Mike Elk is a labor journalist and staff writer for In These Times. Follow him on twitter @mikeelk.
The Labor Movement Needs an Anti-Concession Movement
In the wake of the historic pushback to Gov. Scott Walker's antiunion agenda in Wisconsin, there has been a lot of talk about what is needed to revive the labor movement. Some claim that what is needed is a change in the overall political environment and labor’s public image to ...
Increased Solidarity with Unions at Netroots Nation, But at the Cost of Net Neutrality?
Crossposted from In These TimesThis Netroots Nation in Minneapolis marked a turning point for the conference's relationship with organized labor. In the past, many have complained that the netroots and bloggers have failed to pay proper attention to labor struggles. This year there were many panels focusing on organized labor ...
NLRB Issues Rule to Prevent Union Busting and Speed Up Elections
Crossposted from In These TimesToday, the National Labor Relations Board proposed a rule that would dramatically speed up and reduce frivolous challenges to union elections. Companies seeking to stop union drives often delay union elections by months in order to allow more time for extended anti-union intimidation sessions and campaigns, ...
Did Boeing’s Meet the Press Sponsorship Allow Gingrich to Lie About Company’s NLRB Case?
This post first appeared on the In These Times 'Working' blogSpeaking Sunday on Meet the Press, Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that "the Obama system of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is basically breaking the law to try to punish Boeing ...
Obama Has Power to Stop Unionbusting With a Stroke of His Pen
This post first appeared on the In These Times 'Working' blog A proposed executive order and 'high road' federal contracting would go a long way WASHINGTON, D.C.—Two weeks ago I ran into John Podesta, the former White House Chief of Staff (under Bill Clinton) who is now the head of ...
Massachusetts Dems Pass Bill to 'Eliminate Collective Bargaining as We Know It'
Originally posted on In These Times' 'Working' blogLast night, the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill (111-42) to strip public-sector workers of their ability to bargain collectively for healthcare. The rhetoric surrounding the bill, proposed by Democratic State House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, is in many ways similar ...
NLRB Finds Boeing Broke Law—and Upsets Anti-Union Southerners
Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Boeing broke the law by moving production from a union facility in Pudget Sound, Wash., to a nonunion facility in North Charleston, S.C. It's yet another move that shows that General Counsel Lafe Solomon is dedicated to vigorously enforcing labor law in ...
Why I am NOT Suing the Huffington Post...by a "fired" HuffPost blogger
It might come as surprise to many, but as a labor journalist I feel that both Jonathan Tasini & Arianna Huffington are wrong in their current squabble over labor relations that has broken out as a result of Tasini’s lawsuit for $115 million against the Huffington Post. Over the last ...
Strange Bedfellows: Wis. AFL-CIO Holds Rally With Planned Parenthood
Is abortion no longer taboo in the labor movement? Over the weekend, the Wisconsin AFL CIO held a rally with Planned Parenthood. The two organizations stood in solidarity, opposing Gov. Scott Walker's right-wing budget and unionbusting. It might seem unusual that a labor federation which traditionally has shied away ...
The "Pack" of Young DC Labor Journalists - The Sh*tkickers
A recent New York Times profile of several young male trend setting DC journalists known as the "Brat Pack" inspired Good Magazine Executive Editor Ann Friedman to write a piece on the "DC Lady Journo Mafia." Friedman recounted a meeting composed of several female journalists to discuss barriers that women ...
Last week, the New York Times reported that, despite making $14.2 billion in profits, General Electric, the largest corporation in the United States, paid zero U.S. taxes in 2010 and actually received tax credits of $3.2 billion dollars. The article noted that GE’s tax avoidance team is comprised of “former ...
The NRA Can’t Take Yes For An Answer
Earlier this week, one of the biggest backers of the Republican Party, the NRA, refused to meet with President Obama to discuss vital gun control measures supported by 86% of Americans, 80% of gun owners, and roughly 70% of their own membership. President Obama pointed out in a Sunday op-ed ...
