Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Labor

By Lucas Harrell

Workers and supporters take to the streets against anti-labor attacks. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – Workers took to the streets on April 6, successfully blocking traffic throughout the heart of the central business district and French Quarter as they chanted for the rights of unionized public sector workers and all workers’ rights.

The rally began in Lafayette Square, when speakers from local unions such as New Orleans City Workers Organizing Committee (NOCWOC), Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), Fair Trade Musicians, United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) and New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice (NOWCRJ) emphasized the importance of organizing in the context of the political repression faced in Louisiana.

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By Mantak Singh

Members of United Auto Workers \[UAW\] 4121 rally for a strong contract.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Seattle, WA – On March 29, United Auto Workers (UAW) 4121 held a rally in the quad of the University of Washington-Seattle campus to demand a strong contract. With over 1000 attendees at the rally, the UAW made clear that they will not abide by UW administration’s attacks on their healthcare, wages and their international workers.

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By Bill Aiman

Southeast Metro Atlanta Routing Terminal \[SMART\] is an automated sorting facility and the second largest ground hub in the UPS network  | Fight Back! News/staff

Atlanta, GA – United Parcel Service (UPS) announced on March 26 that the company plans to close up to 200 UPS hubs and automate sorting at the remaining hubs within the next five years. The plan is part of a broader initiative by UPS called “Network of the Future” which looks to automate union jobs with a goal of saving the company $3 billion in labor costs by 2028. UPS made $6.7 billion in profit last year and UPS CEO Carol Tomé took home $23.4 million in total compensation.

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By Thomas Spiers

Tallahassee Professional Firefighters explain contract negotiations with city. | Fight Back! News/staff

Tallahassee, FL – On March 21 at the Bruce J. Host Northeast Branch Library in Tallahassee, around 100 people, including firefighters and their families, packed into a presentation room. They gathered to get information and vent their frustrations regarding the stalled negotiations between the city of Tallahassee and the Tallahassee Professional Firefighters-IAFF Local 2339 (TPF). The event was sponsored by Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor.

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By staff

NYC home attendants rally at city hall demanding an end to 24-hour workdays. | Fight Back! News/staff

New York, New York – A crowd of 100 demonstrators rallied in front of New York City Hall on Friday, March 22, to support home health aides on a hunger strike to end the inhumane 24-hour workdays that home attendants in New York City are forced to endure.

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By Rick Majumdar

Molson Coors Teamsters of Local 997 are fighting for a decent contract. | Fight Back! News/staff

Fort Worth, TX – On March 17, 600 union members from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, American Postal Workers Union, National Rural Letter Carriers Association and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, along with others rallied in support of the Molson Coors Teamsters of Local 997, who are fighting for a decent.

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By staff

 American Federation of Teachers \[AFT\] Local 212 members demand a bigger piece of the pie. | Fight Back! News/staff

Milwaukee, WI – On Thursday, March 14 (Pi Day), the part-time bargaining unit of the American Federation of Teachers Local 212, which represents the part-time faculty of the Milwaukee Area Technical College, held a rally demanding their piece of the pie.

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By Clio Jensen

Some of the victorious Homegrown strikers. | Fight Back! News/staff

Seattle, WA – On Wednesday, March 13, Homegrown workers across Seattle voted 100-1 to ratify their contract, after a successful strike to win reinstatement for their fired coworker.

Homegrown workers at the sandwich company’s Redmond and Southcenter cafes have also officially ended their strike and returned to work after the reinstatement of union leader Sydney Lankford, who was fired illegally on October 30.

Last month, the company agreed to a deal that allowed Lankford to return to work with $10,000 in back pay. Her coworkers, who have been on strike for her reinstatement since October 30, have returned to work as well, with their heads held high. Southcenter Mall Homegrown workers are back to work as well, 80 days after joining the strike.

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By staff

Rideshare drivers celebrate after the Minneapolis city council passes minimum wage for drivers. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On March 7 the Minneapolis city council passed an ordinance forcing rideshare corporations like Uber and Lyft to pay their drivers the equivalent of the city’s minimum wage of $15.57 an hour if they want to continue to operate in the city.

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By Gage Lacharite

Florida nurses rally for a decent contract.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Tampa, FL – Early in the morning March 4, nurses and their supporters rallied out front HCA Florida Largo Hospital in Largo to generate support for a good contract in the upcoming negotiations between HCA and National Nurses United.

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By staff

Atlanta, GA – On February 19, about 40 workers and community members gathered outside of Amazon’s ATL6 Sortation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to support the ongoing strike by Amazon drivers and dispatchers in Palmdale, California.

The picket targeted the two main entrances to the facility to draw the attention of the workers at ATL6. The unfair labor practice strike began June 2023, expanding its picket lines to about a dozen cities, including Atlanta.

Participants kept the energy high during the event, holding signs and chanting, “Jeff Bezos, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!”

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By staff

Denver, CO – On February 13, over 300 flight attendants gathered outside of the plaza of the Westin Hotel located in the Denver International Airport as part of a Flight Attendants International Day of Action.

