Labor Notes

Union members typically have health insurance through their employers, but labor has a stake in fighting the privatization of Medicaid, says Rose Roach, National Coordinator for the Labor Campaign for Single Payer.

"Corporatized health care is harming all of us, starting with our siblings in health care unions, who often work in grossly understaffed facilities, even as layoffs continue."

Read her March 2026 speech to the Minnesota AFL-CIO

How Unions Can Reverse Privatization of Medicaid and Why It Matters The following was adapted from a March 2026 speech that Rose Roach, National Coordinator for the Labor Campaign for Single Payer, gave to the Minnesota AFL-CIO. In July 2025, President Trump signed HR1 into law, inflicting a trillion dollars of federal cuts on our nation’s lifesaving state-based M...

On October 2, the SITIAVW bargaining committee reached a tentative agreement with VW offering a 13.16% combined increase to wages and benefits over the next two years.

The agreement would guarantee the 611 members laid off in September would be rehired in the future, and guarantee jobs for the current workforce at the plant. Members still have to vote on the deal.

Read the piece by Labor Notes writer Natascha Elena Uhlmann: https://labornotes.org/2026/09/mexican-vw-workers-weigh-strike-company-cuts-jobs-globally

Mexican VW Workers Weigh Strike as Company Cuts Jobs Globally Mexican Volkswagen workers could soon be on strike if their salary demands are not met. The 6,500 workers build the Jetta, Tiguan, and Taos at the company’s Puebla plant, the largest Volkswagen facility outside of Germany. Their union, SITIAVW, is one of Mexico’s most storied independent unions,...

Labor Notes Troublemakers Dispatch, Oct.2: Mexican VW Workers Weigh Strike as Company Cuts Jobs Globally; German Amazon Workers Organize to Get Paid for Every Minute; Labor Notes Podcast: How Much Would Your Pay to Stop 11 Workers from Organizing? - https://mailchi.mp/labornotes/20261001dispatch-10304757

Amazon workers at four delivery and sorting warehouses in Germany are organizing to make every minute count. They’re demanding that Amazon pay them for every minute of work, saying in a petition that the company is stealing their time

German Amazon Workers Organize To Get Paid for Every Minute Amazon workers at four delivery and sorting warehouses in Germany are organizing to make every minute count. They’re demanding that Amazon pay them for every minute of work, saying in a petition that the company is stealing their time. Working even 10 unpaid minutes a day, the workers say, adds up...

Longtime Labor Notes supporter Gene Bruskin, an organizer and strategist and former director for the Justice for Smithfield campaign in North Carolina, shares why he and his wife Evie are pledging to give to Labor Notes in their will.

"Our bequest helps assure that our heart and soul continues to live in this movement even when we are gone. As a lifelong union organizer, I can think of no better or more strategic cause to support."

Plan a gift to Labor Notes. Learn more at labornotes.org/content/legacy-giving

Amazon workers at four delivery and sorting warehouses in Germany are organizing to make every minute count. They’re demanding that Amazon pay them for every minute of work, saying in a petition that the company is stealing their time.

Working even 10 unpaid minutes a day, the workers say, adds up to 4.5 workdays per year of free labor, or about $712 U.S. (618 euros) in stolen wages. And at the most extreme, stolen time can reach up to 45 minutes per day.

The petition identifies three ways Amazon is stealing workers’ time.

German Amazon Workers Organize To Get Paid for Every Minute Amazon workers at four delivery and sorting warehouses in Germany are organizing to make every minute count. They’re demanding that Amazon pay them for every minute of work, saying in a petition that the company is stealing their time. Working even 10 unpaid minutes a day, the workers say, adds up...

Why I’m Writing Labor Notes into My Will - By Gene Bruskin: https://mailchi.mp/labornotes/planned-giving-10304718

Philadelphia Orchestra musicians have won first-in-the-nation protections against hearing loss.

The groundbreaking provisions, which could serve as a model for other orchestras, are part of a contract just ratified by Musicians Local 77-274

Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians Protect Their Hearing and Their Craft Philadelphia Orchestra musicians have won first-in-the-nation protections against hearing loss. The groundbreaking provisions, which could serve as a model for other orchestras, are part of a contract just ratified by Musicians (AFM) Local 77-274. They also secured a raise of almost 13 percent over....

Mexican Volkswagen workers could soon be on strike if their salary demands are not met. The 6,500 workers build the Jetta, Tiguan, and Taos at the company’s Puebla plant, the largest Volkswagen facility outside of Germany.

Their union, SITIAVW, is one of Mexico’s most storied independent unions, and is in the midst of an annual wage reopener at the plant. Labor Notes writer Natascha Elena Uhlmann reports:

Mexican VW Workers Weigh Strike as Company Cuts Jobs Globally Mexican Volkswagen workers could soon be on strike if their salary demands are not met. The 6,500 workers build the Jetta, Tiguan, and Taos at the company’s Puebla plant, the largest Volkswagen facility outside of Germany. Their union, SITIAVW, is one of Mexico’s most storied independent unions,...

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Build skills through practical workshops, and hear from workers on the front lines of recent struggles. Sign up here! labornotes.org/events/denver2026