Give Everybody the Month of August Off

In the United States, paid time off is hard to come by. But many Europeans leave work for the whole month of August to revel in the joys of summer. Everyone deserves August off.

Melbourne University’s Robert Menzies Institute Is a Right-Wing Con

After starving universities of funding, Australian conservatives now want to set up an institute dedicated to right-wing leader Robert Menzies. Its only purpose will be to shift public debate to the right and provide Liberal hacks with subsidized employment.

Black Widow Could’ve Been Worse

Black Widow is a dumb movie that recycles the same Russophobic Cold War narrative Hollywood has been using for years. But it’s just dopey enough and supplies just enough laughs that I couldn’t be mad at it.

17,000 University of California Researchers Could Soon Win a Union

University of California student researchers have announced they have union authorization cards from a super-majority of 17,000 researchers throughout the UC system — one of the largest union drives in recent US history. We spoke to three of the researchers about why they want a union.

Remembering Michael Jamal Brooks

Michael sought to make the world rather than be made by it.

When Communists Organized a New Jersey Textile Strike

In 1926, New Jersey textile workers went on a massive strike, organized and supported by the Communist Party. The strike ultimately failed, but it showed the central role Communists could play in American class struggle.

We Need a Movement Against Vaccine Apartheid

Vaccine apartheid has built a giant variant factory that threatens us all — and it’s caused by private ownership of pharmaceutical production and the indifference of Western governments. We need a movement demanding an end to it.

Nina Turner’s Primary Opponent Is Facing a Corruption Scandal

Nina Turner’s Democratic primary opponent, Shontel Brown, is under scrutiny by Ohio authorities for helping to award millions in contracts to her partner and donors.

Simone Biles Doesn’t Owe Fans Anything

At the end of the day, Simone Biles is a worker. And she was right to put her mental health first, just as any worker should be able to stay home sick instead of pouring their life force into serving someone else.

We Can’t Tackle the Climate Crisis Without a Strong US Left

After all the disruptions of the past year, the threat of ecological breakdown still hangs over us. The US left is in a stronger position than it’s known for decades: now it needs to strengthen its internationalism and mobilize for effective climate action.

Every July, We Should Celebrate the St Louis Commune

In July 1877, workers in St Louis waged a general strike that saw them briefly take the reins of power. Frightened elites compared it to the Paris Commune — and we should celebrate this extraordinary moment of radical democracy today.

Inflation Politics with Tim Barker

The FBI’s Domestic “War on Terror” Is an Authoritarian Power Grab

Buzzfeed has revealed the FBI played a leading role in orchestrating last year’s far-right terrorist plot against Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer — which the bureau then foiled, to great fanfare. The incident has since been used to hand the FBI even more power.

In 40 Days, 20 Million Workers in the US Will Lose Unemployment Benefits

Twenty-five Republican-led states have cut unemployment benefits, doing enormous damage to millions of workers. And in 40 days, 20 million more workers will lose their unemployment if Democrats don’t act.

How a Billionaire Republican Governor Decides to Cut Off Unemployment Benefits

Internal documents from Doug Burgum’s office show the crass political calculus behind the North Dakota billionaire Republican governor’s decision to cut off COVID jobless aid.

NYC-DSA Still Has Plenty of Openings to Seize

After electoral breakthroughs in the 2020 state legislative elections, New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America have had a disappointing 2021 so far. But the prospect of more major DSA upsets in the near future keeps getting brighter.

Bob Moses (1935–2021)

Legendary civil rights champion Bob Moses died over the weekend at age eighty-six. He was a brilliant organizer who believed deeply in the capacity of ordinary people to change the world.

The Ku Klux Klan Was Also a Bosses’ Association

The KKK should be understood not just as a white supremacist organization, but as an employers’ organization: it violently resisted the revolutionary gains of the Civil War and Reconstruction, and sought to keep the black masses toiling in submission.

Ban Private Beaches

There are few summertime activities more essential than trips to the beach. But huge swaths of waterfront throughout the country are private property, off-limits to the public. This is a crime: all beaches should be public.

Sorry, You Can’t Be “Progressive Except Palestine”

American liberalism has long had a curious quirk: that of the liberal who is progressive on every issue except Palestine. But as the brutality of Israel’s occupation becomes impossible to ignore, that position is increasingly impossible to hold.