August 31 News Update

Harvey Didn’t Come Out of the Blue
'Grim Preview' of Pain Caused by Trump’s Climate Denial
Harvey Triggers 'Unbearable' Pollution
Oil refineries shut down as Harvey floods fuel contamination fears
In an era of unwelcome climate records Hurricane Harvey won't be the last
Port Arthur Faces Harvey Flooding Disaster *
A Storm Forces Houston, the Limitless City, to Consider Its Limits *
Harvey Victims Face Hurdles, and Maybe Bills, in Getting Aid *
South Asia floods: 1,200 death toll will rise as Mumbai building collapses
Canadian Town, Isolated After Losing Rail Link, ‘Feels Held Hostage’ *


Labor Day actions planned to support $15 wage, paid leave

San Diego County's biggest union announces strike date
7,300 Riverside County workers announces strike plans
Labor Movie Night presents 'Plutocracy: Political Repression in the USA'
Concession Fatigue in Connecticut
White House stops plan for companies to report pay by race and gender
Federal Judge Blocks Texas’ Ban on ‘Sanctuary Cities’ *   
Why All Americans Need Strong Labor Unions
Airline contractors at PHL agree to bargain with passenger service workers
Labor Union Approval Best Since 2003, at 61%
Without unions, our middle class is vanishing
How to Get Rich in Trump’s Washington *
At Starbucks, maternity leave depends on whether you're a barista or a boss
Rightwing alliance plots assault to 'defund and defang' America's unions

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 30 News Update

How climate change could turn US real estate prices upside down
Houston dam begins to overspill as Harvey triggers unprecedented impact
Trump's rollback of flood protections risks further Houston-style calamity
Floodwater Still on Rise as U.S. Rainfall Record Is Shattered *
Toll on Energy Industry Exposes a Vulnerability *
More Than 1,000 Died in South Asia Floods This Summer *

Trump Tax Plan May Free Corporate Dollars. Then What? *
It’s a Myth That Corporate Tax Cuts Mean More Jobs *

Pivotal labor cases due before Supreme Court
I am the real face of the minimum wage
MPs should have no say over who leads Labour, argues shadow minister
Air Traffic Privatization Hits Turbulence
Workers’ struggles repressed in the former USSR
Warnings of slippery slope as Germany shutters anti-capitalist website
150 years of Das Kapital: How relevant is Marx today?
Judge throws out Sarah Palin lawsuit against New York Times
Chile's President Bachelet introduces gay marriage bill
Despite Reassurances, Immigrants Fear Being Arrested *
Ferraris and Opera Were Urgent, but Grenfell Tower Risks Went Unheeded *
Home Health Care: Shouldn’t It Be Work Worth Doing? *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 29 Week In Review Now Online

You can view the new WIR here

August 29 News Update

Thousands await rescue amid 'catastrophic' flooding in Texas
Experts say it could take Houston years to fully recover from Harvey
Trump's rollback of flood protections risks further Houston-style calamity
It's a fact: climate change made Hurricane Harvey more deadly
Nearly 2 Feet of Rain Still Expected; Death Toll Rises to 10 *
A ‘500-Year Flood’ Could Happen Again Sooner Than You Think *

Malden nonprofit’s cuts lead to anti-union retaliation charges
Plimoth Plantation ‘interpreters’ protest wages, working conditions
High-powered voices join dispute at 2 LA radio stations
Demand for faster poultry processing lines draws protests
The NAFTA Consensus
Blanchett joins stars urging Russia to drop 'flimsy' charges against director
Trump defends controversial pardon of 'patriot' Joe Arpaio
Jacinda Ardern says Labour would make tertiary education free in New Zealand
The Empire Stopper *
Labour Party Seeks an Extended Brexit Transition for U.K. *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 28 News Update

Patagonia joins forces with activists to protect public lands from Trump
Melting Icebergs Alter the Oceans *
The Relationship Between Hurricanes and Climate Change *

