In a preview of what will be a nationwide day of action on Black Friday, Walmart workers at several Southern California stores walked off the job this morning to protest Walmart's low wages. Just minutes ago, sixty Walmart workers were arrested for engaging in a peaceful sit-in in downtown Los Angeles.
Elections show the tide can turn against the unholy alliance of big business, the Tea Party, and the religious right. Growing protests - the "Moral Monday" movement in North Carolina, militant immigrant rights activism, battles to protect women's health clinics from state budget cuts, strikes by low-wage workers, civil disobedience actions to challenge voter suppression, & campaigns against global energy corporations. Virginia - win in a race lost by 17 points in 2009.
Will Rahm Emanuel's effort to establish a privatized neoliberal outpost in Chicago succeed? Not if the ongoing uprising brushfires turn from kindling wood into a contemporary Chicago fire of political resistance. Kari Lydersen, author of "Mayor 1%," tells Truthout Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is representative of the neoliberal wing of the Democratic party, and he's getting significant pushback in his efforts to expand privatization and limit protests.
Las Vegas workers, stage sit-in on casino floor of the Cosmopolitan, demanding the Vegas resort recognize their union. For two years the $4 billion casino has refused to negotiate with their workers, and their union - Culinary Workers Union or UNITE HERE local 226.
Too often feminists and leftists dismiss the importance of sports in society and only focus on the machismo culture encouraged by professional/college athletics. Although that culture is real to an alarming extent, I dare say it is also an elitist attitude that is not conducive to mass organizing and needs to be re-considered.
Reader Comments- Shutdown; Tea Party; Keystone XL; Pensions; AFL-CIO Convention; Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap; Class War; Education & Testing; Edward Snowden; GE; Israel;
Announcements - Healthcare Crisis in Indiana -Lafayette- Oct 26; Protest Idan Raichel - Israeli Artist and Israeli Army Supporter -New York- Oct 27; Pack the Court: New York Stop and Frisk Case- Oct 29; Labor Education Open House -NYC- Oct 30; ALBA Human Rights Documentary Film Festival- New York- Nov 22 - 24
Despite the massive attention it's gained, this movement is still in its infancy. It must be built with strong workplace and community networks. This summer, we went on strike for very concrete demands. But we also went on strike for dignity, respect, and power. Because militancy works. My bosses don't taunt me about going on strike anymore. After striking, I got a raise - and more than a dozen co-workers asking me how they could join the union.
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