People Before Profit blog

Big political shifts are under way

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:21:00 +0000

The yearning in our country for a new direction and new priorities has taken hold in the 2008 elections. Voters turned out in record numbers for the primaries, propelled by economic necessity and determination to end the war, and inspired by the historic breakthrough of a woman or an African American as a major party candidate for president.

Voters of all races and nationality backgrounds and all walks of life, young and old, women, men, union members and unorganized, flooded the polls, undeterred by the constant corporate media barrage of racism, sexism and divisive tactics which might have suppressed the vote.

When Barack Obama surpassed the 2,118 delegates required for nomination, his unity appeal and outreach to Clinton supporters deeply touched the country and was greeted around the world.

Unity — especially unity of African American, Latino and white voters, women and men — will have to be fought for and forged anew, broadened out and deepened in this new phase of the battle to defeat McCain and the corporate ultra-right in Congress.

The choice is clear — stay with the Bush-McCain race to the bottom or come together and raise up the whole country with a landslide defeat of the Republican ultra-right.

Sounding like Grover Norquist, McCain speaks of never-ending war and shrinking government, privatizing services and cutting funds for human needs. In sharp contrast, Obama speaks of strengthening government to provide health care and jobs, address global warming and end the war in Iraq.

Obama’s program is not radical. Left and progressive voters will push for a stronger break from corporate control. This should not be cause for pulling back, but rather for greater involvement.

A landslide vote that is organized to stay in motion after the elections can challenge the demands that Wall Street and military interests will make on the new administration. Obama has shown he is ready to listen.

Big political shifts are under way. When Democracy Corps surveyed 45 congressional districts that voted Republican with big margins in 2004 and 2006, they found the majority of voters now plan to vote Democratic. Like the whole country, these voters are beleaguered by rising prices, rising death tolls in the war, rising unemployment and the inability of their state and local governments to maintain basic services due to federal budget cuts.

The big battles in Congress on war funding, Iran, children’s health care, extending unemployment benefits and immigration are connected to the elections. If the pressure is kept on, vulnerable Republicans and some conservative Democrats may be forced to change their votes or lose re-election.

But the business community has raised record sums and is also mobilizing with divisive messages against workers’ rights and civil rights.

During the primaries unions made different endorsements. The labor movement now has a pivotal role to unify and mobilize working families and their communities for November.

Thousands of grassroots union volunteers are already in motion as part of the largest-in-history labor mobilization, visiting co-workers to talk about the issues with the “McCain Revealed” program.

The Obama campaign, drawing upon the candidate’s community organizing experience, is also looking toward the grassroots. Unity for Change house parties across the country on June 28 will bring neighbors together for voter registration and getting out the vote.

A national coalition of peace and economic rights organizations is also gearing up for grassroots voter registration and mobilization.

Planned Parenthood Action is launching a One Million Strong Know McCain campaign with house parties June 14-20.

A host of creative projects to expose McCain’s record are being launched online.

African American, Latino and youth voters who could be decisive in this election are gearing up.

All these efforts can involve new activists, build for the landslide and take up top issues of concern.

As AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker told the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists convention, “This election cannot be only about John McCain’s failings. It must be about working people’s vision — our vision of a new direction for our country. A vision that includes universal health care, the elimination of poverty, good jobs and the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act … [W]e are going to spark a movement of those who are ready to make their voices heard in shaping the new America we must build together — and we are going collect our debt this November.”

The Communist Party USA’s emergency program to repair, renew and rebuild America is a contribution toward this effort. It is available at www.cpusa.org.

Joelle Fishman (joelle.fishman @pobox.com) chairs the Communist Party USA Political Action Commission and is also chair of the Connecticut Communist Party.

Ear-deafening roar for Obama in Motor City

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:12:00 +0000

DETROIT — The waiting was over, and when Barack Obama came on stage in Joe Louis Arena, 20,000 people exploded in an ear-deafening roar. Some had been waiting for the 8:30 evening rally since noon that day, but as Obama had not campaigned here for the disputed Jan. 15 Michigan primary, all had been waiting months to see and hear the presidential candidate in person.

There are too few times that a large multiracial crowd comes together in this diverse but segregated area of Michigan, but in keeping with Obama’s message of breaking down old divisions, this was certainly one of those times. The crowd was made up of working people, young and old, Black, Brown and white, male and female, gay and straight. Families brought their children to be part of history in the making.

Waiting in the pre-rally lines, many worried about McCain’s comment that bringing troops home from Iraq was “not too important,” and they worried about how their present and future dreams were being crushed — “the cry of desperation across the land” that Obama later referred to in his speech.

The importance of winning Michigan in the fall was highlighted by the appearance of former Vice President Al Gore, who introduced and endorsed Sen. Obama. Gore’s presence ignited the crowd and his message of everyone understanding the critical importance of the November elections was well understood.

If you think the next appointment to the Supreme Court matters, if you live in New Orleans or lost your job, or are struggling with your mortgage, or if anyone from your family is in the active military, “if you care about food safety and like a ‘T’ on your BLT, you know elections matter,” Gore declared. When Gore introduced Obama as the next president, it was if an electrical current propelled everyone out of their seats to cheer. In an appeal for unity, Obama, paid tribute to Sen. Hillary Clinton and her campaign for president, saying she shattered a glass ceiling into 18 million pieces and lifted up the hopes of young women all across America. “She is worthy of our respect,” Obama said.

One of the loudest and longest ovations came when Obama addressed his unity theme. “The reason you are here tonight, the reason I am standing here tonight as the Democratic nominee, is because you decided in this election: not this time.” “We are going to come together: Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young/old, rich/poor, gay/straight, urban/suburban, and we are going to explore the possibilities of America in this election. That’s why we’re here tonight.”

One of the loudest boos came with Obama’s reference to John McCain’s tax policy that would reward the Exxon Mobil oil company with $1 billion in tax breaks. Twenty-five percent of McCain’s tax breaks will go to those making $2.5 million. When Obama asked if anyone in the audience made that much, no hands went up, but he drew laughter by saying Detroit Pistons star Chauncey Billups (who earlier had fired up the crowd with his pro-Obama appeal to register and get out the vote) would probably be a beneficiary of such a tax break.

A knowing wave of anguish swept the arena when Obama described how low expectations were crushing the hopes of our youngest. In cities like Chicago and Detroit, in Appalachia, in the barrios of south Texas and the Indian reservations of South Dakota, he said, “you can see children as full of potential as my children or Al Gore’s children” who by the age of 8, 7 or 6 have “a cloud pass over their eyes.”

