Entries by Paul Becker
FEBRUARY BITS AND PIECES
STRIKE VOTE AUTHORIZED AT CATERPILLAR Caterpillar, the big farm equipment manufacturer, is facing a possible strike in a few weeks after 6,000 members at its plants in Illinois and Pennsylvania voted overwhelmingly to authorize one. Their contract expires March 1. A powerful encouragement for the Caterpillar labor action has been the strike at another farm […]
A NOTE FROM THE SUPREME COURT’S PAST
We describe on this page some episodes in the history of the American labor movement in the hope that it will prove inspiring to the generation of young workers in offices and restaurants and coffee shops and warehouses and factories around our country who are fighting to build their unions, and in the process, to […]
PENDING SUPREME COURT CASE COULD CRIPPLE UNIONS’ BARGAINING POWER
The US Supreme Court is scheduled hand down a decision in April that may severely curtail labor unions’ most important weapon – the right to strike. The unions are nervously sitting on edge for the outcome of the case, which was argued before the court on January 10. The case involves Glacier Northwest, Inc., a […]
NYC AND UNIONS HIT IMPASSE OVER NEW CONTRACTS
The efforts by New York City Mayor Eric Adamas and the heads of municipal unions in the Municipal Labor Council to push retirees out of Medicare and into a cheaper Medicare Advantage plan have led to a stalemate that is stonewalling negotiations on a new labor contract for 300,000 unionized city workers. Under the proposed […]
A SALUTE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND THE ROLE OF BLACK WORKERS IN THE AMERICAN LABOR MOVEMENT
The month of February, the month of the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, is recognized as Black History Month. It was initially proclaimed by the distinguished Black historian, Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as a counter to the omission or often racist portrayal of African Americans in the standard works on American history […]
JANUARY BITS AND PIECES
STRIKES ENGULF BRITAIN AS WORKER DISCONTENT RISES About 100,000 civil servants in the UK are set to strike next month, affecting services around the country. Workers for 124 government departments and agencies will walk out on February. 1, impacting a range of public services including driving tests, passport applications and welfare payments, the Public and Commercial […]
NYC NURSES STRIKE AGAINST CHRONIC UNDERSTAFFING
After several days on strike, nurses at two hospitals in Nw York City went back to work January 12 after the hospitals agreed to the nurses’ demands to hire more nurses to relieve the understaffing. The strike was less about pay (the two sides had already agreed to a 19.1 pay raise over three years) […]
THE HAYMARKET AFFAIR AND THE FIGHT FOR AN EIGHT-HOUR DAY
THE HAYMARKET AFFAIR AND THE FIGHT FOR AN EIGHT-HOUR DAY By Paul Becker His physical appearance was not very impressive. Small and slender, Albert Parsons grew up in Texas, living with his older brother after his parents died when he was five. He served in the Confederate army for four years, returning home gnawed by the […]
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