archive

The next labor fight

Frederick H. Pitts (Bath): Normalisation, Exclusion, Commensuration: Work, Economics and the Possibilities of Political Economy. Brishen Rogers (Temple): The Social Costs of Uber. Steel mills, coal mines and blast furnaces have killed and poisoned thousands of Americans, so why mourn their passing? Deborah Rudacille wonders. Of course you don’t love your job — you’re not supposed to. Esther Yu-Hsi on the price of nice hair. Nail salon workers aren’t the only ones who need more protections. How can you get an ethical manicure? Support worker organizing (and more). Unions make strides among Silicon Valley workforce. Lydia DePillis on how the next labor fight is over when you work, not how much you make; and on how every new Wal-Mart employee hears about why unions are terrible. Scott Walker has a plan to crush what’s left of labor unions in America. Free to be a free rider: An excerpt from The Origins of Right to Work: Antilabor Democracy in Nineteenth-Century Chicago by Cedric de Leon. Should the labor movement support basic income? Sarah Jaffe and Michelle Chen investigate. David Cooper, John Schmitt, and Lawrence Mishel on how we can afford a $12.00 federal minimum wage in 2020. John Cassidy on how a fascinating minimum-wage experiment is about to unfold. Patricia Cohen on those working but needing public assistance anyway. Obamacare is a boon for the working poor, and that’s probably good for all of us. Jared Bernstein on full employment, a potent antidote to racial gaps in jobs and wages.