Fort Morgan, CO — On Monday, August 3, nearly 1500 Cargill workers in Fort Morgan voted on a proposed contract negotiated by Cargill Meat Solutions and Teamsters Local 455. The vote comes after the employer locked out the union workers for nearly three months. When the ballots were counted, the workers had voted to reject the proposed agreement by a margin of 25 votes, 749 to 724.

In anticipation of a strike, Cargill stopped processing beef on April 23 and later locked out the Teamsters Local 455 members on May 20. Before the lockout, the plant had already gone nearly a month without processing cattle, as Cargill directed cattle to other facilities. The Fort Morgan plant processed roughly 4000 cattle per day last year. Cargill reported $154 billion in revenue in 2025 and was ranked by Forbes as the largest privately-held company in the United States.

In contract negotiations, the workers had proposed $5 hourly wage increases over the course of a five-year contract. “If they truly respected us and cared about the work we do they wouldn't have a problem giving us a dollar a year raise. Without us they have nothing,” said Korin Turner, a Cargill meatpacker. The tentative agreement reached between Teamsters Local 455 on July 28 offered $2.15 total in wage increases, which was the same amount that Cargill had offered back in in May.

Guaranteed hours became a central point of opposition to the tentative agreement. Workers said the proposed agreement would increase the number of weeks in which they could be guaranteed only 32 hours of pay from ten weeks under the previous contract to 20 weeks. “For us to drive to work five days a week and only get 32 hours, that's barely enough to live. We have kids. We need to support our families,” said Sarah Webber, a Cargill fabrication worker. “Twenty weeks out of the year only 32 hours is a big slap in the face. Our previous contract only had ten weeks a year. They doubled it in this contract.” Some workers reported working even fewer hours.

“We weren't even getting the 32 hours, only 26 or 28 hours,” said Lucilia Fuentes, a Teamsters-represented trainer on the killing floor.

Safety was another concern raised by many Cargill workers during the lockout. Several picketing Cargill employees reported suffering serious injuries involving meat-processing equipment, and multiple workers at the picket had missing fingers or visible scars on their hands.

Don Wireman, a Cargill worker who sorts the meat after it's been packaged, said, “There's boxes stacked so high they fall over on people and they can't move until the person next to them is unburying them, digging them out.”

“We have three coworkers that are missing half their fingers,” said Makayla Wilson, a Teamsters-represented control room operator at Cargill.

During the lockout, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) paid workers $1000 per week, with an additional $250 per week coming from Teamsters Local 455. The union payments were substantially higher than the weekly earnings many workers reported receiving before the lockout. “We're getting $1250 a week right now,” said Fuentes, when interviewed one month into the lockout. “Before we were making four to five hundred a week.”

On July 20, Teamsters Local 455 stopped its $250 weekly payments and encouraged workers to apply for unemployment. “I'm getting $1250,” said Wireman. He explained that $1000 was coming from the IBT and $250 from Teamsters Local 455. “But starting the 20th, so, next week, we're only getting $1000 because they're not paying the $250.”

On August 4, one day after workers rejected the proposed contract, the IBT announced that the $1000-per-week payments would be reduced to five times each member's monthly union dues. Based on monthly dues ranging from $58.75 to $72.50, that would reduce weekly payments to approximately $294 to $363.

After workers voted down the agreement negotiated between Cargill and Teamsters Local 455 on August 3, a group of workers started a petition demanding a re-vote.

“We had a large group of members that felt like there was some misunderstanding through the language barriers,” said Chris Suazo, a Teamsters business agent representing the 1700 locked-out Cargill workers, among whom 27 different languages are spoken. “They took it upon themselves to start a petition,” said Suazo.”

“Over a thousand signed the petition,” said Servando Payan, another Teamsters business agent.

Suazo said Teamsters officials are taking a different approach to the second vote. “[We're] being very clear what a no vote would entail and what a yes vote would entail. We're now doing the ballots in their languages – Haitian Creole, Arabic, Spanish, French, Somali, Tigrinya.”

Teamsters officials defended the proposed agreement, saying they believed they had secured the best possible contract. “I believe our group has done the beef industry a great service,” said Suazo. “We've done everything possible to support them and put the workers first.” Payan said, “We feel comfortable saying we walked away from the table without any additional money on the table.”

Teamsters’ officials have scheduled a second vote for August 17, where workers will once again decide whether to accept the proposed contract while the nearly three-month lockout continues.

Editor’s note: The agreement was approved on August 17.

#FortMorganCO #CO #Labor #Teamsters #Cargill #Strike #TeamstersLocal455

Seattle, WA – On Saturday, August 15, dozens gathered outside Embassy Suites Hotel to picket in support of hotel workers with UNITE HERE Local 8. The workers have been negotiating their contract for six months and have been on strike for 59 days.

The strike began on June 12 after Embassy Suites repeatedly failed to meet workers' demands, which included year-round healthcare, higher wage increases and protection from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The organizers of the picket said that negotiations with the company have been difficult and unproductive.

“Unfortunately, the hotel did not engage in good faith negotiations with the staff,” said Gabe Rubliovschi, a hotel worker at Embassy Suites and organizer with Unite Here Local 8, “12 days into the strike, they came to the table with the exact same offer of a 40-cent increase over the next six months.”

Many UNITE HERE hotel workers across the country went on strike in 2024 and won between $9 and $10 raises over a contract period of four years. The Embassy Suites workers’ wage demands are in line with other unionized hotels in the area.

