Remembering the American Workplace’s Victims
Today, on Workers Memorial Day, we should remember that thousands die on the job every year — deaths made all the more tragic because they could have been prevented by bosses who valued workers' lives.
Articles by: Joe Allen
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Joe Allen's latest book is The Package King: A Rank and File History of United Parcel Service.
Can Socialists Win in Chicago?
Today’s election in Chicago is the most important the city has seen in a generation. After years of austerity, there's finally an opportunity to begin breaking with Rahm Emanuel's neoliberal status quo.
Worked to Death at FedEx
Recent workplace deaths at FedEx suggest a serious safety problem there. Yet Trump is still trying to confirm a FedEx executive for the most important worker safety position in the country.
Sent Packing
Pregnancy discrimination and work-induced miscarriages are rife at freight giants like XPO Logistics. The only solution is worker power from below.
James Hoffa’s Anti-Democratic UPS Catastrophe
Teamsters leader James Hoffa has ratified a UPS contract despite a member vote that rejected it. This sabotage is not only a catastrophe for UPS Teamsters — it is a gift to anti-union forces.
Will UPS Teamsters Vote No?
UPS drivers are facing a contract with huge proposed concessions negotiated by James Hoffa. The only way to protect their living standards is to vote "no."
What’s the Matter With Chicago?
Chicago's horrifying gun violence last weekend isn't the result of a "spiritual deficit," as Mayor Rahm Emanuel argues. It's the result of decades of poverty and austerity.
Striking Big Brown
UPS might be the next target of the national strike wave — but under very unusual circumstances.
Will There Be a Fightback at UPS?
If rank-and-file Teamsters can confront the package-delivery giant, they'll win better conditions for the whole industry.
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
UPS wants holiday cheer delivered quicker — even if it kills their workers.
Sayfullo Saipov’s Miserable Job
We can't say what exactly triggered Sayfullo Saipov's New York City attack. But we do know his trucking job was a crummy dead end.
The Persecution and Vindication of Ron Carey
Ron Carey's story reminds us of how the powerful respond to threats from labor.
A Crushing Blow
The UAW's defeat at a Mississippi Nissan factory will set back organizing the South for a long time.
The UPS Strike, Two Decades Later
Twenty years ago, workers ground one of the world's largest corporations to a halt. And workers in the logistics industry could do it again today.
Going Brown
On June 14, a UPS driver shot three coworkers, then himself. UPS has to answer for its role in pushing its workers to violence.
He Fought for the Union
Jerry Zero, who fought the Teamsters old guard to build a more democratic union, left behind a complicated legacy.
Logistics’ Two Fronts
Amazon and UPS are behemoths. Socialists can shake the foundations of the US economy by agitating and organizing at both.
Between Students and Workers
At the height of the 1960s antiwar movement, student radicals held a heated debate about their role in labor struggles. That debate is still relevant today.
When George Wallace Came to Town
Donald Trump's appeal to some suffering white workers shouldn't surprise us. George Wallace did the same thing four decades ago.
Hoffa’s Numbered Days
The recent Teamsters election didn't unseat the old guard's James P. Hoffa, but it left him discredited and vulnerable.