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Posted on July 4, 2009
John Wilhelm
UNITE HERE President John Wilhelm.

Solidarity Reunited?

Unions rally around shrunken UNITE HERE as it takes on its former ally.

By David Moberg

Chicago—A square plaque in the pavement outside the Sheraton Chicago hotel commemorates the formation of the UNITE HERE union here five years ago. That event was an exuberant, optimistic celebration of the merger of the traditional hotel (HERE) and apparel (UNITE) unions. UNITE HERE’s second convention at the same hotel this week was not so celebratory: Much of the old UNITE union broke away earlier this year with the active collaboration and support of… more

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By Ralph SeligerThe Israel Lobbies: Left, Right and Center

A new book helpfully details Jewish-American lobbying organizations spanning the political spectrum.

As both a public-relations professional and an activist, Dan Fleshler fights the good fight on behalf of Americans for Peace Now and other organizations in the pro-Israel peace camp. In his new book, Transforming America's… more

By Stefan SimanowitzCinema in the Sand

Refugees and celebrities draw attention to a forgotten conflict.

Nineteen-year-old Ibrahim Hussein Leibeit shifts his weight in obvious discomfort. The stump of his leg, blown off below the knee by a landmine just three weeks before, has yet to heal. "The pain is horrible,"… more

By Eve OttenbergTheir Island, Our Shame

Indigenous Indian Ocean islanders were brutally displaced nearly 40 years ago to make way for a U.S. military base.

Though small in number, the indigenous people of Diego Garcia and the Chagossian Islands in the Indian Ocean have endured a suffering both relentless and intense. In the early 1970s, they were brutally deracinated and… more

The ITT List: A blog from the staff at In These Times.

Weekly Immigration Wire: White House Meeting a First Step to Reform

After postponing twice, President Obama finally met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on June 25 to discuss moving immigration reform legislation forward. The meeting was... more

Weekly Pulse: All Public Plans Not Created Equal

Progressives are demanding that Obama's healthcare reform package include a public plan, aka a government-administered health insurance option for all. A good public plan would cover... more

Weekly Audit: Radical Inequality Fueled the Wall Street Meltdown

Now that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner isn't going to impose pay restrictions on bailed out Wall Street executives, it's critical to remember that severe economic inequality... more

Viewpoint

The Stupidity of ‘Smart’ Phones

Megan Tady Photo By Megan Tady

Apple’s iPhone looks good enough to eat. I’ve yet to take a bite of this “smart” phone, but know that once I do, there will be… more

Progressive Blind Spots

By Ken Brociner  ·  June 30

Getting Off the Grid

By David Sirota  ·  June 26

More Drugs, Please

By Terry J. Allen  ·  June 23

Recent Articles

Death of the Newspaperman

Don’t blame the Internet, the industry’s decline is self-inflicted.

By David Simon

The captains of the newspaper industry, martyrs all, claim they were heroically serving democracy to their utmost, only to be undone by a cataclysmic… more

Can a Union Divided Stand?

UNITE HERE dissolves in conflict … with a little help from SEIU.

By David Moberg

On February 1 Andy Stern, president of the Service Employee International Union (SEIU) met with John Wilhelm, president of the hospitality division of UNITE… more

The Somalia Crossroads

Piracy and an insurgency tempt Washington to get it wrong—again.

By William Minter and Daniel Volman

In October 2008, Human Rights Watch rated Somalia the most ignored tragedy in the world. Almost 1.5 million Somalis are internally displaced, and an… more

The Legacy Lives On

The Republic Windows and Doors factory occupation in Chicago inspired a similar revolt halfway across the country.

By Kari Lydersen

On December 5, 2008, 250 laid-off workers occupied Chicago’s Republic Windows and Doors factory, refusing to leave until paid for accrued vacation time andmore

Small Towns vs. Nestlé

Rural residents organize to keep their water out of corporate water bottles.

By Jenny Tomkins

When Nestlé Waters North America, the world’s largest bottler of water, comes a-courting, promising jobs and increased tax revenues in exchange for local water… more

Anarchists Go to Church

Mount Hope files federal suit against Bash Back! over Sunday morning protest.

By Rebecca Harris

Backed by lawyers from the right-wing Alliance Defense Fund, a Michigan church is using a law pioneered by pro-choice activists to seek damages, legal… more

All-American Squatters

Take Back the Land is “liberating” foreclosed homes to fight homelessness.

By Jake Thomas

Max Rameau stood at a lectern in one of Portland State University’s student centers on an April afternoon. “Being against oppression and exploitation in… more


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By Mikhaela B. Reid