The UAW and the Bombers
A new UAW T-shirt rightly touts the working class as the “arsenal of democracy” — but it includes a B-24 bomber. Here’s labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein on what he thinks is wrong with the appeal.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
Taiwanese Workers Have Shown Us How to Gain Ground in the Neoliberal Era
Taiwan’s working class has been able to make significant gains in recent decades despite the pressures of economic liberalization. That’s because its unions have received crucial support from a wider network of social movements and advocacy groups throughout the country.
After the Nevada Blowout, It’s Bernie’s Party Now
Bernie Sanders’s decisive victory in Nevada today shows that he has a working-class base committed to fundamentally transforming our radically unequal political and economic system. He’s on his way to not just the nomination, but the White House.
A 32-Hour Workweek Is Long Overdue
Bernie Sanders is calling for a reduction in the workweek to 32 hours, at full-time pay. He’s absolutely right. Gains in productivity should serve the working class.
Bernie Sanders Is Right to Be Incensed at the Democrats
Yesterday, Bernie Sanders tore into the Democratic Party’s “big money interests and well-paid consultants” who abandoned working-class voters. Bernie was stating an obvious truth — one that Democratic leaders seem hell-bent on ignoring.
Trump’s New SNAP Rules Will Cause a National Public Health Crisis
The Trump administration is about to remove 3.5 million people from food stamps entirely. The consequence will be a massive health crisis for working-class people.
The Socialist Pioneers of Birth Control
When birth control was still taboo, early socialists fought to make it accessible to working-class women. Because they knew women’s emancipation is at the heart of the struggle for a better world.
Actor Maxine Peake on Socialism: “That’s the Root of Who I Am”
Actor Maxine Peake is well-known for her appearances in Black Mirror, Peterloo, and countless other films and series. A socialist to the core, Peake is proud of her working-class background and vocal about the need for a left-wing political alternative.
France’s Left Still Needs to Broaden Its Base
France’s elections in July handed a surprise first place to the New Popular Front, which is now demanding the right to govern. To really change the country, it needs to broaden its base of support among nonvoters and the working class.
Confronting Capitalism: Workers Without a Party
In the latest episode of the Jacobin Radio podcast Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses Donald Trump’s recent victory, why the Democrats gave up their working-class base, and how the Left can respond to class dealignment.
Why the Working Class?
Workers are at the heart of the capitalist system. And that's why they are at the center of socialist politics.
In Defense of Air-Conditioning
Opposition to air-conditioning is just another form of austerity politics. Nothing's too good for the working class — especially not freedom from the heat.
Bernie Sanders’s New Immigration Proposal Is Incredibly Strong
With the release of his immigration plan yesterday, Bernie Sanders has set the bar on a just and humane immigration, border, and labor policy agenda — and made it clear that immigrants are central to a united, insurgent American working class.
“We Have a Right to the Resources That We Create”
Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez is a democratic socialist running for Chicago city council. In this interview, she explains how austerity forced her to leave her native Puerto Rico, her vision for building working-class power in Chicago, and how to seize our “historic opportunity” to fight for socialism.
The Democratic Base Keeps Getting Richer and Whiter
A startling poll shows how rapidly the Democrats are trading away their traditional multiracial, working-class base for white, highly educated voters. And the shift is causing a change to the party’s political priorities as a result.
How a Democratic Socialist Won the Top Office in a Conservative Western New York Town
Brian Nowak, a former Bernie Sanders delegate, was recently elected to the top office of Cheektowaga, New York, a 90,000-person suburb of Buffalo. He’s faced continuous attacks but won by focusing on local issues that matter to working-class voters.
Anora: A Refreshingly Class-Conscious Indie Film
In keeping with the harsh realities of working-class life in America, filmmaker Sean Baker doesn’t deal in facile happy endings — not in his latest, Anora, nor in his other recent films. Living to fight another day is triumph enough.
The Italian Communist Composer Who Wrote Revolutionary Music for the Working Class
Amid a historic upsurge of worker militancy in 1960s Italy, communist composer Luigi Nono turned his efforts to dramatizing the plight of exploited factory employees. The result was musically groundbreaking, and beloved by the workers who inspired it.
The Chicago Teachers Union Goes on the Offense Against Austerity
The Chicago Teachers Union is on strike this morning. In the face of incredibly restrictive, anti-worker labor law, they’re fighting to win written commitments on class size, staffing levels, privatization, and for the city’s entire working class.
UAW Strikers Have Scored a Historic, Transformative Victory
With its successful strike, the UAW has broken with decades of concessions, won on pay and workplace democracy, and launched a new national labor leader. There’s much more organizing to be done, but this is an unmitigated victory for the entire working class.