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How 'Friedrichs' Could Actually Unleash Unions from Decades of Free Speech Restrictions

Shaun Richman Working in These Times
However, once those bargaining sessions between unions reps and their government employers are redefined by the Supreme Court to be political speech, any law restricting what can be said, what items can be raised, seems to be a restriction by the government on those union members’ free speech rights.

Why the B-52 Failed: Dispatch from Hanoi

David Bacon The Reality Check
On the plane to Hanoi last December, I opened my copy of the NYT to find an article by Dave Philipps: "After 60 Years, B-52's Still Dominate the U.S. Fleet." The piece stuck with me as I traveled through north Vietnam, trying to unravel U.S. amnesia towards the people of this country and what they call "the American war." Philipps ends with a quote from a former South Vietnamese Navy officer, Phuoc Luong. "In Vietnam we didn't use it (B-52s) enough. That's why we lost."

NLRB rejects Shurat HaDin complaint against United Electrical Workers

Annie Robbins Mondoweiss
UE National President Peter Knowlton said that UE in the past had “withstood attempts by the U.S. government to silence us during the McCarthy era in the 1950s,” and was “unbowed by the latest attempt of a surrogate of the Israeli government to stifle our call for justice for Palestinian and Israeli workers.”

Wal-Mart Strikes Lawful, Must Reinstate Workers: NLRB Judge

Nathan Layne Reuters
Carter ordered Wal-Mart to offer 16 former workers their previous jobs and make them "whole for any loss of earnings and other benefits suffered as a result of the discrimination against them". Wal-Mart was also ordered to hold a meeting in more than two dozen stores to inform workers of their rights to organize under U.S. labor law.

Chavismo and Its Discontents

Roger Harris - Chuck Kaufman CounterPunch
International Left Intellectuals Respond to Venezuelan Government's Legislative Election Setback: We have to ask ourselves, “Do my statements empower and amplify the articulated priorities of the movements and governments I am in solidarity with, or do they strengthen the US government narrative and create even greater space for it to intervene in the sovereign affairs of other countries?”

What's New

Jill McDonough AGNI
For the novelty fetishists, everything's new, new, new. Boston-based poet Jill McDonough shines a light on what's happening, what's coming. Only maybe not.

Hillary and Bernie: The Credibility Gap

Robert Borosage Campaign for America's Future
The Clinton campaign has aggressively sought campaign donations from the biggest financial interests and Clinton has personally taken millions of dollars in speaking fees from Wall Street and the health care industry. Meanwhile, Sanders has generated enough true popular excitement and small donations to be financially competitive at a presidential level.

Richard Levins: The People's Scientist

Pankaj Mehta Jacobin
Levins showed it is possible to be a serious scientist and a radical — a revelation for a scientifically and mathematically inclined young adult growing up at the “end of history.” He leaves an extraordinary scientific legacy matched by his legacy as a radical and activist.