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Subscribe to Working-Class Perspectives - Working-Class Perspectives offers weekly commentaries on current issues related to working-class people and communities. Contributors discuss a variety of issues, from what class means to how it intersects with race and gender to how class is shaping American politics. We welcome relevant comments of 500 words or less.
For questions or comments about this blog, e-mail Sherry Linkon. For assistance with news stories about working-class politics and culture, call or e-mail John Russo, 330-207-8085. Categories
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The State of the Working Class
Listen to Working-Class Perspective editor Sherry Linkon's recent interview about Working-Class Studies on KERA's Think with Krys Boyd.Links
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Author Archives: Working-Class Perspectives
The Multiracial Working Class
One of the questions that you hear regularly in the Working-Class Studies Association is, “Why is the organization so White?” There are many possible answers to this question, of course. Some of it must surely be laid at our collective … Continue reading
The Unanswered Question about the Future of US Labor Unions
Within six months the two men who have led the AFL-CIO for more than twenty-five years, John J. Sweeney and Richard Trumka, have passed away. In reflecting on Trumka’s sudden passing and the likely transition of leadership within the dominant … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, Wade Rathke
Tagged AFL-CIO, labor organizing, labor unions
1 Comment
Fighting Poverty with Classism
I spent part of last week at the Chautauqua Institution, which a friend described as “summer camp for adults.” Its lovely Victorian summer homes, pricey food options, and demographics – skewing older and extremely white – make it feel like … Continue reading
The Downward Path We’ve Trod: Reflections on an Ominous Anniversary
This week marks the 40th anniversary of an illegal strike by the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) that was decisively broken by President Ronald Reagan. That strike began on August 3, 1981, when more than 12,000 air traffic controllers … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Joseph A. McCartin, Labor and Community Activism
Tagged labor activism, labor unions, PATCO strike
2 Comments
MIA: Workers, Working, and Workplaces
“Hacks is like most stories about creative work: It avoids really showing any.” B.D. McClay, New York Times Magazine B.D. McClay’s epigram works like any good hook: it grabs your interest. So here is another: “In order to entertain audiences, … Continue reading
Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Work
Tagged Dirty Jobs, Films about work, Images of work
1 Comment
Announcing the 2021 Working-Class Studies Association Awards
It is my honor and pleasure to share the winners of the Working-Class Studies Association’s annual awards. The books, articles, essays, stories, and media nominated for our awards this year show a great diversity. Looking at this list of award-winning … Continue reading
Re-Placing Class: Community, Politics, Work, and Labor in a Changing World
The global Covid-19 pandemic has brought working-class issues back to the front page, as researchers, journalists, activists, and workers debate workplace safety for frontline employees, the tattered social safety net, wages, child care, and a whole host of issues affecting … Continue reading
A Working-Class Bill of Rights
The Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights have always been aspirational. When Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, it was hardly self-evident that “all men were created equal.” It took almost a century before the 14th Amendment promised … Continue reading
The Healing Web of Solidarity: Lessons from a Favela
“A spider without their web is like an Indian without land or a community without solidarity.” — Tremembé Indian saying, Brazil As most of us sat at home during the past year, seeking safety from the pandemic and isolated from … Continue reading
Posted in Class and Health, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues
Tagged mental health care, solidarity care, working-class health
2 Comments
Amazon and the Southern Key
Though expected, the union defeat at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama fulfillment center was a gut punch to the labor movement not only in the United States, but globally. Amazon workers in other countries had expressed solidarity with Bessemer through direct action, … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, Wade Rathke
Tagged Amazon, labor movement, NLRB, Southern unions
3 Comments