Houston flooded as catastrophe unfolds in Texas
How Hurricane Harvey Became So Destructive *

Armed militia surrounding peaceful Kansas City protests
The day the American militia movement was born

Union in strife as Disney and Teamsters prepare for talks
San Diego County's biggest union warns of strike
Silk Stockings and Socialism
Ronald Reagan will be entering the Labor Department's Hall of Honor
Adjuncts support fast-food workers in Labor Day strike
Expelling Freeloaders in an Open-Shop State
W.E.B. DuBois on the Legacy of Robert E. Lee
Trump Embraces Nuclear Overhaul, Ignoring Concerns *
Trump’s Threats on Health Law Hide Gains Made by Some Insurers *
Collection of letters by codebreaker Alan Turing found in filing cabinet
‘Dreamer’ Plan That Aided 800,000 Immigrants Is Threatened *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 25 News Update

Trump OSM issues “cease all work” order on study of mountaintop removal
UMWA: Leadership changes at MSHA ‘troubling’
Trump official recommends shrinking national monuments
Justin Trudeau forced to backtrack on open invitation to refugees
Russian tanker sails through Arctic without icebreaker for first time


Who will save social security when the GOP tries to break it?

Service Union Plans Big Push to Turn Midwest Political Tide *
USPS employees receive latest pay raise, COLA increase under union deal
Memphis Riders and Drivers Team Up to Win Back Historic Bus Route
DSA Members Comment on Their 2017 Convention
Union members who dole out benefits to other union workers go on strike
Westchester union proposes new contract
Goodyear union workers ratify 5-year contract
Bend the trend: Reviving unionization in America
Italian police use water cannon against refugees occupying Rome square
Naval Vessels, Shadowy by Intent, Are Hard for Ships to Spot *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 24 News Update

Capitalism puts profits first, an ecological society will serve humanity    
From Abused Heart of Coal Country, Warnings, Lessons On Next Steps
Another US agency deletes references to climate change on government website
Parts of National Monument in Utah May Lose Protection *


McDonald's workers to coordinate strike with allies around world

San Francisco Dockers Call Strike to Confront White Nationalist Rally
Painters Union Fights to Free Member from Immigration Jail
The Bourgeoisie Begins to Abandon Trump
Catalonia: The Referendum and its Previous Lives
Argentine Trade Unions March Against Macri’s Neoliberal Reforms
Local unions, schools are trying to head off a trade-worker jobs crisis
UAW's loss at Nissan masks genuine progress for organized labor
New GM Korea head to meet with labor union
Science envoy resigns over Trump – with a letter spelling out 'impeach'
Ex-intelligence chief: Trump's access to nuclear codes is 'pretty damn scary'
This merger would threaten food supplies around the world. Who will stop it?
From Jackson Hole to the Teton Heights?
Trump Warns of Shutdown if Border Wall Isn’t Funded *
Blacks and Hispanics Are Still Underrepresented in Top Colleges *
Rabbis to Boycott Conference Call in Protest of President *
Student Loan Company Accused of Mismanaging Debt Forgiveness Program *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 23 News Update

Renewable World 'As Fast as Humanly Possible'
North Koreans fear more sanctions as drought threatens famine
The blue dogs of Mumbai: industrial waste blamed for colourful canines
Alaska’s Permafrost Is Thawing *
What Exxon Mobil Didn’t Say About Climate Change *

Police Use Tear Gas on Crowds After Trump Rally *
Americans at work: not a pretty picture
Stickering Up for Paid Sick Days
Target Center scoreboard crew eligible to unionize
Corbyn Admits What Most in US Won't: "War in Afghanistan Has Failed"
US government backs off its bid to get data on visitors to anti-Trump website
The Village Voice will silence its print edition after 62 years
Execution halted in Missouri after DNA testing raised questions over guilt
Chile approves landmark bill to ease abortion ban
Fiat Chrysler Is at a Crossroads, and It’s Looking to China *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 22 Week In Review Now Online

