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.

Minneapolis, MN – On August 17 at 7 a.m. around 50 high rise window cleaners represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26 in Minneapolis began a strike. The window cleaners are part of a master contract in which three companies bargain together for one large contract.

Brookwood, AL – Coal miners who work at the Warrior Met Coal mine held a large rally on August 4 in Brookwood, Alabama. The miners, represented by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), have been on strike for more than four months with no apparent end in sight. The strike began after the company gave the miners a $6 dollar per hour wage cut. At the same time, the company saw large increases in profits.

Topeka, KS – Around 850 Frito Lay Workers In Topeka, Kansas ended a 20-day strike and are back on the job after ratifying a new contract offer from management. The workers are represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM). They began a strike on July 5 which lasted 20 days before management came back to the table with a revised offer addressing many of the strike issues. The union announced on Saturday, July 24 that they were ending the strike after the new agreement had been reached.

Topeka, KA – On July 5, more than 800 Frito Lay Workers in Topeka began a strike that has now entered its third week. The workers are members of Local 218 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 218.

Chicago, IL – On July 12, more than 2500 Cook County, Illinois workers who are members of SEIU Local 73 ended an 18-day strike after winning major improvements on key issues. Two issues remained outstanding in the deal but will now move to interest-based arbitration, which only became an option because the workers went on strike.

Fight Back News is circulating the following statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Chicago, IL – Cook County workers in are standing strong after 17 days on strike. The strike by members of SEIU Local 73 took a bitter turn four days after workers walked off the job, when Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle offered three other unions contracts with the wages demanded by SEIU and refused in bargaining to offer SEIU similar terms.

Chicago, IL – Cook County workers in are standing strong after 17 days on strike. The strike by members of SEIU Local 73 took a bitter turn four days after workers walked off the job, when Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle offered three other unions contracts with the wages demanded by SEIU and refused in bargaining to offer SEIU similar terms.

Chicago, IL – Workers at Cook County in Illinois have been on strike for two weeks as of today, July 8. Yesterday the workers ratcheted up the pressure on Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle with a large rally and sit-in at the president’s office.

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of workers clad in purple rallied in 90-degree heat in front of Provident Hospital on Chicago’s South Side today, July 5. According to Ericka White, a county employee in the business office and an elected member of the bargaining committee for Local 73, “Our members are strong and we’re going to win our demands.”

St. Paul Park, MN – On July 1, in Saint Paul Park, Minnesota, Teamsters who work for Marathon Refinery voted to accept a new contract offer from management, which will end a lockout that has been ongoing for more than six months.

Ludlow, CO – On June 27, the United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) hosted a commemoration of the Ludlow Massacre of 1914 at the Ludlow Monument near Trinidad, Colorado. The commemoration was attended by approximately 75 trade unionists and community members to solemnly remember a violent period in Colorado labor history.

Chicago, IL – Striking members of SEIU Local 73 in the highway and transportation division of Cook County government shut down a construction site in Buffalo Grove, a town in the suburbs northwest of Chicago. This two-mile long bridge project was shut down on Friday, June 25, the first day of the strike. The union Operating Engineers, Laborers, and Carpenters are respecting the picket line at the county construction site in Buffalo Grove. This is a $60 million project with $29 million in federal funds.

Chicago, IL – Hundreds of striking members of SEIU Local 73 rallied today, June 26. The rain continued to fall intermittently, sometimes in a downpour, but the festive spirit of the strikers wasn’t extinguished. Even the tornado siren at the end of the rally didn’t dampen their militancy.

Chicago, IL – 2449 members of SEIU Local 73 who work at Cook County Health in Chicago began an open-ended strike on Friday, June 25 at 6 a.m. The SEIU members have been in bargaining with Cook County for over nine months and decided the only way to get the contract they deserve is to fight for it. The facilities that are striking include Stroger and Provident Hospitals; clinics and mental health services at Cermak; Cook County corporate offices and clerk’s office, and the county jail. Members at all of these locations will strike indefinitely until they win a contract that they feel is adequate to return to work.

St. Paul Park, MN – On June 22, five months after going on a one-day strike for safety, then being locked out by Marathon management ever since, 200 Teamsters at Marathon Refinery in Saint Paul Park voted overwhelmingly to reject the company's latest contract offer. Marathon management labeled its offer as being the “last, best and final” offer according to Teamsters Local 120, which represents the workers.