International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) — Bunk History

Man at the wheel of a ship.

The Safe Harbor

Harry Bridges may no longer be widely known, but his philosophy of inclusive, democratic unionism imbues much of today’s most ambitious organizing campaigns.

by E. Tammy Kim via New York Review of Books on March 30, 2023

Martin Luther King Junior in a picket line wearing a sign that reads "employees on strike for a living wage."

Martin Luther King Jr., Union Man

Most people think of Martin Luther King Jr. as a civil rights leader. What many don’t know is that he also championed labor unionism.

by Peter Cole via The Conversation on January 18, 2019

Communist Party USA members march for unemployed relief during the Great Depression in San Francisco.

Bring American Communists Out of the Shadows — and Closets

In the 20th century, American Communists were seen as an enemy within. In reality, they were ordinary people with complex lives that deserve to be chronicled.

by David Bacon via Jacobin on August 15, 2024

San Francisco Communist Party marching in May Day parade, 1935.

California Communism and Its Afterlives

A new book explores the Communist Party's western base and its alliance with the labor movement.

by Matt Ray, Matthew Wranovics via Los Angeles Review of Books on May 27, 2024

Docking Stations

A conversation with historian Peter Cole about his recent book, Dockworker Power.

by Peter Cole, Arvind Dilawar via The Smart Set on October 7, 2019

Harry Bridges surrounded by a group of men.

Before Mahmoud Khalil, There Was Harry Bridges

The U.S. government repeatedly tried to deport the midcentury labor leader over his alleged ties to the Communist Party.

by Clay Risen via The Bulwark on March 24, 2025

Aerial view of Oakland.

The Future Happens in Oakland First. That’s a Cautionary Tale for Global Cities

International trade boomed with the city’s early adoption of technological and economic changes, but Black neighborhoods became ‘sacrifice zones.’

by Lois Beckett, Alexis C. Madrigal via The Guardian on March 22, 2025

Bishop Desmond Tutu speaks at an International Conference Against Apartheid held in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986.

US Worker Movements and Direct Links Against Apartheid

Today's pro-Palestinian activists are utilizing anti-apartheid tactics from thirty years ago.

by Mattie Christine Webb via Black Perspectives on April 26, 2024

Labor day parade

Just Transition: Learning From the Tactics of Past Labor Movements

It is time to recognize the power that organized labor can wield to fight for environmental, economic and social justice.

by Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Dylan Plummer via The Trouble on October 12, 2023

Map of the United States South from 1857

Imani Perry’s Capacious History of the South

Contrary to popular belief, the South has always been the key to defining the promise and limits of American democracy.

by Robert Greene II via The Nation on September 17, 2022

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