The group of flight attendants were made up of members from two unions who are fighting for a good contract, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA, and Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).

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By staff

Flight attendants are fighting for a decent contract. | Fight Back! News/staff

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, February 13 around 100 flight attendants picketed in front of the arrivals gates of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport in Minnesota.

The crowd’s chants were heard clearly in the whole arrivals area. Chants included “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” as well as “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

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By staff

Teamsters at Anheuser-Busch are getting ready to strike. | Fight Back! News/staff

Fort Collins, CO – On February 14, more than 100 members of Teamsters Locals 17, 267 and 455 held a practice picket at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fort Collins. This practice picket marked 15 days until the upcoming February 29 expiration of the collective bargaining agreement covering 5000 Anheuser-Busch brewery workers across the U.S.

Attendees at the rally chanted “No contract, no beer” and “the Teamsters united will never be divided.” Many members of Teamsters Local 455 were in attendance to show solidarity with Local 267, who represents the workers at the Anheuser-Busch brewery who brew, package, and ship Budweiser, Bud Light, and dozens of other beverage brands.

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By Simon Rowe

Tampa flight attendants on the picket line for a decent contract.  | Fight Back! News/staff

Tampa, FL – On February 13, over 40 flight attendants and their supporters picketed at the Tampa International Airport. This was part of a worldwide day of action held by the Association of Flight Attendants and Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which saw pickets at more than 30 airports across the country.

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By staff

Homegrown workers on the picketline. | Fight Back! News/staff

Seattle, WA – For the 106th day in a row, Redmond and Southcenter workers were out on the picket lines this past Sunday. The picket line covered the east entrance of the Westfield Southcenter mall, which holds the Southcenter Homegrown Cafe. The cafe has been closed since late November, when workers there walked out to join Redmond Homegrown workers on strike for their coworker’s reinstatement.

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By Abbey Lodwig

New Orleans Starbucks workers stand outside newly unionized St. Claude store. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On February 7, workers at Starbucks on Saint Claude Street won their union election in a 12 to 4 vote. This is the third Starbucks to unionize in New Orleans. Baristas complain of an unsafe work environment, lack of predictable or sufficient hours, and a workplace that is falling apart.

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By Serena Sojic-Borne

French Truck Coffee workers hold signs on picket line. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On January 12 at around 1 p.m., Teamsters union baristas at French Truck Coffee on Chartres Street walked off the job to demand safety at work.

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By staff

Starbucks workers gather to support unionizing. | Fight Back! News/staff

New Orleans, LA – On January 11, with 90% support, workers at Starbucks on St. Claude filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. The store is located near the French Quarter and serves some tourists and locals.

“How I see it, unionizing my store will allow not only myself, but also my fellow partners to join together and create the ideal workspace for all of us. We've all decided the best way for us to see promising results is to take action into our hands and handle the situation ourselves,” said Julian Missy, an organizer and worker at the store for over a year.

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By staff

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following resolution adopted by AFSCME Local 526.

AFSCME Local 526 Stands with the Palestinian people against Genocide

AFSCME Local 526 dedicates itself to improving the lives of working people, and fighting for a world where all people can live with dignity, justice, respect, peace, and equality. We consistently stand against Islamophobia, antisemitism, and racism in all its forms.

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, Palestinian trade unions, anti-Zionist Jewish people, and millions of others who are demanding an end to Israel’s colonial violence and genocide.

We condemn the active role of the U.S government in supporting Israel’s system of occupation and apartheid, illegal settlements, and forced displacement of Palestinians, which is the root cause of the conflict.

We mourn all loss of life resulting from the conflict and call for an immediate end to Israel’s aggression against Gaza that has killed over 23,000 Palestinians and displaced 85% of Gaza’s population, 1.9 million people.

U.S. support for Israel’s war has caused a humanitarian disaster, and is risking a deadly outbreak of famine, disease, and a wider war. The billions of U.S. tax dollars spent on weapons for Israel every year should be reallocated to fund programs that help poor and working people, like healthcare, education, and childcare.

AFSCME Local 526 commits to taking the following actions in support of peace and justice:

1. We will send letters to our Congressional representatives, asking them to endorse bills such as H.R. 3103 and others that take meaningful action to end the genocide and occupation.

2. We will join over 900 unions, governments, and popular organizations who have endorsed South Africa’s Genocide Convention case against Israel at the U.N. International Court of Justice.

3. We will petition our employer, the Milwaukee Public Museum, to correct the large map in the “Crossroads of Civilization” gallery that includes a label for Israel, but not Palestine.

4. We will send a copy of this resolution to AFSCME leadership, encouraging them to join the many union internationals who have already called for a ceasefire.

5. We will continue to support and participate in actions led by the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine, Wisconsin Labor for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, Milwaukee Anti-war Committee, and others.

Passed unanimously at the AFSCME Local 526 membership meeting on January 11th, 2024.

#MilwaukeeWI #International #Palestine #AntiWar #Labor #AFSCME #AFSCME526