The Dali was reportedly a ship with a history of problems spanning back almost nine years. The ship had 27 inspections since 2015 and even just last year had been reported to have an issue with gauges and thermometers at an inspection in Chile. In Chile, the ship was cited for having issues with its propulsion system, but was not flagged as unseaworthy. The company that holds responsibility for the ship, Grace Ocean Investment, was said to have violated maritime and labor laws, keeping members of the crew beyond their contract term unpaid as well as withholding pay.

The chartering company, Maersk, had been sanctioned by the US Labor Department in July 2023 for its policy towards whistleblowing which stated that workers should contact the company first before approaching Coast Guard authorities or others. Federal officials concluded that Maersk violated the Seaman’s Protection Act and ordered them to pay $700,000 in damages as well as reinstate the employee who had been fired.

LUEL condemns the super exploitation by both Grace Ocean Investment and Maersk that killed the bridge workers. We also offer our condolences to the families and coworkers of the murdered workers.

The post Super Exploitation Kills Workers in Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse appeared first on Labor Today.

The worst of these derailments happened on January 4^th due to negligence from radio communication failure. About 22 passengers and 3 crew members were reportedly hurt in that collision.  The last of these derailments happened January 10^th on the above ground F line in Coney Island, near the New York City Aquarium, due to a missing bolt on the forth car of the train. Thankfully, this took place in winter when the trains in the area aren’t as busy, if this happened six months later this derailment could’ve been catastrophic.

Transit workers have complained that all three of these incidents are indicative of MTA bosses continually putting service and speed before worker safety. Trammell Thompson from the Progressive Action caucus in Transport Workers Union Local 100 has called the safety railings in the vicinity of the F train derailment “rickety”. The MTA continually promotes their safety record with only 23 derailments in the last three years, but in reality are they maintaining the safety of the system or have they just gotten lucky no one has died yet?

We have even talked to Bus Operators who work at the Transit Authority who have told us about the cuts in maintenance on the buses run by the New York City Transit Authority. One Bus Operator who asked to remain anonymous told us, “The MTA puts out alerts on their BusTime app telling riders they’re running limited service because they don’t have enough drivers, but we sit around the yard for hours waiting for buses that they can get away with saying are safe for service but most really aren’t.” He went on to say, “We have drivers who at this point pick their work to pull out at times they know there aren’t any buses … I myself have had days where I didn’t pull out a bus at all.”

It is seems obvious to us here at LUEL that the MTA has started to institute their own version of “Precision Scheduled Railroading” on the New York City Transit Authority. Last year when the New York State Budget was passed MTA Chairman Janno Lieber successfully lobbied for budget cuts for the MTA despite the State added billions in new guaranteed funding to the Transit Authority. With “leadership” like this its only a matter of time before a tragedy at the level of East Palestine comes to the New York City Transit system.

The post Subway Derailments Shine Light on Safety Questions in New York City Transit appeared first on Labor Today.

The workers at DNJ4, represented by unionization lead organizer William Navarro, are demanding significant changes to address a range of issues they face daily. These include concerns over workplace safety, inadequate access to pain relief medication, and disparities in promotions and recognition for their contributions.

“At DNJ4, we’re not just asking for fair treatment, we’re demanding it,” stated Navarro. “Workers deserve respect, fair wages, and a safe working environment. We won’t stop until these demands are met.”

The worker’s demands include a starting wage of $30 per hour, 180 hours of paid time off, job security, and union representation in all disciplinary meetings. These demands reflect the workers’ determination to secure better working conditions and compensation for their labor.

One pressing issue highlighted by the workers is the lack of adequate safety measures, particularly on weekends when L4 Safety personnel are unavailable. Concerns about pallets left scattered on the dock floor, improper storage of pallet jacks, and inadequate access to gloves have raised alarms among the workforce.

Navarro’s recent social media post underscored the frustration felt by many workers at DNJ4, citing a perceived lack of appreciation, favoritism in promotions, and a culture of disrespect within the management hierarchy. The DNJ4 workers’ effort has attracted the attention of presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, and Navarro’s impassioned plea for fairness and respect resonates with many employees who feel overlooked and undervalued.

