Kendra Strauss is director of the Labour Studies Program and associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Simon Fraser University.
We spoke with a train engineer about President Biden undemocratically forcing a union contract on rail workers, the failures of rail unions’ leadership during negotiations, and why he thinks progressives in Congress should be “commended” for their role in pushing for seven paid sick days.
The EU is watering down its tepid plans for ecological reform as energy prices soar. The Left has to escalate the struggle for social and environmental justice in Europe and oppose attempts to shift the burden of climate chaos onto the Global South.
It’s not just Starbucks anymore: workers at two California Peet’s Coffee stores announced their intention to unionize. The worker-driven model at the heart of Starbucks Workers United is spreading.
Socialists have unique advantages in California, where a “jungle” primary system elevates the top two candidates to the general election regardless of party affiliation, and the Republican Party is moribund. Let’s take advantage of it.
Rising inflation doesn’t affect everyone equally. The way this current bout of inflation is playing out isn’t a law of nature but a result of political decisions to protect investors while hanging workers out to dry.
The Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was a blow to reproductive rights. But fortunately, new data suggest that most of those seeking abortions still seem to be getting them.
The death of cleaner Refat Süleyman at a Thyssenkrupp steel plant has put the spotlight on Germany’s exploitation of migrant workers. It’s also a story about deregulation — and how outsourcing is letting corporations cut corners on working conditions with impunity.
When my coworkers and I decided to organize a union at our workplace, we had a whole list of tangible goals we hoped to achieve. But organizing also gave me something more ineffable that I’d been desperately missing: a sense of hope.
To understand today’s protests in Iran, we need to look at the history of the Islamic Republic since 1979. Iran has a tradition of popular mobilization with few parallels in the modern world, and that tradition underpins the current wave of discontent.
The eminent philosopher Raymond Geuss wants us to think about ways of being that exist entirely outside of liberalism. But the most feasible egalitarian project is not one that rejects liberalism, but one that goes beyond it — through democratic socialism.
The owner of Zara is worth $50 billion, and this year net profits at Zara’s parent company Inditex increased 41 percent. Workers are demanding a bigger share of the profits they created.
Democrats were ready to throw railworkers to the wolves, letting even Republicans outflank them on labor rights. But thanks to a last-minute legislative push by Bernie Sanders and his allies today, railworkers may be getting the sick leave they’re demanding.
The UK Supreme Court has blocked an attempt to hold a new referendum on Scottish independence. The setback has exposed the limits of SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon’s strategy, which channeled the independence movement’s radical energies into a centrist cul-de-sac.
The recent Taylor Swift ticket fiasco is a good reminder: Ticketmaster is a horrible, price-gouging monopoly that everyone hates. Left-wing politicians should make abolishing Ticketmaster part of their platform.
Joe Biden is standing with railroad barons to force a deal on workers who are demanding a reasonable amount of paid sick leave. It’s the latest and possibly starkest example of the chasm between his pro-worker rhetoric during his campaign and his presidency.
Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical The Fabelmans is a dull, self-indulgent victory lap for the most victorious filmmaker in history.
Many of Elon Musk’s critics seem to think he’s an overzealous champion of free speech. In fact, while reinstating noxious right-wing voices, Musk has been censoring the Left.
“Which side are you on?” is the most fundamental question in politics. And in siding with the Chamber of Commerce rather than exploited workers at America’s railways, “the most pro-union president in American history” has made clear where he really stands.
Staughton Lynd, who died earlier this month, played a prominent role in the antiwar movement and documented the radicalism of the 20th-century working class. His work should be read by anyone interested in understanding the history of the Left.
The crisis of neoliberalism fuels social breakdown and a backlash from violent “anti-crime” vigilante groups. It’s a destructive, authoritarian vision of order that the Left can directly challenge.