Matthew Blake is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. He has written for the Chicago Journal, Washington Monthly, Washington Independent and The Nation, among other publications.
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/cVu-1OAihCp-ZewXUUYWAB_MlRCSz-BXJPrpQ9EbFAY/w:256/h:171/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:70/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL2JsYWtlX3dlYl9lbmdpbmVlcl9zdWguanBn.jpg)
Labor
Web Engineer: ‘I Started Making Websites in Middle School’
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Pharmacist: ‘I Always Tell My Children That I Took the Practical Route’
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Actor: ‘The Roles Get Fewer and Farther Between’
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Flight Attendant: ‘The Job Itself Is Almost Therapeutic’
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Hairstylist: ‘It’s Like Being on a First Date All the Time’
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Organic Farmer: ‘There Are a Lot of Things I Can’t Control’
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Chicago Unions Divided Over Emanuel’s Move To Gut Pensions
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Will Bruce Rauner Be Scott Walker 2.0 for Illinois Unions?
Matthew Blake
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/Dvf0pcXrrfn3D5xV_J1HhxCjgzgMqIzi1P7neSairls/w:256/h:171/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:70/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL2NoYW1iZXJfb2ZfY29tbWVyY2Vfd29ya2VyX2NlbnRlcnNfdW5pb25zX3dhbG1hcnRfaW1tb2thbGVlX2xhYm9yX2xvYmJ5aXN0cy5naWY.gif)
Labor
U.S. Chamber of Commerce ‘Exposes’ Union Backing of Worker Centers
Matthew Blake
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Labor
The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis in 80 Years
Matthew Blake
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/Npp8tOMfYzht5j1fgiD83_QGq6Sj60HQpv9OmMdRMDU/w:256/h:171/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:70/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL2JsYWtlX2NhcmVfY2FtcGFpZ25fQUZTQ01FLmpwZw.jpg)
Labor
Illinois Caregivers Press Governor Quinn for a Living Wage
Matthew Blake
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/7ACDBwV1Qj6DaTEMoimQvLY-YMJGsr95Kwwjf3Yfdjc/w:256/h:171/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:70/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL21hdHRoZXdzX3F1aW5uX3BlbnNpb25fcmVmb3JtLmpwZw.jpg)
Labor
Don’t Call It a Comeback, Quinn
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Protestors Brave Sub-Zero Weather in Bid To Freeze Chicago’s Charter Expansion
Matthew Blake
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/2TONVuuRFh8ZA7JtqiSySogJZJw75qm6gOj1QV5C2Co/w:256/h:171/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:70/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL0JyYW5kb25Kb2huc29uQ1RVLmpwZw.jpg)
Labor
On National Day of Action to Reclaim Public Education, Some Chicago Politicians Get Lumps of Coal
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Will Power: 16-Day Strike Helps Public Workers Win Wage Increase
Matthew Blake
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Labor
How To Save Chicago Schools? Fix the Flat Tax, Say Community Members
Matthew Blake
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/9D9M1iJfodtXkyKKdu954SIr0upuHo6DEkDxVlbXQqk/w:256/h:171/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:70/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL0JsYWtlX0NoaWNhZ29fQnVkZ2V0X0hlYXJpbmcuanBn.jpg)
Progressive Chicagoans Take Budget Hearings into Their Own Hands—No Emanuel Necessary
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Putting the Brakes on Privatization
Matthew Blake
![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/88eeN5eqxcNAVE4jpgN_NXryfbH7UZ1XNWrbj9ny-cY/w:256/h:171/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:70/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9pdHQtaW1hZ2VzL2JsYWtlX3NjaG9vbF9ib2FyZC5qcGc.jpg)
Labor
‘People’s Board’ Takes On Rahm Emanuel’s Handpicked School Board
Matthew Blake
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Labor
After Largest School Shutdown in History, Spared Schools See Few Financial Benefits
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Fight Against ‘Right-to-Work’ Not Over in Michigan
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Will Illinois ‘Ban the Box?’
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Task Force Probes Sexual Harassment in Byzantine Warehouse Sector
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Can Illinois Public Employees Win a Fair Pension Deal?
Matthew Blake
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Labor
What’s Next for the Chicago Teachers Union?
Matthew Blake
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Labor
New CPS Board Member Vows Not To Rubber Stamp School Closings
Matthew Blake
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Labor
In Zero Sum Game, Rick Perry Courts Illinois Businesses
Matthew Blake
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Labor
At School Closing Hearings, Chicago Officials Give Residents the Silent Treatment
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Unions Greet ‘Right-to-Work’ with Defiance—and in Some Cases, Adaptation
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Will Chicago Save Money From School Closings? The Evidence Is Thin
Matthew Blake
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Labor
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Narrowly Avoids Public Employee Strike
Matthew Blake
Labor
Cops and Firefighters: The Public Sector’s New Untouchable Upper Class?
Matthew Blake