Author Profile
Michelle Chen

Michelle Chen is a contributing writer at In These Times and The Nation, a contributing editor at Dissent and a co-producer of the “Belabored” podcast. She studies history at the CUNY Graduate Center. She tweets at @meeshellchen.
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Hey, Uber and Lyft: Gig Work Is Work. California Just Said So.
Update: On Wednesday, September 18, California Governor signed AB5 into law. The rideshare industry seems to have been on an unstoppable tear, running roughshod over regulations, filling the streets with cars, and making astronomical... MORE
Working · September 13, 2019
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Fearing Trump’s New Crackdown, Immigrants Are Already Forgoing Food Stamps
The Trump administration’s new “public charge” rule is having its intended effect: collective punishment of immigrant communities. MORE
Features · August 15, 2019
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Hong Kong Protesters and Militant Chinese Workers Point the Way to a New Kind of Internationalism
Just as the “Made in China” label insinuated itself into our retail stores in the 1980s, China today insinuates itself into most of our mainstream news coverage, as one of the... MORE
Working · July 29, 2019
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“Hardhats vs. Hippies”: How the Media Misrepresents the Debate Over the Green New Deal
A recent Politico article about the Green New Deal resolution put forward in February by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) features many grumblings from blue-collar union members... MORE
Working · June 18, 2019
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6 Years After Rana Plaza Collapse, an Accord to Improve Bangladesh’s Worker Safety Is in Jeopardy
Today’s clothing retail industry is driven by “fast fashion”—a business model of break-neck production, frenzied trend cycles and ravenous consumption. But the factories producing the clothes are... MORE
Working · March 19, 2019
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Labor Unrest Is Erupting on Honduran Plantations—And Rattling the Global Supply Chain
Long before Hondurans were demonized by Trump for “bringing chaos” to the southern border, U.S. consumers welcomed truckloads of Honduran-grown fruit, which have for years streamed through regional trade networks... MORE
Working · February 13, 2019
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This Is How We Can Defend Migrants Coming to the Border
U.S. President Donald Trump is stoking fear over a new migrant caravan from Central America, claiming to have "alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy ... MORE
Working · October 24, 2018
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The Rallying Cry of a Nationwide Movement: “Chinga la Migra” (F*ck Border Patrol)
Amid the horror of family separation, a grassroots network spearheaded by Mijente is launching a national tour of resistance. MORE
Features · June 19, 2018
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Rotten and Rat-Infested: The Appalling Food and Healthcare Conditions Facing Inmates in U.S. Prisons
We rarely see what goes on inside of U.S. prisons, besides the occasional reports of riots, suicides or corruption scandals that trickle out of an otherwise opaque institution. But a new study... MORE
Working · April 20, 2018
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The Oklahoma Teachers’ Strike Is a Mutiny Against Austerity
Oklahoma teachers proudly marked themselves absent from school since Monday, and they had an excellent excuse: They made themselves present in politics instead, with a historic march on the Capitol in hopes of... MORE
Working · April 5, 2018