On Hitting Left today, one day after International Women’s Day, we spoke with Chicago journalist Lorraine Forte, newly appointed member of the Sun-Times editorial board. We led off with a discussion of the current role of women in the labor movement and in the recent wildcat strike of West Virginia teachers.

The most interesting aspect of the just-ended, victorious strike, where women were the main and leading force, is the spark it appears to be providing to teacher militants in Arizona and Oklahoma. It’s not just a coincidence that all three are so-called “right-to-work states” with decimated labor unions and no collective-bargaining rights guaranteed to teachers and other public employees.

Some would expect that this weakening of the unions would lead to fewer strikes and more compliance on labor’s part.

Source: Mike Klonsky’s Blog: Will the Janus decision buy labor peace? Doubtful.