_____ (2022-07-11). Challenging The AFL-CIO's Labor Imperialism. popularresistance.org A little known fact, even to those who work there, is that the AFL-CIO organizes in support of US imperialist policies that drive a global race to the bottom in wages and working conditions, negatively impacting US workers too. The AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center is one of the four core components of the National Endowment for Democracy. Clearing the FOG speaks with Kim Scipes, a co-founder of the new Labor Education Project on the AFL-CIO's International Operations (LEPAIO). Scipes describes the long history of labor imperialism and how unions are challenging it. Adrienne Pine provides a brief report on workers prot…

WSWS (2022-07-11). KFC workers walk out at Alabama restaurant after working six weeks without air conditioning. wsws.org The walkout was led by the store's general manager Ta Edwards, who was fired immediately by upper management. The remaining workers were forced to return to work on July 5 after corporate falsely claimed they had repaired the restaurant's AC unit.

_____ (2022-07-10). The Nordic Model Invents The Goods. popularresistance.org For decades, many on the American left have pointed to the Nordic nations as models that we should be striving towards. One frequent response to this has been to say that, although the Nordic nations have built remarkably equal economies, they lag in other important respects like inventing and implementing new technologies. | There is no compelling statistical evidence for this claim, but some version of this idea seems to permanently linger in the US discourse. Recently, various liberal commentators — often rallying under the label of supply-side progressivism — have published articles chastising lef…

_____ (2022-07-10). Inflation And Your Next Union Contract. popularresistance.org We can't predict what is to come, but the evidence from the past year hasn't been good for workers. The Consumer Price Index rose by more than 8 percent, its fastest pace in 40 years. Essential expenses like housing, food, and gas have climbed especially fast. | Despite all the talk of labor shortages and a tight job market, wages have not kept pace with the cost of living. Since April 2021, inflation-adjusted hourly earnings have fallen by more than 2 percent. Any stimulus savings that people had accrued have largely dried up by now, and there is currently no plan for federal relief for working people facing the…