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 October 15, 2011 was our first day running Fair Grinds Coffeehouse in New Orleans, the only 100% fairtrade coffeehouse in the city. The name, we inherited with the sale, was a mashup of fairtrade coffee, and the fact that we were only a couple of blocks from the Fair Grounds horse …
Pearl River Workers continue to have the momentum at Starbucks. This is getting more and more interesting. The NLRB counted ballots in Mesa, Arizona, the medium-sized Phoenix suburb, and the union forces polled 25 – 3 with a couple of indeterminate ballots challenged. There are now 100 stores that have filed petitions and are …
San Pedro Sula There’s no agreement in Honduras about much except the fact that the economy continues lagging and unemployment is acute, government is inept, and corruption is rampant. Getting specifics past these general statements is a longer climb. The big topic on all tongues is the conviction of the President’s brother in a jury …
Managua We rolled out at dawn for Matagalpa with Managua stirring all around us as the city waited on corners for buses to work. In two and a half hours ,we were rolling up the narrow streets and steep hills looking for the gas station near the Centro, which was our landmark, in a journey …
New Orleans Sometimes you know it’s bad, but you still haven’t wrapped your mind around the full ripple effects of how bad it might be. Focusing on the immigration crisis for children and families at the Mexico-United States border, I have concentrated on the problems we knew were coming from communities organized by ACORN International, …