As the cost of living in California climbs upward at a racer’s pace, alliances of progressives, socialists and trade unionists have launched intense campaigns to raise the minimum wage in… Read more »
economy
Dateline Australia — Fight-back against austerity needs union leadership
An infamous image said it all. After drafting the largest attack on the poor in Australia’s history with a drastic budget scheme, chief finance minister (treasurer) Joe Hockey and his… Read more »
Seattle tenants mobilize against massive rent hikes
Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) is pushing a proposal called “Stepping Forward” that could kick many low-income tenants out of their homes. The plan would raise rent for households with at… Read more »
The war on retirement security: How bosses and bankers are cracking your nest egg
One year ago last November, in Washington State, the Boeing Co. told 30,000 members of the International Association of Machinists: Stick ’em up! Your pensions or your jobs! CEO’s threatened… Read more »
Harlem community battles developers, privatization of schools and housing
In his 1951 poem Harlem, Langston Hughes asks: “What happens to a dream deferred?” More than half a century later, with hedge fund honchos and real estate moguls calling the… Read more »
Oil and the struggle for world domination
Oil and oil prices — they are on the minds of everyone. When the price of oil plummets, it’s a relief for beleaguered workers around the world. With wages falling… Read more »
After a massive vote in Greece against austerity … Can the Syriza party deliver on its promises?
Banksters demanding debt payments have been hammering at Greece for years. When visiting there in September 2013, I was shocked at how government cuts had devastated the Greek people. And… Read more »
Guns versus butter: Why tanks trump food stamps in the federal budget
Though hardly front-page news, the proposed federal budget for 2016 boosts funding for the Department of Defense. Obama earmarked $534 billion to these U.S. warlords. Their base budget in 2000… Read more »
Closing the gender pay gap: what will it take?
The battle for equal pay for women has gained attention recently, although it’s simmered for decades. In the 1950s, women got 60 cents for every dollar paid to men. Sixty… Read more »
The unstoppable fight for $15: Low-wage workers won’t take no for an answer
From the early scattered strikes against Burger King and McDonald’s, the movement for $15 an hour has blossomed, logging many small but growing victories in cities and states across the… Read more »
