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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.
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Category Archives: Wade Rathke
Biden’s Labor Initiatives and Organizers’ Challenges
Is Joe Biden, as he claims, the best friend workers have had in the White House either ever or since Franklin Delano Roosevelt? We could debate that all day, but the President and his administration at least deserve an “A” … Continue reading
Time Is Not On Our Side
Time is suddenly news. How little we have, how much we want, and what we do with it for work or whatever. Is this good news for workers? Maybe for some, but probably just the same ol’, same ol’ for … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, The Working Class and the Economy, Wade Rathke, Work
Tagged burnout, future of work, workers rights, working hours
2 Comments
Essential Workers Take Action
During the pandemic, the working class that had been invisible to many suddenly became “essential.” In some cities, people came on their balconies in their homes to applaud these workers whose jobs in food service, to health care, transportation, and … Continue reading
A Movement Moment and a Real NLRB
Finally, it’s a new morning for workers in America. For at least a brief time, while the Biden administration is alive, even if unwell, and the Supreme Court has not yet brought the darkness and ended our parade, opportunity is … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, Understanding Class, Wade Rathke
Tagged labor movement, labor organizing, NLRB
2 Comments
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
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
Unemployed Workers of the World Unite?!?
Karl Marx’s famous phrase spoke of the unemployed as the “industrial reserve army.” His argument was plain. Creating greater unemployment was a key tool in giving employers the upper hand in forcing down wages and disciplining workers. I can still … Continue reading
May Day 2020: Workers in the Pandemic Time
Around the world, the first of May, is generally celebrated as a public holiday. May Day’s origins go back to 1886, when 300,000 U.S. workers in 13,000 businesses laid down their tools in a general strike, joining 40,000 in Chicago … Continue reading
National Labor Relations Board Twists the Knife in the Heart of Unions and Workers
It may be hard to remember, but the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is supposed to ensure the right of workers to organize and safeguard the stated public policy expounded in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which favors collective … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, Wade Rathke
Tagged Labor law, NLRB, Unions, workers' rights
2 Comments
The Challenges of Organizing “Gig” Workers
When we think about organizing precarious “gig” workers, the task seems biblical. The workers may be ready, or not, but the spirit and the flesh are weak. We all bemoan the rise of gig workers. Low pay, few hours, no … Continue reading
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