As the momentum for unionization grows, workers at DNJ4 remain steadfast in their resolve to fight for a workplace that respects their dignity, values their contributions, and ensures their well-being.

Labor Today stands firmly with the workers of DNJ4 and all Amazon facilities in their right to organize and advocate for their own safety, representation, and benefits. The unionization effort at DNJ4 is not just a local movement but a symbol of workers’ empowerment and collective action nationwide against corporate exploitation.

The post Workers at Amazon’s DNJ4 Warehouse Push Forward in Unionization Effort appeared first on Labor Today.

“Without any regard to the livelihoods of 200 workers and their families, Nestlé executives announced today that they will close the Freehold plant. This company should be ashamed for turning their backs on workers in Freehold and the community that has been home to this company for more than 70 years. Nestlé took advantage of New Jersey taxpayer subsidies, built a $340 million facility in Mexico, and will now exploit cheaper labor in another country at the expense of New Jersey workers—this is nothing short of disgusting corporate greed. Teamsters Local 11 will continue fighting to protect our members at Nestlé. We demand this company meet the needs of these workers as they navigate the next steps during this very difficult time.”

Nestle has other factories in the United States, but the Freehold NJ factory was the only one that produced coffee. With the shutting of the Freehold factory, the new factory in Veracruz, Mexico would be the main producer of coffee for Nestle employing 1200 people. This is also the second factory in Veracruz, Mexico operated by Nestle.

In claiming to save tens of millions by shutting down the Freehold factory, Nestle spent hundreds of millions more dollars to build a completely new factory and infrastructure in another country. Nestle threw out over 200 unionized workers and their families in order to further exploit 1200 lower paid, non-unionized workers. The town of Freehold, NJ had given Nestle over 70 years of support only for the company to throw them into an uncertain future.

The corporate greed of Nestle is on display with the closure. Nestle made approx. 10.74 billion USD in profit in 2022, yet can’t spare any of that profit to give workers a living wage and stability to their communities. Nestle Executive Board members walked away with approx. 57 million USD in compensation in 2020, yet can’t be bothered to pay 200 workers a fair wage.

LUEL stands in solidarity with the New Jersey workers in their fight for their jobs and their community and decry the greed of Nestle. The UAW bargaining, and winning, the right to strike over plant closures is a right workers must demand in order to protect their future from these closures triggered by the search for ever-increasing profits.

The post Nestle Abandons Workers as it Shutters Freehold Plant appeared first on Labor Today.

The supposedly “union-friendly” Biden administration, as well as UAW president Shawn Fain, are hailing the contract as a historic victory, and to a casual observer, the contract does seem to provide many large wins, including: 11% immediate raise, 25% over 4 years (workers initially asked for 40%), reinstated cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), elimination of a “two-tier” wage system, decreasing time to top pay from 8 years to 3 years, increased funding of the pension plan, and the right to strike over plant closures. This last one will be critical as plants continue to threaten to move overseas. Also, there is a fear some plants will be closed, moved to less union-friendly states, or otherwise re-shuffled in the push to create Electric Vehicles.

Part of the problem, according to workers at the Louisville plant and others who have rejected similar contracts, is that during the financial crisis of 2007, workers made many concessions and so, are still doing significantly worse than they were before 2007. Specifically, workers hired after 2007 were denied pensions and retiree health benefits. These contracts failed to adequately address this issue. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, it will take 3 more years for the top wage to reach where it was in the early 2000s. Some workers point out that in the 1960s, it was possible to raise a family on one parent’s income from the auto factory, and those days are largely gone. By rejecting this contract, Ford workers in Louisville are saying they are tired of being forced to pay for the crisis caused by the bankers and big business.

