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Uber, Taxis, Independent Contractors, and Unions

Giuseppe Eroico The Stansbury Forum
Many taxi drivers love the entrepreneurial nature of the work but they still want and need security and protection. Recent developments of the gig economy in the states of Washington and California are breakthrough moments for the potential to organize workers against companies like Uber. We can't wait for the courts to figure out the gig economy: we have to be organizing now, despite the challenges.

THE STATE OF SOUL FOOD IN AMERICA

ADRIAN MILLER First We Feast
The flourishing of soul food’s sub-genres has been fun to watch (and eat), but it has also meant that fewer African-American chefs are embracing traditional soul food. Some side-step the cuisine in order to avoid being pigeon-holed as a “soul-food cooks,” while others follow their passions for other flavors.

A Victory for Democracy in Whittier California

Jimmy Franco Sr. LatinoPOV
A years-long struggle to eliminate an undemocratic system of at-large voting in Whittier California has resulted in an historic victory for the community. Democrat Josue Alvarado has won a hard-fought electoral campaign to become the first person elected to represent Whittier’s newly configured Council One. He is only the second Latino to hold a council seat in that city in 118 years!

“We All Have a Right to the City and Must Fight to Win It!”

The Next system Project The Next System Project
A conversation with Tony Romano of the Right to the City Alliance. What are the systemic challenges to democratic and equitable control over public space? What kind of popular mobilizations can build towards systemic alternatives guaranteeing the human right to housing? To help answer these questions, we spoke with Tony Romano, Organizing Director for the Right to City Alliance. Our conversation is below.

A Thrilling TV Adaptation Of John Le Carré's 'Night Manager'

John Powers, heard on Fresh Air NPR
Le Carré's 1993 novel comes to life in a six-part AMC series. John Powers says the show, which jets from Egyptian streets to posh Alpine lodges, is one of the most enjoyable thrillers he's seen on TV. Over the years, le Carré's anger at those in power has become less ambiguous and more sharply focused, whether he's going after drug company profiteering or America's approach to the War on Terror.

Strike Matters: Verizon's Union Employees Fight for the Future of the American Working Class

Jason Pramas Dig Boston
If well organized and militant union members at Verizon—who have gone on strike against the company and its predecessors in 1983, 1986, 1989, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2011 and now—can’t stop the outsourcing and destruction of decent jobs, unorganized workers spread across the planet in industries like telecommunications will find the task insurmountable.

The Science Behind the DEA's Long War on Marijuana

David Downs Scientific American
Experts say listing cannabis among the world’s deadliest drugs ignores decades of scientific and medical data. But attempts to delist it have met with decades of bureaucratic inertia and political distortion

The new Gilded Age: Close to half of all super-PAC money comes from 50 donors

Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy The Washington Post
Despite the mixed impact that big-money groups have had on the presidential contest so far the biggest surge of cash is likely to come this fall, when millionaires and billionaires aligned with both parties fully engage in the fights for control of the White House and Congress.

The Death Gap

Sam Pizzigati OtherWords.org
The richest Americans now live 10-15 years longer than the poorest.