Daniel Kopp is a trade unionist and writer.
Fifty years ago, women cleaners at a Belgian university went on strike, then set up their own cooperative called the Liberated Broom. A new film shows how they kicked out the boss, starting an experiment in self-management that lasted for 14 years.
On this day in 1941, workers in Belgium launched one of the first strikes in Nazi-ruled Europe. Tens of thousands of strikers risked dire repression to stand up against poverty wages — and showed the working class’s determination to resist occupation.
In Finland, a conservative government including the far-right True Finns has launched a Margaret Thatcher–style attack on job security, unemployment benefits, and the right to strike. Trade unions are fighting to defend the country’s storied social model.