Michelle Chen

Contributing Writer

@meeshellchen

Michelle Chen is a contributing writer for The Nation.

Retail Worker

The New Overtime Rules Are a Big Deal. Here’s Why. The New Overtime Rules Are a Big Deal. Here’s Why.

The overworked and underpaid American workforce has something to celebrate.

Jul 2, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Vietnamese Factory Workers

TPP Could Actually Make Working Conditions Worse in Vietnam TPP Could Actually Make Working Conditions Worse in Vietnam

The free market won’t break the country’s manufacturers’ reliance on forced labor, child labor, and dismal wages.

Jul 1, 2015 / Michelle Chen

SEIU Wage Protest

Shouldn’t Home Care Workers Earn a Living Wage? Shouldn’t Home Care Workers Earn a Living Wage?

Massachusetts’s disability and senior care workers just got a major pay raise.

Jun 29, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Uber Taxi

Could This Be the Biggest Blow Yet to Uber’s Business Model? Could This Be the Biggest Blow Yet to Uber’s Business Model?

Taxi drivers in the sharing economy are fighting to make inroads against labor exploitation.

Jun 26, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Recycling New Jersey

Someone Has to Sort Your Recycling and It’s a Disgusting and Dangerous Job Someone Has to Sort Your Recycling and It’s a Disgusting and Dangerous Job

When the green hype overpowers industrial safety, workers pay the price.

Jun 24, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Walmart Interior

Is Walmart Hiding $76 Billion in Overseas Tax Havens? Is Walmart Hiding $76 Billion in Overseas Tax Havens?

The Big Box retailer is offshoring more than jobs.

Jun 22, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Brazil and China

China Is Building a Massive Railway Across South America—at a Huge Human and Environmental Cost China Is Building a Massive Railway Across South America—at a Huge Human and Environmental Cost

How the “Twin Ocean Railroad” pits people against profit.

Jun 19, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Fast Food Wages

What Fast-Food Workers Are Fighting For What Fast-Food Workers Are Fighting For

The New York State Labor Department’s fast food Wage Board this week showed why a pay raise can’t come soon enough for fast food workers.

Jun 17, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Gawker unionization

Is Gawker’s Unionization a Sign That Creative Workers Are Finally Realizing Their Worth? Is Gawker’s Unionization a Sign That Creative Workers Are Finally Realizing Their Worth?

Can web publishing’s freewheeling structure shake up received wisdom about wielding collective labor power?

Jun 16, 2015 / Michelle Chen

Qatar Labor

Qatar’s World Cup Preparations Could Kill as Many as 4,000 Migrant Workers Qatar’s World Cup Preparations Could Kill as Many as 4,000 Migrant Workers

Will the scandals roiling FIFA put a stop to the deadly construction projects?

Jun 15, 2015 / Michelle Chen

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