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      Netanyahu Stands Firm on Cease-Fire Terms Amid Growing Outrage in Israel

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      In his first news conference since the bodies of six killed hostages were recovered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to budge on his conditions for any truce in Gaza.Brushing aside pleas from allies and the demands of Israeli protesters for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday vowed to maintain Israeli control along the border between Egypt and Gaza, a contentious plan that appeared to dim, if not dash, prospects for a truce.In his first news conference since the bodies of six slain hostages were recovered over the weekend, Mr. Netanyahu told reporters on Monday night that, to ensure its security, Israel needed to assert control over the Gazan side of the border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, calling it the lifeline of Hamas.Hamas has said Israeli control of the corridor is a nonstarter in negotiations for a truce, demanding instead a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.“If we leave, there will be enormous diplomatic pressure upon us from the whole world not to return,” Mr. Netanyahu said of the corridor, as a large crowd protested near his private residence in Jerusalem on Monday night.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Monday that to ensure its security, Israel needed to assert control over the Philadelphi Corridor, calling it the lifeline of Hamas. Ohad Zwigenberg/EPA, via ShutterstockMr. Netanyahu made the comments a day after the Israeli military announced that the six hostages had been found dead in a tunnel underneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The discovery devastated Israelis and spurred both the mass protests on Sunday and a widespread work stoppage by the country’s largest labor union.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Histadrut, the Labor Union Behind Israel’s Strike, Has Long History of Influence

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      The labor union that called for the strike in Israel on Monday, Histadrut, has played a key role in recent Israeli politics. Most notably, it led strikes last year that challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, forcing him to back off a contentious judicial plan. Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, was also pivotal to the founding of the State of Israel. It was set up in 1920, at a time when trade unions were a critical vector of political and economic influence in many countries.Its purpose in its early decades was both to serve the needs of workers at a time of Jewish immigration to what was then British-administered Palestine, and to lay the groundwork for the foundation of Israel as a state. It helped to establish the industrial, financial and economic institutions from which the nation emerged in 1948. The union’s leader in the early years, David Ben-Gurion, became Israel’s first prime minister.The organization, the largest of its kind in Israel, now represents about 800,000 workers from 27 separate unions, according to its website. Its chairman, Arnon Bar-David, has held the post since 2019.Mr. Bar-David, a longtime member of the union who also served as a major in the military reserves, in early 2023 joined other union chiefs, business leaders and military reservists to oppose a plan put in place by Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right government to limit the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down decisions by elected officials.Histadrut organized a major strike that — along with disquiet in the military and mass protests that destabilized the economy — contributed to one of the biggest domestic upheavals in Israel in decades. The unrest prompted Mr. Netanyahu to suspend the judicial plan.The deadly attack led by Hamas on Israel months later, and the ensuing Israeli military offensive in Gaza, moved the judicial issue to the background. But Histadrut again showed its influence by calling for the general strike on Monday, which, along with large street demonstrations the night before calling for a deal to free hostages from Gaza, amounted to the broadest expression of anti-government dissent since the war began. More

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      Israelis Go on Strike After Hostage Deaths, and German Far Right Makes Election Gains

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      Listen to and follow “The Headlines”Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadioPatrick Kingsley and Jessica Metzger and On Today’s Episode:Workers Strike as Israelis Seethe Over Hostage Killings, by Patrick KingsleyTakeaways From East Germany’s State Elections, by Christopher F. SchuetzeHow a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps Patients, by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Katie ThomasA Funnel Cake Macchiato, Anyone? The Coffee Wars Are Heating Up, by Julie CreswellA protest outside a military compound in Tel Aviv on Sunday. Many demonstrators on Sunday demanded that Israel reach a cease-fire and hostage deal with Hamas.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York TimesTune in, and tell us what you think at theheadlines@nytimes.com. For corrections, email nytnews@nytimes.com.For more audio journalism and storytelling, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Special thanks to More

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      Hotel Workers Nationwide Go on Strike: What to Know if You’re Traveling Soon

