Les Leopold's new book, The Billionaires Have Two Parties, starts by asking working people what kind of political organization could actually represent them. From that foundation, Leopold shows that solidarity around economic issues may be the clearest way forward. labornotes.org/2026/05/bill...

Tony Mazzocchi raised hopes by “conjuring up a labor movement that would be militant and green. It would champion the fight for peace and equality. It would win free health care. It would dare to create a new political party.” labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

We are happy to report that Secrets of a Successful Organizer has now been translated into nine languages! labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

The Legal Rights of Union Stewards is now available as an audiobook! With this professional narration, you can complete your crash course on this classic Robert Schwartz manual wherever you are, in just 2.5 hours. Purchase your copy here: labornotes.org/legalrightsa...

The best organizing conversations don’t start with a script. They start with a real connection. Our latest podcast digs into what makes a good 1:1 — listening with purpose, drawing out what matters, and moving from frustration to action. Tune in here: labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/how-to-hav...

“We won’t be pushed around.” Workers at a seafood processing center say they were extorted, retaliated against, and treated as disposable. Now they’re fighting back with a class action lawsuit, NLRB charges, and public pressure for reinstatement. labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

With his latest book, Les Leopold challenges labor movement folks to rethink how we are organizing politically and whether we are actually building the independent working-class power this moment demands. labornotes.org/2026/05/bill...

A strike is not just a symbolic protest. It works because we withhold something that the employer needs: production, profits, and above all, control over us. Our guide to striking and winning breaks down how to plan, build, and sustain a powerful strike. Learn more here: labornotes.org/strikes

Mazzocchi linked emerging public concern about environmental pollution to the source of the problem—workplaces where workers were exposed to toxic chemicals at much higher levels than anyone in surrounding communities. 1/2 labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

Greeley workers struck a blow to the heart of the modern jungle: oligopoly control by the "Big Four" meat processors who have colluded for years to suppress worker wages, depress the livelihoods of cattle ranchers, and raise prices for consumers. 1/2 labornotes.org/2026/04/afte...

The California Public Employees Retirement System has $600 billion in assets. Union trustees pushed for and got CalPERS to incorporate labor standards into the set of principles that guide its investments. 1/2 labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

Cutting and polishing manufactured stone is causing deadly silicosis among workers, even when strong safety measures are taken against the dust. 1/2 labornotes.org/2026/04/coun...

A hundred years after Tony Mazzocchi’s birth, and nearly a quarter century after his death in 2002, several hundred of his friends and allies, new and old, are gathering at the Rutgers University Labor Center on June 4-5, for a discussion of his life and legacy. 1/2 labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

Unions have shifted the priorities of the Rhode Island Democratic Party. Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, believes the labor movement needs to be a “stable anchor” for political organizing in the state. 1/2 labornotes.org/2026/04/how-...

In addition to wage increases, meatpacking workers won a groundbreaking policy on personal protective equipment, challenging JBS’s previous system of garnishing wages to replace necessary PPE when it was lost, damaged, or stolen. 1/2 labornotes.org/2026/04/afte...

Every union-building campaign starts with an issue workers feel in their bones. But the real secret of a successful organizer is learning how to use that issue strategically. Tune in to the latest episode of the Labor Notes Podcast to learn more: labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/secret-use...

🚨TONIGHT (Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 p.m. Eastern): Online Workshop on What to Do When Your Union Breaks Your Heart. There's still time to sign up! labornotes.org/events/2026/...

“We should have a say in how our pensions are invested,” said Minneapolis Federation of Educators member Theresa Tauer. “We should know that our money is being used in a way that benefits us and supports our communities and uplifts humanity.” labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

“I was trained that politics is not just going to fundraisers, slapping some backs, and writing some checks,” says Justin Kelley, the political director of Painters District 11. 1/2 labornotes.org/2026/04/how-...

“The UFW has been one of the most important organizations fighting for the rights of undocumented workers for five decades,” writes David Bacon. “Who's suing ICE now? Who opposed Bovino's raid in Bakersfield when Trump was just elected?” labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

As many as two million workers may risk exposure to silicosis from manufactured stone as well as from mining, quarrying, sandblasting, and “frac sand” used in hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry. 1/2 labornotes.org/2026/04/coun...

Union members in many states and cities are holding pension boards accountable and advocating for investments that insure worker protections, climate resiliency, and decent retirement benefits. 1/2 labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

With 57 languages spoken under one roof, the strike united the plant’s largely immigrant workforce to take on the biggest meatpacking company in the world. "We hurt them big time," said UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova. labornotes.org/2026/04/afte...

Join several union sisters in the building trades to discuss turning disappointment into member-led change at our next workshop! When: Tuesday, May 5 from 7:30pm to 9pm ET Where: Online via Zoom Register Here: labornotes.org/events/2026/...

For NEA Rhode Island, the goal of electoral work has been to “not just win seats, but change what those seats stand for,” said communications director Stephanie Mandeville. “When you align workers’ rights with community well-being, you’re building a majority.” labornotes.org/2026/04/how-...

