How Democratic Are American Unions?
Unions are absolutely essential for building working-class power. But they’re also often undemocratic. Building a strongly democratic labor movement is a key task for the Left and the labor movement as a whole.
Search Result(s) for: “working class”
Blue-Collar Jocks
In the 1970s, sports movies were funny, bitter comedies about working-class jocks taking aim at both the front office and the rich.
Divide and Conquer
The primary election in New York provided socialists with some hints about how they might split the Democratic Party's working-class base from its elite leadership.
James Connolly: The British Monarchy Is an Affront to Democracy
The British monarchy is a vestige of tyranny, a grand monument to hierarchy and plunder. As Irish socialist James Connolly wrote in 1911, the royals are for the other despots of society, the capitalists and landlords — not for the working class.
Country Music Doesn’t Deserve Its Conservative Reputation
The recent controversy over Oliver Anthony is only the latest example of conservatives using country music to push their own agenda. But the genre isn’t inherently right-wing — it can also broadcast the struggles and aspirations of the working class.
Precarious Work Isn’t New — It’s Part of How Capitalism Functions
Claims that the working class no longer exists often suggest it’s been replaced by a “precariat” who don’t get a regular salary. But this precarious condition has been the experience of most workers throughout capitalism’s history — and where we did get stable employment, it was because we organized.
Chicago Looks to Strike
The Chicago Teachers Union has established itself as a union that fights for the entire working class. In striking tomorrow, the union’s strategy is about solidarity — not only within their own union, but with SEIU Local 73, whose members earn poverty wages and are also walking off the job.
Rosa Parks Was a Radical
Rosa Parks was born on this day in 1913. Far from being a face of respectability politics, she was a defiant and seasoned working-class organizer who despised the cringing submission that Jim Crow induced and who doggedly fought oppression in all its forms.
We Shouldn’t Be Nostalgic for Jimmy Hoffa
At a time of historic working-class weakness, it’s tempting to watch the portrayal of Jimmy Hoffa in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and long for similar labor leadership today. But while Hoffa negotiated contracts that improved the lives of millions, his corruption and autocratic leadership also paved the way for the Teamsters’ decline.
Norwegians Voted for a Stronger Welfare State. We Need to Make That a Reality.
In Norway's recent election, the Labor and Centre Parties formed a new government — but they need socialist support on crucial bills. The current battle over the budget will decide if the swing to the left at the polls will bring real change for working-class Norwegians.
Mike Davis’s Many Contributions to Building a Better World Will Live On
No leftist writer can compare to Mike Davis — not in clarity, breadth, generosity, or ironclad commitment to the working class. Davis has died, but his ideas will continue to find life in generations of leftist activists and thinkers to come.
The Border Patrol Is the American SS
After decades of nurturing a culture of violent, racist abuse, Customs and Border Protection cannot be seen as just another working-class job. Like Hitler’s SS, we must see CBP not as a place where good people do bad things, but where bad people do bad things.
New Age Wellness Cranks Are Joining Forces With the Far Right
The Australian far right has joined forces with New Age spiritualists, snake-oil salesmen, and wellness gurus to take advantage of social alienation caused by the pandemic. Despite the new branding, their anti-union, anti-working-class politics remain the same.
Let Us Drink in Public
Open container laws criminalize working-class people and make public life less fun. We need to legalize public drinking.
Paris’s Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, Is Running for President — but Her Socialist Party Is Dying
France’s Socialist Party has announced Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo as its candidate to take back the presidency. Yet far from reconnecting with working-class voters, her candidacy illustrates how France’s established parties have lost their roots.
Britain’s Tory Government Wants the Humanities to Be a Luxury for the Rich
British prime minister Rishi Sunak has launched a crackdown on what he calls “rip-off university degrees.” It’s really a push to discourage working-class students from choosing subjects that will help develop their critical understanding of the world.
The Decline of UK Mining Unions Undermined Labour’s “Red Wall”
Since the 2019 election, commentators have noted the demise of Labour’s "red wall" in the heartlands. But few have focused on the central role once played by miners unions in sustaining a strong sense of working-class community.
Corporate Politicians Are Privatizing the VA, the Crown Jewel of Socialized Medicine
Amid the debt ceiling debate, House Republicans are pushing for cuts to the Veterans Administration, and corporate Democrats are continuing to support privatizing the agency’s socialized medicine. Both are an attack on working-class veterans.
Portugal’s Communist Party Is Struggling to Return to Past Glories
Since the Carnation Revolution of 1974, Portugal's Communist Party has helped shape its country's destiny and defend labor rights. But the party’s setbacks in last month's general election show how its working-class social base has drifted away from it.
“The Residents in My District Don’t Have the Luxury of Incremental Change”
Democratic Socialists of America–backed candidate Omar Fateh scored an upset primary victory and will almost certainly represent the Minnesota State Senate district where George Floyd was killed. We talked with Fateh about the working-class agenda he put forward, why he’s a democratic socialist, and how Floyd’s killing transformed the political landscape.