Solidarity Against Despair
A new study finds that higher union density corresponds to fewer deaths by overdose and suicide. Read the article at Jacobin Magazine.
Labor
The Business of Health Care Depends on Exploiting Doctors and Nurses
One resource seems infinite and free: the professionalism of caregivers. Read more at The New York Times.
Biggest Pay Raise in a Generation: Medicare for All
By Jake Johnson Medicare for All would give most U.S. workers “the biggest take-home pay raise in a generation,” two economists from the University of California, Berkeley said in October, countering one of the main…
Sanders Housing Plan Sets New Benchmark
A forty-hour-a-week minimum-wage job covers a one-bedroom apartment in only twenty-eight of the country’s 3,007 counties. This isn’t just a housing crisis. It’s a housing catastrophe. Read more at Jacobin.
Future of US Jobs Looks Bleak—Unions Are the Answer
Newly released numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics project that six of the ten occupations expected to have the most total job growth over the next decade pay less than $27,000 a year….
Why Is It Okay for Employers to Constantly Spy on Workers?
Congress’ debate around passing privacy legislation has largely left out workplace protections. The current debate centers “consumer privacy,” but this distinction falsely creates dual identities with different protections for you the consumer and you the…
A Shit Job for One Is a Shit Job for All
It’s essential that organizers bring lessons from the AB 5 victory (expanding legal protections to more than a million workers, including gig workers like rideshare drivers) into all sectors while uniting unions and militant workers…
ICE Raids Benefit Bosses by Creating Fear in Workers
“The employers who are willing to hire us will take advantage of us. They will threaten to turn us in. They will want to pay us less because they will say they are taking a…
Fighting State Preemption of Local Wage Laws
North Carolina is among 25 states that have passed laws preempting local governments from raising the minimum wage in their jurisdictions. Read the article at Facing South.
The Answer Isn’t ‘Self-Care’—It’s Unionizing
Eating a salad isn’t going to fix the systemic problems at your workplace, nor will getting a massage give you a voice on the job, or increase your paycheck. Read the article at In These…