We earnestly request that all organizations worldwide—political, social, labor, governmental, and the general public—publicly and categorically reject the military aggression we suffered in the early hours of today, January 3, 2026, at the hands of the United States. We remain steadfast in our struggle; we will not rest until we overcome this abhorrent threat of foreign invasion. The people of Bolívar and Chávez remain steadfast in their struggle; we will not surrender or give in.

This attack only confirms what we have been denouncing to the world: this is not a fight against drug trafficking or terrorism; it is the most pestilent greed of a decadent empire desperately seeking to maintain its dying hegemony, its fangs drooling as it tries to deliver the final blow by seizing our strategic natural and energy resources, which we will defend with our very lives if necessary. At this hour (11:30 am) on January 3, 2026, our homeland is calm; however, we are organizing and preparing to face any event of this nature that may occur in the coming hours, days, weeks, etc. We expect your solidarity, mobilization, and international support so that, with renewed determination, we can continue fighting the most genocidal empire in the history of humankind.

Remember, today it is us, tomorrow it could be any other nation on the planet. In light of the foregoing, we categorically and unequivocally reiterate our support for the Revolutionary Socialist Government, led by the Constitutional President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Worker Commander, Nicolás Maduro Moros.

UNITED WE WILL WIN.
ONWARD TO VICTORY, ALWAYS.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOLIVARIAN NATIONAL UNION OF POSTAL WORKERS OF VENEZUELA (SINBTRAPOSTAL-VENEZUELA).

The post Statement from the Bolivarian National Union of Postal Workers of Venezuela on US Attacks on Venezuelan Sovereignty first appeared on Labor Today.

Allina Health care and the Doctors Council SEIU had been engaged in contract negotiations for 20 months. The Doctors Council SEIU Union represents 600 physicians, physician assistants, and Nurse Practitioners. Allina operates 12 hospital campuses, over 60 primary clinics and 20 urgent care centers and employs 27,865 care team members. 

“Unionizing gives me and my colleagues a voice in our workplace, control over our lives, and the ability to advocate for our patients. The future of medicine depends on doctors working together in unions to stand up for ourselves and to advocate for our patients.” Said Dr. Matt Hoffman, of Vadnais Heights, MN.  

The union, formed in October 2023, has been negotiated for a contract with Allina ever since it’s certification. The United Doctor’s Council and Allina were unable to agree on standards for safe staffing at clinics and staff compensation, which the workers consider “basic contract items like healthcare, retirement and sick leave” Allina Health representatives claim the dispute centers on “significant compensation increases and extreme benefits proposals”.  

The Minnesota Reformer’s Allyssa Chen reports that pediatrician Arnold London, 77, “never imagined he would be on a picket line until recently”, thanks to worsening conditions in lab services and staffing levels. 

Chen reported that Allina Health responded to the strike by saying “it would be irresponsible for either party to agree to a contract that adds significant new expenses that will undermine access and increase costs to those who pay for care,”. Chen cites Allina Health representatives who justified leaving the bargaining table over increased costs and anticipated funding cuts. The next bargaining session is scheduled for early December. 

Labor Today will follow up for more information in the future.

The post Largest Strike of Union Doctors first appeared on Labor Today.

209 years after that date, the working people continue to fight for their definitive independence, in a context of the advance of capital that seeks a society without freedom or rights for workers. In this sense, the government headed by President Javier Milei is carrying out disastrous policies that go in the direction historically defined by the enemies of the people. However, the multiplicity of sectors across the country, including retirees, who are confronting their reactionary initiatives are a clear example that the people, as in those days, are willing to wage whatever battles are necessary to thwart the anti-popular and quisling attempts of the government and its allies, while also building a just and democratic society.

In this regard, from the National Coordinating Board of Retiree and Pensioner Organizations, we urge grassroots organizations to converge in common actions with a united attitude to achieve our objectives.

“THE ONLY BATTLE YOU LOSE IS THE ONE YOU ABANDON”
Argentina, July 7, 2025

The post ARGENTINA: Wednesday Retiree Update first appeared on Labor Today.

