- The Strike at NYU (11/14/2005) - The strike at New York University is entering its second week. Local 2110 of the UAW represents graduate teaching assistants at the university, who organized a union to protest the fact that teaching assistants increasingly handle a huge workload of teaching, preparing coursework and grading papers and exams. The union won recognition from the university and a contract in 2002. It was the first of its kind, as the Clinton-appointed National Labor Relations Board had… …
- Why Tuesday? (11/8/2005) - Like a good citizen, I voted today. "Yes" on 1 and 2, "No" on 3 and 4, against Whitey for Mayor, Socialist Workers where I could, Working Families where I could not and write-in votes for "Socialism" for the judges and Public Advocate. One question: why the Hell are we voting on a Tuesday? …
- Breaking Up With Work Is Hard To Do (11/5/2005) - It's funny how quitting a job can sometimes feel like breaking up with a girlfriend. Even if the break-up occurred for good reasons, it tears you up to hear what she's been up to, and makes you wish, if only for a moment, that you were still there. Sunday's New York Times profiles the upcoming contract fight for the city's hotel employees union, where I worked for three years before resigning last November 3rd. That… …
- Radio City Lock Out (11/3/2005) - For the benefit of readers who lack a Masters degree education in Labor Law, or a brain in their skulls, when workers return to their job site with no conditions or stipulations after a walk-out, and their boss responds, "No, I will not allow you to return to work," that is not a strike. That's called a lock-out, and it's what management has done to the union musicians at the Radio City "Christmas Spectacular." Throughout… …
- Besterberg, Where’s the Resterberg? (11/2/2005) - What a disappointing decade and a half it's been for fans of Paul Westerberg. The mercurial former lead singer for the mighty Replacements moved from glossy pop rock to over-produced singer-songwriter navelgazing to under-produced home recording reclusiveness, from major label "next big thing" to indie label "has been," from sober to drinking again. Westerberg's cult status is consecrated, to an extent, by the Rhino collection, "BESTerberg: The Best of Paul Westerberg," a curious 20 song… …
- Wal-Mart Video: The High Cost of Low Price (11/1/2005) - Join the Socialist Party of New York City on Sunday, November 13 at 3:00 pm for a screening of the new documentary, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." Stick around for a discussion of anti-Wal-Mart activism in NYC. Location: 339 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor, NYC 10012 Directions: Take the B, D, F or V to Broadway/Lafayette, or the #6 to Bleecker. …
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- Election Day Voting Advice from the Socialist Party (11/1/2005) - The Socialist Party of New York City has endorsed only one candidate in the 2005 citywide elections: Gloria Mattera for Brooklyn Borough President. Gloria is a seasoned community activist with whom we have worked and who has secured our trust. Her Green Party campaign is a historic challenge to Democratic machine politics in Brooklyn, enlisting the support of hundreds of activists, raising tens of thousands of dollars (and potentially qualifying for matching funds). She not… …
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- She Came From Wal-Mart (10/27/2005) - I finally got a pet. A cat. I found her lounging under a tree, at a "golden community" located behind the parking lot of the Wal-Mart at the Green Acres mall at Valley Stream. I was doing my usual union organizer thing, but stopped to pet this unusually sweet and friendly stray cat. One of the residents, Pat Day, caught me petting her, and commenced a month-long lobbying effort to get me to adopt the… …
- The Great Blog Circle Jerk, part II (10/18/2005) - Richard Winger, the stalwart defender of independent and third party ballot access rights, and the man who has kept the Coalition for Free and Open Elections going, has put the Ballot Access News online as a blog. It is a tremendous resource for news and information about legal challenges to this country's various draconian ballot access laws, as well as occasional success stories from third parties. The Drum Major Institute, the non-partisan, non-profit progressive think… …
- Take Ten Percent Off the Top (10/17/2005) - As token gestures go, this one is particularly insulting. Executives at Delphi, the financially troubled auto parts producer that was spun off from GM a few years ago, are voluntarily cutting their million dollar salaries by as much as 20% as the company goes through bankruptcy procedures and seeks to void its union contracts and slash the pay of its workers by as much as two-thirds. This magnanimous act was meant to make up for… …