Listen: A WAPO Obit— Plus, Can Democracy Be Saved in North Carolina?
By Bob Hennelly
Massive newsroom staff cuts by oligarch Jeff Bezos to his Washington Post as he seeks favor with the Trump junta, sets off more hand wringing about who killed journalism. Meanwhile, in broad daylight, at the instruction of President Trump, the GOP is trying to steal North Carolina's CD I, an historic Black district.
NYSNA Faces Backlash Over ‘Sellout’ Tentative Agreement to End Historic Strike
By Joe Maniscalco
Striking New York City nurses stormed over the Brooklyn Bridge on the 23rd day of their historic walkout last week convinced of the fight’s importance to the rest of American labor movement today, and generations of nurses to come.
This week, they are winding down that strike under a cloud of controversy with many objecting to what they see as a lack of transparency among the upper echelons of the New York State Nurses Association [NYSNA] and a “sellout contract” being forced down the throats of rank and file members.
Listen: NYC’s Scramble to Save Lives From the Cold Follows Decades of Neglect
By Bob Hennelly
On this episode of WBAI’s “What’s Going On?” we look at the aftermath of New York City’s historic deep freeze which so far has claimed the lives of at least 18 people.
Striking NYSNA Nurses Hold the Line; Give Mamdani a Pass on Hochul Endorsement
By Joe Maniscalco
Safe starting ratios and protections against workplace violence remained top of mind for striking New York City nurses still holding down the line outside Mount Sinai West on 10th Avenue in Manhattan on Friday afternoon—even as at least some of them gave Mayor Zohran Mamdani a pass for endorsing hospital boss-ally Governor Kathy Hochul’s re-election bid.
NYU ‘Falls Flat’ Without Us: More than 900 NYU Professors to Vote on Strike Authorization
By Steve Wishnia
Fifteen months after they began talks for their first union contract, more than 900 professors at New York University will begin voting on whether to authorize a strike on Monday, Feb.
Listen: Trump Fixates On Fulton County As Dems Plot Rural Revival
By Bob Hennelly
With the battle lines being drawn between municipal governments and the federal government over immigration, we take a closer look at rural America on this episode of We Decide: America at the Crossroads with Jenna Flanagan. It's been such a key component to the success of Trump's MAGA movement and given the GOP such an edge in the U.S. Senate, where rural states get the same pair of Senators as the most populous states.
Striking NYC Nurses Press the Fight Despite ‘PATCO’ Threat
By Joe Maniscalco
New York City nurses marched into the fourth week of their historic strike Tuesday morning optimistic that they were finally close to a deal with management, but also roiling underneath the possible threat hospital bosses might “PATCO” the entire walkout and replace them all—permanently.
Listen: City Hall Rewind—the Wolf at the Door
By Bob Hennelly
This past Thursday, scores of members of the Taxi Workers Alliance braved arctic temperatures to rally on the steps of City Hall to celebrate passage of landmark legislation to hold Uber and Lyft accountable for capriciously deactivating drivers who in the past had no recourse. The new law provides first in the nation legal protections for 100,000 drivers in New York City against the Wall Street backed Uber and Lyft.
In Your Face, Adams! NYC Council Overrides Vetoes—Passes New Protections for App-Based Drivers, Security Guards, and Street Vendors
By Steve Wishnia
January 29 was a day of celebration for three large groups of New York City workers: security guards, app-cab drivers, and street vendors. The City Council, overwhelmingly overriding former mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes of 17 bills, passed measures with major new protections for them.
‘Any One of Us Can Be Alex’
By Joe Maniscalco
“Any one of us can be Alex.”
Veterans Affairs ICU Nurse Alex Pretti’s final moment on earth before being shot to death by a heavily-armed mob of federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis on Jan. 24 was on the minds of many in New York City last night.
