Labor spring is here!

By Workday Magazine · Up With the Workers ·Mar 13, 2024 · 3 min read

Hello, friends! And hello, new subscribers! It’s been a while since Up With the Workers has been in your inbox, and if this is the first newsletter you’re receiving—welcome! We’ve been busy reporting and strategizing for the next few months. Check it out below.

people standing with colorful signs and wearing winter attire hold a banner depicting a blue sky and yellow sun background behind text that reads "labor connects us all" "Fair wages" and. "affordable healthcare" with 4 hands reaching fingertips — A rally for good schools at the Minnesota state capitol on Friday, March 8, marked the end to the week of action that saw many unions and community groups come together in a bold experiment for social justice unionism. (Photo: Amie Stager)

ICYMI: Thousands of essential workers and community members took to the streets, city council, and state capitol in support of striking workers and social demands, including better union contracts, a labor standards advisory board, social housing, environmental sustainability, and better schools. By the end of the week, three more locals reached tentative agreements or voted to accept contracts, and many workers got lessons in leadership and solidarity. Read our story, co-published with In These Times: Minnesota’s Labor Spring Has Arrived. Here’s What’s Going Down.

a crowd of people of color wearing purple hats and holding up purple SEIU picket signs, one black man in the center wearing sunglasses holds up a small black megaphone — Janitorial workers with SEIU Local 26 went on strike from Monday to Wednesday, which included marches and rallies in the streets of Minneapolis, including an act of civil disobedience at the airport, leading to a historic tentative agreement reached on Saturday. (Photo: Amie Stager)

We were very excited to co-publish Sarah Jaffe, who wrote an in-depth piece on the strategic alignment for In These Times and Workday Magazine here: The Most Important Labor Story Right Now Is in Minnesota—It Might Be the Model We All Need. Read the Spanish version here.

a white man with white hair and scruff wearing glasses and a black tee shirt sits at a desk with three monitors with his hands gesturing to the left of the image — Labor historian, videographer, video archivist, and digital innovator John See in his office. (Photo: Isabela Escalona)

Isabela’s Q&A with longtime Labor Education Service media coordinator and overall legend John See is a treasure. His work reflects how the labor movement has weathered changes in politics and technology, including a business-oriented media landscape, and how media can serve as a public good when there are people doing the work to make it more accessible: An Interview with John See: Labor Historian and Video Innovator on Nearly 40 Years of Service to the Minnesota Labor Movement. Stay tuned for information about the digital archive!

the upper half of a smiling woman with dark brown hair wearing sunglasses, a red polo shirt and dark blue outer shirt, holding a picket sign and a plastic water bottle — Marcie Pedraza at the UAW’s historic stand-up strike outside Ford’s Chicago assembly plant last September. (Photo: Oscar Sanchez)

“Whenever someone is being oppressed, we should stand with them.”

Sarah’s piece on The Auto

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This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.