The Right Thing, The Smart Thing: A Call for Mass Action

[Excerpt] I was an organizer for 14 years. I never met with an organizing committee or spoke at a mass meeting when I didn t remind workers of something we all understand intuitively: There is one way you get what you need and want in this world—power. There are only two ways to get it—lots of money or lots of people organized together. Working people have never gotten anything except when they were organized and moving. The most important questions we in Atlanta deal with everyday are: How do we build power? How do we exercise power in a way that helps us build more power? We believe mass action, in all its many forms, is the most effective way to exercise power. We believe mass action actually helps build more power. American trade unionists operate in an environment that is full of constraints on our activity. Our private sector organizing is constrained by the NLRB. Our membership service is dictated by a contract. We often ask our attorneys to sign off on union activities. We double-check our public approval ratings. We accept these constraints for a variety of reasons both good and bad. But where we accept these constraints absolutely, we limit our ability to build and exercise power and, therefore, our effectiveness as trade unions. The only real tool we have is the strength of our membership. Any time the labor movement or any individual union in our country has grown or won substantial gains has been when members have been moving in mass action. Mass action is the smart thing and the right thing to do

The Making of a Pro-Labor Mayor

[Excerpt] One of the most important functions of central labor councils (CLCs) is making electoral politics work for labor. While the issues that a CLC tackles need to be linked to a national labor agenda, which includes fighting against privatization, securing a living wage, and promoting unions, the actual struggles take place on a local level. An effective council needs to listen to and develop consensus around the issues of concern to its member unions and then endorse those candidates who will be most supportive and effective at addressing those issues. After a candidate is elected, CLCs need to continue to have a political presence. Ideally, CLCs use electoral politics to build community alliances, understand power relationships, and wield political power in a way that builds the labor movement. Our success in the Atlanta mayoral election shows that a CLC with active affiliates can change the course of an election and forward labor\u27s agenda after an election. The stakes of the mayoral race were high: labor had the potential to stop privatization; strengthen construction unions; secure the jobs related to the 1996 Olympics for union workers; and demonstrate labor\u27s power and electoral muscle. We needed a decisive victory and the CLC had to deliver

The Great Divide: Disbanding the Borders between Ethical Issues of Environmentalism, World Hunger and Food Safety

Various groups work toward correcting social injustices including alleviating world hunger. The command to care for Creation as God’s image bearers indicates that humans have a responsibility to restore Earth and its resources at all times. And yet, we must balance this environmental care with compassion for the hungry. Unfortunately, many popular ‘green’ or ‘organic’ methods of doing so may prevent efficiency in feeding the world. In this paper, I will examine world hunger, environmentalism, and the surrounding ethics through a lens of scientific data, practicality, social justice, and Christianity

CRACK-ERS (Crack Riddles Applying Cybersecurity Knowledge - Escape Room Scenario)

CRACK-ERS (Crack Riddles Applying Cybersecurity Knowledge - Escape Room Scenario) is a unique, beginner\u27s level CTF game with riddle-based challenges on various cybersecurity topics. The game is driven by an adventure story-based escape room format. Existing literature indicates that traditional CTFs pose challenges for beginners with no cybersecurity background. The novelty of CRACK-ERS lies in its non-traditional design as an unplugged CTF with an adventure scenario-driven script, encouraging participants to solve cybersecurity-related riddles. CRACK-ERS targets beginner-level learners, fostering teamwork, explorative research, cybersecurity problem-solving, and riddle-cracking skills. Prior cybersecurity educational research notes limited instances of escape room-style CTF games and fewer riddle-based story-driven CTF scripts for beginners. To our knowledge, CRACK-ERS is the first hybrid model CTF that combines escape room style, riddle-based, and story-driven elements for beginners. Since 2020, we have employed the legacy version of the game in high school outreach workshops, remote cybersecurity sessions, summer camps, and distance learning events, aiming to introduce CTFs and basic cybersecurity concepts in a user-friendly, competitive way. Our research includes a participant assessment study analyzing quantitative and qualitative data collected through survey responses from high school community members who played the game. Results indicate our unique approach successfully engaged both students and teachers, fostering a positive learning experience, user awareness, and overall interest in cybersecurity topics. Limited prior work focuses on studying how such a uniquely designed CTF impacts beginner-level participants from high schools virtually. We aim to address this research gap