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Anna Canning

@annacanning.bsky.social
208 followers 279 following 167 posts

Communication/campaigns. I talk a lot about labor, human rights, & calling out corporate nonsense. Also making gardens, woolen things, attempts at a better world through food systems. Portland, OR

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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Not to be too dramatic, but this shift from human rights to "natural rights" is dismantling not just funding for human rights defenders across the world, but the whole post-WW2 system of international human rights. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump administration diverts human rights funds to push far-right agenda abroad
Support such as for white Afrikaners and anti-communism reveals how US is redefining what qualifies as human rights
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jon christian @jonchristian.net · 17/09/2026
NEW: We spent months investigating a little-known media startup called Brown Brothers Media, which buys legit news sites and turns them into AI-powered zombie content farms What blew my mind was its traffic -- it appears to be getting more readers than NPR or CBS News futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com
How Three Brothers Built an AI Slop Empire by Buying Legitimate News Sites and Turning Them Into Zombie Content Farms That They Say Get 50 Million Page Views per Month
Brown Brothers Media is a media empire raking in millions of clicks with AI, fake writers, and plagiarism.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Another installment of how private equity is making everything shittier: This time it's ICE flights & the human rights abuses baked into the big business of deportation. @manpreetkalra.bsky.social & @artofcitizenry.bsky.social www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/priv...
artofcitizenry.com
Private Equity Playbook: Deportation Flights and Omni Air | Art of Citizenry
Private equity, ICE deportation flights, and public pension funds collide as Manpreet Kalra and Anna Canning trace Omni Air, Stonepeak, and the business of deportation.
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HEAL Food Alliance @healfoodalliance.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
‼️ End the farm line. Incarcerated people at Angola are still forced to work in extreme heat, facing solitary confinement if they don't meet daily quotas, rooted in Louisiana's history of slavery. A federal court recognized the harm, and still, the farm line continues. #FoodJustice  Learn more 👇🏾
lailluminator.com
The future of farming cannot be built on forced labor • Louisiana Illuminator
For the men on the farm line at Angola, agricultural labor is not a pathway to opportunity. It is a state-enforced practice of degradation and dehumanization.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Corporate Social Responsibility is really just Corporate Self Regulation. Whether it's labor in supply chains, climate change, or now AI, voluntary codes of conduct are how corporations turn possible legal obligations into marketing fluff - while continuing the status quo.
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s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 11/09/2026
The degree to which 9/11 completely normalized our surveillance state is wild—it is sometimes genuinely hard to remember how different the world was before the PATRIOT Act.
prismreports.org
Reversing post-9/11 surveillance won’t be easy, advocates say
Twenty-five years after the U.S. government launched the war on terror, the “terrorist” profile is widening
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's rare to actually see a social audit report. But I was leaked a copy of the audit that gave the Huiteng Shoe Factory an A on safety just months before it burned. Comparing the findings to local reporting reveals horrors- & now 2 months w/ no accountability dignityandrights.org/2026/09/soci...
Image shows a screenshot of the audit report. The title above the screenshot reads "Months before it burned, the Huiteng Shoe Factory received an "A" Rating on BCSI standards." The screenshot shows the summary that gives ratings for each of BCSI's issue areas plus the "overall rating" for the factory. The factory's Overall Rating is B. The rating on Occupational Health & Safety. There's a red arrow calling attention to that fact & the screenshot is annotated to note that "Building & fire safety are included in this rating." Image shows two screenshots of local Chinese news coverage of the factory fire. Above the screenshots the title reads "News Footage appears to reveal serious, systemic safety issues." There's a photo of the burned out factory. A red arrow points to a detail on the photo with text reading "Windows appear to be barred, blocking escape & rescue paths." Another screenshot shows the interior of the building after the fire. An arrow points to a pile of darkened charred materials half fill a passage way. The screenshot reads "Piles of shoe materials blocked fire fighters' paths." Below the text reads "Past allegations of corruption & audit failures raise questions about audit firm [Bureau Veritas]"
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I was just telling someone that if the internet Wayback Machine went away, I would be broken.
