Portside

The civil rights movement inspired sanitation workers’ strikes throughout the South. Teachers in Florida and Utah pulled off statewide walkouts. Postal workers struck nationwide, in a wildcat conducted against the wishes of union leaders. Police and firefighters contracted “blue flu” and “red rashes” to demand what private sector workers already had: the right to bargain. This wave of militancy won both contracts and changes in labor law.

“With our future on the line and the whole world watching, we’ll take a stand to bend the course of history. We’ll take to the streets to demand the world we know is within our reach: a world with an economy that works for people and the planet; a world safe from the ravages of climate change; a world with good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities. To change everything, we need everyone on board.”

In an attempt to help fill the knowledge gap, the American Immigration Council is releasing a study today that was conducted by Elizabeth Kennedy, a Fulbright Fellow currently doing research in El Salvador on child and youth migrants returned from Mexico and the United States. This report sheds light on some of the structural conditions that compel minors to migrate to the United States or other countries in the region.

What is happening to manufacturing jobs in the U.S.? This in-depth article and accompanying photo essay tell the story behind plant closings, productivity and offshoring.

While Iraqi and international political discourse seems largely out of step with the rapidly changing reality on the ground, the sectarian dimension of the conflict is becoming more marked by the day and Iraq's diverse communities are struggling to grapple with the new reality. They increasingly wonder where and how they can be safe.

As Iraq tumbles into yet another civil war, it is important to remember how all this came about, and why adding yet more warfare to the current crisis will perpetuate exactly what the “Great Loot” set out to do: tear an entire region of the world asunder.

Particle physicists have learnt more about the Higgs boson's behaviour and how well it conforms to predictions. In a paper published last week in the journal Nature Physics, researchers outlined how they have watched the Higgs decay into the particles that make up matter (known as fermions), in addition to those that convey force (bosons), which had already been observed. This is exactly as the Standard Model predicts.

The families of murdered Israeli teen Naftali Fraenkel and murdered Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir are drawing comfort from an unexpected source: each other.

The reality is that the government and the economy are so thoroughly integrated it is impossible to separate the two.

Since the 2010 election cycle, Walgreen’s Political Action Committee has spent $991,030 on federal elections. If it becomes a Swiss corporation, it shouldn’t be able to spend a penny more.