IN THIS ISSUE:

• Auto Workers Power Up Fight for an Electric Future
• It’s Working: Auto Workers’ Strike Strategy Is Forcing the Big 3 to Pony Up
• Record-Setting Strike Moves Kaiser the Old-Fashioned Way
• U.S. Unions Call for Ceasefire in Gaza
   

• Workshop: Fight the Boss, Fix the Climate - October 23
• Race and Labor - October 26
• Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Building Trades Edition - November 6
• What to do When the Union Breaks Your Heart - November 7
• Detroit Secrets of a Successful Organizer Workshop - November 12
• Steward's Workshop: Assertive Grievance Handling - November 15

• Dealership Community Canvass Toolkit here.  Background here.

Auto Workers Power Up Fight for an Electric Future

by Keith Brower Brown

The highest stakes of the United Auto Workers’ strike could be for workers not yet hired, at plants not yet built.

In the last few weeks, the Stand-Up Strike has wrenched breakthrough offers out of all three automakers—Ford,
General Motors, and Stellantis—that will have big implications for the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

Moving beyond the dead-end job security strategies of the past—concessions and corporate partnership—
the union is digging footholds to fight for an electric future on workers’ terms.

Six thousand jobs across four planned GM battery plants will now be covered under the UAW’s master national
agreement, rather than a separate low-wage contract.

READ MORE

It’s Working: Auto Workers’ Strike Strategy
Is Forcing the Big 3 to Pony Up

by Luis Feliz Leon

The Auto Workers (UAW) have thrown the Big 3 on the back foot.

For the first time in recent history, the union is playing the automakers against each other
—departing from its tradition of choosing one target company and patterning an agreement
at the other two.

And its gradually escalating Stand-Up Strike strategy has multiplied the pressure that can
move the companies off the dime.

READ MORE

Record-Setting Strike Moves Kaiser the Old-Fashioned Way

by Alexandra Bradbury

Seventy-five thousand Kaiser Permanente health care workers struck October 4-6 in what was billed as the biggest health care strike in U.S. history.

It was also the first strike in decades by the SEIU-led Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, the longtime standard-bearer for labor-management partnership. That partnership has frayed to the point of unraveling—though not for lack of interest on the union side. It’s Kaiser that has gotten mean.

Wages were the biggest sticking point, and the strike moved Kaiser substantially. The tentative four-year deal announced October 13 includes a 21 percent raise across all the regions where Kaiser operates. Its minimum wage in California will rise to $23 an hour immediately, and $25 by 2026; everywhere else it will be $21, rising to $23.

READ MORE

U.S. Unions Call for Ceasefire in Gaza

by Alexandra Bradbury and Luis Feliz Leon

While many union members and other workers are worried and horrified at the mounting war in Israel and occupied Palestine, U.S. unions so far have mostly remained silent.

But workers are speaking up and organizing with their co-workers to push their unions on the side of peace and justice. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 3000 and United Electrical Workers (UE) have sponsored a petition calling for a ceasefire.

“Union members come from diverse backgrounds, including Jews, Muslims, and Middle Eastern communities,” says the petition. “The rising escalation of war and arms sales doesn't serve the interests of workers anywhere.”

READ MORE

All Labor Notes Big 3 Special Coverage

Upcoming Events

Workshop: Fight the Boss, Fix the Climate

Monday, October 23 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern (5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Pacific), online via Zoom.

It's 110 degrees out, but the boss wants business as usual. Meanwhile, management plans to cash in on "greener" technology as a ruse to get around our unions. How can we bring our coworkers together to keep us safe – and build our power – through all the climate mayhem?

In this workshop, we’ll hear from union members who have organized shop floor actions on climate safety and steering green transitions, from the Electrical Workers (IBEW), locomotive assemblers (UE), and more. Then, we'll break out to discuss how your coworkers already bring up climate issues, and plan steps towards collective action on the climate in our workplaces.

Facilitated by Labor Notes' Labor-Climate Organizer, Keith Brower Brown.  Registration is free.

REGISTER NOW

Workshop: Race and Labor

Thursdays, October 26 and November 2, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern (4 to 6 p.m. Pacific). Online via Zoom.

How does racism show up in our workplaces and our unions? What are some strategies to confront it and build solidarity for a stronger, multiracial labor movement? And what can you say to union siblings who aren’t convinced racial justice has anything to do with union politics?

This workshop addresses how class and race are inextricably linked, tracing back the origins of “race” as an invention of the ruling class to divide workers. We'll talk about how to move to strategies of unity.

REGISTER NOW

Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Building Trades Edition

Mondays from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern (4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Pacific) on November 6, 13, and 20. Online via Zoom. We ask that you attend all three workshops in the series.

