On Labor Day 2018, it’s hard to maintain hope. Many will labor on Labor Day (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Growing up in a blue-collar union household, working on holidays was considered a boon). Many labor in worse conditions than our parents and grandparents. The Gig Economy The gig economy leaves millions on their […]
public services
Malnourishment: A Case Study on U.S. Food Insecurity
The final report of the 1996 World Food Summit states that food security “exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture agrees – at least in theory. […]
Homeless Shelters as Band-Aids: Housing Is a Human Right
From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 25: (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, […]
Charity vs. Solidarity Work
Settling in after a short but intense trip to Standing Rock, I took to Facebook, curious about what had transpired at the camp during my 10-hour drive home. Expecting to see updates regarding activities of the thousands of water protectors and their allies, I was instead startled by a Facebook post advertising tee shirts. The […]
Health Class
There is a wealth of data that tells us that class is a huge determinant of your health. This information is critical for policy change. And as someone working in the fields of human rights and social justice, I fought hard to share this information with decision makers that could do something about the issue. […]
Health Equity: What’s Working
We have lots of ways to measure what’s not working in the United States. We can quickly pull the latest numbers that track growing inequalities in wealth and opportunity in our society, from displacement driven by gentrification and mounting student debt to low social mobility and gaping health disparities across lines of class and race. […]
Championing Postal Workers Is Good Class and Economic Sense
I watched the second Democratic debate hoping that Senator Bernie Sanders would clearly articulate an economic policy that would differentiate him from Hillary Clinton, that would advance the interests of American workers and that would easily resonate with the millions of debate viewers. Unfortunately he didn’t. Instead he continued to lash out at the one […]
We need more than holiday charity to reduce income inequality
The holidays are a time of joy for many. They are when families celebrate being together with loved ones, workplaces honor the accomplishments of employees, and individuals reflect on their personal success. However, this scenario does not apply to everyone. Slowly, over the last fifteen or so years, there has been a dramatic annual increase […]
Beneath the Veneer of Harris v. Quinn
Harris v. Quinn is a recent Supreme Court opinion, featured often on the news, holding that “partial” public employees – home health care providers – should not be “compelled” to join a union or, put in less charged language, to contribute to union representation in their workplace even when a majority of employees has voted […]
Groveling for the Greater Good
I’ve been fundraising for nonprofits for 15 years now, mostly for homeless youth and families. When I started fundraising, my bible was the now classic “Fundraising for Social Change” by Kim Klein. Klein taught grassroots fundraising strategies that were developed during the 1970’s, the peak of middle-class prosperity in the U.S. These strategies are ethical […]
Pension Cutbacks: The New Normal or Fightback?
We should be as wary now of the mainstream media as Marx was in 1871 when he wrote the following: “The daily press and the telegraph, which in a moment spreads its inventions over the whole earth, fabricate more myths in one day…than could have previously been produced in a century.” And so, for example, […]
Philly School Crisis Meets Pushback
While a group of determined teachers, parents and community activists rallied a small crowd in front of South Philadelphia High School on a rainy weekday, the powers-that-be in City Hall, Harrisburg and D.C. did nothing to avert an educational crisis that awaits 150,000 mostly poor and working-class students when school is due to open in […]
Shame, School Lunch, and Passing
When I was in sixth grade, my family was eligible for free school lunches. I attended a small country school, without much class diversity, mostly farmers, some without indoor toilets in their homes. Even so, when I gave my lunch ticket to the student appointed to collect them, I noticed and she noticed that there […]
To Care or Not to Care About Obamacare
When the Supreme Court approved “Obamacare,” most of my Facebook friends had joyful statuses about the ruling. And it is something to cheer about: millions of Americans will now be able to be insured; women will now have access to affordable birth control and not face gender pricing of insurance; and people cannot be denied […]
The Class Nightmare of Disability
Seeking instant invisibility? Displacement from society? Separation from the shared life expectations of friends, family and colleagues? If so, become disabled. Visible or invisible, commonly recognized or incomprehensible, causing odd tics or socially-unacceptable behaviors, your disability will likely make you actively ignored by others or looked at like a circus freak. (“Mommy, why is that […]
Verizon Strike: A Teachable Moment?
Why Health Care Strikes Should Demand “Health Care For All,” Not Just “Hands Off My ‘Middle Class’ Benefits” For two weeks in August, thousands of Verizon strikers provided an inspiring display of picket-line militancy and resistance to contract concessions. From Massachusetts to Virginia, members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood […]
Query: How to open discussion with a poor-basher?
Dear Class Action, What should I do? My neighbor in my conservative rural town emailed this racist/classist piece of junk to me. I need some advice on what to do next. I asked the one who sent it to me and another womyn if they had any interest in coming to my house and watching […]
Modern-day Pirates: the Republicans vs. the Public Sector
So, let’s be clear: it’s not about the budget. As the facts have emerged in the 2011 Wisconsin crisis with Governor Scott Walker’s move against public service unions, it is not about Wisconsin lacking funds. There is no credible way that Walker and his clique can argue that eliminating a worker’s right to collective bargaining […]
Who Gets Plowed in New York?
After the first huge snow storm on December 26, my family was asking two questions: a) where are the damn snowplows in our Brooklyn neighborhood?; and b) why is Manhattan clear? Smells like a class issue here. I was born and raised in this neighborhood, which saw white flight in the 70s, the crack epidemic […]
