Madison, WI – The OPEIU Local 39 union workers, 500 strong, started their strike against CUNA Mutual Group, now formally rebranded as TruStage, this past Friday, May 19. The action is making history not only as their first strike in their 80-year long relationship with TruStage, but also as being the largest strike in the city of Madison since the Act 10 protests on the capitol a dozen years ago. After over 400 days of stalled bargaining processes, refusal to provide information, retaliation against union leaders, and TruStage’s bargaining in bad faith, workers were left with no other option but to strike.
The 2023 Teamster/UPS Contract negotiations are here and every class in the U.S. is watching them like a hawk. Workers want to see a serious blow struck against a massive corporation and the ruling class wants to see an increasingly militant labor movement put down. The last time we saw a showdown like this at UPS was in 1997 when the Teamsters under Ron Carey struck and defeated the company. Every contract negotiation after that was increasingly weak and concessionary as the next Teamster president, Hoffa Jr., would talk tough, sell short and declare victory. This culminated with the historic betrayal of 2018 when Hoffa Jr. forced through a concessionary contract after members had voted it down.
On Monday, May 15, Fight Back! interviewed Michael Jones, president of the teachers’ unit with Madison Teachers, Incorporated (MTI), which represents nearly 2700 educators employed by the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), to discuss current conditions and a recent week of action where teachers worked to rule.Fight Back!: How long have you been working in Madison schools?
Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, May 7, 150 people gathered for the annual commemoration of the Bay View Massacre. 137 years ago, in May 1886, over 14,000 union workers gathered outside the Milwaukee Iron Company Rolling Mill in demand of an eight-hour workday. These unionists had shut down every single business in the city of Milwaukee except the rolling mills in Bay View. As they were marching towards the mills, Governor Jeremiah Rusk ordered 250 national guard members be posted outside to prevent any striker from entering – these orders included shooting the marchers on sight and resulted in the death of seven people and many others injured.
Denver, CO – On May 1, about 300 rank-and-file union members, activists and members of the community came together at the Colorado State Capitol to celebrate International Workers Day, or May Day. This worker holiday originated in the United States, and commemorates the Haymarket Affair of 1886, where protesters fighting for an eight-hour workday were attacked and killed by police.
Tampa, FL – On Sunday April 30, 40 people protested outside the Hillsborough School Employees Federation union hall against the recent passage of union-busting legislation aimed at public sector workers and to mark International Workers Day.
New York, NY – Around 500 people were gathered around the fountain of Washington Square Park on May 1 to celebrate International Workers’ Day. The first of several events throughout the city, this one was led by several different unions, such as the Teamsters Local 804, and organizations such as DecrimNY.
El 1 de mayo de 2023, las personas trabajadoras y oprimidas de todo el mundo celebrarán el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores. Este año, la Organización Socialista Camino a la Libertad (OSCL) llama a nuestros camaradas, amigos y aliados a mantener la tradición revolucionaria de celebrar el 1 de mayo. Celebre haciendo manifestaciones, marchas y programas en ciudades de todo Estados Unidos. Puede encontrar una lista de eventos locales del Día Internacional de los Trabajadores aquí.
Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, April 28 over 4100 graduate student workers’ votes were counted in a union election at the University of Minnesota. The vote was held over three days. When the votes were counted, the grad students turned out to have cast 2487 ballots in favor of forming a union and 70 ballots against, for a 97% majority. The grad students began signing union cards in February and turned in a strong majority on cards in March to trigger this vote.
Buena Park, CA – Workers at Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists, walked off the job on February 11 after the company filed a lawsuit against the union for trademark infringement due to their local’s name, Medieval Times Performers United. This is one of the many ways the company has retaliated against and attempted to silence the workers who have now, as of April 27, been on strike for 75 days.
Fight Back! News has collected a partial list of International Workers Day marches, events and celebrations that members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization are helping to build and lead. We encourage you to find the event nearest to you and attend. Events are listed in alphabetical order by city.
Milwaukee, WI – Teamsters across the country are beginning to schedule parking lot rallies ahead of the national contract negotiations, but Wisconsin Teamsters Local 344 are taking it one step further. Local 344 has created their own “Pay up” shirts for local members to wear every Friday in solidarity. The idea for these shirts came from a steward and rank-and-file member out of 344’s Oshkosh barn, Lori Jensen.
Orange, CA – On April 15, Teamsters in southern California held a rally around ongoing contract negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS. The rally was attended by hundreds of Teamsters from Locals 396 and 952 and featured speeches from Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, Local 396 Secretary Treasurer Victor Mineros as well as rank-and-file members.
Chicago, IL – The bell rang, and teachers, staff and students slowly rolled out the school doors. Today they were all wearing union red at the two Instituto del Progeso Latino (IDPL) schools in Chicago. They grabbed signs and started to chant and picket, “Who’s schools? Our schools!”
New Orleans, LA – On April 14, employees at the Starbucks on Poydras Street filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. The store is located in a downtown hotel building, mainly serving tourists, professionals and workers in the area. Over 70% of staff support unionizing.
Minneapolis, MN – Union members at Planned Parenthood rallied on Tuesday evening, April 11, along with community supporters. The central demands of the action were that Planned Parenthood immediately reinstate a member of the bargaining committee who they fired recently, and to stop engaging in union-busting activity.
Chicago, IL – On Wednesday, March 22, seven Starbucks stores in Illinois joined around 115 others across the country on strike, demanding an end to the ruthless and illegal union busting campaign being waged by the company against its workers. Five stores in Chicago as well as one in Rockford and one in Carbondale joined their coworkers nationwide in their demand for Starbucks to sit down and bargain in good faith.
Minneapolis, MN – Around 3000 Workers at 33 Cub Foods grocery stores in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs who are represented by UFCW Local 663 were poised to begin a strike that had been set to start at 5:30 a.m. on April 7. Instead, after months of playing hardball, around 2 a.m. on the morning of the strike the boss caved and met many of the workers’ core demands.
St. Petersburg, FL – The Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association and Pinellas Educational Support Professionals Association rallied dozens of their members, members of the community, and other supportive groups on Saturday, April 1, in response to a slew of right-wing attacks on public education in the state.
