Eyal Press

New York

Contributing writer at The New Yorker, Puffin fellow at Type Media Center, author (Dirty Work, Beautiful Souls), long-suffering Bills fan

Articles

Josh Hawley and the Republican Effort to Love Labor

1 week ago | newyorker.com | Eyal Press

Earlier this year, a member of the Federalist Society posted an article raising the alarm about an ambitious proposal to reshape federal labor law. The proposal, titled “A Pro-Worker Framework for the 119th U.S. Congress,” calls for introducing civil penalties to deter employers from engaging in unfair labor practices. It advocates banning so-called captive-audience meetings—gatherings that employees are forced to attend—that companies have used to spread anti-union messages.
What Will DOGE’s Moves on Government Agencies Mean for OSHA?

Feb 10, 2025 | newyorker.com | Eyal Press

Shortly before midnight on February 4th, a flyer began to circulate on social media, urging union members and their allies in Washington, D.C., to make their way to a protest at 200 Constitution Avenue NW—the headquarters of the Department of Labor—the following afternoon. “FIGHT FOR WORKING PEOPLE: KEEP DOGE OUT OF DOL!” it proclaimed.
How Donald Trump Gave Democrats the Working-Class Blues

Nov 15, 2024 | newyorker.com | Eyal Press

In July, 2016, at the Democratic National Convention, in Philadelphia, Senator Chuck Schumer was asked whether he thought that, in the coming election, the anxiety about wages and jobs among working-class voters in states like Pennsylvania might benefit Donald Trump. Schumer dismissed the concern.
Can Harris Stop Blue-Collar Workers from Defecting to Donald Trump?

Sep 29, 2024 | newyorker.com | Eyal Press

In June, 2016, Scott Sauritch, the president of United Steelworkers Local 2227, a branch based in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, drove for half an hour to a union hall in Pittsburgh, where Hillary Clinton was holding a campaign rally. Sauritch was hoping that Clinton, whom the U.S.W. had just endorsed, would talk about jobs and the steel industry.
Can Harris Stop Blue-Collar Workers from Defecting to Donald Trump? |…

Sep 29, 2024 | archive.is | Eyal Press |Kyle Chayka |Naomi Fry |Joshua Yaffa

The canvassers at Make the Road Pennsylvania told me that many people they met expressed doubt that voting could improve their lives. One canvasser said that she was frequently told, of politicians, “They just want my vote, and then they forget about us.” Manuel Guzman, a state representative whose district includes neighborhoods in Reading lined with modest row houses and populated mainly by Latino immigrants, told me that he was familiar with this kind of voter skepticism.
Can State Supreme Courts Preserve-or Expand-Rights?

Jun 5, 2024 | rsn.org | Eyal Press

With a lopsided conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, progressive activists are seeking legal opportunities in state constitutions. In November, 2020, Lauren McLane, a professor at the University of Wyoming College of Law, was forwarded a letter from Christopher Hicks, an incarcerated man who’d been sentenced to life without parole for his role in a murder.
Can State Supreme Courts Preserve-or Expand-Rights?

Jun 2, 2024 | newyorker.com | Eyal Press

In November, 2020, Lauren McLane, a professor at the University of Wyoming College of Law, was forwarded a letter from Christopher Hicks, an incarcerated man who’d been sentenced to life without parole for his role in a murder. The letter was part of a petition, prepared by Hicks, laying out “all the pertinent information, charges and reasons” that he deserved consideration for a pardon.
Biden Is the Most Pro-Labor President Since F.D.R. Will It Matter in November?

Apr 18, 2024 | newyorker.com | Eyal Press

Sometime next year, the Ford Motor Company will begin to produce electric trucks at BlueOval City, a sprawling manufacturing complex in an impoverished rural area of western Tennessee. The multibillion-dollar project, which received a federal loan through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Biden signed in 2021, has already created thousands of construction jobs that pay substantially more than locals are accustomed to earning.
The Problem with Defining Antisemitism

Mar 12, 2024 | newyorker.com | Eyal Press

In November, 2017, Kenneth Stern appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to testify about a bill under consideration, the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act. Approved by the Senate a year earlier, the bill would require the Department of Education to apply a specific definition of antisemitism when investigating alleged cases of discrimination against Jews on college campuses.
Mataderos, cárceles o minas: los trabajos esenciales que no queremos ver

Nov 27, 2023 | elordenmundial.com | Eyal Press

Una tarde de mayo, en la ciudad de Fráncfort, un estadounidense llamado Everett Hughes fue a visitar a un arquitecto alemán. Era el año 1948, y Fráncfort, al igual que el resto de Alemania, había quedado reducido a escombros. Las casas derruidas apenas dejaban entrever los bulevares, que los Aliados habían bombardeado sin cesar durante la campaña aérea contra los nazis. Barrios enteros habían sido arrasados.