Workers Issues in the US
Two key players in UAW corruption scandal to enter guilty pleas
By Shannon Jones, 18 January 2018
The wife of a deceased UAW official and a Fiat Chrysler executive are expected to plead guilty to charges they took part in a scheme to siphon off millions from the UAW-Chrysler Joint Training Center.
Boston Transit: Control Board fiddles while the Red Line burns
By John Marion, 18 January 2018
Three years after a series of snow storms shut down Boston’s public transportation system, no real improvements to the decrepit infrastructure have been made.
Kentucky water crisis outrage: Another US worker arrested for criticizing government officials
By Sheila Brehm, 15 January 2018
A former coal miner was stopped from complaining about the persistent shutoff of drinking water to families in Martin County.
“Keep fighting, we have to come together”
Educators denounce attack on Louisiana school teacher Deyshia Hargrave
By Nancy Hanover, 15 January 2018
WSWS Teacher Newsletter readers explain their support for the Louisiana teacher who was arrested for speaking out at a school board meeting last week.
US coal mining fatalities nearly doubled in 2017
By Clement Daly, 12 January 2018
The surge in mining deaths reflects the deterioration of working conditions in the US coal industry.
Huntsville, Alabama Toyota-Mazda plant announcement highlights shift in auto production to southeastern US
By Ed Hightower, 12 January 2018
The planned facility is the latest expansion of “transplants” in the US South and will employ some 4,000 workers.
As workers seek higher wages
Billionaire warns of growing class conflict in US
By Jerry White, 9 January 2018
After decades of declining real wages, hundreds of thousands of workers face contract struggles this year in the trucking, warehouse, health care, telecom and entertainment industries.
NLRB rejects UAW appeal of Honeywell lockout
Workers Struggles: The Americas
9 January 2018
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Foxconn tax subsidies to build Wisconsin plant reach over $4 billion
By George Gallanis, 6 January 2018
Decades of deindustrialization have created unprecedented levels of social inequality, poverty and unemployment, which corporations like Foxconn can exploit.
As teachers face new battles against Trump
Lessons of the fight against Obama’s “school reform”—Part 2
By Nancy Hanover and Jerry White, 6 January 2018
Taken together, the seminal struggles of teachers and other public sector workers in Wisconsin (2011), Chicago (2012) and Detroit (2015-16) contain powerful political lessons for the defense of education and workers’ rights.
AT&T; and other US telecoms begin wave of layoffs
By Mark Witkowski, 5 January 2018
Flush with billions in cash and counting on the complicity of the unions, the telecom giants are preparing more job-cutting mergers.
As teachers face new battles against Trump
Lessons of the fight against Obama’s “school reform”—Part 1
By Nancy Hanover and Jerry White, 4 January 2018
Taken together, the seminal struggles of teachers and other public-sector workers in Wisconsin (2011), Chicago (2012) and Detroit (2015-16) have powerful political lessons for the defense of education and workers’ rights.
It’s the most exhausting time of the year: Amazon, UPS workers denounce grueling holiday conditions
By our reporters, 30 December 2017
Amid reports of deaths at Amazon and UPS, workers at Amazon, UPS, FedEx, US Postal Service, and other logistics and delivery companies have been under immense pressure to meet increased demand during the Christmas holiday.
Massachusetts public transportation workers’ wages, benefits, and safety under attack
By John Marion, 29 December 2017
A report by the transport authority’s Fiscal and Management Control Board hints at plans to continue privatizing the nation’s fifth-largest public transportation system.
Amazon worker dies after vomiting blood at Sacramento, California fulfillment center
By Kristina Betinis, 23 December 2017
This is at least the third death in recent months for the world’s largest online retailer, and the company has nearly doubled its workforce for holiday sales.
“If finding out what happened could save another life at least something good would come from our son’s death”
Family, co-workers want truth about Kentucky Ford worker’s death
By Jerry White, 23 December 2017
Two weeks after the death of 41-year-old electrician Ivan Bridgewater, company, union and government officials have not explained how the fatal accident occurred.
