On International Workers’ Day, We’re Still Fighting for the Eight-Hour Day
In 1886, workers came together on the original May Day to demand an eight-hour day. Today, from Starbucks stores to Amazon warehouses, that struggle continues.
19086 Articles by: Tanner Howard
Tanner Howard is a freelance journalist and In These Times editorial intern. They’re also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The Collapse of Our Natural World Won’t Be Like a Hollywood Disaster Movie
The climate and biodiversity crises unleashed by capitalist development are already happening. Predicting a sudden apocalypse may draw attention to impending climate catastrophe, but it ultimately diverts us from the work needed to preserve a livable planet.
Democrats Are Lining Restaurant Owners’ Pockets — and Abandoning Restaurant Workers
A $42 billion bailout for the restaurant industry is advancing in Congress. It contains zero substantive relief measures for restaurant workers.
Elon Musk Might Make It Worse, but Twitter Was Already Bad
Many fear that Twitter under Elon Musk will fall to bigots and harassers. Maybe. But instead of arguing over who should be kicked off Twitter, we should ask what it’s designed to do to those who stay on it.
No, Burning Qurans in the Street Isn’t “Part of Our Democracy”
In Sweden, far-right militants burned Qurans in the street, sparking days of rioting. Mainstream politicians’ focus on denouncing the counterprotesters showed how far the country has to go in admitting the reality of Islamophobia.
Who Is Keir Starmer?
A combination of conservatism and careerism has characterized Keir Starmer’s approach to politics. In the context of his ideological trajectory, his most recent round of purges of the Left comes as no surprise.
What Is Class-Struggle Unionism?
We really, really need unions. But not all unionism is created equal. We need unions that are willing to fight the bosses rather than cozy up to them. We need class-struggle unionism.
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.
In Ontario, Quality National Childcare Just Suffered a Major Setback
Ontario recently signed on to Justin Trudeau’s national childcare program. However, the foot-dragging and chicanery of the province’s premier, Doug Ford, has led to a second-rate deal. Kids and childcare workers deserve better.
The Strike Is Workers’ Sharpest Tool. A Resurgent Labor Movement Must Be Willing to Use It.
We have a rare opportunity to rebuild a fighting labor movement in the United States. To take advantage of it, workers must be armed with battle-tested strategies and tactics — and that means being willing to go on strike.
Starbucks Workers Are Demanding Management Stop Acting Like Petty Dictators
The massive Starbucks unionization drive is about striking a blow against the authoritarian power of management.
Don’t Believe a Corporation That Promises to Do Better
Corporate responsibility pledges are an increasingly common response to public scrutiny. But trusting private companies to keep their promises hasn’t worked in the past, and it won’t work in the future.
Kenyon College Student Workers Are Striking to Demand Union Recognition
On April 11, Kenyon College student workers began an indefinite strike to win union recognition. Jacobin spoke to four student organizers about what their fight means for the growth of undergraduate student worker unions across the country.
The GOP’s New War on Divestment
Republican lawmakers are quietly building a nationwide effort to pass anti-divestment bills that would punish financial institutions that consider the climate crisis in their business deals — all while oil and gas companies flood their campaign coffers.
Orrin Hatch Was the Quiet Architect of Our Miseries
The rote memorials hailing Orrin Hatch’s civility and bipartisanship miss the point. Hatch was a committed, often fierce right-wing warrior who served corporate power and reshaped the political order toward greater misery.
More Workers Are Quitting Their Jobs in Red States With Low Union Rates
Talk of the “Great Resignation“ is everywhere. But a close look at the numbers reveals something interesting: more workers are quitting their jobs in Trump-voting states with low unionization rates than in states with high unionization rates that rejected Trump.
David Foster Wallace Couldn’t Fully Escape Neoliberalism
David Foster Wallace was one of the great American writers of the neoliberal era. With a career spanning the years of Reagan’s reelection to the collapse of Lehman brothers, his novels, for all their complexity, reiterated the dominant ideology of the times.
You Won’t Be Alone Is Inspired and Mesmerizing Folk Horror
The debut folk horror film You Won’t Be Alone, set in 19th-century Macedonia, is an amazingly mature piece of work that weighs the overwhelming, bloody brutality of the world against its strange enchantments.
The French Left Is Uniting Around Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Radical Agenda
After years of division, left-wing parties are in talks to run together in June’s French parliamentary elections. Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s strong presidential bid has placed him at the heart of the Left — and an alliance that could deny Emmanuel Macron a majority.
Transnistria Has Soviet Flags, but Its Oligarchs Want to Trade With the West
Russia has long used breakaway states in Abkhazia and Transnistria to assert military power abroad. Yet the regions’ recent history also shows their growing integration into Western capitalism — and the limits of Moscow’s imperial power.