By James Dugan

Organizing Methods in the Steel Industry by William Z. Foster offers a potent plan for organizing labor to confront not only their bosses, but Monopoly Capital. Written after Foster suffered a heart attack and received treatment in the Soviet Union; its 28 pages are an instruction manual for the resuscitation of organized labor for the establishment of industrial unionism.

Foster advises cooperation between progressive and Left-wing elements in the labor movement noting that “only these elements [ ] have the necessary vision, flexibility and courage to go forward with such an important project as the organization of the 500,000 steel workers in the face of the powerful opposition of the Steel Trust and its capitalist allies.”

Foster says “The organization movement must be industrial and national in character. That is, (a) it must include every category of workers in the steel industry, not merely a thin stratum of skilled workers at the top; and (b) the drive must be carried on energetically and simultaneously in every steel center, not simply here and there spasmodically in individual mills or steel centers.’ For workers to build a class-oriented trade union movement of an industrial character, they need to look no further than Foster’s work.

His emphasis on creating a mass movement of the steel industry, a nationally critical industry, balances comprehensive motivation with rigorous self-criticism, optimism, and determined organizational discipline. To accomplish this, Foster says, “Hard work and sobriety are basic essentials for success. Chair-warmers and irresponsibles should be made to feel unwelcome in the organizing crew.”

Foster’s plan includes specific tactics for outreach members of racial and ethnic groups, youth and women. Foster suggests how an Amalgamated Association (A.A.) or mass organization could be constituted using demonstration, print, and broadcast. Foster posits that this should be balanced with focused interpersonal and relational work for developing and defending the members and organization.

His strategy’s hallmark is its inclusivity and remarkable efficiency.  Foster is thoroughly defensive of the membership and its work of uniting each of society’s layers of preexisting strata, forming the A.A. from the matrix his plan forms within these. This plan integrates his era’s primary social institutions including fraternity and church, to form the platform and to give physical space from which to mount the overall effort.

Industrial unionism gathers membership by forming flexible alliances, overlaid by a firm organizational structure focused on growing the union at every level, industry wide. Rank and file members need to be empowered to actively recruit members and build the union. His methodology offers the most capable means for workers to defeat the trustified industries.

The post Organized Steel Defends Workers and Democracy first appeared on Labor Today.

The post Organized Steel Defends Workers and Democracy appeared first on Labor Today.

By James Dugan

The working class is misinformed. The state’s “official” information is suspect. Workers are responsible for calling them out. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) “unemployment rate” is widely accepted as the standard measurement of unemployed Americans at any given time, but it’s not what you think it is. It is not the number of people filing for unemployment, as many assume. Instead, it is a composite figure based on a monthly poll of 60,000 households, taken by the Census Bureau.

Poll respondents are asked scripted questions, and their answers are tabulated into categories which somewhat overlap and are used by the BLS for its “calculation”. The BLS creates the statistic in this way, “because that’s how it’s always been done” according to one BLS source. The truth is, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) doesn’t measure the joblessness rate but it does conceal systemic racism and an economy in steep decline.

Instead of the false BLS figures, workers should refer to a valid source of information. One such source is the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP) True Rate of Unemployment (TRU) report. While the BLS reports 4.4% unemployment, the TRU reports 24.9%.

The BLS unemployment rate ignores incarcerated unemployed workers who outnumber white workers 5:1. As this economy continues to devastate these workers, predominantly male blacks and Hispanics, the official reporting is that “all is well”. By excluding nearly 2 million locked up Americans from the official count, the real economic conditions of the working class never come to light. The TRU unemployment rate accounts for the vast numbers of nominally employed make up today’s working class. The TRU rate, by including the incarcerated sector of unemployed workers, highlights these as the most segregated sector of the working class. The racial disparities dividing workers are staggering, but the BLS would have the working class remain ignorant.

According to the TRU, fully one quarter of the American working class straddles financial catastrophe, despite having a job. This sort of worker, known as the “functionally unemployed” are defined as workers who “don’t have a full-time job but want one, or have no job, or do not earn a living wage, conservatively pegged at $26,000 (in 2025 dollars) annually before taxes”.

The BLS unemployment rate hides prisoner unemployment to dress-up the racist American economy as racially neutral. Black men are disproportionately imprisoned in the U.S. and the BLS conceals that they’re also disproportionately unemployed. Workers should question the so-called facts, call out the lying monopolists, their cronies in office and corporate media, and use scientific means to describe their conditions.

Workers should consider their situation carefully in the United States, where the government hides the unemployed in prisons and incarcerates the highest percentage of its population in the world.

