Tag Archives: UAW

Will Michigan follow Indiana and be the next “right-to-work” domino to fall in the right’s ceaseless quest to rollback worker rights?

By Mark | December 5, 2012

When the citizens of Michigan recently failed to pass Proposition 2, which would have established the right to collective bargaining in our State Constitution, we signaled to members of the Republican party that now was the time to launch their all out attack on organized labor. When Prop 2 lost by 15-points, we demonstrated to […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged agency fee, collective bargaining, corporatocracy, Dick DeVos, freedom to work, Greg McNeilly, health insurance, Indiana, Jase Bolger, labor, labor history, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Proposition 2, Randy Richardville, Rich Studley, Rick Snyder, right-to-work, Robert Vodicka, unemployment, union busting, union security, unions, veto, voter suppression, Washtenaw Community Action Team, Windquest Group | 32 Comments

Tom Hayden talks with me about Ann Arbor in the late 1950s, his time at the Michigan Daily, the concept of participatory democracy, and the circumstances which gave rise to the Port Huron Statement

By Mark | October 30, 2012

Earlier this evening, I had the occasion to speak with activist and author Tom Hayden about his role in the drafting of the Port Huron Statement, the circumstances which gave rise to this widely influential manifesto of the New Left, and his evolution from student journalist to impassioned activist. Hayden, who is often credited with […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, History, Michigan, Uncategorized | Also tagged 1957, 1960's, 1961, activism, Alan Haber, Bob Ross, Chandler Davis, Clement Markert, Cold War, DNC, freedom rides, House Unamerican Activities Committee, Jack Kerouac, JFK, journalism, kids today, labor, labor movement, Mark Nickerson, Michigan Daily, New Left, On the Road, participatory democracy, Port Huron Statement, SDS, share croppers, Sharon Jeffrey, sit-ins, SNCC, student activism, Students for a Democratic Society, Tennessee, the progressive agenda, Tom Hayden, unions, University of Michigan, Voice, voting rights | 28 Comments

Alan Haber on celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Port Huron Statement with a new manifesto for the Occupy era

By Mark | May 15, 2012

Yesterday, I shared three videos that were shot over the weekend with Alan Haber, the founder of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). In those videos, Alan and I primarily discuss the past. We talk about Ann Arbor in the 50’s, Haber’s initiation into revolutionary politics during the McCarthy era, the founding of SDS, and […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, History, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged Alan Haber, Communism, Dixiecrats, EMU, fear of Communism, Guild House, Hathaway's Hideaway, Howard Brick, League of Industrial Democracy, Occupy, Occupy Ann Arbor, Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Ypsilanti, Port Huron, revolution, SDS, sexism, SNCC, Students for a Democratic Society, Tom Hayden, we need a revolution, women's rights | 39 Comments

Wisconsin’s attack against the working class, and the role of the Koch brothers

By Mark | February 22, 2011

The weirdness is apparently continuing in Wisconsin. From what I can tell, the public employee unions have indicated a willingness to negotiate pay and benefit cuts. The Governor, however, has refused to take them up on the offer, choosing instead to pursue the elimination of their right to bargain collectively. So, if there are still […]

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Americans for Prosperity, Build a statue of Robocop in Detroit, collective bargaining, conspiracy theories, Gordon Hintz, Heavenly Touch Massage Parlor, Koch brothers, Koch Industries, labor history, Lee Fang, Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, MacIver Institute, Margaret Farrow, Michele Grebe, Nancy MacLean, Palin Truth Squad, public employee unions, restricting the internet, Scott Walker, sexual misconduct, shutting down the internet, tea party, the growing gap between rich and poor, there is a stench in this body, threats to Democracy, threats to the middle class, transparency, union busting, Walter Reuther, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, WisconsinEye, workers rights | 21 Comments

Harvesting the organs of Ypsilanti’s Visteon plant

By Mark | April 11, 2009

The Detroit News’s Charlie LeDuff visits the Ford Visteon plant in Ypsilanti, and watches as it gets torn apart and auctioned in an article entitled, “Selling off America’s manufacturing might, a factory at a time.” Here’s how the article begins: Ypsilanti — You can now watch the liquidation of the American Dream in real time. […]