Bill Bumpus an injury to one is an injury to all

Last week we interviewed Oshawa, Canada, auto worker Tony Leah about the plant occupation that rank-and-file workers organized to protest the planned shutdown of their General Motors factory. Meanwhile their national union, Unifor, held a rally on January 11 in Windsor, described below and in a separate report by Labor Notes Business Manager Adrian Montgomery.

Last week we interviewed Oshawa, Canada, auto worker Tony Leah about the plant occupation that rank-and-file workers organized to protest the planned shutdown of their General Motors factory. Meanwhile their national union, Unifor, held a rally on January 11 in Windsor, described below and in a separate report by Labor Notes Business Manager Adrian Montgomery.

Last week we interviewed Oshawa, Canada, auto worker Tony Leah about the plant occupation that rank-and-file workers organized to protest the planned shutdown of their General Motors factory. Meanwhile their national union, Unifor, held a rally on January 11 in Windsor, described below by Labor Notes Business Manager Adrian Montgomery.

Last week we interviewed Oshawa, Canada, auto worker Tony Leah about the plant occupation that rank-and-file workers organized to protest the planned shutdown of their General Motors factory. Meanwhile their national union, Unifor, held a rally on January 11 in Windsor, described below by Labor Notes Business Manager Adrian Montgomery.

Federal Workers: Shutdown and Out January 18, 2019 / Saurav Sarkar<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

What would you do if management could force you to work without pay, lock you out with no consequences, and fire you for going on strike?

That’s the situation facing 800,000 federal workers—and their unions—during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Forty percent of the government’s civilian workforce besides postal workers are being deprived of money to pay for rent, gas, groceries, and car and student loan payments.

They include 420,000 workers who are being forced to work without pay and 380,000 who are locked out.

Federal Workers: Shutdown and Out January 18, 2019 / Saurav Sarkar<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

What would you do if management could force you to work without pay, lock you out with no consequences, and fire you for going on strike?

That’s the situation facing 800,000 federal workers—and their unions—during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Forty percent of the government’s civilian workforce besides postal workers are being deprived of money to pay for rent, gas, groceries, and car and student loan payments.

They include 420,000 workers who are being forced to work without pay and 380,000 who are locked out.

Four Labor Notes staff members are in Los Angeles helping out with the strike by 34,000 teachers against the billionaire-backed school board's privatization agenda.

In this speech, Labor Notes staff organizer Bianca Cunningham tells L.A. teachers about her own experience on strike against Verizon for 49 days in 2016, during the largest private-sector strike of the decade.

Four Labor Notes staff members are in Los Angeles helping out with the strike by 34,000 teachers against the billionaire-backed school board's privatization agenda.

In this speech, Labor Notes staff organizer Bianca Cunningham tells L.A. teachers about her own experience on strike against Verizon for 49 days in 2016, during the largest private-sector strike of the decade.

It’s day four of the Los Angeles teachers strike, and the big news is that the district and the union will meet today at noon to resume negotiations for the first time since the strike began. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has been urging the district to come back to the table, will mediate.

It’s day four of the Los Angeles teachers strike, and the big news is that the district and the union will meet today at noon to resume negotiations for the first time since the strike began. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has been urging the district to come back to the table, will mediate.

Yesterday for the second day in a row, 50,000 people rallied in support of the striking teachers of Los Angeles.

This time our target was the California Charter School Association, the lobbying arm behind the rapid expansion of unregulated charter schools in Los Angeles. It’s funded by billionaires like Eli Broad and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

The CCSA has pursued a plan to move one million students from public schools into charter schools by 2022.

Yesterday for the second day in a row, 50,000 people rallied in support of the striking teachers of Los Angeles.

This time our target was the California Charter School Association, the lobbying arm behind the rapid expansion of unregulated charter schools in Los Angeles. It’s funded by billionaires like Eli Broad and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

The CCSA has pursued a plan to move one million students from public schools into charter schools by 2022.

Thirty-four thousand teachers in Los Angeles are out on strike to defend public education against the privatization agenda of Austin Beutner, the former investment banker and current Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is demanding class size limits, more funding for counselors, social workers, and nurses, and a moratorium on charter school expansion. The school district is hoping to hold on to its $1.9 billion in reserves and continue defunding, dismantling, and privatizing the city's 900 public schools.

Thirty-four thousand teachers in Los Angeles are out on strike to defend public education against the privatization agenda of Austin Beutner, the former investment banker and current Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) is demanding class size limits, more funding for counselors, social workers, and nurses, and a moratorium on charter school expansion. The school district is hoping to hold on to its $1.9 billion in reserves and continue defunding, dismantling, and privatizing the city's 900 public schools.

Using 'Just Cause' to Defend Against Unfair Discipline January 15, 2019 / Robert M. Schwartz<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

The principle of “just cause” is the keystone of the collective bargaining agreement. By imposing rigorous qualifications for discipline, the just-cause standard protects everyone in the union.

If an employer could fire workers for trivial or manufactured reasons, it could easily rid itself of militant officers, stewards, and rank and filers.

Using 'Just Cause' to Defend Against Unfair Discipline January 15, 2019 / Robert M. Schwartz<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

The principle of “just cause” is the keystone of the collective bargaining agreement. By imposing rigorous qualifications for discipline, the just-cause standard protects everyone in the union.

If an employer could fire workers for trivial or manufactured reasons, it could easily rid itself of militant officers, stewards, and rank and filers.

Los Angeles Teachers Strike to Defend Public Schools from the Privatizers January 14, 2019 / Barbara Madeloni<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

Last spring a teacher uprising swept the red states. Today it reached the West Coast, as the 34,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles began a long-anticipated strike in the nation’s second-largest school district.

Teachers, parents, students, and community supporters hit the picket lines in their fight against the budget cuts and privatization being pushed by the school board and Superintendent Austin Beutner, a former investment banker.

Los Angeles Teachers Strike to Defend Public Schools from the Privatizers January 14, 2019 / Barbara Madeloni<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

Last spring a teacher uprising swept the red states. Today it reached the West Coast, as the 34,000 members of United Teachers Los Angeles began a long-anticipated strike in the nation’s second-largest school district.

Teachers, parents, students, and community supporters hit the picket lines in their fight against the budget cuts and privatization being pushed by the school board and Superintendent Austin Beutner, a former investment banker.

Interview: Why We Occupied Our General Motors Factory in Oshawa, Canada January 11, 2019 / Tony Leah<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

General Motors has announced it will end production at five North American plants, just a decade after the company received billions of dollars in U.S. and Canadian taxpayer money and won sweeping concessions from auto unions as part of the bailout.

All told, about 6,700 hourly and salaried employees stand to lose their jobs as the lines stop at Oshawa Assembly in Ontario, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan, and Lordstown Assembly in Ohio. Meanwhile the company is posting billions in profits.

Interview: Why We Occupied Our General Motors Factory in Oshawa, Canada January 11, 2019 / Tony Leah<? if(isset($entity->premium) and $entity->premium == 1) { echo "Print Only"; } ?>

General Motors has announced it will end production at five North American plants, just a decade after the company received billions of dollars in U.S. and Canadian taxpayer money and won sweeping concessions from auto unions as part of the bailout.

All told, about 6,700 hourly and salaried employees stand to lose their jobs as the lines stop at Oshawa Assembly in Ontario, Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in Michigan, and Lordstown Assembly in Ohio. Meanwhile the company is posting billions in profits.