Worker’s Almanac

Inside: News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. Workers at a Des Moines plant have been locked out of work by their employer.   But what is a lockout—and how can you support workers right now?   Watch the latest edition of Clocked In on: YouTube Facebook TikTok  …

Inside: News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. An Iowa TikTok creator thought she was calling attention to a specific problem in Des Moines.   She had no idea the problems at this coffee chain were so widespread—until hundreds of messages began pouring in.   “The number of people I’ve…

Inside: News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. If you’re from the Des Moines area, you probably know the name Evelyn K. Davis. There’s a park named after her, a community center, and more.   But who was Evelyn K. Davis, and why does her legacy still matter for working…

Inside: News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. Have you heard about the Iowa town that became a utopia for Black workers over a hundred years ago? (It’s one of my favorite Black History Month stories.) Watch the latest edition of Clocked In on: YouTube Instagram Facebook TikTok Buxton,…

Inside: News about and for the working class Share with a friend We knew this Southeast Iowa factory was closing. Now we know when layoffs are happening—and how many workers will be affected.   (Watch this story on YouTube.)   This week, Case New Holland filed notice that 209 workers will be laid off in…

Inside: News about and for the working class Share with a friend Another year, another chance for Iowa Republicans to decide whether they’ll choose to help their corporate donors or Iowa workers.   (Want to watch this story instead? Click here.)   The Iowa Legislature is officially back in session, and—despite recent Democratic gains—Republicans still…

Inside: News about and for the working class Share with a friend It’s the big, sudden layoffs or closings that really get our attention—when hundreds are let go at John Deere plants across the state, or Tyson closes in Perry.   Companies don’t generally want the bad press that goes along with that. So some…

News about and for the working class Share with a friend The high temperature was just 18 degrees and breezy in Iowa City on Dec. 19.   But Abigail Scheppmann and a coworker were standing outside the closed Starbucks store for hours anyway, waving their STRIKE signs at passersby and walking around to keep warm.…

News about and for the working class Share with a friend “Allegiant needs to invest in their people and their pilots.”   So says Tyler Heavey, a captain with Allegiant Airlines for the last six years.   He told me he loves his job. But he doesn’t love the way the company has treated him…

News about and for the working class Share with a friend “The pressure keeps rising.”   That’s what Jacob Scroggins told me recently. (If you don’t remember him from my earlier article on it, he’s a shift supervisor at the Merle Hay Road Starbucks in Des Moines who helped organize workers to form the fourth…