US workplace fatalities rose 7 percent in 2016
By Jerry White, 20 December 2017
The rise in occupational deaths during Obama’s last years in office lifts the lid on record corporate profits and America’s so-called “economic recovery.”
OSHA dragging its feet investigating death of Pennsylvania Amazon worker Devan Shoemaker
By Douglas Lyons, 20 December 2017
28-year-old Devan Shoemaker was run over by a tractor-trailer while working for Amazon. He leaves behind a young son and wife.
Few facts in horrific death of Canton, Ohio meat packing worker Samuel Martinez
By Shannon Jones, 19 December 2017
As is typical, the media has dealt with this tragedy in a perfunctory manner, seeking to conceal the social implications of the industrial carnage taking place in the United States.
SEIU calls off week-long Oakland city strike without contract
Workers Struggles: The Americas
19 December 2017
The calling off of the walkout is a stab in the back for workers who are seeking improvements in wages and better treatment of part time workers.
Horrific death at Ohio meatpacking plant
Industrial carnage continues in US workplaces
By Jerry White, 18 December 2017
A 62-year-old immigrant worker is the latest victim in a wave of industrial fatalities in the US. On-the-job injuries claim nearly 5,000 lives every year.
UPS worker killed at Atlanta hub
By Steve Filips, 18 December 2017
William Stubbs, 51, a 17-year UPS employee was killed while unloading a trailer parked at a dock.
Amid escalating corruption scandal, top UAW operatives step down
By Shannon Jones, 15 December 2017
The ongoing federal corruption investigation and growing worker anger and militancy are fueling an apparent crisis in the top echelons of the United Auto Workers union.
“Ford and big companies don’t care if you live or not”
Ford workers speak out on Kentucky Truck worker’s death
By Jessica Goldstein and Jerry White, 14 December 2017
A coroner ruled that Ivan Bridgewater, 41, died of blunt force trauma under still unexplained circumstances.
Panel calls for cost-cutting to stabilize New Jersey pension fund
By Mark Ferretti, 13 December 2017
The panel recommended reducing state employees’ health benefits to the less-generous levels common in the private sector.
The death toll behind corporate America’s record profits
By Jerry White, 12 December 2017
A 41-year-old electrician at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant is the latest victim of the relentless drive for corporate profit in America.
Electrician, 41, killed at Ford Kentucky Truck Plant on Saturday
By Jessica Goldstein, 11 December 2017
Ivan Bridgewater III was killed while working the third shift at the Louisville Kentucky plant and leaves behind a wife and young son.
Amazon workers ask “$100 billion man” Jeff Bezos: where’s my cut?
By our reporters, 9 December 2017
When reporters for the International Amazon Workers Voice interviewed part-time Amazon workers in Baltimore to discuss their attitude toward Bezos’ ill-gotten fortune, they were met with a torrent of disgust and calls for sharing the wealth.
Tesla management imposes brutal workplace regime as it ramps up production
By Jean LaChance, 8 December 2017
As Tesla ramps up production of its new, lower-priced Model 3, management is imposing an increasingly brutal regime, including the firing of 700 workers earlier this year.
Near walkout at Detroit auto plant over unsafe conditions
By Jerry White, 7 December 2017
Autoworkers at Fiat Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit threatened to walk out December 2 after company and UAW officials ignored their complaints about being sickened by fumes.
Worker killed at ExxonMobil refinery in Beaumont, Texas
By Trévon Austin, 6 December 2017
The worker’s death highlights deteriorating safety standards in the oil industry, which have only worsened due to the collaboration of the United Steelworkers union.
Workers Struggles: the Americas
Halifax Shipyard workers vote 99 percent in favor of strike
5 December 2017
The union accuses management of seeking to impose a long list of concessions, including the decimation of safety rules.
Undocumented workers in Houston face hazardous conditions and unpaid wages
By Trévon Austin, 1 December 2017
The wage theft and abysmal working conditions facing undocumented relief workers in Houston is part of the criminality and negligence of the American ruling class’s response to natural disasters.
