People Before Profit blog

Gates in India: Whats the bottom line?

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 05:51:00 +0000

NEW DELHI – Capitalist entrepreneur Bill Gates was in India at the beginning of Nov. His much-publicized India tour got no attention among poverty-stricken rural masses, but Indian political leadership, excluding the left, and business magnates have celebrated it as a big carnival.

He also behaved like a demigod. He made donations, gave unlimited promises and assured Indian authorities that he will visit again within fifteen months. He plainly instructed New Delhi to go ahead with globalization. His main announcement in New Delhi was the decision of Microsoft to invest $400 million in India over the next three years. “This is the largest investment by the company, excluding hardware, outside the U.S.,” Gates said.

Globalization maniacs in India welcomed this announcement cheerfully. They simply neglected the fact that software developing is not the solution for a country of which half of the population is going to bed with an empty stomach.

“India has so much potential to provide world-class IT (information technology) services and products that the future of computing power will depend largely on its contribution to global software development.” As Gates explained his argument to invest in India, it was clear that he had those with consumer power, the Indian middle class, in his mind. West-looking new techno-savvy youth from large cities who admire Gates will be in his net, too. Gates wants this brain power as cheaply as possible.

Another $20 million fund for a project named SIKSHA (means education) by Microsoft revealed his sugar-coated business interest and his will to exploit the huge Indian market. SIKSHA is a project which will make over 80,000 teachers and 3.5 million students across the country computer-literate. Gates told the media in Hyderabad computer literacy and computer-oriented education are essential for India to become a developed nation. That same day 30 dalits had died from starvation in Utter Pradesh.

Microsoft is also planning to set up 10 million academies for computer education in collaboration with State education departments and about 2000 partner-driven school laboratories. These funds are serving only his business writings. After completing their computer literacy program, at least one third of the students will start to use different Microsoft products. That is the real profit that Gates wanted.

India will overtake South Africa in the number of AIDS victims soon, which is another “discovery” by Gates. According to Gates, 25 million people will be afflicted. So he decided to give $100 million to the Indian government through his charitable institution, Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.

According to the statistics of the World Health Organization and the National Aids Control Bureau, 25 million is magnified. Hard-right Indian officials are also saying that number is too great. It is still a debatable subject for the Indian intelligentsia what Microsoft’s interest is. One reason may be to help their client medical company. The Gates Foundation has agreed to give the money without any pre-conditions and India’s government is free to spend it in any way. This gives the Indian ruling class the opportunity to use it in corrupt ways instead of spending it on AIDS awareness.

One interesting irony is that Richard Stallman was in India at the same time as Gates. Stallman is the best-known proponent of free software and the Linux system. He got little media attention, compared to Gates. Yet, Linux users gave him the warmest welcome. Stallman spent most his time in Goa, which has a large number of Linux users, and in Kerala, where his Free Software Foundation (FSF) is headquartered. His communist credentials helped him to get support in Kerala. But Stallman failed to convince Indian policy makers and the business community about his “copyleft” idea, instead of the capitalist copyright.

The author can be reached at pww@pww.org

We can stop the war thousands cry

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 05:42:00 +0000

PHILADELPHIA – Nearly 3,000 people gathered here Nov. 3 to march and rally against a war on Iraq. “We Must Stop the War! We Can Stop the War!,” shouted the crowd who carried mostly homemade signs. Philadelphia Regional Anti-War Network (PRAWN), a coalition of veterans, women’s and peace groups, students, union members, religious congregations, senior citizens and others, organized the demonstration.

At the rally Dave Klein, president of Veterans For Peace (VFP), thanked the crowd for being patriotic and speaking out against “blatant U.S. aggression.” Klein called attention to the homeless Vietnam War veterans on the street. “Let’s not make more of them,” he said. John Grant, president of the local VFP, said wars are easy to start but difficult to end. “This is a totally imperialist grab for oil,” Grant said.

John Harllick from “Not In Our Name,” an organization of 400 families who lost relatives in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, said, “We don’t want the government hijacking our tragedy. We must stop this war.” Harllick’s father, a fireman, and his cousin both died in the World Trade Center.

Johanna Berrigan, who has visited Iraq three times, told the crowd that the Iraqi people understand it is the U.S. government and not the U.S. people waging war against them. “But many more Americans are needed to stop this war and save innocent people’s lives,” Berrigan said.

Gary Kapanowski, AFSCME District Council 47 representative, said his union is on the front line of social services in Philadelphia. “Where do you think money for war will come from?” Kapanowski asked. “Money for human needs not war!” He drew loud applause.

Nancy Carroll, a disabled grandmother of six, from Every Mother Is A Working Mother, said, “The money that’s going into war needs to go for welfare. Women and children in Philadelphia are suffering because of the welfare changes.” Other speakers spoke about changing U.S. foreign policy, the importance of educating our families, neighbors and co-workers and taking our moral responsibility to bring peace to the Middle East rather than chaos.

Shoppers and pedestrians stopped to watch, some coming out of the stores as marchers made their way to the Liberty Bell chanting, “Hell No! We won’t go. We won’t fight for Texaco.” Students carried huge skull puppets.

The march enticed whole families to participate. Linda Bryant and her two young daughters, 4 and 6 years old, joined the march. A college student made each child a small “No War!” sign. Bryant said her daughters asked to be in the “Peace Parade” and she was glad to do so.

An Arab American family with 4 small children, one in a stroller, marched and chanted. The father had come to Philadelphia to study. He told the World, “I don’t like Saddam Hussein, but war is not the answer because many people will die and suffer. Some people don’t know what war really is.”

The day before, Nov. 2, 300 students from Temple University, University of Pennsylvania, Community College of Philadelphia, Haverford College and Swarthmore College staged a protest rally and stopped traffic. Eric Wayne, one of the students, said, “We are building a people’s movement for peace and justice.”

The author can be reached at phillyrose1@hotmail.com

PWW Fund Drive: Brazilian elections celebrated with U.S. speaking tour

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 04:37:00 +0000

Join the People’s Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo for a celebration of the Workers’ Party election victory, with Luis Fernandes, director of the Rio de Janeiro State Government Foundation for the Endowment of Scientific and Technological (FAPERJ), who will be touring in cities from Boston to Los Angeles, December 9-15.

He will speak about the historic victory of the Workers’ Party candidate, Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva, the former machinist and trade union leader, in Brazil’s presidential elections last month. Fernandes, who is helping with the transition to the new government in his capacity as head of FAPERJ. will provide an “insider’s” story of this unique election struggle.

Lula’s election has been characterized as a “victory of hope over fear” by many in Brazil, and signals a significant change in direction for the largest country in Latin America. The Workers’ Party organized a broad alliance, ranging from the Communist Party of Brazil to relatively conservative forces in the society. Lula’s campaign to represent “all of Brazil” reached many receptive ears after years of failed neo-liberal (privatization, deregulation, cuts in services, etc.) government policies. Brazil has one of the biggest gaps between extreme wealth and abject poverty and is the tenth largest economy in the world.

The struggle for an independent development policy has been going on for some time in Brazil, and has attracted a wide range of forces, from trade unionists and advocates for the poor, to environmentalists who want to protect the country’s unique natural resources from corporate plunder, to a health care movement that last year forced the government to adopt a defiant policy towards the transnational pharmaceutical companies and produce AIDS drugs at cost.

