National Union

• The security officers in four of Constellation's fourteen nuclear plants are represented by the National Union of Nuclear Security Officers (NUNSO), a division of United Federation LEOS-PBA.
• ; Clinton Power Station, in Clinton, IL; and R. E. Gina nuclear Power Plant in Ontario, NY.
• Security officers at one other Constellation nuclear plant, the Dresden Generating Station in Morris, IL, are represented by SEIU Local 1 in Chicago.
• The security officers contract in these two plants have a no-strike clause:
  If a nationwide strike is called against Constellation energy company by the Union, LEOS-PBA expects that the other unions would honor its strike line — essentially, shutting down Constellation energy company's nuclear sites nationwide.

• Rising prices borne disproportionately by low-wage workers, particularly in a public sector squeezed by a “Tories in turmoil” UK government.
• Not December 2023, in fact, but December 1973, as Britain prepared for the three-day working week that commenced on January 1.
• The union was pushing for an improved pay offer from the miners’ employer, the state-owned National Coal Board (NCB).
• Edward Heath’s Conservative government was determined to resist the miners’ claim.

What caused the crisis

• The crisis had been caused by the big switch in Britain’s energy market from coal to oil.
• Coal had been king as late as 1957, responsible for 80% of energy consumed in Britain.
• Accompanied by the rise of natural gas and introduction of nuclear energy, the coal miners felt this transition was unjust.

• This appealed to young miners, who were conscious of their vital social role in powering Britain’s homes and workplaces.
• Their sense of injustice was piqued by friends and relatives earning more in easier factory jobs, assembling cars and consumer goods.
• They first mobilised for a national strike in 1972, the first since 1926.
• Remembered most for the mass blockade of Saltley fuel depot in Birmingham, this won the miners a big pay increase.

The present day

• Beckett argued that it made visible two important elements of the future of work.
• One was extended working time, with non-essential factories and offices running 12-hour shifts on their permitted days.
• This meant they were employed normally during the three-day week, whereas there was enforced idleness among the greater clustering of men in non-essential industrial occupations.

• Two further observations can be made, reflecting back on the three-day week being related to energy and the insecurity of essential workers.
• The 1973 drama, while driven by the coal dispute, was aggravated by the external shock of Opec production controls and the five-fold oil price increase.
• Our difficulties in 2023 are similarly multi-causal, but inflation and economic insecurity have been amplified, as in 1973, by oil and gas price hikes.

Jim Phillips has received funding from the Leverhulme Trust..

• “Canadians overwhelmingly support a ceasefire, and we need to pressure the Canadian government to support one, too.
• A recent poll by Mainstreet Research showed that 71% of Canadians endorse an immediate ceasefire, with majority support across all parties.
• “Canadian Jews have been speaking out and joining demonstrations in record numbers,” said Corey Balsam, National Coordinator of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).
• “No place is safe in Gaza right now,” said Dr. Tarek Khalifeh, President of the Canadian Palestinian Professional Foundation.

• On October 13, 2023, Newmont and the Union submitted the Agreement to the Mexican Labor Court, which gave its approval, thus ending the strike.
• “This unnecessary strike has caused significant hardship for all of our employees, contractors, host communities, suppliers and customers,” said Tom Palmer, Newmont’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
• Newmont will pay employees a fixed amount, roughly equivalent to 60% of wages lost, since the strike began on June 7, 2023.
• Minera Peñasquito is the second largest employer in Zacatecas, Mexico with a workforce of more than 5,000 individuals.