Portside

Portside aims to provide varied material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world, and to change it. Every day, we try finding and sharing the most interesting and useful material we can, aimed at helping remaking the world into a fairer and more peaceful place. Once a year we appeal to readers to contribute to sustain the infrastructure that makes Portside possible. It may be the biggest return on investment you'll ever get.

Democratic politicians picked up on the union’s organizing campaign. Presidential candidate and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley spoke in favor of the Culinary two days before a rally in August. And Hillary Clinton relayed support at a union rally in October, a day before the first Democratic debate at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Strikes have become rare; open-ended strikes at industrial plants even more so. 2,000 workers have been on strike in northern Wisconsin for several weeks. The odds are against them, and they need support. What is the future of the labor movement if unions lost the ability to launch and win strikes?

The United Auto Workers union won its first organizing vote at a foreign-owned auto assembly plant in the U.S. South on Friday, in a groundbreaking victory after decades of failed attempts.

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Huffington Post editorial and HuffPost Live staff have signed cards to unionize and join the Writers Guild of America East. They have asked the Huffington Post for recognition.

Oaxacans in 2006 tied the repression of education workers to broader frustrations with official impunity and deep-seated social and economic inequality. Those frustrations continue to animate everyday life. In confronting today's new challenges, Oaxacans are doing more than simply “saying no.” They’re drawing from an array of experiences – including that of the Oaxaca Commune in 2006 – to imagine collective alternatives, and make them real.

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The court is considering whether to overrule its 1977 decision allowing states to require public employees to join a union or pay a fee to cover collective bargaining costs. A win for the plaintiffs—a group of California teachers who say they oppose union efforts to increase pay and protect job security—could cripple public sector unions in about two dozen states that have “agency fee” laws.

How to Promote a Just Transition and Break Out of the Jobs vs. Environment Trap