How our blog got its name
Sidney Hillman was a powerful national figure during the Great Depression, a key supporter of the New Deal, and a close ally of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
When the rumor spread that President Roosevelt ordered his party leaders to “clear it with Sidney” before announcing Harry S. Truman as his 1944 running mate, conservative critics turned on the phrase, trumpeting it as proof that the president was under the thumb of “Big Labor.”
Over the years, the phrase lost its sting and became a testament to Hillman's influence.
It's hard to imagine a labor leader wielding that kind clout today, but we like the idea—and we hope Sidney would give thumbs up to our blog.
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#Sidney's Picks: Walmart Strike; Life Support Drama; Dirty Meds
- Democracy Now! and Huffington Post on yesterday's one-day walkout at Walmart, the first multi-store strike in the retailer's 50-year history.
- A 28-year-old woman paralyzed by a brain tumor asked to be taken off life support, but her parents went to court to keep her alive. The parents lost, but later released a video purporting to show that woman had changed her mind. Kudos to Erica Pearson of the New York Daily News for breaking the story yesterday with a piece that nailed the ethical issues at stake.
- Unemployment fell to 7.9%, its lowest level since January 2009.
- A compounding pharmacy sold thousands of vials of medicine tainted with meningitis bacteria. Experts wonder why this obscure mom and pop shop was ever allowed to mix up drugs for spinal injection.
[Photo credit: Wander Mule, Creative Commons.]
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