The Wisconsin Uprising Is a Bottom-Up Movement -- Should We Hope DC Leaders Don't Get in the Way?
Since the financial crisis and President Obama's election in the fall of 2008, there have been two major actions taken by working people that commanded the attention of America's financial elite -- the 2008 occupation of Republic Windows and Doors factory in Chicago and the current Wisconsin State Capitol occupation. ...
Shades of Wisconsin, as 400 Protesters Shut Down Bank Office, Invade Sen. McConnell’s Office
WASHINGTON, D.C.—“Police need a raise! Police need a raise!”, shouted 400 protesters as police came to break up their invasion of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office yesterday. The protesters, members of National People’s Action, had invaded Sen. McConnell’s office demanding to meet with him regarding proposed GOP budget ...
Like Scott Walker, Honeywell CEO Has Threatened to Use Troops to Bust a Strike
Last Friday, two van loads of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-669 members, who have been locked out of the Honeywell uranium facility in Metropolis, Ill., for nine months, traveled through the night to join the ongoing protest in the Wisconsin State Capitol. “After all the support we have seen from ...
2008 Factory Occupation Leader Inside Wisconsin State Capitol
In December 2008, United Electrical Workers at Republic Windows and Doors in Chicago shook the world when they occupied their factory after its closure was announced. For eight days and nights, they held the attention of state, national and international media as unions around the world issued statements of solidarity. ...
Why Should Firms That Spied on Unions Keep Government Contracts?
Earlier this month, Lee Fang of Think Progress wrote an investigative piece on how the Chamber of Commerce had hired a private security firm to spy on union leaders and their families. Lee discovered through emails obtained by ThinkProgress that the Chamber had hired the law firm Hunton & Williams ...
Wisconsin GOP to kick protestors sleeping in the Capitol out
Dave Weigel of Slate Magazine just conducted an interview with Wisconsin Senate GOP Majority Leader Fitzgerald. In the interview below, Fitzgerald announced that starting Saturday at 6pm, the police are going to kick the protestors sleeping in the Capitol out. The protestors I have spoken with have vowed to stay ...
How Obama's Organizing Election Efforts Influenced the Wisconsin Protests
It's a constantly shifting, energetic crowd on the third floor of the capitol, with graduate students running around frantically in the situation room of the Teacher Assistant Association. They are discussing setting up phone banks to get more graduate students to come out for protests, plans to arrange for more ...
Labor Leaders Say Wisconsin Signals 'New Era of Labor Militancy'
MADISON, WIS.—In the past, labor leaders have been hesitant to call militant actions in part because they're afraid they won’t have the support and energy of union members. But after the massive outpouring of rank and file support in Wisconsin during the last eight days—triggered by proposed GOP legislation that ...
Is Scott Walker Cutting Off Internet Access To Thwart Protesters?
According to pro-labor protesters in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) may be taking a page from former Egyptian Dictator Hosni Mubarak and cutting off internet access to key protest organizers within the state Capitol building. If you are in the Capitol attempting to access the internet from a free wifi ...
Firefighters Sleep in Wisconsin Capitol to Prevent Police Crackdown on Protestors
Yesterday, rumors started to spread throughout the Wisconsin State Capitol that police would crack down on protestors sleeping in the building. Governor Walker has in private expressed frustrations with the Capitol Police for allowing protestors to stay in the Capitol. Over the last few days, the Capitol Police have begun ...
Madison Area AFL CIO Votes to Prepare For General Strike
This evening in a press release from IBEW Local 2304 President Dave Pokilinski, I received word that the 45,000 member Southern Central Federation of Labor, the local chapter of the AFL-CIO for the Madison and Southern Central Wisconsin area, has voted to make preparations for a general strike. The press ...
Paris Commune Meets Old School Union Hall In Madison
Yesterday as I entered the state capitol, I was shocked to see a group of people down on their hands and knees gently rubbing and cleaning the marble floor of the state capitol. They were not janitors doing it, but volunteers who had been occupying the Capitol for weeks. “This ...
Mainstream Media: Wisconsin Protestors Like the People Who Shoot Gabby Giffords? WTF?
