Portside

The news, with the usual notable exceptions, was generally a tawdry affair in the service of power. Still, can there be any question that, as the newspaper fades, we're entering a new age of conglomerated mainstream chaos? You only needed to check out the "coverage" of the Boston Marathon bombing aftermath - which you would have had to be blind, deaf, and dumb to miss... What possible dreams (other than coverage nightmares) could emerge from that? - Tom Engelhardt

Most US union members belong to very large, highly bureaucratized organizations - the 3 million member NEA, the 2 million member SEIU, the 1.3 million member AFSCME and Teamsters, and so on. Change - whether it be to elect a new slate of officers or to change organizational culture - is a daunting challenge: There are often complex hoops that member-activists and local leaders have to jump through to get dissenting or diverging voices heard.

Ask yourself this: Do you know the name of any one of the victims killed in the West Chemical and Fertilizer Company disaster? Do you know how many of them there were? Their ages, aspirations, what they looked like, whether they left behind children or what messages they last posted on Facebook? Do you know if there is an explanation yet for what caused the explosion? Or if investigators are still searching for one?

Union leaders are exploring new forms of organization. One such form is the “minority” or “pre-majority” union. Under that framework, workers could sign up members and bargain on behalf of a smaller group until they reached the 50 percent threshold and went through the traditional certification process. This article explores a number of non-traditional avenues for unions.

Readers Comments: Henry Kissinger; Richie Havens; Chechnya, Terrorism; Whither the Socialist Left; Korea; Venezuela; Texas Plant; Nude Protests; Robin Hood Tax; Labor's Organizing Model; Announcements: Angela Y. Davis, Feminism & Abolition: Theories & Practices for 21st Century - Chicago - May 3; Labor Historians - AFL-CIO Needs Your Help: Organizing: New & Forgotten Methods; Maudelle Shirek Memorial - Berkeley - Apr 30; Resource: Workers Memorial Day - April 28

While the acute tensions of the past month appear to be receding - all of the parties involved seem to be taking a step back - the problem is not going to disappear and, unless Washington and its allies re-examine their strategy, another crisis is certain to develop.