WADE RATHKE is the founder of ACORN, Chief Organizer at ACORN International, and Author of "Nuts & Bolts", "Citizen Wealth", "Global Grassroots", and "The Battle for the 9th Ward".
New Orleans Eighteen years ago, ACORN warned Walmart that opening stores in Chicago was not just a mistake, but wrong. We fought for a higher living wage for retail workers with mixed results. I was there with our members one day when we picketed the location. We were especially opposed to the company’s plans …
Toronto As an interesting twist in the ACORN Canada head and lead organizers’ meeting, Judy Duncan, the head organizer, brought over one of the local organizers to brainstorm about the issues confronting one of our emerging tenants’ unions in a mid-sized building in the city. Ostensibly, the building was owned and run by a nonprofit, …
Toronto Flying into Toronto, there were many surprises on a clear, cold day. The first was being reminded that it was baseball’s opening day, even as March Madness is reaching its climax, and we scan the daily NBA standings to see if the Pelicans are safely in the playoffs. The second surprise was how easy …