unions

At a time when the American population is radicalizing, when popular movements are coalescing around “radical” demands—Medicare for All, the abolition of ICE, tuition-free college, in general the demand to make society livable for everyone—it can be useful to draw collective inspiration from the past. Irruptions of the popular will have on innumerable occasions reshaped history, remade the terrain of class struggle such that the ruling class was, at least for a moment, thrown on the defensive and forced to retreat.

It’s more than doors between government and the businesses that they supposedly regulate that go round and round.  One of the other swinging doors is between the Democratic and Republican Parties.
A second door

CHICAGO — “Shorty!”

The Supreme ruled that mandatory union dues for people who work in the public sector violate workers' right to free speech, as it compels them to subsidize speech and political action that they may strongly oppose. Unions will be left to convince workers to join and pay dues voluntarily. Thomas Jefferson said, "To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." [...]

NY-11 is all of Staten Island and the Trumpiest part of south Brooklyn. In fact, the district, the most Italian district in America, has a PVI of R+3. Although Obama beat Romney there in 2012-- 51.6% to 47.3%-- in 2016 it was Trump country. He beat Hillary 53.6% to 43.8%. The GOP establishment is happy to run incumbent Dan Donovan but former Congressman Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm is our of prison and trying to get back into Congress again as a Trumpist.

Several months ago, Maxford Nelson, executive director of a right-wing think tank, the Freedom Foundation, showed up at a Washington state legislative committee hearing to oppose a bill to make dues checkoff easier for the state’s public workers.
The lawmakers jumped on him, questioning what he was even doing there, since the foundation is supposed to be — and advertises itself as — non-profit and non-partisan. Federal and state tax rules bar such groups from overt political lobbying.

Polls show that most Americans know Trump's a liar. Revelations of more lies-- daily revelations of more lies-- isn't going to change anything. That he's a dishonest asshole is baked into the cake. It looks like Señor T was partially correct when he said he could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any voters. "Any voters?" Wrong.

In recent weeks and months Americans have seen large teacher strikes and protests erupt in several states simultaneously. These unprecedented strikes are sharply bringing to the fore the long-standing poor and humiliating working conditions faced by millions of teachers in America as a result of the destructive neoliberal agenda of the rich.

The Popular Resistance School will begin on May 1 and will be an eight-week course on how movements grow, build power and succeed as well as examine the role you can play in the movement. Sign up to be part of this school so you can participate in small group discussions about how to build a powerful, transformational movement. REGISTRATION CLOSES MIDNIGHT APRIL 30.

On Monday, journalist and author Jonathan Tasini wrote a "Dear colleagues" letter about bias in mainstream journalism, especially in the coverage of economics. It impressed me so much that I asked him if I could publish it here at DWT. He graciously agreed.Mainstream/traditional journalism is replete with examples of bias and utter cluelessness when it comes to economics.