Daley May Privatize Taste of Chicago, Recycling, City Pound and More

Submitted by Ed Remus on Sat, 09/04/2010 - 13:49

The following article appeared on The Huffington Post on August 27, 2010.

Daley May Privatize Taste of Chicago, Recycling, City Pound and More

It's no secret that Chicago's mayor is a fan of privatization. In recent years, the Daley administration has cut lucrative (if mismanaged) deals to lease the city's parking meters and the Chicago Skyway to private contractors in exchange for lump-sums of cash up front.

In the past, Daley's also proposed privatizing the city's water system and Midway Airport, among other services.

But with the city facing a massive budget deficit -- and the windfalls from the Skyway and meters deals all but gone -- Daley suggested yesterday that a much wider array of city functions might be up on the auction block soon.

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Hyatt Strikes Information from Unite Here! Local 1

Submitted by Ed Remus on Sat, 09/04/2010 - 13:14

The following article appeared on the Unite Here! Local 1 website on Friday, September 3rd. Visit the Unite Here! Local 1 website for additional coverage of hospitality workers' struggles in the Chicago area. The Hyatt workers have been supported by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the world's largest group of Jewish clergy, who "[urge] Jewish Institutions and Individuals to Support Hyatt Workers in Their Disputes". Read the official CCAR statement, released on August 6, 2010.

Hyatt workers strike at Hyatt O’Hare
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 09/03/2010
Days before Labor Day, workers facing layoffs and cuts protest how Chicago-based Hyatt and its billionaire owners are taking unfair advantage of tough times

Chicago, IL -- Just days before Labor Day, workers at the Hyatt Regency near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport are on strike. Hyatt O’Hare workers join Hyatt workers in several cities across North America who are striking as part of a wave of demonstrations this week by thousands of hotel workers protesting Hyatt (NYSE: H) and its billionaire ownership family, the Pritzkers. Workers say the company is trying to make the recession permanent for its employees, despite significantly improving industry conditions and Hyatt's increased profitability and huge cash reserves.  Read more »

Drug Money: Pharmaceutical Companies Making a Killing

Submitted by Ed Remus on Thu, 08/26/2010 - 12:06

 The following content was posted on Al Jazeera's English-language website on August 11, 2010; the video clip was reproduced on The Real News Network's website on August 12, 2010. For more recent coverage of Big Pharma, see Carl Elliott's "Making a Killing" article in the September/October 2010 issue of Mother Jones.

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G20 Austerity Policy: Austerity for Whom?

Submitted by Ed Remus on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 15:22

Paul Jay of The Real News Network debates Eric Margolis on ways to reduce government debt in light of G20 austerity policies. Both agree that government financing of Wall Street and the military-industrial complex should be drastically reduced and that tax increases are in order; they disagree, however, on whether the latest round of "austerity" should strike at government-financed public services and social welfare programs as well. This conversation is relevant to progressives who oppose across-the-board spending cuts, wishing to shelter necessary and socially useful institutions while eliminating socially wasteful spending on corporate interests. This interview was posted to The Real News Network on August 8, 2010; the text transcript appears below the embedded video.

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Prop 8: Let's Get Rid of Marriage Instead!

Submitted by Ed Remus on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 13:19

This article was written by Sally Kohn and was posted on the Women's Media Center website on August 6, 2010.

As the law plays catch-up, Judge Vaughn Walker includes an eloquent analysis of changing gender roles in declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional. Commentator Sally Kohn argues that the next step should go even further.  Read more »