Belated July update

It's been a tumultuous few weeks.

Hey friends,

I've been absolutely awful at updating this newsletter the past couple of months, and wanted to send you my apologies for that! Especially in July; it’s been a tumultuous few weeks, in a very up-and-down kind of way, and some real-life things have gotten in the way of posting on here.

The bad: my partner got into another bike accident and badly sprained his wrist, so he had to take almost a week off work at the farm. He is getting better but is still not 100%—and is out working in the fields during this heat wave for way less money than he deserves. My ankle has been acting up again, my grandma still isn't doing well, the construction happening next to our house is a nightmare, and I had to deal with a nasty bout of harassment from a terrible "labor reporter" with a history of targeting women and queer folks who upset him (hi, Mike).

The good: my labor fam rallied around me when that ^ happened, and I was reminded of how strong and precious that community is to me. My book FIGHT LIKE HELL was announced (!) which is a huge and wondrous thing that I am still trying to accept as real. I also appeared on some rad panels, and published a bunch of stories, and my garden has been doing especially well since my sweetheart built a trellis for our cucumbers. We helped out with security for the Stilettos Inc Stripper Strike demo a few weeks ago, which was beautiful (and I'm interviewing a few of the organizers today for an upcoming story). 

I've been getting very into Henrietta Lovell's sustainable Rare Tea Company loose leaf teas (her Indian Cloud Black Tea is my favorite so far). Last week, my best friend and I went for a long drive back home, got some Jersey sweet corn, and explored a haunted house. Portland, OR has provided us all with an inspiring example of mass resistance to state repression, and a blueprint for what to do when the feds come to our cities.

 I'm trying to appreciate the small, good things amidst all of the big, bad things out there (without taking an eye off of said big, bad things, because they will almost certainly get worse soon).

I am committed to keeping my OVERWORKED series going on here, but am taking a beat to figure out how best to present it now. I've got a backlog of stories from earlier in the pandemic, so I think I'm going to package them as sort of a time capsule - a look back at the earlier days of the pandemic, and how workers were already being put in danger before we knew how bad it would get. So, keep an eye out for more of those soon.

I've published a lot of neat things since I last posted an update here, and wanted to share some of them with you, as that's kind of the whole point of this thing!

For my TEEN VOGUE column, I dug into the Fair Labor Standards Act, and explained what it is and how it has failed generations of vulnerable workers. I also recently wrote about the history of police unions within the labor movement (and why we need to kick them out now), as well as how class solidarity is the only thing that can save us. 

I've been doing some writing for ESQUIRE lately, first on COVID-era labor conditions within the WWE and why professional wrestlers needs a union, and then on how circus and sideshow performers are weathering the pandemic. 

For my column at THE BAFFLER, I wrote about the growing rank and file movement to expel cops from the AFL-CIO, as well as the challenges utility workers are facing during the pandemic. 

At THE NEW REPUBLIC, I profiled New Orleans' City Waste Union and explored how these striking sanitation workers are channeling one of the toughest struggles of the Civil Rights era; I also wrote a longer feature on the rise of 3-D printed firearms.

Speaking of guns, I spoke to a few of the people who were providing armed protection for Seattle's CHOP zone earlier this month for THE DAILY BEAST, where I've also done a bit of writing on working conditions at Trader Joe's and the city's plan to force people in Rikers to dig graves for coronavirus victims.

I documented more of the horrific conditions within Rikers for THE APPEAL, speaking with my dear friend inside the walls as well as a few other folks who all described brutal neglect and poor sanitation inside.

I also wrote a piece for MIC about my experience at Las Vegas' fantasy machine gun ranges; for Loving Day, I also wrote a more personal piece about what white people in interracial relationships owe to our Black partners. 

Oh, and I reviewed a few records for PITCHFORK, because I do still like to write about music now and then. Check out the new joints from Inexorum and Ulthar while you're here. 

I've also gotten involved in the NO COP UNIONS collective—check out our demands and sign our petition calling on the AFL-CIO to #KickOutCopUnions!

That's all for now, I've got three or four pieces due this week so expect another one of these soon! As always, thank you so very much for your support here; I couldn't do this without you.

Love & rage,
Kim