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New and Exciting at Portside Labor

The Moderators at Portside Portside
There are some new things on Portside and Portside Labor that we are pleased to be able to call your attention to.

Wisconsin, Round Two: Walker Attacks Private Sector Workers

Glenn Schmidt Labor Notes
UPDATE, March 6: The "right to work" bill passed Wisconsin's Assembly at 9 a.m. in a party-line vote, 62-35. It's headed for Governor Scott Walker's promised signature March 9. The vote followed 20 hours of testimony, begun at 1 p.m. yesterday. But just minutes in, after a "People's Mic" action by labor supporters, officials had police clear the Assembly gallery. The hearing continued without public observers, just media. -Editor.

Decent Work for Women is Essential for Equality!

Editorial European Left
The European Left Party (EL) demands a different Europe, a Europe that guarantees equality and decent work for women. Women want a decent job, a job based on “equal pay for equal work”, one that respects the personality of women workers and provides a salary that allows for a decent life and access to social benefits.

Laws that Decimate Unions May be Inevitable. Here’s How Labor Can Survive.

Lydia DePillis The Washington Post
As more states feel they’ve been put at a competitive disadvantage by their right-to-work neighbors, the pressure only increases to follow suit and enact their own right-to-work laws. And after a while, a national right-to-work law might not be far behind. “I suspect that will happen within the next decade,” says Marquita Walker, an associate professor of labor studies at Indiana University.

Under Attack, Unions Show New Creativity and Militancy

Michael Hiltzik LA Times
The subtext is that unions are on their way out, and that taking actions like agitating for pay and benefits will only hasten their disappearance. Recent events, however, are pointing in the opposite direction. Labor organizations are starting to show new creativity and militancy in attaining their goals.

Amid National Public Education Battle, Massive Turnout for LA Teachers Rally

Deirdre Fulton Common Dreams
An estimated 15,000 teachers and their supporters rallied in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, threatening to strike should union and school district representatives fail to reach an agreement to reduce class sizes, raise teacher pay, and eliminate the existing system for evaluating educators.