Portside

Public water utilities serve industrial customers all the time—Racine currently has about 40—yet Wisconsin is confronting the inherent tension of fueling a private for-profit operation with a water resource that is protected as a public trust and governed at state and regional levels.

Imagine an atom as a tiny nucleus immersed in a giant diffuse cloud that is its electrons. When two atoms get close together, each one’s electron cloud pushes the other’s around, and sometimes the two atoms start to behave as a molecule. But experts still can’t describe this process in detail.

How the cooperative work structure is making a comeback to democratize labor

In other words, U.S. tariff threats are, in reality, a bargaining chip to get the Chinese government to accept stronger protections for the intellectual property rights and technology of leading U.S. firms in industries such as pharmaceuticals, aerospace, telecommunications, and autos.

Educators in Arizona are walking out today to demand better pay and full school funding. It will likely be the largest and most dramatic education strike yet. Moderators Note: By all reports about 75,000 Arizona teachers went on strike Friday.

Two weeks before the vote, organizers had recorded 110,000 people participating in walk-ins in 1,100 schools. A petition supporting AEU’s five demands garnered another 35,000 signatures. In the end, 57,000 teachers and support staff cast votes on the walkout, with 78 percent in favor.

One study showed that temps in construction and manufacturing suffer twice the rate of injuries as directly-employed workers. Clearly, OSHA needs to be updated to keep up with corporate chicanery.

Even when April showers pour in California, as poet Diane Moomey reflects, the true issue is how long will the water last and for whom?