organized labor

Anti-Labor, Anti-Free Press, Anti-Gay, Anti-Israel

August 8, 2012

. Some people never get the point. Some people once got the point, or claimed to, claimed to see it – there it is, over there – and then they got their hands on the point and stretched the point, to make a point, turned it inside out, inverted and perverted the point, developed a [...]

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Centenaries and Memory

March 25, 2011

Today is the hundredth anniversary of the Triangle Shirt Factory fire in New York City, a signal event in the history of the American worker, and one that is drawing a remarkable degree of attention from a world so far from the one in which it occurred. This past December was my father’s hundredth birthday. [...]

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CineFile – Norma Rae

March 13, 2011

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to low wages, managerial mistreatment, and old age poverty. What kind of boss do you think the underhanded, contemptuous, and inflexible Scott Walker will be to work for? While Martin Ritt was not an exceptional film stylist, his origins in the 1930s Group Theater led to [...]

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Hugo Chavez in Wisconsin

March 9, 2011

It is a core distinction between the American Left and Right that while liberals seek to expand rights in ways that conservatives often dislike and find offensive, conservatives simply seek to deprive citizens of rights and to take from them those they already have. You can find video of this historic travesty of democracy – [...]

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“Free Labor,” from Abraham Lincoln – in Wisconsin

March 7, 2011

Abraham Lincoln, in his so far unending prescience and wisdom, actually offered some thoughts on the nature of labor and capital in of all places Wisconsin – at the annual meting of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, in Milwaukee, on September 30, 1859. A brief passage from it, bolded below, is quoted often and can [...]

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Profiles in Anti-Unionism

March 6, 2011

I wrote on Friday, highlighted in the commentary at Texas Insider of former Reagan speech writer Clark S. Judge, about the kind of fundamental dishonesty on display in the arguments of those advocating a roll back of twentieth century social progress in worker’s rights and labor conditions. I expanded here on the comment I left [...]

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FOX News: Because we really are assholes and so full of shit it comes out of our mouths

March 5, 2011

Why don’t they just call for the Restoration already and be done with it? It really is so liberating to come out of the closet. SNAP. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Crisis in Dairyland – For Richer and Poorer – Teachers and Wall Street www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full [...]

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Meet the Opposition to Labor Rights

March 4, 2011

I was going to post today (and will another day) on a number of rhetorically sly and fallacious argumentative ploys I’ve encountered lately, but you may have noticed that I am singularly focused these days on the GOP’s reactionary assault on labor rights and working people. It is a critical moment in U.S. social history, [...]

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The Political Lexicologist: Overreach THIS

March 3, 2011

What’s the difference between technical jargon and mind-numbing, unthinking cliché? Why, it’s that while I, on occasion, may resort to the former, you, of course, invariably use the latter. In the arid world of politics, however, we are richly blessed with language that is oppressively both and of which the citizenry is the object of [...]

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The GOP’s “Systematic Assault” on Middle Class Americans & Unions

March 2, 2011

The statement of Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) on the floor of the House this morning. The truth in five minutes. Related articles GOP govs show Obama no love (politico.com) GOP Attacks on Unions are Bad Short-Term Politics, But is There a Long-Term Goal? (elections.firedoglake.com) Share Tweet Subscribe to comments on this post Email

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The GOP’s Fake Argument of Utility against Labor Rights

March 1, 2011

………………………………………………….Think now History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors And issues, deceives with whispering ambitions, Guides us by vanities. T.S. Eliot, “Gerontion” As I said yesterday, the underlying and fundamental motivation for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and other Republicans’ drive to eliminate collective bargaining for public sector unions is an outright philosophical opposition to organized [...]

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Kicking the Tires on Democracy: Wisconsin & Labor

February 28, 2011

The surface of conservative arguments for ending collective bargaining in Wisconsin and other states is as deep as  a worn tread. GOP politicians all over the country, including Scott Walker, have been peddling the “pre-owned automobile” of a utilitarian argument in a crisis. “We need the tools,” they keep repeating like a FOX News talking [...]

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The American Dream Labor Rallies in Pictures

February 27, 2011

February 26, 2011, in cities across the United States. Related articles Wisconsin Protests: Labor Protests Draw Thousands Across The Country (huffingtonpost.com) Labor protests beyond Wisconsin draw thousands (reuters.com) San Francisco Rally for the American Dream Draws Thousands, Demanding Economic Rights and Opportunity (alternet.org) Wisconsin Labor Union Fight Sparks New York City Hall Rally (newyork.cbslocal.com) Political [...]

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Nationwide Rally in Support of Wisconsin Labor

February 25, 2011

From MoveOn.org: click this link to find a rally near you. Rally to Save the American Dream In Wisconsin and around our country, the American Dream is under fierce attack. Instead of creating jobs, Republicans are giving tax breaks to corporations and the very rich—and then cutting funding for education, police, emergency response, and vital [...]

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The Death of Organized Labor, or its Rebirth?

February 24, 2011

Update: Also read the microblog twitter stream further down to the right with many links to relevant current and breaking news and information. A popular Chinese curse of questionable authenticity is “May you live in interesting times.” A contrary blessing for those who seek invigorating and engaged lives might be “May you live in momentous [...]

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The Next GOP Assault on Working Americans: State Bankruptcy

January 24, 2011

In fact, it has been going on for over thirty years. It has taken the form of nearly stagnant wages, while the accumulation of wealth among the richest Americans has reached proportions beyond all previous measure. It grew in the increased turn to a contingent labor force, steadily shorn of worker protections, benefits, and even [...]

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