Amazon Is Facing an Unprecedented Union Vote in the Right-to-Work South
Workers at Amazon’s new Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse have filed for a union election. They’re taking on one of the most virulently anti-union companies in the United States.
326 Articles by: Alex N. Press
Alex N. Press is a staff writer at Jacobin who covers labor organizing.
Eight Hundred Pennsylvania Nurses Went on Strike This Week. Now They’re Locked Out.
Nurses at St. Mary Medical Center have been dealing with understaffing, long hours, low pay, and a lack of protective equipment throughout the pandemic. This past week, they decided to go on strike to push their hospital to take measures needed to keep patients safe.
Workers Will Still Have to Fight Under a President Joe Biden
Joe Biden says he’ll be a pro-labor president. But his funding from anti-union corporate executives, his Obama administration record, and his flirtation with Silicon Valley all point to a gap between rhetoric and reality.
In Anthony Banua-Simon’s Cane Fire, Hawaiians Are No Longer the Extras
For Golden Age Hollywood, Kaua’i became synonymous with paradise. But Anthony Banua-Simon’s new documentary Cane Fire traces the reality of life on the island, from domination by sugar companies to its transformation into a low-wage service economy.
With Prop 22’s Passage in California, Tech Companies Are Just Writing Their Own Laws Now
After a $200 million propaganda blitz, California voters passed the Uber- and Lyft-backed Proposition 22 on Tuesday, permanently excluding online “platform” workers from labor protections. Unsurprisingly, the companies are now talking about extending such legislation nationally.
Voices From the Valley Is a Snapshot of the Tech Industry, as Told By Workers Themselves
A new book capturing the voices of workers in Silicon Valley’s tech industry — from software engineers to cafeteria workers — reminds us that the relentlessness of labor exploitation is just one side of the story. The other is the persistence of worker resistance.
The San Francisco Ruling Class Is United in Their Hatred of the City’s Socialists
A San Francisco PAC has been given more than $3 million in donations to oppose left candidates and ballot measures in the upcoming election. Socialist candidates like Dean Preston are redrawing the lines of city politics around class — and the ruling class isn’t happy about it.
The Details of Worker Abuse at One of the World’s Largest Logistics Companies Are Appalling
A report compiled by an international network of unions exposes ruthless worker exploitation at XPO Logistics, the global transportation giant headquartered in Connecticut. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s mistreatment and repression have only gotten worse.
At the Vice Presidential Debate Last Night, No One Mentioned Defunding the Police
A generally lackluster face-off between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris last night served as a reminder that, despite this year’s unprecedented national uprising, neither Democrats nor (of course) Republicans are showing any sign of embracing the agenda of this year’s anti–police violence movement.
Why They Let Breonna Taylor’s Killer Go Free
Protestors in Louisville, Kentucky have been demanding justice for Breonna Taylor for months. But on September 23, Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron announced that none of the officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s murder would face charges for her death.
It’s Time to End the Subminimum Wage for Tipped Workers
This week, workers filed discrimination charges against Darden Restaurants, one of the largest restaurant companies in the US. Forcing workers to rely on tips violates the Civil Rights Act, advocates say. They’re calling for a single minimum wage for tipped and non-tipped workers alike.
North Carolina Nurses’ Union Victory Is One for the History Books
Earlier this month, nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina voted to unionize. Taking place in one of the most anti-union states in the country, and challenging a bitterly anti-labor employer, the campaign is a monumental victory for labor.
“Pro-Labor” Conservatives Aren’t Going Away Anytime Soon
Through “pro-labor” conservatives like Oren Cass, the populist right is offering an updated fantasy that Republicans are champions of the working class. They aren’t and never will be. But that doesn’t mean their pitch to working-class voters can’t succeed — especially when Democrats continue to abandon unions and the working class.
Respiratory Therapists Are Some of the Unsung Heroes of the Pandemic
Respiratory therapists operate ventilators and perform crucial services in treating the coronavirus. They say they still don’t have the protective equipment they need.
Workers at Minneapolis’s Surly Brewing Company Say the Brewer Is Busting Their Union
Two days after Surly’s beer hall workers went public with a union campaign, management announced it would be closing the location indefinitely. The Minneapolis company says the shutdown was in the works for weeks — a claim workers say is absurd.
Lodge 49 Is a Comedy About Being Broke and Desperate
In AMC’s comedic drama series Lodge 49, webs of debt and despair, disappointed dreams, and displaced lives tie the characters together at first. But it’s solidarity that makes the bonds last.
Men’s Tennis Players Are Weighing Unionization. But It’s Easier Said Than Done.
Leading men’s tennis players are in preliminary discussions to form a union. Pro sports unions can wield enormous power — but they’re also not always easy to organize.
Strippers Are Workers With the Power to Unionize
Strippers have at least one thing in common with Uber drivers: they’re the victims of rampant labor misclassification at the hands of their bosses. But Brandi Campbell, an adult dancer in Ohio, fought the practice in court and won. The law is clear: strippers are workers with the right to unionize and strike.
What Can Stop Cops In Cities Like Kenosha From Brutalizing Black People Like Jacob Blake?
The outrageous shooting of an unarmed black man in Kenosha shows the difference between elected officials’ kind words and actual progress. The movement against police violence will be fighting for a long time.
Hours Before Planned Capital Strike, Court Grants Uber and Lyft a Reprieve
Last week, Uber and Lyft were ordered to stop misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors. They’ve once again gotten out of doing so, granted a reprieve today by a judge in the face of the companies’ threatened capital strike.