Graduate Workers at UPenn Just Won a Union
Earlier this month, graduate student workers at the University of Pennsylvania successfully voted to form a union in a landslide victory. Jacobin spoke with worker-organizers about the organizing drive.
20391 Article(s) by: Alex Press
Frances Fox Piven: Students Are Right to Protest on Campus
Longtime social movement scholar Frances Fox Piven reflects on her involvement in Columbia’s 1968 occupation, the need for protest movements to imitate each other, and why campus protests make sense for students demanding an end to Israel’s war on Gaza.
No, We Don’t Need AI to Go on Dates for Us
The founder of dating app Bumble recently predicted we will soon have personalized AI assistants dating each other on our behalf. In an age of already rampant social atomization, the prospect promises to cocoon us into ever more insularity and loneliness.
Video Game Execs Are Ruining Video Games
The cycle of mass layoffs in game development isn’t a problem of the industry’s inherent “instability.” It’s a problem of exploitation.
Joe Biden Has Continued Donald Trump’s Policy of Strangling Cuba
When Joe Biden became US president, many Cubans hoped he would loosen some of the restrictions on trade and travel imposed by Donald Trump. But Biden has increased the pressure on Cuba, greatly worsening the island’s economic difficulties.
India’s Congress Party Is Facing a Fight for Survival
The main challenge to Narendra Modi in India’s election comes from the Indian National Congress and the alliance it leads. But the party is struggling to keep afloat as a national force as it pays the price for embracing neoliberal economic policies.
Palestinian Art Under Israeli Occupation
Palestinian artists have continued to produce art about their culture and struggle for freedom throughout Israel’s occupation. Jacobin spoke with West Bank art students and the renowned painter and sculptor Sliman Mansour about the challenges they face.
Wall Street Is Buying Up Entire Neighborhoods
Policymakers in states across the country are finally pushing back on Wall Street firms buying up swathes of single-family homes to rent out at high prices. But they’re facing the might of a powerful new single-family rental lobby.
How Unions Have Supported the Palestine Student Protests
Over the last few weeks across the US, pro-Palestine student protesters have faced harsh crackdowns from university administrators and police. At many campuses, labor unions have been coming to the protesters’ defense.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Isn’t Good, but It’s Not Bad
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes never hits the highs of its half-century franchise. But the enduring power of the Apes’ postapocalyptic premise will keep us coming back for more.
Who Will Be the Village Voice of the 21st Century?
The Village Voice was the “loud, open mouth” of New York. Could its equivalent exist today?
France’s Crackdown on Palestine Solidarity
Since October 7, the French government has attempted to censor and criminalize pro-Palestine speech and protests in the name of combating antisemitism and terrorism. The repression has not stopped demonstrations of solidarity with Palestine.
US Officials and Media Keep Spreading False Gaza Death Info
Pro-war voices spent the past few days gleefully seizing on an erroneous report to claim that the UN had cut the death toll for Palestinian women and children in half. The lie is still spreading like wildfire as you read this.
The US Plan to Outsource Its Imperialism in Haiti to Kenya
The US has long outsourced meddling in Haiti to Global South countries. Recently Kenya has agreed to take over leading a US-backed multinational police intervention there — justifying its own “stabilization” mission with Pan-Africanist rhetoric.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Never Ended
Israel was founded with the Nakba, a series of atrocities that ethnically cleansed Palestinians from their homeland. Today we are witnessing Israel engage in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza on an even larger, more violent scale.
Landlords Are Forcing Tenants to Pay Junk Fees
In the midst of a dire affordable housing crisis, landlords are also charging residents junk fees — which can include “benefits” that are not in tenants’ best interests, application and pest fees, and basic services to keep apartments habitable.
Senator Bob Menendez Has Ties to Cuban American Terrorists
The bribery trial of New Jersey senator Bob Menendez gets underway this week. But he should have been investigated long ago for his links to Cuban American terrorists.
Losing the Fight for a Better World Takes a Toll
Choosing to be a leftist means that you are going to lose a lot. And losing a lot is not easy. How can we keep fighting while also acknowledging the emotional toll of losing over and over and over again?
August Thalheimer Was a Great Revolutionary Theorist
In the 1920s, August Thalheimer was the most important theorist of Germany’s Communist movement. He stood for an independent workers’ movement that forged a path beyond conservative social democracy and authoritarian Stalinism.
In Romania, Slot Machines Profit From Ex-Miners’ Misery
During Romania’s transition to capitalism, the Jiu Valley miners violently resisted the destruction of their industry. But today, their jobs are mostly gone — and the plague of slot machines has taken over long-proud mining communities.