Working Conditions

Count von Count tries to keep cool between performances during a Sesame Street live dress rehearsal.

Sesame Street Workers Say, “U Is for Union” Sesame Street Workers Say, “U Is for Union”

Amid attacks from the Trump administration, 74 percent of Sesame Street workers vote to unionize to make their workplace “smarter, stronger, and kinder.”

May 15, 2025 / Ella Fanger

May Day, May 1, 2025, in Philadelphia.

How Philadelphia Is Fighting Back Against Donald Trump’s Anti-Worker Crusade How Philadelphia Is Fighting Back Against Donald Trump’s Anti-Worker Crusade

The Protect Our Workers Enforce Rights Act can serve as a model for cities all across the country.

May 8, 2025 / Kendra Brooks

More than 55,000 striking members of SEIU Local 721 march on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Los Angeles.

Is It Time for Unions to Rethink Everything? Is It Time for Unions to Rethink Everything?

As union membership declines and regulators turn against workers, maybe we need to start talking about some radical change to the way the labor movement works.

May 8, 2025 / Jacqui Germain

Illustration of Haymarket Riot in Chicago by T. de Thulstrup

Almost 140 Years After the Haymarket Affair, Will Workers Fight for the 4-Day Week? Almost 140 Years After the Haymarket Affair, Will Workers Fight for the 4-Day Week?

In the 1880s, labor leaders believed that the eight-hour day was one of the only demands that could unite all working people. Today, the four-day week could do the same.

May 5, 2025 / StudentNation / Andrew Berka

Presidential timber? United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain speaks to guests at an election-night watch party.

Shawn Fain for President! Shawn Fain for President!

Centrist Democrats hate the union leader because he puts the working class first.

Apr 18, 2025 / Jeet Heer

Workers pack a school bus, riding from one of Central Romana’s sugar cane fields to their company housing, dank shacks that often lack electricity and running water, in El Seibo, Dominican Republic.

The Bitter Taste of Labor Violations The Bitter Taste of Labor Violations

A Trump-aligned company wins a pardon for labor violations in sugar production.

Apr 16, 2025 / Melissa Ditmore

In 2021, McDonald’s Promised to Fight Sexual Harassment—What Happened?

In 2021, McDonald’s Promised to Fight Sexual Harassment—What Happened? In 2021, McDonald’s Promised to Fight Sexual Harassment—What Happened?

An investigation by The Nation and Type Investigations raises serious questions about the effectiveness of new global brand standards at stopping harassment at the fast food giant...

Apr 14, 2025 / Feature / Bryce Covert

Barney Oursler, director of the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, is photographed at US Steel’s Clairton Coke Works in Clairton, Pennsylvania, January 23, 2025.

The Unemployment System Is Failing Workers. Barney Oursler’s Here to Help. The Unemployment System Is Failing Workers. Barney Oursler’s Here to Help.

Oursler and his staff at the Mon Valley Unemployment Committee have shown over the past 40 years what it means to really care about workers—on the job and off.

Apr 3, 2025 / Daniel Napsha

Two men in suits sitting down. One of them is holding several papers and addressing a microphone.

Worse Than McCarthyism: Universities in the Age of Trump Worse Than McCarthyism: Universities in the Age of Trump

The target then was the nonexistent threat of Communist teachers; today, it’s the supposed radicalism of the academy and its alleged failure to fight antisemitism.

Apr 3, 2025 / Ellen Schrecker

Official seal. Border says Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service. In the center a golden eagle perches on a pair of shaking hands against a blue background.

Donald Trump Is Shuttering a Little-Known Labor-Management Agency That Supports Collective Bargaining Donald Trump Is Shuttering a Little-Known Labor-Management Agency That Supports Collective Bargaining

The administration’s latest assault on independent agencies is also an attack on working people.

Mar 28, 2025 / Lynn Rhinehart

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