Portside

Almost a century ago, labor activist Emma Tenayuca led Mexican American women in San Antonio’s legendary pecan shellers’ strike, facing down bosses, police, and the Klan. Today amid renewed nativist hate, we can learn from her example.

And that’s the other tenth of the show—a clear-eyed portrayal of the evils of imperialism and the colonialism that empowered it.

Under Siege, and Showing its Age

Most of the city unions endorsed the former governor, but a few believed in Mamdani. “It means that for the first time our members will really have a mayor who supports workers,” said Brandon Mancilla, Director of UAW Region 9A.

In "Jerusalem," William Blake vowed to fight the 'dark Satanic Mills' of early capitalism. Answering Blake, poet Mary Mackey recognizes contemporary capitalism's failures, but vows to embrace what's still good in life, not just belabor what's awful.

Unions’ reluctance to engage with workers’ social identities—such as race, ethnicity, and faith—has hindered efforts to build a strong, multiracial labor movement.

A librarian tells her story of being on the front lines of the far right wing assault on libraries and knowledge.

A $30 minimum wage law has inspired dueling ballot measures.

Writer-director Celine Song’s Materialists follows a professional NYC matchmaker split between two charming suitors. It’s yet another attempt to update the Jane Austen formula, but without the poignancy and beauty of Song’s acclaimed Past Lives.

New York City is often thought of as a stronghold of organized labor. But the city’s unions look worryingly passive as their strength erodes.