Not surprisingly in a state where job loss is high, jobs and the economy were a major part of Obama’s speech. He spoke about his plan to provide health insurance to all Americans, invest in the nation’s infrastructure, make sure every worker gets the training he or she needs, and ensure that every child can afford a college education. Instead of tax shelters for the rich, he said, we’re going to give tax shelters to the American people — a $1,000 tax credit to offset higher gas and food prices.

Obama told the Motor City crowd he would support government spending to help the auto industry with green technology. Earlier in the day, Obama spoke in Flint, Mich., and greeted autoworkers at a General Motors plant there.

Last week, the United Auto Workers unanimously endorsed Obama, saying, “On every issue that counts, we can count on Barack Obama to stand with our members, our families and our communities.”

jrummel @ pww.org

A visit with Fernando Gonzalez, one of the Cuban Five

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:08:00 +0000

SPECIAL TO THE WORLD-One of Cuban Five, Fernando Gonzalez, was recently visited at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana where he was transferred last year. Fernando is one of the Miami Five who is presently serving 19 years for conspiracy, false identity, and failure to disclose himself as a foreign agent following a flawed trial in Miami where the prejudicial climate militated against a fair hearing. Together with Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero and Rene Gonzalez he was defending his people against terrorist acts originating in Miami by infiltrating terrorist groups there and feeding intelligence back to Havana which was shared with the FBI. The case recently lost an appeal.

Fernando looks much younger than his 44 years and is slim, fit, alert and in excellent spirits. Despite having spent 10 years of his sentence, with at least 6 ½ years ahead of him, he is positive, optimistic and self-confident. He is serious, deep-thinking, and widely read with a warm and relaxed attitude that comes from his profound love of humanity and total commitment to his people and the Cuban Revolution of which he is justly proud. While enjoying debate and discussion on issues ranging from consumerism and the role of the media to global capitalism and the nature of 21st century socialism, Fernando is humbled by the solidarity he has received from his own people and the international movement. In particular he wishes to thank all those in Britain who give so sacrificially of their time while struggling with their own problems yet have managed to achieve so much in the campaign to win the freedom of the Five. He is so sorry that he can’t answer every letter he receives but that comes as no surprise when you consider the size of his post-bag with most of the mail originating in Britain.

FCI Terre Haute is a medium-security prison. It was built in 1934 and is cramped and noisy with 1200 inmates yet the regime is more relaxed than Fernando’s previous prison enabling him to read, write and work out with a daily running schedule that obviously contributes to his fitness. Although he could earn more by working an eight-hour day in the dining room he chooses to clean and tidy the TV and hobby-crafts room for an hour a day that only pays $5.25 per month. He gets up at 5.30 am and retires at 9.15 pm yet his cell-mate sees little of him as he fills his time creatively while keeping to himself as a way to survive in an otherwise volatile climate. The one thing he really appreciates is his weekly delivery of the Morning Star which he finds highly informative and stimulating.

As part of the cost-cutting measures in the present economic climate the quality of the food in prison has declined while only three sets of t-shirts, underwear and socks are issued instead of the previous five. Whereas pens, pencils, writing pads and envelopes used to be free the prisoners now have to buy them from the prison shop at inflated prices. There is even talk in the Congress of increasing the use of parole and deporting foreign prisoners early as part of the exercise. As Fernando points out, most of the inmates are serving time for drug-related offences where prison is not the answer, so costs could be cut by providing more effective remedial treatment.

Meanwhile Fernando wonders what it will be like adapting to civilian life following his release. With only 300 minutes a month to phone home at 99 cents per minute he misses his family and especially his wife Rosa Aurora whom he only sees once or maybe twice a year as US visas take their time coming. Apart from his mother and wife, lawyers and diplomats he has few visits yet he enjoys good relations with the other prisoners and the prison guards that makes life more bearable. Of course visits can be cut short at a moment’s notice because of an incident on the unit and all inmates are strip-searched before and after every visit.

When it comes to the latest stage of the appeal Fernando is hoping for a new trial on the counts of conspiracy to commit espionage and murder although the latter count could be thrown out. While this would mainly benefit Gerardo, Ramon and Antonio who are serving life it would hopefully lead to the re-sentencing or release of all Five who stand together in the fight for justice. Because of the political nature of the case Fernando does not expect a decision until after the US presidential elections. What ever the outcome Fernando Gonzalez knows that victory is ultimately assured thanks to the international solidarity that is continually growing.

Ohio nurses fight for patient rights

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:53:00 +0000

CLEVELAND - Patients are dying because nurses are being mistreated and overworked,” stated Adrian Zurup, a registered nurse from Cleveland, as she kicked off a June 15 rally here by the National Nurse’s Organizing Committee.

The NNOC is supporting a bill in the state legislature, titled the Ohio Patients’ Protection Act, which would raise the ratio of nurses to patients in hospitals.

“Some nurses are forced to care for as many as 13 patients at one time. We say that this just cannot be safe for patients, said Michelle Mahon. “We work with the patients, we advocate for them and we said that we cannot do an adequate job for 13 patients at one time. We need standards that establish three to four patients per nurse.”

“We have restrictions on the number of kids in a classroom, on the number of fish we can catch and on how many can ride a bus,” said Terry Gallagher, another nurse. “But there are no standards on how many patients nurses can be assigned to take care of. Our priorities are off.”

Linda Fear of Youngstown, spoke about her husband’s death, after being released prematurely from the hospital. “The nurse on duty said that there was no way that he should’ve been released, but the hospital is interested only in the bottom line, not people.”

When asked by a corporate media representative whether “passing the legislation would just lead hospitals to cut other jobs, Michelle Mahon replied that “the press should be asking hospitals what their spending priorities are. These are multi-million dollar hospitals that are providing inadequate care because they overwork and understaff but the top officials are becoming rich at our expense.”

Steve Cagan, a recent hospital patient from Cleveland, described how the overworking/understaffing of nurses affected him. “There is absolutely no shortage of nurses. There are plenty of nurses in Ohio, but they are treated miserably by hospitals and don’t stay.”

“We’ll face powerful corporate opponents when this bill is introduced, and we’ll be attacked by them,” said Rhonda Risner Hanos, a registered nurse from Dayton. “Nurses will lead this fight and we’ll have powerful friends, as well.” It is expected that the Ohio Patient Protection Act will be introduced, with strong support from the AFL-CIO and others, within a month.

Tidal wave of foreclosures rise with no end in sight

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:33:00 +0000

CLEVELAND -The tidal wave of home foreclosures is rising with no end in sight, witnesses told a Congressional field hearing here June 16, and the flood is devastating cities and rural areas throughout Ohio.

