Labor Movement Archives

Striking Chicago public school teachers and their supporters march through the Loop

Chicago Teachers Are Carrying the Torch of Decades of Militant Worker Struggles: By building community support and staging disruption, the teachers can expand the boundaries of what’s politically possible and force the city to bend to its social justice demands

October 29, 2019
Posted in Labor Movement, Organizing, Strikes, Unions

“I solemnly swear that I will never stop fighting for my students.” This hand-made picket sign, one of hundreds at an October 25 Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and SEIU 73 rally, sums up what makes the teachers’ strike so important. Read More

It’s Time to Retire the Term “Middle Class”: Citations Needed Podcast

October 23, 2019
Posted in Interviews, Labor Movement, Organizing

The excellent podcast, Citations Needed, hosted Jane for part of their new show on the word “middleclass.” They had an excellent discussion about how the word obscures people’s understanding of class in America and is also used as a wedge issue to divide and conquer workers by skill when employers set out to break unions. Read More

General Motors employees chant in unison "No contract! No work!" as they circle at one of the Flint Assembly Plant entrance, blocking through traffic during the fourth day of the national UAW strike against GM in Flint. Picketing auto workers have surrounded the massive General Motors complex for nearly a week of Friday, Sept. 20, in Flint, the automaker’s birthplace. The city and many workers have been here before: A 54-day strike at a Flint plant in 1998 forced a companywide shutdown

Why the Labor Strike Is Back: “Workers learn to strike when they watch other workers strike and win.”

October 7, 2019
Posted in Interviews, Labor Movement, Mother Jones, Organizing, Strikes

Mother Jones magazine sat down with Jane for an extensive interview about the serious uptick in labor strikes, and, unions more generally. Read More

Too Hot For School: Withdraw Labor and Walk Off the Job

September 21, 2019
Posted in Interviews, Labor Movement, Organizing

On the Media looks at attacks from conservatives and why congress underestimates support for climate action. Plus, how a wave of labor strikes might be a crucial component in building momentum towards Green New Deal adoption. Jane McAlevey discusses why striking is essential to effect meaningful social change. Read More

Raising Expectations (And Lowering Carbon Emissions): Winning a Green New Deal Requires Unions

September 20, 2019
Posted in Interviews, Labor Movement, Organizing

At the first Designing A Green New Deal conference, labor and environmental organizer Jane McAlevey explains what strikes, war, and globalization have to do with climate justice. Read More