Labor Day Special
A couple of times, on the radio, I heard that Labor Day is about honoring people who do work (generally meaning non-intellectual work, I suspect, because they are generally demeaned most other days of the year). That is incorrect. It's totally incorrect.

Labor day was initially celebrated by labor unions to promote organizations of workers. The founder of Labor Day was Matthew Maguire of the International Association of Machinists. For years, though, credit was given to Peter McGuire another union leader. Why?

"According to The First Labor Day Parade, by Ted Watts, Maguire held some political beliefs that were considered fairly radical for the day and also for Samuel Gompers and his American Federation of Labor. Allegedly, Gompers did not want Labor Day to become associated with the sort of 'radical' politics of Matthew Maguire, so in a 1897 interview, Gompers' close friend Peter J. McGuire was assigned the credit for the origination of Labor Day."
http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm

Worker Centers
This is a pretty good summary of worker centers and unions, by the asshole Dick Berman. It ignores the history of the early workers centers, but the overview seems correct, but with a bias. On Fox News, of course. Knowing this will help explain some aspects of the AFL-CIO convention reaching out to community organizations.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/07/labor-unions-look-to-loopholes-for-future-growth/

Also: Big labor reaches out to non-union workers

Constructive Dismissal
In the UK, an employer cannot be a mean person to his or her employees.  No insults, sexual harassment, yelling, etc. It's grounds for a lawsuit. That game show with Donald Trump would be illegal. However, I suspect that droll English sarcasm is still legal there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_dismissal

Fuck Burning Man
Anarchist Gringo, a newbie on YouTube, rants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgH1n-YgDO0

Larry Summers and the Secret "End Game" Memo
The end game was to deregulate banks globally and then use economic power to force small countries to deregulate and allow big American banks to invade.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/larry-summers-and-secret-end-game-memo

Other News Links
At the Very Least, Your Days of Eating Pacific Ocean Fish Are Over
Fast Food Strikes Campaign Tactics Debated
Contractor Status Complicates Workplace Sexual Harassment
The STEM Crisis Is a Myth