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      Though hotel chains say they’ll continue to operate normally, travelers could see disruptions as employees walked off the job in cities from Boston to Honolulu. Here’s what to know.Over the busy Labor Day weekend, thousands of front-desk workers, housekeepers and other employees at more than a dozen hotels across the country walked off the job on early Sunday after failing to come to an agreement in contract negotiations.The strikes — which as of Sunday morning were called at hotels in Boston; Greenwich, Conn.; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle and in Hawaii — were scheduled to last three days, just as many travelers’ holiday weekend plans were in full swing. More hotel workers in other cities could also soon announce strikes.The strike comes as thousands of workers at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni properties across the country — in about 12 cities stretching from Honolulu to Boston — have been engaged in contentious talks since at least May.The workers, members of Unite Here, which represents many segments of the hospitality industry, have been pushing for higher wages and to address pandemic-era staffing and service cuts that have left some employees feeling overwhelmed.“The hotel industry has rebounded from the pandemic, and room rates are at record highs,” Gwen Mills, Unite Here’s international president, said in a statement before the strike. “But hotel workers can’t afford to live in the cities that they welcome guests to. Too many hotel workers have to work two or sometimes three jobs in order to make ends meet.”The affected hotels say they plan to stay open, perhaps with modified services, but they may not always notify travelers that a strike is happening. So inquire ahead of time, or you may be surprised to find a spirited picket line in front of your hotel when you arrive.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Gaza Debate Reopens Divisions Between Left-Wing Workers and Union Leaders

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      Last week’s Democratic National Convention surfaced differences over the war in Gaza that could widen fissures between labor activists and union officials.When members of the Chicago Teachers Union showed up to march at the Democratic National Convention last week, many expressed two distinct frustrations.The first was over the war in Gaza, which they blamed for chewing up billions of dollars in aid to Israel that they said could be better spent on students, in addition to a staggering loss of life. The second was disappointment with their parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, which they felt should go further in pressuring the Biden administration to rein in Israel’s military campaign.“I was disappointed in the resolution on Israel and Palestine because it didn’t call for an end to armed shipments,” said Kirstin Roberts, a preschool teacher who attended the protest, alluding to a statement that the parent union endorsed at its convention in July.Since last fall, many rank-and-file union members have been outspoken in their criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks, in which Hamas-led militants killed more than 1,000 people and took about 250 hostages. The leaders of many national unions have appeared more cautious, at times emphasizing the precipitating role of Hamas.“We were very careful about what a moral stance was and also what the implications of every word we wrote was,” the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, said of the resolution her union recently adopted.In some ways, this divide reflects tensions over Israel and Gaza that exist within many institutions — like academia, the media and government.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Samsung Union Workers Launch Indefinite Strike

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      The tech giant’s largest union escalated its dispute with management after failing to reach an agreement over pay and working policies.Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics said Wednesday they would go on an indefinite strike, an escalation of a rare labor dispute that could disrupt the technology giant’s world-leading chip business.An estimated 6,500 workers walked off the job on Monday for a planned three-day strike over pay and working conditions. The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union decided to extend the strike after “hearing no word” from the company, according to Lee Hyun Kuk, the vice president of the union, which represents 28,000 workers, or a fifth of the Samsung’s global work force.Samsung, South Korea’s biggest private employer, has long been the world’s largest maker of memory chips, which help computers and other electronics equipment store information. The company is also a leading manufacturer of logic chips, which make computers run, behind only Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.The union said it has been negotiating with Samsung since January over vacation days and wages. The union said its work stoppage this week has slowed some Samsung operations and production. A Samsung representative said the strike has not affected production and that the company remained “committed to engaging in good faith negotiations with the union.”In June, workers went on a one-day strike, the first in the company’s history.Union workers are demanding a wage increase by 3.5 percent, improved bonus policies and an extra day of vacation. It also wants Samsung to agree to compensate workers for any lost wages during the strike.“We won’t go back until all of the demands are met,” Mr. Lee said.Last week, Samsung said that it would report a larger-than-expected jump in operating profit for the second quarter, of $7.5 billion. The company’s stock has recently set a series of multiyear highs as demand for chips to power A.I. applications has soared.For decades, Samsung was known for its aversion to organized labor, and unions have organized workers at the company only in the past several years.Labor strikes in South Korea are not uncommon. Since February, over 10,000 doctors walked off the job in protest of government plans to increase the number of admitted medical students. Last spring, thousands of construction workers rallied over discontent with the country’s labor policies. More