“This has been a murderous unnatural disaster, one that has wiped out decades of patient community development progress, threatened our futures and left thousands of homeowners and renters in the lurch,” said Chris Warren, Cleveland’s Chief of Regional Development. “Call it Hurricane Greed.”

Warren charged that Wall Street banks and investment firms, including Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, as well as subprime lenders and “real estate scam artists” were “the main culprits” for the crisis. They encouraged the sale of default-prone subprime loans in economically depressed communities from 2002 until the artificially inflated housing market collapsed in 2007, he said.

“Some people made a lot of money on scams,” Warren told a packed auditorium at Cleveland State University, as he testified before the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Cal).

Rep. Marcie Kaptur, one of five northern Ohio Congresspersons on the panel, called the scams “a Ponzi-like scheme” and asked witnesses for details. Warren said part of the strategy was to foster lending in poor neighborhoods where even if property values doubled it would not be noticed.

The loans based on artificially inflated values were then sold by subprime lenders and brokers and packaged in multi-million dollar bundles with ordinary loans. The packages were given high ratings and turned into securities for Wall St. speculators and hedgefunds.

“The banks knew exactly what they were doing,” he said.

Kaptur said Congress must conduct “a full, independent investigation” with subpoena power to determine exactly who benefited, who made the decisions, who sanctioned the process and how federal regulatory agencies, including the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve failed to block the scams.

She said the crisis had resulted in “the largest washout of private savings in 50 years,” totaling more than $1 trillion nationally with the largest losses suffered by low-income working people.

The Bush Administration acted immediately to bail out Bear Stearns, the Wall Street investment firm, she said, “but there is no relief for private citizens.” The cost in home board ups and demolitions, increased need for police and fire services and declining resources for schools and city services has been shifted to the tax payers.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich said the scams had produced “a massive transfer of wealth from poor, working class people to Wall Street. Some would call it theft.” He displayed charts and maps of Cuyahoga county showing that the schemes had specifically targeted areas with large African-American, Hispanic and Arab-American populations.

“This is a civil rights issue,” he said. “People were targeted who had low incomes and low financial literacy.” Congress, he said, must “investigate how this crisis was engineered” and “find a way to remedy this unscrupulous cheating.”

To loud applause he said, given the evidence of “widespread fraud,” instead of returning properties to banks, “they should be returned to the people.”

Rep. Betty Sutton said foreclosures had increased for 29 straight months, affected a million homes and “there is no end in sight.”

“This is a crisis of historic proportions,” she said.

Frank Ford of Neighborhood Progress, Inc. said a relief program must include a moratorium on foreclosures, a freeze on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) and compulsory renegotiation of existing loans.

Edward Kramer, director of Housing Advocates urged that all cities follow the lead of Cleveland and Baltimore which have filed lawsuits against the Wall Street banks and investment firms. “Based on the damages,” he said, “every city has a claim.”

Rep. Waters said she planned to disseminate the information on the suits to the National Conference of Mayors and bring it to the attention of the full Congress. She said cities should use the power of eminent domain to take over vacant properties.

Open letter from Evo Morales regarding the European Union's 'Returns'

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:05:00 +0000

Until the end of the Second World War, Europe was a continent of emigrants. Tens of millions of Europeans left for the Americas in order to colonize, escape famine, financial crises, wars and European totalitarianism and the persecution of ethnic minorities. Today, I'm following the process of the so-called 'Returns Directive' with concern. The text, approved on June 5th by the Interior Ministers of the European Union's 27 member countries, must be voted on in the European Parliament on June 18th. I feel that it drastically hardens the conditions for detention and expulsion of undocumented migrants, whatever their length of stay in the European countries, their work situation, their family ties, their will and their achievements at integration.

Europeans arrived en masse in the countries of Latin America and North America, without visas or conditions imposed by the authorities. They were always welcome, and they continue to be, in our countries on the American continent, which therefore absorb the economic misery of Europe and its political crises. They came to our continent to exploit its wealth and transfer it to Europe, with a very high cost for America's original population. Such is the case in our Cerro Rico, in Potosi, where the fabulous silver mines provided the European continent its coinage from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The goods and personal rights of the European migrants were always respected.

Today the European Union is the main destination for the world's migrants, as a consequence of its positive image as an area of prosperity and public freedom. The vast majority of the migrants come to the EU to contribute to this prosperity, not to take advantage of it. They occupy jobs in public works, construction, personal services and hospitals, which Europeans can't or don't wish to fill. They contribute to the European continent's dynamic demographic, to maintaining the relationship between the active and inactive that in turn makes possible its generous systems of social security, internal market stimulation and social cohesion. Migrants offer a solution to the EU's demographic and financial problems.

For us, our migrants represent the development aid that the Europeans don't give us - considering that few countries actually manage to achieve the minimum objective of 0.7% of their GDP in development aid. In 2006, Latin America received $68 billion dollars in remittances; more than the total foreign investment in our countries. At a world level, they reach $300 billion dollars, which surpasses the $104 billion dollars granted through the concept of development aid. My own country, Bolivia, received more than 10% of its GDP through remittances ($1.1 billion dollars), or a third of our annual natural gas exports.

This is to say that the migration flows are just as beneficial for the Europeans and marginally for those of us in the Third World, considering that we've also lost the equivalent of millions of skilled workers, in which our states, poor as they are, have invested human and financial resources in one way or another.

Unfortunately, the 'Returns Directive' complicates this reality terribly. If we conceive that each state or group of states may define its fully sovereign migratory policies, we cannot accept that fundamental personal rights should be denied to our Latin American brothers and compatriots. The 'Returns Directive' provides for the possibility of incarceration of undocumented migrants for up to 18 months before their expulsion - or 'removal,' according to the terms of the directive. 18 months! Without trial, or justice! As it is today, the Directive's text clearly violates Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Specifically, Article 13 of the Declaration states: 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. And worst of all, there is the possibility of imprisonment for mothers and children, without taking into account their family or school situation, in these detention facilities where we know depression, hunger strikes and suicides take place. How can we accept undocumented Latin American compatriots and brothers who've worked and integrated themselves over years, being put in concentration camps, without reacting? On what side is today's duty of humanitarian intervention? Where is the 'freedom of movement,' the protection against arbitrary imprisonment? In parallel, the European Union is trying to convince the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) to sign an 'Association Agreement' which includes a Free Trade Agreement as its third pillar, with the same nature and contents as those imposed by the United States. We are under intense pressure from the European Commission to accept profoundly liberalized conditions for trade, financial services, intellectual property or our public services. Furthermore, under the heading of legal protection, we are being pressured over our process of nationalization of water, gas and telecommunications, as realized on International Workers Day. I ask, in this case, where is the 'legal security' for our women, adolescents, children and workers who seek better horizons in Europe? Freedom of movement is promoted for merchandise and finance, while we are faced with imprisonment without trial for our brothers who try to move freely. This is to deny the foundations of freedom and democratic rights.

