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Archive for May, 2012
2012 IL-16 campaign archive
by n0madic, posted on Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 at 7:00 am
Ross Perlin: Who Are Precarious Workers?
by n0madic, posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 8:32 pmfrom The Nation
Ross Perlin, author of Intern Nation: How to Earn Nothing and Learn Little in the Brave New Economy, explains that while growing up, he was exposed to a “myth of work” that involved spending one’s entire career in a single industry and working 9am to 5pm in office parks or factories. But in recent decades, he says, the idea of standard employment has “come apart at the seams,” and now as much of a third of the labor force in developed countries—including the United States—consists of precarious workers such as freelancers, independent contractors, seasonal part-time workers and interns.
Teachers and Citizens Demand a Seat at the Pension Funding Table
by Ellen McClennan, posted on Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at 10:06 pmA group of about forty people from Northern Illinois Jobs With Justice gathered in the noon day sun outside Illinois Senator Mike Noland‘s office in Elgin on Friday, May 4th. The people wanted Senator Noland to hear their concerns about the lack of revenue and funding for Illinois teachers’ pensions. Senator Noland is one of four legislators appointed by Quinn to a task force to solve this issue. While earlier State Senator Mike Noland (D-Elgin) had informed the group he would not be present to respond to their rally, he unexpectedly showed up
John Laesch, from NIJWJ, announced the rally was about the group’s concern regarding the State’s lack of funding for teachers’ pensions, but Noland didn’t seem to understand until the end of the rally that the citizens standing before him had not been sent by the Illinois Education Association (IEA) and were instead concerned citizens and workers—about half of whom happened to be teachers.
“This is a workers’ issue. And we are concerned that our legislators have not funded our teachers’ pensions. We have a revenue problem here. This is a concern to all taxpayers and to all people who work for a living,” said Laesch.
John Nichols: How to Build a Movement
by n0madic, posted on Friday, May 4th, 2012 at 7:46 pmfrom The Nation
A real movement is not limited to a small party. A real movement touches everyone. In Wisconsin, a real movement did just that. In this video, John Nichols explains how the state came together—from the young to the old, from the private sector to the public—in a show of diversity that formed the basis for a broader struggle.
Three Ways Ending Obamacare Will Hurt Women
by n0madic, posted on Friday, May 4th, 2012 at 5:38 pmfrom the Center for American Progress
Obamacare is under threat by the Supreme Court and conservatives in Congress. If the law were struck down or repealed, it would have dire consequences for the millions of women who benefit from it. Jessica Arons, Director of the Center for American Progress’s Women’s Health and Rights Program explains.
Found Objects for a Friday Afternoon: The Greening of Chicago
by n0madic, posted on Friday, May 4th, 2012 at 12:00 pm
OSI: Pat Langley, “Occupy’s Queer Ancestor”
by n0madic, posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 at 3:44 pmPat Langley speaks to Occupy Springfield, IL about the similarities between the Occupy movement and the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP)
Gayatri Spivak: The Long and Short of Capitalism’s Demise
by n0madic, posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 at 2:19 pmfrom The Nation
The short-term work of strikes and sensational displays of worker power will not be enough to dislodge capitalism’s grip on our lives, says Professor Gayatri Spivak of Columbia University. These short-term tactics must be paired with the longer-term efforts of education and organization. This educational work, Spivak insists in this video, is “not really the pedagogy of the oppressed, it is indeed the pedagogy of the liberated, because if you do not have training in the practice of freedom, when you win… it will not last.”
Rep. Biss Holds Town Hall Meeting on Pensions
by John Laesch, posted on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 at 7:59 amState Rep. Daniel Biss had the courage to hold a town hall meeting to discuss “pension reform” in Glenview on April 30th. I estimate that 200-225 people attended the overcrowded room that was set up to accommodate 75 people.
The standing room only crowd was a mirror image of other pension discussions happening around the state. The general mood of the cramped, “slightly too warm for comfort” room was polite and respectful. Biss set the tone by taking questions and respecting diverse opinions while facilitating the conversation artfully.
I attended the event because I felt that if Representative Biss had the courage to hold a controversial town hall meeting that he might also have the courage to lead a fight to actually fund pensions and uphold the state’s end of the deal.
