People’s World

People’s World is a member of the International Labor Communications Association and many of its staff members belong to the Communications Workers of America and the National Writers’ Union. ¹

History and Background

People’s World is the continuation of the Daily Worker newspaper, which was founded as the main newspaper for the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). ² According to its website, People’s World claims the Daily Worker was “founded by communists, socialists, union members, and other activists in Chicago in 1924” while the front page of the first edition read that “big business interests, bankers, merchant princes, landlords, and other profiteers” should “fear” the newspaper while it claimed to “raise the standards of struggle against the few who rob and plunder the many.” ¹

The newspaper has changed names throughout its history, but in 2010, the company stopped print publications and became a daily online-only publication, with the official name of People’s World. ²

Activism

People’s World describes its content as “a voice for progressive change and socialism in the United States” while featuring “Marxist analysis and opinion developed by the Communist Party as well as voices from other currents of the labor and people’s movements.” ¹ Its reporting promotes left-of-center advocacy on labor, the environment, social justice, immigration, and education. ¹

In May 2024, the group’s managing editor C.J. Atkins wrote an article for CPUSA where he claimed to want People’s World to be “simultaneously the voice of the [Communist] party and the voice for the party.” ³ Atkins wanted People’s World to advocate for and publish material relating to all movements which could be aligned with the communist movement, including the labor movement, anti-war movements, and race-based cultural movements. Atkins also supported a push for the Communist Party to involve more influential members in writing for People’s World, stating, “Not enough party leaders at all levels are writing for People’s World.” ³

He proposed that if more influential people within the Communist Party were writing for People’s World, it could reach more people and build more influence on overall left-of-center movements in the United States. ³

Leadership and Staff

John Wojcik is the editor-in-chief of People’s World. Prior to joining the newspaper in 2007, he was a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and previously worked as a “political action reporter for the Daily World,” the predecessor to People’s World. ⁴ He is also an author and member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). ⁵

CJ Atkins is the managing editor of People’s World. ⁶ He is also a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the deputy executive director of Canada-based nonprofit ProudPolitics. ⁷

Joe Sims is one of the senior editors for People’s World. ⁸ Sims is also an editor for the left-of-center magazine Political Affairs, ⁹ and in 2019, was elected as a co-chair of the CPUSA after having sat on the CPUSA National Committee. He is also noted as one of the founding members of the Black Radical Congress. ¹⁰

Roberta Wood is one of the senior editors for People’s World. Before working for People’s World, she was a steelworker and union member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). Wood was previously the secretary-treasurer of the CPUSA. ¹¹

Affiliations

According to its website, People’s World claims to be a member of the International Labor Communications Association, while its staff are represented by the Chicago News Guild-Communication Workers of America. It also claims that its staff belong to professional organizations such as “the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the National Writers’ Union.” ¹