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      Biden Cancels Speech to Teachers After Union’s Staff Strikes

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      Employees of the National Education Association picketed the site of the group’s annual convention after a walkout over issues including overtime pay.A strike by the staff of the nation’s largest teachers’ union has prompted President Biden to cancel a speech on Sunday in Philadelphia, where he was scheduled to address thousands of delegates to the union’s annual convention.The staff union of the National Education Association began its strike on Friday, citing management’s revocation of holiday overtime pay for the Fourth of July holiday and its refusal to provide information on $50 million in outsourced work that may have previously been done by N.E.A. staff. The strike has shut down the last three days of the four-day convention, as delegates declined to cross a picket line.Mr. Biden’s campaign said he would not do so, either. “President Biden is a fierce supporter of unions and he won’t cross a picket line,” a statement from his campaign said, adding that the president was still planning to travel to Pennsylvania over the weekend.The National Education Association has about 2.5 million members nationwide, not including retirees, according to a recent government filing. The staff union says it represents more than 350 employees assigned to the union’s headquarters in Washington.The staff union, the National Education Association Staff Organization, voted to authorize a strike in April, and its three-year contract expired in late May. It waged a one-day walkout in June. “N.E.A. has abandoned its union values with its actions at the bargaining table,” said the president of the staff union, Robin McLean, in a statement. “N.E.A. would rather cancel a multimillion-dollar convention than comply with labor law.”The N.E.A. said in a statement that it remained “fully committed to a fair bargaining process” and accused the staff union of circulating “misinformation” that “not only misrepresents the facts but also undermines the integrity of our ongoing efforts to honor a fair bargaining process.”The union added that the association offered generous benefits and competitive salaries, saying its current proposal would raise the average salary of staff union members to about $133,000 from about $124,000. The staff union said that salary increases had lagged for years and that most members would see an increase of less than 2 percent per year under the proposal.Strikes by unions’ staff members are not unheard of. Employees of the United Food and Commercial Workers union held a one-day walkout in May. The staff of a large local of the Service Employees International Union in California waged a two-week strike in 2022. More

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      University of California Workers Ordered to End Strike Over Protest Grievances

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      An Orange County judge halted the labor action by academic workers after the university system said the walkout was causing students “irreparable harm.”A strike by University of California academic workers over the treatment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators was temporarily halted by a Southern California judge on Friday after the university argued the walkout was causing students “irreparable harm.”The temporary restraining order, issued by Judge Randall J. Sherman of the Orange County Superior Court, came as tens of thousands of U.C. students were preparing for finals at the end of the spring quarter. The judge’s order came in response to the third attempt by the public university system to force thousands of unionized teaching assistants, tutors, researchers and other key workers back to work.Workers represented by United Auto Workers Local 4811 walked off the job May 20 at U.C. Santa Cruz and then extended the rolling strike to campuses at Davis, Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego and Santa Barbara. The union represents about 48,000 graduate students and other academic workers across the U.C. system, which encompasses 10 universities and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.The academic workers have contended, among various charges, that the University of California’s response to demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war has amounted to a unilateral change in free speech policies and has created an unsafe work environment.The university system has said that the strike is not about working conditions, but rather an attempt to force U.C. institutions to take a position on a political issue. University leaders have twice asked the state Public Employment Relations Board, which normally oversees public sector labor issues, to declare the union’s action unlawful. The board found both times that the university’s claims did not meet the legal threshold required to block the strike.The university asked for injunctive relief on Tuesday and sued the union for breach of contract, charging that the workers had violated no-strike clauses in their collective bargaining agreements. In a separate filing, the state labor board noted that it was already examining that issue and questioned whether the Orange County Superior Court — whose jurisdiction includes Irvine, the site of one of the walkouts — was the appropriate forum for the university to seek relief.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More