Amazon builds low-wage Maryland plant on ashes of largest steel mill in US
By Adam Soroka, 27 November 2017
The construction of the facility on the site of a former Bethlehem Steel mill is indicative of the decline of American capitalism.
Hundreds of paper mill jobs to be axed in US Pacific Northwest
By Hector Cordon, 24 November 2017
Three hundred paper mill workers are slated to lose their jobs at Koch Industries-owned Georgia Pacific as hundreds of other job cuts hit Washington state and Oregon.
Workers killed in upstate New York industrial accidents
By Steve Filips, 22 November 2017
A worker was killed in an explosion at a cosmetics factory 60 miles north of New York City, and two others in the northern part of the state.
Ontario government orders college teachers back to work
Workers Struggles: The Americas
21 November 2017
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Access to selective US universities reserved for the wealthy
By Michael Anders, 21 November 2017
A new report from New America think tank shows the restriction of access to higher education for students from working class families over the past two decades.
Telecom unions lead Charter-Spectrum strike into dead end
By Steve Light and A. Woodson, 17 November 2017
Charter-Spectrum workers in New York City and New Jersey have been on strike for eight months.
Another decisive repudiation
Ohio auto glass workers vote 2-1 against the UAW
By Shannon Jones, 11 November 2017
The vote against the UAW took place in an area that was once noted for worker militancy and the scene of pitched class battles.
More revelations in UAW corruption scandal
Fiat Chrysler CEO Marchionne met with federal investigators last year
By Shannon Jones, 7 November 2017
The reports of Marchionne’s meeting with prosecutors follow reports that the investigation of the illegal diversion of funds from training centers has expanded to Ford and General Motors.
“We are treated like garbage, like we are disposable”
Detroit autoworkers condemn UAW in death of young Ford worker
By a WSWS reporting team, 6 November 2017
All workers confront stressful conditions at the factory, where the workday is 10 hours, and the UAW has long collaborated with the FCA bosses to cut wages and increase production.
Temp work past the age of retirement
Amazon’s CamperForce program exploits elderly workers
By Evan Blake, 6 November 2017
Every year, Amazon hires thousands of temporary workers in their 50s, 60s and 70s to carry out backbreaking labor during the holiday season.
UAW-corporate corruption scandal spreads to Ford and GM
By Eric London, 4 November 2017
Workers need workplace and neighborhood committees to advance their interests against the massive corporations that dictate the policies of the government and control the unions.
Billionaire CEO Joe Ricketts shuts down DNAinfo and Gothamist after unionization vote
By Michael Walters and Alexander Fangmann, 4 November 2017
The sudden shutdown of the popular local news websites illustrates the dangers posed by the financial aristocracy’s control over the media and the internet.
After ultimatum and threats of job loss
Union ends Palatine, Illinois support staff strike without contract
By George Marlowe, 4 November 2017
After the school district of Palatine, Illinois issued an ultimatum to striking support staff, their union sent them back to work without a contract.
Fire officials were aware of hazards prior to toxic Parkersburg, West Virginia warehouse blaze
By Warren Duzak, 4 November 2017
Years in advance of a toxic warehouse blaze that forced mass evacuations and sickened scores of Parkersburg residents, local fire officials had attempted to sound the alarm about the hazards.
Young Ford worker sought UAW help before apparent suicide
By Jerry White, 3 November 2017
According to a police report obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, 21-year-old Jacoby Hennings spoke with UAW officials for more than an hour before pulling out a gun.
Wisconsin construction worker falls to death while working on Milwaukee Bucks stadium
By Jessica Goldstein, 3 November 2017
Few details have been released about the tragic death last week of an electrician who fell from a ladder at the construction site of the new $524 million stadium.
Death of Jacoby Hennings highlights UAW collusion with auto companies
By Jerry White, 1 November 2017
The apparent suicide of the 21-year-old Ford worker has revealed the oppressive conditions facing temporary part-time employees in the auto industry.
