A New York Times investigation has uncovered a scam by which food service workers are made to pay out of pocket for state-mandated “safety” courses run by the restaurant lobby — which then turns around and spends millions of dollars pushing lawmakers to keep food...
Jacobin
Rishi Sunak Isn’t the Leader Britain’s Tories Need — but He’s the One They Deserve
When Rishi Sunak became the leader of the Conservative Party last October, he was the fifth Tory leader since Sunak himself entered Westminster for the first time in 2015. During the last Conservative stint in government, there were just two party leaders in the whole...
Passing Universal Pregnancy Coverage Is a No-Brainer
The US health care system forces new parents to pay thousands of dollars simply to have their child delivered into the world. That’s absurd. We could easily make childbirth free for all. A pregnant woman holds her belly on September 27, 2016 in Cardiff, United...
“Noncompete Clauses” Should Be Outlawed — but Not in the Name of “More Competition”
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed banning “noncompete clauses” in labor contracts. It’s a win for workers, but the FTC’s rationale — a blind devotion to “competition” as the solution to injustices in the labor market — is wrongheaded and dangerous....
Michael Denning on Antonio Gramsci and Hegemony
The great labor historian Michael Denning reflects on what Antonio Gramsci’s work has to tell us today. A mural of Antonio Gramsci in Rome, 2015. (Nicholas Gemini / Wikimedia Commons) Italian communist leader and theorist Antonio Gramsci is perhaps more referenced...
Elon Musk’s Sci-Fi Futurism Is Just Plutocracy With Space Travel
Elon Musk has cultivated an image as a down-to-earth billionaire who can propel us into a wondrous climate change–free future. But even his most ambitious visions leave the plutocratic status quo intact. Elon Musk after a T-Mobile and SpaceX joint event on August 25,...
Why Is Pete Buttigieg Refusing to Crack Down on Airlines’ Scams?
The CEO of United Airlines has stated publicly that airlines are selling more flight tickets than they can actually staff, causing chaos for customers. Yet Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg all but refuses to do anything about it. Pete Buttigieg during a...
Ontario’s Privatization of Surgery Is a Threat to Canadian Health Care
Ontario premier Doug Ford is outsourcing surgical procedures, handing health care provision over to entities that oppose Medicare. The measure is another step toward the dismantling of public health care in Canada. Ontario premier Doug Ford and deputy premier and...
Greece’s Left Needs to Unite Behind an Alternative to Syriza
Syriza’s surrender to the troika in 2015 continues to hang over Greece’s radical left. With general elections coming this spring, it needs to break out of its impasse — and create a real alternative to the country’s permanent austerity regime. Former Greek finance...
Jacinda Ardern’s Leadership Was a Cautionary Tale of Liberal Inaction
Kindness, empathy, and compassion were values at the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s political career — but they were often absent from her government’s policies. The result was a squandered opportunity to overhaul New Zealand’s economy for the better. New Zealand prime...
US Policy Toward Ethiopia Is a Story of Cynicism and Self-Interest
From the Cold War to the war on terror, Washington has backed a series of Ethiopian governments while turning a blind eye to their human rights abuses. The Biden administration’s appeasement of Abiy Ahmed’s government is the latest example of this shabby record. US...
A New Report Shows the US Labor Movement Hasn’t Yet Reversed Its Decline
Despite high-profile organizing drives at Starbucks and elsewhere, the latest numbers show that union membership is still shrinking as a percentage of the workforce. Unions will have to massively scale up new organizing to counter the brute might of capital. Chris...