You can view the new WIR here

August 22 News Update

The hidden environmental impacts of 'platform capitalism'
Audi Engineer Implicates Superiors in Diesel Case *
Coal Mining Health Study Is Halted by Interior Department *

Trump says he'll expand US military intervention in Afghanistan
Trump Outlines New Afghan Strategy With Few Details *

'It's economic slavery' in Kansas City

Algonquin approves 5-year contract with Local 150
French Unions Fret as Macron Readies Labor-Law Upheaval
Annual parades in Alton, Granite City to honor unions
Solidarity's No Heavy Lift, Say Fitness Workers
British Columbia NDP’s Crawl to $15
Neo-Nazis launch campaign against local community
Land (in) justice in Brazil
The radicalization process yesterday, today, and tomorrow
Secret Service director says running out of money protecting Trump

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 21 News Update

Ice and fire: large blaze burns in Greenland for two weeks
Radio Interview: Is Capitalism Killing Our Climate?
Ten US sailors missing after destroyer collides with oil tanker
Trump's decision to allow plastic bottle sales in national parks slammed

Tens of thousands join Boston march against fascism and bigotry
500 Neo-Nazis Rally in Berlin, and Meet Strong Opposition *

Unions turn in 310,000 signatures to repeal Missouri right-to-work law

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/#storylink=cpy

Weeks after employee died, Blue Springs firm cited for again violating safety rules
Dick Gregory Dies; Found Humor in Civil Rights Struggle *
Unions offer tools to battle income inequality
Three ways to improve NAFTA and help workers
Teachers Union Caucuses Gather to Swap Strategies
Concrete driver strike that slowed Seattle construction ends with labor deal
Federal lawmakers seek to crack down on wage theft
Talk of ‘Preventive War’ Rises Over North Korea Issue *
U.S. Moves to Expand Deportation Dragnet to Jails *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 18 News Update

In Honor of Heather Heyer
KKK Grand Dragon says I'm 'glad' Heather Heyer died
Neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and internet trolls: who's who in the far right
Johnny Cash’s children condemn far-right protester in Cash T-shirt
The United States was never immune to fascism. Not then, not now
‘Antifa’ Grows, Swinging Fists at Far Right *
Confederate Leaders’ Relatives Open to Statue Removal *

How New York Subways Got Broke, On Purpose
Santa Ana To Require Union Labor on City Construction Contracts
Union stakes in ailing papers like the Chicago Sun-Times may keep them alive
Sanders Plans Jobs Rally With Union Leader in Indianapolis
You could be fired for any reason…or no reason
Union-backed measure adopted by Jersey City council
Old Left, New Victories
The Forgotten World of Communist Bookstores
Betsy DeVos has made a mark in six months as education secretary
Dolores Huerta Documentary Opens September 1
This is Sinclair, 'the most dangerous US company you've never heard of'
Brazilian supreme court upholds land rights of indigenous people
Jeremy Corbyn urges PM to rethink terms of Grenfell fire inquiry
Northern Ireland judge rejects two challenges to same-sex marriage ban

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 17 News Update

Smoke over the skies of North America is another climate change warning
Trump looms over Al Gore's urgent climate-change doc

Fighting white supremacists: What I learned from Malcolm X
‘They tried to kill my child to shut her up, but … you just magnified her’
World leaders accuse Trump of ‘glossing over’ racist violence
Jewish Labor Committee Condemns Bigotry, Violence in Charlottesville
A Trump Lawyer Echoes the Secessionist Rhetoric *

U.S. court rules Arkansas can block Planned Parenthood funding
KKK Members Convicted In Plot To Kill Black Inmate
Union Pacific lays off 500 managers, 250 other rail workers
State Union Could Drop ‘Fair Share’ Fees In Exchange For 6 Percent Raise
Labor wins the day in ‘Top Chef’ verdict
Metro union to appeal ruling ordering new officer elections
New Convention Center hotel will be union built
AWPPW rejects Georgia-Pacific / Koch Industries concessionary contract
Unions to Trump: No More Trickle-Down Trade Deals
End of the checkout line: the looming crisis for American cashiers
Sarah Champion resigns as shadow equalities minister
Trump Opens Breach With Party, Military and Industry *
The Night the Oxygen Ran Out in an Indian Hospital *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 16 News Update

