What Is Tim Dillon Doing?
The Tim Dillon Show is disorienting and disturbing. It also has a massive audience, to whom it reflects back the disorientation and disturbance of contemporary society in pseudo-personalized form.
39 Article(s) by: Benjamin Y. Fong
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Benjamin Y. Fong is associate director of the Center for Work and Democracy at Arizona State University. He has a Substack focusing on labor and logistics called On the Seams.
Labor’s Crisis Is Not a PR Problem
Union approval is at historic highs, yet density keeps falling. The problem isn’t messaging but the lack of strategy that can turn popularity into power.
The Biggest Recent Union Wins Were in Art and Bacon
The labor movement improves lives for all kinds of workers, and the two largest National Labor Relations Board elections of the month of May were at two very different workplaces: the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and Dold Foods in Wichita, Kansas.
To Unionize Amazon, Disrupt the Flow
Organizing logistics behemoths like Amazon and Walmart will require the labor movement to figure out how to disrupt the flow of goods across the supply chain rather than simply organizing individual workplaces — and that requires a major rethinking of organizing strategy.
Making Expensive Cities Into Union Towns
California boasts some of the most expensive cities in the country. Union organizing can help workers afford to live in those cities.
Hasan Piker’s Detention and the Attack on the 4th Amendment
Decades of precedent, from RICO to asset forfeiture to “good faith” exceptions, have normalized warrantless search and gutted the Fourth Amendment. Hasan Piker’s detainment is the latest proof that constitutional rights are now largely a legal fiction.
Making Steel for Offshore Wind Turbines, Now With Union Labor
In a slow month for large-unit elections, the United Steelworkers won a key victory at JSW Steel, which manufactures components for offshore wind turbines. Despite their green, ethical self-portrayal, the union says JSW fought them hard.
Turn On, Tune In, Cash Out
In the 1960s, psychedelics seemed to promise social progress. Today their proponents are all about self-optimization under capitalism.
How Useful Is “Worker-to-Worker Unionism”?
In his new book, labor scholar Eric Blanc offers illuminating case studies of recent union victories. But it’s not clear that “worker-to-worker unionism” amounts to a widely applicable “emergent model” of unionism that can save the labor movement.
Unionizing UnitedHealthcare
The largest NLRB union election win in February was at the primary care group Optum Care, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare. The vertical integration of health care has brought frustrating consequences for health workers, who are now organizing in response.
Interns and Residents Are Unionizing at a Rapid Clip
SEIU’s Committee of Interns and Residents won six NLRB elections in January 2025 involving 250 or more people. This string of victories has become somewhat commonplace for a rapidly growing union.
A Labor Movement Beyond the NLRA?
With the National Labor Relations Act now in the crosshairs of the Right, organized labor needs to confront an uncomfortable truth: even at its best, this framework has severe limitations. It’s time to explore alternatives.
Amazon’s Retribution in Quebec Should Be a Wake-Up Call
In response to a successful unionization effort at a warehouse in Quebec, Amazon is shuttering its operations in the entire province. Its punitive behavior demonstrates that traditional organizing methods won’t work on the corporate behemoth.
‘Tis the Season to Organize Amazon
During peak season, when Amazon’s holiday rush hits maximum velocity, the company’s finely tuned machine becomes surprisingly fragile. For workers seeking to organize, the high-stakes holiday months may be their strongest opportunity to exert leverage.
Blue-Collar Workers Deserve Six-Figure Salaries Too
The recent longshore workers’ strike provoked pearl-clutching in the media about runaway salaries. But the notion of six-figure pay for blue-collar workers becomes less scandalous when we compare worker pay and purchasing power today to those in 1960.
The Port Strike Called the Shipping Companies’ Bluff
When East and Gulf Coast longshoremen went on strike last week, their employers claimed to be unable to afford their wage demands. In truth, the shipping industry has seen unparalleled profits in recent years. The strike made them change their tune.
The Art of the Green New Deal
Jobs to Move America is pioneering an innovative labor strategy that turns public investments in green infrastructure and manufacturing into opportunities for union organizing and better working conditions.
From the Docks to the Killing Floors
Episode 6 of Organize the Unorganized takes a deep dive into several CIO union powerhouses, including the United Electrical Workers, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and others in textile and meatpacking industries.
Steel and the Soul of Capitalism
Episode 5 of Organize the Unorganized: The Rise of the CIO tells the story of the Little Steel strike of 1937 and the brutal context of steel organizing in the US. It was a tragic failure and a major turning point for the CIO.
The CIO’s Culture of Unity
Episode 4 of Organize the Unorganized examines three key factors behind the CIO’s success: a robust commitment to collective bargaining, a canny application of militant tactics, and the “culture of unity” that made successful political action possible.