James Dennis Hoff
James Dennis Hoff is a writer, educator, labor activist, and member of the Left Voice editorial board. He teaches at The City University of New York.
Chipotle Closes First Unionized Store, but Organization Momentum Continues
Last month, workers at an Augusta, Maine Chipotle store formed the first ever Chipotle union in the United States. On Tuesday, the company closed the store and laid-off all of the workers.
James Dennis Hoff
July 20, 2022The Unionization Wave Continues: Workers In Maine Have Organized the First Chipotle Store in the Country
Workers at an Augusta, Maine Chipotle have formed an independent union: Chipotle United. This is a clear indication that the unionization wave that started with Starbucks and Amazon is only growing stronger.
James Dennis Hoff
June 22, 2022Children Deserve Dignified, Happy, Carefree Lives
Under this capitalist, racist, patriarchal system, children carry the heavy burdens of trauma. As workers and socialists, we must fight to ensure that they can live the dignified, happy, and carefree lives they deserve.
James Dennis Hoff
May 29, 2022Fired Starbucks Workers Bring their Fight Directly to the CEO
Despite being illegally terminated, Starbucks workers from Memphis, Tennessee and other cities across the country are fighting to unionize and win back their jobs.
James Dennis Hoff
April 30, 2022Round Two for the ALU: the Fight to Organize Amazon Continues
On Monday, 1,600 warehouse workers in Staten Island will vote on whether or not to form the second-ever Amazon union in the United States. In response, the company is using every dirty trick in the book to intimidate workers and undermine the vote.
James Dennis Hoff
April 24, 2022The War in Ukraine Is Strengthening NATO and U.S. Imperialism
As Germany increases its military budget and Sweden and Finland ponder joining NATO, it’s clear that the war in Ukraine has been a boon for European and U.S. imperialism.
James Dennis Hoff
April 16, 2022Grassroots Unionism: Lessons from the Victory at Amazon
Amazon workers in Staten Island defeated one of the wealthiest and most anti-union corporations in the world. Their victory is a repudiation of the failed strategy of the labor bureaucracy and shows the power of real rank and file organizing.
James Dennis Hoff
April 10, 2022Socialists Should Not Support Imperialist Weapons Shipments to the Ukrainian Government
As war rages in Ukraine, NATO countries are sending billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to the Zelenskyy government. These weapons shipments are incredibly popular in Western countries — even among a sector of the Left.
James Dennis Hoff
April 2, 2022Neither NATO nor Putin: How the U.S. Left is Getting Ukraine Wrong
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sectors on the Left are either repeating imperialist propaganda by calling for sanctions or minimizing Russia’s actions under the guise of anti-imperialism. To be anti-imperialist means to organize the international working class against U.S. imperialism and oppressive regimes everywhere.
James Dennis Hoff
March 5, 2022Texas Cops Who Brutalized Protesters in 2020 Finally Brought Up on Charges
Almost two years later, 19 Police officers are being brought up on charges of misconduct and aggravated assault against peaceful protesters in 2020. This is far too little, too late.
James Dennis Hoff
February 18, 2022From Puerto Rico to Minnesota, Teachers are Rising Up Again
With inflation continuing to rise, contract struggles, particularly among public sector unions, could become increasingly militant as workers look to regain lost wages. Already, teachers in Puerto Rico and Minnesota are leading the way with strikes, strike votes, and demonstrations.
James Dennis Hoff
February 15, 2022Corporate Profits Soar Even amid Rising Inflation
As inflation chips away at our paychecks, the bosses are making more than ever.
James Dennis Hoff
February 11, 2022One Year Later: Biden Is Still No Friend of Labor
Joe Biden claims to be one of the most pro-labor presidents to ever hold office, but while he has talked a good game, he has conspicuously failed to deliver for working people and unions. Worse, Biden’s embrace of labor was and remains a cynical, and so far highly successful, attempt to co-opt and further tie unions to the Democratic Party.
James Dennis Hoff
January 21, 2022The Great Resignation Continues: 4.5 Million U.S. Workers Walked Off the Job in November
Low pay, lack of childcare, and dangerous working conditions are causing millions of people to quit their jobs. While this mass resignation may give labor some leverage to fight for higher wages and better benefits, it’s also a sign of the difficult choices working people continue to face as the pandemic rages on.
James Dennis Hoff
January 7, 2022The Rittenhouse Verdict Is Green Light for Right-Wing Vigilantism. The Left Must Respond
The jury’s verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial is a devastating injustice, and a dangerous precedent that will open the door for more right-wing reactionary violence against the Left. To defeat the Right, we must unite our struggles.
