When working class folks fight back against millionaire bosses, they know the deck is stacked against them. That’s especially true of IATSE members who recently took a stand against the powerful and wealthy producers who have been exploiting their labor for profit. Critics who suggest that the recent IATSE tentative agreement is a gradual gain […]
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Organizing Wave Builds as Santa Ana Workers Take on Global Conglomerate Kingspan Over Pollution, Unsafe Working Conditions
The wave of worker organizing continues! Workers at Kingspan, a global “green” building materials maker, filed complaints with Cal/OSHA on October 15, and with the State Water Resources Board/CalEPA on October 19, alleging violations of worker safety and clean water laws at the company’s manufacturing facility in Santa Ana. The workers’ stories were featured […]
Read MoreLarry Itliong Helped Lead One of the Most Successful Strikes of All Time. This Striketober, Let’s Remember His Legacy
There’s been more attention on worker strikes and potential strikes this month than we’ve seen in decades. So much so that October has been branded “Striketober” with worker actions occurring throughout the country at John Deere, Kellogg’s, Kaiser and many more. October 25 is also Larry Itliong Day here in California, a day that recognizes […]
Read MoreLabor’s Time to Shine: Discussing the future of the labor movement with AFL-CIO President, Liz Shuler
By Jazmine Reyes
Read MoreHispanic Heritage Month: Luisa Moreno
Born Blanca Rosa López Rodríguez to a prominent Guatemalan family, Rodríguez moved to the United States in her early 20s and changed her name to Luisa Moreno. When the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, Moreno joined the Communist Party and—later—the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1934. Serving as a full-time advocate for immigrant […]
Read MoreHispanic Heritage Month: Jessie Lopez de la Cruz
Jessie Lopez de la Cruz grew up in a family of Mexican migrant workers. From a young age, Lopez de la Cruz worked in the fields across California, experiencing firsthand the grueling living conditions, poverty-level wages, and daily brutal exploitation – conditions farm workers continue fighting today. That changed in 1960 when, inspired by Cesar […]
Read MoreLabor Day 2021: UNITE HERE, the 2020 Elections and Beyond
Cross posted from Beyond Chron By Martin J. Bennett Many weeks after Democrats swept the Georgia Senate runoff elections, the right-wing extremists’ January 6th assault on Congress saturated the news cycle. The Capitol insurrection and the debate about an independent and nonpartisan investigation overshadowed the compelling story of how Democrats prevailed in both the November […]
Read MoreHispanic Heritage Month: Linda Chavez-Thompson
Linda Chavez-Thompson is a second-generation American of Mexican descent who began her Labor career in 1967. After leaving school at an early age to pick cotton with her father, she was hired for a secretary position at the Laborers’ local union in Lubbock, Texas. Throughout her career, Chavez-Thompson served as a member of the Board […]
Read MoreWorkers Powered the Defeat of the Recall, and We’re Just Getting Started
To some, the crushing victory over the harmful effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom this week didn’t come as a surprise. After all, it’s California. A recall of a Democratic Governor couldn’t happen here, right? Wrong. When right-wing extremists qualified the recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this year, few were paying attention. […]
Read MoreLatino History is Labor History
This year, California Labor celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by elevating various female leaders in labor movement history. It doesn’t take much to realize how profound their sacrifices have been in creating safer workplaces and a more just country. From the fields of the Central Valley to the highest halls of power in Washington, Latina labor […]
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