Fernandes, with many years of membership in the Communist Party of Brazil, including as a student leader under the military dictatorship, will provide an exciting up-to-date account of the next challenges facing the people of Brazil and its new government.

His speaking tour is a benefit for the World/Mundo fund drive. Time is short. If you live in these cities get the word out, post the announcement on listservs, set up a phone tree and watch for the locations on our web page www.pww.org and in next week’s paper for Providence 12/9, Boston 12/10, Chicago 12/11, Oakland 12/13, Los Angeles 12/14, New York City 12/15. Call (212) 989-4994 for more information.

PWW Phone-a-thon: Telemarketing for a cause!

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 04:31:00 +0000

So many of us dread those supper-time phone calls that have become a mainstay of capitalism: telemarketing. But let’s face it, every once in a while they may catch us by surprise with a good deal! And one is about to come your way.

On the evenings of Dec. 2-6, please do answer your phones because it won’t be pesky telemarketers! Supporters of the People’s WeeklyWorld/Nuestro Mundo from your area and members of the PWW editorial board will be dialing your number in a nationwide phone-a-thon to raise money to finish this year’s Fund Drive.

The deal we are going to offer you in return for a contribution is another year of coverage of news that is censored by the corporate media. With the looming war in Iraq, the grinding economic crisis and the rising fightback spirit of those who believe in democracy, we believe that our newspaper is yet another avenue to fight the far right, corporate Bush administration’s agenda.

Yes, for 78 years our paper has continued at times against tremendous odds. Our staying power comes from the close connection to the labor and people’s struggles and most importantly from the supporters who contribute their hard-earned money to keep the presses rolling. This year great dangers makes raising the money even more urgent. But, we have an exciting year ahead as well with the move of the editorial offices to our new center in Chicago.

If you have given already – THANK YOU! If you haven’t had a chance, take the time to think about what you can do. Between Dec. 2 and 6 we’ll be calling you and we hope that you’ll squeeze a little more out of your budgets for us. Thanks in advance and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Young Communists march to stop war

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 04:21:00 +0000

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Chanting “No blood for oil,” “We’re fired up, can’t take it no more,” 150 participants in the Young Communist League (YCL) convention here held a spirited roadside march and rally, Nov. 23, opposing war on Iraq. The action drew frequent honks of support from passing motorists along the busy suburban road near the YCL’s convention hall.

A diverse group of young people from as far away as California, Texas, Virginia and Rhode Island kept a brisk pace along the chilly half-mile route behind banners reading “No Money for War,” “No to Terrorism, No to War,” and “We Won’t Stop Til There’s Unity and Peace.” Many passing drivers smiled, waved and beeped their horns, as the lively group perked up their steps with chants like “Stop! Drop! We don’t wanna war on Iraq! Oh! No! Bush has gotta go!”

Local police stopped the march from proceeding over an expressway, where the group had planned to display a banner opposing war on Iraq. Unfazed, the young people rallied on a busy street corner instead.

Jo’ie Taylor, president of the United States Student Association, told the rally students will continue to be the voice of dissent, and young people are not willing to give the Bush administration a “blank check” in the name of homeland security. Challenging the Bush administration’s definitions, she declared, “Education, health, reproductive rights are homeland security, racial profiling is terrorism against our people.” Hunter College student Tamieka Byer from the Student Liberation Action Movement, which is battling proposed tuition increases at the overwhelmingly working-class City University of New York campus, said, “We know tuition hikes and war are directly linked.” Money should go to education, not war, said Erica Smiley, coordinator of the Black Radical Congress Youth Caucus.

Chicago peace activist Sarah Staggs, who also chairs the Communist Party’s peace and solidarity commission, greeted the marchers, saying though the police stopped the group from going to the expressway, “they cannot stop our message from getting out.” Communist Party Vice Chair Evelina Alarcon told the young people it is not up to our government to determine the governments of other countries, and parents don’t want their children to be sacrificed for the Bush administration’s imperial aims.

Ganen Gazawi, representing the YCL of Israel, one of several international guests at the convention, told the rally young people of both Israel and the U.S. need “money for education, not for occupation and war.”

“This war has nothing to do with our youth,” said YCL member Docia Buffington. “We are the people who are expected to fight, who are paying the cost.”

The march and rally was part of the YCL’s 7th national convention. (See related story.)

The author can be reached at suewebb@pww.org.

Union urges boycott of City Cinema theaters

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 04:18:00 +0000

NEW YORK – Union Local 306 of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents about 1,500 theater workers in the New York City area, is urging moviegoers to boycott City Cinema Theaters to protest their plan to eliminate union projectionists and replace them with untrained non-union personnel.

“City Cinemas is attempting to bust the union and eliminate about 90 percent of their professional projectionists and replace them with house managers, ushers and candy attendants,” declares a leaflet distributed to moviegoers here. “You deserve a quality presentation considering the high ticket prices you are paying. Contact City Cinemas today and voice your protest against their unionbusting tactics.”

Joe Rivierzo, a union official for Local 306 explained that City Cinemas wants to eliminate 12 of the 15 union projectionists at their chain of movie theaters in the city. “It would be devastating,”he said. “City Cinemas would use in-house personnel to do our jobs, people who are not licensed by the City of New York as projectionists. City Cinemas is not negotiating fairly with Local 306 and intends to eliminate our jobs at a time when unemployment has reached record numbers.”

Already, he said, IATSE members have been decimated by the mergers, acquisitions, cutbacks and outright closing of theater chains.

Of City Cinema Theaters, moviegoers are being asked to boycott the Angelika Sixplex, Cinema 1, 2, 3, Eastside Playhouse, 86 Street East Quad, Sutton Twin and Village East.

Local 306 urges people to all City Cinema Vice President of Business Affairs Ellen Cotter at (212) 871-6828 or fax (212) 871-9094 to urge the company to negotiate fairly with Local 306.

National Clips

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 04:13:00 +0000

Washington, D.C.: U.S. health care system is in crisis

The National Academy of Sciences demanded that President Bush take immediate action, including universal insurance coverage and no fault payment for medical malpractice, to provide medical services to 41.2 million people.

In their report, released Nov. 20, the 16-member panel said, “The American health care system is confronting a crisis. The health care delivery system is incapable of meeting the present, let alone the future, needs of the American public. The cost of private health insurance is increasing at an annual rate in excess of 12 percent. Individuals are paying more out of pocket and receiving fewer benefits. One in every seven Americans is uninsured and the number of uninsured is on the rise.”

Baltimore: African Americans remain locked out of banking

The NAACP issued an overall grade of C to the nation’s leading banks for their economic diversity practices.

Kweisi Mfume, NAACP president and CEO, said that the grades indicate the need for “sweeping improvements” in the multi-billion dollar banking industry. “The days have long gone when merely sponsoring community events or buying a table at a charity dinner is adequate corporate responsibility in terms of opening the doors of opportunity to provide economic equality,” he said. “It is disappointing that fair access and equal treatment are still not yet a reality within the banking industry.”

The NAACP further reports that African Americans have hit a plateau in the telecommunications industry, which recieved the same grades as in 1998. “These companies continue to do poorly when it comes to advertising and marketing through African American-owned media and vendor development,” said Mfume.

Somerset, Pa.: Quecreek miners say TV movie painful but real

For three days in late July, national attention was focused on the fate of nine coal miners trapped in hundreds of feet underground. On Nov. 25, ABC broadcast a TV movie of their successful rescue. The country caught of glimpse of the miners’ workplace.

