class struggle

By Union Jake and Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, May 7, 2024

By Raluca Besliu - Green European Journaly, May 3, 2024

In India’s ongoing elections, economic and social issues are intertwined with rising temperatures and declining agricultural harvests. While Indian farmers are the worst affected, the climate path of the world’s most populous country and third-largest emitter affects us all – and there are things the EU could do to help.

The world’s largest democratic exercise is currently underway, with Indian voters heading to the polls for nationwide elections. In this elaborate and lengthy process, spanning from 19 April to 1 June, nearly one billion Indians will elect 543 representatives to the lower house, known as the Lok Sabha. The outcome will define the country’s leadership: polls predict the incumbent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will win a clear victory, with the main opposition, the centre-left National Congress Party, trailing far behind. 

With the world’s fastest-expanding economy and a young and growing population, India grapples with a multitude of issues. Of key concern to the Indian electorate is the persistent challenge of unemployment, slightly higher than in 2014 when Modi came to power with promises of widespread job creation. The rise of an aggressive Hindu nationalism under Modi’s leadership, which promotes Hindu “values” as intrinsically those of the nation, has also stirred unease among religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians. 

Yet while these important issues dominate the headlines, something else lurks beneath the surface: climate change. It subtly shapes voter demands through the lens of anxieties about livelihoods and welfare, as growing parts of the electorate experience its harsh consequences first-hand in the form of scorching droughts, heatwaves, and torrential rains.

India is the world’s third-largest carbon emitter. Given its critical role in global climate action, the implications of the election outcome extend far beyond the country’s borders. The EU and other global stakeholders should thus closely monitor its results not just for the impact they will have on domestic affairs, but for international climate efforts. 

By Union Jake, Adam Keller, et. al. - Valley Labor Report, May 3, 2024

By Union Jake and Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, May 3, 2024

By Avalon Edwards and Thomas Birmingham - In These Times, May 3, 2024

It had been just two weeks since Emily Lark gave birth to her second child. Her partner, Eva Lark, was already at the office, getting back into the groove of their grueling 70-hour work week as a public programs manager. In the middle of the day, while bouncing from one Zoom call to the next, Eva received a phone call from Emily. Something was off.

“I’m dizzy. I can’t catch my breath,” said Emily. At first, she had chalked it up to residual stress in the aftermath of an intense pregnancy. But the dizziness and shortness of breath wouldn’t go away, and when Emily called Eva, she was scared. ​“We need to go to the hospital now.” 

At the hospital, Emily was promptly diagnosed with postpartum complications — preeclampsia, which, if untreated, can cause seizures, organ damage and high blood pressure. She was then admitted for an extended stay. 

But Eva, an employee of the National Audubon Society for more than nine years, had already used up their allotted two weeks of paid parental leave. To look after Emily and their two young children, they were forced to use accrued vacation time. 

“The stress on both of us was very severe,” said Lark. “[Audubon] even had the gall to say, ​‘We’re so excited you’re expanding your family.’ I was like, ​‘Don’t be excited. Give me equal benefits.’”

If Eva had been a non-union employee, however, they would have been on paid parental leave for another four weeks. 

Eva’s crisis represents just one of many ongoing battles between the Audubon Society, an environmental nonprofit that pledges to ​“stand up” for birds, and the nonprofit’s roughly 250-person Bird Union, formerly known as Audubon For All. In March 2021, news broke about a union drive inside the organization — an effort that had been in the works for more than a year. In the roughly three years since, Audubon management has responded by refusing to voluntarily recognize the union, hiring union-busting consultants and granting unequal benefits between unionized and non-unionized staff.

By Union Jake and Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, May 1, 2024

By staff - Labor Network for Sustainability, April 30, 2024

For two years, the GKN auto parts plant in Florence, Italy, has been occupied by laid-off workers. In late March, thousands of people from all over Italy marched in solidarity with workers from the plant. The call for the March 25 demonstration was signed by hundreds of organizations.

The workers issued a plan for “reindustrialization from below” with reconversion toward sustainable mobility and renewable energy. A Reindustrialization Group has identified the skills of the workers, mapped the factory’s layout, and inventoried its machinery and infrastructure. It is now seeking projects to make use of their machinery and skills. The workers are negotiating with a company that specializes in clean energy production to explore the possibility of producing cutting-edge photovoltaic panels and batteries at the plant. Meanwhile, an “Ex GKN for Future” crowdfunding campaign is laying the groundwork for a future based on “popular shareholding.” It raised nearly 60,000 Euros in the first two weeks – anyone can invest.

To learn more: https://jacobin.com/2023/04/italy-gkn-factory-occupation-transform-production-workers-jobs-climate-change

For the crowdfunding campaign portal (in English, French, German, and Spanish, and Italian): https://www.produzionidalbasso.com/project/gkn-for-future/

By Union Jake and Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, April 29, 2024

By Union Jake and Adam Keller - Valley Labor Report, April 30, 2024

By Luis Feliz Leon - Labor Notes, April 30, 2024

Michael Göbel, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, stepped down from his post yesterday, according to a video message that workers were shown.

Göbel had groused in an April captive-audience meeting about a worker’s claim that Mercedes had come for the “Alabama discount”: low wages. His departure is another win for Mercedes-Benz workers, who already scored pay bumps and an end to wage tiers—and they haven’t even voted on the union yet.

The company and Alabama politicians are ramping up their anti-union campaign as an election draws near. The 5,200 Mercedes workers at a factory complex and electric battery plant outside Tuscaloosa will vote May 13-16 on whether to join the United Auto Workers, with a vote count May 17.

They’re following close on the heels of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who notched a historic victory April 19—the first auto plant election win for the UAW in the South since the 1940s.

The VW vote was a blowout: 2,628 yes to 985 no, with 84 percent turnout. The National Labor Relations Board certified the results April 30, meaning VW is legally required to begin bargaining with the union.