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In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 21/08/2026
Low-wage workers in Minneapolis and San Francisco are working directly with local government to enforce workplace protections. Liz Sullivan-Yuknis and @annacanning.bsky.social report: it’s co-governance in practice: workers & community organizations helping make labor laws mean something.
inthesetimes.com
Co-Governance and the Next 250 Years of American Democracy
As we mark the United States’ 250th anniversary, experiments in co-governance point the way toward making our democracy actually work for working people.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
From China to Pakistan, social audits are failing to protect workers. Thanks to @jasminchua.com for mentioning my writing on the Huiteng Shoes factory-& the appalling fact that it was recently audited to Amfori’s BSCI standards, earning a B grade overall & an A for safety. wwd.com/sourcing-jou...
wwd.com
On the Line: Social Audits Are Failing Pakistan’s Garment Workers
Also in this edition: Factory fires keep erupting, extreme heat is costing India’s informal workers billions in lost wages, another factory on the Thai-Cambodian border closes, and how to make sure Se...
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
It’s a bad time for corporate accountability, as this thread spells out. But the women pictured below won the $ they were owed thanks to a global campaign I’m proud to have worked on. We can still win, it just takes solidarity (& some more $ would be good too) dignityandrights.org/2026/05/gap-...
dignityandrights.org
Victory! Haitian Workers Receive Wages Owed After Campaigners Pressure Gap Inc. – Partners for Dignity & Rights
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I am once again writing about the horrors of global supply chains & the $20 billion industry that exists to protect brands' reputations. No one should die for fashion. dignityandrights.org/2026/07/soci...
dignityandrights.org
Social Auditors’ Death Toll Continues to Rise with Latest Factory Fire – Partners for Dignity & Rights
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
"In 2005-2010, there were ~45x more futures contracts traded... than physical coffee contracts. By 2025, that had risen to 88x higher, w/ much of that trade explicitly classed as speculative." I was in coffee in the 2000s & remember hedge fund trading seeming wild-now there's AI bots in the mix
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Lee @leedoesstuff.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
New zine day! This one is a collaboration with my friend @annacanning.bsky.social and I looove how it turned out, printed with riso in 4 ink colors! Only $5 to get the printed zine mailed to you!! Or just $2 for the digital files. New zine every month! www.patreon.com/LeeDoesStuff...
patreon.com
New zine: Doors, by Lee & Anna | Lee Does Stuff
My friend Anna has been taking photos of doors while traveling and posting them on instagram for awhile now, and I always loved the series a
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Manpreet Kaur Kalra @manpreetkalra.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
When people hear “Patagonia,” do they think of the place or the brand? I sat down with @lexlanham.bsky.social to discuss how a corporations trademark geographic names and the cultural impact. New episode of Art of Citizenry out now! 🎧 tune in ~ open.substack.com/pub/artofcit...
Patagonia vs Pattie Gonia trademark lawsuit quote from Professor Alex Roberts
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Today in corporate backsliding: fashion brand Hugo Boss is backing away from the legally-binding Pakistan Accord & opting for a mishmash of discredited corporate-friendly social audits to take its place. We've been here before. 1000s of people died. Don't do it dignityandrights.org/2026/06/hugo...
dignityandrights.org
Hugo Boss: (Re)Sign the Accord & Stop Backsliding on Human Rights – Partners for Dignity & Rights
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
I want to say one thing about this. This has been the hiring process for low wage workers for awhile. Wal Mart et al have been using automated job application systems to gamify everything from postings to schedules. The crisis, such that it is, is that it is now happening in middle skills jobs.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Pyrex, Instant Pot- they're kitchen staples that cooks have a deep emotional attachment to. Now they're owned by a private equity firm & getting turned into MAGA propaganda tools Listen to my convo w/@manpreetkalra.bsky.social @artofcitizenry.bsky.social artofcitizenry.substack.com/p/private-eq...
Graphic says: Nearly the entire American kitchenware market is owned by one private equity firm. The graphic shows pictures of silverware, plates, an Instant Pot, knives, pyrex containers with the brand names Anchor Hocking, Gorham, CorningWare, Snapware, Pyrex, Corelle, Lenox scattered around. The graphic is promoting episode 47 of the Art of Citizenry podcast, which talks about this takeover & what it means.Graphic reads "The Private Equity Playbook: Instant Pot." Below the heading, text reads: 300+ jobs gone in a 4000 person town. Charleroi, PA had been a glassmaking town since the 19th century. The Pyrex factory there opened in 1893. In 2024, CentreLane [a private equity firm] closed it. Then trump came to town & blamed Haitian immigrants." A quote from me: "A private equity firm comes to town & shutters one of its main employers, but Trump points the finger at immigrants." Then there's an image of a sign that reads "Keep making pyrex in CHarleroi." The graphic is to promote the Art of Citizenry podcast, episode 47 where we talk more about these topics.