Hayden Eyerly, a front desk agent with Embassy Suites, confirmed the story, saying that the company, “called us back to the negotiation table on day 12, and we were expecting a new offer of some sort. But they were assuming we’d have a new offer ready, when our response to their previous offer was to go on strike! So, it was a big waste of time, but it made it a whole lot easier to come back out here and yell at them.”

“As someone who started working here before the pandemic, we’ve seen staffing levels cut in half from what they used to be,” said Jus Adsuara, a Local 8 Vice President and hotel worker. “I’m doing twice as much work compared to before the pandemic, but my wage definitely hasn’t doubled.”

Staffing at hotels nationwide has not returned to its pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, Seattle’s hospitality industry is reeling from decreases in Canadian travelers, some of which have been attributed to Trump’s oppressive immigration policies.

Adsuara further explained, “We are really concerned about the presence of ICE in our city, and we want the right to be notified and the right to stay home if ICE is near the building.”

One-third of hotel workers nationally are immigrants; about 3 million immigrants work in hospitality. Hotel workers in Minneapolis have won protections from ICE, which Embassy Suites workers look to as an example.

As cries of “If we don’t get no contract, you won’t get no sleep” echoed throughout the picket, Jus had one more message for management: “We’ll be out here as long as it takes. We’ve said that from the very beginning, and we really mean it.”

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #Strike #UniteHereLocal8 #HotelWorkers

Rockville, MD – On August 14, Teamsters Local 639 at Verbal Beginnings, an education center for autistic children, held a rally as they entered their fourth week on strike. The workers at Verbal Beginnings organized just a little over a year ago and have garnered attention from the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) community due to being one of the first workplaces in their field to unionize.

The striking workers held signs reading, “Fair pay in ABA!” and chanted “What do we want? Contract!” Members of Montgomery County Educators Association, city council members, and several community members and activists joined them on the picket line in solidarity.

“To see just how much the community supports the struggle of the workers, it’s really incredible,” said Jane Bruno, one of the workers from Verbal Beginnings and a member of Teamsters Local 639. “And I think a lot of people feel this way, but they're afraid to speak out. They're afraid to try to rock the boat. But I think we’re showing them that, ‘hey, you can come together. You can. You can fight for these things because you do deserve better.’ It’s really powerful.”

The fight for a decent contract at Verbal Beginnings has been going on for over a year, with key issues centering around pay to keep up with Maryland’s high cost of living, proper PPE for the workers, and safeguards to address basic needs such as fixing holes in the walls of the workplace. “I shouldn’t have to work three jobs just to make a living,” said another worker with Verbal Beginnings, “we deserve to be able to make a living in this field.”

Though the workers have sent several proposals to management, the bosses have refused to move on most of the workers’ demands, including those around wages.

“We're definitely still pretty far off,” said Bruno, “We're still not there as far as what they're offering, and what we would be able to accept, that actually allows us to come back to work and for us to be able to make a living wage and pay all of our bills.”

Many workers have expressed repeatedly that at the heart of the strike is the desire to return to and to be able to take care of the children, while shining a light on the hypocrisy of the leadership that claims the same.

“VB, you say you care about these kids and us, that that’s your mission,” said Bruno, “Well, actions speak louder than words! Ball’s in your court now, go out and prove it.”

#RockvilleMD #MD #Labor #Strike #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal639

Rockville, MD – In the early morning of July 20, Teamsters Local 639 at Verbal Beginnings, an education center for autistic children, went on strike in order to get a decent contract.

Formed a little over a year ago, the union has come head-to-head with the bosses as Verbal Beginnings has failed to meet their demands and provide fair pay for their workers.

The strike has garnered attention from the Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy community, as Verbal Beginnings is one of the first workplaces in the field to both unionize and go on strike.

The union won the strike vote in May 2025 and has been in negotiations with Verbal Beginnings since September 2025. While steady progress has been made on some issues, the company has been unwilling to reach an agreement on raising the wage rate.

The current wage rate does not keep up with the cost of living in the area, which is among the highest in the state. Since the center opened four years ago, the company has not adjusted wages for cost of living increases.

The registered behavioral technicians are the backbone of Verbal Beginnings and what keeps it running.

“So much of what we’re doing is for the children,” said Jane Bruno, one of the striking workers at Verbal Beginnings. “What’s good for us is good for the kids. If they really do care about the kids as much as they say they do, we’re offering a way to help those children. Help those children by helping us.”

The striking workers marched right up to the doors of the community center, shouting slogans of “Who are we? Teamsters!” and holding signs saying, “No ABA without fair pay!” and “Stop the war on workers!” As of the time of this writing, the workers are still on strike and will continue to demand competitive wages from Verbal Beginnings.

#RockvilleMD #MD #Labor #Teamsters #Education #Teachers #Strike

Crockett, CA – On Monday, July 13, members and allies of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6 turned out in force for a picket at the C&H Sugar Factory in Crockett. This is the fifth week of an all-hands strike in protest of bad-faith bargaining offered by C&H.

Chants of “Union power!” and “Contract now!” rang out across the factory gates as workers marched en masse to the entrance, undeterred by vans full of scabs and private security. In addition, picketers demanded justice for the “Negros Nineteen,” who were massacred on April 19 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Among those killed were labor organizers Lyle Prijoles and Kai Sorem, from the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington state, respectively.