James Dennis Hoff
November 20, 2021Student Workers at Columbia Are on Strike Again — What Will It Take to Win?
Yesterday, more than 3,000 student workers at Columbia walked off the job to demand a living wage and healthcare. In order to win these demands, however, the rank and file will have to unite with faculty and students, and be willing to shut down the university by taking their strike all the way to the end of the semester.
James Dennis Hoff
November 4, 2021Shortages and Supply Chain Disruptions Are about Capitalism, Not Covid
Amid all the talk of global supply chain disruptions, the real cause — production for profit — has been largely ignored.
James Dennis Hoff
October 19, 2021Don’t Call it a Comeback: U.S. Labor Finds Its Groove after a Dismal Summer
After a summer of relative labor peace, the United States has seen four major work stoppages in just the last three weeks. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of workers are primed to walk out in healthcare and film/TV production if their demands are not met. It’s militancy at a level unseen for years. Could it be the beginning of something bigger for U.S. labor?
James Dennis Hoff
October 9, 2021Thursday’s Catastrophic Supreme Court Decision Puts Millions at Risk
The Supreme Court’s decision to end the limited eviction moratorium on Thursday reveals once again that the institution does not serve the interests of working people.
James Dennis Hoff
August 27, 2021CUNY’s Reopening Plan Is a Disaster in the Making
As the City University of New York prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of students back to campus, workers say they don’t feel safe.
James Dennis Hoff
August 24, 2021Biden to OPEC: “Drill, Baby, Drill!”
In the wake of increased fuel prices in the United States and fears of inflation, Biden has called on OPEC to increase oil production. But this is a devil’s bargain that will incentivize further destructive fossil fuel use, making the transition to renewable energy much more difficult.
James Dennis Hoff
August 15, 2021Forced to Work 80 Hours a Week, Frito-Lay Factory Workers Are on Strike for Their Lives
As prices for basic consumer goods rise, corporations like PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay, are raking in billions while paying their employees poverty wages and investing almost nothing in additional production.
James Dennis Hoff
July 18, 2021How Bad Will it Get? Climate Catastrophe and Capitalism
As recent events make clear, our world has been irreversibly changed. Adequately responding to the changes already baked into the climate --- and learning how to thrive in this new world while avoiding the worst case scenarios still on the horizon --- will require nothing less than the revolutionary overthrow of the very system that created these problems.
James Dennis Hoff
July 8, 2021The Infrastructure Debate: Yet Another Sign of the Ongoing Crisis
The infrastructure debate shows once again that the ruling class cannot solve the contradictions of capitalism.
James Dennis Hoff
June 23, 20213,000 Volvo Workers Are on Strike Again
After rejecting a second contract offer, Volvo workers at the Mack and Volvo Truck of North America manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia are on strike again. They say that this time they are not going back until a new contract is ratified.
James Dennis Hoff
June 16, 2021Why We Are Voting Yes on the PSC CUNY’s “Resolution in Support of the Palestinian People”
On Thursday, the PSC CUNY Delegate Assembly will consider a resolution introduced by rank-and-file members of several PSC committees, that condemns the Israeli massacres in Palestine and calls for CUNY divestment from firms that support the occupation. As elected delegates of the union, we support this resolution and call on our union to go further to end U.S. aid to Israel and the occupation of Palestine.
James Dennis Hoff
June 8, 2021Police Kill at Least Twice as Many People as Previously Reported
2020 was a terrible year for police violence, but a new report shows that many more people, particularly people of color, have been killed by cops in the United States than previously reported.
James Dennis Hoff
June 2, 2021Labor Must Demand: “Not One More Cent, Not One More Bullet” for Israel
Labor unions across the world are coming out in solidarity with the Palestinian people. While statements of support and boycotts are good, labor must do more.
James Dennis Hoff
May 20, 2021Connecticut Governor Calls National Guard in Advance of Health Care Workers Strike
Health care workers across Connecticut state are threatening to walk out this Friday unless the governor agrees to increase state funding to the nursing homes where they work. In response Democratic Governor Ned Lamont is requesting the National Guard.
James Dennis Hoff
May 12, 2021Biden’s Border Policy is Still Separating Families
Thanks to Biden’s immigration policy, thousands of children remain separated from their families, and more are separated every day.
James Dennis Hoff
May 6, 2021