Learning From the 1990s Labor Party
As capital ratcheted up its assault on labor in the 1990s and Democrats embraced a neoliberal agenda, some labor unions launched their own political party.
29 Articles by: Jenny Brown
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Jenny Brown is an assistant editor at Labor Notes. She is author of Birth Strike: The Hidden Fight Over Women's Work. Her latest book is Without Apology: The Abortion Struggle Now.
Donald Trump Is Trying to Bust the Airport Screeners’ Union
Last week, in a particularly flagrant act of union busting, Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security canceled the union contract for the Transportation Security Administration’s 47,000 employees.
Boeing Machinists Have Ended Their Seven-Week Strike
On Wednesday, striking Boeing machinists went back to work after approving a new contract. Among other wins, the agreement increases wages by 38% over four years and contains a promise to build the next plane at union plants in the Puget Sound area.
Boeing Machinists Have Voted to Continue Their Strike
After 40 days on strike, on Wednesday 33,000 Boeing machinists voted to reject an improved contract offer from the company. Workers say they are holding out for the restoration of their pension plans and bans on mandatory overtime, among other demands.
Striking East Coast Dockworkers Just Won Big
The International Longshoremen’s Association secured a considerable pay raise after a three-day strike that brought port operations to a halt. But the fight against job-killing automation continues.
American Airlines Flight Attendants Just Won Boarding Pay
Flight attendants typically aren’t paid during boarding time. Earlier this month, after a three-year contract campaign and a credible strike threat, flight attendants at American Airlines became the first to win boarding pay.
Boeing Machinists Are on Strike
After overwhelmingly voting down a proposed contract, 32,000 machinists at Boeing in Washington and Oregon went on strike Friday as their contract expired. It’s the biggest strike in the US so far this year.
Boeing Workers Are on the Verge of Striking
The Boeing contract for over 32,000 workers in Washington and Oregon expires next month, and workers have voted to sanction a strike. Their complaints include low pay, frozen pensions, and mismanagement that has resulted in deadly disasters for the company.
Project 2025’s Anti-Union Game Plan
Much attention has been paid to the antidemocratic aspects of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a radical playbook for the first 180 days of a new Trump term. But few have focused on its plan to kneecap unions and attack workers’ rights.
The US Labor Movement Experienced a Breakthrough Year in 2023
In 2023, half a million workers, including machinists, teachers, baristas, nurses, hotel housekeepers, actors, screenwriters, and autoworkers, went on strike and won. Their historic gains underscore the momentum of a rising reform movement in US unions.
After an Impressive Campaign, Flight Attendants Might Strike for the First Time Since 1993
Union flight attendants at American Airlines recently delivered a strike authorization vote of 99%, with 93% turnout. The staggering total was the result of not only a membership itching to walk out but a campaign that engaged rank-and-file members.
Unions Can Organize High-Turnover Workplaces
Organizing workplaces like Amazon with enormous turnover is a steep challenge. But workers there and elsewhere are experimenting with different tactics to unionize despite the churn.
A Starbucks Worker Fired for Organizing Got His Job Back Thanks to NYC “Just Cause” Laws
A Queens Starbucks worker was one of many across the country fired in retaliation for union organizing. Thanks to NYC laws that require due process for firing fast-food workers, he was reinstated.
The US Labor Movement Notched Some Impressive Victories in 2022
The American labor movement remains weak. But from the sweeping Starbucks unionization drive to UAW reformers’ successful bid for union leadership, there were serious glimmers of hope in 2022 for a stronger, more assertive labor movement.
Why Capitalists Care About Our Record-Low Birth Rate
One reason the corporate elite has an interest in antiabortion policies is because they hope to lower the price of labor — the labor of bearing and rearing children.
What’s Behind the Antiabortion Crackdown?
Since the turn of the 19th century, crackdowns on women’s reproductive rights have come in cycles. The attack isn’t only about controlling women but about pushing up the birth rate to suit capital’s needs.
Abortion Bans Are Imminent
A leaked SCOTUS decision draft suggests the court is planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, permitting states to ban abortion. The response from Democrats should be obvious: skirt the Supreme Court and demand federal legislation codifying the right to abortion.
Take Abortion Out of the Court’s Hands
Abortion rights shouldn’t be at the mercy of the judiciary. We need federal legislation codifying Roe v. Wade — and Democrats need to buck up and eliminate the filibuster to pass it.
It’s Time for Abortion Rights Activists to Push a Federal Abortion Rights Law
The Supreme Court is useless. Now is the perfect time for feminists to campaign to end the filibuster and pass a federal law codifying abortion rights.
The Supreme Court Will Not Deliver Justice on Abortion Rights
The Supreme Court’s abortion rights decision yesterday provides a brief respite to women across the South. But we’re still playing defense in the courts. Our offensive should be in the streets.