Writing
Organizers with substantial, direct experience in the field have an entirely different focus than authors who have not been involved in campaigns: we focus on how the work gets done (methods), and how to win.

West Virginia teachers protest

The West Virginia Strike Points a Path Forward for the Labor Movement: In These Times

Schools and hospitals are today’s factories, filled with workers who have the skill and ingenuity of their fathers and grandfathers, as well as extraordinary organic relationships with the broader community. In an era when union membership has plummeted, rebuilding it will require mission-driven workers who are deeply rooted in and trusted by their communities. Read More

West Virginia teachers protest

The WV Education Strike Shows that Winning Big Requires Creating a Crisis: Cover story in the Nation

The teachers understood that to win, to not go down in the record books as another huge defeat, they had to stay on strike and escalate the crisis. They could not have achieved the victory without having the community firmly on their side. Educators, like health-care workers, have an incredibly powerful, organic relationship with their communities—relationships so strong they are durable against sophisticated right-wing attacks. Read More

Chicago public school teachers and their supporters picket in front of the Chicago Public Schools headquarters

From #MeToo to Real Women’s Liberation

In mid-December, In These Times editors asked me to write a piece about sexual harassment inside the labor movement. Like most women, I have experienced my share. But I am more interested in the larger question of how to move from naming and shaming to real solutions. For all of the limitations of today’s unions, they remain the best, if not only, solution to the crisis for the vast majority of working class women. Read More

Trump saying "not me"

I Wrote a Piece on Trump, the Media, and, Staying Focused on What Matters, Not the Damn Tweets!

Every tweet Trump bangs out has three primary purposes: 1) to lure most media and pundit discussion away from critical news Americans desperately need; 2) to embolden his base; and 3) to make ordinary people throw their hands up and say, “Just turn it off, I can’t watch it anymore,” or a key variant, “Just turn it off, who even knows who is telling the truth? Read More