News and Views from the People's Struggle
Milwaukee, WI – On Dec. 11, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, led by its Young Workers Committee, held a press conference along with allies in response to a construction worker displaying a Ku Klux Klan sticker in a predominantly Black neighborhood.
Milwaukee, WI — As the critical month of December rolled in, the United Parcel Service mandated nationally new work rules for package delivery drivers, increasing the workweek to 70 hours for the duration of the holiday, or peak, season.
Minneapolis, MN – About 400 Teamsters and their supporters rallied at the University of Minnesota administration building, Morrill Hall, on the afternoon of Nov. 17, to demand a decent contract. Members of Teamsters Local 320 overwhelmingly passed a strike authorization vote Nov. 2, and today’s protest was billed as a “pre-strike informational picket.”
U.S. trade unionists participate
Athens, Greece – On Nov. 9, more than 170,000 workers in 64 cities across Greece took to the streets to fight government austerity measures, nuclear armament, and court rulings that make labor strikes in the country illegal. 18 U.S. trade unionists attending a week-long seminar with the World Federation of Trade Unions joined the demonstrations at Syntagma Square in the city center of Athens.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following the text of a speech delivered by is Richard Blake, delivered to the third World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Working Youth Congress, which took place in Rome, Italy, Nov. 2-3.
New York, NY – New Yorkers across the state face a vote on Nov. 7 on whether or not to have a Constitutional Convention, a process which occurs every 20 years. The last time a vote occurred for a so-called “Con Con” was in 1997. In the current political climate, unions and workers fear that all protections that were won in past Constitutional Conventions, most of which were gained during the New Deal, could be peeled away due to the intervention of lobbyists and financing from corporate influences.
Young Florida Teamster addresses congress
Rome, Italy – The third World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Working Youth Congress opened here, Nov. 2. Delegates from Italy, Vietnam, Brazil, Denmark, Mexico and many other countries exchanged experiences on organizing young workers to fight for their rights and building class-struggle trade unionism.
Minneapolis, MN – Members of the University of Minnesota Teamsters Local 320 overwhelmingly passed a strike authorization vote, with 85% voting to approve, Nov. 2. The vote was tallied at the Teamster Hall this afternoon, with many Teamsters observing the count.
Teamsters, AFSCME demand raises and respect
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Minneapolis, MN — About 40 members of AFSCME Local 3800, Teamsters Local 320, and their supporters rallied in front of the admiration building, Morril Hall, Oct. 31 and then marched into the office of University of Minnesota’s President Kahler. Protesting workers then delivered petitions signed by thousands of employees and supporters that read in part, “The university is a wealthy institution with plenty of money, that is in the midst of a $4 billion fundraising campaign. We reject the notion of two universities, one for the haves and the other for the have-nots. We want raises and respect for all university workers.”
San Juan, Puerto Rico — On Oct. 20, one month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the secretary of AFSCME Local 3800, Brad Sigal, was in San Juan to bring a donation of money and medicines to the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation (FMPR, the union's initials in Spanish).
