Top Stories
Click the star next to a story to save your favorite articles.
Sign Up For Our Daily Digest
Account Sign In
To customize your experience, you can save your favorite research by clicking the stars next to each article in during your visit.
Save your favorites permanently to your profile by signing in here.
Don't have a profile yet? Register now.
Registration
In the News
Is America Headed for a French-Style General Strike?
November 4, 2026 // Brigette Herbst for The Freeman
For several years, Fain and the UAW have been promoting a coordinated strike on May Day 2028, with ambitions extending well beyond the auto industry. A general strike involves workers across multiple economic sectors walking off their jobs, potentially causing widespread disruption. In the UAW’s case, a coordinated strike could involve far more than workers in automobile factories. It could include graduate teaching assistants, office staff, lawyers, and aerospace engineers. In fact, NPR reports that nearly 100,000 of UAW’s nearly 400,000 members work in higher education—serving as research assistants, clerical and technical workers, adjunct professors, and postdocs.
Grower plans to close 6 recently unionized farms in Ventura, Oxnard
November 4, 2026 // Tony Biasotti for Ventura County Star
SoCal Berry Growers notified the city of Oxnard that it plans to close six farms in Ventura and Oxnard in January. It will lay off 572 workers when the farms close. The farmworkers at SoCal Berry Growers recently voted to join the United Farm Workers union. Experts say strawberry farming in Ventura County has gotten much harder in recent years, and last year, the average grower lost money.
Chicago parking attendants begin strike, with walkout expected to expand Wednesday
November 4, 2026 // Leah Hope for ABC7 Chicago
The Chicago Parking Association said parking garages will remain open during the strike and that each location has a plan in place to minimize potential disruptions for customers.
Question 2 passes: Mass. public defenders get the right to form a union
November 4, 2026 // Roberto Scalese for WBUR
Tuesday night's victory is the latest chapter in the saga of lawyers who work to represent defendants will little financial wherewithal. In 2024, many of the state's bar advocates — private attorneys who pick up the slack when there aren't public defenders available — stopped taking on new cases to protest their own wages. At the time, advocates in Massachusetts were making between $65-85 an hour, the lowest rate in the New England states and a pittance compared to what other private attorneys earn.
The MLB lockout is coming. Here’s what baseball fans need to know right now.
November 4, 2026 // Kristie Ackert for USA TODAY
Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1. Owners are expected to lock out the players the next day. Once they do, everything except the back and forth between the league and the union shuts down. Nobody signs, nobody gets traded, no spring training and no season until there is a new deal in place.
175 Connecticut-based workers at aerospace manufacturer Triumph go on strike
November 4, 2026 // Paul Schott for Danbury News Times
In the past couple of years, there have been a number of other strikes and near-strikes in Connecticut. Among them, about 240 UAW-represented workers at manufacturer Cummins-Jacobs Vehicle Systems' facility in Bloomfield went on strike for 48 hours in October 2025, before agreeing on a new, four-year contract. In May 2025, about 2,500 marine drafters at submarine builder General Dynamics Electric Boat came within a couple of hours of going on strike before the UAW reached an agreement with the company on a new, five-year deal.
Teamsters Voted Trump. O’Brien is Still Sending Their Dues to Democrats Anyway.
November 4, 2026 // author for Coalition for a Democratic Workplace
No Teamsters financial support went to Sen. Moody or Sen. Marshall this cycle. Meanwhile, Teamsters' PAC, DRIVE, was sending checks to the two biggest Democratic super PACs fighting for control of Congress: $300,000 to Senate Majority PAC in September and $500,000 to House Majority PAC in October. That's $800,000 aimed at handing Chuck Schumer the Senate and Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker's gavel. O'Brien endorsed Marshall on September 3. Two weeks later, DRIVE sent $300,000 to the super PAC whose whole purpose is flipping Republican Senate seats. Then on October 6, DRIVE gave half a million dollars to House Majority PAC, the group that exists to defeat House Republicans like Mike Lawler. Sixteen days after that, O'Brien was standing next to Lawler calling him a friend of labor.
Commentary: House stumbles advancing new union law
November 4, 2026 // Margaret Iuculano for American Thinker
But a deadline does not make an imposed agreement a good agreement. Voting for union representation and approving the terms of a contract are different decisions. Workers may want collective representation while disagreeing with a particular arrangement governing compensation, benefits, or working conditions. Congress should protect their opportunity to judge the outcome.
Urban League: NYC Delivery Bill Could Hurt Black-Owned Businesses
November 4, 2026 // Phenix S Halley for The Root
But the National Urban League argues the proposal could dismantle a network of independent businesses, many owned by Black and immigrant entrepreneurs. In a formal letter to the New York City Council reviewed by The Root, the organization wrote, “We believe that the legislation, while its intentions may in the eyes of some be positive, has and will have a negative effect and cause thousands of jobs to be lost, increasing the racial wealth gap and raising costs for consumers at every turn.”
