“We can only ask ICE agents to leave if they are harassing or disrupting business,” Starbucks barista Alex Rivers told @nataschaelena.bsky.social. “Starbucks must follow hundreds of Minnesota businesses and forbid ICE from entering without a warrant.”
labornotes.org/2026/03/keep...
You can also listen to The Labor Notes Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: labornotespodcast.podbean.com
A title graphic for this week's Labor Notes Podcast episode: "Organizing is an antidote to Despair."
Labor Notes Pod: The antidote to despair, even now, is organizing. From autoworkers in Chattanooga winning their first contract to the trolleybus operators in Mexico City preparing to go on strike, there are pockets of labor everywhere building momentum
labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/three-reas...
The Labor Notes Podcast turns 1 year old! 🥳
Each week, we’ve gone behind the headlines to dig deeper into the struggles of rank-and-file organizers who make up labor’s troublemaking wing. Listen to some of our favorite episodes out now:
labornotespodcast.podbean.com
"A.I. is a management power grab, disguised as an inevitable technical upgrade. To fight it, workers can use four strategies proven in the past: name the real problem; unionize it; ransom it; and block it."
labornotes.org/2026/03/four...
"People trust the people they work with. As management kept pushing the message that workers should focus on their personal risk rather than our strength as a group, organizers held the store together by leaning on our deep relationships with one another."
labornotes.org/2026/02/how-...
"The future of organizing demands a movement that can take risks, cultivate and multiply worker leadership, and experiment with new pathways to recognition."
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"Our strike succeeded because workers knew the production process better than the company, we trusted in the collective intelligence of the workforce, and we broke with predictable mobilization models that the company could have anticipated."
labornotes.org/amazon-worke...
⏰Tonight (Wednesday, March 4). There's still time to sign up! labornotes.org/events/2026/...
The Tram Workers Alliance of Mexico is fighting for raises, job security, and more training. Rail, trolleybus, and cable car workers could soon hit the brakes on Mexico City’s mass transit system if their demands are not met.
labornotes.org/2026/02/mexi...
Can unions lead the push toward an environmentally sustainable future? The UAW wants California “to create tens of thousands of new union jobs, rapidly slash greenhouse gas emissions, and drive down energy costs for working-class communities.”
labornotes.org/2026/02/uaw-...
"Fortunately for the rule of law and every American cheated by the financial sector, the CFPB has not (yet) been totally 'dismantled' like USAID was. The swift and persistent actions of its unionized workforce saved the CFPB from that fate."
labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...
"Our experience shows what’s possible, even at a multinational corporation designed to neutralize organizing. Building from below, workers can organize a well-planned strike, draw on their knowledge of the production process, and wrest real gains" labornotes.org/amazon-worke...
"Our process for resolving grievances is broken—it takes months if not years before a grievance gets resolved. We have cases where people are quitting because they’ve waited months for a supervisor who’s been harassing them to be chastised in any way." labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...
"To meet this moment, unions could play a critical role in building and supporting a coalition that experiments with non-NLRB strategies and gives workers in limbo the tools to build durable power." labornotes.org/2026/02/work...
If you're trying to get better at 1-1 conversations or at figuring out how to map your workplace, join others at the upcoming "Secrets of a Successful Organizer" series online, on Wednesdays, March 4, 11 & 18. Sign up here today! labornotes.org/events/2026/...
CHICAGO!
Heat the Ground up
Join us for a discussion on how the historic @sbworkersunited.org strikes were organized. With @inthesetimes.com and @labornotes.bsky.social.
Stream here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKhl...
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Workers photographed partially in profile as they stand in a line in the rain, with umbrellas out and rain jacket hoods pulled over their heads.
The Letter Carriers Band performs: a group of workers and their family members are seated and playing brass and wind instruments, with sheet music out in front of them on stands.
Workers stand together in USPS rain jackets and hats and warm hoodies. One holds what appears to be a warm beverage in a yellow paper cup, while another next to him holds up a sign that reads, "1st class service, 1st class pay."
Four workers stand in front of a reddish-brown brick wall with partially visible lettering on it that reads United States Post Office, Westwood Station, Seattle, WA 98126. The workers carry signs that say "Fight like Hell."
Letter Carriers rallied outside the Westwood Station Post Office in Seattle, Washington, on Sunday, Feb 22, as part of the NALC's "Fight Like Hell" campaign across the U.S. as bargaining on their next contract kicked off this week. Photos by Nora Stamper of NALC Region 2
A graphic for the podcast episode, "What Makes a Good Steward." It features a photo of workers at a large hall with a blue-ish haze effect over the photo, and cut out photos superimposed over it of pod co-hosts Danielle Smith (left) and Natascha Elena Uhlmann (right).
