Category: Labor
Thousands Strike in Colorado for Better Labor Practices at Local Grocery Chain
More than 8,000 employees at Kroger’s King Soopers stores, and a few City Markets, are on their third day of striking for better labor practices in Colorado. Unicorn Riot spoke with Gigi Jones, a union captain at a King Soopers in Denver, about reasons for…
Thousands March in Celebration of Mayday 2021
International Workers Day or āMaydayā is a annual holiday held on the first of May to celebrate the achievements and sacrifices of the international labor movement. The holiday started in the United States over a century ago to commemorate the workers who campaigned to achieve…
South African Unions Form Alliance Against Government
Durban, South Africa – On October 7, 2020, South Africa’s four largest trade union confederations COSATU, SAFTU, FEDUSA, and NACTU organized a national one-day strike in response to ongoing, failed negotiations with the government. These rival union confederations have combined forces in an effort to…
Philly Starbucks Worker Delivers NLRB Unfair Labor Practice Complaint
Philadelphia, PA – An employee of the Starbucks at 1900 Market St. delivered a National Labor Relations Board form stating she’d been retaliated against for ‘Protected Concerted Activity’. The worker filing the complaint alleges she was punished via a reduction in hours for organizing a…
Coronavirus, Corruption, and Resistance: Life Under South Africa’s Lockdown
Durban, South Africa – Five months ago South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of emergency and announced a ā21 day lockdownā in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus in South Africa. The lockdown’s time frame has since been extended multiple…
“Everyone Deserves A Cost-Of-Living Adjustment”: Interview with UCSC Striker Yulia Gilich
Santa Cruz, CA – Graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) at the University of California in Santa Cruz (UCSC) are fighting for a livable wage. A year of unsuccessful attempts to encourage their employer to re-negotiate a fairer contract, including a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their…
St. Paul Teachers Union Strikes, Demanding Increased Mental Health Support for Students
St. Paul, MN – If a school district isn’t actively addressing the significant barriers preventing students’ education, is it reasonable to expect teachers to be successful at their jobs?
Providing resources to minimize barriers against youth learners is the focus of the 2020 labor strike…
Tentative Agreement Reached On CTU Strike
Chicago, IL – Wednesday night, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) convened their House of Delegates to review and vote on the city’s latest proposal to settle the ongoing strike. A majority of the delegates voted YES to end the now 14-day long strike, with the…
No Deal Reached as CTU Strike Continues Into Day 12
Chicago, IL – The CTU (Chicago Teachers Union) remains on strike for the 12th day after no agreement could be reached over the weekend. Monday marks the eighth day of missed classes, as compared to seven missed days of class during the 2012 CTU strike.…
Chicago Teachers and Allies Rally as Strike Continues
Chicago, IL – Unicorn Riot covered a labor rally in solidarity with the ongoing Chicago Teachers Union strike. The strike enters its tenth day and began October 17, 2019.
Teachers in Chicago are calling for smaller class sizes, adequate nurses, librarians, social workers, and teachers…
Minneapolis Labor History Honored at 85th Anniversary of 1934 Strike
St. Paul, MN — This weekend in 2019 marks the 85 anniversary of the 1934 Teamsters Strike in Minneapolis, which began when coal drivers were organized to strike through the coldest part of the Minnesota winter by leftist members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.…
Amazon Workers Strike on Prime Day in Shakopee, Minnesota
Shakopee, MN – Over 100 employees at ‘MSP1’, a large Amazon warehouse in Minnesota, plan a four-hour work stoppage at the peak of business on Amazon’s “Prime Day” sales promotion event.
Workers say that demanding quotas and pressure to perform at high speeds causes undue…
Denver Teacher Strike a Success Amid Nationwide Walkouts
Denver, CO – After three days of striking and late nights of negotiating, many Denver teachers returned to their classrooms on Thursday, February 14, 2019 after a tentative agreement was struck between the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) and Denver Public Schools (DPS).
The agreement…
Thousands Rally in Support of Striking Oakland Teachers
Oakland, CA – On Thursday, February 21, 2019, thousands of teachers, students, union organizers and community supporters rallied in downtown Oakland in a show of support for local teachers as they started their first day of striking. Represented by the Oakland Education Association, teachers walked…
Nine Injured at #Fightfor15 Rally After Truck Plows into Crowd
Flint, MI – On Tuesday morning, October 2, fast food workers and union members were marching toward a rally outside a local McDonalds calling for $15 an hour wages. Video of the incident shows a maroon pickup truck barreling at high speed down the road…
Prison Slave Labor: A Driving Force in 2018 Prison Strike
Prison, USA – One of the primary demands of the 2018 nationwide prison strike is the abolition of prison slavery. The legal framework of the current system of prison slavery in America is upheld by the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which allows for…
Sex Work After SESTA/FOSTA: A Discussion With Maggie Mayhem at DEFCON
Las Vegas, NV – According to sex workers’ rights activist Maggie Mayhem, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), and FOSTA, have created a more dangerous environment for sex workers in the United States, driving them back onto the street.
A November 2017 research paper found…
Minneapolis Sex Workers Legal Training Mitigates Super Bowl Crackdown Fears
Minneapolis, MN – On January 21, 2018 Unicorn Riot attended a “Know Your Rights” training conducted by the Minneapolis Sex Worker Outreach Project (SWOP). The training was aimed at the sex worker community. They hoped to give community members legal tools as fears of police…
Longtime Denver Community Residents Boycott ink! Coffee
Denver, CO – On Saturday, November 25, 2017, over 200 people rallied outside of ink! Coffee shop on Larimer Street in downtown Denver to show their opposition to the shop’s recent advertising displays.
Unicorn Riot provided live coverage of the community responses to the incidents…
Greece: Alternative Economies & Community Currencies Pt. 3 – FairCoop
Athens, Greece – Tools born from the internet, applied across autonomous networks and movements seeking alternatives to capitalism, are providing the infrastructure of alternative societies. In the last of our specials on community currencies and alternative economies, we showcase FairCoop, a self-organized and self-managed global…
Greece: Alternative Economies & Community Currencies Pt. 1 – Athens Integral Cooperative
Athens, Greece – While capitalism and consumerism dominate the culture of the United States of America and the Western world, community currencies are creating a buzz elsewhere. The radical need for alternative economies and community currencies is becoming more commonplace among societies across the globalized…
Greece: ADYE, Exarcheia’s Free Self-Organized Healthcare Clinic
Athens, Greece – As the healthcare debate in the United States crescendos with both dominant political parties sparring over how best to ensure not everyone has health insurance, Unicorn Riot journalists visited Greece, where austerity measures imposed by the bailout of 2010 have ravaged the…
The People’s Summit, Progressive and Labor Conference in Chicago
Chicago, IL – On June 9th through 11th, there will be a large gathering in Chicago of leaders of key progressive organizations and activists, the second such convening in two years.
The People’s Summit is a “big gathering of progressive activists” and organizations committed to…
Chile: Fifty-OneĀ Arrested During May 1st Protest for Labor and Immigration Rights
Santiago, Chile – Two marches marked the first of May in Chile’s capital Monday. A permitted march was organized by Chile’s national association of labor unions, la CUT, while an unpermitted “classist and combative” march was organized by independent unions as well as communist, socialist…