12,000 Starbucks Workers Call for Boycott

“We know when working people stand up together, we win.”

“They Threw Me to the Wolves”

Karen Attiah on Censorship Under Trump and Winning Her Washington Post Job Back

Trump’s ICE Has Detained More Than 610,000 People

Unlike prior administrations, in Trump’s second term, ICE is aggressively arresting people far from the border and detaining them longer.

Why 9 to 5 Still Resonates Today

A documentary goes inside the making of the classic labor-feminist movie 9 to 5 — and shows how many of the problems it lampooned still plague working women today.

Global Left Midweek — August 26, 2026

Elections galore

Trump’s Legacy: A War That May Outlast Him

The Iran conflict is testing whether Congress can still meaningfully constrain presidential war making—and what powers future presidents may inherit.

Former Strikers Start Cooperative News Organization

Following firings from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, workers and community members came together to create the Pittsburgh Progress.

Ortega, Elections, and the Western Media

Crackdown.” “Democratic backsliding.” “Authoritarian grip.” Why Has Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega abolished elections?

Don’t Coddle For-Profit Insurers—Take Them On!

As a physician, my life’s goal is to practice medicine in a country where everyone has healthcare, everybody in and nobody out. Why not do battle with the insurance industry and their billionaire backers? There has to be a fight. Let’s have it.

Dispatches From the Culture Wars — August 25, 2026

The gloves are on
Read more

Culture

books

How To Fix the System

Steven Poole The Guardian
The Nobel-winning economist takes aim at elites for no longer meeting the needs of the masses.

books

A Masterpiece of Criticism

Kathryn Hughes The Guardian
This joyous book takes readers on a literary adventure across 300 years of fiction, from Defoe to Zadie Smith.

food

What Does It Take to Work on a Cauliflower Crew?

David Bacon The Reality Check: Stories and Photographs by David Bacon
Today several hundred thousand Indigenous farmworkers from southern Mexico labor in fields, not just in California, but all over the U.S. Their culture, and their political and labor activism, are changing rural communities profoundly.

Labor

labor

6 Ways To Rebuild Unions at the State and Local Levels Now

Francisco Diez Jacobin
The new crop of pro-worker legislators who have recently been elected at the state and local levels can pass laws that can rebuild the labor movement, even with Donald Trump as president. Here are six ways they can do it.

labor

Mississippi Transit Workers Strike for Better Protections and Service

Paul Prescod Labor Notes
Mississippi has the highest poverty rate in the U.S., and is a “right-to-work” state with only 4 percent of its workers in unions. But since July 13, Highway 80 near Jackson has been lined by chanting picketers. They’re on strike at JTRAN

labor

New Voices Gain Ground at Letter Carriers Convention

Alexandra Bradbury Labor Notes
The union will elect a new president this fall, from a field of four candidates. After months of speculation, Renfroe announced at the convention that he isn’t running again. Delegates cheered.

labor

The Labor Movement Is Divided Over How To Deal With AI

Michael Arria Truthout
It’s fine to say that [data centers will] be built with good-paying union jobs but what we’re also looking for on behalf of the working class is long-term sustainability of jobs. It doesn’t help if those jobs come at the cost of many long=term jobs.

labor

A Union of Unions: Revitalizing Labor Councils

Whitney Washington Convergence
Labor councils are important but often overlooked for building working-class power. This article takes us from Tennessee to Vermont to examine how these vital organizations are faring today, while honoring one of their champions, Vonda McDaniel.

Friday nite video

Was Mamdani's Mandarin AI? The Blooper Reel Reveals the Truth

Mamdani promoted free Broadway tickets for high-school students, speaking to them in Bengali, Mandarin, and Spanish. Critics accused Mamdani of using AI, so he released a blooper reel of his attempts to get each language right.

 

John Oliver: Trump & Crypto

How the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures have overshadowed their other businesses, they’ve created massive conflicts of interest, and what it all has to do with Fartcoin.
 

video

Donavan McKinney on his Primary Upset

Donavan McKinney, Democratic nominee to represent Detroit/Wayne County in Congress, on democratic socialism, corporate money, data centers and the need for Medicare for All