Walter O’Brien: The Man Who Never Returned

Peter Dreier and Jim Vrabel Jacobin
Most Americans know the song “MTA,” popularized by the Kingston Trio in 1959. It’s the one about a “man named Charlie” doomed to “ride forever ’neath the streets of Boston . . . the man who never returned.” What’s forgotten, however, is that the song was originally made for a left-wing political campaign. In 1949, the Boston People’s Artists wrote “MTA” for a left-wing candidate. The song became a hit — the man behind it disappeared.

MBTA Outsourcing is Not Paying Off

Craig Hughes Commonwealth Magazine
The 18.6 million dollar repair contract for the 32-bus fleet, which was bid in 2013, was the only bid the T received and came in nearly 18 percent below estimate.

labor

BPS Students Take to the Streets, Mayor Walsh Feeling the Heat

Jason Pramas Dig Boston
What’s unspoken is that the best proof that the unions didn’t have much of a role in the protest is that historically they’ve shown little ability to mobilize significant numbers of students in the Bay State. Typically, union-backed coalitions like BEJA will pull a few dozen to a few hundred people to such protests. Students or non-students, the story is always the same. The people who turn out will be a mix of union and nonprofit staffers.

labor

Hyatt to Pay Ousted Workers $1 million in Boycott-ending Deal

Katie Johnston Boston Globe
Under the settlement, these workers, who were supported by the hospitality union Unite Here, also will receive preference in hiring at future Boston-area Hyatt hotels, although many said they would be reluctant to return to a Hyatt unless it is unionized. Nationwide, about a quarter of Hyatt hotels have a union presence, and Marc Ellin, senior vice president at Hyatt, said future Hyatts in Greater Boston “could involve union representation

Inequality After Occupy

Penny Lewis The Washington Spectator
In the years since the destruction of the occupations, the critique of inequality has only broadened and deepened in the U.S. Occupy should claim credit for getting it on the map, while political iterations old and new have been keeping it there. Today, the fight against inequality is taking greater institutional shape, and seemingly exerting more leverage, in places inspired by Occupy but moving beyond its initial tactics.

labor

Teachers Group Revealed as Funder Behind Pro Walsh PAC

Wesley Lowery The Boston Globe
The American Federation of Teachers was the donor behind One Boston, a PAC that paid for a $480,000 television commercial supporting Mayor-elect Martin J. Walsh during the final days of the Boston mayoral race.

Off-Year Elections Show Reaction Can Be Beat

Peter Dreier; Joan Walsh
Elections show the tide can turn against the unholy alliance of big business, the Tea Party, and the religious right. Growing protests - the "Moral Monday" movement in North Carolina, militant immigrant rights activism, battles to protect women's health clinics from state budget cuts, strikes by low-wage workers, civil disobedience actions to challenge voter suppression, & campaigns against global energy corporations. Virginia - win in a race lost by 17 points in 2009.

Media Bits & Bytes – On the Move Edition – May 7, 2013

Portside
Racializing the Boston Bombers; LA Times Drops the "I-Word"; NY Times, Not So Much; ESPN Becomes New Conduit to Obama; Newspapers Remain Immobile; Online Ads Follow You Around; New Fight Over Internet `Wiretapping'; Feds Becoming Big Customer of Consumer Data Collected by Corporations; Decade of iTunes Killed the CD Industry; Journalism or Churnalism?; Wikipedia Has Women Problems
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