Portside

When organizing drives prove unsuccessful, some groups of low-wage workers are using ballot initiatives to take their case to the voters. And they've been winning.

Readers Comments on CBC Alternative Budget; Social Security; NY Police Arrest Quotas; Iraq War Ten Years After - Declassified Documents Released; Union Dues Check-Off?; Open Letter to Tony Kushner; Music video against gun violence; Wither the Socialist Left?; James O'Keefe and the Acorn Deception; Unions and Co-ops; Obamacare's Other Benefit; Dolores Huerta in the California Hall of Fame; Neoliberalism & Working Class Resistance in Greece - March 22 forum in New York;...

Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency, announced that the government is forming 13 teams to conduct an international "cyber offensive" to pre-empt or answer "Internet attacks" on this country.

On March 18, a historic case against the NYPD's stop-and-frisk program will commenced in a Manhattan federal courtroom. Floyd v. City of New York is part of a citywide movement to end this shameful, massive violation of rights and to help bring about the day when all New Yorkers will be treated by their government as equally entitled to walk the streets of their city without harassment.

Closing 50 of our neighborhood schools is outrageous and no society that claims to care anything about its children can sit back and allow this to happen to them. There is no way people of conscience will stand by and allow these people to shut down nearly a third of our school district without putting up a fight. Most of these campuses are in the Black community. Since 2001 88% of students impacted by CPS School Actions are African-American. And this is by design.

What can we do to help young men respect women, recognize consent, and have healthy sexual relationships? Teach them kindness to others and the courage to go against the crowd.

Artists, writers,musicians and similar occupations are under attack. Low pay and lack of health benefits for most are major problems. Can unions help make their lives better? The author gives a brief history of organizing in these fields.