Portside

Out of sheer existential necessity, then, unions have entered a period of experimentation. The fast-food campaigns that SEIU is backing won’t plausibly conclude with a contract with McDonald’s and Wendy’s. The more likely scenario is that those protesting will try to win minimum-wage increases for workers—either generally or in particular industries—at the city level, either through the vote of city councils or of voters at the polls.

While national attitudes about abortion have stayed relatively the same since the 1990s, regional attitudes are shifting in opposite directions.

The fast food strikes are part of a broader movement by low-wage workers for higher pay and union representation that has caught fire over the past year. Targets include a range of employers, including Wal-Mart, federal subcontractors, warehouses, retail stores and car washes. This low-wage service and retail worker movement has tapped into a vein of discontent. But it has also created hopes for change through the fledgling campaign’s remarkable successes.

'The US government will come after you, no holds barred, if you're thinking of revealing evidence of its unlawful behavior', says Amnesty - Jon Queally, staff writer

Three State Capitols in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Florida are echoing with the songs and chants of people who feel scorned by their state government.

The biggest walkout yet begins this morning -- and the strikes could have far-reaching implications for labor

Employers are increasingly hiring workers as "on-call" employees, with no guarantee of minimum hours of work, leading to severe underemployment and scheduling difficulties. One British firm now employs almost all workers on "zero-hours contracts." The Labour Party is attempting to outlaw the practice.

Eduardo Galeano, one of the great global writers, takes us from 1916 to late tomorrow night via eight little excerpts from his new book, Children of the Days: A Calendar of Human History, reminding us of what some really newsworthy moments were like. Think of it as a kind of highlight reel from almost a century of the American way of war. Tom