The WFTU strongly condemns any collaboration with the war machine of the murderous state of Israel and calls for a boycott of Israel, especially for activities linked with its military operations and the crimes against Palestinians.

-Noting that on 26 January 2024, the International Criminal Court ordered Israel to ‘take all possible measures’ to ‘prevent’ genocide in Gaza, recognising that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it sought protection were plausible.

-Noting that on 26 May 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must ‘immediately’ stop its military offensive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, in response to South Africa’s request that the court issue this decision as an emergency measure, stating that Israel’s activities in Rafah constitute a ‘genocidal’ operation and threaten the survival of the Palestinian people.

-Noting that on 20 May 2024, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced that he had requested arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Galant, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

-And if the news published in various media outlets about the SINEDOR collaboration with the Israeli murderous state is true, we demand the immediate and unconditional end of the partnership without exception.

No support of the Israeli crimes
Stop the Genocide – Free Palestine

The post WFTU Condemns the Alleged Operations Carried Out by SINEDOR in Cooperation with Israeli Companies first appeared on Labor Today.

Labor, and in particular, a class-oriented trade union movement, has a crucial role to play within this Anti-Monopoly Coalition. Labor is to be the heart of this coalition. While the coalition is to unify all progressive and democratic forces (such as workers, students, urban professionals, farmers, small-business owners, etc.), the working class is the force that has the power, if leveraged correctly, to bring the economy to a halt until its demands are met. The workers control the production, the shipment, and even the commerce of goods. The bosses and monopolies that dictate policies to society are the ones who rely on the working class the most.

For labor to play the leading role in the Anti-Monopoly Coalition, it first has to work tirelessly to bring unity to the trade union movement. Concretely, this effort will have the following immediate goals:

1. Ending any prejudices within the unions, such as racism, sexism, and anti-immigrant sentiments, breaks up solidarity and even prevents entry to the organized labor movement by key sections of labor.
2. Organizing the unorganized to bring unity between unionized and non-unionized labor.
3. Pushing for a nationwide right to organize and against any attempts at systematic opening of shops, such as so-called “right to work” laws.
4. Amalgamating small craft unions into unions on industrial lines.
5. Pushing to overturn laws, such as the Taft-Hartley Act, which restrict solidarity strikes.
6. Forming caucuses within unions that struggle for trade union democracy, as the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is working on.

As the Anti-Monopoly Coalition emerges, organized and militant labor must be ready to take leadership. To ensure success, labor has to work on the above goals. In working on these goals, militant labor leaders will inevitably clash with the bosses’ agents and reactionary trade union leaders within the unions that obstruct the independent political action of labor.

To learn more, join the Harry Bridges School of Labor class on July 2, 2025, called Labor and the Anti-Monopoly Coalition.

The post Labor Must Take the Lead in Building an Anti-Monopoly Coalition first appeared on Labor Today.

It is announced, among others, that the countries are committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on core defence spending to buy military hardware and maintain troops, and another 1.5% on defence-related investments.

The World Federation of Trade Unions, the militant voice of 105 million workers, unequivocally condemns the new provocative soaring of military expenditures, the increase of the NATO budget, and their plans, which are deepening the confrontation and increasing the risk for a generalized imperialist conflict with disastrous consequences.

We demand full respect for the sovereignty, independence, and right of every people to choose their own path, present and future. We oppose the exclusions, discriminations, embargoes, and sanctions orchestrated by the USA, EU, and their allies against a range of countries, resulting in a direct and detrimental impact on the everyday lives of ordinary people. Low-income households, wage workers, poor farmers, and the broader vulnerable parts of society are disproportionately affected.

It is clear that both the spending of the war economy and the implications of the economic war negatively impact the standard of living of the popular strata are already burdened by the consequences of economic hardship, including soaring prices, rampant inflation, and the enduring effects of long-standing austerity measures, while the ordinary people pay with their lives for the wars conducted for the increase of multinationals’ profitability.

The international class-oriented trade union movement reiterates its firm demand for the immediate dissolution of NATO and all military coalitions, the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, and respect for the independence and sovereignty of all states.

