Gabriel Thompson

Gabriel Thompson is a journalist and author in Oakland. He is the author of America’s Social Arsonist: Fred Ross and Grassroots Organizing in the Twentieth Century (University of California Press), Working in the Shadows (Nation Books), and There’s No José Here (Nation Books). His most recent book is Chasing the Harvest, an oral history collection from California’s fields.

Supreme CourtToday 7:30 am

The Fight Against Brett Kavanaugh Is Just Beginning

After occupying Senator Chuck Grassley’s office last week, activists vow to keep the uprising going.

Gabriel Thompson
Labor OrganizingMarch 31, 2016

Meet the Long-Forgotten Organizer Who Inspired Cesar Chavez to Become an Activist

In 1952, Fred Ross appeared at Chavez’s door. The meeting changed Chavez’s life—and farmworker history.

Gabriel Thompson
January 7, 2016

This Is What $15 an Hour Looks Like

In July, Emeryville, California, passed the highest city-wide minimum wage in the country. Here’s how workers’ lives changed—and didn’t.

Gabriel Thompson
ActivismMarch 10, 2015

The New Silicon Valley Movement That Is Taking on the Tech Giants

In the neighborhood where Cesar Chavez got his start, janitors, cooks and shuttle drivers are organizing to end the area’s inequality epidemic.

Gabriel Thompson
CitiesSeptember 3, 2014

Minneapolis Has Long Been Fractured by Racial Inequity. Can a New Mayor Change That?

Mayor Betsy Hodges wants to make Minneapolis live up to its progressive hype.

Gabriel Thompson
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Campaigns and ElectionsMay 21, 2014

Will a Latina Labor Lawyer Replace a Tea Party Congressman in California?

First, the EMILY’s List-backed Eloise Reyes has to get through the primary.

Gabriel Thompson
SocietyNovember 26, 2013

The Workers Who Bring You Black Friday

My life as a temp in California’s Inland Empire, the belly of the online shopping beast.

Gabriel Thompson
Science and HealthNovember 12, 2013

Why Are Children Working in American Tobacco Fields?

Young farm workers are falling ill from “green tobacco sickness” while the industry denies it and government lets it happen.

Gabriel Thompson
BudgetsApril 24, 2013

A California Town Bleeds From Sequestration's Cuts

Without its lifeline, a stream of federal aid, Lemoore is in crisis mode—and residents of all political stripes are united in outrage.

Gabriel Thompson
ActivismMarch 5, 2013

Raising Minnesota

The heat is on big banks and CEOs as labor and community activists band together.

Gabriel Thompson

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Gabriel Thompson

Supreme CourtToday 7:30 am

After occupying Senator Chuck Grassley’s office last week, activists vow to keep the uprising going.

Labor OrganizingMarch 31, 2016

In 1952, Fred Ross appeared at Chavez’s door. The meeting changed Chavez’s life—and farmworker history.

January 7, 2016

In July, Emeryville, California, passed the highest city-wide minimum wage in the country. Here’s how workers’ lives changed—and didn’t.

ActivismMarch 10, 2015

In the neighborhood where Cesar Chavez got his start, janitors, cooks and shuttle drivers are organizing to end the area’s inequality epidemic.

CitiesSeptember 3, 2014

Mayor Betsy Hodges wants to make Minneapolis live up to its progressive hype.

The stakes are higher now than ever. Get The Nation in your inbox.

Campaigns and ElectionsMay 21, 2014

First, the EMILY’s List-backed Eloise Reyes has to get through the primary.

SocietyNovember 26, 2013

My life as a temp in California’s Inland Empire, the belly of the online shopping beast.

Science and HealthNovember 12, 2013

Young farm workers are falling ill from “green tobacco sickness” while the industry denies it and government lets it happen.

BudgetsApril 24, 2013

Without its lifeline, a stream of federal aid, Lemoore is in crisis mode—and residents of all political stripes are united in outrage.

ActivismMarch 5, 2013

The heat is on big banks and CEOs as labor and community activists band together.