Union baristas are back to the negotiating table with Starbucks, but the workers have charged that rather than progressing, the company has been reopening already agreed-upon issues, Labor Notes editor Jenny Brown reports labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0... 1/2

After numerous workers have spent decades working with manufactured stone, a grim reality is becoming clear: no amount of protection can keep them safe from silicosis, a fatal condition that requires lung transplants even to manage: labornotes.org/2026/04/coun... 1/2

“The strike was about showing the company that the workers were strong in that plant, and showing the whole world who runs the plant: the workers,” said UFCW Local 7 President Kim Cordova labornotes.org/2026/04/afte...

✊ We are pumped to send FCWA worker leaders to the 2026 Labor Notes Conference in Chicago, thanks to support from @labornotes.bsky.social and donors like YOU! Give today and help bring more low-wage workers out to this critical power-building event: secure.actblue.com/donate/labor...

"JBS returned to the bargaining table after the strike—and when the dust settled, the company had conceded to almost every demand." Caitlyn Clark of Essential Workers for Democracy and @l-l-xu.bsky.social report labornotes.org/2026/04/afte...

Union reform caucuses are sprouting across the labor movement, and they're learning many lessons along the way. To support that work, we've put together a guide for members seeking to transform their union from the inside. Learn more here: labornotes.org/caucuspacket

Over the last decade Rhode Island has been a hotbed of progressive, pro-worker legislation. But it wasn’t always this way. It took years of proactive organizing by the labor movement on legislative and electoral campaigns. labornotes.org/2026/04/how-...

The illegal firing of six tenured faculty at Virginia State University showed that collective bargaining is necessary to “have a seat at the table, protect students and their education, and protect facilities workers” said Ian Mullins, UVA associate professor. labornotes.org/2026/04/virg...

“Bardacke emphasizes the importance of the elected repres in Salinas, an important rank-and-file current in the union. The repres were brave and committed people, but they were not the only workers who fought for, or won, democratic rights,” writes David Bacon. 1/2 labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

Identifying how work conditions are affecting our lives is the first step in doing something about it. A good 1-1 conversation can bring those experiences to the surface and encourage co-workers to start organizing. Hear more on The Labor Notes Podcast: labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/secret-you...

"Maintain your focus and always be thinking about what it is that members really want to see happen in the union," says @l-l-xu.bsky.social on The Valley Labor Report. Learn more about creating an effective union reform caucus here: labornotes.org/caucuspacket

“Understaffed stores have led to long wait times for customers while baristas who want more hours aren’t getting enough to pay their bills,” said Jasmine Leli, a Buffalo, NY, barista and member of the Starbucks Workers United bargaining team. labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

Adapted from our new book, Keep Going: A Guide to Organizing When It's Hard by Ellen David Friedman. Get your copy: labornotes.org/keepgoing

"Organizing takes place over a whole series of conversations, starting by asking people questions and really listening to the answers, getting a sense of what matters to people, and helping people see that taking action could make a difference."

The United Campus Workers of Virginia built a campaign not just around bargaining rights and better pay, but also the needs of community members. “We want universities to be good neighbors,” said Harry Szabo, professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. labornotes.org/2026/04/virg...

"When you know you can get together with like-minded members and make changes like actually fighting for a contract, fighting an undemocratic rule change, labor activists will choose to stay in the movement." Listen here now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbwE...

“It is important to present a real picture of the UFW's position towards undocumented workers, and Bardacke's is incomplete,” writes David Bacon. labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0... 1/2

“We need you to stop buying Starbucks and delete the Starbucks app from your phone,” barista Mina Leon told a union crowd in Manhattan on Sunday. “No contract, no coffee.” labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

🎙️ Hear the first of a three-part Labor Notes Pod series on our “Secrets of a Successful Organizer” training on foundational organizing skills In this first installment, we explore the idea that apathy isn't real, i.e. Your Co-Workers Actually Want a Better Workplace! labornotespodcast.podbean.com

"Democracy is a protection, but not enough. What Chavez did has a lot to do with the system of male supremacy embedded in our movement. We have to confront this directly, and not assume that being able to vote for leaders will take care of it," writes David Bacon. labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

Members of the United Campus Workers of Virginia are still trying to get college instructional staff included in the new public worker bargaining law. “The fight is not over yet,” said Cecelia Parks, a librarian at UVA. labornotes.org/2026/04/virg...

“They're trying to move backwards on issues we've already settled instead of settling the few that we have left,” said Mina Leon, a Starbucks barista in downtown Manhattan who struck for two months to get the company back to the table. labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

The latest episode of the Labor Notes Podcast is for soup lovers, haters, and everyone in between! Tune in for organizing lessons from what our pod team considers classic soup movies—The Birdcage (1996), American Psycho (2000), and Ratatouille (2007) labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/why-your-f...

"If treating Chavez as a celebrity and putting him on a pedestal was a fatal mistake, then we need to see the union's accomplishments not simply as the achievements of one man... [but as] the result of many discussions among many people," writes David Bacon. labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...

We're looking for educators to help create a fun and enriching labor-themed experience for children at our upcoming conference! Please send your resume and a reference to [email protected] by May 1. Full job description here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...