Many have positively compared new UAW president Shawn Fain to post-war president Walter Reuther due to his more militant rhetoric. Workers in Louisville, however, have been more critical possibly signaling he’s more similar to the Reuther who helped change the Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) away from a militant class-oriented trade unionism to the business unionism that led to its merger into the AFL-CIO than the one who led the UAW during its strongest period. Workers rejecting a similar contract at Stellantis in Michigan complain that Fain “dropped their demands” for company paid pensions and retiree health benefits. KTP workers say that Fain sent them back to work before the vote was even held showing a lack of seriousness on his part to hold Ford bosses’ feet to the fire. KTP workers also point out that managers inside the factory have been speeding up processes and employees are threatened with write-ups for interruptions. There have also reportedly been issues with inaccurate checks and difficulties getting overtime pay.

Although the Ford contract passed with 69.3% ratifying, in Louisville, these workers have shown that they are fed up with years of being over-worked and underpaid, and they are willing to carry on the proud tradition of past generations of labor activists to put themselves on the line and demand what they are owed. The “Stand Up” Strike of September and October resulted in the current contract which definitely has some wins. According to workers at KTP however there is still has a ways to go to bringing current workers to the standards that those past generations were at. The Kentucky Truck Plant is one of the country’s most profitable plants (they were called to strike on October 11^th) and the strikes cost the auto industry billions of dollars. These workers know what they are worth, that these billions of dollars of earnings are not possible without their labor. We at Labor Today support these workers in their continued struggle.

Photo Credit: Chris Otts, WDRB

The post UAW Rank-and-File Members at Ford Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville Vote Against Contract Despite Ratification appeared first on Labor Today.

Workers at Amazon’s KCVG Airhub have been pressured by the bosses against unionization. Jordan Quinn, an employee for the air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, says that it’s nonsensical how a multinational corporation, such as Amazon, treats its employees.

“When people experience how hard we have to work, and how we don’t get paid enough, how we don’t get enough time off, and how we don’t get enough benefits, then Amazon will try and find a way to fire people for any reason,” Quinn said.

The unionization drive kicked off in May and Quinn joined the efforts. The group is calling for a $30 an hour starting wage (currently $21 an hour), 180 hours of paid time off, representation at disciplinary meetings, safer working conditions, and better translation services for those that speak English as their second language, as explained by the union organizer, Marcio Rodriguez.

“They refuse to give them training in their language, translation for HR in their language, or any type of translation with HR disciplinary matters,” Rodriguez said. “We need to communicate in this job. It’s very dangerous. We’re dealing with airplanes. We’re loading these cans that weigh thousands of pounds, where if you mis-communicate one thing, you could get crushed by it, get hurt or even killed. There’s no reason. Somebody’s going to get hurt. These people aren’t getting trained properly, and they’re going to hurt their coworkers, or they’re going to hurt themselves. And nobody comes to work to get hurt.”

In order to file for union elections, they need a minimum 30% of the workforce to sign union cards. Quinn said that over 1,000 employees have signed up.

Quinn said: “We know about co-workers getting intimidated by management, both at the union tables and on the floor. They’ve just been freaking out, to be honest. And I think we have them scared. Because they know we have momentum on our side.”

Management has ramped up its retaliation in recent months, up to and including having their jobs threatened for setting up union tables.

“It’s just ridiculous, blatant intimidation,” Quinn said. “Every worker has the right to protect a concerted activity under section seven of the national labor relations act. They’re violating that law. They know that they’re violating it. But Amazon’s not willing to put the law above crushing a union. Because they know if we get a union, they’re going to have to pay us more, and treat us better. That’s why they’re fighting so hard.”

Earlier this month, about 25 employees marched on the boss to deliver an unfair labor practice charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board against site leadership. It must be noted that due to the new rules approved by the NLRB in August, if the NLRB rules in favor of the workers, they will automatically win union representation.

Quinn said management told workers they’d speak to them individually, but not as a group. This simply furthers their attempts to divide the workers and break the unionization drive.

He said he’s confident the group will eventually prevail in establishing a union to address those concerns. In the meantime, they’ll keep coming to work and organizing.

The post Amazon Workers at KCVG Airhub Continue Unionization Struggle appeared first on Labor Today.

