Derek Seidman

The Power of Power Structure Research Emerging in the 1960s, power structure research — mapping who holds power in society, how those entities are connected, and how they use their resources to shape major decisions — has been an importan...

Michael Locker speaks at length about his long movement career, reflecting on the lessons and legacies of power research since the 1960s in this interview with @derekseidman.bsky.social jacobin.com/2026/02/powe...

The Power of Power Structure Research Emerging in the 1960s, power structure research — mapping who holds power in society, how those entities are connected, and how they use their resources to shape major decisions — has been an important weapon in civil rights, antiwar, and labor struggles.

Emerging in the 1960s, power structure research — mapping who holds power in society, how those entities are connected, and how they use their resources to shape major decisions — has been an important weapon in civil rights, antiwar, and labor struggles.

Grassroots Organizers in Wisconsin Offer Blueprint for Beating Back Data Centers Private equity firms are investing heavily in new AI data centers, but local communities are finding ways to fight back.

Good coverage of how even small towns are coming out in huge numbers to fight data centers. This time in DeForest, Wisconsin. @derekseidman.bsky.social reports (and provides an explainer of private equity's role in the whole mess, too).

Grassroots Organizers in Wisconsin Offer Blueprint for Beating Back Data Centers Private equity firms are investing heavily in new AI data centers, but local communities are finding ways to fight back.

Wall Street is helping to drive the data center boom. I wrote about how one community in Wisconsin has come together to take on a data center proposed by QTS, owned by Blackstone, the world's largest private equity firm.

For @truthout.org.

My latest for @truthout.org mapping out the Trump-tied megabillionaire consortium that will own and operate the new US TikTok.

Lessons from a Life of Power Research: An Interview with Mike Locker - Little Sis A deep-dive interview with the longtime power structure researcher Mike Locker.

NEW: “If we really want to change things… this means confronting the power structure that controls and benefits most from the current system.”

Check out our deep-dive interview with Mike Locker, a key figure in the rise of movement power research since the 1960s.

New US TikTok Spinoff Will Be Controlled by Trump-Aligned Billionaires Trump-aligned tech barons are now set to control nearly all major US social media platforms.

I did some deep mapping of the megabillionaire consortium that will own and manage the new US TikTok spinoff. It's as bad as you might think. MAGA-aligned tech oligarchs now own all major US social media. For @truthout.org.

New US TikTok Spinoff Will Be Controlled by Trump-Aligned Billionaires Trump-aligned tech barons are now set to control nearly all major US social media platforms.

Not just Larry Ellison—pro-Trump billionaire Jeff Yass is set to profit from the new U.S. TikTok on two sides. Also in the new ownership consortium: Emirati state-owned firm MGX, and Jared Kushner's circle. By @derekseidman.bsky.social:

New message up on Kenmore Ave in Buffalo.

Read every word of this amazing interview on the organizing and resistance in Minneapolis.

Six Steps for Researching the Corporate Enablers of ICE - Little Sis Learn about how to research corporations collaborating with ICE in this new guide.

Now's the time to read this @mapthepower.bsky.social guide on how to research the corporate enablers of ICE.

In Buffalo.

Want to know how to research the corporations collaborating with ICE?

My recent piece with @truthout.org walks you through six steps to understand where to push to weaken ICE's corporate power:

Six Steps for Researching the Corporate Enablers of ICE, By Lauren Parker. Communities are forming campaigns to peel away corporate support of ICE and weaken the various sources of ICE’s financial, political, and reputational power. White text on a black background. The background fades into an image of protesters standing behind a long banner that they are holding up at the front of a conference room. The banner reads, “Stop Avelo, Abolish ICE,” and shows the image of a woman with a baby and a blue collar worker with his fist up, a monarch butterfly is pictured on either side of these two characters. The bottom left side of the graphic reads, Read the full story at: littlesis.org/research/news/ [the link is in all lower case letters]. The bottom right side of the graphic shows the LittleSis logo in white.

Check out our latest post: Six Steps for Researching the Corporate Enablers of ICE
We briefly highlight a few campaigns that are targeting ICE’s corporate collaborators and provide a guide on how you can research these corporations.
littlesis.org/news/six-ste...

Immigrant Rights Advocates Say Trump’s First Year Was “Much Worse” Than Expected “Trump wants us to hang our heads and give up, but that’s not happening,” says organizer Rossy Alfaro.

"Trump wants us to hang our heads and give up, but that’s not happening."

New @truthout.org roundtable with immigrant rights and farmworker organizers from AZ, FL + VT who I interviewed in late 2024 after Trump's reelection — taking stock of past year: horrors, heartbreak, resistance, resolve.

Here’s How We Pressured an Airline to End Its Contract With ICE ICE is not invulnerable. The Avelo Airlines win proves what happens when we refuse inevitability and fight together.

