Laid-Off Baltimore Workers Beat Disney in Court—And Ask All the Right Questions About Urban Development
By some estimates, the city of Baltimore has sunk more than $1.5 billion into its Inner Harbor. Workers and residents want their share too.
Jobs
New Film Shows How Florida Farmworkers Won Fairer Pay From America’s Biggest Food Companies
"This is not a film about oppression," said Food Chains executive producer Eva Longoria. "It's actually about transformation."
How the U.S. Government Could End the Student Debt Crisis Today
Instead of loaning students money, the federal government could just pay for their tuition, without causing any significant economic problems.
“We Couldn’t Possibly Be Poor”: How a Doctor Fell Into Poverty
“As we found ourselves choosing between rice, oatmeal, or potatoes for every meal, it occurred to us that being in poverty isn’t about how hard you work; it’s about how much money you make.”
Good Jobs or a Healthy Planet? We Can Have Both
If we really want to fix the environment, then we need to join coalitions with organizations that focus on changing our economic system too.
Economists Who Say the Planet Has Infinite Resources Are Today’s Flat Earth Society
The attempt to solve our ecological and social crises through economic growth is a fool’s task, because both crises have a common cause: an infinite-planet, perpetual-growth economy has met the limits of a finite planet.
When Poverty Was the Enemy, Not the Poor
The poverty rate in the U.S. would be 15 percent higher if not for the War on Poverty and government anti-poverty programs since 1967.
Bangladeshi Workers Organize to Protect Their Most Valuable Export: Themselves
In the evolving global economy, migrants facing virtual indentured servitude abroad—and coming home to debt and social isolation—feels like the new normal.
Why a Tiny Decrease in Unemployment Means a Big Pay Raise for the Poor
A sustained one-percentage-point decline in the unemployment rate is associated with a 9.4 percent rise in the wages of workers in the bottom quintile of the wage distribution.
Workers in Maine Buy Out Their Jobs, Set an Example for the Nation
For the new worker-owners of the Island Employee Cooperative, the transformation into a co-op will create profound changes in their lives.
Nurses’ Unions Send Thousands to Climate March, Call Global Warming a “Health Care Emergency”
The nurses’ unions focus on health gives them a unique perspective on climate change among organized labor.
Occupy Offshoot Cancels $4 Million in Predatory Student Loans—and Starts a Debtors Union
First, they started buying up—and canceling—individuals’ medical debt. Now the people behind Rolling Jubilee are taking on student loans from a for-profit university that exploits the poor—and the whole debt system could be next.
NY Unions Will Bring Fresh Ideas about Jobs, Energy to Historic Climate March
Key national unions are stepping up to support the People's Climate March on September 21. But some green radicals say unions need to create their own climate protection strategy that democratizes the energy sector.
Migrant Farmworkers Find Paths Out of Poverty Through Incubator Farms
Incubator farms help seasonal workers start their own businesses, where they get better pay and the support of a community.
A Wealthy Capitalist on Why Money Doesn’t Trickle Down
Nick Hanauer, venture capitalist and self-described “plutocrat,” says a healthy economy and an effective democracy depend on a thriving middle class of workers.
Video: Inside a Miami McDonald’s on Strike
More than 400 workers and supporters were arrested on Thursday amid a nationwide wave of walkouts and demonstrations.
The Faces Behind the Fight for $15 an Hour
For low-wage workers, Seattle's minimum wage increase means a chance to go to college, pay the rent, and visit the dentist.
If Unions Are Breaking Automakers, Why Are BMW and Mercedes So Rich?
In Germany, auto workers get paid well and their companies still profit. Author Thom Hartmann on why living wages and corporate success don't have to be mutually exclusive.
How America’s Largest Worker Owned Co-Op Lifts People Out of Poverty
Cooperative Home Care Associates' 2,300 workers enjoy good wages, regular hours, and family health insurance. With an investment of $1.2 million into the cooperative sector, New York City is hoping to build on the group's success.
Why Target Stopped Asking Job Applicants If They’ve Been Convicted of a Crime
More than 60 counties, cities, and states—and some corporations—are reducing discrimination against former offenders by removing one small box from job applications.
Seattle Wins $15 Minimum Wage—Will Your Town Be Next?
Activists built support for the ordinance by demonstrating that it would reduce poverty in the city.
That Book About Inequality That’s Sold Out of Bookstores? Here’s What It Means for 2016
The popularity of a new book by French economist Thomas Piketty should be a wake-up call for politicians. If inequality sells in the stores, it will sell at the polls as well.
The Coal Workers You Didn’t Know Existed—And Why They May Be At Risk
Thousands of workers may be at risk of chronic disease from the chemicals used to process coal—including MCHM, which recently contaminated the drinking water of nearly 300,000 West Virginia residents.
A New Source of Jobs for India’s Rural Women? (Hint: It’s in Your Shampoo)
The business in chemicals extracted from seaweed—predicted to be worth $7 billion by 2018—is emerging as a source of employment for rural women.
Only 4 Percent of the Lowest-Wage Workers Get Paid Family Leave: Could a New Law Change This?
Many small businesses do want to give their workers paid time off to care for new babies and sick family members, but lack the means. How a new bill could make it possible.
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