Under these conditions, to approve this 'Returns Directive,' we would find it ethically impossible to extend the negotiations with the European Union, and we reserve the right to regulate European citizens through the same visa obligations that have been imposed on Bolivians since the first of April, 2007, according to the diplomatic principle of reciprocity. We have not exercised it until now, as we awaited favorable signs from the EU.

The world, its continents, its oceans and its poles face difficult global challenges: global warming, pollution, the slow but sure disappearance of energy resources and biodiversity, while hunger and poverty increase in all countries, weakening our societies. To make migrants, documented or undocumented, scapegoats for these global problems is no kind of solution at all. It doesn't correspond to any reality. The problems of social cohesion suffered by Europe are not the fault of migrants, but the result of a development model imposed by the North, which is destroying the planet and dismembering the society of mankind.

In the name of the Bolivian people, of all my brothers in the continental regions of the world such as Maghreb, Asia and the countries of Africa, I call on the conscience of the European leaders and parliamentary members, the people, citizens and activists of Europe, to reject the first draft of the 'Returns Directive.' That which we have before us today, is a shameful directive. I also call on the European Union to elaborate, in the coming months, a migratory policy that is respectful of human rights, that would maintain this beneficial dynamism for both continents and might repair once and for all the enormous historical, economic and ecological debt that the European countries have with a large part of the Third World, which might close at once Latin America's still open veins. They must not fail today at 'policies of integration,' as they failed with their supposed 'civilizing mission' in colonial times.

Fraternal greetings from Bolivia to all of you, authorities, Members of Parliament, and comrades. And in particular, our solidarity to all those who are 'hidden.'

Evo Morales Ayma, President of the Republic of Bolivia

Translated by Machetera

Bush a terrorists best friend

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:15:00 +0000

“We are coming to the end of a terrible stage. The end of our struggle is near.” This last was a reference to former Cuban President Fidel Castro’s health problems. The speaker moved on to work at hand: “We ask God to sharpen our machetes.”

Talk of lethal weapons would hardly have surprised 500 admirers on hand May 2 at a famous Miami restaurant to celebrate their hero. After all, ex-CIA agent Luis Posada Carriles had organized illegal arms shipments to Contra rebels in Nicaragua, arranged for the bombing of Havana hotels, and joined in on a failed assassination attempt in Panama against Fidel Castro. And with Orlando Bosch he’d engineered the bombing of a Cuban airliner in 1976 that killed 73 passengers. But for protection, someone with such a record needs major friends. At an appeals court hearing in New Orleans on June 4, U.S. prosecutors sought to revive their case against Posada for lying before immigration officials. After federal judge Kathleen Cardone dismissed their case a year ago because of shoddy, even “deceitful” preparations, Posada had gone free. There are loose ends. Repeatedly since Posada’s arrival in Florida three years ago Venezuela has sought his extradition based on international treaties signed by the United States. He had escaped from a jail in Venezuela in 1985,with CIA help, in the midst of court proceedings related to the airliner bombing. Jose Pertierra, Venezuela’s lawyer in the United States, told reporters in New Orleans that the Bush administration was reviving the case on the theory that ongoing prosecution, even on trivial charges, would immunize Posada against extradition to Venezuela.

Why do friends of Posada in Washington pitch in to shield him from high stakes legal proceedings in Venezuela? The answer, says Pertierra, lies in what Posada knows about CIA crimes and whom he could embarrass should he spill the beans. “Posada has been the CIA man in Caracas. He’s worked with them for more than 30 years,” according to the lawyer. “There are reasons why the United States wants to protect him.” And Pertierra came down heavily on what he characterized as a “farce.” “What they have done is to set off a circus, [with charges ranging] from undocumented entry to lying, but never as a murderer or terrorist.” If these maneuvers don’t work out. Posada’s ally in the White House apparently has an old standby on tap. In 1990, the first President Bush relieved Orlando Bosch of penalties relating to parole violation – in effect, pardoned him. Since then, Posada’s old partner has lived freely in Miami. Bosch’s parole followed jail time for firing a bazooka at a Polish freighter in 1968. Now the Spain-based International Committee for Freedom of the Five cites “trustworthy information” indicating that “the Bush administration...has confirmed to U.S. congresspersons a disposition to arbitrate an arrangement for annulling the judicial process against Posada Carriles... the equivalent of a pardon.” Pertierra also alluded to that possibility, according to TeleSur news.

Observers suggest that a possible Bush pardon for Posada is behind Venezuela’s renewal of its demand for Posada’s extradition. On June 3, Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro used the forum of a plenary session of the Organization of American meeting in Medellin, Colombia to call out vigorously for Posada being brought to justice. He asked too that the OAS monitor U.S. efforts to evade its responsibilities regarding the terrorist.

Maduro’s plea came after a presentation from Héctor Morales, Bush’s envoy at the meeting, on the U.S. rationale for a “multilateral and international” fight against terrorists. Maduro took offense at U.S. criticism of supposed Venezuelan ties to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia as representing support for terrorism.

Lack of workers rights in U.S.
scored by international labor coalition

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:32:00 +0000

The International Trades Union Congress, which met June 9-11 in Geneva, assailed the lack of workers’ rights in the United States. The ITUC also called on the World Trade Organization to take up the issue at its biannual review of U.S. trade policy.

A few days later the Bush administration’s response to the WTO’s routine review of U.S. trade policy made no mention at all of that policy’s effect on workers. The questions that the WTO itself had asked the administration to answer did not include any of the workers rights concern raised by the ITUC. The WTO ignored a mandate from the foreign ministers of member countries who, in 2006, had insisted that the review include labor standards and workers’ rights.

In its report ITUC noted that the U.S. has yet to ratify key International Labor Organization planks on of the right to organize unions and the right to bargain collectively.

The group also noted that the U.S. has failed to ratify an ILO plank calling for equal pay for equal work and that there is still rampant pay discrimination in this country based on sex.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in Geneva on June 10 that refusal by the U.S. to ratify these items is “clearly shameful.” He said he is hoping that the November elections will provide a vehicle to change the situation.

