Special Labor Day Weekend Newsletter
Since the beginning of the pandemic, America has witnessed something that hasn’t occurred in a very long time: a resurgent labor movement. UPS and Amazon warehouse workers, actors and screenwriters, autoworkers, baristas, nurses, graduate student workers, and more are organizing new unions, revitalizing old unions, going on strike — or just strong-arming their bosses into making major concessions without even having to go on strike.
This movement is being led from the bottom up by workers insisting on dignity and a better life that is out of reach for most people in our hyper-capitalist society. It has seen inspiring victories and bittersweet setbacks.
The ferment has been especially strong here in New York City, and we’ve been there every step of the way providing shoe-leather reporting and incisive analysis. As you enjoy the final days of summer this Labor Day weekend, here are some highlights from our coverage of a resurgent labor movement that continues to gain momentum.
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Fall 2021
Amazon Union Drive Stalls in Staten Island, But Worker-Run Union Keeps Up Fight
By Amba Guerguerian & Lachlan Hyatt
The Columbia Student Worker Strike Is the Largest in the Country Right Now — Here’s Why It Is Happening
By Lila Livingston
Ready for a Fresh Start: Laundry Workers Are Fighting to Clean Up the Industry
By Lachlan Hyatt
A Day in the Life: Long Hours at the Laundromat
By Beatrice Ramirez
Deliveristas Win Long-Sought Labor Protections
By Erin Sheridan
2022
“Occupy the Breakroom!” Amazon Union Prepares for Showdown at Staten Island Warehouse
By Amba Guerguerian
Prominent Democratic Party Consulting Firm Flouted Federal Transparency Law While Working on Amazon Union Avoidance Campaign
By Amba Guerguerian
As Historic Election Begins, Meet the Workers Who Built a Union at Amazon’s Staten Island Complex
By Amba Guerguerian
Labor Advocates Denounce Amazon’s Presence at Workplace Safety Conference
By Amba Guerguerian
Tensions Rise as Next Staten Island Amazon Union Election Approaches
By Amba Guerguerian
Labor of Love: EWOC Is Pioneering a New Model for Empowering Workers
By Amba Guerguerian
Queens vs. Long Island: A Tale of Two Starbucks Union Organizers
By Katie Pruden
Workers at Dual Starbucks-Amazon Stores Take on Union-Busting Giants
By Dylan Rice
Hundreds of New School Faculty Strike After Months of Negotiations
By Safiyah Riddle
New School Adjuncts and Students Address Labor Battle That Has Convulsed Their Campus
By Katie Pruden
Collective Action Wins: New School Adjuncts Claim Victory After 24-Day Strike
By John Tarleton
2023
How the Teamsters Went Up Against UPS and Won a Historic New Contract
By Amba Guerguerian
Video: Teamster President Sean O’Brien Rallies Brooklyn UPS Workers
By Amba Guerguerian
The Creative Class on Strike
By John Tarleton
Hollywood Is a Union Town, But the History Is Complicated
By Steven Wishnia
Video: Writers Guild Launches Strike Against Hollywood Studios
By Sue Brisk
“Every Time There’s a Picket Line, You Have to Respect It”
Video by Sue Brisk
Long Island Starbucks Workers March on the Boss Who Fired Them
By Elsie-Carson Holt
So Close… Trader Joe’s Union Loses LES Union Bid in 76-76 Tie
By Dylan Rice
Video: “We Can’t Have Our Nurses Underpaid and Understaffed”
By Sue Brisk
Doctors at Elmhurst Hospital Hit the Picket Line and Win Contract
By Steven Wishnia
Video: Columbia Student Workers Demand Union
By Sue Brisk
You Are Not a Debt!
43 million Americans have to resume repaying their student loan debts on October 1. If you are one of these people, we want to speak with you for a story in our next issue. Shoot us an email at contact@indypendent.org.
Indypendent News Hour
We took this past week off but will be back on the air this Tuesday, Sep. 5, from 5–6 p.m on WBAI-99.5 FM or streaming on wbai.org.
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