For those who are concerned about the Supreme Court, the New York Times Monday morning newsletter has a very helpful summary of Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings so far. In short, we could be looking at a Lochner era redux, in which not only contemporary issues like Medicare and climate change are threatened, but also longer-standing labor and trade laws that stand in the way of an even greater transference of wealth to the super-rich.
Are these hearings making you dream of a Democrat-controlled Senate? Here’s an opportunity to make that happen, hat tip to POME pal Jen Vaughn:
With a corporation-friendly court looming, we’ve had labor on the mind even more than usual, and are still chewing over this excellent collection of short interviews, “A Bunch of Union Organizers Explain What’s Wrong With Unions.” Complementing and adding to the discussion, longtime POME fave Anne Helen Petersen reflects on her most recent research findings in a newsletter entitled, “why office workers didn’t unionize.”
How would your office culture shift if you actually thought of yourself in solidarity with your coworkers — and together, advocating for greater resources — instead of competition with them for the few resources allocated to you? How would your conception of yourself shift if you felt empowered not by your hopes for eventual advancement, but by identification with others? How can a union liberate you to allocate less of your mental energy to constantly worrying about the small particulars and indignities of your job? How can solidarity rescue you from a narrow, craven understanding of who deserves protection and care in the world?
In rosier labor news, the New Yorker union has made a big contract win, forcing the magazine to employ just case (as opposed to at-will) termination practices.
With only two weeks til Halloween, the New York Times book review got cozy with Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman’s prequel to the classic Practical Witchcraft.
Because we are never not obsessed with BioWare, we are extremely looked forward to the release of BioWare: Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development from Dark Horse, on November 11.
Can’t get enough of post-BA thriving Sohla? This profile of the extremely popular and inimitable chef is for you.
And now, at last, an election we can really get excited about: