Free Republic

Britain is facing its biggest rail strikes in three decades after last-minute talks between a union and train companies failed to agree on pay. Frustrated passengers in England, Scotland, and Wales are now dealing with severe disruption in what is the largest rail strike in 30 years as they scramble to find transport alternatives for their daily commutes. Up to 40,000 staffers are staging a walkout on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday this week in protest over pay and job security. This week’s strike will shut down most of the UK’s rail network, bringing the country to a complete standstill. Only...

The National Mediation Board (NMB) on June 14 set in motion a ticking time bomb toward an economy-jolting national railroad shutdown within 90 days, its two Democratic members agreeing with rail labor—and over the remonstrance of carriers and the NMB’s lone Republican—that a voluntary agreement to amend unionized rail worker wages, benefits and work rules is not within reach. Negotiations, dating to January 2020, involve 12 rail craft unions (bargaining in two coalitions collectively representing some 115,000 rail workers), most Class I freight railroads and many smaller ones. Management is represented by the National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC). CSX is...

"If, God forbid, these weapons are used against Russian territory then our armed forces will have no other choice but to strike decision-making centres."

Dozens of container ships are piling up outside Germany’s largest seaport by volume, known as the Port of Hamburg. It’s the third busiest port in Europe and the 15th largest globally and could be plunged into chaos next week as dockworkers may strike. German newspaper Die Welt reports congestion at Hamburg is worsening, and container ships have to wait two weeks before entering the port. “The waiting times are unsatisfactory,” a spokesman for shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said, referring to Hamburg. Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), a top European port and transport logistics company, said the reason for increasing congestion...

Joy Behar told her co-hosts Tuesday on ABC’s “The View” that if the Supreme Court had made a 5-4 decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, it was the beginning of a “war” on women, gay people, and people of color.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Russia for striking Kyiv on the same day that the United Nations secretary-general was visiting, saying Thursday the attack spoke to Russia’s efforts “to humiliate the UN and everything that the Organization represents.”

After weeks of pleas from the White House for Congress to approve more money toward COVID-19 programs that were at risk of being cut, senators have put forward a new bill for $10 billion. The package, which sets aside money to support the nation's testing infrastructure and the development of new, variant-specific vaccines, falls far short of the initial $22.5 billion requested by the White House.

<p>Update (1535ET): Bloomberg reports that Sri Lanka’s cabinet has submitted its resignation, a ruling party member said, amid rising public anger about the government’s economic policies that have led to soaring living costs and a foreign exchange crisis.</p><p>As we detailed earlier, the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka is experiencing worsening shortages of food, fuel, and medicine amid a foreign exchange crisis. A 36-hour curfew went into effect this weekend as mass anti-government protests over soaring living costs are underway.</p>

The international supply chain crisis that has impacted U.S. logistics firms, retailers and consumers could intensify this summer. West Coast union dockworkers may strike if they don't come to an agreement to replace their existing contract with marine terminals. The contract is set to expire at the end of June.

The North American agricultural sector could be in for a major shock if Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd’s (CP Rail) work stoppage is not resolved in a timely manner because it could spark a shortage of fertilizer and other shipments critical for the spring growing season, according to AP News. AP News reports more than 3,000 CP Rail conductors, engineers, train, and yard workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference stepped off the job Sunday as the union and CP Rail couldn’t strike a deal. CP Rail is the leading carrier of potash, a potassium-rich salt mined from underground deposits...

After weeks of stalled negotiations between Chevron’s Richmond, California refinery and the local chapter of the United Steelworkers union, union members voted to go on strike last night. In anticipation of the walkout, Chevron made an unusual preemptive move to keep the plant in operation. They bussed out more than 500 union workers and brought in non-union replacements to keep the operation going while negotiations with the union continue. This has some labor leaders crying foul, but analysts agree that a sudden shutdown of a major refinery during the current supply chain crisis in the oil and gas industry would...

