Ocean Vuong’s Way Out
The meeting of New England’s newer low-wage immigrant working class and its older industrial working class is beautifully rendered, warts and all, by Ocean Vuong in his new novel, The Emperor of Gladness.
41 Articles by: Steve Early
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Steve Early has been a DSA member for forty-two years, active in the Communications Workers of America even longer, and authored a book called Refinery Town: Big Oil, Big Money, and the Making of an American City, which profiled Jovanka Beckles and other leaders of the Richmond Progressive Alliance.
Cautionary Tales From the New Left
In a new memoir, New Left leader Michael Ansara wants to impart lessons from his own time as a campus activist to today’s protesters. But his later role in a corruption scandal that set back Teamsters reform for decades offers its own cautionary lessons.
Veterans Are Ramping Up Protests Against VA Cuts
The Trump administration wants to cut more than 80,000 VA jobs this year and further privatize veterans’ health care. Last week’s D-Day anniversary saw the biggest veteran mobilizations yet against Trump’s cuts to veterans’ benefits.
Winning the Rank-and-File Vote
A look at recent bottom-up efforts to win endorsements for Bernie Sanders and mobilize trade unionists against Donald Trump offer insights into how the labor movement can better and more democratically engage its members in politics.
Veterans Are Starting to Mobilize Against Trump’s Cuts
Military veterans are among those being hit hardest by Trump’s austerity push, which threatens many of their jobs as well as health care and other benefits. The cuts are starting to mobilize the conservative-leaning demographic against the administration.
Dan Osborn Hopes to Inspire More Working-Class Independents
Last year Dan Osborn, a former union president and strike leader, almost won a Senate seat in deep-red Nebraska as a populist independent. Osborn has now started a PAC to recruit, train, and support more blue-collar candidates for public office.
The US’s Military-to-Prison Pipeline
US military veterans are significantly more likely than other Americans to be jailed at least once in their lives. Thanks to mass incarceration, the number of vets in prison doubled between the end of the Vietnam War and 9/11.
Trump’s Pentagon Chief Pick Wants to Privatize Veteran Care
Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has come under fire for a checkered past and lack of relevant experience. He’s also shown himself to be zealously committed to privatizing military veterans and service members’ health care.
The Fight to Unionize US Call Center Workers
In the US, the past 40 years have seen the explosive growth of a new call center workforce, which now employs nearly 4 million people. Despite vigorous organizing efforts, the sector remains largely nonunion.
Richmond Progressive Alliance’s Lessons for Local Organizers
It doesn’t often make national headlines, but the city of Richmond, California, has been home to a successful progressive political reform project in recent years. Here are ten lessons for other municipal reformers from the Richmond Progressive Alliance.
Will the Democrats Stand Up for Veterans?
At tonight’s VP debate, two US military veterans, Tim Walz and J. D. Vance, will face off. Walz has a chance to stand up against the dangerous privatization of Veterans Affairs — which Biden has overseen and Trump and Vance are promising to push further.
The Tough Task of Forging a Labor-Climate Alliance
Winning a just transition will require environmental activists to forge ties with labor unions around shared interests. That’s no easy task — but across the US, we’re seeing promising beginnings of a labor-climate alliance.
A Tale of Two Labor Candidates in the East Bay
An East Bay, California, state senate race is between two candidates with past Bernie Sanders endorsements: one with Democratic Socialists of America support who refuses corporate cash, the other who accepts such money.
Ron Carey’s Lessons in Labor Movement Reform
The late and legendary Teamsters reform leader Ron Carey briefly succeeded in a monumental task: turning around a corrupt and conservative union. Today’s aspiring reformers looking to revitalize their own unions can learn from his career.
How Union Reformers Took Over the Vermont AFL-CIO
In 2019, local union members of the Vermont AFL-CIO elected officers to top positions in an attempt to make the federation more progressive, democratic, and effective. Their record is impressive.
Vermont’s New AFL-CIO President Is a Democratic Socialist and Labor Reformer
Katie Maurice is a Democratic Socialists of America member and labor activist. She was recently elected president of the Vermont AFL-CIO on a platform of boosting rank-and-file participation and building power outside the Democratic Party.
PTSD Is a Nightmare. A Fully Funded VA Can Provide Relief.
PTSD is a scourge for military veterans. The good news is that the VA system provides specialized, high-quality care for PTSD; the bad news is that corporate-friendly politicians are privatizing this vital public health system.
Unions Can’t Revitalize Without Bolstering Rank-and-File Power
Within the labor movement, all of the bright ideas and strategic insights in the world won’t amount to much if the democratic rights of union members themselves aren’t respected, restored, and expanded.
The US Left Must Rebuild Broken Links to Soldiers and Veterans
While the armed forces carry out the mission of US imperialism, millions of working people sit at the heart of that machine, drawn to become soldiers by the promise of economic stability. A Left looking to rebuild links with the working class can’t avoid them.
Veterans Can Help Reinvigorate the Labor Movement
Military veterans like the great labor leader Tony Mazzocchi have played a central role in US labor battles in the past. And if the union movement is to rebuild itself, working-class veterans will have to play an important role today too.