It’s apparent now more than ever why restaurant workers are urgently organizing. While members of the Restaurant Opportunities Center roll on with workplace justice campaigns in several cities, affiliates of the national worker center released reports this week from Chicago, New Orleans, Portland, Maine, and Detroit highlighting the low lights of one the largest and fastest-growing private sector employers in the country.

With all eyes on Obama’s fraught health care push, his plans to overhaul public education have sped along with relative ease. The first leg of the federal "Race to the Top" competition finished January 19 when 40 states sent applications for a piece of the $4.35 billion in stimulus funds.

The sidewalk outside a restaurant in suburban Detroit was packed for the Friday night dinner rush—but it wasn't because the line was out the door. Restaurant workers and supporters were out front protesting a slew of minimum-wage violations, part of a national campaign against employers that steal wages.