The post Bureau of Labor Statistics Hides Racist, Lagging Economy first appeared on Labor Today.

The post Bureau of Labor Statistics Hides Racist, Lagging Economy appeared first on Labor Today.

On January 23, 2026, in negative temperatures, thousands of Minnesotans turned out in Minneapolis for a strike to protest the current administration’s policies. Multiple businesses across the city and state were also shut down in solidarity with the protests. At the same time of the protests downtown, another protest broke out at the Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP) airport as airport workers and clergy shut down the airport for a time to protest in solidarity. Over 100 clergy members were arrested.

On January 15, 2026, the Minnesota Regional Labor Council endorsed the action, calling it, “A Day of Truth and Freedom”. This was significant as the Minnesota Regional Labor Federal is composed of over 175 unions with 80,000+ members. The Minnesota AFL-CIO followed suit in endorsement. Many local unions did not call this action a “strike” though citing contracts that forbid striking. Many on the street called it a general strike and brought up parallels to the 1934 General Strike in Minneapolis.

The buildup to this was long time in coming. Since last year, federal agents had been conducting raids and harassing workers. On January 17, 2026, agents shot legal observer Renee Good as she was driving away. Federal agents had begun targeting ethnic communities around the country. As of writing of this article, on January 24, 2026, federal agents have shot another legal observer on the street that was being held down by multiple agents.

Other cities followed suit to the strike on Friday, with solidarity strikes and protests in Philadelphia, New York, Oakland, and other cities. The strikes appear to have the form of a pre-democratic labor front that is necessary to combat fascism and monopoly capitalism.

Even with the overwhelming support for the strike, some business union leaders pushed against it. There were reports of a local Teamsters union distributing flyers stating anyone who joined in the strike would be in breach of contract. Large businesses that have contracts and cooperate with the federal government, like Target, 3M, Best Buy, and Delta Airlines have stated nothing on the strike. The silence of the corporations echoes more loudly with Target stores being used as staging ground for ICE raids even as one Target made national news on January 13, 2026, when ICE kidnapped two workers from a Roseville, MN Target store.

LUEL is closing following this developing situation. LUEL calls on labor to unite with progressive groups and other civic groups to build an anti-monopoly coalition. Only then can labor develop into a fighting force that can combat the rising fascism brought on monopoly capitalism.

The post Minnesota Labor Walks Out in Mass Strike! first appeared on Labor Today.

The post Minnesota Labor Walks Out in Mass Strike! appeared first on Labor Today.

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.

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

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

Safety, dignity and equality for all women”

On 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) renews its struggle for a world free from violence, exploitation and war, recalling that in 2025 we will also celebrate 80 years of international trade union commitment alongside workers around the world.

Violence against women is never an individual or private matter. It is rooted in the power structures of capitalism, economic and social inequalities, patriarchal culture and the militarisation of territories. Wars, occupations and armed conflicts disproportionately affect women, increasing poverty, instability and insecurity. Similarly, economic exploitation, low wages, precarious work, lack of rights and the reduction of public services fuel violence and discrimination.

The WFTU fights for a world where women’s dignity and safety are top priorities, where work is safe and fairly paid, where every woman can live free from violence and fear. On this day, we remember in particular the situation in Palestine, where women today are suffering genocide and have been suffering the consequences of war, occupation and Israel’s policies of oppression for 77 years.

Trade union organisations affiliated to the WFTU have always maintained that the fight against violence against women is closely linked to the fight for workers’ rights, decent wages, safe housing, public education, healthcare and accessible social services. No woman can be free without access to economic resources, social protection and freedom from war and systemic violence.

On this day, the WFTU reaffirms:

• The need for effective legislation against all forms of violence, discrimination and exploitation;
• The right of women to safe work, decent wages and equal opportunities;
• The fight against imperialist wars and all forms of occupation;
• The right to education, contraception, social spaces and free public services, which are fundamental tools for women’s autonomy and protection;
• The need to combat patriarchy and the culture of violence, including through trade union campaigns, information campaigns and concrete actions on the ground.

The WFTU and its affiliates call on all trade unions and workers to mobilise, build international solidarity and support concrete actions against violence against women, predatory capitalism, exploitation and wars. Only collective struggle and the participation of workers can create a world where safety, dignity, equality and freedom are a reality for all women.

80 years of international trade union struggle.

Stop violence against women. Stop exploitation and war. Freedom and justice for Palestine.    Safety, dignity and equality for all women!

The post WFTU Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women first appeared on Labor Today.

The post WFTU Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women appeared first 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 post ARGENTINA: Wednesday Retiree Update appeared first 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.

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

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

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