Labor

The Political Transformation That Happens When Workers Speak for Themselves

On the importance of deep conversations—and listening.

Maximillian Alvarez

Labor

"We Are Fed Up": A Second Mexican Auto Plant Moves to Organize Independent Union

Maquiladora workers in a border city are trying to oust their employer-friendly union, and switch to a truly independent one.

Luis Feliz Leon

Labor

Sanitation Strike Not a Waste

A sanitation workers strike ended in defeat, but it was a good fight garnering national support.

Hamilton Nolan

LaborDispatch

Sanitation Workers Win Raise After Going on Strike—With Community Support

"This contract isn’t everything we believe we deserve, but it’s enough to go back to work and go back to taking care of our communities.”

James Stout

Labor

The Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn't Create Nearly as Many Jobs as it Says It Does

The industry is wildly fudging the numbers to make itself look like a major job creator. We shouldn’t be fooled.

Wenonah Hauter

Labor

1 in 4 Temp Workers Reports Wage Theft, New Survey Finds

In an industry plagued with poverty pay, job insecurity and deceptive recruitment practices, temp workers have scant protections.

Amy Qin

Labor

A Landmark Bill Would Outlaw Bosses Cutting off Healthcare to Striking Workers

Employers regularly eliminate healthcare benefits as a strike-breaking tactic. A bill just introduced in Congress seeks to finally end this practice.

Indigo Olivier

Labor

The Supreme Court Has Long Been Anti-Worker. This Is Biden’s Chance to Change That.

To fulfill his promise of being a “pro-union president,” Biden should choose a justice who has shown a commitment to defending workers’ rights.

Moshe Z. Marvit

Labor

A U.S. Court Just Intervened to Stop 17,000 Railroad Workers From Going On Strike

A conversation with Jeff Kurtz, a railway engineer and union member for 40 years.

Maximillian Alvarez

Labor

In a Single Year, $1.78 Trillion Was Taken From the Working Class

The wealth workers should have received, had wages kept up with productivity, was instead given to shareholders.

Colleen Boyle and Eric Dirnbach

Labor

Indigenous Farmworkers Can Show How to Heal Our Burning Planet

Grape harvesters share traditional ecological knowledge to right our relationship with the land—and each other.

Brooke Anderson

Labor

South Korea Will See a Massive Labor Uprising on January 15

Workers, farmers and the urban poor, battered by the pandemic, are demanding labor protections and structural reforms.

Minju Bae

Labor

Happy Birthday Jeff Bezos, You Bum

A cold, angry party for an absent billionaire.

Hamilton Nolan

Labor

Death in the Air

An essential worker considers pandemic times.

Sean Estelle

Labor

Disturbing New Report Shows Dire Conditions For Grocery Workers

A huge new survey of Kroger employees finds homelessness, poverty, and food insecurity are widespread.

Hamilton Nolan

Labor

The Teachers Being Demonized for Trying To Save Us From the Pandemic

A conversation with locked-out members of the Chicago Teachers Union.

Maximillian Alvarez

Labor

Chicago Teachers Voted to Teach Remotely Amid Omicron Wave—And Were Locked Out

The teachers’ union demanded greater safety measures in classrooms, and in response the school district cancelled classes and locked educators out of online learning platforms.

Jeff Schuhrke

Labor

This Year in Working: The 10 Most-Read Labor Stories

Now's a good a time to look back and ask: What just happened?

In These Times Editors

Labor

Capping Off a Year of Labor Action at Amazon, Warehouse Workers Walk Off the Job in Illinois

For the first time, Amazon is experiencing a multi-site U.S. work stoppage. It comes at the end of a year marked by union organizing and labor militancy at the retail giant.

Jeff Schuhrke

LaborViewpoint

Stop Buying Holiday Gifts for Your Boss

A third of U.S. workers say they buy presents for their manager. It’s time to end this predatory ritual once and for all.

Miles Kampf-Lassin

Labor

Labor Activists Want to Know Why Workers Were Left to Die in Extreme Tornadoes

Grief, anger, and demands for answers after tornadoes kill at least 14 U.S. workers.

Jeff Schuhrke

LaborFeature

How the Mighty Culinary Union Survived the Apocalypse

After facing 98% unemployment in the depths of the pandemic, the strongest union in Las Vegas has risen again.

Hamilton Nolan

Labor

Ten Predictions For the Year Ahead in Labor

Our infallible crystal ball reveals that 2022 will make workers want to holler.

Hamilton Nolan

Labor

A Buffalo Starbucks Worker Talks About Why He Wants a Union

A conversation with Brian Murray, one of the Buffalo workers, and journalist Jordan Chariton, who recently traveled to Buffalo to speak with Starbucks workers.

Maximillian Alvarez