Rich People Are Boring
Cartoonist Syd Hoff drew the rich as they are: ridiculous, incompetent, hopelessly out of touch, and boring.
344 Article(s) by: Alex N. Press
Alex N. Press is a staff writer at Jacobin who covers labor organizing.
As the Writers’ Strike Enters Its Third Week, the Studios Aren’t Budging
The Writers Guild of America is now in week three of its nationwide strike. Two key sticking points in negotiations: residual payments and the use of artificial intelligence.
Architects Are Toiling Under Brutal Working Conditions
Far from being a white-collar oasis, architects work under grueling conditions — which is why some are now trying to unionize. We spoke to an architect and union organizer about labor’s new efforts to organize the industry.
TV Writers Say They’re Striking to Stop the Destruction of Their Profession
Television shows across the country are going dark because their writers have walked off the job. The strikers say they had no choice but to walk, as new technology and the squeeze from executives have put their very livelihood in serious danger.
For Workers in the New Movie Unrest, the Clock Is the Villain
Unrest gives viewers plenty that they won’t find in films elsewhere: a quietly gorgeous portrayal of the labor process, a lead role for the anarchist geographer Pyotr Kropotkin, and an exploration of how bosses wrestle with workers over control of their work.
Right Now Is the Most Exciting Moment to Join the Labor Movement in Decades
This May Day, don’t hang your head for the labor movement’s defeat. US unions are weak, it’s true. But there’s more excitement, more of a spirit of militancy and experimentation, and more hope in today’s labor movement than there has been in a long time.
The Teamsters Organized Some Amazon Delivery Workers. What Happens Next Is Complicated.
Did the Teamsters just successfully negotiate the first tentative agreement for Amazon workers anywhere in America? The fact that the workers are subcontracted means the answer to that question isn’t cut and dry.
Food Delivery Workers’ Labor Conditions Are Abysmal
Earning less than minimum wage, suffering constant harassment and assault, even being ordered to continue delivering food after suffering a concussion on the job: food delivery drivers are toiling under incredibly brutal working conditions.
Midtown Athletic Club’s Chicago Location Fired All of Its Housekeepers, Twice
The luxury Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago told its housekeepers they would be laid off on May 1. The workers saw the move as retaliation for their organizing efforts — and when they went public, the club fired them again, effective immediately.
TV and Film Writers Are Getting Ready for a Strike
Members of the Writers Guild of America, which represents more than 11,000 television and feature writers, have voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike. The work stoppage could begin as soon as their contract expires on May 1.
American Truckers Are Getting Squeezed. Hard.
Long-haul trucking used to be a stable, high-paying job. But thanks to decades of deregulation and pressure from bosses, truckers now have to work grueling hours for little pay, in conditions that put them and everyone else on the road in serious danger.
Film Workers Say a Gun on the Hip of a New York City Film Producer Led to a Strike
German director Uwe Boll was filming an NYPD drama in New York City last month. On the third day of shooting, crew members say that his producer showed up with a gun. Within a week, they were on strike.
Can the UAW Rise Again?
Despite the ravages of deindustrialization, the United Auto Workers remain the US’s most important industrial union. Members recently elected a new leadership promising democracy, militancy, and an end to corruption. But change isn’t coming easy to the UAW.
When a Fight Against Sexual Assault Bolstered Mass Incarceration
A new documentary revisits Stanford student Brock Turner, who was convicted of sexual assault but served only three months in jail. Feminists led a recall effort against the case’s judge — but actually led judges to favor harsher sentencing across California.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Workers Are in the Longest Newspaper Strike in Decades
Workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have been on strike for nearly half a year. Despite a recent assault on two of the strikers and continued intransigence by the ultrawealthy family who owns the paper, they are digging in for the long haul.
Duke University Is Trying to Turn Back Time on Graduate Worker Unions
Last week, Duke University’s graduate-student workers filed for a National Labor Relations Board election. The administration isn’t just fighting the union — it plans to challenge the legal status of all grad workers across the country as workers.
Will Visual Effects Workers Unionize?
A new survey of visual effects workers in the film and television industry paints a picture of rampant labor violations and a demoralized workforce. VFX-IATSE is hoping to change that.
Amazon Increasingly Sets the Conditions of Global Commerce That Everyone Else Operates In
A new report on Amazon’s third-party buyers argues that, rather than merely helping or hurting small businesses, the company has reshaped them in its own image, enlisting them as agents in its global expansion.
Strikes Were Up Significantly Last Year
New numbers show that the number of strikes and the number of workers on strike both went up last year. Labor is still incredibly weak, but more workers walking off the job is a very good thing.
Rail Carriers’ Cost-Cutting Is Endangering All of Us
Rail carriers are operating longer, heavier freight trains, and with fewer workers than ever. The train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, is a reminder that the issues railworkers nearly struck over last year are far from resolved.