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Articles on Labor Day

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Striking members of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union in New York City in 1958. AP Photo

Waves of strikes rippling across the US seem big, but the total number of Americans walking off the job remains historically low

Many of the reasons for strikes now – low compensation, technological change, job insecurity and safety concerns – mirror the motives that workers had for walking off the job in decades past.
UAW President Shawn Fain speaks with General Motors workers on July 12, 2023, in Detroit. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

US autoworkers may wage a historic strike against Detroit’s 3 biggest automakers − with wages at EV battery plants a key roadblock to agreement

A strike would shake up the auto industry, even though both the union’s ranks and the share of the US automotive market controlled by GM, Ford and Stellantis have been shrinking for decades.
Marx, Madison or God? Who said it first…or at all? Bettmann/Corbis/ Lucas Schifres via Getty Images

‘From each according to ability; to each according to need’ – tracing the biblical roots of socialism’s enduring slogan

At the height of Reaganism, close to half of Americans believed a phrase popularized by Karl Marx actually derived from the US Constitution. It doesn’t, but scholars have traced it to the Bible.
Uber and Lyft drivers protest their working conditions in Los Angeles in May 2019. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Worker-protection laws aren’t ready for an automated future

If your job doesn’t currently involve automation or artificial intelligence in some way, it likely will soon. Computer-based worker surveillance and performance analysis will come, too.
Salvadoran immigrants were pivotal in the Justice for Janitors campaign in Los Angeles in 1990. It earned wage increases for custodial staff nationwide and inspired today’s $15 minimum wage campaign. AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

How Central American migrants helped revive the US labor movement

Central Americans who came to the US in the 1980s fleeing civil war drew on their background fighting for social justice back home to help unionize farmworkers, janitors and poultry packers in the US.
Specialized training is becoming more and more important to financial success in today’s labor market. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Michael Ellis

Want a job? It’s still about education.

As technology and the labor market rapidly evolve, so too does the value of a high school diploma. Despite the changes, one thing remains true: Education is still the cornerstone of career success.
Several studies have shown that health suffers after being laid off, as fear and anxiety lead to stress. VGstockstudio/Shutterstock.com

How can job loss be bad for health, and recession be good for it?

The negative effects of job loss have been well-documented and fairly well-understood. But why would studies also suggest that health improves during a recession? The reasons may surprise you.
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

Have we forgotten the true meaning of Labor Day?

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.
Robots can also lend a hand of sorts. Photographee.eu/Shutterstock.com

How robots could help bridge the elder-care gap

Robots have the potential to help support a growing population that wants to age in their own homes. But those helpful machines won’t be the humanoid butlers of science fiction.
Jimmy John’s tried to stop its workers from toiling for other sandwich makers. AP Photo/David Goldman

How noncompete clauses clash with US labor laws

Nearly one in five employed Americans is bound by a contract restricting moves to rival companies. Here’s one way to make those arrangements less common.

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