A central lesson is that labour movements will be in a better position to shape political outcomes decisively if they build independent organisations with real strategic capacity. The absence of such organisational strength in Egypt was a key reason why the post-Mubarak order did not evolve in a more democratic direction.
On the eve of New Year’s Day 1900, Frank P. Walsh (1864-1939) reflected on his life and decided a major change was in order. At thirty-five years old he had an expanding family and thriving career in corporate law. After growing up in extreme poverty in an Irish-American section [...]
Antitrust and labor reformers can serve as complementary components of a progressive coalition to take power from corporations and govern corporations and markets in the public interest.
The government emphasizes fukugyō as a means of free choice and achieving good work-family balance. However, the reality of fukugyō is often far from the ideal picture painted by the government. Fukugyō workers typically experience low wages, employment insecurity, a lack of social protection, and limited opportunities for upward career mobility.
That striking image of US-Brazil labor solidarity is only one snapshot of a transnational union partnership which has proved to be long-lasting and institutional, yet adaptable. New political, social and legal convergences have brought the labor movements of these two countries closer together over the past decade, as both are now contending with challenges to their representativeness and social legitimacy in times of extreme political polarization and growing labor precarity.
Our research, done in consultation with the hotel workers’ union, reveals on the one hand, a morbid correlation between the reopening of tourism and deaths across the state, and on the other, the life-affirming ethic of collective care, with unionized workers persistently pushing for safe hotels, recall rights, better pay, and the well-being of all hospitality workers, their communities, as well as tourists.
After an extended hiatus, we are back with another episode of the Marxist Sociology Blog Podcast! Click above to listen, or find us wherever you get your podcasts. You can find the transcript below. Introduction Hello, and welcome to episode 3 of the Marxist Sociology Blog Podcast. It’s [...]
Once again we find ourselves in moments of economic crisis. As we battle through inflation and rounds of devaluation, thousands of workers around the world have lost their livelihoods. Yet amidst this all, we have seen workers across the globe go on strike and protest. A manifestation of these [...]
Put together, these factors create a dilemma for these workers: dire need of cash income keeps propelling rural parents, who make a significant portion of the workforce, to come to work at Foxconn; the family’s demand for caring and emotional labor, on the other hand, is pulling workers, especially mothers, back to the family. In the end, many of the workers end up turning this job a seasonal gig.
The capitalist system has been utilizing the tactic of workplace fissuring to weaken the organizing power and bargaining position of US unions. This has led to a decline in worker's ability to negotiate fair wages and benefits. However, as an alternative strategy, unions have begun to adopt multi-employer bargaining [...]
![Hundreds of male and female Shirtwaist strikers march to City Hall. Placard says "Union Contract [illegible]".](https://marxistsociology.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/5279167755_cffac09144_o-669x272.jpg)
