by Brad Reed | Jan 12, 2026 | Article, Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Politics and Movements: US, Reprint, Unions
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Jan. 12, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
Thousands of nurses are hitting the picket lines in what will be the largest nurses strike in the history of New York City.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) on Monday announced that nearly 15,000 nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian are going on strike after “greedy hospital management at these wealthy private hospitals have given frontline nurses no other choice.”
The NYSNA posted a long list of sticking points on contract negotiations, including “safe staffing for our patients, protections from workplace violence, and healthcare for frontline nurses.”
NYSNA president Nancy Hagans said that any patients in need of care at these hospitals should enter them, emphasizing that “going into the hospital to get the care you need is not crossing our strike line.” She also encouraged patients to join the picket line with the nurses after receiving care.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke out in solidarity with the striking nurses, while also emphasizing the importance of “ensuring New Yorkers have the care they need… especially during flu season.”
“No New Yorker should have to fear losing access to healthcare,” Mamdani wrote in a social media post. “And no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits, or less dignity for doing lifesaving work. Our nurses have kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also expressed support for the striking nurses, while denouncing “NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore, and Mount Sinai hospitals for being willing to spend millions on replacement nurses rather than bargain for a fair contract.”
The NYSNA also got a boost from
by Michael Fox | Dec 31, 2025 | Economy and Inequality, mexico, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Stories of Resistance
On January 1, 1994, Indigenous peoples from Chiapas, Mexico, rose up. They took control of city halls in towns across the state. They took the state capital San Cristobal de las Casas. And they held them for days, despite a violent response from Mexico’s military.
This was not just any movement confined to the mountainous jungles of Mexico. It was an Indigenous uprising against injustice. An uprising against neoliberalism. An uprising against globalization and free trade agreements, and it would have deep reverberations. Inspiring people, not just in Mexico, but around the world.
BIG NEWS! This podcast has won Gold in this year’s Signal Awards for best history podcast! It’s a huge honor. Thank you so much to everyone who voted and supported. Sign up for the Stories of Resistance podcast feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, or wherever you listen. And please take a moment to rate and review the podcast. A little help goes a long way.The Real News’s legendary host Marc Steiner has also won a Gold Signal Award for best episode host. You can listen and subscribe to the Marc Steiner Show here on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.Please consider supporting this podcast and Michael Fox’s reporting on his Patreon account: patreon.com/mfox. There you can also see exclusive pictures, videos, and interviews.
Written and produced by Michael Fox.Resources:
First Declaration of the Lacandona Jungle
Zapatista: a Big Noise Film
Mexico: Ezln Leader Subcomandante Marcos Interview
Chiapas and the Zapatistas – Mexico’s Brutal Land Dispute
Documental: El Fuego y la Palabra (EZLN, México)
Transcript
MICHAEL FOX [NARRATOR]: On January 1st, 1994, something remarkable happened in Chiapas, Mexico. Indigenous peoples from Mexico’s mountainous, southeastern-most state rose up. They took control of city halls in towns across the state. The took
by Maximillian Alvarez | Dec 29, 2025 | east palestine, Economy and Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, railroad, sacrifice zones, video
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern ‘bomb train’ carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio. Three days later, Norfolk Southern pressured local authorities to dump and burn five tanker cars full of vinyl chloride, blasting a toxic mushroom cloud into the air and exposing residents to toxins that have poisoned their bodies and homes. In the weeks, months, and years following the East Palestine derailment and chemical disaster, the Environmental Protection Agency assured residents that the air, soil, and water in their community was safe. But when independent testing expert and Blue Shirt Justice League founder Scott Smith began testing for toxins in and around East Palestine, his findings revealed a horrifying truth that, according to Smith, Norfolk Southern and the EPA have tried to cover up.
Additional links/info:
Scott Smith Facebook page
Blue Shirt Justice League website and Facebook page
Government Accountability Project, “Initial FOIA Findings Suggest EPA Efforts to Surveil and Discredit Environmental Whistleblower”
Kelly Kennedy, WHSV 3, “Independent testing finds dangerous chemicals at East Palestine family’s farm”
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “Residents in this small town ‘left for dead’ after industrial disaster”
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “An industrial disaster wrecked my home. Now I’m living out of a hotel”
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “A billion-dollar company poisoned my home and destroyed my town”
Maximillian Alvarez, Steve Mellon, & Mike Balonek, The Real News Network, “Trainwreck in ‘Trump Country’: Partisan politics hasn’t helped East Palestine, OH (DOCUMENTARY)”
CreditsProduction: Maximillian AlvarezPost-Production: Maximillian Alvarez, David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Ashley McCollum:
Oh God. What caused it?
