Even ACORN’s workers caught in the scandal deserve some due process. A union could help, except ACORN brass – people like “chief organizer” Wade Rathke — have a history of busting unions at ACORN. Background to this from the IWW site, dating back to 2001, is here: http://www.iww.org/unions/iu650/acorn

Also, more info here: http://www.epionline.org/study_detail.cfm?sid=1

More generally, I think there’s need to be more critique of the ACORN model, which superficially might be seen to be mobilizing large numbers of working class and poor people, but could just be yet another in a line of organizations that stifle grassroots initiatives in the name of union bureaucracies that preach mobilization, but really stifle it (and settle for voter drives, and party machine politics).

I hope this context gets expressed. In the US context, with right wing demagogues like Glenn Beck attacking ACORN, maybe we can’t talk about these nuances. But certainly, on CKUT, and in Montreal, we should. Especially with “ACORN Canada” moving in.

Thoughts?

One point, though – I think proponents of initiatives like “Insite” like to call it a supervised injection site, as opposed to a “safe” injection site. In any case, I think that’s a more advantageous term, because it accurately describes what happens at such a site and doesn’t allow for (distracting?) debate over whether injecting illegal drugs is ever a “safe” thing to do. The point is that the science and experience appears to show that supervising drug addicts in a way like this saves lives.