Autoworkers take to social media to defend young Ford worker killed in apparent suicide
By Jerry White, 31 October 2017
Hundreds of autoworkers have shared and commented on WSWS articles about the death of 21-year-old Jacoby Marquis Hennings.
Ontario college teachers hit by vehicles as strike continues
Workers Struggles: The Americas
31 October 2017
Strikers have been hit by vehicles in two separate incidents as a walkout by Ontario college teachers continues.
Seven-month Spectrum strike in New York and New Jersey highlights assault on pensions
By Mark Witkowski, 30 October 2017
The strike has been isolated by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, and the much larger telecom union, the Communications Workers of America.
Denim mill in Greensboro, North Carolina closes after 112 years
By Keisha Gibbs, 30 October 2017
The closure will result in job losses for the 200 employees who work there, and signals economic distress in the center of the American textile industry.
AFL-CIO leaders offer demagogy, nationalism at convention in St. Louis
By Trévon Austin, 27 October 2017
A signification section of the union bureaucracy is openly allied with Trump on the basis of “America First” nationalism.
Worker killed in Indiana auto parts plant
By Jessica Goldstein, 26 October 2017
Melissa Stephens, a mother of four, was killed at a plant owned by Autoneum, which has repeatedly been fined for unsafe conditions.
Ontario community college staff continue strike
Workers Struggles: The Americas
24 October 2017
The 12,000 professors, instructors, consultants and librarians are in the second week of a strike against the provincial college system.
Court orders striking staff at suburban Chicago school district back to work
By Kristina Betinis, 19 October 2017
The court and the school district are running roughshod over the democratic rights of school workers who are fighting for decent wages and benefits.
New York employers, insurers seek to gut workers’ compensation system
By Philip Guelpa, 17 October 2017
Proposed changes to New York State workers’ compensation regulations would severely reduce the benefits workers receive for work-related injuries and illnesses.
Amazon workers force company to rehire unjustly fired worker after IAWV exposure
By Samuel Davidson, 10 October 2017
The re-hiring may seem like a small victory, but it is an indication of the strength Amazon workers have when they unite to protect one another’s rights.
Washington, DC holds worker in jail for months after charges dropped
By Harvey Simpkins, 9 October 2017
The plight of Carlton O. Harris is yet another example of the class-based US legal system and the erosion of fundamental democratic rights.
US confronts critical teacher shortage
By Khara Sikhan, 4 October 2017
Decades of defunding public education, standardized testing and the demonization of teachers has resulted in a national crisis in education in the United States.
Is $12 an hour a fair wage for Amazon workers?
By Samuel Davidson, 4 October 2017
An International Amazon Workers Voice investigation reveals that the prevalence of temporary and part-time work means most Amazon workers struggle to make poverty-rate wages.
Baggage-handlers’ strike at Toronto airport enters third month
Workers Struggles: The Americas
3 October 2017
Some 700 workers are striking against demands by Swissport for a three-year wage freeze, cuts to benefits and tighter control over work schedules.
Dozens of cleanup workers dying of cancer after 2008 Tennessee coal ash spill
By Keisha Gibbs, 29 September 2017
Workers involved in cleaning up the massive coal ash spill in Kingston, Tennessee, are suing after at least 17 have died and dozens more have been diagnosed with cancer.
SAG-AFTRA ends 11-month video game industry strike, making major concessions
By Glenn Mulwray, 29 September 2017
SAG-AFTRA’s strike against 11 major video game publishers has ended with agreement on a sellout contract, pending ratification. On each major point, the union capitulated to the demands of the corporations.
Spectrum strike approaches half year mark
By Daniel de Vries, 26 September 2017
The 1,800 telecom workers are at a crossroads as the unions continue to maintain the isolation of their struggle.
Strike by Colombian pilots continues, negotiations restart
Workers Struggles: The Americas
26 September 2017
The 700 pilots employed by Avianca struck September 22 for better pay and conditions affecting some 530 flights.
