A Pivotal Moment in American Labor

Maria and Julio are joined by Kim Kelly, author and labor journalist, to talk about her new book, "Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor". They get into the history of labor organizing in the United States and how women of color and Black and brown workers have been at the forefront of these movements. They talk about the current labor movement in the U.S. and the multiple strikes and efforts to unionize across industries, including Kim’s personal experience with unions in media companies.

ITT Staff Picks:

• In this piece for the Washington Post, Rebecca Tan writes about how young LGBTQ workers have been taking a leadership role in unionizing Starbucks stores across the country.

• “In the new environment, businesses facing worker uprisings are attempting to co-opt the language of social justice movements and embrace trends around self-growth and positive lifestyles to counter demands for unionization,” writes Lee Fang in this piece for The Intercept. 

• Sharon Zhang reports about Chipotle workers’ efforts to form the company’s first-ever union at a branch in August, Maine, in this piece for Truthout. 

Photo credit: AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez