Reading Struggles

Join Points of Departure editors Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter at Labor Notes 2026 in Chicago as we celebrate the release of this new collection. Meet the Authors Saturday, 4:30 - 6:15pm Grand Ballroom C Full event description: Chat with authors of recent books that help us understand labor and the world. Buy a book and get it signed! With Aleida Garcia Aguirre, Eric Blanc, Jaz Brisack, Ellen David Friedman, Olivia Geho, Fred Glass, Debbie Goldman, Suzanne Gordon, Daniel G

Our Harry Cleaver collection is available for preorder! POINTS OF DEPARTURE: REFUSAL OF WORK AND THE CRISIS OF CAPITALISM: THE COLLECTED WRITINGS OF HARRY CLEAVER Edited by Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter “Refuse work. Revolt against capitalism. Read Harry Cleaver. In that order. Repeat.” This is a definitive collection of Harry Cleaver’s best unpublished, translated, or lesser known writings–both historic and current–on the refusal of work, class composition and “inversion

Using Worker’ Inquiry to Organize and Fight the Boss “Workers’ inquiries are identifying working-class self-activity in various sectors, understanding the class struggle from the working-class point of view, and allowing workers to develop their own knowledge of how their work is organized.” Are you a militant worker, labor organizer, movement radical interested in workers' inquiry? Take a read a new introductory piece by Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter at New Politics Magaz

New Applied Research Report! The State of the Unions: Organized Labor in Maine, 2022-2024 (2026) Joseph van der Naald and Kevin Van Meter "The State of the Unions: Organized Labor in Maine, 2022-2024 provides a look into Maine’s labor movement. The report analyzes both historical and contemporary union membership patterns in the state of Maine, their implications for the conditions of workers and their wages, as well as recent union organizing efforts in the state." The Key F

At the Edge of Everything: Collected Poems assembles George Caffentzis’s poetic output. The noted class-warrior, philosopher of money and work/energy, is now a published poet.

For the past several years Shane Burley and Kevin Van Meter have engaged in a series of conversations on “Autonomous Anti-Fascism” and “Antifascism, Historically and in the Present.” Today they are joined by Ben Lorber for a conversation regarding the fight against antisemitism. Fighting antisemitism “through solidarity” doesn’t just create “safety” for “Jews and all people”; it allows us to directly confront the conspiratory core of contemporary fascist and rightwing argumen

Blue Bottle Workers Launch Independent Union. Read Five Questions with an Organizer.

Troublemaking Goes International... a review of Troublemaking by Jamie Woodcock and Lydia Hughes of Notes from Below.

Read my latest article "Labor Education for All Workers" over at New Politics!

A new edition of Real World Labor is out now with Dollars & Sense magazine and Kevin Van Meter is proud to be one of the editors!

New Politics has just released "Searching for The American Worker" by Kevin Van Meter online for the reading public.

Dollars and Sense Magazine has just released "Management Rights, Workers Wronged" by Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter online.

New edition of Real World Labor to be published by Dollars & Sense.

"Searching for The American Worker" will appear this summer.

A steward’s work is never done. And it’s often challenging work, especially when representing difficult members.

Take a read of "Advice to new labor organizers" in The Chief by Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter.

Read of "Management Rights, Workers Wronged" by Robert Ovetz and Kevin Van Meter in the new issue of Dollars and Sense.

The management rights clause in our union bargaining agreements is standing in our way of workplace democracy and fighting climate change.

Self-organizing a union on a shoestring? Burgerville Workers' have a few lessons to offer independent unions.

New article on workplace democracy for New Politics.