A Horrifying Report Shows the Miserable Working Conditions at Kroger
A survey of thousands of Kroger workers finds that while its executives rake in millions, homelessness and food insecurity are rampant among its workforce.
329 Article(s) by: Alex N. Press
Alex N. Press is a staff writer at Jacobin who covers labor organizing.
Colorado Public Sector Workers May Be on the Verge of Winning the Right to Unionize
With a major push from the state AFL-CIO and the support of Democratic leaders in the legislature, a Colorado bill to recognize public sector unions has a real shot at passage.
Thousands of American Workers Are Being Forced to Work With COVID
With new CDC guidelines and apparent indifference from the White House, scores of workers in the United States find themselves with no choice but to go back to work while still suffering from COVID.
US Workers Are Still Quitting Their Jobs in Record Numbers
A record number of American workers quit their jobs in November, another sign that worker leverage in the labor market is stronger than it has been in years. But without organizing, today’s gains for workers will vanish as soon as the labor market slackens.
Baristas of the World, Unite
Following on the heels of the union drive at Starbucks, a growing number of campaigns have appeared to organize coffee shops. In Pittsburgh, baristas at Coffee Tree Roasters, a local company with five stores, are unionizing with the UFCW.
The Hellish Reality of Amazon’s Human Resources Department
Amazon’s HR department is a hellscape where automated systems arbitrarily cut off benefits and fire workers, leaving an alarming number penniless and literally suicidal. And the company simply doesn’t seem to care.
Animation Writers Want Pay Parity With Their Live-Action Counterparts
Animation writers — responsible for some of the world’s most recognizable cartoons at studios like Nickelodeon — are subject to staggering disparities between themselves and live-action writers.
The Columbia Strike Is Still Underway, and Tensions Are High
The 3,000-member Student Workers of Columbia work stoppage is currently the largest strike in the US. With unfair labor practice charges unresolved and tensions rising, Columbia University is now threatening to replace strikers with scabs.
A New Report Shows Just How Brutal Amazon Warehouse Work Can Get
A new report finds that Amazon warehouses in Minnesota have more than double the injury rate of non-Amazon warehouses, with a sky-high turnover rate and black workers making far less than their white counterparts.
West Coast Dockworkers Are Preparing to Negotiate a New Contract
The shipping industry is making record money as supply chain snarls and consumer demand drive up opportunities for profit. It’s the perfect moment for the 15,000 dockworkers who keep the goods flowing to negotiate their new contract.
Erie Ironworkers Need Dental So Badly, One Pulled His Own Tooth Out at Work
Ironworkers at Erie Strayer have been on strike for ten weeks. They’re fighting for a 3 percent raise, dental, and an end to the company’s draconian attendance policy. Erie offered them a nickel an hour more.
Black Friday Strikes and Protests Target Amazon in 20 Countries
On Black Friday, workers around the world are targeting Amazon under the banner of Make Amazon Pay. The actions span the supply chain and traverse borders — just like Amazon itself.
Amazon Is Reshaping Contemporary Literature
From the hypercommercialization of Kindle Singles to the fraught question of classifying book genres, Amazon has put its stamp on the literary field in ways large and small — but always in the interests of profit, says Mark McGurl, author of Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon.
Microworkers are “Disempowered to a Degree Previously Unseen in Capitalist History”
“Microworkers” are the anonymous digital contract workers whose labor powers the tech giants’ artificial intelligence systems. They’re hyper-exploited — and, like all other workers under capitalism, will continue suffering until they can organize.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Workers Are on Strike for Incredibly Reasonable Demands
Some of the lowest-paid workers at UPMC, Pennsylvania’s largest private-sector employer, are on a one-day strike. Their demands — a living wage, safe staffing — are shocking only in how incredibly reasonable they are.
The IATSE Contract Vote Is a Worst-Case Scenario
The film and TV workers’ union IATSE ratified a pair of contracts on Monday, despite a majority of ballots being cast against the larger of the two deals. Thanks to the union’s Electoral College–style voting system, that contract passed anyway.
Health Care Giant Kaiser Is the Latest Employer Now Staring Down the Barrel of a Strike
At Kaiser Permanente, some 32,000 workers are preparing to go on strike. In addition to proposing measly raises, the health care giant is resisting workers’ desire to have more say in addressing chronic understaffing.
Post-Astroworld, Travis Scott Is Partnering With an Incredibly Exploitative Therapy App
After the deadly tragedy at Astroworld, rapper Travis Scott has announced a partnership with therapy app BetterHelp, sometimes called the Uber of the mental health space. Its business model: ruthless exploitation of both therapists and patients.
The Labor Beat Is Dead — Long Live the Labor Beat
When the labor movement collapsed, labor journalism collapsed with it. Today labor journalism is making a curious comeback. But without a truly revived labor movement, the labor beat will remain marginal to big media.
The Strike at Kellogg’s Is Now Entering Its Second Month
Workers at Kellogg’s cereal plants across the United States are still on strike. As the company drags out the bargaining process, workers, now without health insurance, are demanding a contract without concessions.