Whither Unions? – Organizing Lessons from a Right-To-Work State

Published on ZNet, by Paul Rubin, Jan 18, 2016.

The labor movement in this country is in deep crisis. All too many unions are losing members, confronting deteriorating job conditions, and fighting defensive battles. One would think that labor in conservative, right-to-work states would be in the worst shape of all. But this is not necessarily so. One union local in historically conservative Arizona has continued to grow not just in size but, more importantly, in influence. I believe there are lessons here for labor activists across the nation … //

… Internal Organizing/Education: Continuer la lecture de « Whither Unions? – Organizing Lessons from a Right-To-Work State »

How Corporations and Politicians Lie With Numbers

… and How Not to Be Fooled – Published on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Jan 17, 2016; (first by Larry Schwartz on AlterNet).

… Americans, as P.T. Barnum once noted, are not all that difficult to fool, and our nation’s somewhat weak math skills don’t help. A Pew Research Center report issued last year, which studied test results of 15-year-olds, ranked the United States 35th in the world in math. Not only has this weakness in understanding numbers created opportunities for mass exploitation by Big Pharma and other industries, it has led to needless and mostly unwarranted fear. While Americans don’t understand math, be assured that corporations do, and they happily use it to mislead and obfuscate in the name of selling their products.   Continuer la lecture de « How Corporations and Politicians Lie With Numbers »

Capitalism, Austerity – and it's results

The Pugnacious, Relentless Progressive Party That Wants to Remake America

Published on The Atlantic, by Molly Ball, Jan 16, 2016.

The Working Families Party has pushed the political debate to the left in the states where it’s already active. Now—in the era of Occupy and Bernie Sanders—it’s ready to take that fight nationwide.

At a recent private dinner in Manhattan, a small group of leftists plotted to take over America.   Continuer la lecture de « The Pugnacious, Relentless Progressive Party That Wants to Remake America »

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