Portside

We join the call to “defund the police.” What does it mean to defund the police? It means reducing police budgets so we can invest in the economic development and social services that are needed to make all communities safe and prosperous.

Essential workers need food stamps more than others. Non-white Americans are more likely to work in these essential yet low-paying jobs; over half of those who worked essential jobs and received SNAP benefits in 2018 were either Black or Latino.

While some in the labor movement are seeking to distance themselves, most are supportive even as they call for reforms.

Morgan Simon interviews Dr. Manuel Pastor, a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, about the two pandemics: coronavirus and racism.

Black people have the highest rates of unionization in the United States. But white men hold the most powerful leadership positions, regardless of the make-up of the members themselves.

As we contribute to the fight for workers’ rights and to build worker power, we are clear that the origins of the U.S. labor movement start with enslaved African people and their descendants struggling for emancipation.

This is not just a Black issue nor just a race issue. It is an institutional issue that has been built upon Black exploitation and social division. But the way some police so flagrantly kill Black people demands we all say BlackLivesMatter.

Redirecting police funding to community services and holding all police accountable were some of the demands made by Bay Area labor unions at a Black Lives Matter march Saturday from Oakland to Berkeley.

Jane McAlevey, a longtime labor organizer and strategist, argues that systematic grassroots organizing is the key to repairing today’s ravaged democracy.

We need to move beyond rhetoric and start to evolve into a movement for racial justice in practice, but what does that mean? Be proactive in addressing racial tensions, stop tokenizing members, and build a union to address everyday issues.