Interviewed by Pittsburgh TV, the miners and their wives said that the film was accurate, and that it revived painful memories.

The mine had been closed since the accident and was reopened on Nov. 20. An investigation into the incident to determine why millions of gallons of water flooded the mine continues by state and federal agencies.

Only one miner, Joe Kstyk, has said he will go back to coal mining underground.

Birmingham, Ala.: Working families on the street

A national survey released last week found that the current economic slowdown is pushing more people into homelessness in Birmingham and other cities across the United States. In the October survey, 38 percent of 20,000 homeless people surveyed blamed economic conditions as the direct cause of their situation.

Two-thirds of those surveyed here said they’ve been homeless for less than a year, and 33 percent were homeless for the first time, Cooper said.

“Layoffs, plant closures and corporate failures mean that many more men, women and children are in need,” he said.

New York: Subway workers killed on the job

Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint demanded an emergency meeting with NYC Transit officials when two union members were killed while working on subway maintenance. The union has repeatedly raised with management that warning procedures for track workers about oncomning trains are inadequate.

“What we hope to achieve out of this is no more deaths,” Toussaint told a news conference. “We’ve had four fatalities in the last 18 months. We can’t take this anymore.”

Currently all maintenance work is on hold pending an investigation.

On Nov. 21, signal maintainer Joy Antony was killed by a train while he was checking the box that controls the signal lights. The next night, 57-year-old Kurien Baby, who washed, cleaned and replaced lights on the platform, was struck and killed by a train in a tunnel. The worker, a 14-year veteran, was setting up caution lights at the time of the accident.

Contributors: Phil Benjamin and Denise Winebrenner Edwards. Send national clips to pww@pww.org

UFCW wins against Safeway

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 04:04:00 +0000

CHICAGO – United Food and Commercial Workers union Locals 881 and 1546, representing 9,000 employees from more than a hundred Dominick’s Food Stores ratified a contract, Nov. 24, after months of tense negotiations.

Safeway, a California based conglomerate, acquired the highly profitable 50-year-old Dominick’s Chain three years ago. However, due to corporate mis-management the chain started to lose customers, although remaining in the black. According to union members immediately after the buyout Safeway replaced locally made products with national brands, which drove customers away.

Throughout the negotiations Safeway proposed reductions in pensions and health care as well as reductions in the starting wage, and freezing wages of current employees. The Corporations “last and final offer” was rejected by an 80 percent margin, which also authorized a strike. In response to the strike authorization Safeway threatened stop negotiations and even close all Dominick’s stores.

The new contract is basically a continuation of the previous contract. But Safeway has agreed to find a buyer for the Dominick’s chain within the next eight months. Union members hope it will be to someone who will respect Chicago customers and employees.

In September, contract negotiations opened with Safeway proposing to make-up those extra profits from workers’ pockets. In a letter to Dominick’s Director of Labor Relations Stan Schwartz, Ronald Powell and Kenneth Boyd, presidents of UFCW Locals 881 and 1546, charged that “Since [Safeway] acquired the [Dominick’s], Safeway’s business decisions have been a slap in the face to Dominick’s loyal customers … the company’s profound disrespect of its employees and the customers they loyally serve is shameful.”

Additionally the UFCW filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board in response to Safeway’s “bullying tactics, threats of store closings and job losses,” just to name a few grievances.

To many Safeway’s disregard for its Chicagoland employees is not a surprise. “These charges are part of a pattern of serious violations of federal labor law by the management of Safeway and Dominick’s,” according to Jonathan Karmel, one of the UFCW’s attorneys. “These tactics are not new to Safeway – they engaged in similar acts in California during a labor dispute last year. Safeway has negotiated in bad faith and has engaged in a campaign of fear and intimidation against its employees in order to unlawfully influence their votes.” But Chicago employees have stood up against forced coercion meetings, searches, a media misinformation campaign and threats of closure and job loses.

Some sources suggest that the Safeway’s threats against healthcare, pension, and a living wage are not limited to Chicago and California but rather part of a systematic campaign to target workers rights in its 1700 supermarkets across North America. Here at least the threat to workers has been temporary fought back.

The author can be reached at bkishner@pww.org

Young Communist League meet: Lively, diverse, activist

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 04:01:00 +0000

SCHILLER PARK, Ill. – The Young Communist League (YCL) 7th National Convention here brought together a diverse group of 158 activist youth from communities and campuses around the country Nov. 22-24 for a lively weekend of discussions, workshops, poetry, music and dance. The event’s focus was on action and struggle around the convention theme: “Youth and labor unite for peace, equality, jobs, education and socialism.”

Inspired by the example of South Africa’s African National Congress, the convention voted to make 2003 the “year of the organization,” mapping plans for leadership and membership development and organization building. The racial and cultural diversity of participants and the leadership role of women in the convention were unprecedented in the YCL’s history, convention organizers said. The convention elected a new diverse 40-member national council, a coordinating committee half of whose members are women and half young people of color, and a black-brown-white male-female team of three national co-coordinators.

The convention was a “turning point for us,” YCL National Coordinator Libero Della Piana told the World. “It represented our organizational and political connection to mass movements and organizations.” The 91 delegates included members of active YCL clubs and others who are establishing new clubs. The general discussion and workshops reflected the breadth of their involvement, covering a range of issues including youth and labor struggles, peace, education and privatization, immigrant rights, globalization, queer struggle, unity against racism, young women’s rights, and socialism. A workshop series focused on organizing in high schools, colleges, and communities, elections and coalition building, revolutionary culture via the spoken word, and the YCL’s magazine, Dynamic.

Alcy Montes, co-chair of the Uptown Manhattan YCL club, told the World her club initiated an Uptown for Peace and Justice coalition, involving a variety of neighborhood organizations, and is working to build a broad-based Dec. 14 march against war.

Miles Rodriguez, a senior at Rice University in Houston, Tex., stressed the importance of building “solidarity of young workers across backgrounds and occupations.” He described the formation of a young trade unionist group, the Federation of Labor Youth, now officially affiliated with the Central Labor Council.

Seven students from a new YCL club at Stanford University said their club is considering launching a campaign to get military recruiters off the campus. Roman Shusterman, a student at Marymount Manhattan College in New York, said his YCL club started around a petition protesting copier fees. Now in its second semester, the club is initiating a campus peace movement.

Students at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., said their new YCL club is working on building campus-community ties around stopping war on Iraq. Members of a new club at the University of North Texas in Denton said their club had developed out of involvement in a student-labor coalition. They have been working to cut the university’s ties to Coca-Cola, which has been implicated in murders and persecution of union activists at its operations in Colombia.

Convention guest speaker Luis Cardona, a Colombian trade unionist who worked for Coca-Cola for 12 years and was forced into exile, described his experiences with the company’s terror campaign against its Colombian workers. The convention passed a resolution supporting a boycott Coke campaign.

Also among the 58 convention guests were leaders and activists from the Communist Party, United States Students Association (USSA), Jobs with Justice (JwJ), Black Radical Congress Youth Caucus, Choice USA and the Student Liberation Action Movement (SLAM) at City University of New York.

Sarita Gupta, coordinator of Chicago JwJ and former president of USSA, and current USSA President Jo’ie Taylor greeted the convention. Communist Party Executive Vice Chair Jarvis Tyner led a delegation from the party’s national leadership. He told the gathering that, as in the 1960s, peace was a key challenge for this generation of youth.

