[Announce] World Wide Work

[announce at comm-org.utoledo.edu]

From:           	Matt Witt <mwitt at amlabor.org>


This edition of the free bulletin, World Wide Work, is published
by the American Labor Education Center, an independent nonprofit
founded in 1979.  If you know someone who should be added to the
email list, or if you would like to be removed, just let us know.

WORLD WIDE WORK

Watch your email this summer for an invitation to access a new,
free web site where you will be able to

    * Download and adapt tools for effective grassroots activism
    and 
organizing, including training materials, templates, and examples
of best practices.
    * Share ideas and seek advice on a wide variety of organizing
    and 
campaign work.
    * Learn about opinion research that may be of practical use
    in a range 
of campaigns.
    * Find resources for analysis and debate about progressives'
    strategy 
choices.
New and worth noting...

* Pacto de Sangre by Tigres del Norte (Fonovisa).  This CD topped
the Latino music charts in its first week. It includes not only
"norteno" love songs and dance music but also a "corrido" ballad
that has caused a controversy in Mexico by shining a light on the
brutal murders of more than 300 young women, most of them
maquiladora workers, in Ciudad Juarez (directly across the border
from El Paso) in the past ten years.  Government authorities in
Mexico who have somehow been unable or unwilling to solve any of
the crimes slammed the popular song for adding to "an atmosphere
of terror" and giving Juarez a "bad image."  The killings of
employees of major U.S. corporations presumably would be drawing
a huge amount of national attention from the U.S. media,
government, women's movement, and unions if they were taking
place on the U.S. side of the border instead of just a few miles
into Mexico. * House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger
(Scribner).  Presents in one place how the Bush family and their
closest aides have profited personally and politically from close
ties to the Saudi ruling elite -- and questions whether those
links affected how Bush dealt with the Saudi connection before
and after 9/11. * Life Amongst the Modocs by Joaquin Miller
(Heyday).  An absorbing autobiographical novel written in the
1870s by an Anglo who lived among native peoples in northern
California during the gold rush.  Engaging characters, often
suspenseful story, Thoreau-like commentary on nature and human
nature, and an eyewitness account of the impact white settlers
had on the people and ecology they encountered. Created quite a
stir when published, and still holds up as a richly textured
alternative to the official history handed down in school. *
Greed and Good by Sam Pizzigati (Apex).  A thorough review of how
unprecedented inequality is eating away at every aspect of
American life, plus a proposal for what could be done about it. 
An imposing 550 pages of text that works because of its
conversational, plain talking style and preference for substance
over sloganeering.  Would make an excellent core textbook for a
course on America today from the high school level on up. *
Labor's Story in the United States by Philip Yale Nicholson
(Temple Univ.)  In 335 pages it tries to cover labor history from
the founding of the colonies to the present.  Inevitably leaves
room to quibble about details, omissions, etc., but still a
useful effort. * The Importance of a Piece of Paper by Jimmy
Santiago Baca (Grove).  Quality short stories about a variety of
characters in today's New Mexico. * Vietnam Veteranos by Lea
Ybarra (University of Texas).  Interviews with Chicano vets about
their combat experiences and the impact of the war back home. *
By a Thread: How Child Care Centers Hold Onto Teachers, How to
Build Lasting Careers by Marcy Whitebook and Laura Sakai
(Upjohn).  A study that concludes that child care workers need a
strong organization to increase pay and other conditions in order
to improve quality by reducing turnover. * The Problem of the
Media by Robert W. McChesney (Monthly Review Press).  Most
comprehensive analysis yet from one of leading critics of
corporate media. * Whose Detroit? By Heather Ann Thompson
(Cornell).  Recounts tension in the late 1960s and early 1970s
among black radicals, auto companies, and union leaders. *
Selavi: That is Life by Youme Landowne (Cinco Puntos).  A
children's book about street children in Haiti who are helped by
some caring adults. * Ramblin' Man by Ed Cray (W.W.Norton). The
complete story of what appears to have been the generally unhappy
life of Woody Guthrie. * The Fire This Time: Young Feminists and
the New Activism edited by Vivien Labaton and Dawn Lundy Martin
(Anchor).  A collection about activism on media and culture,
globalization, and other issues. * Seaport with text by Phillip
Lopate (Smithsonian).  More than a hundred photos of New York's
harbor and waterfront in the early 1900s. * Without an Alphabet,
Without a Face by Saadi Youssef (Graywolf).  Poems by an Iraqi
who has lived all over the Arab world and in Europe.  In his
poem, "America, America," he writes:  "I too love jeans and jazz
and Treasure Island
But I am not American.  Is that enough for
the Phantom pilot to turn me back to the Stone Age?" * Guest
House by Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum (Hightone).  Bluegrass/folk
style CD that features "Willie Poor Boy," a Guthrie-style ballad
about a bus driver whose life is ruined after he buys a handgun
and uses it on impulse.  
------- End of forwarded message -------