Tallahassee, FL – Well over 1000 educators, school bus drivers, custodians, counselors and other public school workers, dressed in red, rallied at the Old Capitol Building in Tallahassee on January 13 to demand lawmakers invest in public schools during the 2020 state legislative session. The 60-day legislative session begins January 14 and lawmakers will have a sea of red from the previous day to take with them to deliberation.

Chicago, IL – Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) members voted November 15 to accept the tentative agreement they won in the wake of their historic eleven-day strike.

Sarah Chambers is a rank-and-file member of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and a member of their bargaining committee.

Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union members and SEIU Local 73 are in the seventh day of their joint striking. As of Friday, October 25, this strike under Mayor Lori Lightfoot is now equal in length to the strike under Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2012.

Demand fairness and respect

Minneapolis, MN – University of Minnesota AFSCME members confronted soon-to-be-inaugurated University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel at the September 13 Board of Regents meeting in the McNamara Alumni Center.

Minneapolis, MN – While the University of Minnesota top officials gathered for the opening of newly renovated Pioneer Hall, August 21, about 50 members of Teamsters Local 320 and other campus unions held an informational picket line to demand the year-round, full-time employment for workers in M Dining. The U of M has curtailed summer work opportunities for Teamsters and is trampling on seniority rights.

Milwaukee, WI – Fifty Veterans Affairs workers and supporters rallied outside the Zablocki VA hospital August 12 to protest union-busting, attacks on high-quality public veteran healthcare, and bad faith bargaining by the VA administration.

Kalamazoo, MI – The Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority abruptly canceled their meeting on July 8, leaving 40 bus drivers and union supporters wondering, “What is really happening?” The bus drivers, members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1093, decided to do what they do best, and took it to the streets, chanting, “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!”

Jacksonville, FL – About 35 people gathered on May 1 to celebrate International Workers’ Day in Jacksonville. The rally was held in front of the Duval County Courthouse. Members of several local trade unions were present, including Letter Carriers, Teamsters, SEIU, Teachers, and IATSE. Other local activist groups included the Community Action Committee, Students for a Democratic Society, Progressive Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Network, the Northside Coalition, and the local Democratic Black Caucus.