Attending from the host city, Chicago, were activists from Southwest Youth Collaborative, Puerto Rican Student Association at the University of Illinois Chicago campus, Batey Urbano, Young Democratic Socialists, and the National Center for Violence Intervention, as well as a group of striking workers at Azteca Foods, whom delegates supported in a resolution. Cesar Casamayor, a YCL organizer for the convention, told the World the Chicago guests were excited by the convention and eager to work with the YCL on other activities.

Representatives of YCLs of Greece, India, Israel and Portugal, and the president of the World Federation of Democratic Youth brought greetings to the gathering. Messages were read from YCLs around the world. Some, including Iraqi and Cuban groups, were blocked by the U.S. State Department from sending delegates.

New YCL members, guests and “old-timers” alike said they were pleased and energized by the convention’s diversity and action focus. New member Chris Coombs, a freshman at Mary Washington College in Virginia, said he had gotten many ideas for organizing on his campus. SLAM activist Tamieka Byer exclaimed, “This is the best conference I have ever been to.”

The author can be reached at suewebb@pww.org

ILWU to vote on landmark pact

Thu, 28 Nov 2002 03:28:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES – Beating back an effort by employers to bust their union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union reached a tentative agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) last week.

“This is a momentous day for our union, a landmark victory for longshore workers and their families,” James Spinosa, ILWU international president, told a press conference in San Francisco. “We succeeded in bringing new technology to our ports while achieving vital pension and economic security, strong health care benefits and safety protections.”

While it must be approved by the West Coast union caucus and voted on by ILWU members, the accord is seen as a great achievement. “From a 13-day lockout by the PMA, to the imposition of the anti-labor Taft-Hartley Act by President Bush, and PMA maneuvering – including false charges of docker slowdowns, the union has overcome all odds by coming to an agreement that upholds the core principles the ILWU brought to the negotiation table,” Steve Stallone, ILWU communications director, told the World.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, who sat in negotiations to remind the PMA that 13.5 million AFL-CIO union workers stood by the dockers, said, “The ILWU has negotiated a truly historic contract for its members. ... This is a tremendous victory for the ILWU and the entire labor movement.”

Calling the deal an example of how labor can adapt to modernization efforts and win, Trumka continued, “Workers can harness technology and make it work for them. They can bridle it, saddle it and ride it to job, pension and economic security.”

PMA head Joseph Miniace told the media that the health care won by the union, which costs $220 million a year now, will cost the PMA $500 million a year by the end of the contract. Stallone points out that at the beginning of negotiations the PMA was calling for a 40 percent cut in the health care package. “At this time, many unions are forced into negotiating contracts with co-payments and cutbacks in health care, so this is an extraordinary achievement,” said Stallone.

The proposed agreement increases pension benefits by more than 50 percent, to a maximum of $63,000. Spinosa called the pension issue “the bottom line” of the agreement with “the increased efficiency and cost savings resulting from the technology improvements in this contract now rightfully resulting in pension protection for ILWU members and their families.”

Widows will receive up to $10,000 more a year, a substantial gain for senior women on fixed incomes.

The agreement extends union jurisdiction to any new jobs created by the introduction of technology. The union also won back jurisdiction over the yard and rail planning jobs. That will result in stopping the PMA’s outsourcing of those jobs, one of the most contentious issues of these negotiations.

The introduction of scanners and new technology will eliminate 400 jobs but this will be offset by the extended jurisdiction for new jobs created and the termination of outsourcing. The agreement also provides that every registered clerk working today will get a guaranteed paycheck for a five-day week. If there isn’t enough work, they will get five days anyway. While there is plenty of work at the Los Angeles port, other areas that do not have as much work will benefit from this provision.

Another factor is that trade is expected to expand and the volume of containers will create more jobs. The agreement would increase wages $3 per hour over six years.

New safety provisions were adopted. This is important for longshore workers who risk their lives daily in the country’s second most hazardous profession. This year, five workers have died on the job.

The agreement calls for a six-year contract, a length unions often try to avoid, but Stallone points out that “within the framework of the union busting attack they were under it makes sense.”

The results of the 2002 elections did not help the union’s cause, and threats by some Republican members of Congress to introduce union-busting legislation was a factor for the union. A six-year contract establishes stability in the industry, and that could offset such threats although the anti-labor assault by the Bush administration and Republicans provide no guarantees.

Stallone said consideration was given to the fact that the pension and health benefit package was tied to the six-year contract. The Taft-Hartley Act established deadlines for a settlement. The tentative agreement was reached just before the PMA would have been allowed to make a “last, best and final offer,” which would have gone directly to the union members for a vote conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.

Stallone told the World, “We owe a great deal to all of labor, many elected officials, community organizations and transport workers from around the world who stood by us in our time of need.”

The Longshore Caucus, a representative assembly of delegates from all locals on the West Coast, is scheduled to meet in San Francisco the week of Dec. 9. A membership ratification vote is expected to be completed by early January.

The author can be reached at evnalarcon@aol.com

Iraq under U.S. Occupation?

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 11:37:00 +0000

From the White House, reports leak out about plans for an Iraq after the Ba’th (the ruling party of Iraq). The main scenarios do not allow for the development of democracy in Iraq. Each of them is built on a racist assumption: that the Iraqis either need a military dictator or else a monarch – any form of democracy is impossible to imagine.

The denials came fast after the press ran a story in early October 2002 that the White House contemplates the occupation of Iraq by U.S. forces and the creation of an Occupation regime, as in Japan post-1945. Close to a hundred thousand troops will enter Iraq, General Tommy Franks will take over as Supreme Commander of the occupied lands, the regime will arrest 'war criminals' and try them, and 'de-Ba’thize' Iraq.

The U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan, National Security Council’s expert on West Asia, and a point man on the aftermath scenarios, Zalmay Khalilzad, conceded that 'the costs will be significant' (at least $16 billion per year), but that the U.S. will commit the necessary resources 'and we would have the will to stay for as long as necessary to do the job.'

When asked about the plans for occupation, Secretary of State Colin Powell said, 'Should it come to that, and the president hopes that it does not come to that, but should it come that we would have an obligation to put in place a better regime,' the military will take charge. 'We are obviously doing contingency planning, and there are lots of different models from history that one could look at: Japan, Germany.'

Japan is the example most often provided by those in the know. In Japan, the MacArthur-led Occupation dismantled sections of the fascist bureaucracy, but also dislocated the capacity for the socialists to rebuild their political bases. Trade unions came under the gun as MacArthur privileged the zaibatsu, the industrial cliques that continue to dominate Japanese society. In 1951, MacArthur laid out his basic, racist, theory for the Occupation: 'Measured by the standards of modern civilization, [the Japanese] would be like a boy of twelve as compared with our development of 45 years.' Because of the slow development of the misbegotten Japanese, MacArthur argued, the U.S. Army could 'implant basic concepts there,' such as a respect for authority and for institutional power (for an excellent primer on the Occupation, see the first few chapters in John Dower’s Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, 1999).

The parallel with Japan perhaps fluffs the glory of the Pentagon, but it is not fully accurate. The real comparison for the region is the period of Iraq’s rule by the British Mandate (1914-1932).

