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strike
US Banana Giant Chiquita Fires Thousands of Striking Workers in Panama
The Chiquita workers' strike is part of a nationwide protest movement against pension reforms approved by Panama's right-wing government.
May 23, 2025
The U.S.-headquartered banana giant Chiquita said Thursday that it moved to fire thousands of Panamanian workers who walked off the job last month as part of nationwide protests against the right-wing government's unpopular reforms to the nation's pension system.
Citing an unnamed source close to Chiquita, Reutersreported that the mass firings are expected to impact around 5,000 of the company's 6,500 Panamanian workers. José Raúl Mulino, Panama's right-wing president, defended the banana giant formerly known as United Fruit, accusing striking workers of unlawful "intransigence."
The company estimates that the strike, which began in late April, has cost it at least $75 million.
The pension reforms, known as Law 462, sparked outrage across Panama, with unions and other groups warning the changes would result in cuts to retirement benefits, particularly in the future for younger workers. The law transitions the country's pension system to an individual account structure that opponents say will be far less reliable than its predecessor.
"With the previous legislation, we could retire on 60% to 70% of our salary. Now, with the new formula, that amount drops to just 30% to 35%," said Diógenes Sánchez of Panama's main teachers' union. "It's a starvation pension."
The Associated Pressnoted Thursday that in recent weeks, "marches and occasional roadblocks have stretched from one end of the country to the other as teachers, construction workers, and other unions expressed their rejection of changes the government said were necessary to keep the social security system solvent."
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'We're at the End of Our Rope': Union NJ Transit Workers Go on Strike
"They have money for penthouse views and pet projects, just not for their frontline workers. Enough is enough," said the national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
May 16, 2025
Hundreds of engineers and trainees who work for New Jersey's public transportation system went on strike early Friday, according to the union that represents the NJ Transit workers, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.
The strike, the first by NJ Transit workers since 1983, comes as contract negotiations have dragged out for over five years, according to the New Jersey Monitor. Wages are the key sticking point between the unionized workers and NJ Transit, which is state-owned.
The strike is poised to disrupt the commutes of some 100,000 daily rail riders, many of whom are traveling to and from Manhattan.
Thomas Haas, general chairman for the NJ Transit engineers union, said on Wednesday night before the NJ Transit board that "we, the locomotive engineers of NJ Transit are asking only for a fair and competitive wage," according to CNN.
"The last thing we want to see is that [service] to be interrupted. But we're at the end of our rope," Haas said.
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) officials reached a tentative deal with NJ Transit in March, but the union's some 450 rank-and-file workers voted down the agreement, saying that it didn't include a large enough pay increase, according to Gothamist. The rejected deal teed up Friday's strike.
The rejected deal from November would have raised wages, but the union has said its members are seeking wage parity with those who work for nearby commuter rails, like the Long Island Rail Road.
"NJ Transit has a half-billion dollars for a swanky new headquarters and $53 million for decorating the interior of that unnecessary building. They gave away $20 million in revenue during a fare holiday last year," said BLET national president Mark Wallace in a statement on Thursday. "They have money for penthouse views and pet projects, just not for their frontline workers. Enough is enough. We will stay out until our members receive the fair pay that they deserve."
The union announced that picket locations have been set up, including at New York City's Penn Station.
"I have always said that any deal we reach would have to be fair to our engineers and fiscally responsible without burdening our riders or the taxpayers of New Jersey," said NJ Transit president and CEO Kris Kolluri on Thursday.
"This strike will upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans," said Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. "The path to a new contract will be paved at the negotiating table, not the picket line."
Railroads are subject to the Railway Labor Act, which means that even if members of a union reject a deal, the federal government can force both sides to accept a deal and order workers back to work. This happened in 2022, when then-President Joe Biden signed legislation averting a rail strike and forcing freight rail workers to accept a deal that multiple unions had rejected.
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On May Day, UAW Members Launch Strike at Weapons Giant Lockheed Martin
"Lockheed is a textbook example of corporate greed and I'm proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our members as they fight for their fair share," said one regional director with the United Auto Workers.
May 01, 2025
As an estimated tens of thousands mobilized for actions planned to honor May Day, also known as International Workers' Day, the United Auto Workers announced Thursday that over 900 UAW members who work for Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense company, have gone on strike.
Those striking include members of UAW Local 788 in Orlando and Local 766 in Denver, according to the union, which alleges that the company has committed "multiple unfair labor practices and refused to present a fair economic proposal that meets the membership's needs."
The two locals are covered by the same bargaining agreement, according toThe Denver Post, and workers in both locations walked off the job after voting down an offer from Lockheed Martin on Saturday. The company has "refused to present a fair economic proposal that meets the membership's needs," per the union.
The outlet Orlando Weeklyreported that the union says Lockheed Martin has offered "meaningful" pay raises for union members during contract discussions, but other issues have remained unresolved. They include holiday schedules, cost of living allowance, healthcare and prescription drug coverage, among others, according to UAW.
"It would be nice for the future generations and everybody else coming in not to have to wait 18 years to provide for their family like I have," Michael Mahoney, who has worked at Lockheed Martin for 21 years and and is a military veteran, told Orlando Weekly.
"They say they support the military, they want to use the veteran status, but when it comes to really showing us—a veteran, you know—the appreciation that we deserve, it don't feel like we get appreciated at all around here," said Mahoney.
The defense giant brought in $5.3 billion in net earnings in 2024, and has secured $1.7 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2025.
Union workers rallied outside of the Lockheed Martin Waterton Campus in Denver on Thursday, according to the local outlet 9NEWS."Lockheed's workers have to wait years and even decades before seeing a comfortable standard of living, while its executives are swimming in taxpayer dollars," said UAW Region 4 director Brandon Campbell in a statement on Thursday. "Lockheed is a textbook example of corporate greed and I'm proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our members as they fight for their fair share."
According to 9NEWS, Lockheed Martin issued the following statement regarding the strike: "We value our employees and their expertise and look forward to reaching a fair labor agreement for both sides. Our employees perform important work for our customers and the nation through their work supporting programs critical to our national security."
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