By Fighting for Paid Sick Leave, the Railworkers Are Fighting for All of Us
Paid sick leave is a right we all deserve — and an urgent public health issue. Win or lose, we’re indebted to the railworkers for their fight to achieve it.
Blog
Railroad Engineer on the Imposed Contract: “It Really Fell Short of Railroad Workers’ Needs”
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.
Europe Needs to Radicalize Its Climate Policies in Response to the Energy Crisis
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.
Is Peet’s the Next Big Coffee Shop Unionization Push?
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.
The Road to American Socialism Runs Through California
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.
Faced With Rising Inflation, States Are Protecting Investors, Not Workers
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.
Even After Dobbs, Abortions Still Haven’t Plummeted
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.
In Germany, Declining Workers’ Rights Are a Life-and-Death Issue
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.
How Unionizing Sparked a New Sense of Possibility in Me
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.
The Iranian Protests Are the Latest Phase in a Long Cycle of Popular Unrest
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.
We Should Go Beyond Liberalism, Not Abandon It
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.
Zara Workers in Spain Just Went on Strike — and They’ll Probably Do It Again
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.