Spanish police have fired rubber bullets and baton-charged protesters attending a rally against austerity. The clashes broke out as protesters tried to tear down barriers blocking access to the parliament in Madrid. Spanish media reported that at least 20 people… Read More ›
Workers Struggle
News relating to Organized Labor, Strikes, Unionization, and Worker’s Struggles in the Workplace.
Jean-Claude Brizard, Chicago Schools CEO, Was Nearly Invisible During Teachers Strike
CHICAGO — When teachers on strike took to the Chicago streets for nine days this month, news cameras followed the union president, the head of the school board and the mayor. The Chicago Teachers Union and city representatives would meet… Read More ›
Family demands answers after mentally ill man dies after tasing
by ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News They held vigil for Bill Williams Saturday night outside the very place he died, the Snohomish County Jail. “My husband was mentally ill and we were not able to receive the help we… Read More ›
America’s hidden unemployed: too discouraged to count
By Lucia Mutikani (Reuters) – When Daniel McCune graduated from college three years ago, he was optimistic his good grades would earn him a job as an intelligence analyst with the government. With a Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty… Read More ›
The US Labor Movement and China
A Time for Honest Self-Reflection by ALBERTO C. RUIZ The statistics are chilling. In a country where workers have no real right to organize a union, they face an ever falling standard of living. The workers’ attempts to organize independent… Read More ›
South Africa: Marikana Killings a Wake-Up Call, Says Union Founder
by Jay Naidoo South Africans need calm heads to examine what caused the slaughter of 44 workers and police officers at the Marikana mine. The judicial commission of inquiry appointed by President Jacob Zuma may present the facts. But we… Read More ›
Editorial: Pussy Riot and the Media Bandwagon
By George Bialek “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” — H. L. Mencken As an American living in Moscow I have often been a witness to concrete examples of how the Western… Read More ›
Cuba has Eliminated Child Malnutrition, Highlights the UNICEF
HAVANA, Cuba.- Cuba is the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean that has eliminated child malnutrition, thanks to the government’s efforts to improve the diet of the most vulnerable groups, asserts an international organization. The last report of… Read More ›
Mayor goes to court to end Chicago teachers strike
By Jason Meisner and Hal Dardick Tribune reporters Chicago Public Schools students will miss a seventh day of classes Tuesday as Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s attempt to get the courts to quickly end the teachers strike did not produce immediate results…. Read More ›
Judge strikes down Wis. law that effectively ended collective bargaining for public workers
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge on Friday struck down nearly all of the state law championed by Gov. Scott Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers. Walker’s administration immediately vowed to appeal, while unions, which… Read More ›
What’s Driving the Chicago Teachers Strike
Targeting Teacher Evaluations by BINOY KAMPMARK “This was a strike of choice, a bad choice for our children and not necessary,” decried an irritated Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. 350,000 students and 26,000 teachers have stayed out of classes now for… Read More ›
Aliyaar, Indian Laborer, Gets His Hand Chopped Off by his Boss After Asking For $3 in Wages to Feed his Family
A manual labourer has allegedly had one hand chopped off by his employers after asking bosses for his salary. The incident happened on Sunday when the proprietors of an illegal alcohol making unit in India punished the man – identified… Read More ›
De-constructing the Middle Class Myth: Analysis of the Labor Aristocracy
The myth of the middle class is persistent in our society. Its existence is questioned only by those who question the system of capitalism itself, for the existence of a “middle class” is an ideological construction built to protect and… Read More ›
Why I Won’t Vote (1956) by W.E.B. Dubois
On October 20, 1956, W. E. B. Du Bois delivered this eloquent indictment of US politics and why he won’t vote in the upcoming Presidential election. Du Bois condemns both Democrats and Republicans for their indifferent positions on the influence… Read More ›
Philadelphia woman faces charges for feeding poor children
A woman may be fined $600 for each day she provided free food to children in a poor Philadelphia neighborhood for the past few months. Angela Prattis, 41, of Chester Township has been distributing free healthy lunches in a neighborhood… Read More ›