Suniva Solar Tariff Case Could Throttle a Thriving Industry
States Are Using Social Cost of Carbon in Energy Decisions
As Hilcorp Plans to Drill in Arctic Waters, a Trail of Violations Surfaces
Korean Unions Call for a Just Energy Transition
The root of the climate crisis is capitalism, not demographics
Trump Signs Order Rolling Back Environmental Rules on Infrastructure *

  
Renter Week of Action and Political Education

An Injury to One is an Injury to All!
Trump reverts to blaming both sides including 'very, very violent alt-left'
LeBron James: 'so-called president' Trump has made hate fashionable
Diversity is the great rightwing scapegoat for working-class woes
Trump Gives White Supremacists an Unequivocal Boost *
When Jack Daniel’s Failed to Honor a Slave, an Author Rewrote History *
Holocaust Memorial in Boston Is Vandalized for Second Time This Summer *

State employees ratify new, two-year contracts
Hundreds attend ceremony honoring Capitol construction workers
Priority for U.S. Socialist Movement? Single-Payer Healthcare
RBS plans to cut 880 IT jobs by 2020, UK labor union says
The 1997 UPS Strike: Beating Big Business & Business Unionism
Twenty years after the Asian financial crisis
False promises: Trump and the revitalization of the US economy
Chomsky, Pilger slam Trump threats against Venezuela
Trump healthcare subsidy cut would raise premiums by 20%, CBO says
US government demands details on all visitors to anti-Trump protest website
Two-stage Brexit strategy derided by UK and EU politicians
5 Years After 34 South African Miners Shot Dead, No Arrests *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 15 News Update

Poison once flowed in America's waters. With Trump, it might again

Trumka condemns views and actions of white supremacists
Protesters in North Carolina Topple a Confederate Monument *
Energized Far Right Plots Its Next Moves *
How Trump Betrayed America Over Charlottesville

CWA members back reproductive choice
Letter Carriers president questions Postal Service management
U.S. Workers in the Late Neoliberal Era
How does Missouri state workers’ pay stack up with others? Not well
‘Either you respect collective bargaining or you don’t’
City, union spar over working conditions
One-fifth of Americans find workplace hostile or threatening
'A true hero': Bernard Kenny, stabbed trying to protect Jo Cox, dies aged 79
London Tower Fire Lays Bare One Divided District’s Tensions *
Thousands Converge to Protest as Trump Visits Manhattan *
Trump’s Threat Against Maduro Unites Latin America, Against U.S. *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

August 14 News Update

Climate scientists continue to sound the alarm
Pruitt Is Carrying Out E.P.A. Agenda in Secret, Critics Say *
Powered by Wind, Sun and Volcanoes *
Portugal Forest Fires Worsen, Fed by Poor Choices and Inaction *
Washington state utility's nuclear waste shipments suspended
New Orleans Scrambles to Repair Drainage System After Severe Flooding *
Scientists discover 91 volcanoes below Antarctic ice sheet
Border Wall Already Threatening Wildlife Along Rio Grande *


Charlottesville rally turns deadly: Build unity to smash fascism!
A Working-Class Strategy for Defeating White Supremacy
Woman killed at Charlottesville far-right rally was civil rights activist
Charlottesville Violence Highlights Worsening Race Relations in U.S.
DSA Statement on Nazi Violence in Charlottesville
The Sounds of Fists Pounding on Flesh *
Far-Right Groups Blaze Into National View in Charlottesville *

UAW to contest election loss at Nissan
Why Did Nissan Workers Vote No?
Danny Glover and Bernie Sanders seek France's help after Nissan union vote

