Portside

Senator Bernie Sanders visits United Automobile Workers Local 600 in Dearborn, Michigan. The problem is that the union won't endorse any candidate until after the Michigan primary. AFSCME which has 60,000 to 65,000 in Michigan endorsed Secretary Hillary Clinton will be campaigning for her. Other unions will be campaigning for both candidates.

Migrant workers in the Gulf states have few rights and work in poor conditions, yet they are organizing and protesting, and they need solidarity. True solidarity means forging a coalition of equals—recognizing that migrant workers in the Gulf are far from passive victims—and supporting their struggle for life and dignity.

The droll conceit of "Where to Invade Next" is that the Joint Chiefs of Staff “summon” Michael to the Pentagon and deploy him to “invade” countries around the world. But instead of looting them of their natural resources, such as oil, Moore brings their best ideas—including free university education, expanded leisure time, worker representation on boards of directors, school reform, punishment of bankers for recklessly wrecking economies, prison reform, back to the US.

The FDA announced that it will withdraw its approval for three chemicals used to make grease, stain, and water repelling food packaging and consider banning seven food additives used in both “artificial” and “natural” flavors. This raises much larger questions about one of the agencies with the most control over the safety of what we eat.

For voters who’ve been around for a few decades, this election season has often been an agonizing time-loop back to the nineteen-nineties, to old debates, to long-dormant controversies, especially when it comes to Hillary Clinton. If you’re seeking perspective, I have an offbeat suggestion: go to Hulu, then watch one of the most indelible episodes of “A Different World”: “The Little Mister,” from 1992.

Many are familiar with the challenges faced by working moms, but the troubles of women with aging parents are unseen and widely ignored.

The implications of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's death for the anti-union case known as Friedrichs are a bit uncertain. Some experts say the appellate ruling in favor of the union would be effectively affirmed by an evenly divided court. Others believe the court will ask for re-argument of the same case next term, presumably after it gets back up to full nine-member strength by the appointment and confirmation of successor to Scalia.

Rather than a problem, we wanted to start with a vision. We asked members three questions: What brings you joy in the work you do with students? What sucks the life and joy out of working with students? What can we propose through bargaining that could increase the joy and reduce the stress in your work?

Stewart Acuff, national organizer for 1199, brings a poet's eye to the struggle for social justice. Fear, he says, is "our humanity overcoming that fear."

On the morning of November 22, 1963, President Kennedy told his wife Jackie as they started for Dallas, where he would later be assassinated, "We're heading into nut country today." The city was full of reactionary Kennedy haters, led by powerful ultraconservatives who would eventually remake the Republican party in their image. The book under review charts what made Dallas a hub of far-right activism back then, shedding light on today's national political landscape.