Michelle Chen

Contributing Writer

@meeshellchen

Michelle Chen is a contributing writer for The Nation.

Where Have All the Green Jobs Gone?

Where Have All the Green Jobs Gone? Where Have All the Green Jobs Gone?

Environmentalism could be a populist movement—if its focus shifts from just cutting carbon to cultivating justice on a larger scale.

Apr 22, 2014 / Michelle Chen

Will the Supreme Court Let Florida Drug-Test All Its Government Employees?

Will the Supreme Court Let Florida Drug-Test All Its Government Employees? Will the Supreme Court Let Florida Drug-Test All Its Government Employees?

What does a positive test mean when your economic fate hinges on the result? What kind of “discipline” is maintained by subjugating bodily privacy in the name of “public safety”?

Apr 18, 2014 / Michelle Chen

What the French E-mail Meme Says About Your American Job

What the French E-mail Meme Says About Your American Job What the French E-mail Meme Says About Your American Job

What if we really worked 9 to 5?

Apr 16, 2014 / Michelle Chen

Can China’s Workers Get Their Government to Follow Its Own Labor Laws?

Can China’s Workers Get Their Government to Follow Its Own Labor Laws? Can China’s Workers Get Their Government to Follow Its Own Labor Laws?

Could China’s justice system be morphing from an instrument of the authoritarian state into a contested political terrain?

Apr 16, 2014 / Michelle Chen

What the French E-mail Meme Reveals About America’s Runaway Culture of Work

What the French E-mail Meme Reveals About America’s Runaway Culture of Work What the French E-mail Meme Reveals About America’s Runaway Culture of Work

Do limits on after-hours e-mail reflect French culture’s laziness or American culture’s malaise?

Apr 14, 2014 / Michelle Chen

Why Do Bosses Want Their Employees’ Salaries to Be Secret?

Why Do Bosses Want Their Employees’ Salaries to Be Secret? Why Do Bosses Want Their Employees’ Salaries to Be Secret?

The struggle for fair pay isn’t captured in wage statistics; it’s part of a struggle against the asymmetry of knowledge that divides management and labor.

Apr 11, 2014 / Michelle Chen

The Politics Around Welfare Show Why the Poor Need a Real Break, Not Just a Tax Break

The Politics Around Welfare Show Why the Poor Need a Real Break, Not Just a Tax Break The Politics Around Welfare Show Why the Poor Need a Real Break, Not Just a Tax Break

Whatever setback they’ve encountered, poor people don’t need more “incentives” to lift themselves out of poverty.

Apr 9, 2014 / Michelle Chen

Why Are Teachers and Students Opting Out of Standardized Testing?

Why Are Teachers and Students Opting Out of Standardized Testing? Why Are Teachers and Students Opting Out of Standardized Testing?

Rejecting standardized tests, teachers are waging civil disobedience in the classroom.

Apr 7, 2014 / Michelle Chen

This Activist Gave His Life to Sound the Alarm on Bangladesh’s Labor Crisis

This Activist Gave His Life to Sound the Alarm on Bangladesh’s Labor Crisis This Activist Gave His Life to Sound the Alarm on Bangladesh’s Labor Crisis

Bangladesh’s factories remain not only unsafe places to work but also unsafe places for workers to speak up for their rights.

Apr 4, 2014 / Michelle Chen

How UK Law Ties Immigrant Domestic Workers to Their Abusive Employers

How UK Law Ties Immigrant Domestic Workers to Their Abusive Employers How UK Law Ties Immigrant Domestic Workers to Their Abusive Employers

The UK seems keen on abandoning its most vulnerable workers to the rule of the master of the house.

Apr 4, 2014 / Michelle Chen

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