Portside

Workers at the Science Museum of Minnesota have voted overwhelmingly to join together in a union with the AFSCME Council 5.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist calls for a global tax on high earners at 70% and a 2-3% wealth tax on large fortunes to combat widening inequality. He also talks about war profiteering, politicians who want more inequality and the sperm lottery.

More than 25% of survey respondents have avoided care fearing how they would be treated, and nearly one third reported that they had been treated unfairly.

Some researchers have theorised that ultra-processed foods increase inflammation because they are recognised by the body as foreign – much like an invading bacteria. The body mounts an inflammatory response, which has been dubbed “fast food fever”.

Two long-time organizers for economic, racial, and gender justice reflect on the lessons of the past half-century and assess the strategic challenges and opportunity confronting a new generation of workers, activists, and organizers.

Myanmar’s military junta is not short of partners. Indeed, business, notably in the arms market, continues unabated. Such conduct makes a mockery of the sanctio ns and injunctions imposed by the EU, United States and other states since the 2021 coup.

Watching the GOP’s circular firing squad during the speaker votes was entertaining, but what do progressive Democrats have to show for rallying round their party’s leadership?

Economist Juliet Schor is known worldwide for her research on the interrelated issues of work, leisure, and consumption. Her books on these themes include The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer, and Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth (retitled True Wealth for its paperback edition). She is also a professor of sociology at Boston College. —Eds.

The Freelancers Union’s attempt to claim 34 percent of the population as mostly delighted freelancers clouds our understanding of the need for reform. While the Freelancers Union is doing important work to support a select group of freelancers, its approach isn’t likely to work for other independent workers; those workers who are more replaceable may still need to go to war against industry leaders if they’re going to access acceptable working conditions.

I can’t stress enough how important it is for me, as a black climate justice advocate, as well as for my people, to see the climate movement show solidarity with the people of Ferguson and with black communities around the country striving for justice. Other movements have stepped up to the plate: labor, LGBTQ and immigrant rights groups have all taken the firm stand that they have the backs of the black community. Solidarity and allyship is important in and of itself.