One of the biggest issues, that was not immediately addressed, was the nurse-patient ratio. By having a healthy ratio of nurses to patients, hospitals are able to drastically increase the likelihood of better outcomes for patients; in other words, hospitals can prevent many fatalities by employing enough nurses to reach a 1:4 ratio. Patient mortality rate increases drastically when the nurse-to-patient ratio becomes sub-optimal. When you have a loved one in the hospital, the last thing you want to do is worry about whether or not the nurses are stretched too thin to provide adequate time to each patient.

The result of this strike shows that sometimes it is necessary to take drastic measures in order for the workers’ voices to be heard. It also shows the benefit of a fully functional and active union. If workers want changes in the workplace, a strong show of solidarity is necessary. Without the United Steelworkers Union Local 4-200 having well-planned picket lines, and informing their members of their rights, it is unlikely they would have had the victory they did. This strike should serve as a beacon for the collective bargaining power of unions and the power of solidarity within the labor movement.

The post USW Local 4-200 Representing Nurses At Robert Wood Johnson Agree to Tentative Agreement Ending 4 Month Strike appeared first on Labor Today.

Erie, Pennsylvania

After ten weeks of a hard-fought battle on seven different picket lines and at other locations in Erie and around the country, the 1,400 members of Locals 506 and 618 forced Wabtec to improve the contract offer that the members had overwhelmingly rejected on June 22. The UE members voted on August 31 to accept a tentative agreement that was reached between the parties the previous week, ending their strike.

“We are proud of the resolve of the membership over 70 days on the picket line,” said Local 506 President Scott Slawson. “As a result of the action taken by our members, we made both economic and non-economic gains.”

The locals surveyed their members after the strike began to see what were their top issues that they wanted to see improved in order to end the strike. The locals’ negotiating committee believed that ten weeks on the picket line had forced the company to give up everything that it was prepared to give up and that the committee had addressed members’ issues in the tentative agreement.

“I believe we got more in this contract than Wabtec ever wanted to give,” said Local 618 Business Agent Janet Gray.  “That success is due to the 1400 members who stood strong, the relentless efforts of the officers and executive boards (including the National Officers and Staff assistance) and the overwhelming support from other unions and the community.  We would not have succeeded without it.”

Tentative Agreement Improves Wages and Benefits, Improves Accountability

After weeks of fruitless negotiations where no one from the company showed up at the bargaining table, the members’ resolve finally forced the company to send in Niki Theophilus, Wabtec’s vice president for human resources, to bargain with the union negotiating committee.

Wabtec was forced to improve its wage offer by 36 percent since the start of the strike – unheard of during a long strike. “Legacy” employees’ wages will increase nearly 14 percent during the life of the four-year contract. The company agreed to General Wage Increases (GWIs) of 3.65, 3, 3.25 and 3 percent. The company also agreed to a $1,500 ratification bonus. This is the first time in more than two decades that the locals’ members will receive GWIs each year of a contract.

One of the locals’ key goals was to improve wages for workers on the ten-year “progression” they were forced to agree to in 2019 for new hires and workers who were on layoff and not working when Wabtec took over. While they were not able to decrease length of the progression, the company was forced to equalize the progression steps, which will result in a nearly 40 percent wage increase for workers on progression during the life of the contract. Depending on their classification, some employees on progression will see anywhere from a 43 to 54 percent wage increase. The company also agreed that if it has to raise the starting wage of any of the classifications, employees in that classification will have their wages increased by the same percentage.

The company also had to improve its medical benefits proposal by adding a premium cap of four percent and continuing the current HRA benefit for the first two years of the contract. The company also agreed to a Healthcare Review Committee made up of representatives of the locals and management to review the medical benefits once a year prior to open enrollment. The purpose of the committee is to hold down costs and improve the medical benefits.

Wabtec was also forced to add back a sixth week of vacation for members who qualify for it during the life of the contract. The company also agreed that it could not schedule employees’ vacation — a position the company had taken prior to the strike.

