#optimize organize overcome

[americanunderground]

You know how homophobes like to say that LGBTQ+ identities are new and invented by some modern degenerate force?

And then we say that actually, there have always been LBGTQ+ people

And the homophobes say, well, where’s the evidence of that?

And we say that well, homophobic societies have hidden or erased this evidence to intentionally wipe out existence from history

And they say no, that’s just a lie, who would do that?

And now we’re at a point where LGBTQ+ identities are the most recognized they’ve ever been

But suddenly a socially conservative group is in power and now things they don’t like are being suppressed

And that seems to overwhelmingly include references to the existence and validity of these identities, down to censoring scientific papers and historical data

Isn’t that so interesting? Isn’t that so strange and weird and random? Anyway

[americanunderground]

It’s interesting to see how the average leftist’s approach to guns and self defense seems to be changing with the current political climate.

I’ve always found the type of gun control advocacy that amounts to “guns are scary and bad and wanting to have one makes you scary and stupid” to be really off-putting as someone who has been in situations where having a gun was a genuine safety boost (or a necessity, in the case of some rural places I’ve lived.)

Unfortunately, I think that rhetoric has mostly succeeded in making us look immature and naive more than progressive or caring.

I’m glad to see people waking up to the fact that at the very least, plastering ‘I am unarmed and will remain that way’ all over your social media in an attempt to virtual signal your opposition to the near-paraphilic obsession some conservatives have with firearms is not a safe thing to do, at any point but especially now.

That goes doubly so for those of groups being targeted by MAGA at the present time. The last thing a violent person needs to know about you is that you for sure will not have a gun if they try something.

I’m also hoping that this will lead to adaptation in how guns are discussed, and maybe help mend the gap between people for whom self-defense and gun ownership is a dividing point in otherwise similar worldviews.

If we want to build a sustainable labor movement among the working class, issues like this are a good start imo. Some of the communities with the longest track record of labor organizing also have a low tolerance to restrictions to firearms— and these two things often go hand in hand for a reason.

Just something to think about.

[americanunderground]

Graduate Student Unionization Efforts, List, and Statistics | BestColleges

Discover the history of graduate student unions, including notable strikes. Learn about existing unions and undergraduate student unions in

Some good information on graduate student worker unions, their history, and the difficulties of creating a successful union.

Student worker unionization efforts have faced challenges in many forms, including:

State-wide bans on strikes and walk outs by education employees.

Opposition from full time staff who feel a union would ‘impede the student experience’

State laws that specifically exclude student workers from creating unions, the argument being student workers are entirely different from other workers

Legal ping-ponging on the proper categorization of graduate and undergraduate workers at the labor board, state and federal levels

When reading about challenges to unionization rights, it’s important to keep this question in mind: who benefits the most from you not being protected by a union?

[americanunderground]

U.S. has certified unions for 50,000 student employees

National Labor Relations Board has approved dozens of bargaining units for housing and dining workers, in addition to teaching assistants.

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The unionization efforts among student workers were traditionally seen more among graduate staff in the past, but undergraduate involvement is increasing.

(The NLRB, mentioned in this article, sets the rules specifically for unions at private institutions in the US.)

[americanunderground]

Student Workers Unite: Unionization Across Higher Education

Both graduate and undergraduate student workers at public and private universities are increasingly exercising their rights to form unions.

Unionization efforts have been growing among undergraduate student workers across the country. If you’ve been a student worker, you probably understand why.

[americanunderground]

Taft–Hartley Act - Wikipedia

Taft–Hartley Act - Wikipedia

The Taft-Hartley Act, aka The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947

The Tact-Hartley Act restricts the actions and power of labor unions in the United States.

Some main takeaways:

This act is itself an amendment of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, and added a list of “unfair labor practices” prohibited for unions.

Previously, the NLRA (1935) had only defined unfair labor practices prohibited on the part of employers.

This bill allowed the creation of “right to work” laws, which banned union security agreements between unions and employers that would require non-union member employees to pay a fee to the union.

Under this act, the executive branch could now legally obtain a strikebreaking injunction if they felt a strike endangered public health or safety.

The bill originally required union officers to sign anti-communist affidavits with the US government.

Actions that Taft-Hartley bans include: solidarity strikes, closed shops (shops that hire only union members,) political or solidarity (aka general) strikes, and making monetary donations to federal political candidates.

[americanunderground]

The Original Redneck: An Explanation - Appalachian History

The Battle of Blair Mountain. Over 500 “rednecks” were charged with treason, murder, & conspiracy to commit murder.

The Original Redneck

This article briefly explains The Battle of Blair Mountain, one of the largest labor uprisings in United States history- and one that private coal companies and the United States government worked together to brutally crush.

It was written by C. Belmont Keeney, whose great-grandfather, Frank Keeney, was one of the leaders of the uprising.