Portside

Most liberals continue to pay lip service to unions and their importance to the Democratic coalition. But in private, many will tell you that they have little use for them. Julian Zelizer, a Princeton political economist, argues that the marriage between liberalism and organized labor “took a terrible turn starting in the 1970s,” when global competition moved manufacturing jobs from the unionized Northeast and Midwest to the non-union South and, ultimately, abroad.

Rubble Bucket Challenge; Kids' artist hits profiling; White Ferguson betrays itself; Race/class in Silicon Valley; Cooper Union - Cooper vs. $; Klein's latest

The crisis shows that realpolitik remains relevant -- and states that ignore it do so at their own peril. U.S. and European leaders blundered in attempting to turn Ukraine into a Western stronghold on Russia’s border. Now that the consequences have been laid bare, it would be an even greater mistake to continue this misbegotten policy.

For 20 years workers at the Rocky Mount Engine Plant have worked with the United Electrical Workers (UE), using the minority union strategy to get management to hear their demands, address problems, and improve pay. They have fought for and won a wage scale, raises, and paid holidays—all through petitions, sticker days, and other group actions.

The article examines the tapestry of "plutocratic fallacies" used to justify exploitive wages and foster irrational division among low-wage workers., such as the threat that "robots will replace you."

Today’s headlines are filled with similar stories of the spread of death and destruction in the Middle East and Africa. American commentators worry that these plagues will burst their borders and somehow spread to these shores. And, as in Camus’ novel, these diseases point to something larger, not the imposition of a new malignant system but the breakdown of the existing order.

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.