On Aug. 30 AFGE asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider its July ruling that clears the way for the Trump administration to enforce three union-busting executive orders.

AFGE is requesting that the July 16 ruling by three members of the U.S. Court of Appeals be reviewed by the full appeals court – what’s known as an en banc review.

In that July ruling, the court determined that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia did not have jurisdiction to rule on the lawsuit filed by AFGE and other federal unions against President Trump’s May 2018 union-busting executive orders.

The appeals court’s decision, if allowed to stand, would overturn a District Court judge’s August 2018 ruling that struck down the bulk of the executive orders.

“The anti-worker executive orders issued by President Trump are in violation of the law and, if implemented, would send the federal workforce into disarray,” said AFGE President J. David Cox Sr. “This case is vitally important with far-ranging implications for every American and deserves a hearing before the full court.”

At its heart, this case is about the administration’s attempts to deprive federal workers of their rights to address and resolve workplace issues such as sexual harassment, racial discrimination, retaliation against whistleblowers, workplace health and safety, and reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities.

Join our fight against the anti-worker executive orders here .

The New York Times Magazine

Democracy Now!

Cornel West has been described as one of America’s most vital and eloquent public intellectuals. A professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University, West is a critic of culture, an advocate of social justice and an analyst of postmodern art and philosophy. He has written and co-authored numerous books on philosophy, race, and sociology and also produced a hip-hop CD entitled “Sketches of My Culture.”

Toni Morrison is one of the most prolific American writers of our time. She made her debut as a novelist in 1970, soon gaining attention for her politically charged and richly expressive depictions of Black America. She has been awarded a number of literary distinctions and in 1993 became the first African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

On March 24 at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, The Nation Institute sponsored a conversation between Toni Morrison and Cornel West. They spoke about the blues, love, and politics. Watch the video here.

https://leecamp.com/

Teachers and supporters rally in front of city hall in Oakland, California, on 21 February. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

https://bit.ly/2lCamuj

The new school year has just begun and teachers across the US are preparing to continue the wave of strikes that made 2018 one of the biggest years for workers’ protest in a generation.

From Nevada to Illinois teachers are preparing to escalate a campaign that generated major victories last year, but that many say have been reneged on by local authorities and have still left teachers facing insurmountable problems.

Oklahoma was one of the states that led last year’s strikes and where teachers made significant gains. But a year on teachers still feel stretched to breaking point as they struggle with low pay, poor working conditions, and hostile Republican legislators….

https://bit.ly/2kpMdHa

“….The massacre helped keep unions out of the South at just the moment it was industrializing. Textile manufacturers were moving out of New England, chasing low wages. And after textile factories closed in the 20th century, auto, manufacturing, and energy companies opened in southern states in part for the non-union workforce….

….Southern black farm workers would not attempt to unionize again, until the 1930s when the Southern Tenant Farmers Union attracted both white and African American members. But it too was met by a violent racist backlash. The struggle for southern unions continued into the Civil Rights era. On the night before he was assassinated in Memphis, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech supporting striking sanitation workers. He urged his audience “to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. …You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together.”

Cabins like these in Laurel Valley are similar to those in the area at the time of the Thibodaux Massacre. (Stephen Saks Photography / Alamy Stock Photo)

111 W College Avenue, Appleton, 6-8 P.M. (Houdini Plaza)

We will protest every Friday from 6-8 pm to demand climate action. At the end of the month there will be a larger rally, where hopefully we can talk about planning for the global strike on September 20. As always, everyone is welcome and everyone is needed.

Global Climate Strike: Wisconsin