Economy

March 10, 2017 - President Trump is cheering Exxon Mobil's plans for a $20 billion expansion along the Gulf Coast. But what will that mean for the people who have to live with the pollution given Trump's other plans to gut the EPA and close its environmental justice office?

March 9, 2017 - An immigration raid at a Mexican restaurant in West Virginia this week led to the arrest of three men who now face deportation. While some locals cheered the action as a solution to the state's economic crisis, facts show that's a delusion.

March 7, 2017 - When it comes to pay equity between women and men, the South lags behind the U.S. overall, where women still earn just 80 cents on average for every $1 a man makes. Equal pay is one of the driving issues behind this week's A Day Without a Woman protest.

March 2, 2017 - Hundreds of workers and civil rights advocates plan to march to the Nissan factory in Canton, Mississippi, this Saturday and call on the automaker to respect employees' right to a union election free from intimidation. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and actor and activist Danny Glover will lead the protest.

March 1, 2017 - With the Trump administration rolling out plans to round up and deport millions of undocumented immigrants, leading private prison companies — major donors to Trump — are already enjoying a big jump in stock prices.

February 9, 2017 - After a slight increase in 2015, the number of Southern workers in unions dipped last year. But the election of President Trump has created new urgency for labor to organize, including two high-profile campaigns this spring in Mississippi and South Carolina.

January 27, 2017 - Since 2005, Nissan workers in Canton, Mississippi — a city with deep roots in the civil rights movement — have been fighting for the right to unionize. This week they are taking their cause across the South with days of action in at least five cities. 

January 12, 2017 - Andrew Puzder, CEO of the company that owns Hardee's and Carl's Jr., has opposed even modest minimum wage increases while his employees have struggled with labor law violations and rampant sexual harassment.

January 10, 2017 - Last week the Obama administration denied all pending permits to conduct seismic testing for oil and gas reserves in the Atlantic Ocean, but pro-drilling politicians who don't represent directly affected coastal communities say they'll work to reverse the decision under Trump.

December 23, 2016 - In a year when it was hard to keep up with the onslaught of political news, Facing South helped to make sense of important developments and to share insights about the region. Catch up on our best reporting of 2016 with a roundup of our top stories of the year.