What workers across the country are asking for isn’t complicated. It’s consistent. It’s human. It’s urgent.
I keep hearing the same three things, over and over again:
Money. Power. Respect.
Unions are how we win all three.
aprilverrett.substack.com/p/the-fight-...
Trump's SOTU: Phony economic populism sandwiched between happy-talk, hucksterism & hate-mongering. #SOTU
Canadians should listen to the State of the Union address for President Trump's tendency to treat longstanding friends as treacherous "frenemies." So should people in other countries PM Carney calls "middle powers."
ca.news.yahoo.com/david-kusnet...
Rev. Jackson will lie state at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia on Monday, March 2. Minnesota's flags will fly at half-staff. The home states of Hubert Humphrey & Strom Thurmond -- but not the U.S. Capitol -- will honor this champion of civil rights & economic justice.
Could former NYC Mayor and political free agent Eric Adams be the next US Ambassador to Israel? Remembering former Mayors Wagner & O'Dwyer became ambassadors, & Rudy Giuliani wanted to be Secretary of State.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/w...
"Black immigrants, estimated at 4,685,000 people in 2024, are a highly diverse population" now they are divided with "equal shares for those born in Latin America and the Caribbean and those born in Africa." www.migrationpolicy.org/research/bla...
The house plants we buy should never be grown with labor abuse and exploitation. 🌱 Please sign this pledge to show your support for human rights in the houseplant industry: actionnetwork.org/forms/housep...
Even princes are not above the law.
Rep. Thomas Massie & I forced the release of an email showing former prince Andrew allegedly shared state information with Epstein.
On Feb 9th, I called on King Charles to investigate & answer questions.
www.nbcnews.com/world/united...
Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition wasn’t just a campaign—it was a blueprint for beating the authoritarian Right: multiracial, working-class unity, organized locally + nationally, built to outlast one election.
Jackson's 1988 campaign also pointed the way to a multiracial populism that unites working people from every background for economic justice. 38 years ago but still, sadly, ahead of our times.
Continuing MLK's Poor People's Campaign & support for Memphis strike, Jackson built support for organizing low-wage workers, raising the minimum wage nationally & locally, & increasing Earned Income Tax Credit. Part of his great legacy.
At 1988 Democratic National Convention, Jesse Jackson tried to transform how America sees & treats poor people: "Most poor people are not on welfare...They work hard everyday...They catch the early bus. They work every day. They raise other people's children." #JesseJackson
Says enterprise that laid off 1/3 of its staff.
On Presidents' Day: From Lincoln onward, presidents' best speeches have been concise -- one or two-syllable words, short sentences. But there's a difference between being plainspoken (Speaking American) and crude (talking trash). #PresidentsDay
The history of the Garland Fund shows the potential role philanthropy can play in moments of rising authoritarianism—and the tensions inherent in that role.
dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
It's time to curtail the president's pardon power, @davidoatkins.bsky.social argues.
washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/05/i...
After making history as the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to join the UAW, the 3,200 workers at VW Chattanooga have won a tentative agreement that provides 20 percent across-the-board wage increases, affordable health care, real job security, and more.
🔗 uaw.org/uaw-reaches-...
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." -- A. J. Liebling
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/f...
Nathaniel Pearlman's Great Battlefield Podcast features in-depth interviews with progressive political activists. I had a great time discussing speechwriting, economic populism, and the labor movement.
greatbattlefield.com/episode/auth...
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...
Spending power varies across income groups, but every consumer has a degree of agency over when and where to spend. This week, I dug into the evidence behind economic boycotts in this week's Substack: hboushey.substack.com/p/boycott-ec...
The FBI raid on the Fulton County, Georgia elections office is about more than Trump’s 2020 election obsession. It’s a dangerous portent of how he may interfere with the 2026 election. It’s another example of his regime change ambitions I wrote about this weekend.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/25/o...
I’ve found myself coming back to this again and again over the past few days. The moment around 0:35—when the crowd falls into rhythm with the band, chanting “The people united will never be defeated”—is genuinely beautiful. They are at the site where Alex Pretti was murdered.
Solidarity, friends.
I’m a critic of Trump’s tariff policies, but let’s be clear: not all tariffs are bad. At $1/lb, the aluminum in your 6-pack costs $0.18—not a factor in consumer decisions. The tradeoff: shuttered US aluminum smelters can achieve financial viability in the face of subsidized foreign producers…. 1/3
Can you imagine what would happen if Chinese authorities tried to enter the US embassy in Beijing or one of the several consulates?
Remember when the US consulate in Chengdu gave sanctuary to a Chinese fugitive (a corrupt police chief) in 2012?
The Black Jobs Deficit Cost Black America $87 Billion in 2025. In 2025, Black America needed about 1.8 million more people working to have the same employment rates (employment-to-population ratios) as White America. Details here: cepr.net/publications...
Unmarried women are the majority of women in our country — and one of the most reliable Democratic voting blocs. So why do campaigns keep overlooking them? In my latest Substack, I dig into the data: open.substack.com/pub/pagegard...
⏰ TOMORROW NIGHT!
Join long-time member of the labor movement, EPI Senior State Policy Strategist, and author @dskamper.bsky.social for a virtual conversation about his latest book Who's Got The Power? The Resurgence of the American Union. ✊
Wednesday, January 28
5:30-6:30p
FREE
Register now!