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Manpreet Kaur Kalra @manpreetkalra.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Nearly the entire American kitchenware market is now owned by ONE private equity firm — from Instant Pot to Pyrex to Lenox. @annacanning.bsky.social and I dig deep and uncover a story that spans the entire private equity playbook! Tune in: open.substack.com/pub/artofcit...
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Anat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
The trouble with hanging your hat on "rule of law" is then the rulers just go change the law so they can remain forever the rulers.
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Manpreet Kaur Kalra @manpreetkalra.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
In December 2025, the University of Utah became the first major college athletic program to take private equity investment. @annacanning.bsky.social and I trace how we got here on Art of Citizenry Podcast! 🎙️
open.substack.com
The Private Equity Playbook: College Sports and the University of Utah
Private Equity’s New Playing Field
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Good morning, here's still more data showing that raising low-wage workers' pay doesn't actually cause prices to skyrocket. There are always apocalyptic threats when wage increases pass, but their only evidence remains discredited restaurant industry studies capitalandmain.com/despite-apoc...
capitalandmain.com
Despite Apocalyptic Warnings, California Fast Food Wage Hike Didn’t Kill Jobs
UC Berkeley study finds employment held steady — and only pennies were added to menu prices.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
It's so grim to see so many pillars of the corporate accountability campaign landscape losing funding & crumbling. Decentralized locals can do all sorts of things, but funding for research & analysis to back campaigning is so critical.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
What if a private equity firm was better for workers than a union? KKR has $410 billion+ in assets, pretty sure it doesn't need NPR doing its PR, but maybe we're witnessing a new greenwashing trope emerge? www.npr.org/transcripts/...
npr.org
A pro-worker experiment in private equity : Planet Money
Live event info and tickets here. If your company got bought by a private equity firm, how would you feel? Maybe a little nervous? You might find yourself wondering if there will be layoffs.And you’d ...
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emily @soupmuse.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
an alarming scoop from DSA Portland: local company Sightline is providing drone tech for Israeli military use. there is concern the company has developed some of its tech via surveilling Portland communities. Sign on letter here: actionnetwork.org/letters/sigh...
actionnetwork.org
Investigate Sightline!
Call on Oregon officials to investigate Sightline Intelligence. No to aiding and abetting genocide! No to training military tech on Portlanders!
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Emily Atkin @emorwee.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
America's oil execs have pocketed $1.4 billion selling stock during the Iran war, the WSJ reports This cash windfall won’t go primarily toward yachts and private jets, but toward political campaigns and lobbying orgs dedicated to blocking climate policy and fueling authoritarianism
heated.world
Chevron's CEO made $104 million while America bombed Iran
America's oil executives have pocketed $1.4 billion selling stock during the Iran war, a new investigation shows.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
75% of layoffs are at unionized stores - that certainly looks like retaliation from a company whose *profits* were $170 million last year.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
The labor conditions: bad. Even worse: a state governor who has weaponized state power against workers at every turn. But workers have developed innovative solutions to hold accountable the corporations who profit off their exploitation. New report out today: dignityandrights.org/resources/rr...
The cover of the linked report. It says "The Human Cost of House Plants: Labor Conditions of Florida's Plant Nursery Workers" and lists the names of the co-publishing organizations, Demos, WeCount & Partners for Dignity and Rights. The text is overlayed on a picture of a woman tending some potted plants. Her eyes are looking down at the plants and she's surrounded by a blur of greeneryGraphic says: 86% reported accidents and illness on the job, including heat stress and pesticide exposure. Source: A survey of 300+ plant nursery workers in South Florida conducted by WeCount! in 2024. Below the text is an illustration of little sprouts rooted in the earth with the text "Sembrando Justicia," which translates from Spanish as Planting Justice, repeated
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
As an organizer, he helped win back $6M+ in stolen wages for low-wage workers--it's clear who the real criminals are, & it's not who's getting detained. Great coverage from @sarahlazare.bsky.social- & good to see the petition mentioned is now at 5k signatures workdaymagazine.org/worker-organ...
workdaymagazine.org
Worker Organizer Abducted By Federal Agents in Minnesota - Workday Magazine
This article is a joint publication of Workday Magazine and In These Times. Federal immigration agents have abducted Eustaquio Orozco Verdusco, a workers’ rights organizer well known in Minnesota for ...
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 09/02/2026
“No matter how Ring and other surveillance tech companies may downplay it, there’s no world in which finding lost dogs is the final end-use for this technology.”
ms.now
Opinion | Ring is using lost dogs to make the surveillance state adorable
The same technology the Amazon-owned company uses to find lost dogs could easily be turned against their owners.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
This whole "biogas" or "renewable natural gas" scheme is the apex of greenwashing false solutions - & a perfect example of how corporations team up to shift the risk & cost of destructive business models onto the rest of us.
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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
You may’ve seen coverage of a new report on the threat to national security from environmental collapse. A common response that’s got my goat is: “Look, it’s not just tree-hugging enviros saying this, it’s hard-nosed spooks!” A short thread on why this framing is bad history & bad politics🧵😡😉
theguardian.com
Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn
Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt
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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Does a “reform” further empower your enemies or take power and resources away from them? Some of you need to sit with this question.
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Food Chain Workers Alliance @foodchainworkers.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
🚨 Time to show your support! Washington State is about to vote on #SB6045 and #HB2409, which would create a process for farmworkers to organize and elect representatives, and require employers to bargain union contracts with workers! Follow @foodjusticec2c.bsky.social & @fujwashington on IG for more
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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
"We had one hotel publicly refuse to house ICE, which became a big national news story when DHS went after them. That’s a hotel we were targeting, and it was mostly because of our pressure. We had two more hotels temporarily shut down to avoid housing ICE..." www.laborpolitics.com/p/how-minnea...
laborpolitics.com
How to Block ICE In Your City
Minneapolis organizer Aru Shiney-Ajay on effective tactics to disrupt ICE—and the need to target corporate collaborators
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
ICE raids in Minneapolis is making it risky for people to go to work - & now rent is about to be due. The team at CTUL does amazing work to defend low-wage & immigrant workers & has a long track record in the community: worthy of your support if you've got $ to share chuffed.org/project/1671...
chuffed.org
EMERGENCY RENT FUND: Support Workers in Minnesota
Rent is due FEBRUARY 1st. Support our Emergency Rent Fund for Minnesotan workers and families facing eviction due to ICE Raids. We are calling for a rent moratorium, but regardless of if that happens ...
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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
So the House is going to vote TOMORROW on the DHS funding bill that includes funding for ICE. There's a real chance we can get Dems to vote NO on any bill with ICE funding to sink it. Once it goes to the Senate we likely lose this chance. 24 hours. Go. www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/no-f...
fightforthefuture.org
No Funding for ICE Surveillance Tech!
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
"We can't delude our way out of climate change & the effects of using land to feed large amounts of cattle...-though some people are certainly trying." Timely piece for this moment, & if we're going to do old school steakhouse nostalgia, I vote for the 🍸🍸 lunch.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Fruit & veg growing is a multi-billion $ industry. There's a lack of enforcement of worker protections-& those caught abusing get less than a slap on the wrist. The only thing missing from this excellent investigation is naming the brands & supermarkets that profit. www.latimes.com/california/s...
latimes.com
California's child farmworkers: Exhausted, underpaid and toiling in toxic fields
State officials are failing to protect the health and safety of thousands of young field laborers, an investigation has found.
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
New! Earlier this year, it made headlines when private equity drove JoAnn Fabrics to bankruptcy. @manpreetkalra.bsky.social & I discuss how it happened & talk about fast fashion, sewing, & women's work in society. Also: Elvis, billionaire budgeting tips, & more www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/priv...
artofcitizenry.com
The Private Equity Playbook: Joann Fabrics | Art of Citizenry
Joann Fabrics didn’t just fail, it was hollowed out by private equity. Join Manpreet Kalra and Anna Canning as they unpack the leveraged buyout, debt, layoffs, and ripple effects that led to the craft...
