Amazon Prime Day Is a Nightmare for Amazon Workers
Amazon calls its annual Prime Day a “holiday” — but it’s pure misery for the hundreds of thousands of workers tasked with fulfilling orders.
339 Article(s) by: Alex N. Press
Alex N. Press is a staff writer at Jacobin who covers labor organizing.
It Took a Police Crackdown to Get Israeli-Operated Cargo Unloaded in Seattle
For weeks, pro-Palestine protesters physically prevented the unloading of Israeli-operated cargo that had entered the Port of Seattle. It finally took a violent crackdown by Seattle police to get the ship unloaded.
Oakland Longshore Workers Say No to Israeli-Operated Cargo
In response to calls for a boycott of Israel from the Palestinian labor movement, longshore workers in Oakland, California, last week refused to unload cargo from an Israeli shipping operator.
On Police Reform, the AFL-CIO Has a Lot of Catching Up to Do
The AFL-CIO’s new report on police reform doesn’t come anywhere close to what’s needed. Written largely from the perspective of police officers, it rejects calls to defund the police, embracing the failed approach of trying to weed out bad apples.
Democratic Unions Get the Goods
A new report coauthored by labor analyst Jane McAlevey presents overwhelming evidence that democratic unionism that puts workers at the center of collective bargaining wins strong contracts. Just as important, such unionism also has a transformational effect on workers’ consciousness.
Capitalists Exploit Workers — Even When They’re “Socialists”
After the “socialist”-branded No Evil Foods busted its workers’ union last year, the company settled with two former employees for $40,000. But those workers still aren’t satisfied — and the private-equity backed company is as fiercely opposed to worker organizing as ever.
We’re Being Worked to Death by Capital
Long working hours kill more than 700,000 people per year, even as millions are unable to find enough work to survive. The irrationality of capitalism has a human price.
Chipotle Is a Nightmare Employer
Chipotle says it is raising its starting wage to $11 an hour. It’s not enough for many workers who say the company’s business model relies on understaffing and overwork, leaving them stressed and with little choice but to cut corners on food safety.
Former Obama Staffer Jay Carney Is Amazon’s Top Flack
Jay Carney went from being Barack Obama’s press secretary to being Amazon’s top flack. But PR is only part of his job — his larger mission is to help Amazon ruthlessly exploit its workforce so it can expand endlessly.
Chipotle Is a Criminal Enterprise Built on Exploitation
Chipotle’s contempt for the lives of its workers is appalling, even by fast-food standards. But there’s finally some good news: New York City is suing the fast-casual chain for nearly half a billion dollars, for 600,000 separate violations of workers’ rights.
For Workers at Rutgers, Work Sharing Has Been a Weapon Against Austerity
At Rutgers University, unions have banded together to advance work-sharing as an alternative to the administration's demands for massive job cuts. The approach has been an engine of solidarity between different groups of workers that has helped cut through the zero-sum logic of austerity.
Labor Has a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity. Now Is Not the Time for Moderation.
In his first 100 days as president, Joe Biden has proven unusually willing to associate his administration with the labor movement's agenda. Unions have a greater opening to win an expansive pro-worker agenda than they have in decades. But we haven't seen real change yet.
Striking NYU Grad Workers: “Our Struggle, Like Every Labor Struggle, Is Part of a Larger Fight”
New York University's finances are flush, yet the administration has stonewalled grad workers on wages and other demands, including limiting New York police officers' access to campus buildings. Now, the thousands-strong union is on strike.
The GOP Is Cracking Down on Protesters — And Protecting People Who Run Them Over
Embracing a tactical innovation originally pioneered by ISIS, the Republican Party is pushing bills that would empower motorists to run over protesters.
Amazon Workers Don’t Need Apologies From Jeff Bezos. They Need to Organize.
In his final letter to shareholders before stepping down as Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos promised to do better by workers. Some in the media were impressed, but it’s a standard public relations move right out of the anti-union playbook.
The Fight to Organize Amazon Is Just Getting Started
The cameras and news trucks may be leaving town. But at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, where the company won a closely watched unionization vote last week, the fight isn’t over. And at Amazon’s other warehouses, it’s just getting started.
Amazon Waged a Brutal Anti-Union Campaign. Unsurprisingly, They Won.
Amazon won the majority of ballots cast in the union election by the company’s warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama. There's no way around it: the result is a major setback in the fight to organize one of the most powerful corporations on the planet.
Hundreds of Pittsburgh-Area Charter School Educators Are Voting on Unionization
Facing down anti-union threats from an increasingly brazen management, educators at more than a dozen Pittsburgh-area charter schools are voting on unionization. For teachers already burdened by impossible workloads, the charters’ handling of the COVID-19 crisis prompted them to act.
Novelist Nico Walker on Robbing Banks, Reading Dostoevsky, and Getting Brainwashed by the Army
After a stint in the army and a spell as a heroin addict, Nico Walker became a bank robber — a move that landed him in prison for almost a decade. That’s when he wrote Cherry, his first novel and now a motion picture starring Tom Holland. Jacobin spoke with Walker about the Iraq War, socialism in Bolivia, and why robbing a bank is easier than it looks.
The Subminimum Tipped Wage for Restaurant Workers Guarantees On-the-Job Harassment
A recent survey of restaurant workers confirms what insiders know: that the industry has the highest rate of sexual harassment, and a reliance on tips exacerbates the problem. Eliminating the tipped wage would go a long way to fixing the problem.