Labor Notes

Labor Notes is primarily recognized for its monthly magazine, also called Labor Notes. Our focus is on covering stories about workers that mainstream media often overlooks, presenting these issues from the workers' perspective. We delve into the trends that are making it challenging for workers and assess how labor is responding: identifying what strategies are effective and which ones are falling short. As an independent publication, we have the freedom to highlight voices that suggest improvements and share ways to make progress.

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EBay Aims to Bust Trading Card Union with 200 Layoffs

4 days ago | labornotes.org | Dan DiMaggio

More than two years after voting in a union, the 220 workers at TCGplayer, the eBay-owned online marketplace for trading cards, hoped they might be getting close to securing a first contract. Instead, they’re fighting to save their jobs. On May 22, the company abruptly announced that it was shuttering its Syracuse, New York, authentication center and moving operations to Louisville, Kentucky.
Take It from Turkish Workers: You Don’t Want a Strongman

5 days ago | labornotes.org | Jane Slaughter

What has happened to workers in Turkey since the country voted to concentrate power in one man, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, should be a warning flashing red to workers elsewhere. “When democracy shrinks, it hurts workers—when one man has all the power,” said Arzu Çerkezoğlu, president of Turkey’s Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK). “Parliament became useless, there’s no separation of powers. The president can control the laws that are made, and the judicial system.
Labor Defends Jailed Immigrants: Forklift Driver, Hospital Worker

1 week ago | labornotes.org | Alexandra Bradbury

The Seattle-area labor movement is rallying in defense of immigrant members seized by the Trump regime. Forklift driver Maximo Londonio and his family were on their way home from vacation in the Philippines—where he and his wife had celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary—when he was pulled aside at the airport, held there for days, then taken to a for-profit jail. Londonio has a green card; he moved here from the Philippines when he was just a kid.
The Government Programs They’re Axing Came from Our Struggles

3 weeks ago | labornotes.org | Jenny Brown

Ronald Reagan used to say the scariest nine words were “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Wait, what? When my house was half destroyed by Hurricane Frances in 2004, a Federal Emergency Management Agency agent showed up three days later and cut us a check so we could get the giant tree off the house and do temporary repairs. Through FEMA, we were able to get a $20,000 low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration so we could rebuild. The federal government was there to help.
May Day Rallies Confront Billionaire Assaults

1 month ago | labornotes.org | Luis Feliz Leon

Hundreds of thousands of people across the United States rallied, engaged in civil disobedience, or struck on May 1, International Workers’ Day, joining hundreds of thousands around the world. Overall, actions organized by the May Day Strong coalition numbered more than 1,300 across all 50 states in over 1,000 cities and towns, extending into Saturday, May 3.
UAW Reformers Close Caucus, Launch New Organization

1 month ago | labornotes.org | Jane Slaughter |Keith Brown

Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD), the reform caucus in the Auto Workers, voted to dissolve at its quarterly online membership meeting April 27. “It was a heartbreaking decision to come to,” said UAWD founder and chair Scott Houldieson, a 36-year electrician at Ford. “UAWD had become a caucus that is ‘resolutionary,’ and focused more on caucus discipline than on actually organizing workers. Meetings had become dreadful.
What Do We Do Now? First, Gather to Talk

1 month ago | labornotes.org | Barbara Madeloni

I don’t have new words for the dizzying abuses of unions, immigrants, and all working people emanating from the White House in the last three months. Like many people, I’ve been cycling through anger, despair, and dismay. The dismay is less about Trump than about the weak and ineffective union response. Between overreliance on lawsuits and calls to “fight back” or even strike with no clear plan, unions have not shown up. I keep wondering, where are the leaders? I get that it’s overwhelming.
Faculty Rally Nationwide for Free Speech, Free Tuition, and to Free Detained Students

1 month ago | labornotes.org | Barbara Madeloni

Faculty-student pairs set up “anti-fascist office hours” at three locations on the Northwestern University campus. Faculty, students, and staff created anti-fascist art at the University of Hawaii. American Association of University Professors members combined membership drives with tabling about the critical issues facing higher education on 30 campuses.
Federal Unionists Say It’s Not Game Over, It’s Game On

2 months ago | labornotes.org | Jenny Brown

A scrappy network of federal unionists is leading the response to the Trump administration’s attacks on their workplaces, including Trump’s March 27 order purporting to end union contracts covering most federal workers. Where the Federal Unionists Network has led, union leaders have followed. In a Zoom event that drew 65,000 viewers, FUN got official support from all the significant federal unions for their bottom-up organizing approach to the Trump onslaught.
Viewpoint: Will Trump’s Tariffs Be Good for Auto Workers? | Labor Notes

2 months ago | labornotes.org

During the 2019 General Motors strike, while my fellow workers and I were pounding the pavement, something inspirational was happening south of the border: Mexican auto worker Israel Cervantes, along with many others at a GM plant in Silao, Guanajuato, refused overtime in solidarity with us. Their practical action was particularly helpful to our cause because they built large