2026 Labor Notes Conference: Full Schedule

10:00am CDT

Lessons from Health Care and Hospital Strikes

Friday June 12, 2026 10:00am - 11:45am CDT

Worsening conditions in medicine are inspiring militancy in health care unions around the country. Learn from recent examples of powerful strikes and their lessons learned about strike-worthy demands, inoculating co-workers, escalation in the contract campaign and during the walkout, and how crucial democracy and transparency are.

Moderators

Michelle Gonzalez

New York State Nurses

Speakers

Goodness Iheanachor

New York State Nurses

Beth Loudin

New York State Nurses

Gina Ottinger

Oregon Nurses

Kristen Perez

Illinois Nurses

Friday June 12, 2026 10:00am - 11:45am CDT
Vienna

Strikes Health Care Workers

1:00pm CDT

Chokepoints for Supply Chain Workers

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

London

(Part of the Railroad Workers United convention, but open to all.) By understanding production systems and supply chains, and drawing on our own experience, logistics workers can identify chokepoints and vulnerabilities that give us leverage to win. Historically workers have used this power to win better wages, benefits, and working conditions, and even to block arms from being shipped to war zones, such as to Central America in the 1980s or Gaza last fall. Lessons from those actions apply to the war on Iran today.

Moderators

Gifford Hartman

Peralta Federation of Teachers

Speakers

Peter Olney

Longshore (ILWU)

Sam Levens

Inlandboatmen's Union (IBU-ILWU) and International Transport Workers Federation (ITF)

Billy Randel

Truckers Movement for Justice

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
London

Strikes Strategy

1:00pm CDT

Can Political Strikes Restore Labor's Power?

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT

Grand Ballroom B

Strikes can demand a lot more than a raise. Minnesota unions and community organizations held a mass strike in January, demanding to kick out ICE, deny it further funding, and hold officers accountable for killings. The Chicago Teachers Union won a demand to make May 1 a day of civic action, allowing educators and students to participate in the national day of no, work, no school, no shopping. Hear from organizers who were on the front lines, pushing boundaries of what a fighting labor movement can win.

Moderators

Alex Han

May Day Strong

Speakers

Matt Bach

Massachusetts Teachers Association

Jackson Potter

Chicago Teachers Union

Kieran F. Knutson

Communications Workers Local 7250

Marcia Howard

Minneapolis Federation of Educators

Friday June 12, 2026 1:00pm - 2:45pm CDT
Grand Ballroom B

Strikes Strategy Politics

3:05pm CDT

Immigrant Workers Unbossed, Rising Up and Organizing

Friday June 12, 2026 3:05pm - 4:50pm CDT

Florence

In these harrowing times, immigrant workers continue to fight for each other—and against the boss. Learn about their campaigns and tactics to overcome a climate of fear and build collective power.

Moderators

Sonia Singh

NewsGuild of New York

Speakers

Pablo Acuna

SEIU Local 26

Yolanda Barron Carmona

UNITE HERE Local 2

Walter Hernandez

New Labor

Friday June 12, 2026 3:05pm - 4:50pm CDT
Florence

Immigrant Workers Strikes Spanish-Language Workshops Overcoming Divisions

5:10pm CDT

Picket Signs that Pack a Powerful Punch

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT

United B

A good picket sign helps distill the core message of your campaign into a clear demand with a specific targets. It's also an opportunity for creativity and wit, with the ultimate goal of bringing supporters in and keeping members out one day longer. We'll be making signs in this workshop!

Moderators

Karen Sanchez

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West

Speakers

Verraine Fritz

Starbucks Workers United

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT
United B

Arts and Culture Strikes

5:10pm CDT

Big Strikes, Big Power

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT

Grand Ballroom B

Three thousand Boeing Machinists in St. Louis, who build F-15 and F-18 fighter jets, struck last summer. Four thousand meatpacking workers in Greeley, Colorado, walked out in March on the industry’s first major strike in 40 years. And in 2023, nurses with the 80,000-member FIQ in Quebec struck after rejecting a contract offer. Hear how taking militant action has strengthened their unions.

Moderators

Barry Eidlin

Association of McGill Professors of the Faculty of Arts

Speakers

Joshua Arnold

Machinists District 837

Sebastien Bouchard

Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, Canada

Kim Cordova

Food and Commercial Workers Local 7

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT
Grand Ballroom B

Strikes

5:10pm CDT

No Work, No School, No Shopping: Organizing for Mass Disruption

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT

Grand Ballroom C

Hear how unions got in gear to participate in Minnesota's January 23 strike and economic blackout. How did the rapid-response networks, the defensive side of the fight, and the workers' movement, the offensive side, relate to each other and help build power? What was the interplay between the 2020 George Floyd Uprising and the resistance to ICE? How did public schools become hubs of resistance?

Moderators

Sarah Lazare

Workday Magazine

Speakers

Marcia Howard

Minneapolis Federation of Educators

Kieran F. Knutson

Communications Workers Local 7250

Dan Mendez Moore

SEIU Local 26

Leah VanDassor

Saint Paul Federation of Educators

Friday June 12, 2026 5:10pm - 6:40pm CDT
Grand Ballroom C

Strikes Political Education

9:00am CDT

Get Strike-Ready

Saturday June 13, 2026 9:00am - 10:45am CDT

Vienna

Striking sounds exhilarating, but it's also scary and takes a lot of work. What are the building blocks for getting your union and co-workers ready to strike? Panelists in this interactive workshop will reflect on their strike experiences and share lessons from the picket line to the bargaining room.

