Worker’s Almanac

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2024. As many of you know, I was off work for the past month dealing with the loss of my wife.   As far as my bosses being accommodating to my needs during all of this, I could not be luckier. They’ve given me carte blanche…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Another round of layoffs at John Deere is coming to Iowa.   This time, 112 workers will be laid off from the East Donald Street plant in Waterloo by Jan. 6, while another 80 will be laid off at the plant in Davenport by Jan.…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. My coworkers and I at Iowa Starting Line are lucky to have this Thursday and Friday off for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I’m getting you this newsletter early this week.   It made me wonder: How many workers don’t get Thanksgiving/Friday off?   Obviously,…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you already know about the thousands of layoffs at meatpacking plants like Tyson Foods in Perry, and the thousands—in smaller batches—of workers laid off at John Deere plants across the state (in part to move some…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. I’ve been reading several takes on what went wrong for Democrats in this election. And there’s one that actually resonates:   The party as a whole needed to do a better job centering the working class.   Before you furiously hit reply, look: I know…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Cargill Corn workers in Cedar Rapids told me they don’t want you to forget about their struggle against the world’s largest grain trader.   And that’s especially important this week, as Cargill cut off health insurance for its nearly 100 workers on strike.   “For…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. If you care about workers’ rights, or upholding federal child labor laws, or even being fiscally responsible with your tax dollars, you should know what your elected leaders have been up to in the Iowa Legislature before you fill out your ballot.   Iowa Republicans…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. At last Thursday’s rally at Cargill Corn Milling in Cedar Rapids, where around 100 Teamsters-affiliated workers have been on a Cargill strike since Oct. 1, workers talked about the disrespect they say they’ve gotten from their company during negotiations.   (Read my stories about how…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. I went to the strike line at Cargill Corn Milling in Cedar Rapids last week, visiting with a few of the roughly 100 Teamsters-affiliated workers who have been on strike since Oct. 1.   And those workers kept coming back to one major issue: Respect.…

Share with a friend It’s Worker Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. Around 100 workers at Cargill Corn Milling in Cedar Rapids are officially on strike.   The three-year contract between Cargill—with corn milling and soybean processing plants in the city—and workers unionized with Teamsters Local 238 expired at midnight Tuesday.   But workers didn’t vote to…