labor Archives - Page 10 of 11 - Jane McAlevey

hard hat carried by worker

How to Juice Up the Labor Movement

Last year Sarah Jaffe wrote a piece on 6 Ways to Juice Up the Labor Movement. The following is my answer to her question. McAlevey points out that the entire structure of work has changed over recent years. That means that there are many workers who don’t see how unions could work for them, and who have to be reintroduced to the entire concept of unions. Read More

7 Amazing Fights for the Rights of Workers

Laura Gottesdiener writes about seven fights for workers that show a return to militant direct action. While much of the news cycle this year was dominated by the presidential election, a quick look back at worker protests in 2012 reveals a historically significant series of labor struggles. Building off the momentum established by the 2011 Wisconsin teachers’ union occupation of the state capitol, 2012 saw a building number of direct actions by workers—particularly in non-unionized, low-wage professions. Read More

The Nation: Labor’s Last Stand

I’ve penned another piece for The Nation titled “Labor’s Last stand” Emboldened by November’s election results, corporations and their right-wing allies have launched what they hope will be their final offensive against America’s labor unions. Their immediate target is government workers’ unions. While New Jersey’s Republican Governor Chris Christie has gained national fame by beating up on public school teachers, the threat to unionized workers is playing out in all fifty states, to the drumbeat in the media about states going broke because of government workers’ wages, pensions and benefits. Read More

Nation Conversations: Why Unions Are Not the Problem

This week, thousands of public employees, students and their allies flooded Wisconsin’s streets to protest Governor Scott Walker’s plan to take away workers’ right to collective bargaining. This very public display of workers’ power is a much-needed reinvigoration of a beleaguered labor movement, and as Jane McAlevey outlines in her article in this week’s issue of The Nation, could be the first step toward rebuilding an ethical American economy. Read More