The WFTU calls upon its affiliated and friends to intensify their struggles, initiatives, demonstrations, and strikes against the imperialists’ plans and wars.  We demand the end of all existing military conflicts, the end of the genocide in Palestine, and we strengthen the struggle for lasting peace, for a world free of imperialist interventions and man-by-man exploitation.

The post Statement of the WFTU on NATO Summit 2025 first appeared on Labor Today.

Over 30,000 people took to the streets with USB to demand a class-based alternative based on peace and justice.The extraordinary national demonstration organised with the Disarmiamoli coalition group concluded in Rome, with over 30,000 people participating, including workers, young people, students, activists, and trade unionists.

The crowd shouted clear messages to the country: ‘No more war! No more rearmament! No more complicity with NATO, the arms industry or the genocide of the Palestinian people!’Today’s demonstration was an integral part of the national general strike called by USB on 20 June.

This strike united the struggle against rearmament with demands for higher wages, more rights and welfare to defend public health and education and save an industrial apparatus sinking deeper every month.

While the Meloni government continues European policies by pouring billions into rearmament and militarisation, ordinary people suffer: hospitals are collapsing, schools are being closed down, and deindustrialisation is desertifying territories while rents are skyrocketing.In this context, continuing to invest in weapons, military missions and aggressive alliances such as NATO — which is complicit in the genocide currently being carried out in Gaza by the terrorist state of Israel — is a political, social and moral crime that must be strongly denounced.

Yesterday’s demonstrations and protest initiatives throughout Italy, along with today’s large rally, confirm USB’s position as a trade union and class alternative, connecting the defence of social rights with the struggle against permanent global war.

The post ITALY: USB Holds Historic Day of Protest Against War and Rearmament first appeared on Labor Today.

President Trump launched an unprovoked bombing attack on Iran this past weekend in violation of the U.S. constitution, which requires acts of war to be authorized by Congress unless there is a threat of imminent attack, which nobody has even pretended was the case. This is not only a further undermining of democracy in our country, it also is built on a set of lies for political and financial gain, just like the disastrous Iraq war 23 years ago, and will only serve to make the world, and the people of the U.S., both less safe and less economically secure.

The president ran for office pledging that he was the right person to keep the U.S. out of further military entanglements overseas, and there is strong support by the American people for that position. But faced with declining poll numbers, a trap laid by the Israeli government, and a willingness to pad the profits of both oil companies and the military industrial complex, Trump fell into the same pattern as president after president of both parties: start a shooting war and hope that the populace falls in behind you.

As rank-and-file delegates to the 78th UE Convention in 2023 declared, “The U.S. military budget — at over $877 billion, larger than those of the next ten nations combined — continues to soar out of control with bipartisan support. Threats or use of military force are still a regular feature of U.S. foreign policy, under presidents of both major parties. All of this is done at the expense of the needs of working people in the U.S. and throughout the world.” The only thing that has changed since that statement is that the upcoming military budget is expected to top $1 trillion for the first time.

The lie that was used to justify the mobilization of the U.S. military is that Iran was within weeks or months of building a nuclear weapon. That line has been trotted out by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly over the last 20 years, every time that he wants to justify dragging the U.S. into conflict there. Yet even the U.S. intelligence forces said that Iran was not working on constructing a nuclear weapon, and we had a deal a decade ago ensuring that they could not build one. But the first Trump administration tore up that deal in subservience to the Netanyahu government and in order to parade as tough on the world stage. 

Trump had actually returned to the bargaining table with Iran in recent weeks and announced that a new deal was very close. It was at that moment that Israel started bombing Iran – arguably not because Iran wouldn’t negotiate but instead because it looked like a deal would be achieved. It is an open secret that Netanyahu is trying to maintain a constant state of war for his country so that his current stint in office, extended indefinitely due to the war footing, doesn’t end and with it his protection from likely jail time on a massive corruption case. He has already pulverized Gaza back to the stone ages, bombed Lebanon into submission, and occupied parts of Syria – he’s happy to have a new target, especially one that drags the U.S. into the conflict. So once the Israeli bombing campaign was well underway, he announced that only the U.S. could finish the job, with our more-powerful ordinance. Trump had a choice to make, tell Israel to cease and desist, especially given that Israel relies heavily on U.S. financing and arms, or throw the U.S. into yet another intractable conflict in the Mideast putting our people into harm’s way for someone else’s fight, a fight with no shining knights on any side. Trump made the wrong choice.