US autoworkers express support for CAMI strikers in Canada
“We should be out on strike with them”
By Jerry White, 25 September 2017
Despite the sabotage by the auto unions on both sides of the border there is a widespread sentiment for a common struggle against the global carmakers.
General Motors and Ford announce thousands of US layoffs
By Shannon Jones, 23 September 2017
The layoffs come amid mounting signs that the seven-year boom in auto sales is collapsing.
UAW officials laundered Fiat Chrysler bribes through fake charities
By Shannon Jones, 21 September 2017
The latest revelations in the scandal involving funds diverted from the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center further underscore the anti-worker character of the UAW.
California: SEIU sabotages San Diego County workers’ strike
By Kevin Martinez, 19 September 2017
A planned two-day strike potentially involving 10,000 workers was called off at the last minute by the Service Employees International Union.
Burlington, Vermont teachers strike continues as officials refuse to budge on concession demands
By Kate Randall, 18 September 2017
The 400 teachers went out on strike Thursday after nine-hour negotiations between a mediator, the Burlington’s Democratic mayor and the Burlington Education Association broke down.
IAM ends Chicago area mechanics strike
By Jessica Goldstein, 18 September 2017
After seven weeks of struggle, IAM Local 701 imposed a sellout deal on striking Chicago area mechanics.
Pittsburgh Boilermakers Union official admits theft of funds
By Shannon Jones, 16 September 2017
In yet another case of corruption by union officials, a former business manager of the Boilermakers Union pled guilty in federal court to stealing at least $1.5 million in members’ dues money.
Charges dropped against Amtrak engineer in Philadelphia derailment
By Jeff Lusanne, 15 September 2017
The charges follow a typical pattern in which prosecutors seek to offload the blame for disasters onto railroad workers, ignoring the role of management and government policy.
Teachers strike in Burlington, Vermont over health care cuts, working conditions
By Jerry White, 15 September 2017
More than 400 teachers walked out on strike in Burlington Thursday, after efforts by a mediator, the city’s Democratic mayor and the Burlington Education Association failed to prevent the strike.
Canadian auto union moves to ram through concessions deal on GM CAMI workers
By Carl Bronski, 15 September 2017
With contempt for workers, Unifor officials have called a “ratification/strike” meeting for Sunday without releasing any information about what workers are supposed to vote on.
Chicago area auto mechanics reject dealers’ “last, best and final offer”
By Jerry White, 13 September 2017
Chicago area car mechanics, now in the seventh week of their strike, voted down the concessions-laden contract brought back by the International Association of Machinists.
Worker exposes deadly conditions at Detroit area US Steel mill
By Shannon Jones, 12 September 2017
A steelworker describes on Facebook the callous response of both management and the United Steelworkers to the exposure of a group of crane operators to a deadly gas.
Riverside, California county workers stage two-day strike
Workers Struggles: The Americas
12 September 2017
Rather than mobilize the power of the working class, the Service Employees International Union used the walkout as a photo op for various Democratic Party candidates.
IAM pushes sellout deal on striking Chicago car mechanics
By Jessica Goldstein, 11 September 2017
Mechanics are not paid for the hours worked on the clock, but by the number of hours the automobile manufacturers assign to the parts they work on.
“If the Internet shuts down, we wouldn’t know anything. The union isn’t going to tell us”
Autoworkers in Detroit support campaign against Google Internet censorship
By a WSWS reporting team, 9 September 2017
SEP campaign teams in the Detroit area collected scores of signatures last weekend for the petition opposing Google’s Internet censorship.
Worker killed at Kansas oil refinery as OSHA conceals data on workplace deaths
By Jessica Goldstein, 8 September 2017
US workplaces have been getting deadlier and deadlier as the stock markets soar and the wealth of society is concentrated into the hands of a shrinking number of oligarchs.
“We don’t know what kind of deal they’ve struck with the breakaway dealerships”
IAM isolates striking Chicago car mechanics, seeks separate agreements
By Jessica Goldstein, 5 September 2017
Striking Chicago-area auto mechanics remain militant during their fifth week of struggle while the union tries to shut down the strike by making deals with independent dealerships.
