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Tidbits - December 12, 2013

Portside
Reader Comments - Nelson Mandela; Republic Windows - CEOs Going to Jail; Minimum Wage; Healthcare - Single-Payer; Syria; India homophobia; Austerity; Living Wage - Low wage workers; Books to read (or to give; or both); Announcements - Suggestion for Year-end Giving - Davis-Putter Scholarship; Shostakovich For The Children Of Syria - Carnegie Hall, New York - January 13

labor

Obama, de Blasio, Fast-Food Workers and the Challenge of Inequality

Gregory N. Heires thenewcrossroads.com
With our inequality coming close to that of Jamaica and Argentina, as Obama pointed out in his Dec. 4 speech on inequality and social mobility, we can no longer ignore the danger it poses to our democracy and living standards.

State, Local Governments Take Action on Minimum Wage

Don Lee LA Times
With Washington tied up on other issues, states and municipalities are handling minimum-wage increases on their own. Legislators and voters in five states — California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island — and in four local governments this year approved measures raising the minimum wage above the current national rate of $7.25 an hour, in one case as high as $15 an hour.

Friday Nite Videos -- Dec 6, 2013 (Mandela)

Portside
Music has always been a powerful expression and organizing tool of the oppressed people of South Africa. Here is music inspired by and supporting their struggles, including the artists Hugh Masakela, Abdullah Ibrahim, Johnny Clegg and Gil Scott-Heron.

Ronald McDonald Cares

On Dec 5, 2013, fast food workers held actions in over 100 cities demanding a living wage. Here's just how effing heartless Ronald is to his workers.

A Walmart Thanksgiving, by Charles Dickens

Richard Eskow Campaign for America's Future
It was the night before Thanksgiving. Walmart's top brass had assembled in the executive boardroom for a last celebration before heading home to their families. ...Meanwhile, "Black Friday" would begin on Thursday evening, leaving many of its workers unable to spend the holiday with family or friends.

Walmart Workers, Community Allies to Hold 1500 Protests Across Country on Black Friday

OUR Walmart Common Dreams
Protests in Los Angeles, Miami, Bay Area, Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Sacramento mark Largest Mobilization of Working Families in Recent History. Environmental, Religious, Women's & Immigrants' Rights Groups Join Workers to Call For An End to Illegal Retaliation, $25,000 a Year, Full-Time Work

Fight for 15 Confidential

Arun Gupta In These Times
How did the biggest-ever mobilization of fast-food workers come about, and what is its endgame?
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