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UK public sector workers battle for pay hikes that match inflation

Apr 25, 2023
Following a rash of strikes in the public sector, some British workers have settled their pay disputes, but more are taking further action. And the government is striking back.
Doctors striking for a 35% increase in pay.
Mimisse Beard

U.S. labor strikes went up almost 50% between 2021 and 2022

Jan 16, 2023
Cornell University counted almost 400 strikes last year, following decades of declining union membership. Here's why labor action is becoming more common.
New York City nurses reached a deal to raise salaries by about 19% after striking for three days. Above, thousands of nurses from four New York hospitals strike on Jan. 9.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Gen Z is the most pro-union generation

Many young workers have witnessed the effects of economic crises and are struggling with the gap between their wages and the cost of living.
Young Starbucks workers picket for their union outside a Starbucks store in Portland, Oregon, in the fall of last year.
Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace

Meet the workers who unionized the first Chipotle in the nation

Nov 14, 2022
The employees became the first in the nation to form a union at one of the fast food chain's restaurants.
Atulya Dora-Laskey (left), Harper McNamara (middle) and Samantha Smith (right) helped organize the unionizing efforts of the first Chipotle nationwide.
Michelle Jokisch Polo

Black and Latino workers see biggest wage gains from union membership

Jun 13, 2022
A recent Congressional report shows collective bargaining can play a role in narrowing wage gaps.
Research shows that workers of color benefit greatly from union membership when it comes to wages.
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

How big a year for the labor movement was 2021?

Nov 24, 2021
An online geographic tracker from Cornell shows there were dozens of strikes that didn't make it into national headlines or government data.
Nurses picket at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center on Nov. 10. Cornell's Labor Action Tracker documents the many strikes and other activities that aren't recorded by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Is a new labor movement brewing?

AFL-CIO President Elizabeth Shuler advocates a revitalized labor movement that expands high-quality jobs and reduces inequality.
"What we're seeing out there is a demand for change," says new AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, shown here speaking at the White House on Sept. 8.
Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

How secretaries organized and changed the workplace for women

Feb 11, 2021
The 9to5 movement started with the feeling of being invisible as a woman office worker, says co-founder Karen Nussbaum.
"We had to carve out our own space both in the women's movement and the labor movement," said Karen Nussbaum, co-founder of the 9to5 movement.
Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University

Inside 9to5, the movement for women's workplace rights

Feb 11, 2021
A new documentary tells the story of the women's labor movement behind the iconic movie.
9to5 Cleveland holds an action in protest of National City Bank.
Steve Cagan