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Strikes in Eastern Europe: forbidden fruit of industrial democracy?

From October 26th to 29th 2023, union organisers and researchers from six Eastern European countries gathered in Kaunas to exchange experiences on union organising and speak about the possibilities for using strikes as a tool to advance a progressive agenda that seeks to tackle important social, ecological, and economic changes. The “Strike School” conference was […]

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Exploited truckers in the EU: Resistance is an option

Most of the time strikes are about pay raises. But here it was different: Close to Frankfurt, Germany 62 truck drivers from Georgia and Uzbekistan had been on strike for weeks, because they had not been paid according to their contract. It was a difficult fight, but the strikers won. This victory is not only […]

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Labor Protest and Education in an Illiberal Regime

Note from LeftEast editors: Problems stemming from deteriorating working conditions and low salaries for teachers in Hungarian public education have been accumulating over the years, a process which intensified further during the Covid-19 crisis. Such a development resulted in an acute shortage of teachers as well as an alarming situation in public education, and occurred […]

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“We have to stick together”

Note from LeftEast editors: We share a brief article about a strike at the automotive supplier plant in Beluša, Slovakia. The article was originally published on the Karmina.red blog on September 13, 2021, in Slovak and English. This brief article also contains the links where you can dowload the informative pamphlet outlining the background story of the […]

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[PODCAST] E.A.S.T. and the Transnational Social Strike: organizing women, migrant and essential workers

Note from LeftEast editors: We share this podcast with the permission of its producers from Contrasens. “Contrasens” is a podcast which explores current themes in the field of the social sciences. The project aims to bring to the forefront and make as accessible as possible research conducted by sociologists, anthropologists and other specialists from related fields. […]

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De-carbonization and climate denial populism in Valea Jiului

On February 15, 2021, over 100 miners in Lupeni mine in Valea Jiului (Jiu Valley) – a mine that is still functioning but that is earmarked for closure following negotiation with the European Union – refused to come out when their shift ended and declared a strike. In the following days, hundreds of miners in […]

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Strike as a Method?

Note from LeftEast editors. This is a reprint of an article that appeared on 13 Apr 2021 at Transnational Social Strike Platform. Bulgarian translation is also available We publish the report of the online meeting with trade unionists and activists organized by LevFem (Bulgaria) to discuss the possibility of solidarity and strike action in Bulgaria […]

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Poland mass teachers’ strike: “We were afraid parents would be angry; I am pleasantly surprised”

Just before Polish teachers suspended their strike to allow for exams, Philippe Alcoy interviewed Dagmara. She gave us an insider view on the causes of the historic struggle of Polish teachers as well as on the solidarities of pupils and parents. From the French: Celine Cantat. Dagmara Zawistowska-Toczek has been a primary and secondary school […]

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Class and minority struggles in Iran today: Interview with Kamran Matin

Following Donald Trump’s repudiation of the Iran sanctions deal and threats of war and the economic protests that brought thousands of people out to the streets against the country’s government, the Islamic Republic is now increasing its repression in the predominantly Kurdish Northwest. LeftEast’s interview with Dr. Kamran Matin of the Department of International Relations […]

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The USS Strike: pensions are the trigger, but the strike is about discontent with academic working conditions in the UK

Note from the LeftEast editors: this article first appeared in Serbian on the comradely web portal Masina and was kindly translated and adapted for LeftEast by its author. The biggest strike in the history of British higher education started last Thursday. Lectturers and researchers at around sixty British universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter and Imperial College […]