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Report Back: Maine DSA 2023 Convention
By Maine DSA Communications Committee Originally published in Pine & Roses, a project of the Maine DSA. On the weekend of January 21-22, Maine DSA held its first of two semi-annual conventions for 2023. Over the course of a chapter convention weekend, members gather both in-person and online for workshops on a range of topics, as well as…
Stolen Wages Returned for 3 Hotel Workers, Highlighting Need To Fight Wage Theft
By Paul Garver Metrowest Worker Center Recovers Wages for 3 Hotel Workers Wakefield, MA — On December 20th, workers and supporters demanded managers pay back wages when they made a surprise visit at the Five Points Marriott Hotel in Wakefield. The action got results: three days later, three Brazilian immigrant workers confirmed that they had…
Tufts RA Union Wins Big in NLRB Election
By Oriana R. Medford, MA – Undergraduate resident assistants at Tufts University voted to unionize on December 14, 2022 after a semester of organizing, certifying United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants (ULTRA) as the bargaining representative of all Tufts RAs. Years of complaints and inaction from the university came to a head during Fall 2022…
Love and Solidarity Will Beat Far Right Attacks on Queer Spaces
After a pitched scuffle to defend a drag queen story hour last month in Fall River left comrades injured but victorious, the Boston DSA is planning to show up in force in Fall River tomorrow to protect queer spaces from far-right attacks. This piece was originally published in the Boston Political Education Working Group’s blog…
Rail Workers, Socialists Seek Right Track in Wake of Biden Sellout
By Henry De Groot WORCESTER, MA — Dozens of railroad workers, socialists, union members, and community supporters rallied in front of Union Station on Tuesday, two weeks after Congress voted to impose a contract which rail workers had voted down. The rally was part of a national day of action called by SMART-TD, the largest…
#RedCupRebellion Shows Barista Militancy
By Eli Gerzon #RedCupRebellion Strikes Profitable Promotion Day The #RedCupRebellion on November 17th was the largest action by Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) yet. Across the U.S., 114 stores went on strike – with solidarity actions in several other countries as well. In Massachusetts 8 stores went on strike, with the Starbuck on Mt Auburn Street…
HAVERHILL AND MALDEN EDUCATORS STRIKE AND WIN
By Eli Gerzon Haverhill and Malden public school educators both went on strike on Monday, October 17 — the first time in decades that multiple educators’ unions have coordinated strikes in Massachusetts. Educators struck for one day in Malden and for four days in Haverhill, and union members in both districts secured new contracts and…
WPI Grad Workers Win Worcester’s Largest Union Election in a Decade
In a historic vote, graduate workers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute came out 96% in favor of forming the largest new bargaining unit won in a union election in Worcester in over a decade.
St. Vincent Nurses Go Public With Patient Safety Concerns
Concerns include a lack of needed staff and supplies, items possibly left inside patients, and at least three “never events” — serious medical errors that should never happen.
Opinion: 100 Years On, the TUEL Is a Strong Framework for DSA’s Labor Work
By Henry De Groot The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not represent the official position of Working Mass. DSA Emerges as a Force in Labor As the Democratic Socialists of America has grown into the country’s largest socialist organization in recent memory, its work in the labor movement has…
How Clark Grad Workers Won Their First Contract
Today members of Clark University Graduate Workers United (CUGWU-Teamsters) ratified their first contract, ending an indefinite strike.