Avelo Airlines’ decision to drop its ICE contract shows that immigration enforcement isn’t inevitable; when communities organize, target corporate complicity, and refuse to normalize deportations, even powerful agencies can be forced to back down.

Oil Companies Are Key Partners in Trump’s Imperial Plans for Latin America Stocks in ExxonMobil, Halliburton, and ConocoPhillips surged the day after Trump’s illegal attack on Venezuela.

"The Trump administration’s barefaced imperial grab for Venezuela’s oil... is looking to corporate allies like Chevron, which could stand to benefit handsomely from his administration’s action — though this is far from guaranteed."

For @truthout.org.

Big Oil companies are governed by boards of directors from major corporations.

We mapped out some of the current and recent past corporate ties of board directors at Chevron.

As Electricity Bills Rise, Activists Are Demanding Public Control of Utilities “Public power” organizers are pushing for democratized control and truly public ownership of our energy system.

"Public power is a way to actually improve the lives of working-class people. Electric bills are absurd. People are racking up debt. This is a chance to show people that socialism can work."

Love to wake up and read @leemzee.bsky.social in @truthout.org with @derekseidman.bsky.social

Fracking Industry Executives Are Salivating Over the AI Data Center Boom Data centers are driving a surge in the construction of power generation facilities involving fracked gas.

Fracking companies are salivating over the data center boom.

"The demand for power and for AI is like nothing I’ve ever seen.” --Halliburton CEO.

I wrote about it for @truthout.org.

As Electricity Bills Rise, Activists Are Demanding Public Control of Utilities “Public power” organizers are pushing for democratized control and truly public ownership of our energy system.

Thank you @truthout.org for including us in this roundtable conversation about the need for Public Power!

truthout.org/articles/as-...

As Electricity Bills Rise, Activists Are Demanding Public Control of Utilities “Public power” organizers are pushing for democratized control and truly public ownership of our energy system.

"Public power is a way to actually improve the lives of working-class people. Electric bills are absurd. People are racking up debt... We’re reaching a crisis point."

New @truthout.org roundtable w/ organizers from Tucson + DC on the rising left movement for public ownership of utilities.

Derek Seidman on Starbucks Strike, Mitch Jones on AI vs. Environment Even Forbes has to acknowledge that even as the Starbucks strike “drags” into a second month, “global support grows.”

I went on FAIR's Counterspin show (one of my favs!) to talk about powermapping Starbucks execs and board directors -- including the close ties between SBUX and Walmart -- amid the ongoing @sbworkersunited.org strike.

Listen here: fair.org/home/derek-s...

The front cover of the everybody vs. billionaires guide is pictured in the center of the graphic. A bubble of text reads, “Find resources to help you… identify the billionaires in your backyard, map billionaire influence and networks.” Below that there is a link: bit.ly/EverybodyvsBillionaires [capital e and b]. The LittleSis logo is pictured on the lower right corner in white. The background is mustard yellow, and there is a picture of black and white money stacks.

Do you know who your local billionaires are?

We made this research guide to help you get started.
littlesis.org/reports/ever...

Here's a map I made of the corporate (and some other) ties and interlocks on Starbucks' board of directors.

I wrote about it all here: truthout.org/articles/why...

Why Walmart Wants to See the Starbucks Barista Strike Fail Corporations far beyond Starbucks want to keep baristas out of unions.

"Starbucks’s leadership has a close alliance with another anti-union retail powerhouse: Walmart."

truthout.org/articles/why...

Starbucks fashions itself as progressive on climate. But a longtime board director of Chevron recently joined Starbucks' board. She owns over $2M of stock in the Big Oil giant.

Climate activists + striking @sbworkersunited.org baristas have common opponents.

Read more: truthout.org/articles/why...

Why Walmart Wants to See the Starbucks Barista Strike Fail Corporations far beyond Starbucks want to keep baristas out of unions.

NEW: "Striking baristas are not merely up against the executives of a coffee store behemoth, but a broader constellation of corporate power fully networked into Starbucks’s top leadership."

On the corporate interlocks + alliances at the heights of SBUX's management + governance.

For @truthout.org.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is also a board director of Walmart.

Another SBUX board member is also a Walmart director.

+ other close ties btwn the two anti-union behemoths.

Wrote about this + more for @truthout.org: truthout.org/articles/why...

(Map made w @mapthepower.bsky.social oligrapher)

Why Walmart Wants to See the Starbucks Barista Strike Fail Corporations far beyond Starbucks want to keep baristas out of unions.

The rise of Starbucks Workers United has energized the labor movement, as the struggle to unionize the mega-chain represents far more than baristas pitted against managers: Starbucks is a global powerhouse. Current fights at places like Starbucks will shape the labor movement for decades to come.