Public opposition to free trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), that serve to increase inequality and concentrate corporate power has reached a loud crescendo. We got to this point through years of effort by thousands of civil society groups around the world, reaching out to educate people on the likely impacts of the very specific rules embedded in those …
Meditations and Molotovs – 06.06.16
Today, Vince speaks to everyone’s favorite professor, sociologist and labor activist, Kim Scipes. They discuss Kim’s latest book, “Building Global Labor Solidarity in a Time of Accelerating Globalization” (Haymarket).
Building Global Labor Solidarity in a Time of Accelerating Globalization is a call for international solidarity to resist the assaults on labor’s power. This collection of essays by international labor activists and academics examines models of worker solidarity, different forms of labor organizations, and those models’ and organizations’ relationships to social movements and civil society.
Kim Scipes is associate professor of sociology at Purdue University Northwest in Westville, Indiana. He has previously authored two books: KMU: Building Genuine Trade Unionism in the Philippines, 1980–1994 (New Day Books, 1996) and AFL-CIO’s Secret War Against Developing Country Workers: Solidarity or Sabotage? (Lexington Books, 2010).
Interview with Ashlen Busick, Kendra Kimbirauskas & Terry Spence of SRAP: Socially Responsible Agriculture Project – 09.24.15
Ashlen Busick- Community Organizer- ashlenb@sraproject.org
As the granddaughter of Terry Spence and neighbor to a massive hog operation, Ashlen has been immersed in the issues of factory farming from the age of 5. She joins the SRAP Team now, 20 years later, to lend her passion to the movement for sustainable agriculture.
Ashlen graduated with a BSBA from the University of Central Missouri and has worked as the Director of Fundraising and Development for the Central Missouri Christian Campus House. While in Warrensburg, she served alongside local non-profits as the secretary for Johnson County Cares and helped organize various community events for people in poverty and for environmental sustainability.
Her husband’s hire as the high school choir director for Trenton, Missouri brought her back to the northern part of the state and provided an avenue for her to join in her grandfather’s legacy of advocating for the small farmer.
Democracy on the Retreat in Over 96 of the 193 U.N. Member States, Says New Study By Thalif Deen
Democracy is on the retreat and authoritarianism is on the rise in more than 96 of the U.N.’s 193 member states, according to a new report released here. The two regions of “highest concern” for defenders of civic space are Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, which between them account for over half of the countries counted. …
The Numbers Are Staggering: U.S. Is ‘World Leader’ in Child Poverty – Paul Buchheit
America’s wealth grew by 60 percent [3] in the past six years, by over $30 trillion. In approximately the same time, the number of homeless children has also grown by 60 percent [4]. Financier and CEO Peter Schiff said [5], “People don’t go hungry in a capitalist economy.” The 16 million kids [6] on food stamps know what it’s like to go hungry. Perhaps, some in Congress would say, those …
The TTIP Power Grab: Handing The Corporate Thieves The Key To Your Home
Some 375 civil society organisations from across Europe have today called on EU decision-makers to protect citizens, workers, and the environment from threats the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) it poses. The call comes as European Parliament committees are discussing a draft resolution on the TTIP negotiations to be voted upon in May. It will not be legally …