http://www.workers.org/ en-us http://www.workers.org/wwstar.gif http://www.workers.org/ http://www.workers.org/2009/us/no_recovery_0709 Bob Herbert, who is an op-ed columnist for the New York Times and also an African American, wrote in a recent piece: “There are now five unemployed workers for every job opening in the United States. The ranks of the poor are growing, welfare rolls are rising” and young male workers over a broad front “are falling into an abyss of joblessness.” us Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:41:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/disabled_activists_0709 Chanting “They say cut back, we say fight back!” over 400 disabled activists and their supporters took over the street in front of the State Office Building in San Francisco June 23 to “Stop the governor from slashing programs for people with disabilities, kids, and poor people.” Seventeen people both in and out of wheelchairs were arrested in a civil disobedience action. us Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:29:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/transit_workers_0709 Take Back Our Union “is excited and pleased over such overwhelming support from our membership,” TBOU spokesperson Charles Jenkins told Workers World. “Our members made an outcry for change after 8-and-a-half years of misdirection. They seemed to agree with our program.” us Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:22:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/ufcw_0709 Four thousand workers at Acme supermarkets in Philadelphia and its suburbs have worked under a contract extension since February 2008 while their union, Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, bargained with the company. us Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:19:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/world/south_africa_0709 In just eight months, over 20,000 South African autoworkers have been “retrenched.” In response to these and other layoffs in manufacturing, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa has launched a “fight for jobs” campaign. NUMSA won a major victory on June 17 in the Johannesburg Labor Court against General Motors South Africa. world Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:16:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/strange_fruit_0709 June is Black Music Month, proclaimed so by former President Jimmy Carter. In honor of Black Music Month, there was a film series showing in New York at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture based in Harlem. One of the films, “Strange Fruit,” is the first documentary exploring the history and legacy of the famous Black singer, Billie Holiday, who popularized the song “Strange Fruit.” us Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:12:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/immigrants_0709 There is a war going on inside this country—a war against immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants. This war is escalating, and like most wars, it is taking many casualties. The casualties are innocent children, women and men whose only crime is the need to survive, to find a way to live and work in the United States. us Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:52:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/newburgh_0709 Relatives of the Newburgh 4 spoke on June 18 at a forum in White Plains, N.Y. Everything they said reinforced charges by the Islamic community that the FBI is entrapping innocent Muslim men for political reasons. us Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:43:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/leonard_peltier_0709 A press conference and vigil were held at the San Francisco federal building June 26 to support Leonard Peltier and his upcoming parole effort on July 28. Supporters are being asked to write letters on behalf of Peltier, a leader of the American Indian Movement and one of the longest-held political prisoners in the U.S. us Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:27:00 EDT http://www.workers.org/2009/us/dna_0709 Marches and rallies were held in state capitals and other cities June 27 to mark the National Day of Action for the Wrongly Convicted. Organizers of the actions, including families whose loved ones were put to death or died in prison, said that up to 10 percent of the 2.3 million-strong U.S. prison population may be wrongfully convicted. us Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:56:00 EDT