walmart workers, marvin miller, rob ford: important stuff that happened while i wasn't blogging

As the title says, here are some things I thought about while I was taking a blogging break.

● Marvin Miller died. Miller should be a hero of both the labour movement and baseball history. He should also be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Anyone interested in the intersection of sports and politics should read his terrific book, A Whole New Ball Game. Dave Zirin interviews Miller here; Joy of Sox muses on his passing here.

During the 1994 baseball strike, I wrote to Miller via the players' union. Within two weeks, I received a reply: a typewritten letter, which included his home address. Something to treasure.

● There's really nothing I can say about Rob Ford, former mayor of Toronto, that hasn't already been said. I just wanted wmtc to join the celebration. Marcus Gee: Rob Ford's self-inflicted downfall; Toronto Media Coop: Rob Ford's litany of misdeeds.

● Photos from the OUR Walmart actions on the day after US Thanksgiving are here. OUR Walmart writes:

We did it!

With your support, hundreds of us bravely stood up to Walmart on Black Friday and went on strike. Despite the retail giant's illegal threats and scare tactics, we were inspired to take action like never before.

In addition to the stores where we had planned strikes, we heard about other coworkers in Atlanta, GA, Ocean City, MD, Tupelo, MS, and even Paducah, KY-who were inspired to strike by the incredible outpour of support by community members like you!

Unsurprisingly, Walmart's high-priced PR team is doing everything they can to downplay these historic events and ignore its employees. Deciding to go on strike on Black Friday was never about boycotting or affecting Walmart's bottom line. It was about changing the national debate about workers in this country. With more than 2,000 news stories covering the historic strikes, we are making our voices heard.

With tens of thousands of supporters on our side, we will continue to grow more support and build more alliances. Rest assured, if Walmart does not stop its retaliation against workers who speak out for change, we will strike again. We know change will not happen overnight, especially in the face of Walmart's fierce opposition and illegal threats. But the truth is out-and we will not back down. We will continue to raise our voices, and we will continue to bring on new supporters every day.

We are not afraid to stand up and speak out, because with your support, we all see that change is possible.