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How Chicago's White Donor Class Distorts City Policy

Sean McElwee Demos
Chicago’s democracy is being distorted by an overwhelmingly, white, wealthy and male donor class. But public financing provides a clear solution. The “Fair Election Ordinance,” introduced on January 13, 2016 would match all small donor contributions up to $175, increasing the influence of the most diverse small and mid-level donor pool.

The Labor Movement’s May Day Promise

Erica Smiley The American Prospect
Some cast the labor movement as dying or even dead, but even amid attacks on collective bargaining workers are finding innovative ways to organize.

The Life and Death of Daniel Berrigan

Rev. John Dear Common Dreams
Rev. Daniel Berrigan, the renowned anti-war activist, award-winning poet, author and Jesuit priest, who inspired religious opposition to the Vietnam war and later the U.S. nuclear weapons industry, died at age 94, just a week shy of his 95th birthday.

The Welfare of Workers Should be Our Primary Concern…

Gary Herman Union Solidarity International
An increase in restructuring, downsizing, merging, outsourcing and subcontracting, precarious work and a higher likelihood of massive layoffs of workers, unemployment, poverty and social exclusion are a source of what is known in the field as ‘psychosocial hazards,' according to a study by the ILO.

Do We Want Our Children Taught by Humans or Algorithms?

Zoe Williams The Guardian
If Nicky Morgan won’t listen to teachers, parents need to take action to prevent our schools turning into joyless exam factories, starting with Tuesday’s boycott. By coincidence, at the end of last week, Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, was in London to hand in a petition to Pearson, the education company and provider of curriculums and test delivery.

TTIP: Chevron Wants Investor “Right” to Challenge Government Laws

Arthur Neslen The Guardian
As negotiators begin the 13th round of talks to close the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership’s (TTIP) deal, new revelations surfaced regarding Chevron Oil’s attempts to incorporate Investor State Dispute Settlement Courts into the TTIP. These panels threaten national sovereignty because they can rule against a country’s social or environmental laws, if they are deemed to have reduced profits below those projected at the time of the investment.

Author Michael Chabon: On His Recent Visit to the Occupied West Bank

Naomi Zeveloff Jewish Daily Forward
Pulitzer Prize Winning Author Michael Chabon speaks with The Forward’s Naomi Zeveloff at the end of his weeklong tour of the Israeli Occupied West Bank earlier this month. Chabon was a member of a literary tour organized by the Israeli group, Breaking the Silence, which collects and distributes testimonies of Israeli soldiers who served in the occupied territories. He termed the occupation “the most grievous injustice I have ever seen in my life.”