Friday’s actions aren’t going to leave its stores empty or its business model overhauled. So what would make them a success from the perspective of the labor activists?
"This moment is a historic one," organizers with Ferguson Action, a coalition of local community groups, said in a call to action after the decision was announced. "Just like people have done throughout American history, we are making our voices heard, taking to the streets and using our first amendment rights to engage in strong actions of civil disobedience."
The talk about resetting President Obama’s security team is misplaced; we should be focusing instead on resetting his bellicose policies. Secretary Chuck Hagel’s resignation should be a time for the nation to step back and reexamine its violent approach to extremism, which has led to an expansion of terrorist groups, and inflated military spending.
Just in time for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, the measure —aimed at giving retail staffers more predictable schedules and access to extra hours —will make the worker-friendly city even friendlier.
Last year the Labor Campaign for Single Payer posted our Briefing Paper, ”10 Things Unions Need to Look Out for When Bargaining Under Obamacare.” We asserted that, “because it relies on employment-based coverage to provide the lion’s share of healthcare insurance while, perversely, undermining key aspects of that coverage, we have concluded that the ACA will place new stresses and pressures on collective bargaining.”
Books, you know, they’re not just commodities. The profit motive often is in conflict with the aims of art. We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art—the art of words.
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