The company was unwilling to restore the union’s right to strike after exhausting the grievance process, but did agree to additional procedures for accountability for the grievance process, including quarterly and annual meetings with management at the corporate level to evaluate the grievance process and any grievance backlog with the ability to settle grievances. Wabtec also had to agree that if it lost an arbitration, the company would pay for all of the costs of the arbitration.

In its final offer, Wabtec gave the locals an additional right to strike if the company didn’t accept an arbitrator’s decision and appealed it to federal court. The company settled more than a dozen grievances and pending arbitrations, resulting in thousands of dollars of backpay and reinstatements, and agreed to withdraw its federal lawsuit against Local 506 over an arbitrator’s decision that the local had won.

Wabtec also agreed to rescind its threat to permanently subcontract 275 bargaining unit jobs that would have resulted in permanent layoffs. On June 9, the last day of the previous contract, the company handed the locals’ negotiating committee a letter threatening to permanently subcontract the 275 jobs unless the members ratified its last, best, and final contract proposal.

That last-minute threat backfired on the company on June 22 when the members overwhelmingly rejected the company offer, precipitating the strike.

The Strike Machinery

The locals had been preparing their members for a possible strike for more than a year. At monthly membership meetings, the locals would tell the members to prepare for a possible strike. A contract support committee was formed months before negotiations began, and the various strike support committees were formed months before the strike.

The union reached out to an Erie County-based healthcare provider to see what services would be available for their members, and Local 506 updated its kitchen to make sure it was in compliance with Erie County health codes. Port-a-johns, tents, coolers, and burn barrels were ready to roll out before the strike.

A mass text system was set up to communicate directly with the members, and Local 506 stewards’ system was converted to the strike support network with picket captains assigned to each of the plant’s seven gates.

After the company gave the union its last, best and final contract proposal on June 10, the members overwhelmingly voted it down at a membership meeting on June 22. Within a half an hour after the members voted down the company’s offer, the union’s strike machinery was rolled out. Tents were set up at the plant’s seven gates, members marched out of the plant on second shift, where they were joined by other members, and the strike was on.

An Epic Strike

The ten-week strike was the second strike by the locals’ members since Wabtec acquired the Erie locomotive facility from GE Transportation in 2019 — which resulted in a nine-day strike.

This epic strike was the second-longest strike in the locals’ history, longer than the 1946 strike against GE, and second only to the 102-day strike against GE in 1969.

However, unlike those two strikes, which involved over one hundred thousand different union members at GE plants across the country (200,000 UE members in 1946), this strike only involved the 1,400 UE members at one Wabtec plant. 1,400 UE members faced off against a Fortune 500 company with facilities employing 27,000 employees in 50 countries around the world.

Unlike the 2019 nine-day Wabtec strike, the company was prepared for this strike. An internal company memo the locals obtained after the strike began stated that the company had been preparing for a strike for over a year.

Outside security was in place from the start of the strike. Wabtec had hired the security firm AFIMAC Global which also provided more than 100 scabs. The scabs were housed in nearby hotels and bused into the plant by a bus company, Urban Express, based in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to the company’s Erie plant managers and engineers, the company also brought in managers from other Wabtec locations.

In an effort to encourage the locals’ members to cross the picket lines and scab, Wabtec had mailed letters to the members’ homes before the contract expired, advising the members of their “right” to cross the picket lines in the event of a strike. The mailing also included a resignation letter for the members to resign from the union.

Wabtec got an injunction six weeks into the strike and filed four Unfair Labor Practice charges (ULPs) against the locals. (After the strike, the company withdrew its ULP charges against the locals.)

Throughout the strike the 1,400 members were rock solid. Only a handful of members crossed the picket line — less than one half of one percent of the membership. The locals’ members maintained picketing 24/7 at the plant’s seven gates. In an effort to hold off an injunction, the union largely followed the terms of the 2019 injunction, limiting picketing at the plant gates and keeping the picket tents back from the driveways into the plant.

The locals spread the strike beyond the picket lines, targeting Erie-area businesses that were supporting Wabtec. Operating Engineers Local 66 lent the locals a 12-foot tall Scabby the Rat that made appearances at the businesses that were aiding Wabtec.

