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Megan Tady

Megan Tady is a national political reporter for In These Times and a freelance journalist based in Western Massachusetts.

Recent Articles

Trading Arms for Farms

A new movement is finding work for returning Iraq veterans on small-scale farms across the country. The results have been positive for vets -- and for struggling rural communities.

Megan TadyNov 30, 2007

Finally home from combat in Iraq, Steve Edwards felt detached from his friends and family.

Edwards had witnessed the highly publicized death of his friend, California National Guardsman Patrick McCaffrey, in June 2004. Edwards was the first to tell Patrick's mother what the military would not: Patrick was shot by the Iraqi soldier he was training. The Pentagon eventually acknowledged these claims in 2006.

Edwards himself was also injured by a roadside bomb that left him with a limp.

Mall Madness as Janitors Try to Unionize

SEIU is working to organize janitors at shopping centers -- and the cleaning companies they contract with -- around the country.

Megan TadyOct 17, 2007

While shoppers at Paramus Park Mall in New Jersey push their feet into gleaming new Nikes, untwist salty soft pretzels, and stride past pasty-white plastic mannequins cloaked in fall fashion, janitors are polishing the floors with unease.

As part of a wider campaign to free mall workers from low wages and unfair working conditions, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) began organizing janitors employed by the cleaning contractor Service Management Systems (SMS) at Paramus Park. Within weeks, workers say supervisors with SMS threatened to fire anyone who supported the union.

Tracking Pharma Gifts to Doctors

A slow wheel is beginning to turn in Congress in favor of forcing Big Pharma to disclose the amount of change it's dropping into doctors' pockets.

Megan TadyAug 08, 2007

While it's no secret that pharmaceutical companies lavish gifts on doctors -- everything from free notepads and pens to meals to the more extravagant paid trips or seminars -- most patients are in the dark about who, exactly, is courting their physicians. But Congress may be finally acknowledging this relationship, one important step toward creating a national gift registry so patients can track the perks Big Pharma is giving to their doctors.