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

Nearly five dozen members of UAW Local 291 have gone on strike. The picketing began early Monday morning, Feb. 6, after the conclusion of a workers’ meeting during which the decision was made to take action.

On Jan. 23, President Donald Trump signed an executive action withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Negotiated by then-president Barack Obama, the TPP would have standardized trade between the U.S., Japan, Mexico, and nine other countries in the Pacific Rim, lowering tariffs and regulations between countries to favor corporations. The agreement drew heavy criticism from labor unions and environmental groups, who argued the TPP would hurt workers and hamper efforts to address climate change.

As Chicago Transit Authority president Dorval Carter continues the undeclared war against bus operators, train operators and mechanics that his predecessor Forrest Claypool started, Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 241 and 308 have begun to unite to fight back. According to a statement from the unions, “ATU Locals 241 and 308 represent the vast majority of CTA employees (almost 10,000), working without a contract since December 2015. The CTA refuses to take the vast majority of its workforce seriously. It wants to strip them of their hard-earned benefits and deny them wage increases. The CTA wants to continue with the insults and abuses.”

Washington, D.C. – Labor officials in Washington D.C. are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best as Donald Trump assumes the office of president of the United States after losing the popular vote by 2.9 million votes but winning enough electoral votes from the states to assume the presidency. Trump secured his Electoral College win by squeaking ahead just slightly of corporate Democrat Hillary Clinton in states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

500 people marched through the streets of downtown Miami, Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, in opposition to the Trump/Pence agenda. The protest was called for by the Anti-Trump Action Committee and brought together a diverse crowd of labor, immigrant rights, anti-war and Black Lives Matter activists. The groups united around the slogan: “Stop the Trump Agenda.”

Boston, MA – Food service workers at Northeastern University launched a one-day strike on Jan. 20, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president. A majority of the 375 workers employed in the university’s dining halls joined in the work stoppage to protest Trump’s policy proposals.

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of people were on the picket line at 6 a.m. Jan. 20, in front of Home Depot in northeast Minneapolis to support striking janitors, who are standing up to low wages and Trump’s anti-worker agenda.

Boston, MA – Food service workers at Northeastern University announced that they will be walking off of the job at 12:00 noon on Jan. 20, in protest of President-elect Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant and anti-worker policy proposals. The one-day, mid-contract work stoppage will continue through the rest of Inauguration Day. The workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 26, the same union which led a 22-day strike of food service workers at Harvard University last October.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Jan. 14 statement from the World Federation of Trades (WFTU)

200 workers from “Hallmark” garment factory were striking during last week, demanding their unpaid wages. Their wages should have been paid on 5th January, the official factory pay day. During the last days the workers agreed to accept a written promise that wages would be paid no later than January 12. Until yesterday the employers instead of paying the wages, they announced that they will cut the wages for the days of the strike.

Frankfort, KY – Teamster Local 89, headed by President Fred Zuckerman, issued a blistering statement slamming the passage of a ‘right to work’ law and a measure repealing the prevailing wage.

Jacksonville, FL – On Dec. 8, President-elect Donald Trump announced fast food executive Andy Puzder as his pick for Secretary of Labor. Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns Hardee's, Carl’s Jr. and several other national chains.

Jacksonville, FL – On Nov. 18, Teamsters in the U.S. and Canada awoke to find that Jim Hoffa had won re-election as president of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters after 17 years in office. Instead of the overwhelming electoral victory that Hoffa usually experiences, the Teamsters old guard lost in the Southern Region, the Central Region, the U.S. as a whole, and only barely squeaked by in the International vote.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Nov. 19 statement from the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is sharpening its knives, ready to come after mechanics, bus and train operators in Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 241 and 308. According to 308 President and Business Agent Kenneth Franklin, there has been no contract since Dec. 31, 2015. CTA has been pushing for takebacks in every area in negotiations, and according to Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 241, the CTA “has evidenced no intention of reaching a fair agreement voluntarily.”

On Nov. 15, rank-and-file Teamsters in the southern U.S. delivered a huge blow to Jim Hoffa Jr., the current general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Teamsters United slate, which is challenging Hoffa's 17-year rule of the union, won the Southern Region by a vote of 10,789 to 8227. John Palmer and Kimberley Schultz, candidates with Teamsters United, will become the new vice presidents of the Southern Region.

“We accomplished everything”

Cambridge, MA – Harvard University dining hall workers will end their strike tomorrow morning, Oct. 27, and return to work after reaching an agreement with the university that meets all of their demands. Harvard dining hall workers are reviewing and voting to ratify the contract agreement through 5 p.m. today, when this decision will become official.

Cambridge, MA – Oct. 24 marks day 20 of the Harvard University Dining Service (HUDS) workers’ strike. The HUDS union, UNITE HERE Local 26, has been negotiating since May of this year with management. Harvard bosses refuse to budge on two key demands: fair healthcare and sustainable salaries for all full-time employees.

West Chester, PA – Pennsylvania college faculty won a new contract after three days on the picket lines and mobilizing support from students, parents and other sectors of support throughout the state.

Students join in solidarity pickets!

West Chester, PA – The sun was just rising on Oct. 19 when West Chester University (WCU) faculty and students discovered that the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) broke off negotiations with the faculty union the previous night. The Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Faculty (APSCUF) has been negotiating for over one year, beginning back on June 30, 2015. The union represents nearly 5500 educators and coaches. The PASSHE covers 14 state universities and colleges and educates over 100,000 students.