Are you a construction worker trying to get your crew involved in standing up to the contractor? Join us for a series of organizing workshops for rank-and-file building trades workers, whether you're in a union, or not yet.

These workshops are based on our widely acclaimed book Secrets of a Successful Organizer. 

REGISTER NOW

Workshop: What To Do When Your Union Breaks Your Heart (November 2023)

Tuesday, November 7, and will run from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time (4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific). Online via Zoom.

If you’re a union member, unfortunately the chances are good that you’ve had, or will have, your heart broken at least once by one of your own leaders. Whether you tried to get involved and there was nowhere to go, or the members got sold out, or leaders want to keep the union as their exclusive club, it can feel pretty harsh. In this workshop, we’ll talk about how to recommit to your union and change the culture into one where leaders respect and serve the members.

This workshop is based on this article and will be led by Labor Notes board member Ellen David Friedman. Registration is free.

REGISTER NOW

Detroit Secrets of a Successful Organizer Workshop

Sunday, November 12, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., 2701 Bagley St., Detroit, MI 48216, $15-$25 (includes lunch)

In this workshop series, based on Labor Notes' acclaimed book Secrets of a Successful Organizer, you will learn how to identify the key issues in your workplace, build campaigns to address them, anticipate management tricks and traps, and inspire your peers and co-workers to fight together despite their fears.

REGISTER NOW

Steward’s Workshop: Assertive Grievance Handling

November 15, 8 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern (5 to 6:30 p.m. Pacific). Online via Zoom.

Fighting grievances isn’t only about how well you argue your case. It’s also about organizing members to build pressure on management. This workshop will focus on how to win creatively without going to arbitration—or sometimes without even filing a grievance.

Join Labor Notes for an online workshop for shop stewards on supercharging your grievances. Hear from stewards about how they've used grievances to organize their coworkers, and talk with other labor activists about how to handle sticky situations.

For for stewards and elected officers who work with stewards only.  Registration is $10 - no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

REGISTER NOW

UAW Strike Support: 

The UAW is calling on community supporters to organize small teams of five to 10 people to canvass dealerships that sell and repair Big 3 cars. The union has issued a canvassing toolkit with instructions, flyers, press releases, and talking points.

The flyers reiterate that auto workers are simply asking for their fair share of the sky-high profits, and ask customers to put pressure on the Big 3 to settle the contract. 

The union is making it clear that the goal of the canvasses is to educate the public about the strike, not to promote a boycott or do anything that might be construed as “coercive” of customers, such as blocking entrances.

CANVASSING TOOLKIT HERE

KEEP IN TOUCH!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• FOLLOW LABORNOTES

  FEATURED STORIES

  This Year's Biggest Strike Is by 48,000 Academic Workers at the University of California

  Strike Wave Rocks Britain, as Unions Confront the Cost-of-Living Crisis

  ‘No Contract, No Matisse’: Philadelphia Museum of Art Workers Win First Contract After Strike

  GET EMAIL UPDATES

• Events

  SAVE THE DATE: 2024 Labor Notes Conference

  

  April 19, 2024 to April 21, 2024

  The 2022 Labor Notes Conference was by far our biggest yet, with 4,000 attendees swapping
  experiences and discussing strategies to put the movement back in the labor movement.
  Now, we are excited to announce the details of the 2024 Labor Notes Conference:
  WHEN: Friday, April 19 to Sunday, April 21, 2024 WHERE: Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois »

  Workshop: What To Do When Your Union Breaks Your Heart (January 2023)

  

  January 03, 2023

  This workshop will be held on Tuesday, January 3rd, and will run from 7:30pm to 9pm Eastern Time
  (4:30pm to 6pm Pacific). This is an online workshop and will be held via Zoom. »

  Stewards' Workshop: Steward's Toolbox (December 2022)

  

  December 12, 2022

  This workshop has limited capacity and is for stewards and elected officers who work with stewards.
  Please only register if this applies to you. Registration is at the bottom of this page. The workshop will be
  held on Monday, December 12th from 8-9:30pm ET/5-6:30pm Pacific. This is a virtual workshop and will be
  eld by Zoom. Stewards have many tools at their disposal to enforce contracts and defend their coworkers.
  Come to this online workshop to learn what those tools are, and strategies for how to use them. »

  Secrets of a Successful Organizer November/December Workshop Series

  

  November 30, 2022

  Photo: Jim West / jimwestphoto.com Space is limited! Register now at the bottom of this page.
  These workshops are based on our widely-acclaimed book, Secrets of a Successful Organizer.
  These trainings will be held via Zoom. The sessions will run Wednesdays from 8-10pm Eastern
  (5-7pm Pacific) on November 30th, December 7th, and December 14th.
  We ask that you attend all three workshops in the series. »

