As we celebrate Juneteenth this year, it is important to acknowledge the lasting impacts of slavery on the workplace and the labor market. The at-will employment doctrine, which allows employers in most states to discharge workers for any reason, and the subminimum wage for tipped workers are both rooted in the employer backlash to Emancipation. …
Decades before the modern LGBTQ+ movement, a small but militant union of maritime workers on the West Coast with openly gay members and leaders coined a slogan linking discrimination against gay men, racial discrimination, and red-baiting. For the better part of two decades, the Marine Cooks and Stewards Union fought discrimination on the ships where …
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council recently organized a rally in support of …
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Anti-Asian racism has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working people condemn this vile behavior as …
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Labor Movement Fighting Anti-Asian Racism in All Forms Read More »
According to government statistics, the wage gap between white men and Black men has shrunk dramatically since the 1950s. But that’s only true, The New York Times’ David Leonhardt points out, if you compare workers—and the problem is, a lot of Black men have been pushed out of the workforce, in significant part by mass incarceration. When comparing …
The thing about systemic racism is it’s systemic: This week in the war on workers Read More »
Starbucks bills itself as a good employer—and sometimes it lives up to that. But not all Starbucks locations are operated by Starbucks, and UNITE HERE has released a damning report on pervasive discrimination and harassment at 142 Starbucks locations operated by HMSHost in 27 airports. Median pay for black baristas is $1.85 less than for white baristas …
Airport Starbucks workers face big racial pay disparity, this week in the war on workers Read More »
Black women in the U.S. face “the legacy of decades of systemic discrimination,” and on the eve of attending the Essence Festival to speak to thousands of black women, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has laid out her plan to “demand that companies and the government properly value the work of Black women—and hold them accountable if they don’t.” …
Elizabeth Warren heads to Essence Festival with plan to ‘value the work of Black women’ Read More »
This article is adapted from Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area. Used with the permission of the University of Illinois Press. Copyright © 2018 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. It has been modified for this article, with the introductions and conclusions reworked. From its inception in …
Dockworkers Show Us How Unions Can Be a Powerful Force Against Racism Read More »
America’s middle class is under assault. And as our country becomes more diverse, our racial wealth gap means it’s also becoming poorer. Since 1983, national median wealth has declined by 20 percent, falling from $73,000 to $64,000 in 2013. And U.S. homeownership has been in a steady decline since 2005. While we often hear about the struggles of …
Racial Inequality Is Hollowing Out America’s Middle Class Read More »
The Black Lives Matter movement has brought much-needed attention to the disparity in the way our criminal justice system treats African Americans. But there’s another side of American justice that matters too: our civil courts. In the United States today, the civil justice system is the last line of defense for workers who have faced …
Black Livelihoods Matter: The Civil Justice System Needs Reform Too Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