Describing the status of labor rights in the U.S., the ITUC report charged, “The right to strike and the right to collective bargaining are severely restricted, in particular for public service workers and for certain groups of private sector workers.”

The report also noted that at least 32 million workers, 25 million of them in the private sector, are not covered by U.S. labor law. “These figures do not include many more who have lost the protections of U.S. labor law as a result of decisions by the National Labor Relations Board,” the report said.

The ITUC document also took issue with the extent to which employers in the U.S. are permitted to interfere with union organizing drives.

“Employers have a statutory right under the National Labor Relations Act to express their views during a union campaign so long as they do not interfere with their employees’ free choice. In practice, however, employers have a legal right to engage in a wide range of anti-union tactics that chill exercise of freedom of association.”

ITUC also cited “captive audience meetings” where firms that propagandize against the union “can fire workers who refuse to attend them.” The report criticized laws that allow employers to “predict,” although not “threaten” that a workplace will be shut down if workers vote for a union.

The ITUC findings were particularly harsh in the area of rights for public sector workers:

“In the public sector, 40 percent of workers are still denied basic collective bargaining rights. While the Federal Labor Relations Act covers over two million federal employees, the statute outlaws strikes, proscribes collective bargaining over hours, wages and economic benefits, and imposes extensive management rights that further limit collective bargaining.

“Only a little more than half the states allow for collective bargaining in the public sector; several more allow it only for narrow categories of workers. Even where the public sector workers have the right to bargain, they generally do not have the right to strike.

“In North Carolina all public employees are denied collective bargaining rights, which is in violation of workers’ fundamental rights as determined by the ILO.”

In conclusion, the report noted, “The U.S. administration, rather than leading the way on protection of the rights of working people and to decent pay and conditions, has been intent on denying the freedom to join a union and bargain collectively to millions of Americans. This hurts America’s working people and has a negative impact on workers’ right in other countries as well.”

When he spoke in Geneva, Sweeney said, “Independent polls show 44 million more workers would join a union if they were not intimidated by employers. We intend to do something about that this year in the election.”

PAI contributed to this story

House finally passes bill
extending jobless benefits

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:33:00 +0000

The Democratic controlled House passed a bill June 12 extending unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 39 weeks in most states and to 52 weeks in states with official unemployment rates of 6 percent or more.

49 Republicans joined Democrats to give the bill a 274-137 vote majority. All 137 opponents were Republicans.

Opponents said unemployment rates were not high enough to justify the extension while proponents of the measure pointed out that the rate of increase in joblessness in May was the largest increase in 22 years.

The deliberations that resulted in passage of the bill followed a two-day lobbying effort by many of the nation’s unions that involved millions of e-mails and phone calls to members of Congress. It also followed a June 11 vote on a special, no-debate measure put forward by Democratic leaders that would have veto-proofed the bill. The measure fell just three votes short of the 282 votes it needed for passage.

The extended benefits passed by the House on June 12 are also included in the Iraq war funding bill. President Bush, however, has already vowed to veto any war funding bill that has anything in it other than funds for the war.

Arguing for passage of the bill during a press conference June 10, AFL-CIO Legislative Director Bill Samuel said, “The economy is in free fall and working people are struggling. The share of all the unemployed who are jobless more than six months is 18 percent, and there are two jobless workers searching per every job available.”

The bill, which is expected to be killed by a Bush veto, would have made the extension in benefits available to workers who exhausted their benefits as far back as last November. Each month this year, according to Samuels, 200,000 additional workers have used up their benefits by reaching the end of their 26th week.

Most unions backing Obama

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:24:00 +0000

Unions that were either neutral or backing Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primaries are rapidly endorsing Barack Obama.

Among those announcing this week that they will back Obama are the United Auto Workers, the United Transportation Union, and the Sheet Metal Workers. Also signaling that their unions will endorse Obama are Ed McElroy, president of the American Federation of Teachers and Gerald McAntee, president of AFSCME.

The UAW endorsement of Obama, by a unanimous vote of its executive board on June 10, means that three large unions that have high percentages of male blue collar workers among their memberships are now backing the Illinois senator. The other two such unions are the Steel Workers and the Mine Workers.

The UAW was neutral during the primary contests. The Steel Workers and Mine Workers originally backed former Sen. John Edwards. After Edwards, who dropped out, endorsed Obama the two unions followed suit.

These latest endorsements bring the AFL-CIO closer to a federation-wide endorsement of Obama. To endorse the federation must have the votes of General Board members representing two-thirds of the 9 million members. Official backing for Obama must come first from several pro-Clinton unions including AFSCME, the American Federation of Teachers and the International Association of Machinists.

Thomas Buffenbarger, president of the Machinists and a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, is now “undecided.” He had been a strong Clinton backer.

McElroy has indicated that the AFT will engage in talks with its members. He did not indicate, however, that the AFT would move to endorse Obama before its July 11 -14 convention in Chicago.

McEntee said, “For our union, this election is about rebuilding America’s middle class. We look forward to talking with Obama and his staff about many of the issues our members care most about, such as ending privatization, providing state and local fiscal relief, fully finding and supporting public services and the workers who provide them, and guaranteeing everyone has quality, affordable health care they can count on.

“From the beginning of this campaign, our number one priority has been to take back the White House for America’s working families. During the primary season we showed that when this union makes an endorsement, we back it up with everything we’ve got, and that’s exactly what we are going to do in November,” McEntee declared.

Reality check needed

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:58:00 +0000

After the government announced June 6 that last month’s jump in the unemployment rate was the worst in more than 20 years, a few corporate mouthpieces admitted that the economy might have “stalled.”

Their modest admission was based on the loss of 49,000 jobs in May following a loss of 28,000 in April, bringing the official number of jobless to 7,626,000 or 5.5 percent.

The labor movement correctly responded by pointing out that when “underemployed” and “discouraged” job seekers are added, the real figure is 14,260,000 unemployed. Even that figure doesn’t include the many millions of first-time job seekers for whom there is no work.

Even if the jobless figures were all we had to worry about, it is absurd to say the economy has merely “stalled.”

The tanking job market comes on top of 30 years of evaporating wages, the out-of-control price hikes for everything from fuel to food, and the credit, home equity and affordable housing and mortgage crises.

Workers know that rather than being “stalled,” they are swimming in a toxic brew that amounts to nothing less than full-fledged disaster. They also know that the disaster is the result, not of “cyclical” or “random” events, but of Bush administration policy beholden to corporations and lobbyists who line this president’s pocketbook.

