Pittsburgh, PA – Workers at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh voted overwhelmingly to join the United Steelworkers (USW) union, August 14, after launching their organizing campaign in June. They are seeking a collective bargaining agreement that would cover employees across 19 branches and the library support center.

Los Angeles, CA – Over 40 supporters picketed outside of Ralphs grocery store on Sunset Boulevard, July 31. The store’s United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization in June.

Caracas, Venezuela – On July 26, the delegation from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) participated in a gathering of trade unionists from around the world with the leaders of the Central of Bolivarian Socialist Workers (CBST), the largest labor federation in Venezuela.

Chicago, IL – About 400 people rallied marched in neighborhood of Humboldt Park, July 21, calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello. Jazmine Salas emceed the demonstration, which was called by the Chicago Boricua Resistance. Chanting “Ricky renuncia!” (Ricky resign), the crowd added their voices to the hundreds of thousands who are protesting on the island.

Caracas, Venezuela – A delegation of members from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) arrived in Caracas, Venezuela last week. Their goals were to learn what they could from Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, exchange views on effective education and to show solidarity with the students, teachers and social movements of Venezuela.

Chicago, IL – Dozens of U.S. workers die every year due to heat, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). UPS trucks can feel as hot as ovens and UPS warehouses are almost unbearable in the summer. One memory burned into the minds of Chicago-area UPS workers is that of Stephen Michael, who died in a UPS warehouse in 2011 after his request to go home was denied, when he reported not feeling well during a day with a 109-degree heat index.

Aurora, CO – Hundreds of protestors marched from the Peoria transit station to the corporate-run GEO Group ICE Processing Center on July 12. The march was led by the Coalition to Close Concentration Camps. The coalition is composed of many local immigrant rights groups and community activists demanding President Trump close the camps.

Minneapolis, MN – “Workers of the world, unite! Not ‘workers of America unite’ or ‘workers who look like us, pray like us or love like us unite.’ It’s all workers,” said union organizer David Gilbert-Pederson of Minnesota Workers United. “We have more in common with the tailor in Tehran than the bankers who crashed our economy. We have more in common with the bus driver in Caracas than the politicians locking kids in cages.”

Pittsburgh, PA – A group of Pittsburgh community members delivered a petition to the Carnegie Library, July 11, in support of the workers’ efforts to unionize with the United Steelworkers.

Kalamazoo, MI – The Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority abruptly canceled their meeting on July 8, leaving 40 bus drivers and union supporters wondering, “What is really happening?” The bus drivers, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1093, decided to do what they do best, and took it to the streets, chanting, “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!”

Washington DC – A group of 186 distribution center workers at IKEA distribution centers in Joliet and Minooka, Illinois voted June 19 and 20 to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). IKEA is in the process of transitioning work from Minooka to its new facility in Joliet.

Salt Lake City, UT – Teachers in the Salt Lake Education Association walked out of a Salt Lake City Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday night, June 4. The meeting was held the night before the last day of school and was attended almost entirely by teachers, some of whom had brought their own children. They wore red shirts to show their solidarity to their union, their students and each other and they carried signs reading “6%” showing their demand to have their salaries raised by 6% in their upcoming contract with the district. The teachers all walked out during the comment period, where input on the upcoming contract is not allowed – until the negotiations are settled.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following June 4 statement from the militant trade union Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).

To mark May Day last month, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) dropped a new pamphlet aimed at the hundreds of thousands of people embracing socialism across the country. Titled Class Struggle on the Shop Floor: A Strategy for a New Generation of Socialists, the 24-page paper outlines the FRSO’s approach to unions, the labor movement and the fight for socialism in the United States.

Washington DC – On May 31, the United Steelworkers (USW) said that members of local unions representing more than 1,500 Alcoa (NYSE: AA) workers have granted their negotiating committee the authority to implement a strike if necessary at the company’s facilities in Warrick, Ind.; Massena, N.Y.; Gum Springs, Ark.; Point Comfort, Texas; and Wenatchee, Wash.

Minneapolis, MN – Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association held informational pickets, May 29, in their fight for a decent contact. Hundreds gathered at Fairview-Riverside and other hospitals to participate in huge picket lines, demanding that the issues of safety, benefits and wages are addressed. The existing contact will expire May 31.

Washington, DC – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) filed election interference charges with the National Mediation Board (NMB) against Delta Air Lines, May 15.

Fight Back! Interviewed Ed Cubelo, the chairman of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, or May 1st Movement in Metro Manila, while he was in the U.S. on a speaking tour. The KMU is one the largest trade union federations in the Philippines.

Washington D.C. – An administrative law judge ordered a new union vote at a Kumho Tire factory in Macon, Georgia, after finding that company officials violated workers’ rights during the first election in October 2017.

Jacksonville, FL – The outcome of Jacksonville’s 2019 runoff elections looked remarkably like the general election back in March. Even fewer people participated in the runoff, which saw voter turnout sink from an already dismal 24% in March to just 14.35% two months later. By all accounts, Republicans came out on top. Dixie money ruled the day again, with the candidate who raised and spent the most money winning every single runoff.