We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Building workplace organizations anew

Click here to access article by Pete Dolack from Systemic Disorder.

Because I've had numerous distractions this morning, I haven't had time to carefully read this article. It appears to provide an excellent history of worker organizing through unions in the US since the 1930s. Because the capitalist ruling class controls all institutions of our society, history is taught with worker history very much neglected and distorted. This is your opportunity to learn about the real history from a very trusted source.
Workplace solidarity in the face of the neoliberal onslaught is as crucial as ever, yet present-day unions become ever more fearful. How do we build solidarity in an era when the tools of the past have lost their effectiveness?

New types of organizations are not only necessary, it is essential to look at past upsurges in union activity, particularly those of the 1930s, with clear eyes rather than romanticization....