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
Five Ways The War on Terror Empowered The ICE Assault
May 5, 2026
Take Action Now We got an advance look at a new analysis from the Costs of War Project about the heritage of the 9/11 era on current ICE operations……
I Detest Billionaires – My Journey to Supporting One for Governor of California
May 4, 2026
Take Action Now Steyer’s unequivocal support of CalCare universal health coverage is one of the reasons he’s endorsed by Ro Khanna and the California…
New Drama Inside the DNC
May 4, 2026
Take Action Now Some Democratic officials think Ken Martin needs to go.By Lauren Egan, The Bulwark KEN MARTIN’S TENURE AS CHAIR of the Democratic…
‘The World Is Proud of You, Guido’: American Peace Activist Honored in Iranian Lego Video
May 3, 2026
Take Action Now “Your dignity stands taller than the place you stood, and it will live forever in our memory.”By Common Dreams Staff, Common…