ILWU Local 6 is fighting aggressive cuts to sick leave, retiree healthcare and seniority benefits proposed by C&H, as well as refusing to unload a cargo ship of “blood sugar” brought from the Philippines. Throughout its history since its foundation in 1934, Local 6 has engaged in multiple rounds of militant struggle including five strikes, and 2026 is no exception.

Coordinated actions by workers and allies have repeatedly prevented the delivery of sugar at two separate ports in Richmond and Crockett. Picketers have operated on land and sea to actively deny factory access to scab workers and prevent the ship from docking, including a “floating picket” conducted when bosses tried to sneak the ship to another port using tugboats in the dead of night. In more than a month, just 25% of the sugar has been unloaded at a non-union port in Richmond, where it sits in open storage exposed to motor oil, animal feces and other contaminants.

“The labor movement is the last best chance for most Americans,” said Harvey Schwartz, labor historian and 57-year veteran reporter for the ILWU Dispatcher. “I'm optimistic about union leadership, and we have a lot of very strong young workers.” Chanting intensified as black vans drove past the picket line, bringing scabs hired by C&H bosses to desperately maintain production. Meanwhile, workers organized a screen with their backs and signs to prevent scab security from filming the faces of picketers.

Addressing the crowd, ILWU International Vice President Brandon Wolff said, “This is what it means to be part of a real union, a real family, and a real community. What's important to me is these 75 and 80-year-old people at home right now, wondering if they're gonna be able to get their diabetic medicine, wondering if they're gonna be able to get their flu shots, because this fucking company canceled their health benefits!”

“Brothers and sisters of Local 6, we got you!” Wolff continued. “From the top to the bottom to everywhere in between, from Alaska, to San Diego, to Hawaii and Australia, we've got a lot of international support coming in, we got you! So Local 6 and their counsel, go give 'em hell!” The crowd roared out in response and formed ranks to march on the bosses.

Over 200 people representing a multitude of different working-class organizations stood together in solidarity, including allied labor unions, political parties, and other groups. They included other ILWU Locals 142 (Hawaii) and 29 (San Diego), United Educators of San Francisco (UESF), Gabriela, Bayan, Kapit-Bisig Unyonista LA, Bay Area Tenant and Neighborhood Councils (TANC), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), International League of People's Struggles (ILPS), East Bay Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), and many more.

ILWU Local 6's strike continues into its fifth week, with workers committed to doing whatever it takes to secure a decent contract.

#CrockettCA #CA #Labor #ILWU #Strike #ThePhillippines #ILPS #Bayan #Gabriela #Featured

Indianapolis, IN – Drivers for uniform and workplace-supply company Vestis walked off the job at 2 a.m. Monday, July 13, launching an unfair labor practice strike organized by Teamsters Local 135.

The union says the strike is about accountability. Local 135 alleges Vestis threatened workers for engaging in protected concerted activity, a right guaranteed under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

Vestis, based in Roswell, Georgia, provides uniform rental, workwear, floor mats, linens and related workplace supplies to businesses across North America. The company was spun off from Aramark in 2023, separating Aramark's uniform services division into its own publicly-traded company. Vestis drivers deliver and service uniforms and supplies for businesses like UPS.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Local 135 said the union remains “ready, willing, and available” to meet with the company to bargain in good faith and called for Vestis to respect workers' rights and negotiate fairly to end the dispute.

The union is asking Teamsters members, families and labor supporters in the Indianapolis area to join the picket line, which will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 2050 Oliver Avenue.

#IndianapolisIN #IN #Labor #Teamsters #Strike #Vestis #IBT135 #NLRA #Featured

Lawrenceburg, IN – Workers at Batesville Products Inc. (BPI) have been on strike since May 11 after voting unanimously to withhold their labor and demand recognition of their union, Teamsters Local 135.

The strike began after a supermajority of workers signed authorization cards seeking Teamsters representation and demanded voluntary recognition from the company. BPI management refused to recognize the union, prompting the filing of a representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Rather than allowing workers to move quickly toward an election, the company challenged which employees should be included in the proposed bargaining unit through the NLRB's pre-election hearing process. Workers and Teamster representatives contend the objections are a bogus attempt to delay the election and buy time for union-busting inside the facility.

The union's bargaining unit includes machinists, polishers and shipping and receiving employees working at the company's facility in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Management wants to include workers from another separate location in Aurora, in hopes of diluting the vote with unorganized workers who were not a part of the union campaign.

The strike comes as the NLRB faces significant staffing shortages and case backlogs nationwide. Delays in the union certification process give employers major advantages in their campaigns to break organizing drives before workers have the chance to vote.

BPI workers formed their union over unsafe and unfair workplace conditions, excessive overtime, low wages, high health insurance costs, and declining benefits. Employees say many workers have been required to work mandatory 60-hour weeks for extended periods.

Facing delays from the bureaucratic pre-election hearing process, Teamsters Local 135 held a strike authorization vote and the workers unanimously approved a recognition strike. Picketing began outside the facility on May 11 and has continued for more than a month.

“This is about workers standing together and demanding a voice in their workplace,” said Teamsters Local 135 President Dustin Roach on the day of the strike's commencement. “These workers built their majority themselves, they organized themselves, and now they are prepared to stand together on the picket line for as long as it takes to win the dignity, respect, and representation they deserve.”

The strike remains ongoing as workers continue to seek recognition of their union and the opportunity to negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement.

