The Invisible Heart of Modern Life Is the Garbage Worker
The backbreaking toil of the sanitation worker is the work that makes all of human civilization possible.
345 Article(s) by: Alex N. Press
Alex N. Press is a staff writer at Jacobin who covers labor organizing.
Who Monitors the UAW’s Federal Monitor?
Shawn Fain’s reform administration in the United Auto Workers now finds itself locked in conflict with a federal anti-corruption monitor that Fain says is overstepping his bounds — including in opposing the union’s stance against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
No Illusions and No Retreat for Union Militants at Labor Notes
Nearly 5,000 workers packed Labor Notes’ biennial conference outside Chicago last week. The mood was sober, the challenges immense, and the appetite for organizing as large as ever.
The Long, Grueling Strike at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital
Nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan, have been on strike for more than eight months over staffing levels and return-to-work protections. The dispute is one of the longest nurse walkouts in recent US history.
Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! vs. Mainstream Media
The new documentary Steal This Story, Please! shows how Amy Goodman helped build Democracy Now! into an independent outlet with a mass audience. We spoke to Goodman and director Tia Lessin about the film and challenging corporate media today.
Barbara Kopple on Her Labor Documentary Masterpieces
Barbara Kopple’s films Harlan County USA and American Dream captured labor struggle as it was happening: on picket lines, inside unions, and under pressure. Decades later, both remain some of the finest labor documentaries ever made.
Workers at Cocktail Bar Attaboy Are Unionizing
Staff at famed New York cocktail bar Attaboy are forming an independent union in a notoriously hard-to-organize industry.
New York Is Closing In on Amazon’s Shady Delivery System
Amazon has long exploited subcontracting to avoid taking responsibility for its delivery drivers. A bill introduced by socialist New York City Councilor Tiffany Cabán would force the e-commerce giant to directly employ its drivers.
Hasan Piker Talks Donald Trump, ICE, and the Democrats
Streamer Hasan Piker is one of the most watched political commentators in the US, with nearly 5 million followers combined on YouTube and Twitch. We spoke with him about how he became a socialist as well as the state of the GOP and the Democratic Party.
Thousands of Colorado Meatpacking Workers Are on Strike
A strike in Colorado shows what happens when thousands of workers confront one of the most concentrated industries in the American economy.
When Protesters Shut Down the World Trade Organization
The new documentary WTO/99 reconstructs the 1999 protests against a global neoliberal trade order, the violent police repression, and the hope for a different world that found vibrant expression on the streets of Seattle.
Reassessing the People’s Hospital in the Bronx
After a militant 1970 hospital takeover birthed a pioneering detox program in the South Bronx, New York City is now studying what it dismantled, and what redress requires amid an ongoing overdose crisis.
Governor Kathy Hochul Is Undermining Striking New York Nurses
As a historic nurses’ strike enters its fourth week, New York governor Kathy Hochul has protected hospitals from the strike’s impact by making it easier to hire scabs and doing little to stop executives from dragging out a fight over staffing and safety.
What New York Tenants Are Building Beyond the Courtroom
Tenants across buildings owned by Pinnacle Group are testing whether collective power can force new arrangements with landlords and the city government under a new pro-tenant mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Why Labor Unions Can’t Ignore ICE
From agriculture to meatpacking to service work, immigration enforcement functions as labor discipline. Minnesota’s mass strike against ICE points toward a reckoning with the agency that the labor movement can’t avoid.
A New Day for NYC Taxi Drivers Under Zohran Mamdani?
New York taxi drivers have long been mercilessly squeezed by the city, culminating in their 2021 hunger strike joined by Zohran Mamdani. Announcing a new taxi commissioner yesterday, Mayor Mamdani promised a break with that past.
It’s Time for New York to Take On Amazon
Amazon has long evaded unionization of its last-mile delivery drivers by subcontracting them to third-party companies. Legislation introduced by socialist New York City Council member Tiffany Cabán could put an end to that.
Starbucks Workers Strike Against Foot-Dragging in Bargaining
After years of scorched-earth union-busting and stonewalling tactics by their bosses, Starbucks workers are trying to get their union drive and contract negotiations unstuck through a nationwide strike.
Out After Dark With Late-Night Workers and Zohran Mamdani
New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani recently spent the night reaching out to workers in Queens who keep the city moving after most New Yorkers are asleep. We tagged along.
Striking Amazon for the Holidays
Amazon workers at seven warehouses walked off the job starting yesterday, in a major escalation of the Teamsters’ efforts to organize the company. In New York, the strikers faced repression from the police.