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WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE: At a time of anti-labor climate, from Wisconsin to Ohio and the nearest Tea Party gathering, the collective political climate gets curiouser and curiouser. (In an even stranger, Lewis Carroll type environment, the Republican potential challengers to Obama keep disappearing from the field, leaving the “opposition" to the likes of Donald Trump and Michelle Bachman.

Meanwhile, on the other coast, the governor of Maine and his minions have removed a portrait of former Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, who crusaded for the rights of the less fortunate in the Roosevelt Administration with the active encouragement of Eleanor.

Times have changed; I’ll leave you to decide whether it’s for the better.

Meanwhile, over at CSUMB, the worthy folks involved with the Reel Work Film Festival are showing a double-feature Wednesday night that offer some enlightening alternatives. The opening film, “The Dark Side of Chocalate" exposes the child works of the Ivory Coast’s cacao industry, which supplies almost half of the world’s cacao supply. The second feature, “It Takes A Child," is a portrait of Craig Keilburger, an anti-child labor activist who founded the non- profit “Free The Children," which buys children out of bondage and lobbies governments for more progressive policies on child labor issues. (Kielburger was only 15 years old himself when the film was shot.)

The remarkable features screen at 7 pm at CSUMB’s University Center Ballroom, 6th Ave. and B Street. Donations are gladly accepted, though the screenings are free. (Mandatory $2 parking fee.) Information: 726-2006, www.reelwork.org.>

Just to get you in the mood, here’s a clip from Sally Field’s classic performance in “Norma Rae."