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LaborViewpoint

Biden Throws Labor a Bone, When We Need Steak

The White House's Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment suggests stronger laws are needed for fundamental change in labor movement. So where are they?

Hamilton Nolan

Feature

New "Compromise" on IP Waiver for Covid Vaccines Is Worse Than No Deal, Activists Say

A tentative agreement between India, South Africa, the United States and the European Union only waives intellectual property for Covid vaccines (not tests or treatments).

Sarah Lazare

St. Louis’s Movement-Backed Mayor Promised to Close an Infamous Jail. What’s the Hold Up?

Mayor Tishaura Jones, who took office in April 2021, promised to empty the jail known as "the Workhouse" within the first 100 days of her tenure.

Skyler Aikerson

Rural America

Surging Wheat Prices and Fertilizer Shortages: How the War in Ukraine Could Impact U.S. Agriculture

Both Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of agricultural products. In a market that’s “incredibly global,” U.S. farmers will feel the effects of war and sanctions.

Johnathan Hettinger, Madison McVan and Amanda Pérez Pintado

A Progressive Response to Ukraine

We ought to be able to criticize U.S. empire without denying other bad state actors exist, each with their own objectives.

Joel Bleifuss

Labor

“We Will Win”: For the First Time in 50 Years, Minneapolis Teachers Are Out on Strike

In an interview, one striking teacher explains how community support is providing energy and optimism on the picket line.

Kip Hedges

Labor

This Is How Starbucks Workers Won a Union in Mesa, Arizona

Starbucks Workers United is now three for four in union elections held so far—and more are on the way.

Saurav Sarkar

Climate

“Solidarity Is How We Win”: After Years of Fighting Toxic Scrapyard, Activists Celebrate a Victory in Chicago

By protesting and going out on hunger strike, environmental justice advocates helped stop a controversial metal scrapper from being built on Chicago’s Southeast Side.

Keisa Reynolds

Feature

Democrats Quietly Cut $5 Billion in Global Covid Aid—With Biden Already Behind on Vaccine Donations

The Biden administration would actually have to increase its donations 50% to meet its pledges.

Sarah Lazare

Labor

The Wisconsin Teachers Still Trying to Rebuild Unions After Scott Walker Gutted Them

A conversation with K-12 teachers in Hortonville and union organizers with the American Federation of Teachers.

Maximillian Alvarez

How Spotify Is Quietly Supporting the Military-Industrial Complex

Unbeknownst to most users, Spotify has a secret endeavor—backing the efforts of war.

Jennifer Stavros

ViewpointRural America

The Fight to Reclaim Colorado's Privatized Rivers for the Public

A fisherman’s lawsuit pushes back against a tide of wealth-driven privatization that seeks to deny public access to waterways and other public resources.

Mark Squillace

Culture

“Don’t Work” and Other Lessons From the Marxist Feminism of Meridel Le Sueur

The radical fiction of this Depression-era writer is painfully relevant to the present.

Benjamin Balthaser

Climate

The Existential Danger of Using the Ukraine Invasion to Ramp Up Fossil Fuel Production

Just as scientists warn we must drastically shift away from fossil fuel extraction, the Biden administration is pressing for more oil production.

Sarah Lazare

Rural America

A New Law Promised Debt Relief for Black Farmers. Instead, Some Got Collection Notices.

The American Rescue Plan included $4 billion in debt relief for farmers of color, but a lawsuit has thrown the program, and the farmers who need it, into limbo.

April Simpson

Left Challengers Running for Congress Snap Their Losing Streak

In Texas, democratic socialist Greg Casar cruised to victory in his primary while Jessica Cisneros forced a longtime conservative incumbent into a runoff—welcome news for those taking on the Democratic Party establishment.

Nick Vachon

Labor

Workers Say They Breathe Polluted Air at “Green” Insulation Facility

Kingspan employees in Santa Ana, California are demanding improved health protections—and a fair process to organize.

Mindy Isser

Labor

Unions Stand With Exploited Immigrant Demolition Workers in NYC

A conversation with Chaz Rynkiewicz, vice president of Laborers Local 79.

Maximillian Alvarez