In November 1914, British forces landed in Basra, occupied Baghdad and Mosul, and set up the new state of Iraq out of these three provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Afraid of the Shi’i mujtahids (clerics), the [Kurds] as well as the largely merchant communities of the region (drawn from among the Assyrians, the Jews, the Yazidi, Sabaean and others), the British turned to the old Ottoman elites for their allies, who came mainly from the Sunni notables living in the provinces around Baghdad. By 1920, the masses in Iraq revolted, only to be crushed by British power (over 6,000 Iraqis and only 500 British and Indian soldiers died in the conflict).

Eager to rule by proxy, the British invited Saudi King Faisal to become king of Iraq. The son of the Hashemite Emir Hussein, keeper of the holy sites in Arabia and brother of the recently enthroned Abdullah of Jordan, Faisal ruled from 1921 till 1932 under the Mandate, before he inaugurated the autonomous Hashemite Monarchy from 1932 to 1958. While Faisal was king (but the British wore the crown), the Royal Air Force cracked down on a Kurdish rebellion with brutal force (the first major aerial bombardment), and the British (with U.S. assistance) divided Iraqi oil among the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (23.75 percent), Royal Dutch Shell (23.75 percent), Compagnie Francaise des Petroles (23.75 percent), Standard Oil and Mobil (23.75 percent) and the legendary middleman Cyrus Gulbenkian (5 percent). The Mandate created the framework both for the suppression of the Shi’i and the Kurds as well as for the oil concession.

The desire for a return to monarchy was played out for a few months in Afghanistan (with Zahir Shah), and then rejected in favor of the pliant Karzai. In Japan, despite questions about the retention of a monarchy steeped in fascism, MacArthur (advised by anthropologist Ruth Benedict) opted to retain the Hirohito dynasty. In Iraq, obviously the U.S. would like to have a military base or two in the country, a steady hand on the oil and a friend in power. That friend may either be a puppet front like the Iraqi National Congress (the Hamid Karzai of Iraq) or another manufactured monarch.

Saddam Hussein was never the Arab Karzai, but he was a close ally of the White House when it suited the strategic interests of global corporations and the Pentagon. Ever since the 'Seven Sisters' (the major global oil conglomerates) got involved in west Asia, the region entered U.S. strategic plans.

In 1958, the U.S. went so far as to make an alliance with the Saudis, to treat Arabia as an extension of the United States. The U.S.-backed and engineered coup against Mossadeq in Iran (1953) sought to preserve its role as the U.S. gendarme in the region. Of the 1963 Ba’th coup, its Secretary General noted, 'We came to power on an American train,' meaning the Ba’th enjoyed U.S. government funds (alongside Kuwaiti money) and the support of CIA-run radio stations that broadcast from Kuwait. With Israel’s victory in the 1967 war against the Arab armies, it took over the role of U.S. subsidiary in west Asia: Israel provided the muscle, while the oil Sheikhs provided the diplomatic finesse against the other Arab states. Iraq’s relationship with the U.S. formally ended with the 1967 war, in protest against the new U.S. arrangement with [Israel].

With the revolution in Iran in 1979, and with Saddam Hussein only recently in power, the U.S. turned eagerly to Iraq for an alliance. In 1983, President Reagan’s people opened channels with a December meeting between Saddam Hussein and Donald Rumsfeld. On March 24, 1984, Rumsfeld met with Foreign Minister (now Deputy Prime Minister) Tariq Aziz, the very same day that the UN released a report on Iraq’s use of chemical weapons in its war on Iran. The Pentagon was there when Saddam released his gas, and it cheered him along from the sidelines (this is the context for Saddam Hussein when he felt he had the 'green light' from U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie to invade Kuwait for its lateral oil drilling in the Rumaila fields in 1990).

The U.S. backed its new ally with arms and expertise. 'U.S.' did not only include the military and the government, but also corporations. In 1975, Pfaulder Corporation of Rochester, New York, according to Hussein biographer Said Aburish, 'supplied the Iraqis with a blueprint which enabled them to build their first chemical warfare plant.' In 1983, Aburish claims, the U.S. merchants and the Iraqi regime did a deal for Harpoon missiles and other such treats to use in the war against Iran, in the repression against the Kurds and in the invasion of Kuwait. As William Rivers Pitt puts it, Saddam Hussein 'is as much an American creation as Coca-Cola and the Oldsmobile.' He was the 'factor of stability' until he over-extended his hand in 1990.

Is there a Saddam-like replacement in the wings? Is there a real Arab Karzai? The closest candidate is Ahmad Chalabi, an academic who comes from a wealthy Iraqi family. In 1992, in Vienna, a host of Iraqi exiles came together to form the Iraqi National Congress (INC). Later in the year, in Salahuddin (in the Kurdish 'safe haven'), the INC elected Chalabi to lead them. At the time, the largest number of constituents of the INC came from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the INC troops, with U.S. backing, began to engage the Iraqi army in 1995. The next year, however, the KDP cut a deal with Saddam Hussein, allowed the Iraqi army into their territory and sat back as they demolished the INC in the region.

In 1998, the U.S. Congress passed the Iraq Liberation Act to fund the moribund INC. Said Aburish argued, in 1997, that the INC’s program 'is utterly unrealistic,' but 'it still functions and issues press releases to maintain the anti-Saddam mood of Western governments and the Western press.' The INC, he argues, contains many former associates of Saddam Hussein and members of the Ba’th who conducted violent crimes in the war against Iran and against the Kurds. 'Because they are members of a pro-Western organization,' he notes, 'their crimes are overlooked' (this is from A Brutal Friendship: The West and the Arab Elite, 1997).

Even as they have no credibility, the INC has begun to talk to the French and the Russian oil merchants about access to Iraqi oil. In September 2002, Chalabi told the Washington Post, 'American companies will have a big shot at Iraqi oil.' In mid-October 2002, the INC said that 'it would open the oil sector to all companies, including U.S. majors, and give particular attention to contracts made with Russia and France.' This was a patently obvious way of winning support in the Security Council not only for a war on Iraq, but also for the INC to find favor in the post-Ba’th future.

All indications point to the U.S. army’s Occupation regime for the short term, then either a return to the monarchy, the creation of a military dictatorship or else the formation of a 'democratic' regime under someone like Chalabi. Whoever rules will have to work under the U.S. dispensation, being the protectors of the second largest proven oil reserves in the world (115 billion barrels) as well as the main political-military force to counteract Iran and Saudi fundamentalism.

The war aim is not to create a democratic Iraq, but to ensure U.S. military dominance over the area, and therefore to enable the free enterprise of global corporations. Freedom for the Iraqis is not in the offing, only free transit for the fat cats.

Vijay Prashad is the author, most recently, of Fat Cats and Running Dogs: The Enron Stage of Capitalism, Common Courage Press and Zed Press, 2002. This article is excerpted with permission from the author based on a longer article in Nov. 1 Counterpunch, www.counterpunch.org

Jazz fusion & Revolution of Love

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 11:09:00 +0000

CD Reviews

***************** Saint-Germain-des-Pres Cafe II – the finest electro-jazz compilation, Wagram, 2002

Saint-Germain-des-Pres Cafe II – the finest electro-jazz compilation is a stylish and innovative collection of jazz fusion. The superb jazz throughout the CD from 18 different groups and performers is drizzled with hip hop, funk and electro.

