Texas Can’t Keep Up with Surge in Workers’ Wage Theft Complaints
State labor investigators struggle to process more and more paycheck complaints, with millions of dollars in workers’ pay at stake.
labor
Are Silicon Valley Giants Responsible for a Mysterious New Texas Labor Rule?
The state’s workforce commission quietly advanced a rule that exempts a new class of workers from unemployment insurance coverage.
In East Texas, Chicken Plants are Polluting Rivers and Lakes with Oxygen-Sucking Contaminants
A report released by the Environmental Integrity Project identified Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson as major dischargers of wastewater containing high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Dolores Huerta is Still Knocking on Doors and Registering Voters at 88
The iconic labor activist talks about the Latino vote, Howard Zinn and the ‘year of the woman.’
Heartland is an Honest, Poetic Meditation on Class in America
Journalist Sarah Smarsh’s book encapsulates what it’s like to grow up in the forgotten farm fields of America, artfully mixing anecdote with political context and societal commentary.
‘Landmark’ Wage Theft Conviction Overturned by Texas Appeals Court
The first conviction obtained under a 2011 state wage theft law has vanished. An El Paso construction worker won’t see a dime of what he’s owed.
Climate Change is Making Texas Summers Worse. Here’s Who That Hurts the Most.
Outdoor workers and the most vulnerable Texans — the poor, disabled and elderly — are feeling the brunt of this summer’s punishing heat.
A New Documentary on Texas Labor History Offers a Much-Needed Infusion of Hope
“A Strike and an Uprising” chronicles two big wins for labor activists facing long odds.
In 2017, Texas Union Membership Rose at the Highest Rate in Over Three Decades
“There’s more of a culture of organizing than ever before, and I’ve been in this job about 24 years," said one union staffer.
Wage Wars
Activists have won citywide wage theft laws in El Paso and Houston. But local and state bureaucracies have ensured that the problem persists.