Who Will Pay for LA’s Wildfires?
With record-high damages from climate disasters like the LA wildfires, a deregulated insurance industry is posting record profits.
488 Search Result(s) for: “Los Angeles”
How Labor Can Fight Trump’s Authoritarianism
Former United Teachers Los Angeles president Alex Caputo-Pearl lays out a “block and build” strategy for labor to defeat the rising right-wing attacks on workers and democracy in the coming Donald Trump administration.
How Many More Homeless Subway Sopranos Are Out There?
A recent viral video of a homeless opera singer in Los Angeles led to a happy ending. But it’s a reminder that capitalism prevents millions of our greatest talents (and everyone else too) from reaching their immense creative potential.
“I’ve Got Your Back, and You’ve Got Mine”
Workers at the Los Angeles Times are unionizing not just to improve their working conditions but to ensure the future of the paper.
Twenty Years Ago, The Shield Captured the Brokenness of American Policing
No ordinary cop show, The Shield starred the LAPD’s corrupt anti-gang unit, which itself functioned and behaved like a gang. The show vividly captured the failures of American policing that would animate the George Floyd protests 20 years later.
The United Federation of Teachers Isn’t Fighting Back Hard Enough
Teachers unions across the country are organizing alongside community members, striking, and advancing an agenda that benefits teachers, students, and the entire working class. Not so in my union, New York City’s United Federation of Teachers.
Southern California Hotel Workers Are on Strike Against Automated Management
On top of issues like low pay, workers are up against faceless algorithmic management that can punish them for various offenses — including for refusing to cross picket lines. Workers at a hotel in Southern California are on strike against this practice.
Teach for America
The Hidden Curriculum of Liberal Do-Gooders
With Prop 22’s Passage in California, Tech Companies Are Just Writing Their Own Laws Now
After a $200 million propaganda blitz, California voters passed the Uber- and Lyft-backed Proposition 22 on Tuesday, permanently excluding online “platform” workers from labor protections. Unsurprisingly, the companies are now talking about extending such legislation nationally.
John Sweeney (1934–2021)
John Sweeney, who won the AFL-CIO presidency in 1995 as part of a progressive reform leadership slate called New Voice, died earlier this month at the age of eighty-six. He failed in his quest to revive the US labor movement — but he succeeded in pushing the main body of trade unionism firmly to the left.
The Forgotten 1964 NBA All-Star Game Labor Action Should Still Inspire Us
Today, the NBA will host an All-Star Game over the objections of many of its players. But back in 1964, stars were willing to go on strike and not play the exhibition, despite threats from ownership, to win retirement pensions and basic protections. It’s a classic reminder that no matter who you are, collective action works.
“The PRO Act Could Give Us the Ability to Collectively Bargain”
Rideshare drivers across California rallied in support of the PRO Act, a major labor law reform bill that could transform working conditions for gig workers. We spoke with one of the organizers about how Proposition 22 misled drivers, why gig workers need collective-bargaining rights, and the difficulties of organizing these workers.
Silicon Valley’s Big-Money Donors Are Very Excited About VP Kamala Harris
With her deep and long-standing ties to the Silicon Valley elite, Kamala Harris’s selection as Joe Biden’s running mate has corporate leaders breathing a deep sigh of relief. In picking the California senator, Biden couldn’t be clearer that his will be an administration dedicated to shoring up a crumbling status quo.
Billionaire Garage Bands
Under capitalism, New York Knicks owner James Dolan can make bad music. Under socialism, we can all make bad music.
A Watchdog, Not a Lapdog
Human Rights Watch has not answered for its compromised independence from the US government.
Free Public Early Childhood Education Is the Only Solution to the Current Childcare Crisis
At a time of pandemic-related crises all throughout our society, the crisis in childcare is particularly brutal. There’s only one solution: free public early childhood education for all.
Against Sharing
“Sharing economy” companies like Uber shift risk from corporations to workers, weaken labor protections, and drive down wages.
The Anti-Trump Movement Is Growing. Where Is Labor?
Hundreds of thousands marched in the “No Kings” protests in New York City last weekend, as millions did elsewhere across the US. Organized labor’s marginal presence at the New York protests was emblematic of its anemic opposition to Trump more generally.
“The Union Has to Be About Social Justice”
Incoming LA teachers' union president Cecily Myart-Cruz was a leader of the city’s landmark 2019 strike. Now she explains why it’s important to get police out of schools and what the labor movement can do about it.