And what does this leave us with? Iran, to save face at home and abroad, felt no choice but to retaliate. While it may be contained at this point, we will all live on a knife’s edge as we see whether we end up with either open or covert warfare spinning out of control. Forty thousand U.S. troops on the ground in the Mideast are put at risk. If we and the Israelis have been actually bombing sites loaded with nuclear material, we have risked dispersing it into the atmosphere, potentially poisoning people throughout the planet, as occurred during open air nuclear testing in the 1950’s. And the message we are sending to countries is not to avoid building nuclear weapons, but instead to do it quickly since it is only nuclear-armed nations that seem to be safe from possible U.S. attack.

We also face the likelihood of increased gas prices as the conflict potentially chokes off a sizable chunk of the world oil supply. Trump’s friends in the oil industry will laugh all the way to the bank as they benefit from the higher gas prices just as his military contractor friends will benefit from the demand for more weapons and ammunition.

To top it all off, Trump is now openly floating the idea of supporting regime change in Iran, the exact policy he correctly attacked previous administrations for getting embroiled in next door in Iraq, and one certain to be just as much a quagmire, if not more so, than that one, which cost the U.S. the lives of over 4000 service people and several trillion dollars in taxpayer money. And opening up the subject just hardens the position of Iran’s leaders, figuring that their days are numbered unless they fight and win.

Lastly, the lack of political leadership from both parties is shameful. Only a small number of Democrats and very few Republicans spoke out against U.S. intervention in the run up to the bombing campaign, preferring to acquiesce to the Israeli and military industry lobbying machines. And there is nowhere near the majority needed in Congress to seize control of war-making out of the hands of the presidency and back into the control of Congress where it belongs. The founders of the U.S. knew well that going to war is too important a decision to leave in the hands of one person. It must require the consent of the 535 members of Congress, each one of whom has to go home to their constituencies and tell them why they are sending their sons and daughters into harm’s way.

No more war in the Mideast. Congress must act.

Carl Rosen
General President

Andrew Dinkelaker
Secretary-Treasurer

Mark Meinster
Director of Organization

The post UE: No More Mideast Wars first appeared on Labor Today.

The decision to back Cuomo has received harsh criticism from rank-and-file trade unionists even without his many scandals, Andrew Cuomo’s tenure as Governor saw an attack against labor that would make any Southern Republican look like a labor ally. During his time in office Cuomo, accelerated the push to privatize public education, stole money out of public transit funds and created a two-tier wage system for new hires with his “Tier 6” pension scheme. Not only did Tier 6 cut pensions for new hires starting in 2012, but it more than doubled pension contributions for many workers and increased the retirement age from 55 to 63 for the majority of the State’s workforce. Rank-and-file members have been clamoring for Tier 6 reform since, and it’s been slow-moving, the endorsement of Cuomo makes it clear that the misleaders of labor in reality support Cuomo’s signature piece of anti-union legislation.

While the misleaders of labor continue to fall in line with the monopolists in power, rank-and-file activists have stepped up to fight back against a monopoly-controlled New York City. Before Cuomo even entered the race, unions with active rank-and-file movements backed the Working Families Party slate of candidates (NYC has Ranked Choice Voting for Primaries) which includes notable candidates New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

Later, as many of NYC’s misleaders of labor were preparing to endorse Cuomo rank-and-file leaders stepped up to fight back against this betrayal. The misleaders of AFSME DC36 and UFT, two unions who led a massive betrayal by spearheading Mayor Eric Adam’s plan to force all retirees into a privatized Medicare Advantage plan, were set to back Cuomo until rank-and-file leaders got word and organized members against Cuomo. In a surprise move, DC37 ended up endorsing Mamdani, while the UFT, in attempt to face no political backlash, would refrain from endorsing anyone in the primary. The since voted-out leadership of SEIU Local 1199 endorsed Cuomo in April, now a rank-and-file movement is fighting to rescind that endorsement as well.

