By Liz Iacobucci on the NH Labor News
Original Post link: http://wp.me/...
Something’s happening out there.
*Last week, fast-food workers at more than 30 restaurants in St. Louis walked off their jobs in a one-day strike, seeking better pay and benefits and the ability to form a union.
*After United Steelworkers members authorized a strike over safety issues last week, Exxon Mobil agreed to new employee-fatigue protocols for its Baytown, Texas refinery.
*Last Friday, hundreds of fast-food workers walked off their jobs in Detroit, demanding the right to form a union without retaliation. When replacement workers were called in, they also walked off the job.
*Almost 13,000 medical workers have just voted to authorize a two-day strike of the University of California Medical System.
*The California Nurses Association will hold a seven-day strike against Sutter Hospitals, starting later this week.
*The 800 concession workers at AT&T Park, home to the San Francisco Giants, just voted to authorize a strike.
*Here in New England, the Brotherhood of Utility Workers reached a tentative agreement with National Grid just three hours before a strike was scheduled to start. Members will vote on a tentative agreement next week.
*More than 2,000 registered nurses at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center will hold a one-day strike later this month.
*After a week-long strike in Iowa, Carpenters Union Local 308 just reached a new agreement with their local contractors.
*In Strongsville, Ohio, teachers were out on strike for eight weeks before reaching a tentative agreement with the local school board.
*A two-month strike by Las Vegas cab drivers ended two weeks ago, after the company backed off its proposal to have drivers work up to six 12-hour shifts each week.
*Last month, fast-food workers in Chicago and New York walked off their jobs for a day.
So yes, down in Washington DC, Congress may be trying to emasculate the National Labor Relations Board.
And yes, in state capitals across America, corporate lobbyists may be pushing their so-called “Right to Work” laws.
And the political elite may think they’re winning this battle.
But out there, all across America, people are getting tired of watching corporate profits soar. Tired of waiting for the economic recovery to “trickle down”. Tired of shrinking incomes and stagnant futures. Tired – and scared – of rising workloads and lowered worksite safety standards.
All across America, something’s happening. Workers are willing to go out on strike. We’re willing to stay out on strike. We’re even willing to go out on “sympathy strikes”.
Something’s happening, all around this great country of ours.
Something that’s bigger than the political elites.
Can you feel it?