Ban Private Beaches
There are few summertime activities more essential than trips to the beach. But huge swaths of waterfront throughout the country are private property, off-limits to the public. This is a crime: all beaches should be public.
Search Result(s) for: “gig economy”
Platform Capitalists Are Turning Customers Into Managers in Disguise
From customer review platforms like Yelp and Ziosk to the ratings prompts built into gig-work apps like Uber and DoorDash, consumers are increasingly encouraged to monitor and assess workers. That’s free managerial labor for capitalists.
Gig Companies Are Taking Their War on Workers Beyond California
Just as it did in its campaign for California’s Prop 22, Big Tech is claiming rideshare drivers in Massachusetts will earn as much as $18 an hour if a new pro–gig company law is passed. But new analysis finds a majority will actually make less than $5 an hour.
The Socialist Dune?
Since its publication in 1965, Dune has been claimed by both Right and Left — but its political and ecological critiques make its return to the big screen apt for an era of capitalist crisis.
NLRB Says Trucking Companies Are Illegally Misclassifying Port Drivers to Stop Unionization
Logistics companies are reportedly engaged in illegal union busting at the LA and Long Beach ports — including by misclassifying employees as independent contractors. The NLRB wants the employers to reclassify drivers and compensate them for lost income.
Meet the Socialist Former Uber Driver Running for New York State Senate
The working-class son of Haitian immigrants, David Alexis cut his teeth organizing fellow Uber drivers. Now he’s running to unseat the “Joe Manchin of New York” and fight for immigrants’ rights, workers’ rights, and a Green New Deal from Albany.
Alexander Bogdanov’s Secret History of Martian Socialism
Long before writers like Kim Stanley Robinson used science fiction to explore socialist ideas, the Russian Marxist Alexander Bogdanov published a remarkable novel about the Martian road to socialism. Red Star is finally getting the attention it deserves.
Australia Has Rolled Workers’ Rights Back to the 1800s
The Australian High Court has just ruled that, if an employment contract says you are a casual worker, then you must be a casual worker — even if you work regular, ongoing hours. The decision is a massive blow to workers’ rights.
Canadians Deserve Truly Universal Health Care
Canadians spend billions on medical treatment not covered by the country’s supposedly universal health care system. Many people are unable to pay for these services and instead forgo the prescription drugs and dental care they urgently need.
Workers Are Dying Because Amazon Treats Human Beings as Disposable
Six workers were killed last month because Amazon insisted they keep working during a tornado. The corporation's poor safety record and sky-high staff turnover are caused by one thing: treating people as disposable is better for Amazon’s profits.
The Internet Platforms We All Use Should Be Publicly Owned and Democratically Controlled
Web3 shows how our online lives are increasingly being monetized. It’s time to take democratic control of the internet — turning the platforms we all use into free public services.
How China’s Labor Migrants Write Poetry in the Workshop of the World
The labor of hundreds of millions of rural-to-urban migrants has spurred China’s incredible levels of growth. This social transformation has birthed a tradition of migrant worker poetry, documenting the hardship of the workers behind China’s economic miracle.
The New Democratic Party’s Joel Harden Is Fighting for a World Beyond Capitalism
The fight against renewed Progressive Conservative rule in Ontario will be an uphill battle. New Democratic Party MPP Joel Harden, hot off his reelection, is ready to rumble.
How the Democrats Traded the New Deal for Neoliberalism
In 1992, Bill Clinton ran for president promising to “end welfare as we know it.” This rightward turn was part of a broader attempt by the Democrats to craft a “progressive neoliberalism” — whose “progressivism” included abandoning its working-class base.
Antiabortion Democrat Henry Cuellar Is Now Seeking to Gut Labor Rights
Henry Cuellar, the conservative, antiabortion Democratic congressman — who Nancy Pelosi called a “fighter for hardworking families” — has shocked the labor movement with a radical bill seeking to eviscerate workers’ rights.
Ben Tarnoff Wants to Socialize the Internet
When it comes to internet infrastructure, the for-profit model is presented as inevitable — but political decisions built today's internet, and political movements could build something different.
In Emily the Criminal, Crime Pays When Nothing Else Will
Aubrey Plaza’s title character in Emily the Criminal is trapped by crushing student loan debt, a punitive criminal justice system, and low wages. She, like so many other Americans, feels like she’s out of legitimate options — because she is.
Canadian Labor Cannot Rely on the Goodwill of Politicians
Canadian unions are often weakened by their reliance on the goodwill of the New Democratic Party. The only way to ensure that the New Democrats will advocate for pro-worker policy is for labor to push the party — not the other way around.
Sweden’s New Government Shows How Liberals Sold Out to the Far Right
Four years ago, Ulf Kristersson promised a Holocaust survivor he’d never cooperate with the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats. Now he’s prime minister of a government dependent on their support — an unholy alliance of liberals and the far right.
In the UK, Public Sector Workers Are Striking Against Austerity
British public sector workers are striking to demand wage increases that keep up with the cost of living. The Tories claim the government can’t afford it ― but they had no problem lavishing cash on big business, banks, and landlords during the pandemic.