Portside

President Obama called for a modest raise in the federal minimum wage to $9, and several Democratic legislators have upped his bid with a proposed increase to $10.10. But an insidious effort to lower the wage floor is already underway much closer to the ground - in the state legislatures. Among the proposals are measures to undercut minimum wages for teenage workers, restrict overtime pay and repeal or ban local laws to improve working conditions.

Staughton Lynd's tribute to Herbert Shapiro, fellow historian and staunch civil rights and anti-racist activist.

After the children's massacre in Newtown, the absolute last thing the National Rifle Association wants out there in the public domain is ANY images of what happened that tragic day.

Labor is in trouble which is not news to our readers. Michael Hirsch describes some of the obvious problems and some ways forward. He believes unions should have more of them against us approach. This was something Occupy Wall Street did very successfully. For a short period of time they changed the dialogue away from austerity to the needs of working period. Other ideas include community and union based electoral campaigns, workers papers, international organizing.

We don’t have a class either sociologically or politically in any position yet to do much better.

In the real politics of the emerging struggle over Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, there’s a very big difference between expressing opposition to benefit cuts and promising not to vote for them.

When the Right charges the Left with advocating amnesty, we should show them to be correct.

Argentine Pope Will Make History, but Backs Vatican Line