American workers tend to lack many basic benefits that are incredibly common in other countries, a situation the ‘Essential Worker Bill of Rights’ aims to remedy.
Joe Biden was among the top candidates who met with Unite Here culinary workers in Las Vegas.
MediaPunch/IPX/Damairs Carter
All seven Democrats set to take the stage on Dec. 19 had vowed to boycott the debate in support of a union that represents 150 food service workers in California.
Jimmy Hoffa waves to delegates at the opening of the 1957 Teamsters Union convention in Miami Beach, Florida.
AP Photo
The Uber driver walkout raises questions about how workers can fight for better pay and benefits in the age of the gig economy – a topic frequently on the minds of Conversation scholars.
The future of work could look more like this.
BigBlueStudio/Shutterstock.com
While some alarmists predict AI will decimate the workforce, the truth is concerted action by leaders in labor, business, government and education can ensure workers aren’t replaced by robots.
Seattle shipyard workers in 1919 as they walk off the job.
Museum of History & Industry
Thomas Kochan, MIT Sloan School of Management; Duanyi Yang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Erin L. Kelly, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Will Kimball, MIT Sloan School of Management
Americans want more say about their benefits, training and other important issues at work.
Nevada unions have been successful in part because of their political engagement.
AP Photo/Isaac Brekken
While the Supreme Court’s Janus ruling dealt a blow to organized labor, three lessons from Nevada’s unions suggest things aren’t as bleak as they appear.
A ruling in the Janus case could devastate unions.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Although over 200 CEOs have promised to share windfalls from the recent tax cut with their employers – something the president is likely to bring up in the State of the Union – research suggests workers aren’t holding their breath.
The first Labor Day was hardly a national holiday. Workers had to strike to celebrate it.
Frank Leslie's Weekly Illustrated Newspaper's September 16, 1882
The holiday began as a strike against excessive workweeks but now bears little resemblance to its worker-centric origins, even as the founders’ gains are slowly lost.
The 5,000-strong pro-union march in March suggested labor support in Canton is growing.
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
Although workers at a Nissan auto plant in Mississippi rejected a proposal to join the United Auto Workers Union, organized labor has reason to be optimistic about its future.
A pedestrian walks past a Chicago Sun-Times newspaper box.
AP Photo/M. Spencer Green
Giving labor unions a financial stake in a company such as a newspaper can offer unique advantages that could benefit employees, society and the bottom line.
Yale University graduate students have sought to form a union for more than a decade.
AP Photo/Bob Child
Thwarted efforts to organize at Yale and a New York nursing home show how a changing of the guard at the National Labor Relations Board could potentially end the labor movement.
Trump’s victory may accelerate the ‘attack on the middle class.’
Reuters/Rebecca Cook
Labor’s decline has steadily eroded the prospects of working-class Americans, fueling the backlash that propelled Trump. His election, however, will likely deliver unions a knockout punch, hurting his supporters most.
The court can make a big difference in workers’ lives.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
A Trump victory on Nov. 8 would preserve a conservative majority on the court. A look back at its recent decisions shows why that would be very bad for workers’ rights.
Lunch break.
Lego workers via www.shutterstock.com
Whether you’re spending the holiday shopping for bargains, barbecuing with friends or striking for better pay, here are a few Labor Day highlights from our labor experts.
Strikes don’t work as well as they used to.
Striking workers via www.shutterstock.com
The link between labor’s decline and stagnating worker pay has convinced some politicians that we need to rebuild unions. What we need are new labor policies for tomorrow’s workforce.
How did Trump become the working class’ hero?
Eric Thayer/Reuters