This is the second strike for recognition called by Teamsters Local 135 in the past year, with the first taking place at the Horseshoe Indianapolis casino in Shelbyville. The early U.S. labor movement made use of the strike for recognition in the period of time before the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935 and for years after. In the modern era, the tactic was virtually extinct as unions came to rely more heavily on the NLRB for union certification.

As the NLRB becomes more dysfunctional and openly operates on behalf of employers, militants in the labor movement are beginning to rediscover this tactic – and in Teamsters Local 135, they are making use of it to counter employers' unchecked union-busting campaigns.

#LawrenceburgIN #IN #Labor #Teamsters #BatesvilleProducts #Strike

“Our 99.8% vote shows Horizon and Alaska management that we will do whatever it takes to get the contract we have earned,” said Lisa Davis Warren, president of the Horizon chapter of AFA-CWA representing 650 Horizon Air flight attendants. “We have dedicated our lives to Horizon and the communities that we serve. We are simply asking for the pay, benefits, and improvements we have earned. But Horizon management seems uninterested in resolving this dispute or showing the slightest concern for frontline workers who can’t afford rent or other basic life necessities.”

Horizon flight attendants filed for federal mediation in January 2025. They have common industry demands: living wage pay increases, increased pay for time at work including while boarding the plane, better benefits, and work rule improvements.

“Flight attendants at Horizon and other regional airlines across the industry fly the same routes and provide the same service as mainline flight attendants. It’s time they are recognized for their critical contributions to Alaska-Hawaiian,” said Sara Nelson, international president of AFA-CWA representing 55,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. “There is no reason these negotiations should take a minute longer. Flight attendants deserve a living wage contract now.”

AFA has a trademarked strike strategy known as CHAOS™ or Create Havoc Around Our System™. With CHAOS, a strike could affect the entire system or a single flight. The union decides when, where and how to strike, without notice to management or passengers. The right to strike is triggered when the National Mediation Board declares that negotiations are deadlocked and releases both parties into a 30-day “cooling off” period leading to a strike deadline.

Horizon Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group operating daily flights to nearly 50 destinations.

#WashingtonDC #Labor #FlightAttendants #Strike

Nearly 100 roadblocks around the country have the neoliberal agenda of domestic and foreign elites in the grip of the masses of organized Bolivians. From indigenous campesino organizations and trade unions, to mining cooperatives and neighborhood councils, working-class Bolivians have paralyzed the efforts of President Rodrigo Paz to make Bolivia a buffet for corporate interests.

City streets once filled with vehicles and small businesses have turned into massive popular assemblies organized by neighborhood councils. The singular unified demand of the masses: President Rodrigo Paz resign immediately!

The largest trade union federation, Central Obrera Boliviana, has worked in coordination with the social movements over the past several months since Paz’s election in November. The unions and movements immediately announced their rejection of tax cuts for the rich, denounced the end to food and fuel subsidies, and said no to steps to privatize the nationalized resources of Bolivia. They also released demands on May 31 to stop the repression against union leaders and protesters, release those held in detention, to recognize the official union leadership as negotiators, and for the immediate resignation of President Paz.

Wilma Colque, president of a large campesino organization, the Six Federations of the Tropico in Cochabamba, shared her perspective to a gathering of international trade unionists on June 5. The meeting, hosted by the Venezuela trade union federation, Central Bolivariana Socialista Trabajadora/o (CBST), regularly sees union leaders from nearly 30 countries.

Colque lauded “all departments [in the country] on their feet marching in struggle against the privatization of our resources. The people stood up against the stealing of our lithium, our resources. We see what is going on all across Latin America – Argentina, Chile, Perú, these neoliberal dictatorships, making the people poor and the transnationals rich. But in Bolivia, we are anti-imperialist, anti-colonialists, anti-capitalists, we don't want them to be our owners.”

The protests have been met with tear gas and arrests and clear involvement of the U.S.

Former President Evo Morales stated that he received intel from a source within security forces that there was a plan to kidnap or kill him now that the U.S. military is present. The people responded by surrounding his house, and it is reported that workers took over a nearby airport in an effort to prevent a repeat of the U.S. kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Colque added, “We know why the U.S. is here: to massacre the people who are resisting every day. Espionage, infiltrating our spaces, antennas listening to us, intercepting our cellular communications, they are trying to divide us, trying to stop us. They spread lies, disinformation, and make accusations. Tactics we’ve seen before here and elsewhere.”

Colque continued: “It’s clear what has happened. The U.S. lost hegemony around the world and they’re trying to claim trenches in Latin America. They’re going after countries with resources and some advanced technology. But it doesn’t matter if they shoot us, if they kill us, our youth will keep going. Many of us are mothers, we give our life to children, we are the light of the country. To defend our children, we will be disobedient! We have no fear, we are millions, we are free people!”

The willingness of the people to persist amid shortages speaks to the resolve and commitment to the cause. The turmoil has also resulted in the resignation of Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas and Education Minister Beatriz García. Reports speculate that the ministers disagreed with signing a state of emergency that would allow all police and military to use all force to arrest and detain and break up the mobilizations.

#Bolivia #International #Labor #GeneralStrike #Strike #Featured

Porto, Portugal – Workers throughout the country set up picket lines and marched in the streets instead of going to work on June 3, bringing key sectors of the economy to a standstill. Public transit, education, health care and many sectors of production were impacted by a general strike.

The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), a militant class-struggle union which is part of the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), called Portugal’s second general strike in six months as they battle to defeat an anti-worker and anti-union “Labor Package” being pushed by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and the right-wing parties in the Assembly of the Republic.

