Wouter van de Klippe is a freelance journalist and writer based in Europe. He is particularly interested in organized labor, social and environmental justice, and social welfare states.
Mike Parker, who died earlier this month, was far from a celebrity. But in his six decades on the Left and in labor, he was everywhere, from the Berkeley Free Speech Movement to auto factory shop floors to independent leftist electoral campaigns and the rebirth of American socialism.
New research shows that unions don’t just boost wages at the workplace — they bring a broad range of social benefits. Simply put, if you don’t have strong unions, you probably don’t have a strong democracy.
Hitler’s forces killed almost a million civilians because of their political affiliation — most of them socialists and communists. Yet official commemoration in Germany and beyond rarely grants proper recognition to the Nazi mass murder of worker-militants.
In a previously unpublished eulogy to John Brown from 1908, Eugene Debs proclaimed Brown the “greatest liberator this country has known” and declared that ”the Socialist Party is carrying on the work begun by John Brown.” We publish it here in full.
With Justice Breyer’s announced retirement, the moment begs for a jurist with a commitment to prioritizing workers and the environment — and breaking with America’s most powerful lobbying group, the US Chamber of Commerce.
NFTs are emblematic of capitalism’s growing retreat from productive activity — and the wealthy’s desire to extend their dominion into the digital ether. They’re worse than useless.
The Supreme Court isn’t a friend of workers. So a recent ruling that retirees can sue employers who help investment firms rip them off with high fees and poor performance is a rare and crucial win.
There’s a campaign underway to kick podcast host Joe Rogan off Spotify for spreading COVID misinformation. But Rogan at his worst couldn’t do as much damage to public trust in science as the political and scientific establishment has during the pandemic.
Western governments are being called on to send more weapons to Ukraine — an arms buildup that will only escalate a potentially disastrous conflict. What we really need is a comprehensive peace settlement for the region.
Workers at a Manhattan REI store are unionizing with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Their “progressive” employer is doing everything possible to undermine them.
After the successful union drive at several Starbucks stores in Buffalo, New York, more Starbucks workers around the country are interested in unionizing. The latest: Chicago Starbucks workers have filed for a union election.
On election day in Chile, private bus companies refused to transport working-class voters to polls to help the right-wing candidate. The Left and unions rapidly organized to counteract the boycott — and socialist candidate Gabriel Boric emerged victorious.
Fifty years ago today, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established in Canberra. It successfully pushed Australia’s government to establish indigenous land rights in the 1970s and helped create a model for militant action in indigenous rights struggles today.
A chilling bill in the Florida legislature aims to punish local governments for passing measures that impede private profits. It’s yet another example of the Republican animus toward democracy — and a warning sign about where national Republicans could be headed.
A recent New York Times article investigates why quitting can spread within a workplace. By only asking white-collar workers, it misses much of the story.
There’s one pandemic program that’s been strikingly immune to attacks over not being targeted or means-tested. Surprise, surprise: it’s the Paycheck Protection Program, which delivered three-quarters of its funds to the upper-quintile income bracket.
When Joe Biden was inaugurated a year ago, many expected his presidency to emulate the reforming ambition of FDR’s New Deal. But that ignores what made the New Deal possible: a climate of militant agitation and a populist president willing to align himself with it.
Unions raise wages and benefits and increase job security. So, the fact that unionization rates are still in decline, despite some recent bright spots in worker militancy, is very bad news.
Former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi’s government has been widely hailed for using EU funds to invest Italy’s way out of crisis. Yet while the plan promises big spending, it’s mainly a transfer of public resources to private business.
The true villains in the “West Elm Caleb” fiasco aren’t Caleb himself nor the women who exposed him — they’re the social media brands that exploit human needs for connection and ruin our lives for profit.