labor

A group of workers pose in a farm, wearing their work clothes. Top row standing, bottom row sitting. Black and white photo.

How Japanese and Mexican American farm workers formed an alliance that made history

Farm workers of Japanese and Mexican heritage created a multilingual and multiracial coalition to fight for fair wages. The organization had a short life, but it stands as a powerful example of interracial solidarity in the history of labor relations.

How Japanese and Mexican American farm workers formed an alliance that made history
A man with a bullhorn stands in front of a line of protesters

The workers who pick your summer berries are asking you not to buy them

The workers who pick your summer berries are asking you not to buy them
Scene from Minnesota State Fair

What the rise of the gig economy means for the American Dream

What the rise of the gig economy means for the American Dream
Barges are moored together near the Eiffel Tower

Flooding exacerbates problems with strikes in France

Flooding exacerbates problems with strikes in France
FIFA's newly elected president Gianni Infantino poses with the Qatar Workers Cup trophy in Doha, Qatar, April 22, 2016.

Would FIFA really pull soccer’s World Cup from Qatar if human rights abuses there continue?

Would FIFA really pull soccer’s World Cup from Qatar if human rights abuses there continue?
Malecon at sunrise

Slowly, Cuban entrepreneurs are seizing opportunities to work for themselves

Whether in restaurants or in accounting, the Cuban economy is slowly creating opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Slowly, Cuban entrepreneurs are seizing opportunities to work for themselves
A North Korean at work in the factory of a South Korean company in Kaesong industrial zone inside North Korea, Dec. 19, 2013.

Made in North Korea: $300 ski jackets, and a whole lot more

It's recently emerged that clothes made in North Korea's state-owned factories are being sold by major brands with labels indicating they're from China. Oops. Do you have something in your closet made in North Korea?

Made in North Korea: $300 ski jackets, and a whole lot more
mad taxi drivers

Every time you hail an Uber, you're killing America's middle class

The "freelance economy" might not be so great after all. Author Steven Hill argues that companies like TaskRabbit and Uber are undermining the American middle class.

Every time you hail an Uber, you're killing America's middle class
Belén García

One side effect of Colombia's civil war: cheap household help. But domestic workers want a better life.

Five decades of conflict has driven millions from Colombia's countryside to the cities. For poor, uneducated women from rural areas, domestic work has been one of the few options to make a living. These women say they deserve the rights other workers enjoy.

One side effect of Colombia's civil war: cheap household help. But domestic workers want a better life.
uber drivers

Uber’s immigrant drivers look forward to better pay—and a bigger voice

A union for Seattle Uber drivers means finally having the right to a two-way conversation with their multibillion-dollar employer.

Uber’s immigrant drivers look forward to better pay—and a bigger voice
Damayan Cleaning Cooperative

Filipina trafficking survivors launch a co-op — and they own their own jobs

After Judith Daluz escaped from an abusive employer and reunited with her children, she struggled to make ends meet. So she started a cleaning business with other Filipinas—where she’s her own boss.

Filipina trafficking survivors launch a co-op — and they own their own jobs
Dollar bills

The American middle class is shrinking

For the first time in history, fewer than half of American households are in the middle class. The poorest segment and the richest segment are both growing.

The American middle class is shrinking
Migrant farm workers

An investigation finds employers abusing a visa program for guest workers

The H-2 visa program allows US employers to bring in workers from foreign countries if they can't fill the job with an American. But an investigation finds many abuses of the system.

An investigation finds employers abusing a visa program for guest workers
The World

What does human trafficking look like today? How do we stop it?

I've traveled from New England to New York to Thailand to Vietnam to China’s southeast border to expose human trafficking routes and venues, and to bring attention to sex and labor exploitation. The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Tuesday took a closer look at this modern slave trade and its impact on public health worldwide, including in cities and rural communities across the USA.

What does human trafficking look like today? How do we stop it?
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich's new book is called Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few

What Germany's got that America doesn't

Other capitalist nations can offer the US a few lessons on how to shrink the widening income gap.

What Germany's got that America doesn't