Olivia Heffernan is a journalist and documentary filmmaker. Her work focuses on the intersection of the prison-industrial complex, immigration, and labor. She is a student at CUNY’s School of Labor and Urban Studies and has had work featured in the Marshall Project, the Nation, the Appeal, and more.

04.29.2022

• Olivia Heffernan

Why Prison Journalism Matters

Prison journalism provides a window into the concealed world of mass incarceration, gives a voice to the incarcerated, and sheds light on the politics of the carceral state. Free and uncensored prison journalism is essential to criminal justice reform.

01.31.2022

• Olivia Heffernan
• Margaret Gray

For Chobani’s Fair Trade Certification to Live Up to Its Promises, We’ll Need Organized Labor

Greek yogurt juggernaut Chobani touts its fair trade certification as proof that it treats its workers well. But fair trade certification glosses over the fundamentally unequal and exploitative power dynamics of bosses over workers, at Chobani and workplaces everywhere.

11.16.2019

• Margaret Gray
• Olivia Heffernan

Buying Local Won’t Help Exploited Farmworkers

On New York’s dairy farms and in fields around the country, farmworkers are intensely exploited. They need support for their organizing efforts — not liberal appeals to “buy ethically” or “local.”