After picketing at work sites around the Porto area, thousands of workers gathered at 3 p.m. at Praça da Batalha for a mass march to the center of Porto. This was one of around 30 such marches in cities throughout the country. Workers carried banners representing dozens of sectors and workplaces that were on strike and carried signs denouncing the labor package as representing the interests of bosses, not workers. The most popular chant was “O ataque é brutal — a greve é general” (in English: “the attack is brutal — the strike is general”), making clear that their response to this serious attack on workers’ rights is the whole working class uniting and taking action together.

Speakers from different unions announced what percentage of workers in their workplaces participated in the strike, providing actual numbers to counter Prime Minister Montenegro’s statement to the media that not many workers participated. Union leaders announced that in key sectors the numbers were between 75 and 100%. While public sector unions generally seemed to have higher participation, there were private sector companies that also had significant participation. For example, union members from the most prominent beer company in Portugal, Super Bock, announced that their production was entirely shut down for the day. CGTP posted pictures on social media throughout the day of picket lines at many companies and facilities around the country.

CGTP General Secretary Tiago Oliveira told SIC Noticias, “Workers today are deeply knowledgeable about the content of the labor package. What the CGTP seeks most at this moment is to give voice to the workers. It is with the strength of these people that we are absolutely certain that we will defeat this labor package.”

The CGTP announced they will continue to fight to not only stop this labor package, but to push forward their demands that correspond to the urgent needs of working families: increasing the minimum wage, workers’ rights, and public services.

#PortoPortugal #International #Portugal #Labor #Strike #CGTP

Porto, Portugal – Business elites and conservative political leaders are powerless to stop the massive working class wave about to hit them as momentum builds toward a nationwide general strike June 3.

Portugal’s largest union federation, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), called a general strike to demand that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and the conservative parties in the Assembly of the Republic abandon the “Labor Package” they are trying to pass that aims to harm the rights and living standards of workers and weaken their unions. This will be the second general strike against the Labor Package; the first took place on December 11, 2025.

Each day brings news of more unions planning to join the general strike as workers in different sectors and workplaces meet and vote to participate. Billboards, posters and graffiti are widely visible on the streets promoting the general strike.

Public transit will largely screech to a halt as unions representing transportation workers have announced they’ll participate in the strike. These include the Federation of Transport and Communications Unions (FECTRANS), the National Union of Railroad Workers (SNTSF), the National Union of Train Drivers (SMAQ), among others.

A spokesperson for the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC) told the media that as many as 500 airline flights could be cancelled by the strike, with possible spillover the day before and after, as cabin crew and airport ground workers participate in the strike.

The National Union of Workers in Local and Regional Administration, Public Companies, Concessionaires and Related Entities (STAL), representing local municipal workers, will participate in the general strike, which will impact services like trash collection, libraries and services at municipal government offices.

The National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) and the Portuguese Nurses Union (SEP) have committed to strike nationally, which could bring most non-emergency medical care to a halt. The National Federation of Teachers (FENPROF) is participating in the general strike, so schools are likely to be closed.

Call centers are a huge sector of the economy in Portugal, largely employing young people. The National Union of Telecommunications and Audiovisual Workers (SINTAAV) in that sector is participating in the strike.

Some unions have gone beyond the one-day strike and announced they will be striking for part or all of the week. This includes the Union of Migration Technicians (STM), who will strike all week from June 1-5 to protest understaffing and outsourcing that has placed immense pressures on workers at Portugal’s immigration agency.

Among the many other unions participating in the June 3 general strike are the Commercial, Office and Service Workers' Union of Portugal (CESP), Union of Health, Solidarity and Social Security Workers (STSSSS), Union of Manufacturing Industries, Energy and Environmental Activities (SITE), Union of Workers in the Hotel, Tourism, Restaurant and Similar Industries of the North (Hotelaria Norte), National Union of Professionals in the Clothing and Textile Industry and Trade (SINPICVAT), Union of Performing Arts, Audiovisual and Musician Workers in Portugal (CENA-STE). This is just a sampling of the much longer list.

In addition to unions, many social movement organizations are also mobilizing for the general strike, including organizations such as Vida Justa, Plataforma Ja Marchavas, Revolutionary Antifascist Action Group (GARA), and more.

On June 3, workers won’t just be staying home from work. The CGTP is organizing around 30 mass mobilizations and marches in cities across Portugal.

Portugal’s constitution is among the most progressive in capitalist countries with regard to the right of workers to unionize and strike to improve their conditions. This labor reform package aims to chop away at those constitutional guarantees.

A flyer from CGTP explaining the reasons for the general strike says, “the labor package serves only the interest of capital; it means more exploitation, the concentration of wealth, greater injustice, the erosion of wage, unfair dismissals, the deregulation of working hours, the dismantling of collective bargaining, and restrictions on the right to strike and freedom of association. The PSD/CDS government, supported by Chega and IL, wants to retain everything that is wrong with labor legislation – which is already unfavorable to workers – and make it much worse.”

Instead of this anti-worker labor package, the CGTP proposes to increase workers’ salaries, workers’ rights, and public services.

#PortoPortugal #Portugal #International #Labor #Strike

The demands are for the creation of a judicial body that would have the power to resolve land disputes, advance agrarian reform, and for the Colombian Congress not to sabotage debate on the matter.

