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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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Category Archives: Issues
Making Sense of Working-Class Work
Forty years ago this July, I left school to start my first career as a railway worker. At sixteen and with few if any qualifications, I was lucky to find a good job which was fully unionised. As the union … Continue reading
Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Tim Strangleman, Work
Tagged working conditions, working-class jobs
1 Comment
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
Class Ceilings
Most of us have stopped believing in the myth of the meritocracy. The myth promises that the ablest or most intelligent or hardest working get ahead of the rest. Most everyone realizes this is not true, yet we continue to … Continue reading
Working Ourselves to Death: Why Increasing the Retirement Age is Bad
In France for the past three months, a million or more people have filled the streets of cities across the country in daily rolling protests and strikes opposing the national pension reform proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron. The plan … Continue reading
Governor DeWine: It’s Never Too Late to Do the Right Thing for Ohio’s Workers
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, the time is always right to do the right thing. In a case where formerly unemployed Ohioans are seeking the reinstatement of pandemic benefits, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has the opportunity to prove he … Continue reading
Labor Spring 2023: Making Campuses Platforms for Labor Renewal
Everywhere you look this spring, you’ll find evidence that campuses are becoming sites of labor organizing and struggle. In recent months, faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago staged recently a successful week-long strike, adjunct faculty at the New … Continue reading
Why Veterans in Labor Should Not Be Ignored
Even in the era of identity politics, one category of identity has largely been ignored: what UK journalist Joe Glenton calls “veteranhood.”19 million former soldiers — most of them working class — share a strong sense of personal identity as … Continue reading
Posted in Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Labor and Community Activism
Tagged labor activism, Unions, Veterans in labor
1 Comment
Gaslighting, Oligarchy, and Other Media Forecasts
“Gaslighting” was Merriam-Webster’s 2022 word of the year, a selection based on the frequency of searches in their online dictionary. The term makes good sense on cultural grounds as well, given the ongoing influence of political and economic chicanery on … Continue reading
Upward Mobility: Improving Conditions, Not Just Opportunities
I’m old enough now to have grandnieces and nephews, and almost all of them have lower living standards and worse working conditions than their parents. And their parents had it worse than their grandparents. The one exception is Carrie, who … Continue reading
Fair Time Legislation Is Achievable, Not Just for Rail Workers But for Everyone
Even as President Biden signed legislation imposing a contract without paid sick leave on 115,000 rail workers, he made it clear that the fight for paid leave — not just for rail workers but for everyone — wasn’t over. As … Continue reading
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