California’s farmworkers didn’t unionize in the Great Depression. Why? Many authors claim it’s because Dust Bowl migrants refused to join unions. But in LABOR: Studies in Working-Class History I argue structural forces prevented Dust Bowlers from unionizing: read.dukeupress.edu/labor/article-…

For the record, before the 1830s or so--that is, during the US founding era--all of New York City's food markets were publicly owned. eh.net/book_reviews/f…

Bubbles bursting have been historic legacies of uncontrollable capitalist speculation or boasting. The two big bubbles on the horizon are likely to be cryptocurrency and inflated AI overinvestments. -R

Whether by train, plane or dog sled, the US Postal Service has kept America connected usatoday.com/story/news/nat…

“They shall not starve” #OnThisDay 1984. A convoy carrying 130 tons of food left London and headed north to mining communities in Yorkshire and the Midlands.

America’s system of governance is hanging on by a thread: we’ll get tit for tat de facto cheating to rig elections and banana republic overt cheating is next.

Amazon is building a shadow postal service in rural America: Amazon and Walmart are racing to reach Americans at the end of the line dlvr.it/TMJpFS

Postal money orders were integral to the expanding mail-order business that transformed the consumption practices of households throughout the nation at the turn of the [20th] century— Christopher W. Shaw #postoffice

In rural WV Mingo County, where Trump won 74% of the vote, we had a great turnout. The working class here knows that it’s absurd to slash Medicaid & SNAP to give tax breaks to billionaires. Trump didn’t win West Virginia, Dems lost it. Working people want a real alternative.

Pres. Dimondstein penned a moving op/ed about the importance of the public Postal Service as we celebrate 250 years of service. Read and SHARE! newsweek.com/mail-workers-u… The USPS is more than mail—it's a symbol of public good, a landmark of equality, and a trusted public

2/14 While the primacy of the dollar is certainly good for bankers, financiers, and very wealthy owners of movable capital, what's much less obvious is the extent to which it benefits or harms American workers, manufacturers and middle class households.

On today’s edition of #Labor131, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield National Labor Office, Christopher Shaw, author and historian, joined the AWF Union Podcast to discuss the historical connection between labor and banking policy. awf.labortools.com/listen/labor-1…

In New York Times Opinion “To find a way forward, Democrats might want to look back to when they first lost the working class and the New Deal coalition fractured,” David Paul Kuhn writes. nyti.ms/4po1F2c

NEW: What happens when you put Bernie Sanders in the second reddest state in the country? For nearly 80 years straight, working-class West Virginia was a Democratic stronghold — until it took a hard turn to Trump. We were on the ground with Bernie Sanders to investigate why.

Christopher Shaw explores labor's role in shaping financial regulations, the decline in workers' engagement, and the potential for renewed activism. Check it out! #Labor131

Pope Leo XIV condemns usury as a grave sin that enslaves the poor and corrupts the human heart, and praises the Church’s anti-usury efforts as a sign of hope in the Jubilee Year. loom.ly/FDPdSNc

R-CALF USA Statement on Plan to Increase Argentine Beef Imports r-calfusa.com/r-calf-usa-sta…

James F. Martin, fourteenth postmaster of the Santa Claus, Indiana post office, 1931. Martin was the first to respond to some of the many letters that came to the post office at Christmastime. Volunteers now answer over 30,000 letters a year. (Indiana Historical Society)