Labor Notes
By 1. Chipotle is supposed to be the “good” fast food company. You know, the capitalists that we can look to and say, “Hey, the system can work!” But Chipotle also won’t sign the Fair Food Agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the tomato picker union that has waged a long struggle to bring Florida farmworkers out of their near-slavery conditions. Other fast food companies have done so. If you aren’t familiar with the CIW, see here.
2. Last week, John Stossel decided to pull a James O’Keefe. He’s been going around to union offices claiming he’s interested in filming “beautiful buildings.” Um, yeah I’m sure. What he’s actually up to is almost certainly exposing the supposedly lavish offices of unions. I don’t know what kind of an office Richard Trumka has, but I’ve been in my share of union offices and they ain’t luxurious.
Also, John Stossel is both an idiot and a giant douche. As Laura Clawson says in the linked article, you can’t be James O’Keefe if everyone knows who you are.
3. Nice Josh Eidelson piece on some Republican lawmakers getting cold feet over attacking unions in their states. Josh notes that they are all watching Wisconsin. If Walker wins, the game is back on. If Walker loses, this retrenchment might hold. Another reason why the DNC needs to contribute its share.
4. Outstanding Mariya Strauss piece on the Department of Labor failing to update safety rules for child labor on farms. I’ve talked about this before, but Strauss gives you the information you need to know.
On the other hand, after seeing this image of a black hole destroying a star, what’s the point of living?