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Portside aims to provide material of interest to people on the left that will help them to interpret the world and to change it.

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Public Servants Are Losing Their Foothold in the Middle Class

Patricia Cohen and Robert Gebeloff The New York Times
For generations of Americans, working for a state or local government — as a teacher, firefighter, bus driver or nurse — provided a comfortable nook in the middle class. But they are now finding themselves financially downgraded.

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Grab and Gojek Drivers in Indonesia Push to Unionize

Diatyka Widya Permata Yasih and Andi Rahman Alamsyah The News Lens
Motorcycle taxi drivers in Indonesia are protesting for better wages and working conditions, and calling on the government to regulate the app-based ride industry. This activity is encouraging but these gig economy workers face many challenges in trying to build a sustainable union.

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Coding and Coercion

Ben Tarnoff/Björn Westergard Jacobin
An interview with Björn Westergard Unions have been trying to organize software engineers for decades, with little success. Here's a look at the organizing campaign that might turn things around.

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Cuomo Signs Legislation Strengthening Workers’ Rights

By Gregory N. Heires DC 37 Blog
The new law increases access to and protects union membership in New York’s public-sector workplaces in anticipation of an adverse ruling in the pending Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME.

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The Mirage of Pension-Fund Activism

Bob Farkas Jacobin
Pension-fund activism is a dead-end. Organizing and empowering workers is still the only way to revive the labor movement.
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