As expected, Michigan Republicans rolled out right to work legislation today, which Governor Rick Snyder, previously seen trying to court a moderate pose, said he would sign into law. The legislation would impact public and private employees except for police and fire unions. Republicans will attempt to pass it by the end of the month [...]

Looks like someone’s going to have to construct more protest signs. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who previously said he would not take on the challenge of turning the home of the auto industry into a right to work state, now says it’s “on the agenda,” a passive statement that doesn’t actually make a determination as [...]

A federal judge has blessed the Hostess liquidation, after labor and management failed to reach agreement on an equitable solution. This isn’t surprising at all; management was basically set up to liquidate the company and strip the assets. Twinkies and Ding Dongs will survive; the company has solicited several offers for the brands. It’s just [...]

I guess worker-led revolts are catching. After a successful set of Black Friday protests at Walmart stores nationwide, New York City will see walkouts at dozens of fast-food restaurants today, part of a more explicit effort to unionize the sector with the slogan Fast Food Forward. After three years of working at the McDonald’s restaurant [...]

Bangladesh’s government has arrested three supervisors of the factory that saw a deadly fire that killed over 100 garment workers. The factory made products for Walmart, the Disney Company, Sean “P.Diddy” Combs’ clothing line and other US retailers.

I briefly mentioned the implications of the Walmart supply chain, and how the insistence of keeping prices low has wide-ranging impacts across the globe. Apparently some of those impacts are completely tragic. A day after shoppers searched for bargains and some workers protested during Black Friday, a garment factory fire in Bangladesh killed hundreds. The [...]

Walmart workers staged their historic strike on Black Friday. Management tried to downplay it, and given how massive Walmart is, the relative strength of the strike was small in real terms compared to the company’s 1.4 million workers. But it would be silly to just leave it at that without the context of the company [...]

We can now see why the imminent Walmart strikes on Black Friday have spooked the company. They have engaged in a two-prong PR strategy, dismissing the strikes as being carried out by a small faction of its 1.4 million associates, while also seeking National Labor Relations Board reliefto block the strikes as illegal union-based activity. [...]

A US bankruptcy judge has prevented the liquidation of Hostess Brands for the moment, suggesting a mediation process between the company and its Bakers Union. Both sides have agreed to the mediation. Hostess went to Judge Robert Drain to, get this, receive permission to pay out executive bonuses to top officials in the company, even [...]

Walmart, trying to change the subject in advance of protests and strikes at the outset of the holiday shopping season, has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the United Food and Commercial Workers union, arguing that UFCW is illegally attempting to disrupt its business. A non-union coalition of Walmart workers called OUR Walmart has [...]

In good news for people who don’t want to die prematurely because of their diet, Hostess Foods, makers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Sno Balls and other inedible confectionaries, will liquidate the company, which is currently suffering through a labor strike. In a statement, Hostess said its bakery operations have been suspended at all plants and [...]