A Watchdog, Not a Lapdog
Human Rights Watch has not answered for its compromised independence from the US government.
Search Result(s) for: “Los Angeles”
It’s the US Government’s Immigration Policy That’s Illegal
The media talks obsessively about "legal" versus "illegal" immigration. But for years, the US government itself — including the Biden administration — has been engaged in a lawless, stealthy dismantling of our refugee asylum system.
Spring Flings
When and where organized labor’s been on the move.
Want to Solve the Labor Shortage? Give Workers Control Over Their Jobs.
The industries where employers are complaining the loudest about recruiting and retaining labor are those where workers have lost the most independence and autonomy over their work. The best way to build and strengthen that independence is through unions.
Barbara Ehrenreich Made Socialist Ideas Sound Like Common Sense
Barbara Ehrenreich was driven by both her undying anger at the profound injustices of life under capitalism and a fervent hope that the world doesn’t have to be this way.
Why We Need Rent Control
Across the United States, we’re in the middle of a brutal housing crisis. We need rent control to get us out of it.
There Was Actually a Lot of Good News for the Left on Election Day
Don’t let the gloom of Tuesday’s national elections obscure the remarkable results in lower-level races across the country. Dozens of socialists were elected to legislatures, while minimum-wage hikes, rent controls, and taxes on the rich to fund schools all won voter backing, even in very red places.
Why I Can’t Celebrate Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is now far bigger than its founder. But I can't forget that Ron Karenga helped murder Black Panther militants and his other heinous crimes.
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.
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.
The Two Souls of Pentecostalism
Early Pentecostal preachers railed against elites and uplifted the oppressed — a far cry from their recent efforts to elect right-wing populists like Donald Trump. There are deep contradictions at the heart of Pentecostalism, and they aren’t resolved yet.
“This Fight Is Ours, but It Belongs to Everyone”
SEIU leader David Huerta’s arrest sparked the recent anti-ICE protest wave. Unions like his could tip the scales to win its demand: End the raids now.
The Radical Imagination of Mike Davis
There was nothing mechanical or deterministic about the Marxism of Mike Davis, writes labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein.
Katrina Set the Stage for New Orleans’s Capture by Investors
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans 20 years ago today. In the years after the storm, the city became a laboratory of Frankenstein proportions for the most extreme forms of privatization and deregulation.
Adam Pickets Everything
During the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike, comedy writer Adam Conover has been a constant presence on picket lines and on social media, explaining what’s at stake for strikers and how the union plans to win. We spoke to him about the strike.
Attacks on Undocumented Workers Are Attacks on Unions
Contrary to popular belief, many undocumented workers are organized in unions across the US. But ICE’s mass arrests will target these unionized immigrants disproportionately and weaken the hand of labor.
LA Socialists’ Debates Reflect the Left’s Growing Strength
Inspired by Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York and building their own electoral powerhouse, LA’s socialists recently deliberated on whether to weigh in on their city’s mayoral race. The questions confronting the movement are a sign of its growing power.
The Blueprint for a Nationwide Immigrant Strike
The 2006 “Day Without an Immigrant” mobilized millions and killed a draconian anti-immigrant bill. With ICE waging war on immigrant communities, the playbook for a mass strike already exists — we just have to study it.
California’s Proposition 15 Ballot Measure Is About Rolling Back Neoliberalism
For decades, California has been robbed of billions of dollars a year from schools and social services by a state tax system on commercial property that favors wealthy corporations. Proposition 15, on the ballot this November in the Golden State, would change that.
Protesters’ Demands in Response to Police Brutality Have Come a Long Way Since the 1992 LA Rebellion
While it’s far too soon to declare victory, let’s take stock of how far political demands have come since the 1992 LA Rebellion.