RWU Convention hosted a session on Logistics Chokepoints at Labor Notes 2024. by Nicholas WurstSMART-TD Local 1473 (personal capacity) & Railroad Workers United (personal capacities)Worcester, MA On April 18 & 19, ISG members participated in Railroad Workers United’s (RWU) ninth convention in Chicago. RWU is an activist organization of rank-and-file railroad workers, families, and supportersContinue reading “ISG in Action: Railroad Workers United Convention”
Category Archives: Labor Struggles & Solidarity
ISG in Action: Labor Notes 2024
Members of the Independent Socialist Group (ISG) joined with almost 5,000 other attendees at this year’s Labor Notes conference in Chicago, April 19-21. The conference, which is organized every two years, brings labor activists together to discuss rebuilding a fighting labor movement, including how to organize reform caucuses in our unions and how to overturnContinue reading “ISG in Action: Labor Notes 2024”
Union Baristas Win First Contract at Coffee by Design
Lauren Gamble, member of the Independent Socialist Group, reflects on winning a first contract at Coffee by Design (CBD), a small coffee chain in Portland, ME. She served on the bargaining committee for Union by Design, which now represents CBD baristas and retail staff. Union by Design is affiliated to the Laborers’ International Union ofContinue reading “Union Baristas Win First Contract at Coffee by Design”
Support A Strong Contract for the Boston Teachers Union!
The Independent Socialist Group (ISG) supports the 10,000+ members of the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) in their fight for a contract to improve staffing and pay. The union wants a $4/hr increase for paraprofessionals, who make under $30,000/year yet are required to live in Boston, where median rent is almost $4,000/month. Inflation has gone upContinue reading “Support A Strong Contract for the Boston Teachers Union!”
Why Labor Unions and the Working Class Need a Workers’ Party
by Peggy WangMassachusetts Teachers Association/Association of Professional Administrators (personal capacity)Boston, MA Workers have been making headlines by unionizing, striking, and making militant demands. But winning first contract agreements is taking longer, corporations like Amazon refuse to negotiate at all, and only one in ten US workers are in unions. Corporations use their vast amounts ofContinue reading “Why Labor Unions and the Working Class Need a Workers’ Party”
Why We Need Public Ownership of the Railroads
Originally published April 2023. Updated April 2024. by Nicholas Wurst & Claire BaylerSMART-TD Local 1473 (personal capacity) & Railroad Workers United (personal capacities)Worcester, MA Check out publicrailnow.org and railroadworkersunited.org/support-public-ownership for more info. In October of 2022, amid the highly contentious battle over the Class 1 freight railroad workers’ contract, Railroad Workers United (RWU) adopted aContinue reading “Why We Need Public Ownership of the Railroads”
May Day 2024: The Labor Movement Needs Socialism
This article was originally published in Issue 17 (April-May) of Socialism Today. Pick up a copy today! International Workers Day is a socialist holiday started by US unions during the struggle for the eight-hour workday in the late 1800s. It was adopted by the socialist Second International in 1904 as a day to “demonstrate energetically…forContinue reading “May Day 2024: The Labor Movement Needs Socialism”
Freighter Collision Collapses Francis Scott Key Bridge, Fight for Workers Safety and Job Security
By Jacob Bielski & Claire Bayler (former Baltimore dockhand)Springfield & Worcester, MA On Tuesday, March 26th, the Dali, a 985-foot-long cargo ship, collided with and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which spans the outer Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. Authorities shut down traffic after hearing the ship’s mayday calls, but eight maintenance workers on breakContinue reading “Freighter Collision Collapses Francis Scott Key Bridge, Fight for Workers Safety and Job Security”
Unionizing Portland, Maine’s Coffee By Design
An interview with Lauren G., a barista at Coffee by Design.by ISG Maine Branch What sparked interest in unionizing? We were facing a huge amount of turnover and understaffing. Some resulted from poor planning because a good chunk of employees were leaving to go to college, and, at the same time, long-time workers decided theyContinue reading “Unionizing Portland, Maine’s Coffee By Design”
A BREAKTHROUGH FOR THE LABOR MOVEMENT?
by Jeff BoothBoston, MAAFSCME Local 3650 (personal capacity) Four high-profile, important union struggles ended recently. Wages, benefits, and working conditions were improved for hundreds of thousands of workers from the contract campaign at UPS, the UAW strike against all the “Big 3” auto companies, the largest healthcare workers strike in US history led by SEIU-UHWContinue reading “A BREAKTHROUGH FOR THE LABOR MOVEMENT?”
Independent Socialist Group 