Sept. 8, 2007

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A thousand workers and activists demanding unionization of Smithfield’s Tar Heel, N.C., plant shook the walls of the Williamsburg Lodge Conference Center here Aug. 29 as they massed outside the annual meeting of the company’s shareholders, shouting slogans, chanting and blowing whistles.

Government officials have admitted that American companies are paying millions of dollars in bribes to military officers to win billions in contracts for work in Iraq, according to numerous press reports last week.

NEW ORLEANS — A five-day observance of the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina concluded Sept. 1 with protesters marching on the Superdome to demand delivery of promised funds to rebuild homes, hospitals, schools and the city’s infrastructure.

DETROIT — Among the many Labor Day parades and picnics across the country last week, this city’s parade had a special edge. While the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News carried editorials supporting anti-union “right-to-work” bills pending in the state Legislature, tens of thousands of trade unionists marching in the heart of Detroit served notice that the attack on labor rights will not go unanswered.

Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

LOS ANGELES — Like the Southern California weather, the movement for affordable housing is heating up. At a press conference in the Olympic Park neighborhood here, housing activists gathered with tenants outside the residence of Thelma Meredith. Meredith, 88, has lived in the same apartment for 42 years. Now she is being evicted from her home. Her only income is Social Security.

TUCSON, Ariz. — A coalition of local immigrant rights, labor and community organizations rallied at the federal building here Aug. 28 to mark the National Day of Action to Stop Anti-Immigrant Repression and Migrant Deaths at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.: Voters have chance to speak on war
SEATTLE: Going condo crazy
DICKSON, Tenn.: Environmental racism on Senate stage
DURHAM, N.C.: Woman named to lead top medical school

While large numbers of young people now start school in August, Labor Day weekend still marked the “official” end of summer vacation for hundreds of thousands of others. For too many of these youngsters, the excitement of a new school year will wear off quickly as they feel the impact of underfunded schools forced to deal with the emphasis on high-stakes testing.

Facing a mid-September deadline for action during the Legislature’s regular session, California’s Democratic legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have intensified negotiations for a health care reform bill that can be passed and signed this year.