The locals also sent members to leaflet other Wabtec plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio. UE Eastern Regional President George Waksmunski, staff and members also leafleted Wabtec plants in Virginia and North Carolina. UE members and staff leafleted a Wabtec facility in Barstow, California.

Some of the highlights of the 10-week strike have already been published in the UE NEWS, including:

• The overwhelming community support the Union received throughout the strike.
• The support from other Unions across Erie County and across the country and internationally.
• The support from elected officials, including all of the Erie County elected officials, state representatives and state senator; Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman; and Senator Bernie Sanders.

The locals are planning on taking out a full-page ad in the Erie Times-News, thanking the Erie community and all of their supporters.

“It would not have been possible for our local to survive the strike without all the generous supporters who contributed to our strike fund,” said Local 618 President Karleen Torrance. “I am immensely grateful for the support we received and I hope all the supporters realize how much we appreciate it.”

“There is strength in numbers”

While the strike is over, the fight against Wabtec will continue. The locals are still planning on pursuing the Green Locomotive Project — with or without the company’s support. And the locals plan to aggressively enforce their new four-year contract.

“Our 1,400 union members united for the common cause, proving there is strength in numbers,” said Local 506 Chief Plant Steward Leo Grzegorzewski. “UE Local 506 and 618 members went up against a Fortune 500 company and fought for a fair contract that we could live with for four years, and we achieved our goal. While we did not get everything we went out for, we gave up nothing! Four years of incremental raises, improved progression tables for new hires, and a $1,500 signing bonus are just a few of our wins. Stay united, stay strong!”

The locals’ negotiating committee consisted of Local 506 President Scott Slawson, Local 506 Business Agent John Miles, Local 506 Chief Plant Steward Leo Grzegorzewski, Local 506 Vice President/Recording Secretary Brian Welch, Local 618 President Karleen Torrance, Local 618 Business Agent Janet Gray, and Local 618 Financial Secretary Larry Bednaro. They were assisted by International Representative John Thompson, General President Carl Rosen, Director of Organization Mark Meinster, General Secretary Treasurer Andrew Dinkelaker, Research Director Karl Zimmerman, International Strategies Director Kari Thompson, Communications Director Jonathan Kissam, and Field Organizers Ben Wilson and Heather Hillenbrand.

The post Ten-Week Strike Wins Improved Contract at Wabtec appeared first on Labor Today.

On Tuesday afternoon, convention delegates were joined by international guests from Japan, Mexico, and Quebec. Takeshi Takeshita and Keisuke Fuse, both deputy secretaries-general of Japan’s militant labor federation Zenroren, described the “long history of friendship and solidarity” between Zenroren and UE. That history included Zenroren taking action to put pressure on Japanese multinationals such as Kobe Steel and Hishi Plastics when their workers in the U.S. sought to join UE.

Takeshita and Fuse reported that “the working class has been in miserable working conditions in Japan” but that Zenroren’s members “have been aggressively organizing struggles” to improve their situation. They also said that one of the important struggles for Japanese workers is opposing their government’s attempts to divert resources from social needs to the military.

The Zenroren representatives congratulated UE for victories in the Wabtec strike and in organizing graduate workers. They declared, “This is what international solidarity looks like,” and said they looked forward to UE and Zenroren continuing to work together to “defend peace, democracy, and human and workers’ rights.”

Sonia Vázquez, a rank-and-file worker from a garment factory in Mexico and a member of the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT), described how she and her co-workers threw out a corrupt union. “They did not defend us, what they did was not in favor of the worker,” she said. “But everything changed in September, thanks to the work of the FAT.”

Taking advantage of the labor reforms passed in Mexico several years ago, Vázquez and her co-workers, with the assistance of the FAT, were able to negotiate a new contract with improved wages and other benefits. However, “When it came time to sign the contract, the company denied it [and] implied that we had intimidated the manager to accept it.” The workers submitted a complaint using the labor enforcement mechanism of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020. “Following six months of constant attacks by the company,” they finally won a contract that included “a raise, time off for the union, training for all employees, and most of all … recognition from the company.” Lenin González Tellez of the FAT also attended the convention as a guest.

