Left behind

Good New York Times article today about the race and class divide which the disaster in New Orleans has exposed - with the overwhelming majority of those who are still stranded being both poor and black.

Spoke briefly today to my friend Bob Baker, vice-president of the ATU - which has some 1,000 or so members living and working in the city. The breakdown in communications there means that he has no way of knowing how many of his members and their families have got caught up in the chaos there. For news about how unions in the US are mobilising to help their brothers and sisters in the New Orleans, or to make a donation to the relief fund, click here.