Speakers

Jaiveer Grewal

NYSNA

Kristen Perez

Illinois Nurses

Dakota Massman

Teamsters Local 135

Ilan Desai-Geller

United Educators of San Francisco

Martha Williams

Minneapolis Federation of Educators

Saturday June 13, 2026 9:00am - 10:45am CDT
Vienna

Strikes Contract Campaigns

2:15pm CDT

Melting ICE: Lessons from the Twin Cities

Saturday June 13, 2026 2:15pm - 4:00pm CDT

Grand Ballroom F

Minnesota unions and community organizations seized the public imagination on January 23 with an economic blackout and 100,000-person march. Minnesotans have formed dense networks to patrol neighborhoods, feed the hungry, and train everyday people to scout for rampaging federal agents. Hear from union leaders about the lessons they learned by taking on the state and winning.

Moderators

Hamilton Nolan

Writers Guild East

Speakers

Mara Solis

Saint Paul Federation of Educators

Gabby Benavente Hobart

Minneapolis Federation of Educators

Fabien Ghilgagabre

UNITE Local 17

Kieran F. Knutson

Communications Workers Local 7250

Greg Nammacher

SEIU Local 26

Saturday June 13, 2026 2:15pm - 4:00pm CDT
Grand Ballroom F

Strikes Immigrant Workers Political Education

4:30pm CDT

Listening Session: Strike While the Needle Is Hot

Saturday June 13, 2026 4:30pm - 6:15pm CDT

United A

Audiophiles of the world, unite! Strikers in the 20th century sometimes made vinyl records to raise funds and get their message out. These artifacts offer a lively glimpse of grassroots worker culture in different times and places. Enjoy the music, browse the album art, and hear the history behind a few of these fascinating records collected in the new book Strike While the Needle Is Hot (Common Notions Press, 2025).

Moderators

Josh MacPhee

Justseeds Artists' Cooperative

Kira Yeversky

Pittsburgh Labor Choir, Steelworkers Local 3657

Saturday June 13, 2026 4:30pm - 6:15pm CDT
United A

Arts and Culture Strikes

4:30pm CDT

How to Break Your No-Strike Clause (And Live To Tell About It)

Saturday June 13, 2026 4:30pm - 6:15pm CDT

Int’l Ballroom B

For as long as unions have waged strikes, bosses have fought to restrict them using no-strike clauses, lawsuits, and labor laws. Today most union members face some restriction of our most powerful weapon: our right to strike. So how do we get around no-strike clauses while minimizing potential harm to the union, leaders, and members? How do we challenge restrictive laws without giving bosses a free shot at our bargaining rights and assets? There are no easy answers, but we'll start the conversation.

Moderators

Mark Meinster

United Electrical Workers

Margot Nikitas

Saturday June 13, 2026 4:30pm - 6:15pm CDT
Int’l Ballroom B

Strikes Labor Law

9:00am CDT

Mass Strikes: Past and Present

Sunday June 14, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am CDT

Rosemont CD

Unions can advance democracy, especially in authoritarian times and places. To do so, the unions must act not just as organizations representing a narrow sector of workers but as social movements with much wider aspirations. Mass strikes, even general strikes, are now on the progressive agenda. Fom Milan to Minneapolis, and from Seoul to San Juan, hear how these strikes have been organized and made politically potent, and how they're reviving working-class institutions.

Moderators

Nelson Lichtenstein

Speakers

Mercedes Martinez

Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico

Kieran F. Knutson

Communications Workers Local 7250

Koo Jinsung

Korean Metal Workers Union

Sunday June 14, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am CDT
Rosemont CD

Strikes Political Education

10:45am CDT

Strikes and the Law

Sunday June 14, 2026 10:45am - 12:30pm CDT

Lambert

What do I need to know about the law and striking? What is an economic strike? What is a ULP strike? Can I be fired for striking? What does it mean to be permanently replaced? What is a secondary strike or boycott? Find out the answers to these and many other legal questions.

Moderators

Gay Semel

Sunday June 14, 2026 10:45am - 12:30pm CDT
Lambert

Labor Law Strikes

10:45am CDT

Bargaining a Yes-Strike Clause to Preserve Our Right to Strike

Sunday June 14, 2026 10:45am - 12:30pm CDT

Int’l Ballroom A

If the right to strike is our most powerful weapon, why do we give it away in exchange for a union contract? Can we bargain loopholes that allow us to strike while the contract is in effect? What strategies can we use to water down no-strike clauses so we can use our collective power more effectively? If you and your co-workers ever wished you didn’t have to wait until your contract expired to strike, this workshop is for you.

Moderators

Mark Meinster

United Electrical Workers

Sunday June 14, 2026 10:45am - 12:30pm CDT
Int’l Ballroom A

Strikes Bargaining

10:45am CDT

Building the Union Through Strikes

Sunday June 14, 2026 10:45am - 12:30pm CDT

Paris

Strikes aren't just a great way to terrify the boss. Done right, they also help members develop skills, deepen relationships, and see themselves as leaders. Learn how to bring your co-workers in, find your leverage, and pull off a strike that builds the union for the long haul.

Moderators

Strikes Shop Floor Power

10:00am CDT

1:00pm CDT

1:00pm CDT

3:05pm CDT

5:10pm CDT

5:10pm CDT

5:10pm CDT

9:00am CDT

2:15pm CDT

4:30pm CDT

4:30pm CDT

9:00am CDT

10:45am CDT

10:45am CDT

10:45am CDT

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