There have been recent one-day national strikes by organized sectors in Colombia recently in April, and by educators in July 2025. Historic national strikes in 2020 and 2021 lasting days and weeks faced violent repression from the right-wing Ivan Duque government, military and police forces.

The massive mobilizations made it clear that the Colombian masses had enough of the oligarchy and held firm for change. These actions transformed the conditions in the country and made possible the election of Gustavo Petro and Gladys Marquez in 2022. Petro has been one of the leading outspoken elected officials in the world standing in resolute solidarity with Palestine. His recent statement about Bolivia’s mass movements’ strike being a “popular insurrection” against President Paz has caused the expulsion of the Colombian ambassador.

As Colombian presidential terms are limited to one four-year term, Petro’s time is up and the first round of elections will occur on May 31. Currently, there are three main candidates, with the leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda having support from much of the social movements. One of the armed guerrilla groups, the Ejército Liberación Nacional (ELN) vows to uphold a three-day ceasefire during the election window to allow as many voters to participate. The ELN has carried a number of attacks on military and police stations recently.

In addition to supporting the “total peace” of the 2016 Peace Accords with the FARC, Cepeda has stood out in his support for the freedom of political prisoner Simón Trinidad. Trinidad is a former leader of the FARC and currently in his 22nd year being held in the U.S. supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. Organizers with the Committee to Free Simon Trinidad have recently filed for a commutation of Trinidad’s sentence.

#International #Colombia #Labor #Strike

New Orleans, LA – Beginning at 7 a.m. on May 1, around 50 nurses, staffers and community members picketed in front of the University Medical Center (UMC) to mark the start of a five-day strike. Nurses are demanding that LCMC Health System, which runs UMC, agree to the contract that the union has been fighting for over two years. Among their demands are better wages, more staffing, and the rehiring of nurse Mike Robertshaw, who was fired for his involvement with the union.

“We’re going to light the fire of a labor movement in New Orleans that will burn bright with labor relations, living wages, comprehensive health insurance and safe staffing,” said nurse David Duplechain in a rousing speech.

The striking nurses are registered with National Nurses United and are currently the only nurses' union in the state. The union local represents over 600 nurses and was registered in December of 2023 with an 82% vote. Since forming the union, nurses at UMC have gone on strike six times now, yet the company continues to refuses to agree to a contract. Every day the nurses go on strike, LCMC pays roughly $2 million to replace them with temporary workers.

“They know that if they don’t silence us, they’ve got an infestation of union nurses,” said Kim Triplett, a nurse in the hospital’s psych unit.

At each round of negotiations so far, LCMC has refused to sign the proposed contract, even going so far as to lock striking nurses out of the hospital and fire known union organizers. The union local recently filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the company has engaged in bad-faith bargaining.

“We have filed an unfair labor practice because we are tired of their surface bargaining. We have been at this fight for two years,” said Hailey Dupre, a nurse on the bargaining team.

Despite the resistance from management and high turnover rates, the nurses have not let up.

“I have fought for this community all my life, and I’m not gonna stop. We are going to win this,” said Terry Mogilles, who has been a nurse for several decades now.

#NewOrleansLA #LA #Labor #Strike #Nurses

St. Paul, MN – At 7 a.m., April 20, over 300 nursing home workers from five nursing homes walked off the job and began a three-day strike. The striking workers are represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa and have been in negotiations for their next union contracts.

The strike includes workers from Cerenity Care at Humboldt, which is owned by the Benedictine Living chain, as well as workers from Estates of Saint Louis Park, Estates of Fridley, Estates of Roseville and Estates of Excelsior, all of which are owned by Monarch Healthcare Management.

The workers are striking for higher wages, safe staffing, better benefits and because that management has not bargained in good faith throughout contract negotiations, for which the union has filed unfair labor practice charges.

Rhonda Little is a striking worker and lead cook who has worked at Cerenity Care at Humboldt for ten years. Speaking on the picket line, Little said, “We want more money. We want safe staffing and we want to keep our PTO. We are bargaining for a new contract and it is not going very well because our management doesn’t want to move, they don’t want to do anything, they want to just stay at 1.5% [pay increases] and we’re worth way more than that.”

Little has been on strike three times in her ten years at Cerenity but says that this time, “The entire management team are different, even corporate are different. So it’s a whole different way of fighting now and their answers to everything is just ‘no’ instead of trying to compromise to a deal. Our strike, I think a lot of it is about respect. Care for your employees as much as we care for the residents. We have been called heroes, during COVID right, we are called heroes because we care for people, we are taking care of human beings, but we are paid like we are dog walkers, so yes it its about money but the bottom line is respect.”

This strike is a three-day strike set to end on Wednesday April 22, however when asked what they will do if management doesn’t come back to the table and bargain in good faith Little said, “Push for another strike and push them for more!”

#StPaulMN #MN #Labor #Healthcare #Nursinghome #Strike #SEIUHCMNIA #SEIU #Featured

Englewood, CO – On April 1, teachers and faculty across five schools of the Sheridan School District went on strike demanding union recognition and the reinstatement of their contract. Over 100 teachers, faculty and community members walked the picket lines demanding that the school district come back to the table for negotiations.

Tensions rose earlier this year when the school district passed a policy that stated they would not recognize staff without licenses in the union. That means school custodians, paraprofessionals on staff, bus drivers – workers who all keep the district’s schools running and operational – were not able to join. When contract negotiations fell apart, 98% of members voted to strike. While the Sheridan School District initially claimed that schools would stay open while the strike was ongoing, the school district was forced to cancel classes through the end of the week due to low staffing.

