Labor

Male farmers in a fruit field in Central Valley, California
Ayana Byrd  May 21, 2019 2:34PM EDT

READ: California Water Crisis Hits Latinx Farmworkers

A New York Times article examines how the success of the state’s agricultural industry is polluting the water of the people who work in it.
Nailed It. A row of colorful pointed nails with gems.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  May 6, 2019 1:33PM EDT

New Doc Peeks Inside Nail Salons' Booming Business

“Nailed It” explores the industry’s history and connection to the Vietnamese-American community.
Tiarra Mukherjee  Apr 25, 2019 1:43PM EDT

READ: Former CBS Exec Calls Out Racism at Media Giant

Former head of diversity Whitney Davis writes that the company is “fraught with systemic racism, discrimination and sexual harassment.”
Black handcuffs
Shani Saxon  Apr 25, 2019 10:56AM EDT

Advocacy Groups Call Out Discriminatory Practices in Federal Employment

The ACLU and the Leadership Conference Education Fund urge the Office of Personnel Management to remove job application questions that they say would negatively impact people with arrest records.
white robotic arm on a table with four squares in front
catherine lizette gonzalez  Apr 19, 2019 5:46PM EDT

ICYMI: Study Says Artificial Intelligence Industry Must Confront 'Diversity Disaster'

A new study says the artificial intelligence industry—which is overwhelmingly populated by White people and men—is due for a reckoning.
Woman with red hair in silohuette puts silverware on table while standing in front of a window in daylight, there is a white orchid in a yellow pot and a lamp with a red shade, trees and benches outside
Saru Jayaraman, Destiny Lopez  Mar 8, 2019 9:27AM EST

Congress Must Pass Raise the Wage Act, Secure Better Future for Women [Op-Ed]

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, Saru Jayaraman and Destiny Lopez connect the dots between securing increased pay for women earning a tipped wage and improved access to reproductive health care.
Teachers in Denver, Colorado are dressed in winter gear as they strike and hold large white signs in front of the Colorado State Capitol on February 11, 2019.
Shani Saxon  Feb 20, 2019 5:32PM EST

Immigrant Teachers in Denver Threatened With Deportation For Striking

Denver Classroom Teachers Association president Henry Roman: “This is just a scare tactic to intimidate our immigrant educators.”
NYC new guidelines on hair discrimination
Ayana Byrd  Feb 19, 2019 3:12PM EST

New York City Says Businesses Can't Discriminate Based on Hair

Not only can the city force companies to rehire employers who were let go due to this racial discrimination, but it can also levy penalties up to $250,000.
A street floods as a powerful storm moves across Southern California on February 17, 2017, in Sun Valley, California. After years of severe drought, heavy winter rains came to the state.
Ayana Byrd  Dec 6, 2018 3:54PM EST

ICYMI: Study Says Climate Change Is Serious Threat To Americans' Health

Researchers predict that an estimated 3,000 people will die from high temperatures by 2050, and people of color are more vulnerable than their White counterparts.
Tobacco Farmers Fear That Flu Threat Will Hinder Seasonal Labor Migration
Ayana Byrd  Sep 26, 2018 12:29PM EDT

Migrant Farmers Could Be Hardest Hit By Hurricane Florence

This group of workers—many of whom are of undocumented status—have to choose between asking for help from FEMA and being deported by ICE.
Several incarcerated firefighters in orange jumpsuits look on as a plane passes over a burned down field.
catherine lizette gonzalez  Aug 9, 2018 5:34PM EDT

California Uses Prison Labor to Battle Dangerous Wildfires

Some 2,000 incarcerated firefighters from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are earning just $2 a day to contain the largest wildfire ever recorded in the state’s history.
Black woman at a rally holds a purple sign with yellow text that says America needs union jobs with an illustration of public sector workers
catherine lizette gonzalez  Jun 28, 2018 10:22AM EDT

Alicia Garza On How SCOTUS' Labor Decision Hurts Women of Color

The National Domestic Workers Alliance organizer breaks down the Supreme Court’s ruling to eliminate fair share labor union dues via Janus v. AFSCME and how it will impact communities of color.
Black woman with dredlocks in front of a Starbucks.
Glenn Harris  May 29, 2018 11:30AM EDT

On Starbucks: Looking Beyond Implicit Bias Training to Systemic Solutions [OP-ED]

Race Forward president Glenn Harris on why Starbucks’ mandatory anti-bias training is a good start, but far from a cure for what ails America.
Yellow and white McDonald's sign on red restaurant roof
Ayana Byrd  May 22, 2018 1:11PM EDT

Workers File Sexual Harassment Charges Against McDonald's

The women and teenagers say they were afraid to speak out for fear of being fired.
Sign reads "Employment Services"
Kenrya Rankin  May 17, 2018 4:26PM EDT

STUDY: Black Unemployment Rate is Double White Rate in 14 States, D.C.

A new study from the Economic Policy Institute makes it clear that while unemployment rates may be trending downward, they are still indicative of a wide gulf between the unemployment rates for Black and White workers.
Walmart store sign; white font on beige concrete with a yellow asterik
catherine lizette gonzalez  Mar 27, 2018 3:30PM EDT

Dozens of Hate-Fueled Attacks Against People of Color Reported at Walmart Stores Nationwide

Univision tracks several racist incidents at the country’s largest private sector employer of African-American and Latinx workers.
Protesters in clean rain ponchos. Shirts say, "I believe that we will win."
Kenrya Rankin  Mar 5, 2018 5:17PM EST

Do We Need An Economic Bill of Rights?

The American Prospect says yes: “Today, we must transcend the racial, ethnic and regional divisions by building universal policies that are cognizant of identities and intersectionality, and inclusive of race, gender, nationality, sexuality and ability.”
Crowd of protesters hold red and white signs that read, "It's about freedom" and "Unrig the system."
Rashad Robinson  Mar 2, 2018 3:41PM EST

Unions Helped Build the Black Middle Class. The Wealthy's Political Lackeys Are Out to Gut It. [OP-ED]

As the Supreme Court considers the future of unions in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, Color of Change’s Rashad Robinson examines how racism conspires to keep workers of color from uniting to reach their full potential.
Close up shot of Brown woman with hair wrapped in a scarf outside in a field. A farmworker is bent over behind her.
Bill Berkowitz  Feb 28, 2018 2:29PM EST

Meet Maria Moreno: The First Farm Worker Woman in America To Be Hired As A Union Organizer

A new documentary tells the story of the migrant mother of 12 children who was the first female farm worker in America elected to represent her peers.
Black and white photograph of demonstrators attending a rally and hold signs that say things like "We March for Effective Civil Rights Now."
catherine lizette gonzalez  Feb 2, 2018 2:53AM EST

New Book Breaks Down the History of African American and Latinx People Joining Forces to Fight Racism

In “An African American and Latinx History of the United States,” historian Paul Ortiz illuminates how Black and Brown people built cross-border, multi-ethnic solidarity movements to resist imperialism, achieve civil rights and ultimately shape the course of history.