Many of the labor endorsements for Cuomo’s campaign should be of no surprise, starting with the historically reactionary building trades unions. His campaign was launched at the union hall of the Carpenters’ Union, a union which is actively using dual unionism throughout the country to undercut other building trades unions. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and their subsidiary union the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) have endorsed Cuomo, a move that should galvanize the growing rank-and-file discontent in that union.

And, we cannot forget the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) who under current International President John Costa—who was appointed to replace the progressive, left-leaning and Staten Island’s own labor and community leader Larry Hanley in 2019—has made a sharp rightward shift back into the control of the Democratic Party establishment and business unionism has endorsed Cuomo. This endorsement has come while ATU members are working under increasingly dangerous working conditions due to lack of maintenance, conditions that can be traced back to Cuomo’s raiding of over $400k in funds from the MTA during his tenure as Governor.

Workers are tired of the constant givebacks, cost-of-living decline and benefit cuts that has been the hallmark of both Andrew Cuomo’s time as Governor and the current crop of labor misleaders tenure in office. The rank and file have increasingly gotten on board with the Zohran Mamdani campaign for Mayor not just because of Cuomo’s anti-labor history, but Mamdani’s plans for fast and free buses, a rent freeze on all rent-stabilized apartment, universal child-care, city-run grocery stores and many others which will help restore dignity in lives of working New Yorkers. In the State Assembly, Zohran Mamdani has also been a co-sponsor of the New York Health Act which would create a single payer health plan for all New Yorkers and has fought to fix the Tier 6 pension mess created by Cuomo.

It is clear the misleaders of labor do no stand on the same side as the rank and file in this race. The so-called leadership has coalesced behind the candidate of monopoly capital in Andrew Cuomo, while the rank and file has increasingly worked for and supported the anti-monopoly candidacy of Zohran Mamdani. The NYC mayoral primary takes place on June 24^th, but due to Ranked Choice Voting the results may not be final for another week. No matter the results, this election has shown the only path forward for labor movement is an anti-monopoly movement led by the class-oriented aspects of the labor movement.

The post Misleaders of Labor Coalesce Behind Cuomo as Rank-and-File Shifts Leftward first appeared on Labor Today.

A Transtar statement said,“we are investigating the incident and are cooperating with investigations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board”. Due to the nature of the ongoing investigations, we will not be commenting further on the incident.”

Transtar, which operates seven railroads serving U.S. Steel facilities, was sold by the steelmaker to Fortress Transportation in 2021. Its Fairfield Southern railroad provides in-plant rail service for U.S. Steel’s Fairfield Works, located approximately 10 miles west of Birmingham.

While we are saddened at the news of our brother’s death, we must double our resolve to build a safer workplace where such tragedies are not so commonplace.

The Railroad Workers United Program for Fallen Rails urges you to do the following on behalf of our fallen brother, his friends and family, co-workers and all railroad workers:

Commit yourself to following up on how and why our brother or sister was killed. What is the behind-the-scenes story? What role did unsafe conditions, including short staffing, crew fatigue, inadequate training and/or qualifying, deferred maintenance, or other factors play in this fellow worker’s death?

Get involved in the national movement against blame the worker “behavior-based safety” programs. Help build real union-based safety committees and programs that focus on hazard elimination and do not ignore the underlying causes of accidents, injuries and fatalities sustained on the job. For more information, see the RWU webpage entitled “Oppose Behavior Based Safety.”

Take part in the RWU annual Railroad Workers Memorial Day each April 28th. For more information, see the RWU webpage “Fallen Rails.”

Join RWU and fight to build solidarity and unity among all railroad workers, and make safer workplaces for all.

Thank you,
Railroad Workers United

The post RWU: Rail Fatality Alert! – Transtar Rail Worker Killed June 16th in AL first appeared on Labor Today.