Labor

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference at Deno’s Wonder Wheel on Coney Island in New York City on February 15, 2026.

Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice Zohran Mamdani Is Putting Corporate Sick-Leave Cheats on Notice

The mayor announced that the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will investigate employers where more than half their workers take no paid time off in a given year.

Feb 24, 2026 / Prajwal Bhat

The Ghosts of Colonialism Haunt Our Batteries

The Ghosts of Colonialism Haunt Our Batteries The Ghosts of Colonialism Haunt Our Batteries

With its cobalt and lithium mines, Congo is powering an energy revolution. It contains both the worst horrors of modern metal extraction—and the seeds of a more moral economics.

Feb 13, 2026 / Feature / Nicolas Niarchos

Workers harvest asparagus at Yakama Nation Farms in Harrah, Washington, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

The Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier Than Ever to Exploit Farmworkers The Trump Administration Wants to Make It Easier Than Ever to Exploit Farmworkers

What is being described as “reform” in Washington will only make the abuse and wage theft that plague the program even worse.

Feb 12, 2026 / Teresa Cotsirilos

A protester at a rally for the “Fired Four” at the City University of New York.

Is Union Power Growing in Mamdani’s New York? Is Union Power Growing in Mamdani’s New York?

Following the Mamdani administration’s talks with the CUNY faculty union, three professors have returned to class after losing their jobs for their pro-Palestine activism.

Feb 11, 2026 / StudentNation / Mohamad Rimawi

“You shouldn’t wait until somebody is on ‘Drag Race’ to show your support,” says Afrosephone. “The one thing that will keep us performing, the one thing that will keep us afloat, is if you show up.”

Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up Drag Can Save a Life in New York City—if People Show Up

Black and trans drag performers are crowdfunding to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Feb 9, 2026 / Ava Pauline Emilione

Starbucks Workers On Strike

Baristas Are the Brand Baristas Are the Brand

The future of Starbucks depends on its workers.

Jan 28, 2026 / Darrick Hamilton

Striking nurses listen to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on the picket line at Mount Sinai West on January 20, 2026, in New York City.

Nurses Dig In Against New York’s Hospital Giants Nurses Dig In Against New York’s Hospital Giants

As nearly 15,000 nurses’ strike, New York’s biggest hospital systems are trying to roll back hard-won staffing rules and health benefits—even as executive pay soars.

Jan 23, 2026 / Prajwal Bhat

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks before striking nurses at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Young Mayor in a Hurry Young Mayor in a Hurry

Zohran Mamdani has pledged to govern at the same pace New Yorkers live—but city politics are largely designed to thwart that ambition.

Jan 22, 2026 / D.D. Guttenplan

Andrea Lucas, now chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, testifies at her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate HELP Committee, in June 2025.

The EEOC Is on the Verge of Making It Harder for Workers to Fight Harassment The EEOC Is on the Verge of Making It Harder for Workers to Fight Harassment

The agency is planning to delete a document that provides up-to-date guidance on the protections workers have in this complex and rapidly changing area of law.

Jan 20, 2026 / Bryce Covert

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, steps up to a podium during a news conference in Brooklyn borough of New York on January 15, 2026.

Zohran Mamdani Takes on the Gig Economy’s Wage Thieves Zohran Mamdani Takes on the Gig Economy’s Wage Thieves

New York City is suing a delivery app for stealing workers’ pay—signaling that under Mamdani, gig companies can no longer break the law with impunity.

Jan 19, 2026 / Prajwal Bhat

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