Bangladeshi Workers Organize to Protect Their Most Valuable Export: Themselves
In the evolving global economy, migrants facing virtual indentured servitude abroad—and coming home to debt and social isolation—feels like the new normal.
Economy
West Virginia Cattle Farmers Build the Local Food Economy They Need to Thrive
The farmers working to build West Virginia’s local meat economy know that their fate relies on the success of the entire local meat ecosystem.
Why a Tiny Decrease in Unemployment Means a Big Pay Raise for the Poor
A sustained one-percentage-point decline in the unemployment rate is associated with a 9.4 percent rise in the wages of workers in the bottom quintile of the wage distribution.
Workers in Maine Buy Out Their Jobs, Set an Example for the Nation
For the new worker-owners of the Island Employee Cooperative, the transformation into a co-op will create profound changes in their lives.
Nurses’ Unions Send Thousands to Climate March, Call Global Warming a “Health Care Emergency”
The nurses’ unions focus on health gives them a unique perspective on climate change among organized labor.
Stanford’s Coal Divestment: Meet 2 Students—And 1 President—Who Made It Happen
The movement to persuade schools to divest from fossil fuels has taken off around the country. Meet a few people who helped get Stanford’s money out of coal.
Occupy Offshoot Cancels $4 Million in Predatory Student Loans—and Starts a Debtors Union
First, they started buying up—and canceling—individuals’ medical debt. Now the people behind Rolling Jubilee are taking on student loans from a for-profit university that exploits the poor—and the whole debt system could be next.
NY Unions Will Bring Fresh Ideas about Jobs, Energy to Historic Climate March
Key national unions are stepping up to support the People's Climate March on September 21. But some green radicals say unions need to create their own climate protection strategy that democratizes the energy sector.
Kentucky Town Beats High Gas Prices—By Opening a Public Gas Station
Gas stations aren’t great for the climate, but the move is a step toward local control over economic decisions—a model that holds great potential for developing renewable energy in the long term.
Migrant Farmworkers Find Paths Out of Poverty Through Incubator Farms
Incubator farms help seasonal workers start their own businesses, where they get better pay and the support of a community.
A Wealthy Capitalist on Why Money Doesn’t Trickle Down
Nick Hanauer, venture capitalist and self-described “plutocrat,” says a healthy economy and an effective democracy depend on a thriving middle class of workers.
Video: Inside a Miami McDonald’s on Strike
More than 400 workers and supporters were arrested on Thursday amid a nationwide wave of walkouts and demonstrations.
The Enchanted Land Where Community College Is Free? Welcome to Tennessee in 2015
A new bill provides two years of tuition at a community college for participating high school grads who might otherwise face a 7.5 percent unemployment rate—and other states are already following suit.
Let’s End Poverty: We Have the Money, Do We Have the Will?
47 million Americans live beneath the official poverty line, under a daily judgment of failure. The question today is: Whose failure?
How Seattle Led the Country’s Wage Revolution
Seattle's path to a $15 minimum wage is a winding tale of effective organizing, smart messaging, and blind dumb luck. It is also a roadmap for bypassing partisan gridlock—one city at a time.
The Faces Behind the Fight for $15 an Hour
For low-wage workers, Seattle's minimum wage increase means a chance to go to college, pay the rent, and visit the dentist.
If Unions Are Breaking Automakers, Why Are BMW and Mercedes So Rich?
In Germany, auto workers get paid well and their companies still profit. Author Thom Hartmann on why living wages and corporate success don't have to be mutually exclusive.
America Keeps People Poor On Purpose: A Timeline of Choices We’ve Made to Increase Inequality
How four decades of lobbying and legislation gave corporations dominion over our economy—and eroded the American middle class.
Poverty is Not Inevitable: What We Can Do Now to Turn Things Around
Having poor people in the richest country in the world is a choice. We have the money to solve this. But do we have the will?
How America’s Largest Worker Owned Co-Op Lifts People Out of Poverty
Cooperative Home Care Associates' 2,300 workers enjoy good wages, regular hours, and family health insurance. With an investment of $1.2 million into the cooperative sector, New York City is hoping to build on the group's success.
Why Germany Is Backing Away From a Trade Deal that Lets Corporations Sue the Government
A new round of international trade agreements threatens to increase corporate power over national governments. But news out of Germany suggests the deals aren't inevitable.
Why Target Stopped Asking Job Applicants If They’ve Been Convicted of a Crime
More than 60 counties, cities, and states—and some corporations—are reducing discrimination against former offenders by removing one small box from job applications.
Breaking the Grip of the Fossil Fuel Economy: If It Can Happen in Appalachia, It Can Happen Anywhere
Coal production is gradually leaving Appalachia—having already extracted much of the region's natural wealth. Local people are figuring out how to build a new economy based on shared vision and community knowledge. If transition can happen here, it can change the debate everywhere.
These Young People Are Pioneering Appalachia’s Post-Coal Economy
The Appalachian Transition Fellows are young people who will spend this year building diverse job opportunities in the coal-country counties that need them most.
Welcome to the Spanish Town Where People Come Before Profit
The town of Marinaleda, often called Spain's "communist utopia," is proof that an economy built on mutual aid is possible.
Inspiration in Your Inbox
Sign up to receive email updates from YES!
Our Vision to Create the Best Stories Imaginable
In 2025, we will temporarily pause the printing of YES! Magazine.
LEARN MOREHelp Fund Powerful Stories to Light the Way Forward
Donate to YES! today.