Free Republic

An organization of California Uber and Lyft drivers has reached a major milestone in its effort to form a union, but it could face a rival organizing effort when it seeks official approval. After showing that it has the support of 10% of California’s “active” drivers, the California Gig Workers Union has received from the state agency overseeing the unionization process a list containing the names and contact information of all such drivers in the state. The union is now using that list to contact those drivers to convince them to sign on to its effort, said Hector Castellanos, one...

ExxonMobil's oil refinery in the Belgian port of Antwerp is to stop output from June 29 to July 3 due to a strike action, the company's press office said on Wednesday. Workers at the refinery oppose a plan to cut 35 jobs out of a total of 735, ABVV Petroleum union said on its website. The strike is also related to staff complaints about deteriorating working conditions and fewer opportunities for early retirement, despite ExxonMobil's higher profits due to soaring fuel prices, added the union's statement. The job cuts are part of a broader reorganization of all the company's activities...

General Motors has gutted its electric-vehicle ambitions and killed more than 1,000 jobs at its flagship Detroit assembly plant — replacing those workers with 50 robots and sparking outrage from labor unions. The replacement “collaborative robots,” or “cobots,” have been installed on the assembly line at GM’s Factory Zero plant in Michigan amid a sharply reduced demand for its EV models and the ensuing push to cut costs, reports said. The machines are now working alongside the remaining humans there who attach the body panels to vehicles as they move down the track, according to AutoBlog. The automaker insists the...

The Pacifica Municipal Pier is closed indefinitely following severe, rapidly progressing structural damage that has put the future of the iconic 53-year-old landmark in jeopardy. On June 4, 2026, city engineers discovered significant cracking, separation, and displacement along the concrete walkway near the pier's abutment, forcing an immediate public safety shutdown. The Pacifica council officially declared a local emergency. Over the subsequent days, powerful ocean swells caused the primary fracture to widen to nearly a foot. The catastrophic shifting has buckled structural elements and caused the first section of the pier to tilt precariously downward into the surf.

During the lead-up to a union election at Wizards of the Coast for Magic: The Gathering Arena, the company allegedly deadnamed a number of transgender employees in front of their colleagues. When confronted about this action, the company apologized, only to do the same thing again the following week during the election itself. Kotaku has spoken to multiple union-eligible employees who explained the situation. According to them, WOTC and the group of employees filing for a union election agreed on an election to take place this week that would be in-person for in-office employees, and mail-in for remote employees. As...

A shifting economic landscape has culminated in Texas dethroning California as the nation’s premier hub for Fortune 500 companies. Data from the 2026 Fortune 500 list show Texas leading with 57 headquarters, compared with California’s 56, marking a reversal from two years ago, when California held the lead. Additionally, corporations in Texas generated $2.8 trillion in revenue, while those in California reported $2.7 trillion in revenue. “Texas is the undisputed headquarters of headquarters,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press release reacting to the news. “The world’s leading businesses invest with confidence in Texas because of our welcoming business...

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters proudly recognizes our LGBTQ+ members as we celebrate June as Pride Month. We are the most powerful labor union in North America because of the diversity and strength of our membership. Every Teamster must be treated with respect and dignity at work, regardless of race, religion, creed, political affiliation, gender identification, or sexual orientation. As we fight for equality and justice on the job, the Teamsters Human Rights and Diversity Commission and the Teamsters LGBTQ+ Caucus will continue to uplift all members and remain committed to ensuring an inclusive workplace and union for all.

The union which represents more than 2,000 workers at SoFi Stadium has broken off negotiations with the stadium operators and plans to hold a strike vote next week ahead of the FIFA World Cup. UNITE HERE Local 11 represents workers at the venue who largely work in food and beverage concessions, including cooks, servers and bartenders. The group’s preparedness to call a strike vote was first reported by The Athletic in early April. The potential strike action threatens to impact eight World Cup matches at the venue, which is the home of the NFL’s two Los Angeles teams, the Chargers...

In a compelling development stemming from an FBI raid conducted last year, a portion of the gold bars found in the residence of embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have been identified as those stolen in a high-profile 2013 robbery. In September, Sen. Bob Menendez, the senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey and the former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were indicted on bribery and corruption charges. In October, Bob Menendez was charged with acting as a foreign agent in a superseding indictment. Bob Menendez and his wife are under investigation for their involvement...

MONTREAL — As Canadian Grand Prix qualifying took place at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Saturday, a different kind of rally took place in Montreal’s downtown core. Sex workers announced they’d be going on strike during one of Montreal’s busiest weekends of the year. Over one hundred sex workers and allies walked the streets and protested in the name of improved wages and working conditions. “Grand Prix was a good opportunity because our employers make a lot of money,” said Adore Goldman, co-founder of the Sex Work Autonomous Committee (SWAC), established in 2019. “But…often we don’t make that much money because they...

