On Monday, May 27, Canada’s parliament unanimously passed new “anti-scab” legislation that will prohibit federally-regulated employers from using replacement workers during a strike. “This legislation is about protecting the right to fair and free collective bargaining, including the right to strike,” said Lana Payne, National President of UE’s Canadian ally Unifor. The bill “modernizes Canada’s labor […]
One of the most important ways we’ve built international solidarity over the past 30 years is our Worker-to-Worker Exchange Program. Unfortunately, we had to put the program on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, Worker-to-Worker Exchange is back — and we need your help to meet a $5,000 fundraising match and make it better than ever.
Close UE allies in Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Brazil, Great Britain, India and South Africa have all joined the worldwide call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
420,000 public-sector workers — including members of UE’s close ally the Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN) — began a one-week strike across the province of Quebec today. UE’s officers wrote in a solidarity letter to the CSN that “Public sector workers are the backbone of our communities, maintaining our infrastructure and public spaces, teaching our […]
On Tuesday afternoon of the 78th UE Convention, convention delegates were joined by international guests from Japan, Mexico, and Quebec. Takeshi Takeshita and Keisuke Fuse, both deputy secretaries-general of Japan’s militant labor federation Zenroren, described the “long history of friendship and solidarity” between Zenroren and UE. That history included Zenroren taking action to put pressure on Japanese multinationals such as Kobe Steel and Hishi Plastics when their workers in the U.S. sought to join UE.
In a return to pre-pandemic practices, UE was delighted to accept invitations to the national conventions of two of our international allies this May. Retired UE General President Peter Knowlton represented UE at a meeting of Confederação Nacional dos Metalúrgicos (CNM-CUT) in Brazil, and Kari Thompson, UE’s Director of International Strategies, attended the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) Congress in Montréal, Quebec.
Five unions representing Wabtec workers from across the globe have written letters to Wabtec CEO Rafael Santana expressing their solidarity with the members of UE Locals 506 and 618, and demanding that the company settle a fair contract at its locomotive plant in Erie, PA. Unifor National President Lana Payne, on behalf of her union’s […]
Earlier this year, the Chicago-based labor television show Labor Beat posted their 1997 documentary about the cross-border mural project organized by UE and our Mexican partners the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo (FAT) on YouTube. The documentary, which runs approximately half an hour, follows the creation of two labor murals, one at the FAT headquarters in Mexico City, the other at the UE Hall in Chicago.
Economic conditions have sent workers in numerous sectors on strike across the United Kingdom for the past several months, culminating in a February 1 strike of over 500,000 workers, including teachers, civil servants, and university and railroad workers. During the day of industrial action, union leaders delivered petitions signed by more than a quarter of a million […]
In a “Giving Tuesday” email to supporters of UE’s international solidarity work, UE Director of International Strategies Kari Thompson announced that “In 2023, we are planning to return to in-person member exchanges with workers in other countries, if health conditions continue to allow.”