Despite the Wisconsin protests being the number one trending topic on twitter worldwide and finally starting to get media attention from mainstream TV outlets, not a single union leader or union member was invited onto one of the many Sunday talk shows to talk about Wisconsin. Instead the only person ...
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December 20th, 2012
A Grief-Stricken Randi Weingarten Engages Hesitant Unions on Gun Control in Wake of Sandy Hook
Crossposted from the In These Times Working blog“The teachers and the principals were absolutely heroic. So were the others, who were in lockdown, and kept ...
November 19th, 2012
In Leaked Docs, Honeywell Cites Obama Ties As Key to Anti-Union Strategy
Crossposted from In These Times' Working blogIn These Times has exclusively obtained a leaked internal Honeywell document outlining an anti-union strategy that includes leveraging Obama administration connections. The ...
October 17th, 2012
In Conference Call, Romney Urged Businesses To Tell Their Employees How to Vote
Crossposted from In These TimesIn a June 6, 2012 conference call posted on the anti-union National Federation of Independent Business’s website, Republican presidential candidate Mitt ...
October 14th, 2012
Koch Sends Pro-Romney Mailing to 45,000 Employees While Stifling Workplace Political Speech
Crossposted from In These Times Much has been written about the owners of Koch Industries, brothers David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch, trying to ...
August 14th, 2012
Paul Ryan Closely Tied To Corrupt Union Accused of Violently Threatening Dissidents
Crossposted from the In These Times Working blogThe GOP has often accused unions of unfairly coercing members into paying dues--dues that happen to be a ...
August 10th, 2012
As Some AT&T Unions Strike, Others "Scab"
Crossposted from the In These Times 'Working' blogOn Tuesday, 20,000 AT&T workers in California, Connecticut and Nevada went out on a two-day strike to protest ...
July 7th, 2012
Is Union Busting to Blame for Power Outages in D.C.?
Crossposted from the In These Times Working blogYesterday, 15,091 Washington, D.C.-area residents were without power for the sixth day in a row, according to utility ...
November 10th, 2011
Penn State Riots About White Men Not Liking to Be Held Accountable
If, like me, you scanned the crowds rioting at Penn State last night after the announcement of the firing of Joe Paterno, you may have ...
October 17th, 2012
In Conference Call, Romney Urged Businesses To Tell Their Employees How to Vote
Crossposted from In These TimesIn a June 6, 2012 conference call posted on the anti-union National Federation of Independent Business’s website, Republican presidential candidate Mitt ...
April 28th, 2011
Massachusetts Dems Pass Bill to 'Eliminate Collective Bargaining as We Know It'
Originally posted on In These Times' 'Working' blogLast night, the Massachusetts House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill (111-42) to strip public-sector workers of their ...
September 22nd, 2011
Troy Davis Executed, While CEO Responsible for Deaths of 29 Miners Sails Free
Crossposted from the In These Times Working blogLast night at 11:08, Troy Anthony Davis was executed in the State of Georgia for the 1989 murder ...
August 17th, 2011
Why Won’t Obama Join the Verizon Picket Line?
Crossposted from the In These Times Working blogCiting Obama's healthcare reform legislation, the company wants concessions. Union members want a show of solidarity Last Saturday, ...
August 26th, 2011
Remembering Steve Jobs’ Record on Workers’ Rights
Crossposted from In These Times' Working blogYesterday, Twitter was abuzz with reactions to Steve Jobs' resignation as CEO of Apple, among reports that his health ...
February 16th, 2011
Irrational Exuberance: The Trouble With Hysteria Over Public Pension Shortfalls
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Monday, the U.S. House of Representative’s Judiciary Committee held a hearing on public pension funds and states' shortfalls in funding them. Republicans have ...
'Dirty Wars' by Jeremy Scahill
Why have you started a comedy festival in northern Michigan in the middle of winter?
Because if you were here in the dead of winter in the middle of nowhere (which is actually somewhere to us), you'd need a few laughs too ... Continue Reading
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