Labor

What does a government shutdown mean for you? Politico has some good information here. (Also, the National Labor Relations Board site appears to be down, possibly because of this, so you may not be able to click on the links related to union efforts.) Gaining back the public space to assist workers: A group of 200 people gathered…

Another group of workers won a pension back; it’s spreading! Around 186 workers at Kemps, a dairy plant in Le Mars, have won raises, a new health care plan, and a defined benefit pension in their first-ever work stoppage at the plant. The workers, who are organized with Teamsters Local 554, were on strike for 27 hours before coming…

Union rallies for Fort Madison prison workers: Prison health care workers unionized with AFSCME Council 61 held a rally Wednesday against a proposal from the state that would outsource prison health care across Iowa. “Whenever we see privatization, it’s not about looking out for the good of citizens,” said Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of…

Americans are starting to sour on capitalism. That’s according to the latest Gallup survey, which found the number of US adults who say they support capitalism—”an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods,” per Merriam-Webster—is at a record low. To be clear, “record low” is still more than half—54% of all adults still…