Washington, DC – Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) around the country have much to celebrate. For over two decades, the IBT led by Jimmy Hoffa Jr. did very little to help union members and working people. Instead, the Hoffa Jr. regime busied itself with arranging givebacks to employers and managing the general decline of the Teamsters. Workers represented by the Teamsters saw their contracts become weaker, their union become smaller, and whatever respect they had on the job evaporate.

Lancaster, PA – On Friday, October 29, the Haverford/Bryn Mawr, or Bi-Co, Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society drove to Lancaster in solidarity with striking Kellogg’s workers. SDS had coordinated a canned food drive in the week leading up to the event and dropped these goods off at the local BCTGM 374-G (Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union) Union Hall.

Tuscaloosa AL – On October 28 a Tuscaloosa judge granted a temporary restraining order filed by the Warrior Met Mine where around 1,100 members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) have been on strike since early April after voting down an offer from the mine by a 95% majority. The order prohibits “picketing or other activity” within 300 yards of the mine entrances and any activity that interferes with “the conduct and operation of Warrior Met’s business and supporting activities”.

Battle Creek, MI – Over 200 striking workers and supporters rallied outside the Kellogg’s headquarters in downtown Battle Creek on October 27. As Kellogg’s corporate bosses looked down from their offices, striking workers and their families listened to energetic speeches.

Waterloo, IA – At Midnight on October 14, 10,000 United Auto Worker union members went on strike across four Midwestern states and Colorado, with over 90% of workers having voted to strike. The workers rejected a six-year contract that would eliminate their pensions, preserve a two-tier wage system that disadvantages new workers, and would have raises that don’t keep pace with inflation.

Desde el otoño de 2019, SEIU Local 73 ha realizado cuatro huelgas. En ese otoño se unieron al Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago en su lucha contra las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago; en septiembre de 2020 se unieron a la Asociación de Enfermeras de Chicago en el Hospital de la Universidad Illinois en Chicago; en diciembre de 2020 realizaron una huelga de un día con 2,500 trabajadores en contra del gobierno del Condado Cook; y este verano han realizado una huelga histórica de 18 días con esos mismos trabajadores en contra de la misma administración.

Battle Creek, MI – Workers on strike at the Kellogg’s plant in Battle Creek walked the picket line Thursday, October 7. They discussed two major issues leading to the strike. The first, a proposed two-tier payment system, where lower seniority employees have significantly lower pay and worse benefits. The second issue workers cited was overwork during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many employees working seven days a week with no days off, for months on end.

Memphis, TN – At midnight on Tuesday, October 5, workers at Kellogg’s factories across the United States went on strike. Union workers in Memphis say the company made an unacceptable offer at contract time.

Chicago, IL – After several takeback contracts in a row, the imposition of part-time status on new hires, sub-par health insurance with an ever growing price tag that eats up wage increases, and being left to fend for themselves during the pandemic with no PPE or hazard pay, CTA workers in Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241/308 are fighting back. They've organized themselves into a caucus called the Justice Coalition. This rank-and-file caucus publishes a newsletter called Finally Got the News, which was inspired by the documentary of the same name, about the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in Detroit in the late 1960s.

Chicago, IL – Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) held its annual convention from October 1-3 in Chicago. Rank-and-file union activists from around the country traveled there to plan out the next steps for the upcoming international union election. TDU is supporting the reformer O’Brien-Zuckerman slate against the other slate, which is backed by the Hoffa old guard within the Teamsters union.

Chicago, IL – On September 9, nearly 200 workers, students and union organizers gathered in Millennium Park, across the street from the Art Institute of Chicago. The rally was a show of support for the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United (AICWU). AICWU is composed of two bargaining units – one of staff at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) and the other of staff at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

Minneapolis, MN – On September 22, around 150 AFSCME members at the University of Minnesota held a noon rally calling for the university to listen to their demands and offer real proposals to address issues the workers face around the pandemic and safety, rising costs of living, and racial and social justice at the university. The AFSCME members were joined by supporters from student groups, faculty, and other unions. The union members are fighting for language around several significant issues they face.

Minneapolis, MN – On September 20, Hennepin County library workers rallied at the East Lake Street Library, located in the heart of last year’s George Floyd rebellion, to call on county commissioners to fully fund and staff public libraries. At the rally, frontline support staff and library workers spoke out against cutting staff during a pandemic, saying that people need the library services more than ever.

Portland, OR – On September 18, more than 1000 members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM), who work for Nabisco across five states, voted in a split decision to accept a new contract offer from Nabisco and end their 39-day strike. The workers had been on strike in Portland, Oregon; Richmond Virginia; Chicago Illinois; Aurora, Colorado and Norcross, Georgia.

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday evening, September 14, around 100 union members who are part of AFSCME at Hennepin County in Minnesota rallied in front of the Hennepin County Government Center calling for real raises in this year’s contract negotiations.

Chicago, IL – Several hundred striking workers and supporters rallied September 4 at the Nabisco plant on Chicago’s South Side. Strikers marched through around the plant, and even staged a sit-down action on company property.

Minneapolis, MN – On Thursday, August 26, window cleaners in Minneapolis reached a tentative agreement with their employers and ended their open-ended strike after ten days on the picket lines.

Minneapolis, MN – In Minneapolis and surrounding Hennepin County, AFSCME members are demanding that the county commissioners use some of the $246 million they county received from the American Rescue Plan to go to hazard pay for frontline workers as well as compensation in the form of stipends for remote employees for things like internet and cooling bills, to cover the increases in those utilities caused by working from home. Last year Hennepin County received $224 million in relief funds while offering nothing in the form of hazard pay at the same time as grocery store workers saw a $3 per hour increase.

Minneapolis, MN – On August 20, the strike continued for around 50 SEIU Local 26 union members who clean the majority of the tall buildings in downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Through their first five days of the strike the window cleaners picketed in locations all around downtown Minneapolis. They also held multiple larger events for members of other unions and the community to show their support for the workers and their strike over wages and safety.

Chicago, IL – More than 1000 union members represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' union have been striking at Nabisco, where the workers who make Oreo Cookies, Ritz Crackers, and many other popular snacks have walked out of work, saying the strike is a fight to keep what they have had. The workers are striking in Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and Virginia.