Portside

Fast-food workers one day strike spreads to many cities. Workers at MacDonald's, Taco Bell, Popeye's, Long John Silver's and other restaurants hold one day strike demanding higher wages.

Over the past decade, state legislatures and governors across the South have tilted far to the right, embracing photo ID and other voting restrictions. That there are still elected officials in those states who can apply checks and balances against laws when it appears they are undermining citizens' fundamental rights is good for democracy.

A school boycott will be painful for families, but I think it is worth a parent-led debate and discussion. The alternative is too costly. Once the public schools are gone, they are gone for good.

A few days ago, Portside shared with its readers a request to sign a petition protesting the elimination of funding for the Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education. Today, we are sharing a response to that petition from Corey Robin, a political scientist and interim direct of the center.

The firings are almost certainly illegal retaliation under the National Labor Relations Act, but workers may have to wait to see justice carried out. The labor board has a slow process even in good times, but in recent years it has been declawed by Congressional Republicans—who have obstructed the appointment of board members, leaving the board without a quorum to conduct business.

“These are more than just remedies that didn’t work. They are part of the problem because stadiums don’t address the central issues of falling population, falling tax base, declining wages, unemployment and the underfunding of schools.”

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