Freedom Socialist • Vol. 28, No. 6 • December 2007-January 2008

LABOR WEATHER REPORT

A glance at how some workers and their unions are faring in the class struggle.

August 2007: Washington, D.C.
AFL-CIO joins day laborers’ advocates to protest ICE raids. But two months later United Steelworkers union decries U.S./Mexico border fence - not for its impact on immigrants, but rather for being built with Chinese pipe.


Fall 2007: Pennsylvania
Teachers walk out in several locales, but face a constitutional amendment introduced by a Republican lawmaker that would make their strikes illegal. Democrats are already compromising. Time to hit the streets!



November 2007: Iraq
Oil workers build a strong union under occupation and strike in June to keep oil in public hands. They are more than a match for the U.S. puppet regime, which is still unable to pass a law to privatize the resource..



In Progress: California
California Nurses Association mobilizes members to fight for reasonable staffing levels, pay raises and benefits. Boisterous pickets win one good contract, and a two- day strike turns the heat up on another hospital chain.