construction
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in building, construction and materials around the world.
Direct action against unpaid wages on a demolition site
Demolition worker Anthony's account of labouring in the New England winter, and taking direct action when his wages were not paid.
The wicked New England winter had set in. There was no more work haying fields or picking apples. There was food from our livestock and from what we could put away from our garden, but no money for anything else. My friends and I drove our beat-up station wagon to the nearby "city," population 5,000. We went to apply for food stamps and possibly general assistance.
Wildcat strike in Hartlepool
Hundreds of workers walked out in the morning of 12 October at an offshore construction yard in a dispute over union recognition.
The Peterlee mail reported that workers want Unite to be given official recognition at the Heerema site in Greenland Road, in Hartlepool, but talks are believed to have stalled in the last few weeks.
That led to tradesmen calling a wildcat strike this morning with an estimated 200 workers standing outside the gates of the site.
Striking oil workers burn dismissal letters
In a show of defiance, fired workers burn dismissal letters and continue their wildcat stoppage. Includes a timeline of events.
Oil workers burn their dismissal letters in protest
Thousands of workers across England and Wales have walked out in support of 647 Lindsey oil refinery construction staff sacked for staging unofficial strikes.
It comes as Lindsey workers burned dozens of dismissal letters in protest.
Olympic Dream or Workers' Nightmare: An Inside Report on Health and Safety Conditions London 2012 Olympic Site
This report documents and critically analyses the working conditions of construction workers on the Stratford City development site of the 2012 Olympic Games. We base our findings entirely on the accounts of anonymous IWW and non-IWW construction workers employed there.
Athens Airport: death, redundacies, corruption and the pretext of economic crisis
This is an Athens Indymedia article translated roughly by http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/
J&P-ΑΒΑΞ Α.Ε. business group operating at the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport has sacked 42 people[b], both Greek and immigrants, who had been employed by the company in cleaning services. They were dismissed with summary procedures on the pretext of the economic crisis, of course. They all had completed three years at the job and were all anticipating the increase of wages that the law foresees.
Unofficial refinery walkouts 'over foreign workers' spread
An assessment of the spread of the refinery wildcat strikes - purportedly over the hiring of foreign workers - and the media coverage of them.
The wave of unofficial walkouts following the use of the Italian construction contractor, IREM with its own workforce at Total's Lindsey oil refinery have received a great deal of media coverage.
Migrant workers die in illegal 'housing'
Seven Tadzhik construction workers were killed yesterday in Moscow when a fire broke out in an underground parking garage where they were being illegally housed.
At least 20 other workers were caught in the blaze but were rescued.
Construction firms most often provide migrant workers with makeshift housing (such as containers or garages) in flagrant violate of health and safety regulations.
Death sparks building worker riot in Delhi
After a fatal accident on the Commonwealth Games construction site more than thousand building workers destroyed company offices, cars and trucks.
The aggravating global crisis imposes a new social frame-work for incidents like this: the daily deaths and legal murders become explosive.
The cops shooting a fifteen year old became the trigger of social unrest in Greece, the fatal accident of a building worker sparked the simmering unrest.
Construction workers occupy factory in Chicago
Angry United Electrical union members, including many immigrants, have occupied their Chicago window factory demanding an improved severance package.
They are demanding the government help out struggling workers and that their employer, Republic Windows, award the workers a severance package as well as compensating them for unused vacation hours.
Workers who got three days notice that their factory was shutting its doors have occupied the building and say they won't go home without assurances they'll get severance and vacation pay.
Long lost wildcat strikes in the UK, 1960s - 1990s
Interesting article with snippets of analysis and often personal anecdotes about a number of unofficial strikes in the UK since the 1960s.
An introduction…
