The Romance of American Clintonism
The politically complacent ’90s produced a surprisingly large number of mainstream American rom-coms about fighting the Man. You’ve Got Mail gave us a new fantasy, fully neoliberalized: What if the Man is Mr Right?
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What You Should Have Read in 2022
We published 2,500 original essays in 2022. Here’s a recap in case you missed one or two of them.
From the Progressive Era to Today, Employers Have Always Been Petty Dictators
Today’s union-busters owe much to the bosses of the Progressive Era, who refused to recognize unions and fired labor organizers. Employers have never been “enlightened,” instead fighting tooth and nail to maintain their dictatorial powers.
Issue 49: Inside the Teamsters’ Preparations for a UPS Strike
This summer could see 350,000 UPS workers walk off the job in the United States’ largest strike in decades. The Teamsters are getting ready. Here’s a look at how.
The COVID Pandemic Isn’t Over, But Biden’s New Deal–Size Ambitions Seem to Be
The pandemic, which continues to kill hundreds of Americans a day, is an argument for transforming US health care. But now Joe Biden is claiming the pandemic is over — signaling not just that he’s in denial but that he’s dropped any New Deal–size aspirations.
Montana’s Rivers and Streams Belong to Everyone. We Have to Protect Them From the Rich.
Montana’s beautiful, serene rivers were sites of life-changing experiences for me. The rights of all Montanans to those rivers were won through working-class struggle — a history we can draw on today as Montana’s rich aim to hoard those rivers for themselves.
How American Universities Turned Red
A century ago, universities were hotbeds of reaction, and Ivy League undergraduates would leave class to break strikes. The Left has now built a base within the academy, but without ties to organized labor, these movements will achieve little.
How Philly Whole Foods Workers Beat Jeff Bezos
In the face of what they say was a vicious anti-union campaign, and at a time of anti-worker right-wing advance nationally, Philadelphia Whole Foods workers successfully voted to form a union. We spoke to one of the workers about how they did it.
Workers Are Mobilizing for Protections Against Extreme Heat
Amid soaring temperatures across the US, workers at risk of heat stroke and death on the job are demanding better protections. In some cases, the threat of overheating has fueled unionization efforts and innovative demands like heat pay.
Corporations Will Never Defend Social Justice
The recent success of right-wing boycotts against brands like Target and Bud Light proves yet again that profit-driven corporate actors are never going to be effective guardians of inclusion and human rights.
Nelson Lichtenstein on a Half-Century of American Class Struggle
Labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein reflects on his long life and career, including Berkeley in the 1960s, Walter Reuther and the early UAW, Walmart, Bill Clinton, and much more.
Blue Bottle Coffee Workers in Boston Are Now Unionized
Last month, Blue Bottle Coffee workers at six cafés in the Boston area voted overwhelmingly to unionize. Jacobin spoke with three Blue Bottle workers about their organizing drive.
The UAW’s Next Fight: Organizing Nonunion Companies Like Tesla
After securing historic deals with the Big Three automakers, the UAW is continuing to go on the offensive. It has set its sights on nonunion automakers, from Toyota and Hyundai in the South to Tesla in California.
Workers in British Columbia Just Won Single-Step Union Certification
Before the anti-labor onslaught of the 1980s, union recognition in Canada was straightforward and democratic — all it took was a workplace majority to sign authorization cards. Now, decades later, workers in BC have won back this fundamental right.
AIPAC’s Billionaire Backers Are Funding Anti-Union Groups Too
The labor movement and the Palestinian solidarity effort have common enemies, and not just on principle. Some of the biggest donors to the pro-Israel electoral machine are also financing the United States’s union-busting infrastructure.
Under Capitalism, There’s No Such Thing as a “Fair Day’s Wage for a Fair Day’s Work”
We’ve got some bad news for you on Labor Day: your boss is exploiting you. Karl Marx explains how.
To Unionize Amazon, Disrupt the Flow
Organizing logistics behemoths like Amazon and Walmart will require the labor movement to figure out how to disrupt the flow of goods across the supply chain rather than simply organizing individual workplaces — and that requires a major rethinking of organizing strategy.
Strikes Were Up Significantly Last Year
New numbers show that the number of strikes and the number of workers on strike both went up last year. Labor is still incredibly weak, but more workers walking off the job is a very good thing.
Workers at Pittsburgh’s Biggest Newspaper Have Been on Strike for Nearly Three Months
Multiple unions representing Pittsburgh Post-Gazette employees have been on strike since October. Workers say they’ve been without a contract for six years, and many are being denied health care by the company. Jacobin spoke with two workers about the strike.
Brandon Johnson Is Looking to Go From the Public School Classroom to Mayor of Chicago
Brandon Johnson spent a decade as a rank-and-file Chicago teacher and organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union before winning county-level elected office. Now, he’s running for Chicago mayor with the union’s backing. We spoke to Johnson about his campaign.