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.