Economy & Workers' Rights

417 posts

Food delivery drivers find hope and relief in New York’s Deliveristas Unidos

Last month, a fire destroyed the home of six food delivery drivers in the community of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in New York. Within two days, hundreds of people had already donated over $20,000 to their online fundraiser so they could replace their belongings, including the bikes they use for work,

•
5 Min
By: María Inés Taracena

Raising the minimum wage isn’t just about money—it’s about mental health, workers say

Precious Cole moved to Durham, North Carolina, after breaking down in a phone call to her mother. She was struggling mentally, emotionally, and financially and to Cole, these three things were inextricably linked. Cole was working a fast food job and was homeless, only eating the days she went to

•
5 Min
By: Tina Vásquez

Farmworker advocate tackles food insecurity in Central California’s Oaxacan community

In the early 2000s while writing her book, The Farmworkers’ Journey, which explores the farmworkers’ binational circuit that stretches from the west central Mexico countryside to central California, Dr. Ann López said she remembers having an epiphany at her computer. “Surely if the American public knew how farmworkers were treated,

•
5 Min
By: Tina Vásquez

Nebraska activists want undocumented essential workers prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination

Dulce Castañeda wasn’t surprised by Nebraska Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts’ remarks earlier this month, threatening that undocumented essential workers wouldn’t be a priority in distribution of the much-anticipated COVID-19 vaccine. She was still outraged, however. For Castañeda, this is personal. Her father has been a meatpacking

•
5 Min
By: María Inés Taracena

Fast food workers to strike on MLK’s Birthday, demand 5 minimum wage

Rita Blalock has worked at a North Carolina McDonald’s for 10 years, taking the bus to and from work each day. During the COVID-19 crisis, the 54-year-old has continued cranking out food while suffering from cataracts, risking her health and her life for $10 an hour.

•
4 Min
By: Tina Vásquez

For Black women in broadcasting, discrimination comes in many forms

After years of what Emelia Cowans-Taylor describes as “racial microaggressions” by management at Raleigh-based WRAL-TV, the 13-year lottery host was fired in August after testing positive for COVID-19. Cowans-Taylor, a communications strategist who has worked as a TV host, producer, and radio personality, believes

•
5 Min
By: Antionette Kerr

COVID-19 unemployment hit Latina immigrants the hardest

To say the COVID-19 crisis has decimated the United States would be an understatement. Since March, tens of millions of people have lost their jobs and are now facing food insecurity and eviction. However, there is one group for whom pandemic unemployment has been particularly brutal and unrelenting: Latina

•
4 Min
By: Tina Vásquez

I’m teaching second grade via Google Hangouts during the pandemic. Here’s what it’s been like

This narrative in the Unheard Voices of the Pandemic series from Voice of Witness is published with permission, as part of a partnership with Prism. Interview and editing by Ela Banerjee. Oscar Ramos teaches second grade in Salinas, which is the capital of the Salinas Valley and known as the

•
6 Min
By: Oscar Ramos

Freelance journalists are hanging on by a thread. Could organizing help?

The specifics of freelance journalism are largely a mystery to the news-consuming public, which means many Americans are completely unaware of the conditions facing the reporters who keep them informed. In the midst of a pandemic, these journalists are hanging on by a thread.   Being a freelancer doesn’t

•
9 Min
By: Tina Vásquez

Lyft drivers issue a warning in the wake of California’s Prop. 22

Driving for Lyft has been Cherri Murphy’s primary source of income for nearly three years. At first, she said it seemed like a good and flexible job option while she put herself through graduate school to get her master’s degree in theology. “Over the years, I realized that

•
5 Min
By: María Inés Taracena

Improving work culture doesn’t always require a big budget

Consultants who offer diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training have had their phones ringing off the hook since the gigantic wave of racial justice protests took off in the spring. Since then, companies of all sizes have pledged to do more to address social injustice in the workplace. But now,

•
7 Min
By: Carolyn Copeland

Meet the woman behind North Carolina’s immigrant-owned mask sewing business

For almost two decades, Leticia Mercado has been a textile worker, zooming along on a sewing machine, her hands a blur. In fact, when she spoke to Prism over Zoom on Tuesday, she was sitting at a sewing station in her garage, which has been converted into a workspace. This

•
4 Min
By: Tina Vásquez

Showing 12 of 417 total posts

Sign up for Prism newsletters.

Stay up to date with curated collection of our top stories.

Please check your inbox and confirm. Something went wrong. Please try again.