Labor

Heat Waves Are Literally Killing UPS Workers
Package deliverers and mail carriers aren’t just suffering from capitalist-induced climate change. They’re also often forced to work in vehicles without air conditioning.
Maximillian Alvarez

This Labor Day, Starbucks Workers Are Hosting Pro-Union “Sip-Ins” Across the U.S.
To commemorate Labor Day, Starbucks workers are planning actions at stores around the country—part of the growing campaign to organize the coffee chain.
Saurav Sarkar

These Starbucks Workers Demanded Fair Pay, Then Were Accused of Kidnapping Their Boss
Workers at a unionized Starbucks store in South Carolina call the allegations “ridiculous” and are continuing to organize for justice on the job.
Saurav Sarkar

Chicago Teachers Suspect Mayor Lightfoot Tried To Fire Them for Opposing a New Scrapyard
Chicago Public Schools targeted two teachers involved in a campaign to stop the relocation of a dirty General Iron metal shredder to Chicago’s Southeast Side. The union and the community fought back.
Maximillian Alvarez

500 Days Into the Warrior Met Coal Strike, Where Are Joe Biden and the Democrats?
As Alabama miners fight for their rights, Democratic leaders are largely absent.

Ask a Railroad Worker: How Did Railroad Jobs Get So Bad?
As a national rail shutdown over mounting labor disputes looms in the US, it’s worth asking how we got here from the folks who know best—the workers themselves.
Maximillian Alvarez

Lessons From a Radical Past: One Man’s Journey Into the Factories in the 1970s
A veteran of the New Left's turn to the factories tells his story.
Peter Olney

Heat Waves Are Putting Teamsters in Danger
UPS workers say the company is not doing enough to protect employees from scorching temperatures.
Mindy Isser

Monkeypox Is a Workers' Rights Issue
The outbreak of monkeypox shows that workers need protections like paid leave and just cause to help protect public health.
s.e.smith

Chipotle Shut Down Its Only Unionized Store. Organizers Say It’s Retaliation.
While the company denies the closure is related to union activity, it fits a larger pattern of union-busting efforts at other franchises like Starbucks and Heine Brothers’ Coffee.
Maximillian Alvarez
Announcing In These Times’ New Agreement with the National Writers Union
Freelance contributors are essential to the quality and success of In These Times and independent media, and this agreement is one way to demonstrate their value to our publication and our commitment to transparency.
For more information about the National Writers Union, visit nwu.org.
Read the full agreement, which reaffirms a floor for the rates of our freelance editorial content, as well as our current rates (which are higher) and submissions guidelines below.