These are the same people who line the pocketbook of Republican presidential candidate John McCain. How else can one explain McCain’s economic program, which calls for continuing and even expanding tax breaks for the rich, and for taxing workers’ health insurance? It’s the same poisonous mix that created the disaster workers now face.

The only other possible explanations for the McCain approach are that he is from another planet or that he is badly in need of a reality check.

If the people have their way he will get that reality check in November.

Shades of Green: June 7

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:44:00 +0000

Philadephia talk on Palestine today

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:06:00 +0000

“Any Israeli soldier can go into any Palestinian home in any village, town or city and remove a person. The Palestinian police can do nothing. We have no protection. We have no security,” said Dr. Hanan Ahmad Awwad, president of the Palestinian Section of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She spoke to the organization’s Philadelphia chapter on June 8th . Dr. Awwad, born in Jerusalem, is a scholar, writer, poet and peace activist and is on a speaking tour of the US. In 1990 Dr. Awaad helped to organize the “March for Peace” and the “Human Chain Around Jerusalem”.

Dr. Awaad began her talk with a brief history of how the Palestinians lost their homeland, initially in 1948 and the remainder in 1967. In her view, years of humiliation, attacks and occupation have led to a feeling of hopelessness for most Palestinians. According to the speaker this and the lack of progress under PLO leadership led to Hamas being democratically elected in 2006. Awaad contended however, that the United States, Israel’s strongest supporter, declared Hamas a terrorist organization and unworthy of support. Israel has used this as an excuse and a strategy to weaken the power of the Hamas government. Awaad’s presentation went on to claim that Hamas wants a negotiated settlement for land and peace and a cease-fire.

Throughout her talk, Dr. Awaad spoke to the extreme suffering of the Palestinian people. The lecture traced the effects of the wall, checkpoints and closed boarders preventing people from getting to work, the ill from hospitals and students from school. In these circumstances, food, medicine, fuel, water and other needed supplies can’t get in. There is great scarcity especially in Gaza making life very difficult. Awaad noted that Palestinians pay taxes but received no money to provide services for the people.

Questions were asked about the peace movement in Israel. Dr. Awwad alleged that since Bush has been president, it has become silent, charging that peace conferences say the right things but do not show their solidarity through action. Some believe fear is the cause.

One person asked, “What percentage of the Palestinians support a peaceful solution to the conflict?” “One hundred percent of the Palestinians want a negotiated settlement for peace and land,” answered Dr. Awwad. “The Palestinians have no army and cannot fight an armed struggle,” she continued. “Violent acts by Palestinians are in retaliation for violent acts of Israel against Palestinians and not organized terrorism. Nobody points to or condemns Israel for what it does.” Dr. Awwad said the Palestinians have a right to resist the occupation, “even the United Nations agrees to this.”

Dr. Awwad believes that a cultural and economic boycott of Israel would not be effective without a well organized plan and alternatives. She stated that the Arab League has presented many plans that Palestinians have supported but Israel just ignores. Dr. Awwad said “A “One State Solution” will not work , because Israel will never accept it. She believes Israel may change its policies if the United States changes its policies. Many of those attending the meeting agreed.

The Following Information Is Reprinted from The American Friends Service Committee’s Palestine-Israel Timeline. It is only a small portion of the Timeline.

The British controlled Palestine from 1918-1948 by a Mandate from the League of Nations. The Arab people’s plea for independence was ignored and their revolt was crushed and leaders executed. Meanwhile Jews from Eastern Europe began immigrating to Palestine in the early 1900’s fleeing persecution. In the 1930’s Jewish immigrants from Germany and German controlled areas were fleeing the Holocaust. By 1939 Jews comprised 31% of the population of Palestine. In 1947 Britain requested the United Nations to deal with Palestine. United Nations Resolution 181 called for Palestine to be divided into a Jewish State (57% of the land) and an Arab State (43% of the land). Jerusalem and Bethlehem would be under international control. In 1948 Civil War erupted and ended with Israel controlling 70% of Palestine, including part of the Arab State. More than 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed and 85% of the Palestinians were displaced. United Nations Resolution194 supported the right of Palestinians to regain their homes or receive compensation. This never happened. Instead large scale Jewish immigration to Israel from Europe, North Africa and Asia occurred from 1948 – 1958.

In 1967 The Six Day War resulted in Israel occupying the West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Syrian Golan Heights and Egyptian Sinai. It expanded the boundaries of Jerusalem and extended Israeli law over East Jerusalem. More than 500,000 Palestinians were displaced. United Nations Resolution 242 called for the withdrawal of Israeli troops of the newly occupied territories. United Nations Resolution 338 called for a cease-fire and comprehensive peace conference. Israel began establishing settlements on the newly occupied territories. (41 years later the situation worsens.)

Italy moves right

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:19:00 +0000

In Italy’s recent general election, the right-wing Casa delle Liberta ('House of Liberties' Party or CL) dealt a severe blow to the new centrist Partito Democratico (Democratic Party, or PD). The CL – a coalition of the fascist National Alliance (AN) and the Forza Italia Party of magnate Silvio Berlusconi – beat the PD by 10 points. Strikingly, for the first time since the end of fascism, there will be no Communist representation in Parliament. In Rome, AN leader Gianni Alemanno beat the PD's Francesco Rutelli to become mayor.

This disaster is the fruit of two years of creeping conservatism on the part of the previous Center-Left government of Romano Prodi, which won office in hotly contested elections in 2006 on a platform of anti-corporate reform. Prodi's governing coalition was extremely heterogeneous, running from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (UDC) to the Communist Refoundation (RC). This troublesome situation was exacerbated by the coalition's razor-thin majority in the Senate – 5 out of 322 seats – and by the fact that the two major coalition partners were in the midst of the contentious PD merger.

Political maneuvering on Prodi's part quickly worsened the situation. Rather than hold to the approved anti-corporate agenda, Prodi yielded to pressure from Italy's Manufacturers' Association, Confindustria, whose leader lent strategic support in the election's closing days. Thus Prodi opened his ”reform' offensive with measures attacking the embattled small-capital sector – the social base of the Coalition's moderate wing – and not the corporations. A month later, he extended the campaign to the taxi industry, provoking a nationwide confrontation which paralyzed Italy's major cities. AN leaders quickly co-opted the protests while Prodi's approval rating plummeted. The left found itself in an impossible situation. On the one hand, it supported the government as, to quote Oliviero Diliberto, General Secretary of the Party of Italian Communists (PdCI),”the best scenario under existing conditions” and ”the only alternative to the far right'. On the other hand, the government had abandoned its program and was attacking its own base. In 2007 the left initiated a struggle to (successfully) redefine Italy's role in Iraq and Afghanistan to peacekeeping. A second initiative, to hold the line on pension ”reform', brought conflict with the country's largest labor federation, the progressive Italian General Labor Confederation (CGIL). While workers in heavy industry backed the left proposals, most backed Prodi.

