MARCH 6, 2026 LEGACY LABOR NOTES from page 7 I know the Teamsters don’t want UPS to go out of business. I believe the Teamsters need to step up their game, and pull more resources when it comes to organizing at Amazon. GCN: What would be the best strategy for union leaders to convince workers who oppose unions to unionize? Slaughter: The power of a good example is the best way. If you can show by joining a union you are going to gain a 20% pay increase like the workers at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee and show other benefits non-union workers don’t receive, I JACKSON from last page The Michigan connection Governor Whitmer of Michigan ordered that the American flag at the State Capitol in Lansing be flown on half mast as an honor to Jesse Jackson’s passing. Jackson had visited Michigan so many times. He launched his 1988 presidential bid at Flint, Michigan. He won the Michigan Presidential caucus which was deemed a historic upset. He brought to the national attention the plight of poor people in Flint and surrounding areas who were suffering under the weight of unsafe and polluted water. He also magnified the knowledge of people around the nation about deindustrialization and what happened to assembly workers when their jobs disappeared. During his presidential campaign, he visited many Michigan counties, including Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Monroe and Livingston. He gave presentations at the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University and local churches. At U-M, Jackson’s presence was felt tremendously. He had helped with labor disputes on the U-M campus. He also helped with negotiations between U-M administrators and student activists. His most notable presence in Ann Arbor was in 1987 when the Black Action Movement III (BAM) did a sit-in at President Shapiro' s Fleming Administration Building. There were incidents of racial tensions, stress and acrimony inside some dorms. Some minority students did not feel safe and welcomed on campus. President Shapiro invited Jackson to Ann Arbor to help the campus heal and calm things down. Jackson met separately with the students and the administrator, and later they met together for an honest negotiation and, of course, conflict resolution. Jackson’s presence helped believe it is the best demonstration. The union should use workers who have lived experiences as non-union workers, too, and are now union workers, and show the benefits of unionizing. Workers will tend to believe a worker before they believe a paid union rep; plead your case 'worker to worker.' GCN: I see on the website that Labor Notes is featuring stories of ICE activities in Minneapolis. What are your thoughts on the labor movement and the current Administration's immigration crackdown by identifying, detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants across the United States? Slaughter: Divide and conquer to assuage the distrust between the “warring” parties and put the campus on a better trajectory of interpersonal cooperation, mutual respect and positive communication. A few years before the COVID-19 pandemic, former Ford School Dean and University Provost Susan Collins invited Rev. Jackson to Ann Arbor in order to share his knowledge and life experience with the School of Public Policy students, the University community and the Washtenaw community. More than three thousand people visited Rackham Auditorium to hear Jackson’s speech and participate in Q&A. It was a joyful occasion! Tributes and funeral ceremonies After Rev Jesse Jackson died on Feb. 17, the Spectrum News of New York listed the following tributes: “You don't drown cause the water is deep. You drown cause you stop kicking. You can never stop kicking, brother Crump. You can never stop kicking,’’’ said attorney Ben Crump, one of many paying tribute to the civil rights icon. “Time and again, we knew that hope still lived because Reverend Jesse Jackson kept it alive,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. More came from the country's top leaders, saying they were saddened by his death, calling the leader and twotime presidential candidate legendary. In a social media post, Sen. Charles Schumer said he was a “fearless warrior for justice.” He went on to call him “one of the most powerful forces for positive change in our country and in our world.” President Donald Trump also reminisced by posting photos of the two from the 80s on his Truth Social account, and going on to say, “He was a good man with lots of personality, grit and street smarts. He was very Jesse Jackson delivering a speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. — they are trying to convince workers who are not immigrants that they have nothing in common with immigrants, but the reality is that all workers, immigrants and non- immigrants, face some of the same challenges in today’s work force. GCN: Do you feel that President Trump is pro-union? Slaughter: No, he doesn't have a union bone in his body. GCN: What should we expect at the Labor Notes Conference 2026? Slaughter: It will be very large. We are expecting around 5,000 people to attend this year. High profile issues will be represented in the labor movement topics like Starbucks and organizing at gregarious.” Closer to home, New Yorkers paid tribute. “Somebody who told us to keep hope alive and during this difficult time in history he gave us a blueprint on where we need to go to really keep hope alive,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said. Gov. Kathy Hochul said flags would be lowered to half-staff in Jackson's honor. “A nod to a life that's come to an end — and a legacy that lives on,” Spectrum News noted. “Jesse Jackson changed the civil rights movement. He was a consequential and transformative figure,” said noted civil rights leader, Rev. Al Sharpton. “He laid the foundation for my own campaign to he highest office of the land,” said President Barack Obama (published by Yahoo News on February 17,2026). On Feb. 26, the funeral for the late Reverend Jackson started with the movement of his coffin from the funeral home to the headquarters of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. His family GROUNDCOVER NEWS 11 Amazon. The conference will have two hundred workshops and meetings, and people and organizations from Minneapolis will be in attendance. One thing that always happens at Labor Notes conferences is a lot of networking, and I believe it will be even more so this year. People tend to use this conference to meet face to face with people and different organizations they've been communicating with, but now have the chance to meet for the first time. Read current and past articles at labornotes.org. Registration for the annual Labor Notes Conference in Chicago is closed, but you can join the waitlist at www.labornotes.org/2026 accompanied the entourage and they allowed several minutes for a press conference. Jackson’s children spoke and answered questions from the press. One of the memorable answers came from his daughter, who said, “The family always let their father and each other know that they love each other. We try not to go to sleep angry with each other and it is very important to our father that we express love to one another and to him as often as possible.” Jackson’s casket was moved to South Carolina’s State Capitol on March 2. The body will lie in repose at the Capitol’s rotunda for mourners to view with respect. Later, the body will be flown to Washington, D.C., to be honored by the public, civic and political leaders. After that, Jackson’s body will be flown to South Side Chicago for a final resting place. Throughout his political campaign and interactions with poor people in Chicago and across the nation, Jackson is known for having said, “KEEP HOPE ALIVE! KEEP HOPE ALIVE!!” R.I.P. Rev. Jesse Jackson.
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