[Security officer and single mother Sandra] Charles still weeps when she describes how her life has changed. For her, this is a season of miracles. “This gives us a breakthrough that no one ever dreamt of,” said Ms. Charles, 47, who no longer spends sleepless nights worrying about paying rent. Her oldest daughter, who had dropped out of college to work, plans to enroll in classes come January. Her youngest daughter, whose prescription for eyeglasses expired nine months ago, has a brand new pair. In the spring, Ms. Charles plans to move with her girls into a two-bedroom apartment. For the first time, she says, she will sleep in her own bedroom, not on the couch. “I can pay my bills,” she marveled. “I can save. I can take care of my kids.”

Here's a happy story for you: I defy you to read the stories of workers at the Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York, and not tear up a little. More than 1,300 workers have seen their salaries jump after a union struggle was followed in October by a labor arbitrator's ruling that raised their wages dramatically. Workers went from earning in the low $20,000s to nearly $40,000, and will see steady raises over the next three years.The casino isn't trying to pretend it can't afford the raises, but that doesn't mean it didn't fight to avoid them—witness the fact that an arbitrator had to become involved after the union and management reached an impasse. And suddenly, though not without struggle, more than a thousand families are middle-class.

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