Kate Biester, president of the Sheridan Educators Association, reflecting on the start of the strike, said, “When we lost our contract for the teachers, it also lost what the district was giving in good faith to the rest of their workers – and we decided that wasn't good enough anymore. And we need to fully enfranchise all of the workers in our school district and give them all bargaining rights.”

According to the union, students and the local community have been very important every step of the way. Earlier this year, high school students in Sheridan School District walked out in support of the teachers, and elementary school students helped chant alongside their teachers.

“There's always been kind of like an undercurrent of community members, parents, students, really trying to make significant change in this community,” Biester said, ”And I feel like right now it's just all coming to a head, all the work we've done in different spaces over the last few years is showing up all at once.”

On day two of the strike, organizers hosted a car rally, driving by the district’s administration building with a truck from members of Teamsters Local 455 leading the way in solidarity.

Members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) showed up in solidarity as well, decorating cars for the car rally. Circe Conway, an FRSO general member and former Starbucks Workers United organizer pointed out, “The more people that join the union, the more people that are eligible for and benefit from the union, the more powerful it’s going to get, and that builds a lot of worker power.”

After the car rally, workers went back to their strike shifts one more time before closing the day out in high spirits.

#EngelwoodCO #CO #Labor #Sheridan #Educators #Strike #Featured

San Jose, CA – On March 18, over 300 members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which includes mental health professionals, clinicians and therapists, participated in a one-day strike at the Santa Clara Medical Center. The action was part of a larger strike across Northern California, which included over 2400 workers.

“We’re really trying to keep Kaiser accountable,” union member Ania Saeger said. “Our contract expired last September, and we're not making a lot of progress in the negotiation, especially around the language, with artificial intelligence, collaboration and really protections for our jobs.”

A reason for the strike was Kaiser’s improper implementation of artificial intelligence. For those in mental health, contact and a relationship between the patient and the counselor is crucial. Saeger explained how AI disrupts this relationship, stating, “You used to be able to call if you were a patient, [when you] needed something. We have this position that we rotate throughout the day, a counselor that is available throughout business hours. Kaiser changed it. They developed this call center where you cannot call the clinic directly. Patients are redirected and get frustrated; they either get a phone operator or AI to answer.”

Saeger emphasized that while the counselors and therapists were not opposed to AI assisting their jobs, they wanted assurances in the language of their contract that AI would not replace their jobs. This is language that Kaiser has refused to implement in their negotiations.

When asked how community members could support the NUHW in their contract struggle, Saeger answered, “Our patients have been instrumental to this movement. We have patients speak at our rallies. As human beings, we can relate stories, so we want our patients to get their stories out there.”

The strike also included a program at which the California Nurses Association, another union striking in solidarity, spoke. Pomaikai Neil, a nurse and representative of that union stated, “Kaiser wants to save money on the backs of healthcare workers. As registered nurses, we feel the pressure to work harder with less resources every time we miss our meal breaks, when we are told we will do the same job with less staff, or when we do grueling 16 hour shifts to make sure our patients are safe.”

Neil also stressed the issues posed by AI in the mental health field. “Imagine sharing your emotional information with your therapist and having them ask you if an artificial intelligence device can join in? Heavy usage of artificial intelligence can exacerbate psychosis and create dangerous relationships with unregulated technology.”

Neil continued, “The hallmark of mental health is human connection. A robot cannot learn empathy. CNA nurses stand with NUHW in their fight against the unilateral implementation of AI and we demand that Kaiser address the limited access to safe care by investing in staffing.”

NUHW and CNA are some of the many unions locked in struggle with Kaiser. Their demands surrounding AI are reflective of modern concerns around technology now melding with decades-long labor struggle. So long as Kaiser continues with further usage of AI and cost cutting around staffing, the labor struggle across different sectors of healthcare is sure to only heat up further.

#SanJoseCA #CA #Labor #Strike #Healthcare #NUHW #CNA #

Greeley, CO – JBS Greeley workers are starting the first weekend of their strike strong, with over 1000 picketing outside the meatpacking plant on March 20.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 union members and JBS workers alike wrapped around the block outside the JBS factory on Friday. People crowded along the barrier on 8th Avenue and danced to music in Spanish and English, forming conga lines with supporters and strike marshals.

In December 2025, Haitian immigrant JBS employees, who comprise a large number of night shift plant workers, filed a class action lawsuit against the meatpacking company for dangerous working and living conditions, after being recruited under false pretenses.

When they were hired, JBS promised free housing and fair pay; instead, Haitian employees had to pay out of pocket to live with 20-30 people in a single motel room and get paid meager wages to meet dangerously high processing quotas.

Since the lawsuit was filed, conditions have only gotten worse. JBS has sped up production for members across the factory – so much so that employees aren’t getting the 40 hours of work a week that they were promised, according to a shop steward. Workers also must use dull knives to cut beef.

UFCW Local 7 has been negotiating with JBS since May 2025, and their contract ended in July. After nearly ten months of unsuccessful negotiations, over 90% of all workers in the plant voted to strike, which began on March 16.

Hundreds of non-workers and their families have also shown up to support the struggle against JBS.

“I was taught growing up, you pick a side and stand with it and that’s what I’m doing,” said one of the political coordinators of the strike, “fighting along my brothers and sisters who don’t have the support structure I have, but deserve a chance at the American dream.”

