Category Archives: Labor and Community Activism

Class, Empathy, and the Green New Deal

Posted on May 6, 2019 by

The recent debate over the Green New Deal got me thinking about a lecture I gave in 2018 at the Columbia University Seminar on Energy Ethics. The faculty who attended were mostly environmental lawyers and scientists. I am neither. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Labor and Community Activism, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Challenges of Organizing “Gig” Workers

Posted on April 29, 2019 by

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 →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, Labor and Community Activism, Wade Rathke | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Class(room) Warfare

Posted on April 15, 2019 by

The actress Felicity Huffman—along with 13 other parents charged in the college admissions scandal—entered plea deals last week, putting pressure on actress Lori Laughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, to do the same. Prosecutors are hinting that if Laughlin … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Labor and Community Activism | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Bargaining for the Common Good Comes of Age

Posted on March 11, 2019 by

The week-long strike by the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) in January 2019 marked the most significant struggle yet in a movement by teachers and other public-sector workers called Bargaining for the Common Good.  By striking over a long … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Labor and Community Activism | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Class and the Dignity of Work

Posted on February 11, 2019 by

In the week before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown announced his “Dignity of Work” tour, with events in New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, South Carolina, and his home state, Ohio. The tour placed the working class at … Continue reading →

Posted in Contributors, Issues, Ken Estey, Labor and Community Activism, The Working Class and the Economy, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Ghosts of Bisbee

Posted on January 28, 2019 by

Bisbee ‘17 is a documentary about an Arizona town facing its ghosts.  In June 1917, when copper miners organized by the Industrial Workers of the World had gone on strike for two weeks, 1200 striking workers were rounded up and … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Guest Bloggers, Issues, Labor and Community Activism | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Blaming Workers Again

Posted on January 7, 2019 by

Working-class people often get blamed for their troubles. They should have planned better, been less demanding, or just been smarter. Those are just some of the judgments that surfaced again in the weeks after General Motors’ announcement late in November … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, John Russo, Labor and Community Activism, Sherry Linkon, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments