Randy Shaw: Brown’s alignment with wealthy growers against indigent workers picking crops in the fields surely has Chavez turning over in his grave, and shows that the Governor views the UFW as just another group he is willing to betray.
Summer Single Payer Conference
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This one-day educational and skills-building conference will teach you all about the US healthcare system, its problems, and how to fix them.
Has Hubris Finally Tripped Up Rep. Ed Whitfield?
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Berry Craig: Jim Pence, who runs the Hillbilly Report blog in Kentucky, says U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., doesn’t really live where he says he does and might be guilty of voter fraud.
Republicans Keep Flunking on Union Issues, but Trumka Puts Democrats on Notice, Too
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Berry Craig: Many union members were deeply disappointed when Congress failed to do more to stimulate the economy and create jobs. Unions wanted more health care reform than Congress delivered, too.
Jim Crow, Yankee Republican Style
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Berry Craig: With Wisconsin Governor Walker’s blessing, Republican lawmakers are ramming home a bill that requires voters to show photo ID at the polls. Of course, the idea is to decrease the Democratic vote.
For Obama Defenders, Words Speak Louder Than Actions
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Randy Shaw: Obama’s history includes many great speeches advocating for “change we can believe in,” but as even his most fervid admirers acknowledge, his governance has been quite different.
We, the People, Came to Indy to “Represent Ourselves”
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Ira Gruper: We close with the words of Abraham Lincoln (1861): “Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital; that, in fact, capital is the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital and deserves much the higher consideration.”
President Obama: MIA
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Walter Brasch: Good presidents do what is best for the country. Great presidents, however, do not only what is best for the people, but are also willing to speak to the courage of their beliefs, of their principles, even if it may be unpopular among many of their constituencies.
“The Fight Is Not Over”
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“We recognize that this is just one piece of a broader political fight vs. Scott Walker and his extreme agenda — a fight that we are winning.”
The Peace Movement Today
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Lawrence Wittner: Despite the President’s rhetorical support for nuclear abolition, it looks like the United States and other nations are on a very slow track to ridding the world of the nuclear menace.
Why All Workers Should Support Unions
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Shamus Cooke: Thanks to years of right-wing propaganda — and labor union inertia — millions of Americans are “union skeptics,” unsure as to the nature of the union animal.
Ironically, Anti-Union Republicans Need Unions
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Walter Brasch: The unions had already said they would accept what amounts to an 8 percent cut. But, Walker, acting more like a caricature of a Fat Cat Boss, refused to negotiate. His demands, if put into law, would essentially “gut” public worker unions.
Kentucky AFL-CIO Head: GOP Out to Destroy “Whole Union Movement”
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Berry Craig: If a tea party Republican wins this November’s election, the Scott Walker agenda will be on Kentuckians with a vengeance. We will be another step closer to right to work for less, repeal of prevailing wage and attacks on public sector workers and their unions.
On Wisconsin: End the War, Invest at Home
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Tom Hayden: It is time for our most prominent liberal economists to broaden their analysis of the domestic crisis to include spending for these unfunded wars. Only Joseph Stiglitz has done so.
D-Day For Public Employees
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Joseph Palermo: With the aggressive onslaught aimed at public employees and their unions that Republican governors have unleashed in recent weeks, it’s long past time for politicians calling themselves “Democrats” to push aside the anti-labor elements inside their party and stand up for basic worker protections.
Requiem for the American Worker
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Bill Londrigan: We can look back and see the carnage that the corporate war on workers and their unions has wrought: a decline in wages, benefits, unions and jobs–while corporations and the wealthiest one-percent have amassed the largest concentrations of wealth in history.
Author Spotlight: Berry Craig
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As that rare bird—a union-card-carrying, left-leaning NASCAR fan—Berry Craig brings four strong threads to his writing for the LA Progressive: Years working as a daily newspaper reporter and opinion columnist, a full career as a college history professor, strong attachment to his Kentucky roots, and deep involvement in union organizing.
What’s at Stake in Tax-Cut Deal
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Norman Solomon: More than two weeks after President Barack Obama announced his decision to make a tax-cut deal with Republican leaders, the shock waves continue to buffet many Democrats and others who are stunned by the grim implications.
The Winter of Labor’s Discontent
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Berry Craig: But it’s getting harder for me to defend Obama when my union brothers and sisters — who also voted and worked for him — say he’s all but surrendered to the GOP. I’m disappointed in the president. They’re downright mad.
“Run, Rand, Run!”
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Berry Craig: Kentucky’s Tea Party-tilting Republican U.S. Senate candidate recently stopped in Louisville and Pineville for “meet and greet” sessions with voters. In Louisville, he pulled a speak and scram. In Pineville, Paul just skedaddled.
PCL offers monthly Open House Events on the 2nd Saturday at 2pm and 3rd Thursday at 6pm. Click here to learn more.
Labor Needs Organizing, Not Politics
Randy Shaw: Many feel that unions have invested far too much time and money in electoral work that has not produced promised results, at the expense of ongoing worker organizing to build membership.