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Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Looking to ditch Spotify? @janus.bsky.social wrote this up for @fightforthefuture.org and it's an easy step-by-step guide for how to do it in the least painless way possible touchgrass.fightforthefuture.org/how-to-ditch...
touchgrass.fightforthefuture.org
How To Ditch Spotify and Support Music in the Age of AI Slop
There’s no shortage of reasons to quit Spotify in 2025. Artists and fans have been departing the platform in droves because they’re fed up with the company paying artists virtually nothing, using algo...
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Alex Zielinski @alexzee.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Nearly 2k affordable apartment units sit empty in Portland, according to data crunched by the O. A chief reason: Rising rents have closed the gap between market rate & so-called "affordable" housing, keeping subsidized units out of reach for low-income renters.
oregonlive.com
Nearly 1,900 affordable Portland apartments sit empty while thousands need homes
“Even affordable rents are too high,” one affordable housing provider told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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Art of Citizenry Podcast @artofcitizenry.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Coffee, Silicon Valley & George W. Bush’s former roommate? Philz Coffee made headlines when it was bought by a private equity firm & cancelled all employee stock — @manpreetkalra.bsky.social & @annacanning.bsky.social unpack what really went down! 🎙️Tune in: www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/priv...
artofcitizenry.com
The Private Equity Playbook: Philz Coffee | Art of Citizenry
Dive into the Philz Coffee private equity deal with Manpreet Kaur Kalra and Anna Canning as they unpack the cancellation of worker common stock and dig into the financial and political origins of Phil...
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Remember a few months ago when a private equity firm bought Philz Coffee & wiped out workers' stock? In a new project with @manpreetkalra.bsky.social, we delve into that & how it's a symptom of a larger system built to siphon $ at every step. www.artofcitizenry.com/podcast/priv...
artofcitizenry.com
The Private Equity Playbook: Philz Coffee | Art of Citizenry
Dive into the Philz Coffee private equity deal with Manpreet Kaur Kalra and Anna Canning as they unpack the cancellation of worker common stock and dig into the financial and political origins of Phil...
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
For all the Gap does to talk about "Empowering Women," they won't even do the bare minimum: stop the illegal firing of women union leaders & pregnant workers. It's not like corporate hypocrisy is surprising, but the demand is so basic. dignityandrights.org/2025/11/gap-...
dignityandrights.org
Gap Inc. Fails to Protect Pregnant Women, Human Rights in Haiti – Partners for Dignity & Rights
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Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
How is AI *really* impacting jobs? Henley Chiu, the CTO of Revealera, a jobs data analysis firm, analyzed 180 million jobs listings in 2024 and 2025, in an effort to find out. Chiu found an: -8% drop in all jobs postings -~30% drop in art, photography, writing jobs -22% drop in journalism jobs
bloodinthemachine.com
What’s really going on with AI and jobs?
Record-breaking layoff reports, Amazon's mass firings, and a slump in entry level employment. Is AI behind it all?
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Join me for this starting at noon ET! We'll hear from leaders in the Guatemalan workers' union as well as advocates in the US about how we took on an opaque, private equity-backed fashion brand - & won! Consider it your dose of good news for the day. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
us02web.zoom.us
Join the webinar: Together We Win: Research, Organizing, & Solidarity for Real Corporate Accountability. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Corporate power is on the rise. But a recent win with garment workers in Guatemala shows that when we organize and act in solidarity across borders, we can win. Join us for a webinar conversation wi...
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Rainforest Alliance announced a new regenerative coffee certification with Nestle's Nespresso as the first company. This piece does a great job contrasting the latest corporate spin w/ the small farmer co-ops who have long made the connection, "If the soils are rich, farmers will have abundance”
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Anna Canning @annacanning.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
91% of people living outside say they need rental assistance. Instead, they're getting criminal charges-& the mayor is ramping up enforcement the same day SNAP benefits cut off. These are the kind of policy choices that drive people to do desperate things. www.portlandmercury.com/news/2025/10...
portlandmercury.com
City of Portland Begins Enforcement of ‘Public Camping’ Rules This Weekend
This weekend, the city of Portland is resuming enforcement of its local laws governing when, where, and how homeless Portlanders can live in public spaces. Mayor Keith Wilson announced that enforcemen...
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