David Grummels’ successful 'D’jazz Tribute' successfully lays Billie Holiday’s vocals over a hip-hopped flavored jazz number. Mo’Horizon does a funked-up, silky jazz version of Ray Charles’ 'Hit the Road Jack' in Portuguese. Duran Y Garcia’s 'Heavy Piano' adds a new dimension to jazz piano with its inclusion of ambient synthesizer and striking bass. Songs such as Kaori’s 'Good Life,' Kenny Dope’s 'Mr Dope' and Mark de Clives’ 'Move on Up' are Jamiroquaish tracks that have more in common with club music than jazz, but they are worthy of being listened and danced to. The other 12 tracks on the CD are also real delights.

***************** Revolucion de Amor, Group: Mana, Warner, 2002

Mana’s Revolucion de Amor quickly dispatches any lingering perceptions that Mexico only excels in traditional forms of music such as ranchero and musica norteña (northern Mexican music).

This Guadalajara-based Mexican rock-’n-roll group rocks like hot tamales and can certainly hold its own with any English rock group. Revolucion de Amor is a mediation on politics and love. Politically, Mana certainly lets you know where it stands. In 'Justicia, Tierra y Libertad' the group – propelled forward by Carlos Santana’s searing electric guitar – alluding to the conflict in Chiapas, pleads for respect, justice and land reform for natives, incorporating a quote from commandante Marcos, prominently displayed on the CD’s inner back cover. 'Fe' asks why there is oppression and hate in the world, demanding ' no more blood ... the world can change if we want it to.'

While retaining a hard rock edge throughout the album, the group successfully incorporates Caribbean and Latin rhythms in some of the songs. For instance, in 'No voy a ser tu esclavo,' Mana fuses rock with salsa to produce a highly danceable track. Revolucion de Amor is a well crafted rock album that is a pleasure to listen to.

– Tim Pelzer (tpelzer@sprint.ca)

Toronto International Film Festival 2002 Part 2

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 11:02:00 +0000

Progressive Cinema

Documentaries have always carried the connotation of truthful reality. Obviously this is insufficient to describe an art form that has expanded into such new arenas that the original term has almost lost its meaning. A controversy arose at the Academy Awards because the judges refused to consider Roger and Me a documentary, or a fiction film, for that matter, because it included re-enacted footage. Thus it failed to fall into any category and never got recognized, despite the fact that it went on to become the largest-grossing documentary in American history.

There could have been some politics involved in that decision, since most of Michael Moore’s films are scathing critiques of the failures of the capitalist system. Usually the label 'documentary' qualifies a film for failure at the box office, but they can often be some of the most interesting, educational and challenging of films. Today, documentaries range from raw footage with no narration to dramatic re-enactments with music and actors. The filmmaker can remain passive or participate in the action and possibly influence the drama. Some feel that as soon as life is recorded it’s one step from reality, and the editing process removes it even further. Thus, documentaries can even be less real and truthful than some acted films, but this doesn’t diminish their potential power to stimulate, educate and activate.

This year’s Toronto Film Festival included at least 53 documentaries, and many were of interest to progressive viewers.

Bowling for Columbine will probably go on to surpass Roger and Me in box-office revenue, but there were several other docs about American issues that deserve recognition. The Trials of Henry Kissinger, based on the writings of Christopher Hitchens, is a well-researched and powerfully effective indictment of Kissinger. Tight editing, rare footage and convincing factual dialog make this a top-notch political film.

Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story tells the tragic story of the unemployed plumber who commandeered an Army tank down the streets of San Diego, crushing everything in its path. Troubled by the government’s failure to answer his questions, influenced by the rampant drug scene in a failed defense industry suburb of San Diego, Shawn Nelson met his fateful end on TV screens across the country. Digging deeper than the sensationalist media, the filmmaker interviews friends and family, eventually drawing a more accurate picture of what might take someone across the line.

You may recall the book Fortunate Son, in which author James Hatfield accuses George W. of cocaine use and insider trading, among other things. The book was quickly withdrawn by the publisher after pressure from the Bush family and discovery of the author’s criminal past. Horns and Halos documents the curious developments from that point on, when another underground publisher decided to re-publish a revised version. The determination and progressive agenda of Soft Skull Press (check out their other titles) and the filmmakers make this a fascinating study of power and the media.

A couple of progressive documentary shorts stand out among the numerous that were screened. Remember the name Melvin van Peebles and his groundbreaking film, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadaasssss Song, back in the ’70s? Baadaasssss Cinema examines blaxploitation films and debates whether they were progressive and subversive, or decadent and exploitative. In the confident hands of filmmaker Isaac Julien, known for his filmic studies of Langston Hughes and Franz Fanon, and with interviews including Tarantino, bell hooks, and Tupac’s mother, Baadaasssss Cinema challenges the viewer to re-think this film genre.

Another short, An Injury to One, by Michigan filmmaker Travis Wilkerson, sheds light in an experimental manner on a piece of labor history – copper mining in Butte, Mont., focusing on Wobbly member Frank Little.

In Reno: Rebel Without a Pause, a potent, angry and hilarious performance film, Reno, a cross between Phyllis Diller and Rodney Dangerfield, but with serious political overtones, raves through a live comic performance in New York City shortly after the Sept. 11 tragedy. She lives only a few blocks from Ground Zero and brings to life the reactions of local people to the attack and its aftermath. Indignant and spewing hilarious accusations at the President and those who are taking advantage of the horrific loss of life, Reno manically and convincingly reminds us, through humor, what patriotism should really mean.

One of the most profound interview films at this Festival, Interview with Orson Welles, came from the Canadian Spotlight Director, Allan King. In a rare 1960 TV interview, Orson Welles speaks more wisdom about art and politics than you see in a week on current television. He reveals that his life work is totally motivated by politics and that art and politics are inseparable. He describes his ordeals with Hollywood moguls trying to get his films released, glowingly recreates his early days in New York with the Mercury Theater, and explains his choices to work in lesser productions to help fund his personal projects. Welles is captured at his most jovial and relaxed best, offering jewels of thought for the perceptive viewer.

Information about all the films shown at the Toronto International Film Festival is available at www.bell.ca.filmfest. Information on availability of DVDs or videos for most films can be found at www.imdb.com.

The author can be reached at pww@pww.org

Conference to fight FTAA convenes

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 10:58:00 +0000

HAVANA – Over 1,000 delegates from around the world, primarily from the Americas, are gathered here for the Second Hemispheric Conference of Struggle Against the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Conference participants came from every country in North, Central and South America, and from all the Caribbean countries.

Hosted by Cuba, the only country in the hemisphere whose government is not participating in the FTAA negotiations, the conference brings together an impressive array of unionists, community and farm organization leaders, academics, representatives of indigenous peoples, anti-capitalist globalization activists, left and people’s parties.

U.S. participants include Delores Huerta, founder with Cesar Chavez of United Farm Workers (UFW), and a delegation organized by the U.S.-Cuba Labor Exchange.

The FTAA draft treaty, primarily based on NAFTA, aims to open markets thoughout the Americas to further domination by multi-national corporations. The first day of the four-day meeting heard reports from Canada, the U. S., and Mexico on the disastrous effects of NAFTA on jobs, farms, and the environment. NAFTA has already cost U. S. workers hundreds of thousands of jobs, eliminated over 30,000 small farms in Mexico, created ecological disaster on Mexico’s northern border, and generated massive profits for a few corporations.

The promised benefits from free trade have proved non-existent, except for those corporations who reap super-profits from moving factories to low-wage countries and elude environmental regulations.

The FTAA agenda is cutting and privatizing public services, removing restrictions on the flow of commodities and capital, and eliminating the ability of governments to restrict the actions of the multi-nationals.