It is characteristic that in the midst of all this Diliberto declared that ”if this government falls, it will not be because of the Communists.' Yet the PdCI and left came under intense attack from leading progressive media – la Repubblica, Italy's largest daily, and l'Unita', both close to the PD – for ”undermining' the government; while the right-wing characterized the government as a hostage of “extremists'. The PD – heir to the right wing of the old Communist Party– used the anti-left furor to push for a bipolar political system which would eliminate the Communist left permanently. One of the great ironies of the current situation is that many Communists did, indeed, vote for the PD in a desperate move to stave off a right-wing victory. Yet without the support of the full range of the country's democratic forces there was no numerical hope of beating out the fascists. The PD traded the country's political fortunes for its own immediate gain.

It remains to be seen what the far right can accomplish. Italy remains a divided country with few options for immediate economic development. While pockets of heavy industry and technology exist in the North, much of the country is underdeveloped. Conditions in the South are still largely those of the 1960s. Communist Party founder Antonio Gramsci observed 90 years ago that Italy's Democratic Question revolves around bringing the South's economy into the present. This fight constituted the core of the old Communist Party program, which in turn was a major unifying force toward which all democratic forces gravitated. To paraphrase Pietro Ingrao, only a vast popular alliance would be capable of putting together the resources needed for such an enormous task. The rise of the EU in the 1980s led to an alternate proposal – massive EU input to modernize the South – which effectively split this coalition. Yet this dream has also evaporated, as EU funding moved eastward to focus on the economies of the ex-Soviet bloc. In the North, many have responded with a go–it-alone mentality of jettisoning the South; while elsewhere the country has sunk into an ideological quagmire.

There is no question that Italy's progressive forces have missed an historic opportunity to address fundamental issues to the country's development. Certainly, the”Italian Obama' (as PD presidential candidate Walter Veltroni took to calling himself) and his coterie of old-fashioned Cold Warriors bear a heavy responsibility in this. But Italian progressives have seen much darker days and fought their way back. The question of the economic development of Italy's South will not go away. Socialism remains the only viable long-term path to the country's future.

Shades of Green: May 31

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:24:00 +0000

CARTOON: Fear of Obama

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:17:00 +0000

Bush not welcome in Arizona

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Growing popular opposition to the ultra right agenda of Sen. John McCain had President George Bush on the run in McCain's home state.

The McCain campaign cancelled a May 27 fund raising appearance by Bush at the Phoenix Convention Center because of lagging ticket sales.

When threatened by mass protests by peace, labor and community groups, and fearing that protesters would outnumber supporters, the fundraiser was moved to a private residence in suburban Mesa where McCain's well heeled supporters shelled out donations of $1,000 to $25,000 each for McCain and the Republican Party. The press was excluded, apparently so as not to embarrass McCain and other Republicans candidates who no longer clamor to be photographed with Bush, but wanted some of the cash raised.

In spite of the cancellation, hundreds of protesters marched in downtown Phoenix denouncing Bush and McCain. Hundreds more confronted Bush's motorcade in Mesa demanding an end to the aggression against Iraq, justice for immigrants, and the clear message that 'Bush is not welcome in Arizona.'

Workers receive un-kosher treatment, and other labor stories

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:02:00 +0000

Fed workers, like others, can sue

By a 6-3 margin, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 27 that federal workers, like private sector workers, can sue when their employer retaliates against them for filing discrimination claims. In a case involving Puerto Rican postal worker Myrna Gomez-Perez, the justices ruled the Postal Service discriminated against her in 2002 on the basis of age. She was then 45.

Gomez-Perez had sued under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. After losing a grievance she started suffering discrimination on the job, the justices noted. That retaliation, they said, was illegal.

Labor launches campaign for infrastructure

The Laborers have launched a massive grass-roots campaign to mobilize both unionists and the general public in favor of dedicated, extensive investment in reconstructing the nation’s airports, highways and railroads. Union President Terry O’Sullivan unveiled the drive in a May 30 speech in Washington D.C. He said that without such reconstruction, the U.S. would fall behind economically as our goods would be unable to be transported – and workers would be unable to get jobs.

Congress hikes penalty for child labor

The House gave final approval May 30 to legislation increasing fines on employers who break child labor laws. Sponsoring Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) said President Bush is expected to sign it. The child labor bill was folded into another pro-worker measure – a bill banning insurers from discriminating against people based on information about their genetic makeup. The bill increases fines from $11,000 to $50,000 for violations of the child labor laws.

Jewish leaders blast meat firm for “un-kosher” treatment of workers

A leading national organization of Jewish trade unionists has blasted the country’s largest kosher meat firm, Iowa-based Agriprocessors Inc., for its distinctly un-kosher treatment of its workers – including calling in the feds to stop unionization. In its statement, the Jewish Labor Committee said the May 12 immigration and customs Enforcement raid on Agriprocessor’s Postville, Iowa plant which rounded up hundreds of workers, was only the latest problem at the plant.

The plant produces the majority of glut kosher (extremely kosher) meat that Orthodox Jews consume in the United States. The plant’s owners are leaders in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. Before the raid, the plant had been cited and fined $182,000 by Iowa for workplace health and safety violations. Workers there are suing plant owners in federal court over the company’s refusal to pay them for time required to put on and take off protective equipment before and after working.

The Jewish Labor Committee noted that the failure to pay the workers violates both U.S. labor law and the Torah, five sacred books of scripture which Orthodox Jews follow. The committee’s statement read, in part, “American Jews share a common conviction that all workers must be free to exercise their rights and challenge employer abuses. Our belief is grounded in the collective memory of American Jewry of the gross exploitation of Jewish immigrants by employers. Judaism is clear on the topic of treating workers with dignity and respect. We understand that we must treat our workers decently and justly, ethically and legally.”

Iraq’s attack on unions challenged

The AFL-CIO issued a statement on May 27 protesting what it describes as “violation of labor rights” in Iraq.

