Unfinished battle for school funding
OPINION The following testimony, slightly abridged here, was presented to the New York City Council Commission on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, Jan. 13. I have two children in elementary school in the Bronx and one in high school in Manhattan, and I am the chairperson of the New York State Communist Party, whose members have been active on education issues for many years.
Disasters, contradictions, and hypocrisy
OPINION A great wave struck 12 countries Dec. 26 and killed over 150,000 people. The nations and people of the world have come together in a massive demonstration of solidarity that is entirely consistent with people’s essential generosity.
Iraqs elections no simple answers for the U.S. left
OPINION George W. Bush is uniquely unqualified to trumpet free elections, in Iraq or anywhere else. Voter intimidation, suppression, obstruction — these are his trademarks.
Listening to the inaugural speech
OPINION It turns out that many, including myself, continue to underestimate the strength of Bush’s commitment to an outright imperial policy unequaled in its scope and unprecedented in its worldwide impact.
EDITORIALS
What’s the difference? / UN: poverty ‘silent tsunami’
Martina Gangle Curl: Peoples art and the mothering of humanity
PORTLAND, Ore. — In the eight years since Portland artist Martina Gangle Curl passed away at age 88, her stature has steadily risen, spurred by a growing interest in her sometimes heroic, but always loving depiction of ordinary working people, the American Indians, pioneers and workers who created a unique culture in the Pacific Northwest.
Asbestos a disease crisis not a lawsuit crisis
As an oncologist, I see the deadly and tragic consequences of exposure to the carcinogen asbestos in my patients who suffer from lung cancer and mesothelioma. I also know all too well the inadequacy of the regulatory system designed to protect workers, as my brother was killed due to unsafe working conditions.
The debate in labor just got more constructive
News Analysis In early January the leaders of the New Unity Partnership (NUP) decided to disband. NUP was a loose caucus of national unions in the AFL-CIO, including SEIU, HERE, UNITE (now HERE-UNITE), the Laborers and the Carpenters. They got together during the summer of 2003 with the avowed purpose of pushing for reforms in the AFL-CIO.
Devil in the details
President Bush’s pitch to workers, especially young workers, that privatization will make you rich is a Wall Street swindle. A detailed analysis of the most likely Bush administration proposals for Social Security included in the Goldman Sachs Global Economic Research Bulletin for Dec. 17 shows the Bush program to be a fraud — but a clever fraud.
Labor leads fight to block fare hikes
PHILADELPHIA — Over 150 people representing a wide range of organizations packed the hall for a press conference at the AFL-CIO headquarters here Jan. 12 to launch the Pennsylvania Transit Coalition.