Chantel Ide of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) in Quebec spoke on the convention theme of “building strike power,” which she called “such an inspiring theme.” She said that “Going on strike is an act of courage, an act of solidarity. It’s never a decision that workers take lightly. This is how we win the respect we deserve as workers.”

In her remarks, Ide described one recent, one ongoing, and one potential upcoming strike by CSN members. A group of 13 women at a child care facility in a remote location in Quebec struck after the employer offered improvements to 12 of the workers, but not to the worker responsible for preparing food at the center. But, Ide said, “her 12 comrades wouldn’t let her down” and after nine weeks on strike, the employer relented. She also spoke about a group of 70 office workers at Montreal’s oldest cemetery who have been on strike for a year and without a contract for five years, and negotiations in Quebec’s public sector, where 400,000 workers will be conducting strike votes soon.

“When you are attacked, we are attacked,” Ide concluded. “We stand with you in solidarity. Our solidarity is our power over the ruling class. Our solidarity is without borders. When we fight, we win!”

Now Is the Time to Fight for the Better World Workers Deserve

In a recorded video, Roxane DuBois of UE’s Canadian sister union Unifor delivered a message of solidarity and a report on how Canadian workers are fighting for economic and social justice. “Canada is facing many political, social, and economic challenges, just like many countries in the world,” she said. Working people face “a real affordability crisis” while “corporate profits soar,” and Unifor has been actively calling out central bankers for raising interest rates while “having no regard for the impacts of their decisions on the lives of working people.” Unifor has also been fighting to protect social programs and defend the public sector from privatization, and to oppose the far-right targeting of members of the LGBTQ+ community.

DuBois described a recent strike by 70,000 Unifor members who work for a grocery chain that makes “profit off the back of minimum wage earners.” The strike was successful in winning back a $2 wage gain given during the pandemic but then taken away.

She concluded by saying that in the current moment, “Support for our demands is high, support for unions is high. Now is the time to build our unions and … fight for the better world workers deserve.”

Daniele Calosi of the Italian metalworkers’ union FIOM, who also recorded a video for the convention, reported that “We have … the heirs of Fascism ruling Italy.” Calosi said, “The task of the union is to organize the workers so that there is the possibility for them to assert their rights, which are more and more denied by a clearly fascist government.” He warned in his “message of solidarity” that the possibility of a new fascism developing “is real,” in the U.S. as well as Italy. “We must continue to exercise high levels of solidarity,” he said, and ended with “a big hug by the Italian comrades of FIOM-CGIL. Come on — let’s fight together!”

Convention delegates also watched solidarity videos from Frédéric Sanchez of the French metalworkers’ union FTM-CGT, and Maicon Michel Vasconcelos da Silva of the Brazilian metalworkers’ union CNM-CUT.

“It is time that we think global as well”

In her report, Director of International Strategies Kari Thompson said, “The bosses love nothing more than to have an easy scapegoat of blaming workers in other countries for the decisions they make here.” She described “some of the things workers around the world are up against” and pointed out that “if we’re honest, it should sound really familiar. The bosses are doing the same things there that they do here.”

Thompson reported that Locals 506 and 618 received solidarity messages and photos from unions all around the world during their ten-week strike against Wabtec. “These unions care what Wabtec is doing in Erie and Wilmerding because they know they are next,” she said. “Our approach to international solidarity helps us to protect ourselves collectively and to push back against our organized bosses.”

During discussion of the resolution “International Solidarity,” Scott Slawson, Local 506, reminded delegates that “As work filters out of our own country to other countries we tend to want to blame the workers, and we need to understand that it is not the worker, it is very much the corporate greed and the politicians that cause our problems.

“Companies today, like the one that I work for, Scabtec, are global companies, they are in multiple countries, and it is time, and I’ve said this since [the 74th UE convention in] Baltimore in 2015, that we think global as well.”

