Almost twice on average each month this year, a Rikers Island detainee has died by suicide or under mysterious circumstances that are sometimes suggestive of official neglect, avoidable accident or …
During the six years I lived in the Netherlands I learned that every worker, whether working in a service or professional job, had four weeks of paid vacation and a 36-hour workweek. If they worked …
The MTA will dig deep into the pockets of its customers in order to excavate and rifle the vestiges of the tax base's bank accounts. They will divert and seize our collective non-discretionary …
A recent Chief article, “CUNY professors’ PSC claim dismissed; First Amendment suit followed union’s ‘Palestine’ resolution” (Dec. 9) reports on the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by six …
The right to die by hypothermia is constitutionally guaranteed and may not be abridged, questioned or sabotaged by intervention, regardless of motive.It is an alienable assertion of personal dignity, …
The most important thing workers have is power. That power doesn’t come from having a collective bargaining agreement but from being so well organized they can disrupt business as usual to get what …
At last week’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Meeting, it was announced that the agency could face a growing financial deficit. It may reach $3 billion in 2023 and grow even more in …
First things first.Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo must be condemned for his revolting and inflammatory slander of AFT President Randi Weingarten, whom he called "the most dangerous person in …
Now that Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror of this year's holiday cycle, and its message of eternal gratitude is stricken as a timely agenda item for the kitchen table and pulpit, our …
Last month, the remaining four of the largest railroad unions voted to reject a federally mediated tentative agreement. If the strike begins as early as Dec. 9, it could disrupt about 28 percent of …
There is an extraordinarily idyllic and gated residential community and country club within the city limits that has its own golf course and every imaginable amenity for its nearly 2,000 …
I just returned from a weeklong book tour in the U.K. and The Netherlands where worker militancy and organizing was in the air. One of my talks was canceled due to the London subway strike that …
“First, do no harm.” That's the Hippocratic Oath that new physicians take as they launch their careers into the stardom of affluence. The original intent of the word "harm" is clear, but …
Henry Garrido, the executive director of District Council 37, told his 150,000 current members and 89,000 retirees in a recent letter that there is no Plan B to the Municipal Labor Committee’s …
In the past year there has been a surge in nonprofit worker union organizing. Because local and state governments are increasingly contracting with nonprofit organizations to take over work done by …
There's a high-tech worm in the Apple. It's a corporate maggot that leaves an incriminating trail of rottenness and slime. Apple, of course, gave us the iPhone and so many other cutting-age …
By voluntary self-exclusion, among the least diverse audiences are moviegoers attending a film with a Holocaust theme. These cinematic efforts just don't seem to have broad cultural-spectrum …
At The Fortune Society, one of the first things participants say to us is, “I need a job. Can you please help me find a job?” This is the constant plea whether the participant has just come home …
Thousands of migrant children will no doubt be burdensome to the New York City economy and stretch limited resources that fund public education and social services. It has been cruelly and …
New York City firefighter Anita Daniel has been both a victim of sexual harassment and failed by the FDNY’s Equal Employment Opportunity Office. According to the report in the Sept. 30 issue of The …
“Social unionism” is one of the catchiest terms in the labor movement. Many unions, including my own, claim to use social unionism. But what is social unionism, and has it succeeded?Social …
It is the season of tropes and reinvention. It is the season of solemn covenants and broken promises. It is the season of color blindness and injustice in plain sight. It is the season of …
Unions belong wherever they are necessary. That means everywhere except unattended ancient catacombs. If there are guards there, there should be collective bargaining for more than to take air …
I fully sympathize with the hardworking cab drivers who have faced bankruptcy due to money owed for medallions. I not only think that they should be provided with relief, but also that buying a …
In spring 2021, the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) and the city announced they would be auto-enrolling retirees into a private for-profit managed care Medicare Advantage plan. They told the retirees …