The Conference will hear presentations on the fight to defend indigenous peoples, protecting soveriegnty and self-determination, a speech by Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba’s National Assembly, on threats to world peace, and a lecture on debt and domination by Adolfo Perez Esqival, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The Conference will adopt an action plan for stepping up the fight to prevent the FTAA.

The author can be reached at marcbrodine@attbi.com

Baltimore City Council hears residents: Stop the War on Iraq!

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 10:49:00 +0000

BALTIMORE – Anti-war activists crowded the ornate City Council chamber Nov. 20 to testify in support of a council resolution by Councilman Kwame Abayomi opposing George W. Bush’s threat of 'unilateral, preemptive military action against Iraq.'

Ron Solomon, a spokesperson for the Citywide Coalition that drafted the resolution, thanked Abayomi and nine other council members for endorsing it and praised Councilman Robert Curran for convening the evening hearing. Since a majority of the council are cosponsors its passage seems assured.

The Baltimore Sun carried an editorial on the 'agit-prop council' meddling in affairs of state best left to George W. Bush and others in the seat of power. But, in fact, similar anti-war resolutions have been adopted by the city councils of San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and many other cities and towns.

The resolution states that the security of the United States 'is dependent on creating conditions of life for all nations, working together cooperatively, that will eliminate poverty, injustice, inequality, environmental degradation, and other factors that breed war and terrorism … Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of Baltimore, that this body hereby … expresses opposition to the United States’ continued and threatened violation of the United Nations Charter and of international law by its unilateral, preemptive military action against the nation of Iraq.'

William Hughes, a resident of the Second District, told the hearing that the poor and working people of Baltimore will pay for the war and the council has a duty to stand up against it.

'I believe there is no justification whatsoever for a U.S.-led war on Iraq,' he said. 'Bush’s preemptive strike policy is just a fancy word for Bush to attack any country he wants. It could lead to a nuclear war. Our war should be against Al Qaeda and not against the innocent people of Iraq. If we had a foreign policy based on peace rather than the U.S. as a global cop, we would have a huge peace dividend to deal with our needs at home.'

Shannon Frattaroli, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, said U.S.-enforced sanctions against Iraq have killed half a million Iraqi children over the past decade and a new war could kill half a million more. 'Such vicious use of power is a direct assault on the people of Iraq and consigns millions of innocents to an early grave. As a resident of this city, I know too many people who are hungry and cold … We are effectively destroying our own population by not investing our resources here at home.'

R.B. Jones, editor of the Baltimore Times, a free community newspaper, said he was a teenager during the Vietnam War. 'I made up my mind I would not bear arms against any other country,' he said. 'We are not conducting a war against racism and poverty and these are the things that are killing us, not some foreign country. Why this war? Iraq has the second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. The president and vice president are tools of the oil lobby. This war is about profits. The same administration that is pushing for war is starving people at home. I will not spill the blood of my nephews so Dick Cheney can profiteer.'

Tina Wheeler, district organizer of the Communist Party of Maryland, said, 'We say, stop the war before it starts. While our cities suffer with budget deficits in social programs, health care and especially education, the military budget continues to grow. … No one is talking about who is going to fight this war. Its our children, our husbands … our investments in our future. There is no room for this city to support such a war.'

Kay Dellinger, testifying for the Baltimore Peace Action Network, said, 'If the U.S. unilaterally and preemptively attacks Iraq, it will violate all international law and make the United States a pariah among other nations.'

In the past half century, she charged, the U.S. has squandered $4 trillion in producing weapons of mass destruction while millions became homeless because Congress terminated public housing. 'Over 25 percent of Baltimore residents live in poverty. This country has no right to launch war against other countries while our own people are not cared for.'

Not a single witness testified in support of the war policy. The City Council was scheduled to debate the resolution Wednesday, Nov. 27.

The author can be reached at greenerpastures21212@yahoo.com

Carpenters union to rejoin AFL-CIO

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 10:35:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (Press Associates Union News) – Ending a long split, the Carpenters will reaffiliate with the AFL-CIO on Dec. 1, according to a memo to local councils from Federation Building and Construction Trades Department President Edward C. Sullivan.

Details of the terms of re-affiliation will be released a few days after its actual occurrence, a department spokeswoman says, but it follows major changes, approved Oct. 17, in how the building trades unions will handle jurisdictional disputes.

Jurisdictional problems were one reason Carpenters President Douglas McCarron cited for his union’s withdrawal in March 2000. The AFL-CIO formally ejected the Carpenters, but talks continued.

McCarron also demanded other changes: Firing Sullivan and BCTD Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Maloney; converting the BCTD presidency to a part-time position and abolishing Maloney’s post; greater power for the department’s administrative committee of its five largest unions; and weighted voting on all issues.

McCarron also questioned the benefits his union got from the $4 million per year the Carpenters sent to the AFL-CIO. And he charged the federation spent too little on organizing.

While the jurisdictional issue was settled, the others were 'tabled,' Operating Engineers President Frank Hanley told Press Associates in a telephone interview. 'They’ve been all put to the side – tabled is the best word,' he explained.

'But this will be wonderful for the building trades,' Hanley added. 'They’re a very important union, have an important craft, a lot of money and respect of the contractors' that construction unions work with, he elaborated. Carpenters officials did not return calls seeking comment on the reaffiliation.

A key development was the Building Trades rewrite of rules for handling jurisdictional disputes. 'The plan for settlement of disputes in the construction industry needs to be modernized to take into account actual conditions in the industry,' McCarron said in a Feb. 21 letter to Sullivan.

That rewrite is the first since 1984. It says 'area practice' will be 'a major determining factor in dispute resolution' when two construction unions claim the rights to represent the same group of workers at a job site. Until now, 'decisions of record' governed jurisdictional disputes, and Sullivan said some of those 'dating back to the 1900s' were used to solve present disputes 'and may not be relevant to today’s construction industry.' Now, decisions of record will be used, but a challenging union may cite area practice in trying to overturn them.

Withdrawal of the Carpenters on the national level deprived the AFL-CIO of membership that federation per capita records put at 324,000, but which McCarron says is 525,000.

But on the local level, the Carpenters continued to cooperate with other building trades unions in political action and project labor agreements – though McCarron said his union, and labor as a whole, should have better relations with the GOP.

Thus San Francisco Building Trades Council President Larry Mazzola told his annual meeting that there 'must be better resolution of jurisdictional disputes' and thanked his members for voting on their own to re-affiliate the local Carpenters.

And Ironworkers President Joe Hunt said in a statement to Press Associates that McCarron now 'recognizes we need every craft in the building trades standing shoulder-to-shoulder in these difficult times, on the job, in the political arena or organizing the unorganized.'

Civil rights groups blast court nominees

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 10:30:00 +0000

Defenders of the Bill of Rights warned that Senate votes to confirm Dennis Shedd and Michael McConnell to the Fourth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal is part of the Bush administration’s plan to pack the judiciary with ultra-rightists, turning back the clock on civil rights and civil liberties.

NAACP Board Chairman Julian Bond, in an e-mail message, wrote, 'The dam has been broken. The flood of unacceptable judicial nominees has begun. We have a long struggle ahead, demanding we redouble our efforts, build new alliances and strengthen old ones, and prepare for the worst while working for the best.'