More than 500 United Steelworkers members were bussed out of the plant Sunday evening and replaced by non-union staff. No new contract talks are planned, said USW Local 5 First Vice President B.K. White in an interview. The existing labor contract at the Richmond, California, refinery expired Feb. 1 and efforts since then failed to reach agreement. The union twice voted to reject the company's offers.

If the despicable tyrant Fidel Trudeau orders his government thugs to assault and abuse the rights of the protesters all Canadians should start a general strike and shut the entire country down. The fist order of business should be to call in sick for coup-flu and stop all shipping except for food, medicines, and enough fuel for emergency services. If Canadians back down we may be slaves until our grandchildren shoot their way out of communist tyranny.

Political prisoner Jake Lang is serving time in Washington DC for his actions on Jan. 6. He has been imprisoned with no rights for over a year now. Islamic terrorists who murdered Americans have more rights than Jake Lang. The DC elites and corrupt fake news media agree with this. Jake Lang was trampled when Capitol Police pushed Trump supporters down the stairs outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Jake was buried under several people when the Capitol police started pushing protesters down the stairs. He was next to Rosanne Boyland who was killed by police when they...

BEIRUT, Lebanon — For a man who sought to disappear, the leader of the Islamic State seemed to have done everything right. He hid out far from where his enemies expected. He never left the house, relying on trusted couriers to communicate with his far-flung underlings. He was the group’s only leader to never issue a video or voice address, for fear it would make him easier to track. Most of his most fervent followers would not have recognized him on the street. But American commandos came for him anyway, and on Thursday, the leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, blew...

Following the Public Health Agency of Canada’s announcement that foreign truck drivers can only enter Canada if fully vaccinated starting Jan. 15, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced similar requirements starting Jan. 22 for non-U.S. national truckers crossing into the United States, thousands of truckers decided to protest against the vaccine mandates, threatening to go on strike and “strategically” paralyze multiple roads. Canadian truckers, along with concerned citizens all over the country, decided to take action and plan to drive toward the Canadian Parliament with the intention of “shut[ing] down the country until they dissolve parliament...

Amazon employees around the world are preparing to strike on Black Friday in an effort to improve working conditions and demand accountability from top executives. Workers and activists in more than 20 countries are expected to protest as part of a campaign led by "Make Amazon Pay," a coalition of 70 trade unions and organizations including Greenpeace, Oxfam, and Amazon Workers International. Individuals everywhere "from oil refineries, to factories, to warehouses, to data centers, to corporate offices" are expected to participate in the November 26 event, according to the campaign. "The pandemic has exposed how Amazon places profits ahead of...

Looters have targeted Bay Area businesses in California for the third consecutive day, this time robbing a jewelry store and Lululemon outlet. On Sunday, police in Hayward, Calif. responded to calls from stores at the Southland Mall. That same evening, a group of suspects robbed a Lululemon store in San Jose, according to a local CBS affiliate, KPIX. The calls about suspects at the mall came from multiple stores as thieves briefly took over a jewelry store and caused a large disturbance in the mall, KPIX reported.

CommentaryIn the first week of November, the United States was faced with a clear warning, the likes of which it hasn’t faced since the Cold War: the prospect of having to fight near simultaneous major wars in Europe and Asia.In March and April, Russia mobilized about 100,000 to 120,000 troops, plus supporting armor, artillery and missiles, near the Donbass regions contested by Russian-supported Ukrainian rebel forces and in the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.This was more than what Russia mobilized in 2014 to invade and occupy Crimea. The United States European Command raised its “watch level” to “potential imminent crisis.”Now in...

The second-ranking general in the US military has sounded the alarm about China’s weapons development — warning that Beijing may soon have the capability to launch a surprise nuclear strike against America. “They look like a first-use weapon,” Gen. John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CBS News Tuesday. “That’s what those weapons look like to me.” Hyten was discussing China’s test of a hypersonic weapon from this summer, which was first reported by the Financial Times last month. “They launched a long-range missile,” Hyten said. “It went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic...