magazine February 16, 2004

Change Labor, Change America

We can’t change America unless we change the American labor movement. Unions aren’t just the best hope for… more

By Andrew L. Stern   

Organizing: The Future of the American Labor Movement

There is no greater goal right now for the American labor movement, and all progressives, than to put… more

By Gerald McEntee   

Organize, Strategize, Revitalize

Unions debate best way to revive labor’s fortunes

By David Moberg   

Laboring for Justice in 2004

This is a critical year for the labor movement as it attempts to revitalize and transform itself into… more

By Dorian T. Warren   

Bridging the Labor-Environment Gap

A vote for exploration of Alaska’s National Wildlife Reserve is a vote for environmental responsibility, Jerry Hood, Local… more

By Adam Werbach   

Healthcare Workers Win Raises

Chicago, Illinois—When the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, 20,000 home healthcare workers in Illinois had an… more

By Christopher Hayes   

Magnet Consolidation Threatens Both U.S. Jobs and Security

Valparaiso, Indiana—Late last summer 160 high-tech magnet workers lost their jobs at Magnequench Inc. When the seven remaining… more

By David Moberg   

Migrant Pickers Expose Slavery Rings

Florida—Mathieu Beaucicot is an immigrant from Haiti who came to the United States 11 years ago to earn… more

By Kari Lydersen   

Tech Workers Combat Offshoring

Seattle, Washington—“Tech workers thought that they were going to be the winners in building the bridge to the… more

By Silja J.A. Talvi   

Grocery Workers Go to War Over Healthcare

Los Angeles—Mark Norton is one of 70,000 workers locked out or forced on strike in Southern California. Hundreds… more

By David Bacon   

Poultry Giants Fight Organizers

Perry, Georgia—For 10 years Dorothy McKenzie has worked in poultry processing factories in the South. She knows why… more

By David Moberg   

The Maturing Movement Against Sweatshops

Student anti-sweatshop activism has come of age. Exercising substantial sway over corporate giants, it has helped overseas garment… more

By Mischa Gaus   

Ethiopian Genocide

Military massacres Anuak

Working the System

Agency advises employers how to duck overtime pay

Bush to Find New Ally in Guatemala

The victory of conservative candidate Oscar Berger over left-wing opponent Alvaro Colom in Guatemala’s run-off presidential election December… more

Two Tales of One Monster

Are serial killers beyond redemption? Two new films consider the case of Aileen Wuornos, a woman executed by… more

By Todd Lillethun   

books

Lula Rising

Two thousand miles north of that bustling hub of Brazilian business, São Paulo, lies a dusty hamlet of… more

By Kevin Y. Kim   

What Is To Be Done (With Lenin)?

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died on January 21 1924, 80 years ago—does the embarrassed silence over his name mean… more

books

Haymarket

Chicago’s august West Side Philosophical Society, aware of the agitation throughout the land, decided that the time had… more

By Martin Duberman   

books

Questioning Labor History

A century ago labor issues were at the heart of American politics. How could American workers, increasingly employed… more

music

Labor Paeans

Musician John McCutcheon will sometimes challenge rally organizers to name two speeches from the civil rights movement. “Everyone… more

By Jody Kolodzey   

Union Makes Us Strong

Only by coming together can American labor and progressives change the current political system.

When Mainstream Media Tells Labor Stories

About one in three In These Times readers are members of union households, according to our own 2003 survey. Those readers rarely… more

Racist Slurs Taint U.S. Sports

The fight against Native American mascots and logos is a struggle to overturn stereotypes forged in our racist past that determine the trajectories of our lives today.

Devil’s Advocate

From razor blades in the Halloween candy to shark attacks to teen “super-predators,” the media love a good scare. Such stories—a staple… more