American Federation of Teachers boss Randi Weingarten tapped hundreds of thousands in union resources to help write her controversial book — working with a team that raked in more than $1.4 million from the labor group, a new analysis found. Weingarten used the abundance of union-fueled resources for the liberal agenda-pushing “Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy” then pocketed a portion of the proceeds, the Freedom Foundation claimed in a new report. Her team included an attorney who supposedly worked on the book pro bono but whose firm raked in $977,000 for various work for...

A small group of striking graduate student workers rallied outside Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76’s private residence early Friday morning, marking a new escalation in the Harvard Graduate Students Union-United Auto Workers’ ongoing strike as contract negotiations with the University remain stalled. Roughly 10 demonstrators gathered outside Garber’s home from about 6 to 6:30 a.m., chanting and writing “CONTRACT NOW” in pink chalk on the sidewalk. The group represented a small fraction of HGSU-UAW, which represents roughly 5,000 graduate student workers. “Garber, Garber, stop stonewalling; this is HGSU calling!” demonstrators chanted. They also shouted, “Hey, Garber, how do you...

NOW: Leftists are being brutally mocked for DROPPING THIS “attack ad” on LA Mayor candidate Spencer Pratt — which says he opposes rampant homelessness and supports the police LMAO — and they’re spending hundreds of thousands to blast this everywhere! 🔥 “Pratt says it's time for the homeless to get help or get out.” “Pratt thinks LA needs thousands more police officers rather than more social workers.” You can’t make this up! KEEP PUSHING, @spencerpratt Video: Communists’ ATTACKS have turned into praise!

Four days ago, Ron DeSantis signed legislation that could decertify the Florida Education Association entirely. Tuesday, the FEA filed a lawsuit to strip 1.4 million children of their opportunity scholarships. You do the math. What the FEA Actually Filed The Florida Education Association filed a 39-page lawsuit in Leon County targeting Florida's Family Empowerment Scholarship program. The union wants a court to declare the entire school choice system unconstitutional. The legal argument is that private and charter schools don't meet Florida's constitutional mandate for a "uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools." FEA President Andrew...

The union representing thousands of baristas at Starbucks has bailed on its attempt to bring employees at the Pike Place Market coffeehouse into its fold. ... The coffeehouse’s baristas filed for union election on April 3, according to Workers United. At the time, barista Nailah Diaz pointed to “unfair treatment and operational issues without the support needed to succeed.” Not every employee at the Pike Place store agreed. Barista Derika Muna, 27, told The Seattle Times on Tuesday that she unknowingly went to a union organizing meeting at the behest of a co-worker, believing it to be a casual meetup...

Examples in the complaint, filed with the EEOC, include union members laughing and clapping at the mention of an 82-year-old Jewish woman killed in a terror attack The National Education Association (NEA) was hit with a federal complaint Monday alleging that it subjected Jewish members to an antisemitic environment, according to a copy of the complaint shared with the Washington Free Beacon. The complaint, filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) , alleges that the nation’s largest teachers’ union allowed activists within the organization to harass Jewish...

SEATTLE, WA - Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Seattle on Friday to mark May Day, continuing a 140-year tradition of advocating for American workers' rights.While the day is rooted in labor history, this year’s participants also focused on immigration reform and opposition to current federal policies including the US's involvement in multiple wars.Participants at the rally spoke on how modern workers' rights are inseparable from immigration issues and international concerns.Many demonstrators voiced specific opposition to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the current presidential administration’s handling of immigrant labor.

The easiest way to misunderstand the Navy’s shipbuilding mess is to treat it as a shipyard story. That is how the issue is usually framed. Too few workers, too much complexity, too much bureaucracy, too many delays. None of that is wrong, but it is only the visible part of the problem. The deeper problem sits upstream. The Navy’s procurement troubles reflect not just industrial strain, but a long stretch of strategic drift. If Washington cannot decide what kind of fleet it wants, shipbuilders will never deliver it on time... For most of the Cold War, the Navy knew what...

Beneath rolling storm clouds and a spattering of spring rain, about two dozen people holding blue and white signs march in front of Harvard University’s Science Center. Circling around a young woman holding a megaphone, their chants ricochet off stately brick buildings dotting the campus. The woman in the middle shouts: “What’s outrageous?” “Harvard’s wages!” the crowd replies. ... The strike comes at a tenuous time for Harvard, which has endured the glare of the national spotlight as President Donald Trump assails the university with the full force of the U.S. government. Harvard has faced government lawsuits, billions of dollars...

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law a measure prohibiting public schools from using taxpayer-funded resources to support teachers’ unions, a move supporters say restores government neutrality while critics argue it limits educators’ ability to organize. The legislation, House Bill 516, bars school districts from facilitating payroll deductions for union dues and restricts the use of public resources to assist union activities. The law is set to take effect July 1. Supporters of the measure, including the Freedom Foundation, which prompted the report, argue that allowing payroll deductions amounts to indirect taxpayer support because public employees and systems are...