Grand Rapids, MI – Excitement is building among trade unionists and community activists in Grand Rapids, about an upcoming event where labor negotiator and author Joe Burns will speak. Michigan is a so-called ‘right to work’ state, where labor unions are struggling to maintain their membership and power.

Minneapolis, MN – The streets were full of working-class solidarity on Saturday, February 23, when well over 100 people, including trade unionists, Latin America solidarity groups and anti-war activists gathered under the banner “U.S. hands off Venezuela!”

Chicago, IL – Solidarity matters. Teachers and paraprofessionals at the Chicago International Charter Schools hit the picket lines at 6:00 a.m. on February 5 and stayed out until they had won what they needed at 3:15 a.m. on February 17. What they need was smaller class sizes for their students, adequate staffing for special education students, maternity leave for educators and a wage scale close enough to the Chicago Public School teachers to bring some measure of stability to the classroom.

Denver, CO – After all night negotiations the Denver School Board, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) announced that they had reached a tentative agreement to end the teachers strike. It was announced that the strike officially ends this Friday, but teachers were free to go back to work today, February 14.

Denver, CO – Over 3700 Denver teachers walked off the job on Monday, February 13 in support of their claim for an increase in their base pay, which is widely regarded as too low to maintain their families. The Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) called the strike in case collective bargaining failed to gain adequate salary increases.

Jacksonville, FL – In response to massive concessions, UPSers in Western and Upstate New York widely rejected their contract supplement by over 65%, with over 46% turnout, on February 5. Members rejected this proposal outright in the face of pressure by the national leadership and promises of retroactive paychecks coming sooner. However, in a repeat of the national UPS contract, Teamster President Hoffa used the 2/3 loophole to impose the supplement anyway. This loophole allegedly allows Hoffa to require either 2/3 rejection of the contract or at least 50% turnout. Four more UPS supplements still have to be voted on in Central Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, Metro Detroit and Local 804 in New York City.

Chicago, IL – Over 50 activists gathered in Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago on the night of February 5, to rally in solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution. Organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), the event brought together progressive political organizations and trade unions to demand an end to U.S. aggression and threats of war with Venezuela.

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) educators at four CICS schools struck for the third day, February 7, with management dug in on exchanging wage parity with CPS educators for higher caseloads for counselors and social workers, larger class sizes with no enforcement language, and no written guarantee not to cut student services or resources. Management wants to increase the student-to-counselor/social worker ratio, which is already well over nationally recommended ratios, giving management the wiggle room to lay off some frontline staff.

New York, NY – On November 30, 2018, representatives of Mexico, Canada and the United States signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to replace the current NAFTA agreement governing trade between the three North American neighbors. Likes its predecessor, this “NAFTA 2.0,” as some refer to it, is not designed to help the workers in any of the three nations but rather to ease the flow of capital and help maximize profits of corporations.