Bryce Carter, Local 150, spoke about his trip to Japan in 2019 to take part in a meeting of public-sector union hosted by Zenroren, and praised the public transit system in Japan. Kevin Sites, Local 1186, also spoke on the resolution.

Florence Criley Speaker: Cross-Border Connections “Tremendously Powerful”

Following the convention session, retired UE Director of International Affairs Robin Alexander gave the 2023 Florence Criley Women’s Leadership Speaker Series talk at City of Asylum bookstore in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood. Alexander spoke about her 2022 e-book, International Solidarity in Action.

Alexander recounted how, in the early 1990s, UE realized that “we really needed to do international solidarity in a different way,” and she was given the opportunity to help shape that new approach, one that involved rank-and-file members and was connected to organizing. That history forms the subject of her book, framed by the close relationship that the UE developed with the FAT.

She read excerpts from her book, especially focusing on relationships developed between public-sector workers in the UE and the FAT. Those relationships had “a tremendous impact within UE,” she said, especially on members’ understanding of the dynamics of immigration, as they came to realize that Mexican workers were just like themselves and, given the opportunity for decent jobs in their home country, would generally prefer to stay there. She called the cross-border connections between workers made by UE’s international work “tremendously powerful.”

Alexander was introduced by Nichel Dunlap-Thompson, Local 150. Following her talk, Alexander discussed the book with current Director of International Strategies Kari Thompson, then took questions from the audience.

A recording of the talk, which was live-streamed, is available at https://vimeo.com/857170291. International Solidarity in Action can be downloaded, and donations can be made to support UE’s international solidarity work, at InternationalSolidarityInAction.org.

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Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system, working tirelessly day and night to provide the best care for patients. They are often the first and last faces patients see during their hospital stays, and their contributions are invaluable. However, the demands placed on nurses have become increasingly overwhelming, with staffing shortages, excessive work hours, and inadequate compensation becoming all too common. As one nurse on the picket line stated.

The nurses at RWJ Hospital are striking not just for themselves, but for all healthcare workers and patients across the nation. Their demands for safe staffing levels and fair wages are a cry for the recognition of the essential role they play in our society. Adequate staffing ensures that nurses can provide the highest quality of care, preventing burnout and ensuring patient safety.

The working conditions that the nurses are fighting for are not some pie in the sky demands either, a nurse-to-patient ratio in a critical care unit of 1:2 or fewer at all times, and a nurse-to-patient ratio in an emergency department of 1:4 or fewer at all times that patients are receiving treatment is the standard in states such as New York and California. New Jersey, however, has no such standard and in RWJ these ratios can be as high as 1:14. As one nurse on the picket line stated, “we [are] the premier hospital in New Jersey that is setting the example which will go to legislation which every hospital in New Jersey will have to abide … that’s why the hospital doesn’t want to do it, we are faced off against corporate.”

Supporting the striking nurses at RWJ Hospital is not only about showing appreciation for their hard work; it is also about demanding accountability from healthcare institutions. Hospitals should prioritize the well-being of their staff and patients, not cuts to staffing to enrich shareholders. This strike is a wake-up call for them to do just that.

It is our duty as class-oriented trade unionists to rally behind these nurses in their fight for better conditions and fair wages. After all, the cuts in staffing effect the working-class more than anyone, as the bosses can afford to shell out extra money to get the best care these nurses are trying to ensure for everyone. We can do this by joining their picket lines, sharing their story on social media, and contacting hospital management to demand that they address the nurses’ concerns. By standing together, we can make a real difference and ensure that our healthcare system treats nurses with the respect and fairness they deserve.

In conclusion, the striking nurses at RWJ Hospital are not just fighting for their own rights; they are fighting for a better healthcare system for all of us. Their dedication to their profession and their patients should be celebrated and supported. Let us stand in solidarity with these nurses, demanding the reforms that will benefit not only them but also the future of healthcare in our communities.

The post Solidarity in Scrubs: Supporting the Striking Nurses at RWJ Hospital in New Jersey appeared first on Labor Today.