This week, Steve Barios and Al Nava comment on Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer’s article, “How Not to Be a Union.”
How Not to Be a Union
Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer: It is not too late for organized labor to execute a turn away from electing Democrats and reaffirm its roots with massive demonstrations in the streets.
What the Indianapolis 500 Says About America
Tom Hall: The Tea Party Republican candidate is now beloved because he lies, rather than despite his lies. The concept that a political leader can lie with impunity has become a badge of success.
Occupy and Organized Labor: Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win
Mark Naison: If I dare to dream, I can see where this collaboration between Occupy and Labor might lead—to the unionization of Wal-Mart, to the unionization of McDonalds, to the unionization of financial services workers in the nation’s largest banks.
Manufacturing Illusions:
Robert Reich: Suddenly, manufacturing is back – at least on the election trail. But don’t be fooled. The real issue isn’t how to get manufacturing back. It’s how to get good jobs and good wages back. They aren’t at all the same thing.
The Right to Shirk
John T. Cumbler: Indiana ’s proposed “Right to Work” Act is not just anti-union, it is anti-democratic. Under the law if a majority of workers in a plant vote for a union, those who opposed the union would not have to contribute dues to the union.
How Attacks on Teachers and Government Workers Will Impact All Our Lives
Mark Naison: The attack on Teachers Unions has been driven by foundations and funding sources traditionally associated with the Democratic Party and has been enthusiastically endorsed by the Obama Administration.
The Rebirth of Social Darwinism
Robert Reich: Today’s Republicans are not conservatives. They’re regressives. And the America they seek is the one we had in the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century.
Professionals Moving to Organized Labor
Sharon Kyle: Labor union membership has declined significantly in the United States over the last 50 years, but this segment of the labor market is booming.
Labor Needs a New Generation of Leadership
Randy Shaw: Labor rewards those who wait. But those whose advancement depends on their willingness to wait may not be the most visionary or talented.
The City of Second Chances
Julie Gutman: On Labor Day, Let’s Celebrate L.A.’s Status as a Bastion of Human, Immigrant and Workers’ Rights
Teach for America Roots
Mark Naison: It behooves us, as progressive organizers and justice fighters, to keep the lines of communication open to people in these organizations, and be there to work with them if they join us in resistance to policies that concentrate economic sacrifice amongst America’s poor.
