Fight Back! News

News and Views from the People's Struggle

Labor

By staff

Educators at Instituto del Progreso Latino in Chicago protest for better working

Chicago, IL – The bell rang, and teachers, staff and students slowly rolled out the school doors. Today they were all wearing union red at the two Instituto del Progeso Latino (IDPL) schools in Chicago. They grabbed signs and started to chant and picket, “Who’s schools? Our schools!”

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By staff

Poydras Street Starbucks storefront in downtown New Orleans.

New Orleans, LA – On April 14, employees at the Starbucks on Poydras Street filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. The store is located in a downtown hotel building, mainly serving tourists, professionals and workers in the area. Over 70% of staff support unionizing.

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By staff

Rally in support of Planned Parenthood workers.

Minneapolis, MN – Union members at Planned Parenthood rallied on Tuesday evening, April 11, along with community supporters. The central demands of the action were that Planned Parenthood immediately reinstate a member of the bargaining committee who they fired recently, and to stop engaging in union-busting activity.

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By Sam Keefe

Starbucks workers.

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday, March 22, seven Starbucks stores in Illinois joined around 115 others across the country on strike, demanding an end to the ruthless and illegal union busting campaign being waged by the company against its workers. Five stores in Chicago as well as one in Rockford and one in Carbondale joined their coworkers nationwide in their demand for Starbucks to sit down and bargain in good faith.

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By staff

UFCW members.

Minneapolis, MN – Around 3000 Workers at 33 Cub Foods grocery stores in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs who are represented by UFCW Local 663 were poised to begin a strike that had been set to start at 5:30 a.m. on April 7. Instead, after months of playing hardball, around 2 a.m. on the morning of the strike the boss caved and met many of the workers’ core demands.

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By Joseph Nohava

St. Petersburg, FL – The Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association and Pinellas Educational Support Professionals Association rallied dozens of their members, members of the community, and other supportive groups on Saturday, April 1, in response to a slew of right-wing attacks on public education in the state.

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By Simon Rowe

Florida teachers are defending their rights and public education.

Bartow, FL – About 40 teachers and supporters protested in downtown Bartow on Saturday, April 1 demanding funding for public schools and protection of collective bargaining rights. The Polk Education Association hosted a picnic at their union hall followed by a march to State Senator Ben Albritton’s office. The PEA protest as part of a statewide day of action against Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislature’s attacks on teachers’ unions.

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By Simon Rowe

Chrisley Carpio.

Tampa, FL – Almost 200 trade unionists and supporters signed an open letter to the University of South Florida demanding AFSCME member Chrisley Carpio keep her job. Carpio is one of the protesters the USF Police Department brutalized at a Students for a Democratic Society protest for diversity on March 6. She is one of four protesters arrested and facing felony charges for battery on a law enforcement officer. Carpio was placed on administrative leave on March 7.

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By staff

Strikers rally in LA.

Los Angeles, CA – With chants of, “We are the union, the mighty, mighty union – fighting for justice, respect and fair wages,” 30,000 SEIU and UTLA teachers and service workers in Los Angeles went on strike from March 21 to March 23. Los Angeles Unified School District and SEIU’s contract expired in 2020, and, after three years of negotiations hitting dead ends, they decided to strike, and they are determined to win better wages, healthcare and staffing.

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By Fight Back

Georgia Teamsters sign Unity Pledge.

Atlanta, GA – Members, stewards and executive board members from Teamsters Local 728 have been collecting contract unity pledges at UPS barns across the state of Georgia. The statewide effort has been a part of the national campaign started by the International in February. The contract unity pledges are being used as a bargaining tool by the Teamsters in the lead-up to contract negotiations with UPS and as a way to talk to members about a potential strike at UPS later this year.

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