Clear It with Sidney | Hillman Foundation

Clear It With Sidney

The best of the week’s news by Lindsay Beyerstein

Clear It with Sidney

Sidney's Picks: Starbucks Faces Mounting Pressure

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Mike MozartCreative Commons

The Best of the Week’s News

  • Organizers keep the pressure on Starbucks in 2024. (NYT)
     
  • Hillman Prize-winner Julie K. Brown discusses the newly unsealed trove of Jeffrey Epstein papers. (NPR)
     
  • Elon Musk illegally fired eight SpaceX workers for criticizing him, NLRB alleges. (Fortune)
     
  • Companies like Trader Joes use endless delays to wear down workers seeking their first union contracts. (Guardian) 
     
  • Nerds Unite: Fantasy role-playing staffers vote to join Workers United. (NYT)
     
  • Donald Trump received at least $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments during his term in office, House Dems report. (MSNBC)

Announcing the SEIU Award for Reporting on Racial and Economic Justice

The SEIU Award for Reporting on Racial and Economic Justice honors investigative journalists who expose and confront workplace injustice. The award commends journalists whose reporting plumbs the depths of racial discrimination and economic inequality, sparking crucial conversations and driving positive change.

Entries are evaluated on impact, depth of investigation, and quality of storytelling. The SEIU Award aims to inspire workers fighting for justice in the workplace and provide a platform to share the stories of these everyday changemakers. Through this recognition, the SEIU Award celebrates the vital role of investigative journalism in creating a more equitable and inclusive society.

All entries to the 2024 Hillman Prizes for Journalism will be automatically considered for this award.

The SEIU Award will be presented at the annual Hillman Prizes for Journalism celebration in May in New York City.

Sidney's Picks: Migrant Kids Risk Their Lives on Roofing Crews

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Darek ZonCreative Commons

The Best of the Week’s News:

  • Migrant children are risking their lives on roofing crews. (NYT)
     
  • Black voters sue to protect their voting rights. (WaPo)
     
  • Judges make their own ethics rules. It isn’t working. (ProPublica)
     
  • “Captive on my table”: Surgeons are overusing a lucrative vascular procedure. A dissident is pushing back. (ProPublica) 
     
  • How does a skydiving company with 28 deaths and nearly a million in unpaid penalties stay open? (SacBee)
     
  • The Traveling Pants: What happens to the millions of items U.S. consumers return each year? (Atlantic) 

Sidney's Picks: Scandinavian Labor Coalition Stands Up to Elon Musk

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Marco VerchCreative Commons.

Sidney’s Picks:

  • Broad-based labor coalition stands up to Elon Musk in Scandinavia. (CNBC, NYT)
     
  • Early-career NIH researchers vote to form a union. (Nature)
     
  • Washington Post journalists stage historic 24-hour walkout. (DCist, Politico)
     
  • Ballot initiatives: A new path to organizing Uber and Lyft? (OnLabor)
     
  • Profemur artificial hips failed, sending patients crashing to the floor. (KHN)
     
  • United Autoworkers announces audacious plan to unionize a dozen non-union plants at once. (How Things Work)

Sidney's Picks: Goon Squad Exposed

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Thomas HawkCreative Commons

The Best of the Week’s News:

  • A band of sheriffs’ deputies terrorized rural MS with impunity. (MS Today) 
  • Alabama paper targeted for it’s investigation into handling of COVID funds (WaPo)
  • An updated list of the journalists killed in the Israel-Gaza conflict. (CPJ)
     
  • NY appeals court rules that minimum wage increase for deliveristas must take effect. (Documented)
  • Henry Kissinger: The Declassified Obituary (NatSec Archive)
  • Ethics watchdogs applaud Senate subpoenas for Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow. (Guardian) 

Call for Entries for the 2024 Hillman Prizes Now Open

NEW YORK (Nov 28, 2023) — The Sidney Hillman Foundation is now accepting entries for the 2024 Hillman Prizes honoring excellence in investigative journalism and commentary in service of the common good.

The Hillman Prizes celebrate print, digital and broadcast reporting that exposes social and economic injustice and leads to meaningful public policy change. Hillman Prize winners will be awarded a $5,000 honorarium and a certificate at our celebration in New York City to be held on May 7, 2024

The 2024 Hillman Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:

  • Book (nonfiction)
  • Newspaper Reporting (story/series/multimedia - may include photo, video, graphics - print/online)
  • Magazine Reporting (longform; print/online)
  • Broadcast Journalism (television, radio, podcast; at least 20 minutes in total package length)
  • Opinion and Analysis Journalism (commentary and analysis in any medium)

New in 2024, the foundation will administer the SEIU Award for Reporting on Racial and Economic Justice. All Hillman Prize entries will be automatically considered for this award as well.

