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+12 +1
The Pixar Theory of Labor
A lot of Pixar films come packaged with a quasi-humanist narrative hook that enables the public digestion of their work. Viewers nodded thoughtfully over WALL-E’s depiction of a future earth choked by the refuse of big-box retail, and of a human race infantilized and rendered obese by mindless consumption, while Brave was the first Pixar film to feature a female protagonist—a simple gesture, the long-overdueness of...
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+17 +4
Why We're All Becoming Independent Contractors
GM is worth around $60 billion, and has over 200,000 employees. Its front-line workers earn from $19 to $28.50 an hour, with benefits. Uber is estimated to be worth some $40 billion, and has 850 employees. Uber has over 163,000 drivers, who average $17 an hour in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and $23 an hour in San Francisco and New York. But Uber doesn’t count these drivers as employees. Uber says they’re “independent contractors".
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+46 +3
Why Wages Won't Rise
Jobs are coming back, but pay isn’t. The median wage is still below where it was before the Great Recession. Last month, average pay actually fell. What’s going on? It used to be that as unemployment...
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+16 +2
Coal Miners Struggle to Survive in an Industry Battered by Layoffs and Bankruptcy
Shrinking exports and America’s growing reliance on hydraulic fracturing and renewable energy have left coal producers in deep trouble. By Clifford Krauss.
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+17 +2
The Last European: Romanian Driver Navigates the Soul of the EU
For the past decade, Viktor Talic has been driving a van across Europe, delivering people and goods. His 50-hour, nearly sleepless journey offers a disquieting, yet inspiring, glimpse into the Continent's soul. By Juan Moreno.
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+19 +3
Higher Minimum-Wage Proposals Gain Ground on Both Coasts
The push for a higher minimum wage gained momentum on both sides of the country Wednesday, with New York embracing an eventual $15 an hour for the state's 200,000 fast-food workers and the huge University of California system announcing the same raise for its employees. "How we support our...
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+2 +1
The Essential Guide to Crafting a Work Email
There are rules.
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+16 +4
Subversive games about waitresses and hairdressers
I spent my 20s in the service industry, overworked and underpaid. Why, now, do these games help me relax? By Laura Hudson. (April)
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+15 +3
What the ‘Times’ Got Wrong About Nail Salons
Rarely does a newspaper story get the kind of response that The New York Times front-page exposé of wage-theft at nail salons prompted this spring. But was it true? By Richard Bernstein
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+57 +7
Frigid offices, freezing women, oblivious men: An air-conditioning investigation
You can spot them. The frozen ones who come outside at lunch like sun-seeking turtles, cardigans balled up next to them, bare shoulders defrosting in the noon sunlight, no matter how wilting it is outdoors. Every single woman I talked to in downtown Washington on a hot, humid July afternoon was thawing out. “I. Am. Fuh-reezing. Feel my hand — I’m still cold,” said Ruth Marshall, 64, who was seated on a park bench, face to the sky. And, yes, her hand felt like a cold steak.
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+17 +1
Khandias: The Keepers of Doongerwadi
Among Parsis, Khandias are a group of people spoken about only in hushed tones. It is their job to bathe and carry the deceased of the community to the Towers of Silence for vultures, and then tend to the mortal remains, pushing them ritually into a deep pit at the centre of the circular ‘tower’ … By Lhendup G Bhutia.
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+20 +2
Recovering the Lost Lessons of West Virginia’s Historic Labor Struggles
When looking back at the mine battles of the early 1900s, West Virginia officials are as guilty of misrepresenting the state's rich history as any outsider. By Mark Hand.
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+17 +2
Asia's Abuse of Domestic Workers Laid Bare
An Indonesian domestic worker, who now calls herself Susi, describes the start of the abuse cycle which shaped her life for nearly a year.
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+13 +4
The Insecure World of Freelancing
Millions of workers now go it alone—who will provide them with basic labor protections? By Nancy Cook.
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+6 +1
Blocked From Trade Pact By Its Failure on Slavery, Malaysia Suddenly Gets a Passing Grade
The lack of evidence that Malaysia has taken steps against slavery raises the possibility that the decision was made for purely political reasons. By David Dayen.
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+28 +2
Work Advice: How to handle a boss who puts religion first at the office
His habits and mannerisms make some workers uncomfortable. But are those habits illegal?
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+19 +4
Inequality is Central to the Productivity-Pay Gap
Matt Yglesias is an insightful writer, but his recent article, “Hillary Clinton’s favorite chart is pretty misleading” is itself very misleading. Since the Clinton campaign’s “favorite chart” is an EPI chart, which Jared Bernstein and I originally came up with twenty years ago, I think it’s important to set the record straight. The main problem is that Yglesias does not actually engage with the chart he says he’s criticizing.
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+2 +1
Millennial Men Aren’t the Dads They Thought They’d Be
Gender, Work-Family Ideals, and Institutional Constraint
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+20 +3
What you sound like to a Sysadmin
We all know that what we say is only a part of what we actually communicate. Like a good doctor, a trained Sysadmin starts an assessment and diagnosis of your problem before you even reach their desk (and then, in some cases, come round the desk, lean over, read everything on the monitor and then touch it for no reason – you know who you are). Whatever you say, the chances are they've heard it before, believed it, been burned, and vowed never to believe it again.
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+21 +3
A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared
When Dan Price announced he was setting a minimum salary of $70,000 for his 120 employees, he didn’t foresee the turmoil it would cause for his business.
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