East Palestine Resident:
Train derailed.
Ashley
by Maximillian Alvarez | Dec 19, 2025 | documentary, east palestine, Economy and Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, railroad, sacrifice zones, video
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern ‘bomb train’ carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio. Three days later, Norfolk Southern pressured local authorities to dump and burn five tanker cars full of chemicals, blasting a mushroom cloud of toxic phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Nearly three years later, residents like Jami Wallace and her family are still suffering the toxic fallout.
Additional links/info:
Jami Wallace Facebook page
Jami’s fundraiser for Chemically Impacted Communities Coalition (CICC)
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “An industrial disaster wrecked my home. Now I’m living out of a hotel”
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “A billion-dollar company poisoned my home and destroyed my town”
Maximillian Alvarez, Steve Mellon, & Mike Balonek, The Real News Network, “Trainwreck in ‘Trump Country’: Partisan politics hasn’t helped East Palestine, OH (DOCUMENTARY)”
Credits:
Production: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: Maximillian Alvarez, David Hebden
Additional photos courtesy of Jami Wallace
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.Jami Wallace:
It’s not fair. We’re people, our lives matter. My daughter’s life matters, and that’s what everybody is telling me is that you guys are just accosted doing business. We can kill a whole community and who cares? It didn’t hit the bottom line, so we’ll do it again.
[TEXT ON-SCREEN]:
On Feb. 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern ‘bomb train’ carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio. Three days later, Norfolk Southern pressured local authorities to dump and burn five tanker cars full of chemicals, blasting a mushroom cloud of toxic phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Nearly 3 years
by Maximillian Alvarez | Dec 18, 2025 | Economy, Economy and Inequality, labor, Podcast, Politics and Movements: US, Unions, Working People
On Monday, Nov. 24, after more than 1,100 days on strike, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members were cheered on by supporters at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh before returning to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Even though strikers have returned to work, however, many issues at the center of the strike are still in legal limbo—and their fight for a fair contract is not over. In this episode of Working People, we speak with three Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members—Bob Batz. Jr, Natalie Duleba, and Steve Mellon—about where things stand now, how their lives have changed since returning to work, and what it takes to hold the picket line for over three years.
Additional links/info:
Pittsburgh Union Progress website
Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh website, Facebook page, and Instagram
Bob Batz Jr. & Steve Mellon, Pittsburgh Union Progress, “Pittsburgh journalists vote to end country’s longest strike and notify the PG they are returning to work”
Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, “Post-Gazette strikers send company return to work offer”
Sara Scire, Nieman Lab, “What newsroom organizers learned from the years-long strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette”
Featured Music:
Jules Taylor, Working People Theme Song
Credits:
Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Maximillian Alvarez:
Alright. Welcome everyone to Working People, a podcast about the lives, jobs, dreams, and struggles of the working class today. Working People is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network and is brought to you in partnership within these Times Magazine and the Real News Network. This show is produced by Jules Taylor and made possible by the support of listeners like you. My name is Maximillian Alvarez, and as we reach the
by Maximillian Alvarez | Dec 18, 2025 | east palestine, Economy, Economy and Inequality, Politics and Movements: US, video
Life for Zsuzsa Gyenes has become a never-ending nightmare after a Norfolk Southern “bomb train” carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in her hometown of East Palestine, OH, on Feb. 3, 2023. “When the derailment happened, my son and I [got] very sick,” Gyenes says, “we were forced to leave our home very shortly afterwards, and we had been displaced continuously for over a year and a half.” When Norfolk Southern eventually helped Gynes locate and pay for a new home, she hoped it was a chance for a fresh start—but her troubles were only just beginning.
Additional links/info:
Zsuzsa Gyenes Facebook page and fundraiser page
Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, “A billion-dollar company poisoned my home and destroyed my town”
Maximillian Alvarez, Steve Mellon, & Mike Balonek, The Real News Network, “Trainwreck in ‘Trump Country’: Partisan politics hasn’t helped East Palestine, OH (DOCUMENTARY)”
Credits:
Production: Maximillian Alvarez
Post-Production: Maximillian Alvarez, David Hebden
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Zsuzsa Gyenes:
When the derailment happened, my son and I were very sick the night that it had happened, and we were forced to leave our home very shortly afterwards, and we had been displaced continuously for over a year and a half. We still don’t have any help. We know that people are still sick. We’ve known people are sick. There’s still people in town wanting to get out.
Maximillian Alvarez:
So I’m back here in East Palestine, Ohio where the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster happened in early February, 2023. The media since then has moved on. Politicians have moved on, and just recently, Norfolk Southern itself said that