It's like an “early 1900s factory”
Walgreens pharmacy workers in Michigan speak out against harsh working conditions
By George Kirby, 29 August 2017
The WSWS spoke to workers at Walgreens’ Specialty Pharmacies, who face similar working conditions to Amazon warehouse workers.
Striking Toronto baggage handlers reject offer, continue job action
Workers Struggles: The Americas
29 August 2017
The workers voted down a proposed contract offer very similar to one they had previously rejected.
Ford workers speak out against sexual harassment, UAW corruption
By our reporters, 28 August 2017
Autoworkers in Michigan and Chicago reacted with disgust and anger to reports of widespread sexual abuse at Ford coming alongside indictments of UAW and Fiat Chrysler officials for corruption.
CSX worker in Tennessee seriously injured due to cutbacks
Railroads push cost-cutting and contract concessions
By Jeff Lusanne, 25 August 2017
Railroads continue to push for concessions three years after contracts for 145,000 workers expired, while implementing cost-cutting changes to please Wall Street.
“If you don’t stand up, nothing happens”
Union isolates Chicago-area auto mechanics strike in its fourth week
By Jessica Goldstein and George Marlowe, 22 August 2017
Rank-and-file mechanics of in the Chicago area spoke out against poverty wages and unfair labor practices, as the union attempts to shut down the strike.
More charges in Fiat Chrysler corruption scandal
UAW executives accepted bribes “to take company-friendly positions”
By Joseph Kishore, 21 August 2017
The multimillion-dollar bribery scheme exposes the UAW as a corrupt agent of corporate management, which has worked to impose massive concessions contracts at FCA, General Motors and Ford.
Protests against Amazon’s bid to seize land from historic African-American community in Virginia
By Nick Barrickman and Alex González, 21 August 2017
As if returning to feudal times, Amazon, with billionaire CEO Jeff Bezos at its helm, is upending communities with historic ties to the great democratic gains from the American Civil War.
CSX railroad closes and downgrades major facilities
By Jeff Lusanne, 10 August 2017
Workers at yards across the CSX system have been pushed aggressively to speed up work, risking injury, under the threat of yards being downgraded or closed.
Spectrum strike in New York-New Jersey enters fifth month
By Mark Witkowski, 9 August 2017
The unions have left Spectrum workers to battle the giant telecom company on their own.
“We work harder for pennies”
Striking Chicago-area mechanics denounce auto dealerships’ contract offer
By Jessica Goldstein, 7 August 2017
Striking mechanics told the WSWS that after years of concessions they are determined to obtain a real wage increase and better contract terms.
“I’ve read about revolutions. If you ignore the lower class long enough they’ll rise up”
Amazon Jobs Day applicants speak out
By our reporters, 3 August 2017
Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site and International Amazon Workers Voice spoke to applicants in Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.
As worker anger over UAW corruption scandal grows, union president defends sellout contracts
By Jerry White, 3 August 2017
With the corruption scandal threatening to ensnare wider layers of the UAW bureaucracy, union president Dennis Williams is trying to contain the growing anger of autoworkers.
“This only verifies what so many of us thought was happening before and after our so-called contract negotiations”
Indiana Fiat Chrysler workers react to UAW bribery indictment
By Jerry White, 31 July 2017
Workers at the Kokomo casting plant spoke out on the charges that company officials handed more than $1 million to the United Auto Workers’ top negotiator between 2009 and 2014.
Foxconn gets $3 billion in tax subsidies to build plant in Wisconsin
By George Marlowe, 31 July 2017
The Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has worked a deal to get up to $3 billion in tax subsidies for a promise of creating 3,000 jobs.
Amazon CEO Bezos makes $1.4 billion Thursday morning, briefly becoming world’s richest person
By Evan Blake, 28 July 2017
Bezos’s ascension to the heights of society rests on the exploitation of Amazon’s hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide.
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