I am no stranger to the gig economy. I have relied on it from time to time to supplement the income from my small business. When business is slow – or more often – when vendors are slow to pay me, I’ve taken short-term temp work, signed up for focus groups or been a “secret […]
A World Without Classism
They’re Just Like Us: Race and the White Working-Class on Roseanne
On Tuesday, May 29th, ABC Entertainment canceled the reboot of Roseanne after Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, comparing the former Obama advisor to an ape. ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey stated, “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.” The show debuted in March to huge ratings and a second […]
Thank You for Being on Time
A few months ago, I made an appointment at the low-income clinic to see their therapist. I was hoping to find someone to listen to me – so I could hear my own voice better. The nurse practitioner suggested this as an option since I don’t make much money teaching part time. When I arrived, […]
Happy Day Before Payday!
While summer 2018 has been a scorcher, the high for February 1st and 2nd made it to 11º in Kari Fisher’s hometown in Minnesota, and single digits reigned during both school days. I got the email from one of my son’s high school teachers while I was teaching and didn’t have a chance to read it […]
Poverty Constrains Your Wardrobe – and You
I will always remember December 2013. It was a particularly cold winter, and downtown Los Gatos was in the low 30s. My friend Jane rented a carriage and invited me to come along. I declined because I did not have a jacket. I was too ashamed to tell her why, so she was rightfully angry […]
Why Do You Want to Be Poor?
Growing up poor on Long Island builds character. While trying to balance personal responsibilities with maintaining a GPA high enough to make myself a competitive candidate for scholarships and college admissions, I found that I could make several distinct dinner recipes from just adobo seasoning, week-old produce and recooked meat products. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was necessary. It […]
The Case for the Maximum Wage
For classist put-downs, a maximum wage just may be the ultimate antidote. How raw can class contempt get? Take a look at the venom that oozed out earlier this spring from Ronald Havner, the CEO of Public Storage, America’s biggest self-storage company. This year, for the first time ever, enterprises like Public Storage have had […]
Social Class, Equality at Heart of International Women’s Day
There are countless reasons that people around the world celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD). The day provides a focus and opportunity to celebrate women’s contributions to society, highlight our struggles for equity, point to the huge pay and educational discrepancies suffered by women and girls, and thank women for fostering the well-being of families and communities. But, many people are […]
American Exceptionalism Leaves International Women’s Day Blank
When searching for information about International Women’s Day (IWD) 2018, I knew I would not find details from the U.S. government. It doesn’t coordinate IWD events or recognize it as an official holiday, unlike 26 nations that include Afghanistan, Cuba, Laos, Russia and Uganda. However, I was surprised when I had to make a concerted […]
Janus v AFSCME:
What the Supreme Court May Strip from Workers The roar of the approaching storm can be both heard and felt in workplaces across the United States. The prospects inherent in a much anticipated – and in many places feared – Supreme Court decision in the case Janus v AFSCME has the political Right giddy. Among […]
Mirroring Administrative Attitudes: One Year Into Trump’s Rhetoric
Kalkaska, or Trout Town USA, is a picturesque northern Michigan town touting a population of just over 2,000. Located in the snow belt with its Trout Festival and Winterfest the area offers a modest place for a modest life. Growing up there and graduating in 2009, life seemed simple enough. Of extremely modest means, my […]
Trump Supporters: Why Our Attitude Towards Them Matters
Not Stupid. Not Crazy. Those are the two most important things for progressives to remember about rightwing people, says Chip Berlet. He has tracked U.S. far-right populist movements for the past 30 years, including going to the events of white nationalist groups and the Tea Party. If you want to understand them, and even more […]
Trump One Year Later: Most of Us Live in Dread
I had a discussion with my doctor late spring 2017. I was having gastrointestinal issues, and I said to him that I kept wondering whether the anxiety that I felt about the Trump regime was affecting me physically. My doctor responded very seriously and with a straight face. He replied that many of his patients […]
President Trump, One Year Later
After 12 months that have felt like an eternity, Mr. Trump remains as greedy and volatile as ever. Donald Trump campaigned on the pledge to “Make America Great Again,” but he never did specify exactly who he wanted to make the country great for. After a year in office, we can deduce from his actions […]
“Homeless People Not Wanted Here”
They are all addicts, criminals, on drugs, mentally ill, dangerous and have made bad choices, unlike us. That was the general sentiment of the people who showed up to protest a new homeless shelter in the community where I live. They might as well have put a sign out that read, Poor People Keep Out. […]
Andy’s Story: Class and Homelessness
Before the year 2004, the word “classism” was not in my vocabulary. As a music teacher at a prestigious private elementary school and a private teacher of piano and voice, I schmoozed comfortably with those who could afford such high-quality education for their children. The fact that many of them lived in million dollar homes […]
Let’s Dial Back 2017’s Extreme Classism
Classism Continued to Spin Out of Control in 2017 Again in 2017, Class Action asked people from across the United States to vote for the Most Classist Comment of the year. The “contest” is an extension of our work to raise awareness of the classism that is spinning out of control in the United States. U.S. […]
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Statement Voted 2017 Most Classist Comment
For Immediate Release: December 31, 2017 Contact: Anne Phillips, 617.477.8635; Denise Moorehead, 781.608.4608 BOSTON – For the eighth consecutive year, Class Action has asked people from across the United States to nominate and then vote for the Most Classist Comment of the year. With 35.7% of the vote, U.S. Senator Charles (Chuck) E. Grassley’s (R-Iowa) […]
Cross Class Dialogue Circle
It was on a bulletin at a local coffee shop, Cross Class Dialogue Circle. What did those words mean? Cross made me think of the patterns on top of a pie. Class, I thought I knew what that was: divisions based on wealth and a word I always flinched at for some reason. Dialogue, easy: a […]
Cross-Class Alliances: Silicon Valley
On Labor Day, I thought, what better way to celebrate than to show up for cross-class picketing at a local McDonald’s? The first thing I saw was a line of yellow school buses bringing the picketers from the local labor council to the restaurant, partly because many workers rely on a bus, not a car […]
