Tenant Unions for the Future
Calls to rent strike have yet to cohere into a national political movement. But as the economic crisis deepens, tenants’ fates will ultimately be decided by their level of collective organization.
Winter 2026
- Subscribe
- Magazine
- Online
- Blog
- Podcasts
- Events
- Store
- Logout
- About Us
- Donate
- Contact
- Advertise
- Newsletter
Family Child-Care Providers Unionize in California
Rosa Carreño hopes her new union will lead to more support from the state. “The parents can’t go to work if they don’t have a safe place for their children to stay.”
Belabored Podcast #203: What the Pandemic Taught Us About Basic Income, with Barb Jacobson
The beginning of the pandemic saw governments around the world experimenting with ways to pay people to stay home. What have we learned?
“I’m Not Going to Risk My Life for Lipstick”
Sephora workers are weighing their growing economic insecurity against the health risks of returning.
Jeff Bezos Praises Amazon’s COVID-19 Response. Workers Tell Another Story.
In Shakopee, Minnesota, workers at the fulfillment center MSP1 organize walkouts over firings and coronavirus policies.
Low Pay and High Risk at the Nail Salon
Salon technicians are struggling to balance safety precautions with the inherently intimate nature of their work.
Belabored Podcast #202: The Strike for Black Lives
This week workers across the country walked off the job and rallied in the streets as part of a labor mobilization to support Black Lives Matter.
The Dignity of Labor
Despite the outpouring of praise for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, their own interests continue to come second to the broader public’s need for cheap and reliable labor.
Chipotle Workers Protest “Black Lives Matter Hypocrisy”
While the company boasted that it would donate $1 million to fight racism, workers argue it is perpetuating racial injustice by mistreating its many Black and Latinx workers.
Herman Benson, 1915–2020
In memory of Herman Benson.
Guest Workers Get Shut Out
The White House recently announced plans to restrict migrant work programs. J-1 visa holders already working without labor protections now face an even more precarious future.
The Return of the Labor Question
Absent a sufficient level of density to carry the swing states, unions are seeking to turn out not just their own members but sympathetic communities as well.
Turn Mutual Aid Into Meaningful Work
Community care as formal employment seems necessary in the face of a disaster-prone future. It could also feel a lot better than any large-scale employment on the table now.
Street Vendors’ Long Road to Recovery
Recent policy changes in New York City promise to reduce police harassment of vendors, but they are struggling months into the pandemic.
Unsteady Work
The central experience of work in the twenty-first century is one of instability. And yet that experience is largely unrecorded in contemporary fiction.
