Netroots Nation: Obama Shills & Breitbart vs. People Who’re Actually Making A Difference

Joe Macaré

MINNEAPOLIS - Between trying to decide which riveting panels to attend (and then somehow live-tweeting as much of them as possible), meeting and talking with great people in the world of progressive media and advocacy, and running a dizzying gauntlet of afterparties, it’s hard to find time to gather one’s thoughts on Netroots Nation 2011. But here are some highlights: The very first panel I attended was on a subject dear to In These Times' heart: 'Stop! Wage Thief! How Workers are Getting the Money They're Owed.' Panelists included Adam Kader of Arise Chicago and Anne Thompson from the National Employment Law Project. Carrie Gleason of the Retail Action Project aired a video of retail workers telling their stories, which confirmed something many of us have long suspected: there are certain employers who, if they can get away with it, will literally work their employees to death. Veronica Mendez of Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL; Center of Workers United in Struggle) spoke about the

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Joe Macaré is a writer, editor and development and communications professional, originally hailing from the UK and now residing in Chicago. His writing has appeared at In These Times, TruthOut, AlterNet, Dazed and Confused, The Times, Plan B and Stylus. He has appeared on WBEZ radio and Chicago Newsroom to discuss his extensive coverage of the Occupy Chicago movement.
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