The level of anti-capitalist sentiment in the US today hasn’t been seen since the 1930s. Labor radicals seized that moment to create the pivotal Congress of Industrial Organizations. We should take lessons from their achievements — and their misstep
The United Auto Workers’ strike last fall saw the union renew its militancy and win big victories on behalf of worker control. The historic walkout suggests the possibility of a broader revival of class struggle and the ideal of economic democracy.
With its successful strike, UAW broke with decades of concessions, won on pay and workplace democracy, and launched a new national labor leader. There’s much more organizing to be done, but this is an unmitigated victory for the entire working class.
The working class should not be positioned as the most vulnerable in need of help, but as those who labour and deserve a just distribution of the fruits of their labour. The working class comes not with a begging bowl, but with a clear strong voice.
The inflation rate is cooling, providing a respite for workers. Yet there’s a reason why many are still unhappy with the economy: from health care to housing to childcare, life in the US is more unaffordable than ever.
While it’s always refreshing to see the lives of working people centered in our media, the docuseries Working: What We Do All Day is hampered by the limitations of its host and narrator, former president Barack Obama.
Rising tide in Capital’s sewage drains
Barack Obama abandoned his commitments to unions, and many top staffers went to work for the gig economy. In his Netflix series Working, the former president bears witness to workers’ suffering as if it were immutable.
This book covers more than two centuries of American history, seeking to explain the evolution and enduring power of a racially inflected understanding of freedom.
Thunder on the labor front
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