Inside Higher Ed
16 June 2020
Text / 800-1500 Words
United States
Graduate students at several major universities organized to secure benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, the University of Illinois Graduate Employees Organization fought for and won the expansion of mental health services and summer health care coverage, as well as free summer housing for international graduate students who cannot return home due to travel restrictions. After graduate students at the University of Texas Austin demonstrated and 1,400 signed a petition, the dean granted expanded funding opportunities and a commitment to finding a healthcare plan that ensures no coverage gap.
http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2015/exporting-clothes-importing-safety
Amy Yee
Roads & Kingdoms
28 August 2015
Text / Under 800 Words
Bangladesh, whose garment industry is second only to China’s in size, is responding to both international and domestic pressure and undergoing the most radical revamping of worker safety it has ever seen, in large part due to consumer and client pressure.
http://www.thenation.com/article/two-years-after-rana-plaza-are-bangladeshs-workers-still-risk
Amy Yee
The Nation
22 May 2015
Text / 1500-3000 Words
After a major fire, labor standards in Bangladesh are improving, but workers must have a voice if these changes are to be sustainable.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/07/the-questions-we-share
David Bornstein
The New York Times
7 August 2014
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Is there a way to frame conversations so that people actually listen to one another? Ask Big Questions fosters large group questions and discussions about social problems on university campuses to inspire young people.
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/in-los-angeles-unions-show-signs-of-life
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
6 November 2014
Text / 1500-3000 Words
The minimum wage issue has been debated endlessly, with arguments both for and against its effectiveness. An increase, tested in some states and enacted in others, immeasurably betters the quality of life for low-income families.
http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/from-our-prison-to-your-dinner-table
Graeme Wood
Pacific Standard
3 March 2015
Text / 1500-3000 Words
In prison, most inmates are alienated from social practices and can be a tax burden for the states. The Colorado Correctional Industries is a program that positions inmates in different forms of labor such as making stuffed toys, farming fish, picking fruit, tending livestock, and creating crafts to be sold at grocery stores. The program makes inmates into taxpayers instead of tax burdens and offers skills that are useful for future employment once they leave prison.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/health-care-for-a-changing-work-force
David Bornstein
The New York Times
1 December 2011
Text / 1500-3000 Words
America’s system of health care is based on an old industrial-era model, without taking into account a decentralized, mobile, independent workforce that remains largely unprotected without health and unemployment insurance. The Freelancers Insurance Company, based in New York State, offers competitive premiums by having their executives receive salaries at low wages. The model keeps costs under control, which in turn makes health care more accessible to independent workers.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-16/most-bangladeshi-garment-workers-are-women-their-union-leaders-werent-until-now
Bruce Wallace
Public Radio International (PRI)
16 September 2015
Radio / 5-15 Minutes
After years of banning labor unions in Bangladesh, garment workers unionized to fight for higher wages and safer working conditions. For women, this isn't traditionally a space they were welcomed in, but now they’re holding their own meetings to ensure women’s safety is ensured on the job.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-06-08/once-forced-study-secret-indian-professor-inspires-generation-female-students
Sonia Narang
Public Radio International (PRI)
8 June 2015
Radio / 5-15 Minutes
Rama Arora defied tradition and secretly pursued her PhD as a young woman in India, succeeding at becoming the first female professor at a women's college. Now she is inspiring more Indian girls to further their educatione, so they can help bring about greater equality in society.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/out-of-indias-trash-heaps-more-than-a-shred-of-dignity
Sarika Bansal
The New York Times
12 June 2013
Text / 800-1500 Words
Throughout India, wastepickers – people who scour landfills for garbage they can sell to recyclers – live at the bottom of society. But the city of Pune did something radical: with the help of a collective, they did away with expensive garbage trucks, and now all household garbage is collected by wastepickers with pushcarts. Pune saves millions of dollars each year and recycles more – and the wastepickers have decent wages and social standing. The concept is now spreading globally.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/safety-nets-for-freelancers
David Bornstein
The New York Times
6 December 2011
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Many independent workers feel that the battle for affordable health insurance is one they are losing. The Freelancers Union is working to provide protections for “contingent” workers that go beyond just health care.
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