labor

Urban Outfitters' Fall Strategy: Asking Employees To Work For Free

Jordan Sargent · 10/07/15 01:45PM

Cool weather is coming, and with that means a rush of new customers for retailers such as Urban Outfitters, which in an email yesterday explained to salaried employees its strategy for keeping up with the fall rush: Please, won’t you work for free on the weekends?

Hamilton Nolan · 10/06/15 10:45AM

Al-Jazeera America staffers have formally voted to unionize, after the company refused to voluntarily recognize their union request. Now the company is challenging the right of some employees to be in the union. Liberal media at work!

Hamilton Nolan · 09/29/15 09:23AM

Al-Jazeera America is holding a union election today, giving it the dubious distinction of being the first company in the new wave of media organizing not to voluntarily recognize its employees’ request for a union. Womp womp.

Your Boss and Your Money and Who's Your Friend

Hamilton Nolan · 09/11/15 10:35AM

You may love your job. You may love your boss. But if your boss has a problem with you getting the money you deserve, then the friendly boss is not your friend.

Jonah Peretti Is Not Your Friend

Hamilton Nolan · 08/17/15 08:59AM

Over the past few months, a wave of unionization has swept across new media. On Friday, the media union movement got its first official enemy. Now writers get to find out who is a friend, and who is just a friendly-looking man with his hand in your pocket.

Report: Upworthy's Lefty Owners Scared Employees Out of Unionization

Sam Biddle · 08/10/15 02:30PM

Upworthy bet millions of venture capital dollars that progressive values are the ultimate viral content. But after being forsaken by Facebook and facing layoffs, we’re told the site’s left-wing leadership has successfully fought off a staff unionization drive.

How Progressive Are The Media Liberals? 

Hamilton Nolan · 07/31/15 12:58PM

There are many media organizations that espouse progressive values—in their editorial product, and in their stated corporate beliefs. Now, employees are asking for unions. How progressive are these good liberal businesses, really?

New Japanese Hotel Is Staffed With Adorable Job-Stealing Robots

Andy Cush · 07/17/15 10:32AM

Henn na Hotel, in Sasebo, Nagasaki, is staffed almost entirely by robots. A grinning velociraptor in a bellhop hat takes your check-in information; an automated cart takes your luggage to your room. The robots aren’t a gimmick, the hotel’s owner told the Associated Press, but an earnest bid to save money. Unlike pesky humans, the bots don’t require payment for their services.