Boston University Grad Workers Call for Voluntary Recognition
By Henry De Groot and Cory B BOSTON — On October 11, the Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU) called on BU president Robert Brown to voluntarily recognize their union, indicating in a letter that a “growing majority” of BU’s over 3,000 graduate student workers have signed authorization cards. BUGWU is affiliated with SEIU Local…
BU Graduate Workers Build Momentum on Union Drive
By Eli Gerzon Boston – Last week, a lively crowd of a few hundred rallied on Marsh Plaza at Boston University in support of Boston University Graduate Workers United (BUGWU). The union went public this month and is now building up support in the lead-up to eventually filing for a vote to unionize. Speakers talked…
Victory After Historic Boston Starbucks Strike
By Eli Gerzon Starbucks workers at 874 Commonwealth Ave have declared victory after the corporation folded on their minimum availability requirements and agreed to investigate a problematic manager, major issues of the strike. This victory comes 64 days into the historic strike, the longest Starbucks strike in US history. The victory shows that unionized Starbucks…
One Week Strike Gets Results at Watertown Starbucks
By Eli Gerzon Watertown – Greater Boston continues to be a hub of the labor movement’s growing size and boldness, as strikers at 75 Mt Auburn St in Watertown, MA launched a strike, paralleling the existing strike at the 874 Commonwealth Ave store at Boston University. The strike at the Watertown Starbucks started on Friday,…
Why WPI Grad Workers Need a Union
With a supermajority of cards signed, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Graduate Workers’ Union is filing for a union election with the NLRB. In August, Working Mass spoke with two members of the organizing committee to discuss how the union drive got started, the impact of the pandemic and rising cost of living, and why, in…
How Foreign Private Equity Hooked New England’s Fishing Industry
by Will Sennott, Propublica Owned by a billionaire Dutch family, Blue Harvest Fisheries has emerged as a dominant force in the lucrative fishing port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Its business model: benefit from lax antitrust rules and pass costs on to local fishermen. This story was originally published by ProPublica, in partnership with The New Bedford Light. Sign up…
Sara Nelson Speaks on Strikes, Unions, and Capitalism
By Eli Gerzon This Sunday Bernie Sanders, Sara Nelson of the Association of Flight Attendants, and Sean O’Brien of the Teamsters union are speaking on Cambridge Common at 1pm. Working Mass caught up with Sara Nelson this weekend, to talk about unions, socialism, and why she’s coming to Boston. Nelson will be joining the Starbucks…
Why is Sanders Holding a Rally In Cambridge This Sunday?
By Eli Gerzon Senator Bernie Sanders will headline a rally in Cambridge this Sunday, August 21st at 1pm, alongside Teamsters president Sean O’Brien and Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson. The rally is being held at the Cambridge Common, with doors opening at 12pm. You can RSVP for the rally here. The rally will…
Historic Starbucks Strike Places Boston At Center of Labor Revival
By Eli Gerzon Brookline Starbucks Workers Continue Historic Strike One year ago there were no unionized Starbucks in the US. Then, this company with a “progressive” reputation and billions of dollars in profits was challenged by the source of those profits: their workers. It started in late 2021 when Starbucks stores in Buffalo, NY unionized.…
Workers Strike Brookline Starbucks
By Agnes Smedley Picketing in the Heat Brookline- The doors are locked and the lights are off at the Starbucks at 874 Commonwealth Ave across from Boston University, as the workers strike until further notice. Working Mass joined Starbucks workers braving 90-degree temperatures on the picket line in front of the store on Wednesday, the…
City Feed Workers Seek First Contract
By Michael Gutierrez Jamaica Plain: Workers at the grocery store City Feed & Supply voted to form a union this past June. The vote came on the heels of an outpouring of local support and rode the wave of a national unionizing trend in business sectors not traditionally associated with union representation. The vote was…
AFL-CIO President Stumps For Boston DSA Candidate
By Henry De Groot Building Trades Canvass for Uyterhoeven SOMERVILLE – The AFL-CIO’s newly elected president Liz Shuler headlined a labor canvass for Boston DSA member and State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven this weekend. President Shuler drew supporters and riled up volunteers before hitting the doors herself. Uyterhoeven is seeking re-election as State Representative of the…
Boston Teachers Union Reaches Tentative Agreement
By Henry De Groot *7/15 – Article has been updated to clarify the rate of proposed pay increases. Tentative Agreement Announced at AFT Convention This morning, Boston Teachers Union (BTU) President Jessica Tang announced that the union had reached a tentative agreement with the City of Boston. BTU members have been working for 11 months…
Neo-Nazi March In Boston Shows Increasing Threat of Far-Right
by Henry De Groot De Groot shows last weekend’s fascist demonstration as part of serious escalation in fascist organizing around the US. He discusses the threat of fascism, the strategies and tactics required to defeat it, and the differences in ideology and class-basis between fascism and other far-right movements. Patriot Front Marches In Boston This…
First Greater Boston Starbucks Unanimously Back Unionization
By Henry De Groot BROOKLINE — On Monday, two Greater Boston Starbucks stores voted unanimously to unionize. The 1304 Commonwealth Ave Starbucks in Allston voted 11-0 to unionize. The ballots of an additional 5 shift managers were challenged by the company, but the margin was such that the National Labor Relations Board certified without counting…
Victory for Grad Workers, Left Unionists at MIT
By Henry De Groot On Wednesday, graduate student workers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) voted 1785 to 912 in support of unionizing with the MIT Graduate Student Union (MITGSU-UE), an affiliate of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). The landslide victory overcame opposition from the university administration and set…
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