OnLabor

Law. Workers. Organizing.

Follow OnLabor on X
Subscribe via RSS

Category:On Labor

Representation Elections Are Incompatible with Workplace Democracy

May 14, 2018 Tristan Bird

“For the masses of men and women the expression of the democratic impulse must be within the industries they serve – it must fall within their daily work. That is why the struggle for a voice in industry, through the process of collective bargaining, is at the heart of the struggle for the preservation of […]

Labor Organizing in Drag: You Better Work Together

May 10, 2018 Monica Wilk

Over twenty-five years after the hit single “Supermodel (You Better Work)” launched RuPaul’s career, the drag queen and pop icon has found a second career as the host, lead judge, and executive producer of the VH1 reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race. Since the series’ debut in 2009, RuPaul has hand-picked over 120 drag queens to […]

The First Amendment and Judicial Overreach in Philadelphia

May 8, 2018 Andrew Strom

In 1964, Congress outlawed discrimination in employment based on race or sex, yet there is still a significant gap in the wages paid to white men compared to wages paid to other groups. Last year, the City of Philadelphia tried to address this wage gap by passing a law prohibiting employers from relying on a […]

Teachers’ Strikes: An Explainer

May 8, 2018 Feyi Lawoyin

For the past couple months, teachers’ strikes have featured prominently in national headlines. The first of these high-profile strikes began on February 22, 2018 when teachers across the state went out on strike. The strike, which protested low pay and high healthcare costs, has since inspired teachers’ strikes across the country, including in Arizona, Kentucky, […]

May 8, 2018
News & Commentary

Vail Kohnert-Yount

The New Yorker reported last night that four women have accused New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of sexual misconduct and physical abuse, including one woman who previously worked closely with his office. Schneiderman, who positioned himself as a champion of workers’ rights and women’s rights in the wake of the #MeToo movement, denied the […]

#BossBabes and Employment Protections

May 7, 2018 Aubrey Sparks

A local woman has had a hard time finding work, but is desperate for income, and hears from a friend about a business opportunity which allows her to work from home. Excited about the prospect, she spends $99 in order to get a starter kit, which allows her to sell product to customers. Before she […]

Janus and the Problem with Alleging Lochnerism

May 4, 2018 Boyd Garriott

Janus, the Court’s case about public sector agency fees that will be decided this term, is a case that could be framed in two ways. On the one hand, Janus is a case about compelled political speech: the government, by imposing agency fees as a condition of employment, is requiring employees to subsidize public sector […]

Janus Amicus Demonstrates That Unions Protect LGBT Workers

May 1, 2018 Catherine Ordoñez

A coalition of six organizations committed to eliminating discrimination against LGBT individuals in the workplace filed an amicus brief in support of the respondents in Janus. Miriam Frank—teacher, feminist, and author of Out In the Union: A Labor History of Queer America—said this brief marks the first time that a coalition of LGBT rights organizations […]

Prosecutorial Power, Prisons, and the Problem with Wage Theft Criminalization: A Reply

Apr 30, 2018 Benjamin Levin

Thanks to Ben Sachs for allowing me space for a reply and to Terri Gerstein and David Seligman for taking the time to respond to my post. While I appreciate Gerstein and Seligman’s perspective, and I agree with them about the need to stop wage theft and protect workers, I have to part ways with […]

When Is Forced Labor Consistent with the General Basic System of Free Labor? An Analysis of Historical Judge-Made Exceptions to the Thirteenth Amendment

Apr 26, 2018 Brianne Power

Advocates challenging forced labor practices are largely relying on the Trafficking Victims Protective Act (TVPA). However, as Leora Smith noted, the Thirteenth Amendment is “[l]urking in the background of [these] case[s].” Smith posits that advocates may be reluctant to bring Thirteenth Amendment claims due to the complicated case law around what constitutes “involuntary servitude.” These […]

Newer
1
2
3
4
5
…
10
Older

OnLabor

Law. Workers. Organizing.

OnLabor is a blog devoted to workers, unions, and their politics. We interpret our subject broadly to include the current crisis in the traditional union movement (why union decline is happening and what it means for our society); the new and contested forms of worker organization that are filling the labor union gap; how work ought to be structured and managed; how workers ought to be represented and compensated; and the appropriate role of government — all three branches — in each of these issues.

Learn more about OnLabor

Copyright © 2025 OnLabor. All rights reserved.

OnLabor is unable to accept unsolicited submissions.

Follow OnLabor on X
Subscribe via RSS

Contact: [email protected]
Site design: Jon White Studio

Sections

All Editorial Writing
All News & Commentary
From The Editor
From Senior Contributors
Analysis From Guest Voices
OnLabor In The News
All Featured Coverage
About

Connect

Follow OnLabor on X
Subscribe via RSS

Search for: