This edition of the free bulletin, World Wide Work, is published by the American Labor Education Center, an independent nonprofit founded in 1979.
 
WORLD WIDE WORK - April 2005
New and worth noting?
 
* implicit.harvard.edu is a fascinating website where you or people you work or study with can take online tests that reveal internalized cultural biases against African Americans, women, old people, or other groups. The site uses computers' ability to time responses to show bias even on the part of individuals who try their best to give non-biased answers.  Among the many findings of the Harvard research group is that groups that are the object of cultural bias often have internalized that same bias toward their own group.
*Southland by Nina Revoyr (Akashic).  An engrossing and well researched mystery novel that not only entertains but sheds revealing light on L.A. history, with a special focus on the experience of Japanese-Americans.
*Future of the Labor Movement. The current edition of the journal found at www.socialpolicy.org has a special section on the future of the labor movement, including an especially moving personal testimonial called "Union Made" by Mari Matsuda at http://socialpolicy.org/index.php?id=1119 and a thoughtful article about construction unions by Jeff Grabelsky.
*An Action a Day by Mike Hudema (Between the Lines).  A handy, practical guide to 52 types of direct action to get public attention and challenge big corporations and the politicians allied with them. Briefly describes each action idea, how it's been used, and what materials or resources are needed to pull it off.
*The Complete History of New Mexico by Kevin McIlvoy (Graywolf).  Short stories with working class characters, including a gem called "The people who own pianos" told from the point of view of a workman who moves pianos. "What makes us us and them not us?" he wonders as he describes class differences in bitter detail.
*War Movies by Wayne Karlin (Curbstone).  Karlin, who served in combat in Vietnam, recently revisited the country to help a Vietnamese team make a movie about the war.  His artful account of his trip jumps back and forth between the present and the past and between the movie and his memories as he explores our new world in which many people, including some of our elected officials, have a hard time distinguishing between movies and reality.
*The State of Working America 2004/2005 (Economic Policy Institute). The latest edition of the most useful reference book in layman's terms on what's happening to jobs, paychecks, health care, inequality, and other economic trends in America.
*Front Lines of Social Change: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade by Richard Bermack (Heyday).  Photos and text about the men and women who went to Spain to fight fascism before World War II.  More than half the book is about their continued work for progressive causes in the decades after the war.
*News Incorporated edited by Elliot D. Cohen (Prometheus).  The range of left criticisms of the corporate media are presented in one collection of essays by many of the leading analysts.
*Nursing Against the Odds by Suzanne Gordon (Cornell).  Why do so many Americans with nursing degrees choose not to work in hospitals - a failure of retention and recruitment that is often mislabeled as a "nurse shortage"?  In her third book about the problems facing nurses, Gordon focuses on the impact of the dysfunctional health care "system" on the conditions nurses need in order to provide quality care. She also explores the working relationship between nurses and doctors, as well as the impact of distorted media coverage.
*Health Security for All by Alan Derickson (Johns Hopkins University).  A brief history of attempts during the 20th century to win universal health care in America.
*Whales & Dolphins of the World by Mark Simmonds (MIT Press).  A gorgeous coffee table book with lots of photos, plus text that gives basic information on these animals' biology, habits, and need for protection from man-made hazards.
 
Resources
*Free graphics.  www.RiniArt.org provides activists free access to graphic images by the late artist Rini Templeton.
*Media training tools. www .TheWorkSite.org has, among many other features, practical tools for helping prepare workers or others to speak effectively to the news media. 
 
Free tools for effective grassroots organizing and communication, as well as back issues of World Wide Work, are available at TheWorkSite.org
 
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