Building workers' power in Roanoke, VA
In October of 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions declared that May 1st, 1886 would be the last day that anyone worked over 8 hours in a working day. And that if this goal had not been achieved, a general strike would begin. The day came, so the workers struck.
We are living in a time of collapse. In the quest for ever-expanding empires and profits, seven of the nine Planetary boundaries, reflecting the safe limits of human pressure on global processes, have been crossed. The weather systems on which our entire agricultural industry is built are changing. The social aid systems meant to support... Continue Reading →
Starting in March 2026, Villa Heights will be the new home for the Roanoke Workers’ Assembly (RoWA). Members voted on the change of venue at their last general meeting in February. Located at 2750 Hoover St. NW, Villa Heights is a historical site that’s been renovated and restored over the years and is the namesake... Continue Reading →
In the annals of labor history, particularly Appalachian labor history, there are few events as important and long-echoing as the Battle of Blair Mountain, a culturally defining moment of worker organization and an enduring display of the violence the ruling class is willing to inflict upon them. Blair Mountain is treated as a conflict of... Continue Reading →
Much of modern political discourse can seem empty, vague, and superfluous. It can even be deliberately obfuscating and misleading so as to manufacture your consent. It is difficult to play the game of politics if we can’t even agree on the pieces and how they work. Words get thrown around without being understood and many... Continue Reading →
We seek the organization of every worker that is now unorganized. We hold meetings, teaching ourselves democratic principles, and host meals, carefully constructing a community that this administration would see disappeared. But this moment, more than any other in our nations history, demands action, movement, and for us to go on the offensive. We want... Continue Reading →
We don’t have to #ImagineADayWithoutWater, that day will soon come if the Western Virginia Water Authority Board of Directors has it their way.
Coordinated workplace actions across Roanoke show how workers are standing up together for better pay and working conditions.
Over three hundred labor activists from across 13 States and 15 industries converged on the South Carolina city of Spartanburg for the Southern Worker Action Summit, organized by the Southern Workers Assembly (a network of union representatives, workplace organizing committees, and local Worker Assemblies dedicated to building labor power and workplace democracy throughout the Southeastern... Continue Reading →
Originally published on The Virginia Worker, we provided this coverage on the recent picketing by ATU Local 1493 union members and supporters as they fight for living wages and benefits Across the street from a brand new $17.3 million bus terminal stands a row of picketing bus workers of the ATU Local 1493. Above them... Continue Reading →