Both of My Grandfathers Were Illegal Immigrants
By Steve Wishnia
I wrote this article for the Alternet website in 2008. I’d known and been proud of my grandparents being immigrants since I was a kid, but I’d only recently learned about how my grandfathers arrived here. It was also the first in-depth piece I’d done on labor issues, which was the logical way to connect their stories to the present.
Listen: Outrage Over ICE Murders Continues…Plus More
By Bob Hennelly
The murder by the US Border Patrol in Minneapolis of 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a Veterans Administration ICU nurse on Saturday continues to spark international outrage. Pretti, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees, was coming to the aid of a woman being pushed to the ground by the Border Patrol. Pretti was a licensed gun owner and had a permit to carry his gun which multiple videos show remained holstered until he was tackled and swarmed by federal agents who took his gun and shot Pretti multiple times.
Gen Z is Ready for a General Strike—What About You?
By Eilean Faltin
Federal forces are marauding across American cities, widely despised billionaires are flagrantly committing omnicide, and 60-70 million full-time U.S. employees do not make a living wage.
For many younger people, the necessity and the urgency of mass revolutionary action could not be any clearer. Yet, U.S. union membership remains at an all-time low of 9.9%, raising the questions of whether or not a wider general strike like the one seen in Minneapolis last week can be organized without militant labor leadership.
New Yorkers Vow to Give Schumer and Dems ‘Hell’ Ahead of Vote to Fund ICE
By Joe Maniscalco
Working class New Yorkers incensed over the grisly murder of 37-year-old Veterans Affairs ICU nurse and trade unionist Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis this past weekend are vowing to give Senate Democratic Caucus boss Chuck Schumer and other feckless Dems in Congress “hell” this week for their ongoing failure to confront out-of-control ICE agents.
‘No ICE, No KKK!’ New Yorkers Protest in Solidarity With Twin Cities
Editor’s Note: An emergency protest was announced for Saturday, Jan. 24 at Union Square starting at 4 p.m. just prior to publication of this story after federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis believed to be a US citizen.
By Steve Wishnia
With the damp chill of a looming blizzard blowing in from the south, hundreds of New Yorkers flowed up the subway stairs at Union Square on January 23 like a fountain of humans wearing purple SEIU gear or bearing red “NO ICE” signs.
‘Truth and Freedom’ Action Promises Daylong Shutdown-Are We Seeing the Beginnings of a Wider General Strike?
By Joe Maniscalco
No one really knows what impact Friday’s “Day of Truth and Freedom” in Minnesota will have on the state and the rest of the nation when workers there put down their tools, students stay home from school, and everybody stops shopping.
NYC Nurses Strike: Who’s Really Being ‘Unreasonable?’
By Joe Maniscalco
The ongoing nurses strike may be the largest in New York City history, but there’s nothing unprecedented about the way the hospital bosses at Mount Sinai, New York-Presbyterian, and Montefiore are responding to their unionized workforce’s essential demands.
Phil Cohen War Stories: Carnage in Casepack
War Stories By Phil Cohen
One of the labor movement’s most essential obligations is enforcing health and safety regulations. Factories, warehouses and other industrial facilities are inherently dangerous environments, compounded by management deliberately ignoring serious hazards to avoid repair costs. Ironically this is one of the least important issues for many workers who trust in their luck, focusing instead on wages, benefits and plant rules.
Week 1 Nurses Strike as Trump Doubles Down On Twin Cities and Greenland
By Bob Hennelly
Here in New York City, thousands of nurses with the New York State Nurses Association remain on strike at New York Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Mount Sinai Morningside and West to maintain their healthcare benefits, safe staffing for patient care as well as secure improved protections against a spike in workplace violence.
Public Housing Tenants Again Sue to Stall Demolition; NYCHA Says Ousting Chelsea Elderly Is for ‘Greater Good’
By Steve Wishnia
With the impending expiration of a stipulation that the New York City Housing Authority won’t begin demolishing two Chelsea public-housing developments, another tenant challenge to the plan is wending its way through the courts.