Workers at Lake Champlain Chocolates push to unionize
November 3, 2026 // Theo Wells-Spackman for VT Digger
Lake Champlain Chocolates’ annual wage increases have exceeded both inflation and revenue growth over the past nine years, Lampman said. Compensation for particular positions is determined by “the level of responsibility and experience required by the role,” rather than primarily by tenure, he said. A recent audit of the company’s benefits — which include full dental and partial vision plan coverage, as well as paid parental leave and “competitive” healthcare coverage options — indicated that the candymaker compared favorably with other similar-sized businesses, Lampman added.
Brigham and Women’s nurses union sets date for largest open-ended nurses strike in Mass. history
November 3, 2026 // Paul Burton for CBS Boston
If both sides don't come to an agreement before Nov. 12, the nurses' union said this would be the largest open-ended nurses strike in Massachusetts history. "It is going to be huge. 4,000 nurses are going to be out of work for an indefinite amount of time. That impacts the patients who come and get their care at the Brigham and that's going to have a ripple effect over the city of Boston," said Kelly Morga, chair of the Brigham and Women's Hospital MNA Bargaining Committee, which represents the nurses.
Two Labor Fights to Watch in the Lame-Duck Session
November 3, 2026 // Akash Chougle for Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
After the midterm elections, Congress returns for a lame-duck session, where must-pass bills frequently attract policy riders. Two labor policy fights could be at issue during that time. One would expand union leverage at workers’ expense, while another would protect a path into the middle class and beyond.
Starbucks Worker Asks Federal Labor Board Again to Stop Blocking Vote to Remove Unwanted Union
November 3, 2026 // author for National Right To Work Foundation
Emmenegger’s new filing argues that the Board should at the very least adopt NLRB Member Scott Mayer’s concurrence in Everon, LLC, urging the Board “at a minimum” to “require that blocking letters identify the specific allegations on which the blocking determination is based.” The request states, “Fairness and due process require the Region to show its work and explain why the election should be blocked.” Additionally, the request points to the position of former Chairman Marvin Kaplan, who argued that “excessive delay” in administering elections fails to give proper consideration for the Board’s mandate to defend employee freedom of choice. The new request asks the Board to find that the situation constitutes such an “excessive delay” that warrants moving ahead with the vote.
Op-ed: Big Labor Schemes Power Grab for Democrats
November 3, 2026 // Jon Decker for Real Clear Politics
But there’s reason to doubt the sincerity of labor groups in building a long-lasting relationship. Away from the headlines, Big Labor has been an obstacle against the Trump Administration in court. Unions have sued the Trump Administration more than 70 times–nearly once a week–to stop initiatives including reducing and reorganizing the bloated federal bureaucracy, reducing federal spending, and reining in rogue “independent” bureaucracies full of personally motivated actors who didn’t want to be accountable to the President.
Hyatt workers picket Baltimore Ravens stay at hotel
November 3, 2026 // Rachel Ross for WVIB
Some signage at the rally referenced what has become known as the “Curse of the Hyatt,” with every NFL team that has crossed the picket line and decided to stay at the hotel having gone on to lose to the Bills since the boycott began. “It’s not the Raven teammates, it’s not the team, it’s not the players; we’re nothing against the players, but their management and the coaches and stuff, they should say, ‘No, we’re not going to cross the picket line,’” John Ingram, the lead organizer of Hyatt Workers United, said.
MN Opera Orchestra votes no confidence in Opera leadership as labor negotiations intensify
November 2, 2026
The Minnesota Opera Orchestra musicians announced a formal vote of no confidence in Minnesota Opera leadership on Saturday, another escalation in contentious labor negotiations between musicians and leadership. The Opera Orchestra has been at odds with the Opera over cost-of-living wage increases. That dispute led the Opera to postpone the world premiere of "The Many Deaths of Laila Starr," which was due to open Saturday evening. While the vote of no confidence is an escalation, it is not an outright work stoppage. However, musicians did vote to authorize a strike in early October.
New Jersey oil refinery, locked-out union workers reach tentative deal
November 2, 2026 // Jesse Zanger for CBS News
The largest oil refinery on the East Coast has reached a tentative agreement with hundreds of locked-out union workers. New Jersey's Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery and the Linden Terminal had locked out some 400 union employees as of Oct. 20 after contract negotiations failed. "We can confirm that we have reached a tentative agreement with the union. We will have more information to share if that agreement is ratified by union members.
Electrical Workers Successfully Defeat Illegal IBEW Union Strike Fines with National Right to Work Legal Aid
November 2, 2026 // Author for National Right To Work Foundation
An Oklahoma electrical worker has prevailed in a legal fight against retaliatory strike fines issued by International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 584 officials. Joey Blankenship-Scott, of the Brent Electric Company, Inc., won the victory with free legal representation from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. When IBEW Local 584 union bosses ordered a strike in June 2024, Blankenship-Scott and two coworkers exercised their legal right to resign from the union and return to work.
Teachers Unions Back School Funding Measures, Governor Candidates in Midterms
November 2, 2026 // Author for The 74
Locals from New York to California are focusing on statewide races, while national union targets Senate seats in battleground states.
Ninth Circuit Revives Liberty Justice Center and California Justice Center’s First Amendment Challenge to California’s Employer Speech Law
November 2, 2026 // Author for Liberty Justice Center
Federal appeals court reverses dismissal of California Policy Center’s lawsuit, ruling that the organization has standing to challenge restrictions on political speech in the workplace