Los Ángeles, CA – Familias, sindicalistas, maestros, activistas y estudiantes llenaron la casa en el centro local de arte chicano, Self Help Graphics, el 29 de agosto, para conmemorar el 48 aniversario de la Moratoria chicana contra la guerra. El programa honró la histórica moratoria chicana del 29 de agosto de 1970, donde más de 30,000 chicanos marcharon en el este de Los Ángeles para protestar por la alta tasa de víctimas muertos de los chicanos en la guerra de Vietnam. El conocido periodista Rubén Salazar fue asesinado por un alguacil del LA durante las protestas.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 100 Hennepin County AFSCME workers packed the Hennepin County commissioners board meeting, August 14, to protest two issues currently being negotiated in their union contract. The county is proposing to eliminate step pay increases that benefit workers. As well, commissioners are being stubborn on the issue of pay equity.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME is a direct assault by the ruling class on the U.S. labor movement. It is an attack led by corporations and right-wing foundations, such as the National Right to Work Foundation and the Bradley Foundation, and fully supported by the Trump administration. While this particular assault, the Janus decision, is focused on public sector unions, make no mistake, the effects will be felt across the labor movement and by the entire working class.
Tampa, FL – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced it had come to a tentative agreement with UPS, June 21. The agreement has been criticized for givebacks such as the creation of two-tier driving and poor part time wages. One concession is in Article 6 Section 6, Technology and Discipline. The article currently states:
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people protested outside the Minnesota Republican Party headquarters in Minneapolis, Aug. 9, to condemn a massive immigration raid in southern Minnesota and Nebraska the day before, in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained around 140 immigrant workers.
Jacksonville, FL – On July 17, Dustin Ponder, the Florida Teamster union steward fired by UPS management for union activity, returned to work. After a month and a half-long campaign waged by Teamster militants and activists to get the steward reinstated, UPS caved to the pressure and offered Ponder his job back.
Louisville, KY – The Teamsters Local 89 E-Board has unanimously voted to recommend a “no” vote on the UPS National Master Agreement (NMA) and the UPS Central Region Supplement (CRS). Local 89 represents about 10,000 Teamsters at UPS.