The statement read, in part:

“The Al-Maliki government in Iraq continues to enforce Sadaam Hussein’s anti-labor laws that ban unions for public sector employees and create government-dominated sham labor organizations. These laws were kept on the books by the U.S. after the invasion, and have been enforced by subsequent Iraqi regimes. Relying on them, Al-Maliki’s government has refused to recognize unions organized by workers themselves in the oil and other industries. It has raided union offices, seized records, arrested and brutalized union leaders, and frozen union bank accounts – with the knowledge and cooperation of U.S. occupation forces.

“From the day the dictatorship fell, Iraqi workers have demanded the right to organize their own unions, free of government interference. They have demanded all of the rights established by the International Labor Organization – foremost the rights to freely organize, bargain, and, when necessary, to strike. The new Iraqi constitution calls for the adoption of a basic labor law that recognizes and codifies these rights.

“The Maliki regime has instead ordered “labor elections” in June in which workers are to designate their unions and elect union leadership. However, workers in public enterprises, including the entire oil industry, are barred from voting, and the government retains the right to disqualify union leaders chosen by the workers in those elections. The elections will apparently result in only one government-approved labor federation, rather than providing union pluralism required by the ILO standards (and already established in fact by the workers themselves in a variety of labor organizations they created).

Pilgrimage for teen who died from heat begins

A four day “pilgrimage” to honor the memory of 17-year-old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jiminez began June 1 in Lodi, Calif. at St. Anne’s Church. The United Farmworkers led the action which drew supporters from all over the state. The pilgrimage is slated to end in the state capitol on June 4.

Vasquez-Jiminez, who was two months pregnant, collapsed on May 14 while working for Merced Farm Labor in a vineyard owned by West Coast Grape Farming in Stockton, Calif. Maria had worked for nine hours in temperatures that reached 101 degrees. According to witnesses, the labor contractor failed to provide shade or cool drinking water for several hours. Maria’s body temkperature was 108.4 degrees when she was finally taken to the hospital that day, two hours after she collapsed. She died two days later. The labor contractor had been cited for prior violations of the state’s heat regulations. The rules went into effect in 2005 after a campaign by the union that followed heat related deaths that year.

“Super Union” to be created

The long discussed merger of the United Steel Workers with Unite, their British counterpart, is seen as a key step in labor’s global strategy, allowing workers to negotiate with the multi-national corporations for which they work. The merger, the two unions say, will differ from the loose alliances that the USW has been entering since the 1990’s. While the two unions will still operate independently, when need be, they will join at the top of the organization for both membership drives and negotiations with common employers. “There really are no American companies any more,” said Wayne Ranick, USW spokesman. The big companies that we think of as being American, “all of them are multinational,” often with a presence overseas.

Retiree pensions slashed

Hundreds of retired steelworkers from the former Republic Technologies International are being notified their pensions will be cut, in some cases by as much as 75 percent, to less than $300 a month, due to new calculations by the federal agency that guarantees employer paid pensions. The company had declared bankruptcy in 2002.

Unionization raises wages

After decades of disappointing wage growth for American workers, a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy research shows that unionization significantly boosts the wages of low-wage workers. The report, “The Union Advantage for Low-Wage Workers,” finds that unionization raises the wages of the typical low-wage worker by 20.6 percent. Unions also have a substantial impact on the wages of workers at the middle and top of the wage distribution, but the report found that the effect for the low-wage worker was the largest. For the typical U.S. worker unionization raises wages about 13.7 percent, according to the report.

Justice bus confronts employers in Houston

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:39:00 +0000

HOUSTON – The Harris County AFL-CIO Seventh Justice Bus stopped at 10 worksites in the Houston area on May 13. The aim of the visits was to cite employers for either their good or bad treatment of workers seeking contracts.

About 30 labor activists were on the bus and they formed human billboards at each site with individual workers holding a single letter to spell out either “Justice Here” or “No Justice Here” as the awards were given.

At the first stop, W.W. Contractors got a “Justice Here” award for the contract it signed with Operating Engineers, Local 564 at the Mickey Leland Federal Building downtown. The next stop was a few blocks away at Chevron Global Aviation where the Operating Engineers have successfully negotiated a first contract with P.M. Realty.

Later in the day, at the tenth stop, the Operating engineers gave Seafood Wholesalers, Ltd. a “No Justice Here” award because workers there have been intimidated and harassed for trying to form a union. Company representatives did not respond to demands for them to come out and receive their award.

There was a Maserati dealer across the street and service department employees came out to express their solidarity, saying they would like to form a union because of poor working conditions and wages and benefits there.

The United Steelworkers, Local 13-1, led activity at the third stop which was at Center Point Energy, also in the downtown section here. A “Justice Here?” award was given since contract talks are pending and workers are seeking a fair contract. At the sixth stop later in the day the Steelworkers also led a rally at Shell Deer Park Chemical Plant & Refinery where a “Justice Here?” award was given. A company representative appeared to receive the award where contract talks are pending and workers want a fair contract to follow the contract negotiated successfully four years ago. About 30 union members who were employees at the plant came out to join the rally.

The fourth stop was at the Federal Detention Center, also downtown, where American Federation of Government Employees, Local 1030, led demands for fair treatment for employees. Wrath was aimed at Warden Al Haynes who has numerous grievances against him for mistreatment of employees. Organizers pointed out that employees at the facility only stay for two years and are then transferred.

This means the detention center can make arbitrary decisions against workers and don’t have to face consequences. As a result, workers charge that the warden has several complaints against him including that he arbitrarily denies grievances, violates collective bargaining agreements and encourages frivolous investigations of employees. Participants demanded that the warden come out to receive his “No Justice Here?” award, but he did not appear. Guards in front of the facility refused to receive the award, so it was left on the front steps.

The Justice bus proceeded to the fifth stop which was at the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown. A “No Justice Here” award was presented to a company representative from Aramark, the multinational food service giant whose workers are struggling for a fair contract as well as dignity and respect on the job. Unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Aramark and workers staged a one day strike on May 8.

City Council member Jolanda Jones addressed the rally and threw her full support behind the workers. She had previously accompanied a delegation to demand that Aramark treat workers fairly.

Key Middle school, which has received a lot of attention due to its unhealthy physical environment, was the eighth stop. Houston Independent School District had planned to shut the school down and level it. They unexpectedly moved up a press conference and scheduled it for the time the Justice Bus arrived. During the press meeting they reversed themselves by announcing they would fix the environmental problems at the school which serves low income families. A “Justice Here?” award was presented.

The ninth stop was at A+ Maid Service where the Interfaith Worker Justice Center led a rally demanding that the company pay its workers. Workers told activists that they were paid for two days out of one week and then not paid at all for the second week.

The company received a “No Justice Here” award and an F minus for its poor treatment of workers.