Socialism is capitalism’s critical shadow. When lights shift, a shadow may seem to disappear, but sooner or later, with further shifts of light, it comes back. Capitalism’s ideologues have long fantasized that capitalism would finally outwit, outperform, and thereby overcome socialism: make the shadow vanish permanently. Like children, they bemoan their failure when, in the […]
How California’s Fast-Food Workers Won $20 an Hour
More than half a million fast-food workers in California are about to get a raise—not because of the voluntary generosity of their bosses, but as a result of a hard-won labor victory. Governor Gavin Newsom on September 28 signed AB 1228 into law; its title says it all: “Fast Food Council: health, safety, employment, and minimum wage.”
The Deadly Intersection of Labor Exploitation and Climate Change: By Sonali Kolhatkar
As temperatures soar in the United States this summer, some among us are lucky enough to be able to remain in air-conditioned interior spaces, ordering food, groceries, clothing, and other products to be delivered to us.
Five Critical Lessons From UPS’s Union Workers
Narrowly avoiding, for now, what might have been the largest strike in United States history of workers employed by a single corporation, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters came to a tentative agreement
Hollywood Executives Bring Industry to Halt Rather Than Pay Workers a Fair Price
By Sonali Kolhatkar Hollywood has come to a standstill this summer as actors join their writer colleagues on the picket line. The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced that it would be on strike starting July 14, 2023, over negotiations breaking down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television […]
Why Workers Demand Julie Su’s Confirmation as Labor Secretary
By Tom Conway It wasn’t enough for owners of lucrative Southern California car washes to cheat their workers out of wages and overtime. They made workers pay for the towels they used to clean cars, denied them rest breaks, forced them to toil in filthy water that bred foot fungus, and even required the so-called “carwasheros” to hand-wash […]
LA Schools’ Lowest-Paid Workers Walk Out, With Teachers by Their Side
Tens of thousands of Los Angeles teachers went on strike March 21-23, 2023, for the first time in four years, shutting down the nation’s second-largest school district for three rain-soaked days.
Tipping Is Not a Reward—It’s an Insult
It’s time to end our national reliance on tipped workers. The unhealthy dynamic created by tipping emerges from decades of legalized subminimum wages and keeps workers subservient to the whims of employers and customers.
Embrace the Mess—in the Name of Gender Justice
It’s time to take back our time and spend it on meaningful activities instead of succumbing to the futility and moral pressure of endlessly cleaning our homes.
The Social Changes We Need, the Class Obstacle We Face
The inflation that plagues the United States and beyond results from a decision made by employers.