  Stewards' Workshop: Using Grievances to Organize (November 2022)

  

  November 29, 2022

  REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. Keep an eye out for December's steward workshop!
  Registration is at the bottom of this page. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 29th from
  8-9:30pm ET/5-6:30pm Pacific. This is a virtual workshop and will be held by Zoom. Grievances are a
  fundamental part of being a union steward, and there's a whole set of skills and knowledge that stewards
  should have to be effective at tackling them. But what about when grievances aren't enough?
  Or aren't the best way to go? »

After 18 Months, Striking Warrior Met Miners and Families Hold the Line

by Ericka Wills

A somber bell toll broke the silence outside the West Brookwood Church in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, as the names of victims of mine-related deaths were read aloud.

Along with miners who died in the past year, the annual service honors the 13 men who died in a series of explosions in Jim Walter Resources Mine No. 5 in Brookwood on September 23, 2001.

Today that mine is part of Warrior Met Coal, the company at the center of the longest and largest ongoing strike in the United States.

As strikers, families, and community members gathered to remember the fallen miners, all were reminded that what is at stake in the Warrior Met strike is, literally, life and death.

READ MORE.

Check out the UMWA Auxiliary’s Solidarity Santa registry to help support striking families this holiday season.

'Society Has Shut Down On Us:' Prison Strikers Across Alabama Demand Change Despite Severe Retaliation

by Haley Czarnek

Across the state of Alabama, another labor stoppage is in its second week. Thousands of incarcerated people at every major male prison in Alabama have refused to report to their work assignments.

“The message that we are sending is, the courts have shut down on us, the parole board has shut down on us,” a strike organizer who goes by Swift Justice told a reporter for independent news site Unicorn Riot. “This society has long ago shut down on us.

"So basically, if that’s the case, and you’re not wanting us to return back to society, you can run these facilities yourselves.”

READ MORE.

Three Amazon Warehouses Catch Fire; Workers Protest Unsafe Conditions with Sit-in

by Luis Feliz Leon

Amazon warehouses caught fire in New York and Alabama this past week, endangering hundreds of workers.

In the unionized Staten Island facility, workers marched on managers and staged a sit-down in protest over Amazon’s disregard for their safety—and the company lashed back with mass suspensions.

More than 100 workers at JFK8 stopped working and demanded to be sent home with pay, marching to and occupying the offices of Amazon managers to press their demands—including for union recognition, raises that keep up with inflation, and that the company put workers’ lives before its profits.

READ MORE.

Other Labor News

A reform effort, Essential Workers for a Democratic UFCW, has been launched in the United Food and Commercial Workers. The group is calling for one member one vote of top officers, major investments in new organizing and coordinated bargaining, and "powerful, transformational strikes." The UFCW convention is in April.

Alabama Paper Mill Workers Want Their Lives Back—And They're Giving Up $30,000 to Get It, by Jacob Morrison, The Real News Network. 480 members of USW Locals 971, 1471, and 1972 were locked out yesterday as their employers attempts to cut Sunday pay and premium pay when workers are forced to stay for shifts over 16 hours.

Although it did not go so far as to repeal the Trump Labor Board’s infamous General Motors decision mandating that union representatives obey company civility standards, a September NLRB panel (Cadillac of Naperville, Inc., 371 NLRB No. 140 (2022)) ordered the reinstatement of a union steward fired for calling the owner of a company “a stupid jack off” during a heated argument over strike replacements. The panel was influenced by the fact that similar language was common throughout the workplace.

"Our Health and Safety Is Not a Priority Here": Why Refresco Workers Unionized, by Luis Feliz Leon, The Real News Network

Another independent union victory in Mexico, this time at a Saint Gobain auto glass factory.

Upcoming Labor Notes Events

Labor Notes Is Hiring an Assistant Editor

Fresh off the success of June's Labor Notes Conference, we're looking to add more talented supporters of rank-and-file unionism to our staff.

Right now we are hiring for the position of Assistant Editor. Please help us spread the word or consider applying yourself. 

We anticipate hiring for other positions in the months ahead—stay tuned!

FIND MORE DETAILS on the position at labornotes.org/jobs.

Join the Labor Notes Outreach Crew

After our biggest-ever Labor Notes Conference, the Troublemakers Union is ready to keep growing! That's why we're building the Labor Notes Outreach Crew, a phonebanking team that will spread the word about our online trainings and events.

If you're ready to volunteer for the Troublemakers Union a few hours per month, talking to other union members across the country, sign up here.

KEEP IN TOUCH!