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OFL Statement on the Paris Attacks, Refugees and the Path to Peace

Sid Ryan Ontario Federation of Labor
There can be no justification or excuse for the mass killings of innocent people of Paris. The horror experienced in Paris last week is not isolated, it has been played out with ruthless regularity in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine and many other countries, sometimes at the hands of Western forces. While Western hearts have been choked by the anguish of Parisians, we must also extend our horror and concern for millions of innocents throughout the world.

Will Labor Back Bernie?

Elizabeth Mahony and Rand Wilson Jacobin
The movement for labor to endorse Bernie Sanders is part of an effort to bring political decision-making back to the rank-and-file.

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night

Lily Murphy CounterPunch
Alfred Hayes wrote it as a poem in upstate New York at a left wing retreat called Camp Unity during the Summer of 1936. Hayes met Earl Robinson there and upon hearing Hayes recite his poem Robinson instantly put the words to music as part of a campfire session celebrating the trade union icon. By that September the song had been published in The Daily Worker and became a popular song with members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fighting Franco’s fascists in Spain.

What is Happening in the Steel Industry?

Walton Pantland Union Solidarity International
Rich countries make money by owning things – physical and intellectual property – and setting global standards the rest of the world must adhere to. This also means an economic shift within these countries, away from well-paid, secure, skilled jobs in industry to a precarious, service-based economy.

Cuomo to Create $15 Minimum Wage for New York State Workers

Jesse McKinley The New York Times
New York Gov. Andrew announced his support for a $15 minimum wage for state employees on the same day that fast-food workers across the country demonstrated for better pay and union representation. All told, 10,000 New York pubic employees will receive a pay bump. In July, Cuomo increased the minimum wage for fast-food workers in New York through a state wage board.