Interesting case study from Ireland's Workers Solidarity Movement on creating and maintaining functional, directly democratic structures during the growth of the organization.

http://www.wsm.ie/c/practical-anarchist-organising-wsm-case-study

"The problem is not with the caliber of working class leadership the problem is with the leadership’s relation to the rank and file. The key is to build working class leadership that can stay on the job."

http://recompositionblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/on-leadership/#more-91

Earlier today, fellow students, teachers, friends and supporters of Daniel Garcia demonstrated in front of the Eaton Centre in Toronto to stop his deportation. Please check out this Facebook group for further updates and actions, and sign the petition for Daniel to remain in Canada to complete his school year, and to be granted status. Read below to learn more about his case:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Status-for-Daniel-Garcia/151611668222106

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41599.html

Status and Freedom for Daniel Garcia

“All I want for Christmas is for Daniel to be free and safe and here with me and his friends”, says 17 year old Martina K., Daniel's girlfriend who heard about Daniel Garcia's detention at 8am this morning and is worried that Daniel's life is under threat in Mexico.

Feminists with Disabilities reports on adults with intellectual disabilities being paid $0.41 per hour to work at a meat-packing plant in Iowa. Some of the men removed from the plant had worked there since the 1970s, living in an unheated bunkhouse in conditions "worse than squalor".

This is a horrific case. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for employers and agencies to exploit people with intellectual disabilities in this way, paying wages far below minimum wage. These workplaces are mostly unknown to the general public, and even this awful story has generated little attention. I know it is difficult to read, but I think it is an important reminder of how ableism functions in our capitalist society.

"New York Domestic Workers Fight to Pass Bill of Rights" from Feministe, with links to a few more articles and the bill itself. Some points from the Bill of Rights:

"Domestic workers are excluded from labor laws that protect other workers, including protection from discrimination and the right to bargain collectively."

"Domestic workers are isolated working inside individual homes, so it is difficult for them to organize collectively to improve working conditions, as is possible in most other industries. In addition, the law does not protect their right to organize."

From the Boston Globes "Big Picture" photo blog via the excellent Feminists with Disabilities website. I like most of what FWD posts a lot, but I found these two images particularly powerful and heartbreaking, so I thought I would pass them on:

http://disabledfeminists.com/2010/03/13/photos-from-mental-health-institutions-in-indonesia/

I would also note that I find the information offered by the Boston Globe problematic, as it seems to frame the issue as one of supposedly "backward" cultural beliefs, rather than connecting the lack of support more to the intense poverty shown in some other images within the series.