Are you a new steward still finding your footing? Or an old hand trying to grow your stewards’ network and make sure newbies stick around? This episode has advice for new and veteran stewards and anyone else looking to build power in their workplace! labornotespodcast.podbean.com/e/stewards-c...
“We didn't have textbook organizing conversations, but we found that one positive statement from a co-worker undid weeks of fearmongering and confusion from the company,” write Ed Dupree and Ben Lovett, who work at a Whole Foods in Philadelphia labornotes.org/2026/02/how-...
This workshop series is based on our bestselling manual of the same name, Secrets of a Successful Organizer, which you can purchase here: labornotes.org/secrets 3/3
Whether you’ve just formed a union, are gearing up for a contract fight, or want to bring more co-workers into the fold, this workshop is for you. We encourage you to attend with the co-workers you’re organizing alongside.
Register here: labornotes.org/events/2026/... 2/3
Flyer advertising Labor Notes' Secrets of a Successful Organizer workshop series, held via Zoom on March 4, 11, and 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific. Register at labornotes.org/events. Accompanying graphic showcases various workers marching and hoisting up signs.
Join workers at our upcoming online series, Secrets of a Successful Organizer, three Wednesdays in March!
This is a core Labor Notes organizing training, taking place over three sessions where you can workshop fundamental organizing skills. 1/3
To learn more about the history of worker organizing at Starbucks, check out @haymarketbooks.org's Heat the Ground Up, an oral history of Starbucks Workers United, featuring commentary from Jenny Brown of Labor Notes. 2/2
“We won three city-wide wage increases, more secure scheduling, safety improvements. When baristas started to stir in a given area, we had some tremendous, energetic workers that had our back.” said Daniel Gross, co-founder of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union. 1/2
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5th slide argues that "workplace action at Amazon must b accompanied by strong labor-community alliances" to engender greater public and political leverage, paired with a graphic of a formal handshake.
6th slide describes the creation of "Labor Tables," or regular meetings where unions agree to coordinate their efforts in key metro areas and forge relationships with local groups working on Amazon-related issues. This is paired with a graphic of three people at a roundtable.
7th slide reiterates that Amazon's power is national in scope and integrated across regions, and thus the labor movement's response needs to be similarly coordinated in order to tip the scale in favor of workers. The accompanying graphic is a scale wherein workers on one end are starting to weigh out Amazon on the other.
Amazon organizing isn’t starting from scratch; we just need to coalesce the various efforts into a coordinated campaign. 3/3
1st slide showing Amazon workers picketing and the title "Unions Must Join Forces to Take On Amazon"
2nd slide depicts Amazon as an octopus with tentacles reaching into various companies that are emblematic of different sectors in the economy, such as healthcare, entertainment, grocery, and information technology. The sheer scale of the company makes it "a systemic threat to worker's rights."
3rd slide argues that while Amazon workers have already won historic breakthroughs, these efforts need to be part of a coordinated strategy. This is accompanied by an image of fragmented puzzle pieces labeled "Safety Fights," "Legal Challenges," "Strike Actions," and "Organizing Drives."
4th slide argues that the labor movement should target Amazon where it is most vulnerable - in "large metro areas where there are huge markets and where on-time deliveries are susceptible to work stoppages or slowdowns." The accompanying graphic showcases a series of interconnected nodes, with red targets adorning the central connective hubs.
Peter Olney, a retired organizing director of the Longshore Workers (ILWU) and a co-editor of Labor Power and Strategy, and Rand Wilson, a longtime labor communicator and organizer for CHIPS Communities United, offer a useful framework for approaching this challenge. 2/3
As Amazon continues to spread into new markets, it poses a threat to labor standards that many unions have achieved. Unions must build worker power at such a behemoth by making Amazon organizing a project of the entire labor movement. 1/3
labornotes.org/2026/02/amaz...
A graphic that features an illustration of fists raised, and reads, "How Can Unions Defend Worker Power Under Trump 2.0?"
This piece is part of the Labor Notes Roundtable Series: How Can Unions Defend Worker Power Against Trump 2.0? Read the rest of the series here: labornotes.org/content/how-... 6/6
...We should create structures to support workers on this path when joining a union isn’t an option. This means focusing on developing more organizers and activists, which can grow the labor movement in the long term. 5/6