#GreelyCO #CO #Labor #Strike #UFCW

Los Angeles, CA – Over 30,000 members of United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), SEIU 99, and Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) came together in downtown Los Angeles at a rally on March 16 in a powerful display of unity, demanding the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) shift their budget priorities and agree to a decent contract. If the district does not settle the contract, teachers, school staff and administrators are prepared to strike on April 14.

LAUSD is the second largest school district in the nation. The district has had a proposal for a contract for over a year and has not offered any reasonable offer to address union demands. Key issues include increasing salaries, reducing class sizes and improving staffing levels.

According to UTLA, “LAUSD started off the school year with $5.03 billion in reserves. Since 2022, they’ve committed $10 billion to multi-year private contracts.”

“This would be my first ever strike,” commented LAUSD middle and high school teacher Kate Regan. “I love teaching – it is my dream job. I want the district to respect my work and my students by offering a contract that is fair – I am more than ready to strike to make that a reality. Defending public education is incredibly important.”

Centro CSO members rallied in solidarity carrying a large banner with the slogans support public education and support all education workers.

Antonieta Garcia co-chair of the education committee for Centro CSO commented, “We need to unite and support UTLA/SEIU 99, they represent our public education system.”

#LosAngelesCA #CA #Labor #UTLA #SEIU #AALA #Strike #Teachers

Greeley, CO – On March 16, 3800 members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 went on strike at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado. The union members walked out of their shift at 5:30 a.m. to picket the plant.

This strike marks the first time in over 40 years that workers at a major meat packer went on strike for a better contract. This came after management’s final offer of a 30-cent raise, with 22 cents going towards healthcare benefits. Workers were dissatisfied with all offers from the company’s side, and 99% authorized to strike.

At least 1200 members walked the picket line the morning the strike started. Chants were being yelled out to the crowd, including “When we fight, we win” and “Sí se puede.” Union staffers and organizers kept members in high morale with hand warmers and water, and kept the crowd organized with megaphones, directing members to strategic areas around the plant.

Leticia Avalos, a member of UFCW Local 7, said, “Most of all, the strike is to make a statement to the company, that their members are tired of the mistreatment that they get – because not only is it in the contract or some safety issues they [the company] have been doing, but also the treatment that [workers] get. They get yelled at, they’re told that they have to wait to go to the restroom, and when you have to go you have to go.”

Members also cited other issues of safety, including a short supply of safety equipment supplied by the company with members having to purchase it themselves to stay safe.

Katherine Draken, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, attended the event in support of the striking workers. Draken said, “These workers have shown incredible militancy rejecting JBS's pathetic contract proposal. Everyone who supports worker power and militancy should be out here to support this.”

Another supporter of the strike, Salem Chadwick, a member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, said, “The JBS fight is connected to our fights. When we see unions win big, it inspires workers all over to fight the boss and win too.”

At 1:30 p.m., members switched shifts, with the second shift of strikers holding the line until 10:30 that night. Spirits were high on day one of the strike.

#GreelyCO #CO #UFCW #Labor #Strike #Featured

Denver, CO – On February 21, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) organized a Strike Day of Action at the unionized Starbucks store on 16th Street in Denver, Colorado, to rally workers and supporters to demand the company stop stonewalling contract negotiations and bargain a decent contract with their unionized workers.

“I got this job for the benefits, which are being eroded away. I love this job enough to want to make it better for myself and all my coworkers,” said a striking Starbucks barista.

SBWU and Starbucks have been in negotiations for the first Starbucks contract since 2021, with Starbucks CEO Bryan Nichols facing mounting pressure from the striking workers. Starbucks workers started the Red Cup Rebellion strike on November 13, 2025, demanding livable wages, full staffing with reasonable hours, and transgender inclusive healthcare. The strike has expanded to over 190 stores across over 130 cities, making it the largest and longest work stoppage in Starbucks history.

“We want to make it clear to Starbucks and their customers that we want the company to come back to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair contract that works for both parties,” said Lucille Wayne, Starbucks barista and SBWU strike captain. “We've been unionized for four years. Starbucks has been stonewalling us this entire time. Workers are living paycheck to paycheck, we're getting scheduled less hours and losing our healthcare.”

Since unionization efforts began in December 2021 Starbucks has failed to meet workers' demands and has amassed over 1000 Unfair Labor Practice charges for union-busting, retaliatory firings, surveillance, and failure to bargain in good faith.

“There's been no progress in bargaining since late 2024. Starbucks doesn't want to give in to our very reasonable demands,” said Naomi Wilson, Starbucks barista and event organizer.

Supporters from the community, along with organizers from Teamsters for a Democratic Union and Democratic Socialists of America came to support the picket line. SBWU organizers and event attendees chanted “What's disgusting? Union busting! What's outrageous, Starbucks wages” and “No contract, no coffee” to dozens of community members in attendance and hundreds of passersby, most of whom did not cross the picket line.

The strike is set to end on February 24, with workers scheduled to return to work the next day. Despite the end of the strike, workers expressed that they will continue organizing, canvassing other Starbucks stores to gain more support for the union, and to sign up additional workers to join SBWU.

“I hope to see more stores get organized. We've been canvassing to help other stores unionize. If you're interested in unionizing go to SBWorkersUnited.org”, said Naomi Wilson as the event came to a close.

#DenverCO #CO #Labor #Starbucks #SBWU #Strike