US military says 2 American soldiers killed in Iraq
Unions Claim 300k Signers to Force Vote on R-t-W
Dutch Family Farms Teeter as a Recall of Tainted Eggs Widens *
30 Children Die in Indian Hospital; Critics Cite Oxygen Shortage *
Trump threatens 'military option' in Venezuela
Teamsters Union Tries to Slow Self-Driving Truck Push *
County's biggest union votes to allow strike
Steel and Solidarity in Granite City    
October and its Relevance
The Incredible Shrinking Sears *
Samantha Bee, the new heroine of American political satire
Barcelona airport crisis worsens as security staff plan 24-hour strike
Insurers Get More Time to Calculate Increases for 2018 *
Foreign Farmworkers in Canada Fear Deportation if They Complain *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.

There's No White Nation

by Bill Onasch

Most of the mainstream media refer to the deadly “protests” in Charlottesville, Virginia as the work of “White Nationalists.” This is not only inaccurate. It is an illusion that offers some legitimacy to a movement of neo-fascist scum.

My pale skin shares the same lack of pigment as those shouting anti-Black and anti-Semitic epithets in Virginia. But that's all we have in common. Unlike the descendants of those brought to this country as slaves there is no basis for a “white nation.”

The incessant right-wing attacks led by Fox news on “multi-culturalism,” “political correctness,” affirmative action, and sanctuary cities, now prevail as policy in the White House and Congress. They may be embarrassed by what has crawled out from the rocks they have overturned. Their attempts to keep the working class majority divided have put wind in the sails of fascism--a risky proposition they don't yet need.

But because they want to keep that option in reserve, they resist calling violent bigots by their proper names. Instead, like Trump, they reject violence “by all sides.” For him, there is no difference between the groups promoting Charlottesville as part of a “Summer of Hate,” and those targeted by the haters.

The purveyors of anti-Black, anti-Jewish, and anti-immigrant hatred in Virginia included those with Nazi banners and tats. Some wore SS-style helmets and one contingent carried rifles.

The multi-color, multicultural counter-protesters first gathered at a church where they were urged by Cornel West to go “bearing witness to love and justice in the face of white supremacy.” They carried no weapons but defended themselves in scuffles. Only after police dispersed the crowds did a cowardly white hater drive a Dodge Challenger at speed in to a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one, injuring dozens.

While people of color, Jews, and immigrants are the focus of the white supremacist embrace of fascism we know from history that suppression of the entire working class is their ultimate goal. The labor movement motto of An Injury to One is an Attack on All is the needed response in Virginia and everywhere else.

August 11 Week In Review Now Online

You can view the new WIR here

August 11 News Update

Alaskan towns at risk from rising seas sound alarm
Report shows climate records set in 2016. Yes, the world is warming!
Iraq sends workers home as 'ungodly' heat grips Middle East
Students, Cities and States Take the Climate Fight to Court *
North Korea Aside, Guam Faces Another Threat: Climate Change *

The last time the US launched ’fire and fury’ a third of North Korea died
On the beach 2017

London tower blocks residents ordered out over gas safety fears
Small fraction of Grenfell donations given to victims, regulator reveals
Outsourcing is killing local democracy in Britain. Here’s how we can stop that
Over 170 years after Engels, Britain is still a country that murders its poor


Dayton teachers are ready for a showdown

Descendants of Capitol builders gather for Sunday commemoration
With Nike Up to Old Tricks, Students and Workers Launch Global Protests
Labor union files complaint against owner of Loews Santa Monica
Latest on Goodyear contract for Fayetteville workers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Don’t Tell Colin Kaepernick to 'Stick to Sports'
Jeremy Corbyn back in campaigning mode in Cornwall
Controversial film about last tsar approved for release in Russia
Wisconsin Isn’t So Sure It Wants Those 13,000 Factory Jobs *
Another Subway Woe: Cuomo Says Power Distribution Must be Overhauled *
Who Owns Anbang of China? A U.S. Labor Union Wants to Know. *

Stories from the New York Times will be followed with a *. The Times pay wall policy allows free access to only about ten articles a month.