After the University of California (UC) suppressed pro-Palestine encampments on several campuses, UC academic workers walked off the job. Their union claimed that the crackdown had created an unsafe work environment, while UC cast the strike as illegal. An Orange County judge took management’s side, ending the strike with an injunction that many argue usurped the jurisdiction of the state’s Public Employment Relations Board.

Amazon delivery drivers in Palmdale, California, became the first to organize a union over a year ago. Amazon, however, has refused to negotiate, arguing that it is not the drivers’ employer because they work for one of its delivery-service partners. This August, 14 months into an unfair labor practice strike, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Amazon is the drivers’ joint employer — a major victory for them and their 280,000 colleagues across the country.

A long strike at Monument Chemical in Brandenburg, Kentucky, began with plumbers, pipe fitters, and electrical workers who accused the company of overcharging for health care and relying on nonunion subcontractors. Operations staff joined them in August, walking out over concerns about the de-skilling of specialized roles and winning their own contract a week later. The standoff came amid a flurry of Louisville-area labor actions, with AT&T and BAE Systems workers picketing as well.