By Gina Ronning The Portland Action Lab is currently embarking on what is sure to be a difficult conversation exploring group purpose, structure, and other aspects of self-evaluation. This dialogue is a crucial component for any group in assessing success and goal achievement. How meaningful this discussion will be is entirely dependent upon the level…
By Shamus Cooke With the November elections right around the corner, the millions of unemployed and underemployed have little reason to care. Aside from some sparse rhetoric, neither Democrats nor Republicans have offered a solution to job creation. Most politicians seem purposefully myopic about the jobs crisis, as if a healthy dose of denial might…
By Ann Robertson and Bill Leumer The International Association of Machinists just succeeded in negotiating a humiliating defeat with Caterpillar after a 15-week strike. Workers lost considerable money by striking, and then lost even more with the new contract, accepting almost every concession the company demanded despite the fact that the company was sitting on…
By Mark Vorpahl The unions remain the only organizations in this country built by and for workers to be a collective fighting force to defend and improve the members’ standard of living. While only a minority belong to unions, all workers’ fate depends on their strength. Unfortunately they have been taking a serious beating. How…
By Shawn Fleek This article is written in response to the Cynthia Alvarez piece, “Progressives Must Move Beyond Occupy”. It has been a year since the first cries of “We are the 99%” rang out in Portland, followed by much commotion, ropes strung between trees, pepper spray, large assemblies, a kitchen full of food and…
By Cynthia Alvarez Average citizens evaluate political organizations based on how those organizations actually function. They know a political organization is a microcosm of the society it wishes to create. So after ten months of heavy involvement in Occupy, I have this question for Occupiers: would you honestly want to live in a society that…
By Shamus Cooke The Great Recession and its possible continuance has brought the issue of privatization to the forefront of American politics. But most Americans aren’t even aware that this debate is happening, because the media and politicians aren’t using the word “privatization”. Instead, less threatening substitutes are used to ram through a corporate…
By Mark Vorpahl Many of the social expectations and political outlooks of today’s Labor Movement, and workers in general, were formed during the post-World War II economic expansion. With a growing economy and steady job supply, many people seemed content to focus on improving their immediate community or individual union with the expectation that, if…
This story originally appeared over at The Boston Occupier. By Doug Enaa Greene Although Howard Zinn died over two years ago at the age of eighty-seven, his legacy lives on through popular education initiatives and struggles for social justice. Howard Zinn was a pioneer in combining the roles of academic and activist. Not only was…
By elona trogub In this twisted world of ours, the solutions that most often move forward are those that end up creating a whole new set of problems. Dr. Robert Kehoe, the scientist who convinced the world that the use of leaded gasoline was safe (which has since been phased out of use due to…
