Labor Notes

"Every single time that you get frustrated or you run into a wall, someone from Labor Notes is going to be there to pick you up," Nora Meek, a founding member of the IATSE CREW reform caucus, says in our new video. Help us build a fighting labor movement! labornotes.org/donate

“They want the same output, but fewer hours and fewer people.” After 18 years working at JBS, he said, “everything is so expensive. Everything has gone up, except our wages.” 3/3

“We’re demanding our rights, both in terms of wages and working conditions, because before the strike, they really took advantage of us,” said a worker in the brisket trim department, who spoke in Spanish and asked to remain anonymous 2/3

Line speed is a major issue in the meatpacking industry. The UFCW International recently spoke out against a new proposal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove federal limits on line speeds entirely labornotes.org/2026/03/57-lan… 1/3

"In less than a quarter-mile stretch of sidewalk, chatter in 57 languages overlaps with the sound of dancehall, bachata, Thai pop, Haitian kompa, and Micronesian hip-hop...workers from around the world have united in the largest U.S. meatpacking strike in 40 years."

3,800 workers at the JBS beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado—among the largest in the country—have united this past week in the largest U.S. meatpacking strike in 40 years. @lilacisms and @l_l_xu report: labornotes.org/2026/03/57-lan…

"Labor history suggests that the most effective way for labor to exert control over technology is not to minimize the role of technology at work, but to minimize the role of work in life," writes Vishal Reddy, executive director of @letsworkfour. labornotes.org/blogs/2026/03/…

To hear more reflections on a year of resistance, ingenuity, and hard-won victories, tune in to the latest episode of the Labor Notes Podcast. 3/3 labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/one-year-of-…

For others, like Starbucks barista Sabina Aguirre, it's meant reviving old tactics: “It’s been a really great opportunity to teach newer people about the importance of practice pickets… bringing back that tried-and-true method has shown us our strength before any strike." 2/3

Looking back, the past year has been defined by workers taking a stand. For casino dealer Tara Arnold, this meant organizing with her co-workers to launch a recognition strike: “Noon struck, our hands went up… we walked out together, chanting ‘We want a union now!’” 1/3

Over the past decade, workers have reshaped their unions from the inside out. Reform caucuses are the engine of that renewal. Change doesn’t just drop in from above. It starts on the shop floor. Learn more about starting a reform caucus in your union: labornotes.org/caucuspacket

"Our union has a proud history of strike action," writes Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union. "Now Solidarity Schools can spread the know-how for militant, disruptive action to knit a national movement." labornotes.org/2026/03/gearin…

"There’s a growing consensus across the labor movement that we need more militant, strike-ready unions—and two necessary ingredients are solidarity and class consciousness," writes Reddy. "Bargaining for the four-day, 32-hour workweek builds both." 2/2

We can implement technology on labor’s terms, not that of the oligarchs. One way is through a fight for our time back, writes Vishal Reddy, union negotiator for nursing home workers and the executive director of @letsworkfour 1/2 labornotes.org/blogs/2026/03/…

Starbucks workers across the country have held marches on the boss or other workplace actions demanding that ICE be barred from their worksites in the absence of a signed judicial warrant. Labor Notes intern Rene Cabrera reports. Read more here: labornotes.org/2026/03/keep-i…

"From the beginning, we knew a traditional strike wouldn’t work," said Alfonso Martínez Valero, an Amazon worker in Murcia, Spain. "The strike wasn’t directed from above. This approach allowed us to adapt to every move the company made." labornotes.org/amazon-workers…

In a historic move, 3,800 meatpacking workers at the largest beef producer in the world are striking the company’s biggest US plant. It’s the first major US packing strike in nearly 40 years. Here’s Day 1 on the picket line:

"If we want to build an organized working class capable of taking on the billionaires, we have to treat the labor movement more like a movement," write Roz Hunter and Megan Svoboda, organizers with the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC). labornotes.org/2026/02/worker…

The rush to adopt A.I. is often sold to us as progress, but for workers it can mean job cuts, tighter surveillance, and less control over how their work gets done. @TRAILSANDWAYS outlines some concrete strategies unions can take to push back. labornotes.org/2026/03/four-u…

From retail to the trades, workers are leading organizing drives, pushing for more democratic unions, and defending co-workers and neighbors alike. Tune in to this anniversary episode for a look back at how workers have built power under pressure. 2/2 labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/one-year-of-…

In the first year of the Labor Notes Podcast, we’ve covered mass strikes, contract fights, and organizing breakthroughs in an era of escalating repression at work and on the streets 1/2