Successful union campaigns could raise wages, reduce poverty, and spread democracy in the former Confederacy.
by Tom Conway, Inequality.org
Workers at Blue Bird Corporation in Fort Valley, Georgia, launched a union drive to secure better wages, work-life balance, and a voice on the job.
The company resisted them. History defied them. Geography worked against them.
But they stood together, believed in themselves, and achieved a historic victory that’s reverberating throughout the South.
About 1,400 workers at the electric bus manufacturer voted overwhelmingly this spring to join the United Steelworkers (USW), reflecting the rise of collective power in a part of the country where bosses and right-wing politicians long contrived to foil it.
“It’s just time for a change,” explained Rinardo Cooper, a member of USW Local 572 and a paper machine operator at Graphic Packaging in Macon, Georgia.
Recent Posts
Gavin Newsom’s last budget belies his ‘California for All’ pledge
Take Action Now Yet, even as the state is poised to lose billions in federal funding, and millions of Californians are losing access to health care…
Israel and American Hawks are Pushing U.S. to Iran War With Catastrophic Consequences
Take Action Now At the World Health Assembly in May, member states may endorse an unprecedented strategy declaring that health is not a cost – but…
A Child’s View of the Attack on Venezuela. And a Peace Flotilla
Take Action Now At the World Health Assembly in May, member states may endorse an unprecedented strategy declaring that health is not a cost – but…
How to Organize Safely in the Age of Surveillance
Take Action Now From threat modeling to encrypted collaboration apps, we’ve collected experts’ tips and tools for safely and effectively building a…