Portside

About 40 people gathered in the wind and snow Wednesday morning outside Whole Foods’ Midwest regional headquarters in Chicago, supporting single mother Rhiannon Broschat, who said she was fired last week after choosing to stay home with her “special needs” child instead of going to work during the bitter cold on Jan. 28.

Thailand's Deep Divide by Walden Bello (January 27 in Foreign Policy in Focus) Thailand's Protests and the Global Economy by Layne Hartsell (February 4 in Foreign Policy in Focus)

1600 Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee to vote on unionization February 12 through 14. It appears that both Volkswagen and the UAW are supporting unionization. This is bringing howls of outrage from right-wing southern politicians. A yes vote would have be seen as a tremendous victory for all those trying to organize in the south.

Doesn't the NFL Pay Taxes?; Haven't the Redskins Changed their Name Yet?; Scarlett Johansson Turns Her Back on Human Rights, Takes the $$ Instead; Irish Should Defend Undocumented Latinos; Bronco chooses Chomsky over NFL; Cheerios Family in New Ad

Forming a union is one of the only ways that workers in home-care jobs have been able to have a voice and a pathway out of poverty. Limiting the ability of a state to collaborate directly with home care workers on common sense solutions to meet their own growing workforce needs--which could be the outcome of a right-wing lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court-- sets a terrible precedent for both workers and consumers.

* The Pipeline and U.S. Unions* * LIUNA On Keystone XL Pipeline Final Environmental Analysis* * Nurses Warn of Escalating Effects of Climate Change on Public Health*

Corruption is endemic to the capitalist system and has not been successfully regulated away. Perhaps a system change is warranted?

Across the country, local delegations visited Staples stores in January to threaten a boycott unless the retailer's new "postal units" are staffed by actual postal employees.The APWU is in support of making postal services available in more places and for longer hours, as long as they are staffed by postal union members.