Green Social Thought

Produce less. Distribute it fairly. Create a greener world for all.

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Topic: Labor / Economics

  • Uber Takes a Hit in London

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    by

    fitzdon

    In today’s neoliberal world, colossally lucrative enterprises, making their originators some of the wealthiest people on earth, exist in a realm that can best be described as virtual: Uber and Lyft own no taxis, Airbnb owns no rental properties, eBay/Alibaba possess no inventory, Facebook generates no content of its own, TaskRabbit and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk…

  • Puerto Rico and the Jones Act Conundrum

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    by

    fitzdon

    When Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, the whole transportation and communication infrastructure went down- the power grid, bridges, roads, cell towers- devastating the entire island. Most people are still without the basic necessities of life, a month later. Emergency logistics are dysfunctional and telephone service barely exists. FEMA’s bumbling for…

  • Big Oil spent $10.8 million last quarter to pass Jerry Brown’s cap-and-trade bill

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    by

    fitzdon

    RSS REBLOGGED BY DK GreenRoots TAGS CapandTrade CarbonTrading Chevron EnvironmentalJustice Injustice Racism WesternStatesPetroleumAssociation CaliforniaSecretaryofState BigOil governorjerrybrown AB398   Share this article     State officials and the mainstream media depicted the passage of Governor Jerry Brown’s cap-and-trade bill last month as a “historic climate victory,” but over 65 environmental justice, conservation and public interest organizations slammed the…

  • John L. Lewis and His Critics: Some Forgotten Labor History That Still Matters Today

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    by

    fitzdon

    Abstract The purpose of this essay is to propose a new answer to the question of "what happened to the Congress of Industrial Organizations?" Lynd argues the CIO became what its creator, United Mine Workers (UMW) president John L. Lewis, intended it to be. This approach is juxtaposed with the approach taken by A.J. Muste,…

  • Canada in Zambia

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    by

    fitzdon

    While few Canadians could find Zambia on a map, the Great White North has significant influence over the southern African nation. A big beneficiary of internationally sponsored neoliberal reforms, a Vancouver firm is the largest foreign investor in the landlocked country of 16 million. First Quantum Minerals (FQM) has been embroiled in various ecological, labour…

  • The Life and Death of Yugoslav Socialism

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    by

    fitzdon

    During the Cold War, the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia represented to many a viable alternative to the Soviet model. Grounded by workplace self-management, the Yugoslav system seemingly gave workers the right to exercise democratic control on the shop floor. The distinct Yugoslav path to socialism found admirers around the world. In Eastern Europe, the…

  • Saving Illinois: Getting More Bang for the State’s Bucks

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    fitzdon

    Illinois is insolvent, unable to pay its bills. According to Moody’s, the state has $15 billion in unpaid bills and $251 billion in unfunded liabilities. Of these, $119 billion are tied to shortfalls in the state’s pension program. On July 6, 2017, for the first time in two years, the state finally passed a budget,…

  • The Epic Failure of Labor Leadership in the United States, 1980 to 2017 and Continuing

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    by

    kimscipes

    This article argues that the AFL-CIO leadership has betrayed the interests of working people in the US, and our only hope it to democratize our unions and focus on making lives of working people better instead of their supporting the US Empire.  Argues that we need to transform our unions from business unions to social…

  • Mass Incarceration, Prison Labor in the United States

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    fitzdon

    The Federal Prison Industries (FPI) under the brand UNICORE operates approximately 52 factories (prisons) across the United States. Prisoners manufacture or assemble a number of products for the US military, homeland security,and federal agencies according to the UNICORE/FPI website. They produce furniture, clothing and circuit boards in addition to providing computer aided design services and…

  • The Savings and Stability of Public Banking

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    fitzdon

    As a society obsessed by money, we pay a gigantic price for not educating high school and college students about money and banking. The ways of the giant global banks – both commercial and investment operations – are as mysterious as they are damaging to the people. Big banks use the Federal Reserve to maximize…