“Though the final contracts are significant improvements compared to past concessionary contracts, there are still important unresolved demands and issues. Wage increases aren’t enough to make up for pay losses due to inflation and give-backs during the Great Recession. Pensions, retiree healthcare, and other benefits and protections are not restored for all workers. All EV production jobs still don’t automatically fall under the national agreements. And the contracts accept the closure of many facilities and subsequent job losses. The UAW could have fought for more, especially considering only a third of their Big 3 members were called out on strike. General support for unions is the strongest it’s been in 60 years, and there was overwhelming public support (by a 4-1 margin) for the strike.”
Category Archives: Labor Struggles & Solidarity
UAW Workers Can Win More!
Picket line at the Stellantis Mopar site in Mansfield, MA where 46 UAW members were on strike for 6 weeks in September and October. The site is at risk of closure, with the company planning to consolidate it with a facility in Fishkill, NY, where workers would be offered positions or have to forfeit theirContinue reading “UAW Workers Can Win More!”
UMass Amherst Grad Workers Struggle for a Fair Contract
by B.W. SculosRio Grande Valley United Faculty, TFA/TSTA, NEA member (Personal capacity)Edinburg, TX Union activity and popularity are on the rise across the United States. A major aspect of these increases is rooted in the tireless efforts of graduate student workers. Graduate students have organized new unions where they didn’t exist, particularly at private universities,Continue reading “UMass Amherst Grad Workers Struggle for a Fair Contract”
Nationalize Yellow Trucking!
Corporate mismanagement destroys 30,000 jobs By Ronan FoleyBoston, MA Following years of financial crisis—and despite a $729 million taxpayer bailout from President Trump in 2020—Yellow Trucking has shut down and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The nearly 30,000 employees of Yellow, including 22,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), have all been laidContinue reading “Nationalize Yellow Trucking! “
ISG In Solidarity with Striking United Auto Workers
On Friday, September 15th, members of the Independent Socialist Group (ISG) joined with United Auto Workers (UAW) and other supporters at a practice picket in Mansfield, MA. Following the expiration of their contracts Thursday night, 13,000 UAW members at assembly plants in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio who work at the “Big 3” auto companies (GeneralContinue reading “ISG In Solidarity with Striking United Auto Workers”
ISG stands with WGA and SAG-AFTRA!
Photo: ISG with Movement of Rank & File Educators (MORE) contingent at picket. MORE is an activist group within the United Federation of Teachers (NYC) ISG stands with the 11,500 workers in Writers Guild of America (WGA) and 160,000 workers in the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Arts (SAG-AFTRA) who have beenContinue reading “ISG stands with WGA and SAG-AFTRA!”
Autoworkers Prepare to Battle Car Companies for Good Contracts and Green Union Jobs
Photo: Kansas City UAW members on strike at GM in 2019 by Nicholas WurstSMART-TD Local 1473 and Railroad Workers United (both personal capacity)Worcester, MA The United Auto Workers (UAW) have entered into negotiations with the “Big 3” car manufacturers: Ford, General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevy, and GMC), and Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram). 150,000Continue reading “Autoworkers Prepare to Battle Car Companies for Good Contracts and Green Union Jobs”
“ISG in Action” in Educator Unions
by ISG members in the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) MTA educators, members of the largest union in New England representing 115,000 members in 400 locals, are fighting back through a wave of contract battles and illegal strikes against underfunding, inadequate staffing levels, and wages that trail behind record-high levels of inflation and student debt. ISGContinue reading ““ISG in Action” in Educator Unions”
ISG in Action: Railroad Workers United
by Nicholas Wurst & Claire BaylerWorcester, MASMART-TD Local 1473 (personal capacity) & Railroad Workers United (personal capacity) This article was originally published in Edition 13 (July 2023) of Socialism Today, the paper of the Independent Socialist Group. Subscribe to the paper to receive each issue in print and read the articles before they’re published online!Continue reading “ISG in Action: Railroad Workers United”
UPS Teamsters: Vote No on the Tentative Agreement!
On Tuesday July 25th, the Teamsters union leadership announced a tentative agreement (TA) with UPS, calling off the potential strike of 350,000 workers that was set to begin on August 1st. Workers have until August 22nd to vote for or against the TA. Independent Socialist Group (ISG) members, including Teamster members at UPS, have launchedContinue reading “UPS Teamsters: Vote No on the Tentative Agreement!”
