Not your typical trade union conference
This article was published on the Progress website, here. A year ago, probably the only genuinely independent trade unions in the Arab world were the ones created in the wake of the invasion of Iraq….
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Opera Mail: Fixing the bit that sucks
In a previous life, I was a programmer. I still like to write a few lines of code from time to time – especially when I can solve a problem. This week I decided to…
From social networks to social revolution
In mid-November trade unionists from more than 30 countries will be gathering in Istanbul for the second annual Global Solidarity Conference organised by LabourStart. The theme of this year’s conference is “From social networks to…
LabourStart conference in Istanbul
For decades, the Arab world knew nothing of independent trade unions. The unions that did exist were state-controlled, reflecting the ideologies (in particular, Arab nationalism) of the ruling parties. Eight years ago, the first of…
Measuring union “klout” online
It’s a corporate dream come true: imagine if a company could find out exactly which customers – and potential customers – could influence others. If one could identify with precision those consumers who influence others…
Back in the USSR?
Last month I sent out a mailing to LabourStart’s 75,000 subscribers asking people to support the struggles of striking oil workers in Kazakhstan and at a steel company in Georgia. As these were both former…
Facebook is not an organising tool
A decade ago, it was not easy to convince some on the Left to begin using net-based tools to communicate and organise. Today, we run the risk of becoming over-reliant on some of those tools,…
Große Gesellschaft ohne Gewerkschaft: Der Arbeitskampf im öffentlichen Dienst Großbritanniens
Wie viele Schulen blieben geschlossen? Wie groß war die Zahl der Jobzentren, die ihre Türen nicht öffneten? In der Berichterstattung über den Streik im öffentlichen Dienst konzentrierten sich die britischen Medien vor allem auf die…
South African academics debate Israel, apartheid and the truth
A few weeks ago, the University of Johannesburg took the extraordinary step of severing relations with Ben Gurion University in Israel. It was probably the first, and certainly the most significant, university to take such…
Resistance to the “Resistance”: Why not everyone in the labor movement is cheering on Hamas
This article was submitted to Working In These Times on 30 May in response to an article they had published. They have not responded, nor published this, nor even acknowledged receipt of the article despite…