions.
Defeat MNA sellout!
Mobilize the working class behind the Minnesota nurses strike!
By Ron Jorgenson, 3 October 2016
The fact that the unions could bring such a sellout agreement to a vote only underscores the need for nurses to take the conduct of the strike into their own hands.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
1 October 2016
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
30 September 2016
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Walmart to cut 7,000 back-office jobs in the US
By Jessica Goldstein, 29 September 2016
The announcement of mass layoffs at the largest employer in the US comes amid a wave of cuts in the retail industry.
Negotiations resume as Minneapolis nurses’ strike enters fourth week
By Ron Jorgenson, 27 September 2016
The federal mediator's recall of both sides indicates that the company, union and Democratic Party are preparing to force through a sellout contract against the resistance of striking nurses.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
27 September 2016
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Greater Manchester, England: Labour-controlled authority threatens all firefighters’ jobs
By Linda Slattery, 24 September 2016
Firefighters the length and breadth of the UK are facing similar attacks on jobs and conditions, jeopardising their own safety and that of the public.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
24 September 2016
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
23 September 2016
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Allina nurses’ strike and the union’s fraudulent “corporate campaign”
By Ron Jorgenson, 21 September 2016
The AFL-CIO has long used such campaigns to block any genuine mobilization of the working class against the government-backed corporate attacks.
Workers Struggles: the Americas
20 September 2016
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Long Island University lockout ends with contract extension and no issues resolved
By Alan Whyte, 19 September 2016
The union, which has pledged not to strike through the 2016-1017 school year, also agreed to mediation in future negotiations for a settlement.
Detroit Federation of Teachers pushes through sellout contract
By Nancy Hanover, 19 September 2016
Educators greeted the agreement with anger and skepticism in the face of the concerted attempts by the union to derail their struggles over the course of the last year.
Auto companies continue assault on jobs, working conditions
One year since 2015 US auto contract battle
By Shannon Jones, 17 September 2016
The warning raised by the SEP and the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter about the rotten nature of the contracts negotiated by the UAW is being borne out.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
16 September 2016
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Workers Struggles: The Americas
13 September 2016
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Opposition grows to skilled trades reorganization at Fiat Chrysler
By Shannon Jones, 12 September 2016
The changes are correctly seen as a means of eliminating skilled trades jobs, which traditionally require more training and are paid at a higher rate.
Vote “No” on Detroit Federation of Teachers’ contract!
By Nancy Hanover, 12 September 2016
The American Federation of Teachers is demanding that educators acquiesce to low pay, overcrowded classrooms, unsafe buildings and more school closures.
Allina Health, media, join forces to break Twin Cities nurses as union isolates strike
By Ron Jorgenson, 10 September 2016
The Minnesota Nurses Association is continuing to isolate the strike, now in its sixth day, while appealing to the company to accept the concessions contract the union has proposed.
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
10 September 2016
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Dublin, Ireland bus workers start series of strikes
By Dermot Byrne, 10 September 2016
As a result of chronic underfunding of public services such as transportation and pay freezes in the public sector bus workers have not received a pay increase in eight years.
Arbitration results in concessionary contract for US postal workers
By Hector Cordon, 9 September 2016
The contract recently imposed on members of the American Postal Workers Union by national arbitrators continues the attack on the wages, benefits and working conditions.
Long Island University-Brooklyn locks out 400 professors
By Daniel de Vries and Allen Whyte, 9 September 2016
LIU’s action marks the first time a university has used a lockout to impose concessions on faculty.
Long Island University faculty and students oppose lockout
By a WSWS reporting team, 9 September 2016
Faculty and students spoke with the WSWS about LIU’s lockout of 400 faculty members at the beginning of the fall semester.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
9 September 2016
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“Health care is a human right”
Minneapolis students express support for striking Allina nurses
By Matt Rigel and Anthony Bertolt, 8 September 2016
As management continues operations with the use of strikebreakers, the union is keeping nurses throughout the region on the job and is doing nothing to mobilize broader support in the working class.
Minnesota nurses strike highlights militant mood of US workers
By Jerry White, 7 September 2016
The strike by 4,800 nurses, now in its third day, reveals the sharp class tensions in the United States on the eve of the 2016 presidential elections.
Thousands of teachers strike as Costa Rican unions suppress struggle
By Andrea Lobo, 7 September 2016
About 5,000 workers marched last week against the government’s austerity measures, even as the union leaderships are sabotaging their struggle.
Massachusetts: MBTA janitors to be laid off as cuts continue
By John Marion, 7 September 2016
The unelected and undemocratic Fiscal and Management Control Board is discussing privatization of all city bus routes, while working conditions for contracted janitors are made impossible.
Workers Struggles: The Americas
7 September 2016
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As Minneapolis nurses strike, unions join arms with Democratic officials in Labor Day events
By Patrick Martin, 6 September 2016
The trade unions used the Labor Day events to promote the campaign of Hillary Clinton, the consensus candidate of Wall Street, the military-intelligence apparatus and most of the political establishment.
Allina nurses strike reveals gulf between workers and union
By Ron Jorgenson, 6 September 2016
Nurses in Minneapolis are fighting against management demands that would cut their own health benefits and make it more difficult for them to provide quality health services.
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