Labor

Through a loophole in the 13th Amendment, governments and corporations profit from cheap, incarcerated labor.

States like California, New York, and Arizona have relied on prisoners to continue working, with little pay and in precarious conditions, during the coronavirus pandemic.

The committee signaled an unprecedented desire to break with one of the most durable, and damaging, economic frameworks of the last 50 years: the 1970s-era, hands-off antitrust ideology that helped bestow these titans of tech with such extraordinary power to begin with.

Prioritizing bar examiners’ gatekeeping function during a pandemic and economic crisis means putting aspiring lawyers at risk and making it harder for nonwhite and low-income people to enter the legal profession.

The nation has an opportunity to take advantage of this transformative event and pursue an alternative to the current system.

From grocery store workers to nurses, from home care workers to janitors, from teachers to delivery workers to domestic workers — there is an invisible, undervalued army of people who make our lives possible. Their work is essential, and it always has been.

Yes, we must radically transform policing in America. But we cannot stop there. We must transform the pervasive systems of economic and carceral injustice that are choking our common life.

Essential workers say curfews put them at risk of police violence, even though they were exempt.

As the country reopens, we can’t quickly forget these failures of government, which have disproportionately harmed Black, Latinx, and Native people. 

Farmworker and labor advocates say these workers are among the most exploited in the country.

Some unions and labor activists are calling for the AFL-CIO to expel police unions.

Despite COVID-19 concerns, the state’s prisoners are still doing dangerous menial jobs in work-release programs.

Garbage collectors in the city are striking for $15 an hour, hazard pay, and PPE.

The pandemic is making it clear that it’s time to radically rethink the social contract.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support the federal government paying all healthcare costs for the duration of the coronavirus emergency. 

Americans overwhelmingly support imposing a merger moratorium on large corporations and private equity firms.

As the coronavirus crisis continues to expand, it is clear that America needs a robust assistance program for the most vulnerable, such as the elderly and physically disabled, to ensure they have what they need to survive. The health, safety, and stability of all communities depend on it.

Warehouse workers say time pressure leaves them unable to properly wash their hands, and have reported an increase in mandatory overtime, which creates crowded conditions.