“As the world around us becomes more divided and dangerous, we are reminded of the importance of the truth, and the crucial role investigative journalists play in uncovering it,” said Alexandra Lescaze, executive director of the Sidney Hillman Foundation. “Their work holding powerful people to account deserves to be acknowledged and supported, now more than ever, and  the Sidney Hillman Foundation is proud to do just that.” 

Since 1950, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honored journalists, writers and public figures who pursue investigative journalism and public policy for the common good. Sidney Hillman was the founding president of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union, a predecessor of Workers United, SEIU. An architect of the New Deal, Hillman fought to build a vibrant union movement extending beyond the shop floor to all aspects of working people’s lives.

Eligibility: 
Entries must have been published or broadcast in 2023 and made widely available to a U.S audience. Nominated material and a cover letter can be submitted here. There is no fee to enter. Deadline for entries is January 30, 2024 at 11:59pm EST.

Judges: 
The 2024 Hillman Prize judges are Jamelle Bouie, columnist, The New York Times; Maria Carrillo, former enterprise editor Tampa Bay Times/Houston Chronicle; Ta-Nehisi Coates, bestselling author and former national correspondent, The Atlantic; Alix Freedman, global editor, Ethics and Standards, Reuters; Harold Meyerson, editor at large, The American Prospect; and Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher, The Nation.

For entry or event questions, please contact: 

Alexandra Lescaze 
alex@hillmanfoundation.org or 917-696-2494

Sidney's Picks: Climate Change Creates New Threats at Work

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Jim CrockerCreative Commons

Best of the Week’s News:

Call for Entries: 2024 Canadian Hillman Prizes for Journalism

 

Toronto, Ont. (Nov 14, 2023) - The Sidney Hillman Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Canadian Hillman Prizes, honouring excellence in investigative journalism in service of the common good. 

The Hillman Prizes celebrate print, digital and broadcast reporting that exposes social and economic injustice and leads to meaningful public policy change. 

For the first time, the Foundation will award three annual Hillman Prizes instead of one. The judges will consider entries in the following categories: print/digital, broadcast (tv, radio, podcast) and local/community news. 

The Canadian Hillman Prize winners will be awarded a $2,500 honorarium and a certificate at our celebration in Toronto, to be held on April 4, as well as travel to New York City to be a guest at the U.S Hillman Prize ceremony on May 7. 

Previous Canadian Hillman Prize winners include the Toronto Star, the Hamilton Spectator, The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, the Crackdown podcast, CBC’s fifth estate, the Calgary Herald, the Edmonton Journal, CBC/Radio-Canada, and TVO

Since 1950, in the United States, and 2011 in Canada, the Sidney Hillman Foundation has honoured journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice and public policy for the common good. Sidney Hillman was the founding president of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union of America, a predecessor union of Workers United, SEIU. An architect of the New Deal, Hillman fought to build a vibrant union movement, extending beyond the shop floor to all aspects of working people’s lives. 

“As the world around us becomes more divided and dangerous, we are reminded of the importance of the truth, and the crucial role investigative journalists play in uncovering  it,” said Canadian board member Alex Dagg. “Their work holding powerful people to  account deserves to be acknowledged and supported, now more than ever, and  the Sidney Hillman Foundation is proud to do just that.” 

Eligibility: Entries must have been published or broadcast in 2023 and made widely available to a Canadian audience. Nominated material, and a cover letter explaining how the entry meets the requirements, can be submitted here. There is no fee to enter. 

Timeline: 
January 15, 2024:    Deadline for entry 
March 19, 2024:       Winners announced 
April 4, 2024:            Winners honoured at Canadian Hillman Prize ceremony–Toronto
May 7, 2024:            Winners honoured at U.S. Hillman Prize ceremonyNew York City 

Judges: 
Neil Docherty - internationally acclaimed documentary maker
Garvia Bailey - arts journalist, broadcaster and producer
Bonnie Brown - documentary and news producer, CBC Radio and Television 

For entry or event questions, please contact: Alexandra Lescaze (alex@hillmanfoundation.org or 917-696-2494) 
For more information about the Hillman Prize, please visit hillmanfoundation.org. 

Sidney's Picks: Philanthropists pledge a half-billion to save local news

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John SCreative Commons

The Best of the Week’s News:

Sidney's Picks: Huge Rideshare Settlement

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Joe RossCreative Commons

The Best of the Week’s News:

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