El Cerrito, COLOMBIA—They were hungry and frightened about their fate, and Omar Serrano struggled for words to steady them. “We are fighting for our labor rights,” said Serrano, president of a small, struggling sugar cane cutters union. “This is not about what is happening only here. But it's about what's happening all across Colombia.” But his words brought little light to the faces of the 40 sug...

A locked out Honeywell worker from Metropolis, Ill. at a pro-union rally in Madison, Wis., in February 2011. (United Steelworkers / Flickr / Creative Commons)   Over the past three years, I have spent plenty of time with Honeywell uranium plant worker and United Steelworkers Local 7-699 President Stephen Lech. However, I have never seen Lech as excited as he was on Tuesday night. “Mike, I got big ...

Union activists rally outside the Michigan state capitol to protest Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's 'right-to-work' legislation, in December 2012. (Photo by Bill Pugliano / Getty Images)   Last December, Gov. Rick Snyder outraged unions and progressives when he abruptly signed two bills into law making Michigan the 24th so-called "right-to-work" state. The laws—Public Act 349, governing public-secto...