Portside

“Human resources departments exist primarily to keep the employer from being sued,” author and longtime labor organizer Jane McAlevey tells In These Times. “While they may play functional bureaucratic roles, the chief purpose of HR departments in my experience—after a lifetime in the labor movement—is to protect the company, not workers. Obviously they will be totally ineffective to address the sexual harassment crisis in this country.”

Wars may end, bases may close, but our toxic military footprint remains as a poisonous legacy for future generations.

For some occupations, putting oneself in harm’s way is an explicit part of the job description.

For some occupations, putting oneself in harm’s way is an explicit part of the job description.

Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) is a statewide organization with a significant base: 32,000 members. One in 17 households in the state have been actively connected with the organization in one way or another: receiving its newsletters, giving money or coming to meeting. MPA recently won a resounding victory, winning Medicaid expansion through a ballot initiative that received 60% of the popular vote, including in districts that had voted for Trump in 2016.

With respect to Korea, what Americans get from their mainstream news media abounds with crucial omissions and misleading distortions resulting in a false portrayal of the geopolitical realities.

“Many people don’t even have $100 in the bank, so paying 10 percent to a bond agent means that money won’t be going toward rent or food.”

Higher education has been financialized, transformed from a public service into a lucrative cash cow for private investors.

The intersection of climate change and mass incarceration is not unique to California, but as the state experiences its deadliest and most destructive year on record for wildfires -- including the second-largest in the its history -- the state's incarcerated firefighter Conservation Camp program has come firmly under the microscope.

When Denis Estimon, a Haitian immigrant, came here in first grade, he felt isolated -- especially at lunch. In high school, he started a club called "We Dine Together" and is now opening chapters in schools around the country.