GRITtv: May 3, 2011

Tue, 03 May 2011 21:09:37 +0000

In Massachusetts, a Democratic state legislature voted to take away public workers' right to collectively bargain over health care, in what Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, calls "A miniature version of what we saw in Wisconsin." He notes that just like Scott Walker, these politicians are scapegoating employees who didn't cause the economic crisis. But Trumka and the labor movement are fighting back, building coalitions with immigrants rights groups and civil rights organizations, banding together against a common enemy. He joins us via Skype from Washington, D.C. to give us the latest on actions this past May Day and ongoing around the country. This weekend, the New York branch of the nationwide budget-cut protest group US Uncut tried a new tactic--they held teach-ins in not one, but two Bank of America locations, explaining economic issues to a crowd of interested listeners (and bank customers) until they were chased out by security. Thanks to US Uncut for producing the video! "For the first time what we're seeing is people on the rise and they can no longer be ignored, by their own governments or by the United States," says Phyllis Bennis. And those people are saddened by the U.S.'s action against Osama Bin Laden, but more importantly are demanding that their voices be heard, not the voices of their dictators that the U.S. has relied on for so long. Phyllis checks in with us from Amman, Jordan, and tells us about the reaction of people there to Bin Laden's death. She also gives us the latest from Cairo, Egypt, where she was before traveling to Jordan. Finally, Jason Leopold for Truthout reports that BP may just be "too big to fail"--Laura has some thoughts. Distributed by Tubemogul.

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GRITtv: May 3, 2011