unions

By Sonali Kolhatkar ( Otherwords.org) – The United Auto Workers (UAW), a union of nearly 150,000 workers at America’s “Big Three” automakers, are on strike. On the face of it, UAW’s demands sound audacious. They’re calling for a 46 percent pay raise and a four-day workweek, among other things. But in the broader context of […]

Climate Crisis

Labor Day: Is Biden’s Green Energy IRA the most Pro-Worker Legislation in Decades?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden’s signature piece of legislation that was passed with no Republican support, contains $369 billion for the green energy transition. Since much of this funding leverages corporate and individual investments, its impact will be in the trillions of dollars. Given the dire climate crisis we […]

Inequality

On Labor Day: Low-Wage Employers say they Have no Money for Raises, but spent $341 Billion on Stock Buybacks

Inequality.org

By Sarah Anderson ( Inequality.org ) – In response to strikes and union organizing drives, corporate leaders routinely insist that they simply lack the wherewithal to raise employee pay. And yet top executives seem to have little trouble finding resources for enriching themselves and wealthy shareholders. In 2021 and 2022, S&P 500 corporations spent record […]

Climate Crisis

The Ugly Side of American Exceptionalism: Refusing to Play by the Rules

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com ) – In 1963, the summer I turned 11, my mother had a gig evaluating Peace Corps programs in Egypt and Ethiopia. My younger brother and I spent most of that summer in France. We were first in Paris with my mother before she left for North Africa, then with my father and […]

Employment

In DeSantis’ “Free” State of Florida, Union Freedom is under Attack

Inequality.org

by Rebekah Entralgo ( Inequality.org ) – In what Governor Ron DeSantis likes to call his “freedom state” of Florida, the freedom to belong to an effective union is under a ferocious attack. DeSantis, with the school year winding down, has just appeared at a Miami charter school to sign a new slate of bills […]

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders unveils push for $17-an-hour federal minimum wage, citing state increases

Florida Phoenix

By Ariana Figueroa ( Florida Phoenix ) WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday announced Democrats’ plans to mark up legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour, pointing to an increase in the cost of living. Outside the U.S. Capitol, Sanders, a Vermont independent and chairman of the Health, […]

Education

University of Michigan Won’t Pay Striking Grads, Rejects Proposals, as Tensions Rise and Professors delay Submission of Grades

Michigan Advance

By: Jon King – Updated, 10:42 a.m., 4/24/23 ( Michigan Advance) – Negotiations have hit an impasse between the University of Michigan and the union representing graduate student instructors, as tensions escalated last week into a confrontation requiring police intervention. The strike by the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO) AFT Local 3550 began March 29, […]

Education

Department of History, University of Michigan, Delays Grade Posting until May 12th in Support of Striking Grads

contributors

Monday, April 24, 2023 To the University President, Provost, and Administration: We are deeply troubled by reports that the administration intends to punish faculty, staff, and department chairs who refuse to assign grades for work that they have not personally assessed. We find these actions to be an infringement on faculty autonomy, and we reject […]

Democratic Party

Workers praise Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for signing Repeal of GOP Union-Busting ‘Right to Work’ Law

Michigan Advance

By: Laina G. Stebbins – ( Michigan Advance ) – Unions and other pro-labor groups on Friday celebrated the signing of a set of bills to reverse GOP former Gov. Rick Snyder-era laws that have curtailed union power and pushed down wages. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday afternoon signed House Bills […]