Working Conditions

The Iowa State Capitol

Want to Manufacture Explosives? Soon You Can Hire Teenagers to Do It. Want to Manufacture Explosives? Soon You Can Hire Teenagers to Do It.

The Iowa state Senate recently ratified a bill that would lower age minimums for workers and reduce liability for companies with unsafe working conditions.

Apr 21, 2023 / Chris Lehmann

An Arkansas girl in migrant camp near Greenfield, Salinas Valley, Calif., 1939

How Reading “The Economist” Helped Me to Stop Worrying About White Supremacy How Reading “The Economist” Helped Me to Stop Worrying About White Supremacy

A recent viral sensation identifies the migration of poor whites as the cause of the problem—letting the rest of us off the hook!

Apr 21, 2023 / Sarah Taber

Rutgers students and faculty hold signs at a picket

Rutgers Strikers Run the Table Rutgers Strikers Run the Table

Three faculty unions at Rutgers University in New Jersey have shown a way out of the crisis in higher education.

Apr 19, 2023 / Jonathan David

Triumphant ATU members with their signed petition

How Open Bargaining—and Not Letting Management Set the Ground Rules—Led to a Union Victory How Open Bargaining—and Not Letting Management Set the Ground Rules—Led to a Union Victory

In 2017, Kentucky became the most recent “right-to-work” state in the US. Which makes the recent victory by the Amalgamated Transit Union all the more significant.

Apr 19, 2023 / Column / Jane McAlevey

New United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain

The End of Business Unionism at the United Auto Workers—and Beyond? The End of Business Unionism at the United Auto Workers—and Beyond?

In the first-ever elections where members voted directly for the top leadership, UAW reformers on the Members United slate just won every race they entered.

Apr 7, 2023 / Becca Roskill

A food delivery driver on a bicycle rides in the snow on January 28, 2022 in New York City.

We Had New York City’s Back During the Pandemic. Now We Need It to Have Ours. We Had New York City’s Back During the Pandemic. Now We Need It to Have Ours.

It’s time for Mayor Eric Adams to stop stalling and make good on his promise of a minimum wage for delivery workers.

Apr 6, 2023 / Gustavo Ajche and Chris Smalls

Alissa Quart

Is the American Dream a Long Con? Is the American Dream a Long Con?

A conversation with Alissa Quart about her new book Bootstrapped, an examination of how the ideology of individualism helped create the conditions for inequality.

Apr 5, 2023 / Q&A / Rhoda Feng

Molly Ivins

Reports of the Death of the “Texas Observer” Are Greatly Exaggerated Reports of the Death of the “Texas Observer” Are Greatly Exaggerated

With support from readers, a legendary progressive publication lives to fight another day.

Apr 3, 2023 / Jim Hightower

Garbage cans in the sixth arrondissement of Paris overflowing

Paris Is Overflowing With Trash—and With Rage at Macron Paris Is Overflowing With Trash—and With Rage at Macron

The massive accumulation of trash in France’s capital is one of the most visible—and smelly—signs of the opposition to Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform.

Apr 1, 2023 / Cécile Alduy

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz Testifies Before Senate HELP Committee

Howard Schultz’s Union-Busting Paternalism Howard Schultz’s Union-Busting Paternalism

The former Starbucks CEO faced tough questions at a Senate hearing—and didn’t have much to say.

Mar 30, 2023 / Chris Lehmann

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