President Trump pushes US bosses’ political interests at Davos confab

Vol. 82/No. 6 - February 12, 2018

“I’m here to deliver a simple message,” President Donald Trump told participants in the World Economic Forum Jan. 26. “Now is the perfect time to bring your business, your jobs, your investments to the United States.” “America first does not…


Ukraine gov’t sues workers for fighting to win back pay

Vol. 82/No. 5 - February 5, 2018

“They want this to serve as a vivid example for all,” Oleksandr Shershnve, a Ukrainian miner taken to court by the bosses for taking part in what they claim was an illegal strike, told Ukrayinska Pravda Dec. 26. “This is…


Pro-independence parties win Catalonia election

Vol. 82/No. 4 - January 29, 2018

When Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who ousted the pro-independence parliament and seized control of the government of Catalonia last fall, called snap elections there for Dec. 21, he hoped a slate of candidates pledged to unity with Madrid would…


IG Metall workers strike in Germany, demand pay raise

Vol. 82/No. 4 - January 29, 2018

Members of IG Metall, Germany’s biggest union, started a round of strike protests Jan. 8, part of pressing for a 6 percent wage increase, as negotiations begin for a new contract covering 3.9 million workers. The old contract expired Dec.…


Pussy Riot speaks out about fight against prison conditions in Russia

Vol. 82/No. 4 - January 29, 2018

Pussy Riot members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova became known around the world for performing a “punk prayer” against the regime of President Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ in February 2012 that led to two-year prison…


Russian auto union fights government move to shut it down

Vol. 82/No. 4 - January 29, 2018

“The very existence of trade unions in the Russian Federation will be called into question,” the Interregional Labor Union of Automobile Workers (MPRA) — one of the largest unions in Russia — said after the City Court of St. Petersburg…


Bosses push for profits fuels rise in job deaths

Vol. 82/No. 2 - January 15, 2018
Construction workers rally to protest attacks on unions, safety in New York City Nov. 14.

For the third year in a row the number of workers who were killed on the job increased in 2016. Some 5,200 workers paid with their lives for the bosses’ drive for profits, with immigrants and older workers hardest hit.…


Truckers on strike across Russia face gov’t attacks

Vol. 82/No. 2 - January 15, 2018

Long-haul truckers in Russia conducted their third countrywide work stoppage during the holiday season Dec. 15-25. Since November 2015 they have fought the government over the Platon tax system, a per-ton toll imposed on owners of trucks weighing over 12…


Migrant workers in Beijing mobilize to protest evictions

Vol. 82/No. 1 - January 1, 2018

Thousands of migrant workers in Beijing are fighting back against a stepped-up campaign by city officials seeking to force tens of thousands of them out of the area. City officials have demolished whole neighborhoods, in some instances ordering residents to…