Wade Henderson, executive director of the labor-backed Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), said, 'Dennis Shedd and Michael McConnell are the latest examples of President Bush’s campaign to pack the federal judiciary with individuals whose views are far outside America’s mainstream. Regardless of the outcome of the (Nov. 5) election, there is no presidential mandate for a right-wing judiciary. Shedd’s approval by the Senate is a blow to the interests of civil rights and civil liberties.'

Henderson charged that during his 11 years on the federal district court in South Carolina Shedd ruled invariably against equal rights for minorities, women and people with disabilities. He pointed out that the Judiciary Committee approved both Shedd and McConnell on a voice vote, which normally indicates consensus. However, all seven of the Democratic Senators present asked that their names be recorded as 'nay' and two others were absent. 'With nine Senators voting ‘nay’ the vote could have been close enough to prevent Shedd’s nomination from moving to the floor,' he said.

The Senate leadership pushed Shedd through as a 'farewell present' for racist Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) who is retiring. 'Senators who voted to confirm Dennis Shedd send a clear signal to women, racial minorities, workers and consumers across America that their voices will not be heard,' Henderson said.

Bush is appointing to the bench 'nominees who are hostile to civil rights, women’s rights, and Congress’ authority to protect these rights,' he added. Shedd and other Bush nominees 'will get lifetime appointments where they can limit or even roll back progress on civil rights and civil liberties.'

Henderson promised that LCCR 'will continue to fight to ensure that individuals confirmed to the federal courts are committed to the protection of equal opportunity, individual rights and fundamental freedoms - not judges with a right-wing agenda who will decide cases that will undermine civil rights.'

People for the American Way (PFAW) also denounced the Senate vote as 'very disappointing' but pointed out that 44 Senators voted against confirming Shedd. 'Hopefully, these 44 votes are a sign that the Senate will not cede its role in selecting federal judges and become a rubber stamp for presidential nominations.'

Appeals courts hear about 30,000 cases each year and 'are the court of last resort for millions of Americans,' the PFAW statement declared. 'That gives these courts the final word for most Americans on critical issues concerning civil rights, reproductive rights, civil liberties, environmental protection, privacy and religious freedom.

PFAW President Ralph Neas warned last May that the 'top domestic priority' of the Bush administration and its right-wing allies is to 'claim control of the federal courts. Their success would overturn decades of legal precedents protecting civil rights.'

Contrary to the loud complaints that the Democrats were stonewalling Bush court nominees, the 107th Congress confirmed 100 Bush judicial nominees, 72 of them during the months of Democratic majority control of the Senate. That compares to the years of the Clinton presidency when the 104th Congress with a GOP-majority Senate approved only 73 judges.

The author can be reached at greenerpastures21212@yahoo.com

The unwelcome guest at your holiday dinner

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 10:26:00 +0000

Opinion

As the holidays approach, thoughts inevitably turn to an important part of these celebrations – food and, in particular, turkey. We may also wish to consider the health and environmental impacts of how the meat for our holiday meal is raised.

At Cedar Summit Farm in New Prague, Minn., Florence and Dave Minar are raising turkeys. The turkeys range freely and are not fed antibiotics to promote growth or compensate for unsanitary living conditions. As Florence said, 'They chirp and seem very happy. It’s fun to sit and listen to them.'

The Minars used to raise cows 'conventionally,' keeping them in close confinement. They moved away from this method out of concern for the health of the environment, the animals and their own family. But there was an added benefit. Florence said, 'Once we moved the animals outside and started using good husbandry practices, we no longer needed to use antibiotics. Our vet bills dropped by 80 to 90 percent.'

Cedar Summit Farm is not alone. Many producers in Minnesota and across the country are turning to sustainable husbandry practices, raising animals under humane conditions and without the routine use of antibiotics in their animal feed.

Valley’s Family of Farms in LaFarge, Wisc., produces turkeys (soon to be Organic Valley Family of Farms turkeys, now that USDA organic standards for meat are in place), which are also raised sustainably. Birds are grown by the Organic Valley family farm cooperative members, and are free-ranging and never fed antibiotics, in accordance with the organic label. As Pam Saunders, Meat Program Coordinator for Organic Valley, says, 'When turkeys are fed organic feed and allowed to behave naturally, to be outside, they will be healthier, and they don’t need antibiotics.'

Because any use of antibiotics can contribute to drug resistance developing among bacteria elsewhere, sustainable meat production helps stem the growing crisis of antibiotic resistance. Consumers can do their own part by purchasing meat raised in this manner.

Antibiotic resistance is a public health crisis and a growing risk to all people. Health professionals report rising numbers of bacterial infections – from ear infections to food poisoning to pneumonia – that do not respond to antibiotic treatment. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria may keep people sick longer, and sometimes people are unable to recover at all. Children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable.

Emerging scientific consensus links the overuse of antibiotics in farm animals and fish to resistance transmitted to humans, typically via food. 'Feeding healthy cows, chickens and pigs large doses of antibiotics on a routine basis can cause antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as salmonella and campylobacter, to enter into our food, resulting in infections that are often difficult and costly to treat with the usual antibiotics,' said Jon Rosenblatt, MD, a microbiologist and infectious disease specialist from Rochester, Minn.

Low levels of an antibiotic are routinely fed to animals, not to treat sickness, but to spur them to market weight more quickly and to avert infections in animals stressed by crowded and often unsanitary conditions. The latest estimates by the Union of Concerned Scientists are that at least 70 percent of all antibiotics (and possibly more) used in the U.S. each year – more than 24 million pounds – are fed in this manner to healthy pigs, poultry and beef cattle. Most are identical or nearly so to medicines used in human patients. And an estimated 204,000 to 433,000 pounds of antibiotics are also used annually in the production of seafood sold in the U.S., according to a recent report by Dr. Charles Benbrook.

Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House and Senate would phase out the routine use of certain medically important antibiotics in healthy food animals. The American Medical Association, the American Osteopathic Association and other medical and public health groups endorse these bills.

This important first step has already been taken in other countries. Since 1999, the European Union has prohibited use as animal-growth promoters of all antibiotics important to human medicine. Meat producers continue to thrive and have adapted by modifying the diet of animals, and by improving animal husbandry to decrease the risk of infection.

It’s difficult to know exactly how livestock, poultry or fish have been raised just from reading a label on the product, but it’s a good place to start. Meat certified by a third-party inspection, like United States Department of Agriculture’s certified organic label, is the best way to know for sure.

Other certifications that indicate that meat has been raised without routine antibiotics are Food Alliance or Midwest Food Alliance, Animal Welfare Institute (for pork) and Free Farmed (from the American Humane Association). Farms and ranches that carry those labels adhere to a set of guiding principles that ensure the environmentally and socially responsible husbandry of animals, including a prohibition on the use of antibiotics for healthy animals.

Perhaps the best way to make sure that the meat you buy has been raised under sustainable conditions and without antibiotics is to get to know the food source. Ask questions at the meat counter of your local grocer, visit the farm, or talk to the farmer at the farmers’ market. Then sit down at your holiday meal and enjoy knowing where and how your turkey was raised.

Jessica Nelson is a communications assistant at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. For information on antibiotic-free meat products, see IATP’s Eat Well Guide: www.iatp.org/EatWell

Beating the Bushes at reality

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 10:21:00 +0000

Opinion

Truth, morality, organization, and solidarity – these are the keys to defeating the Bushes and Bushites. The son of a Bush occupying the White House, and his brother Ol’ Jeb the millionaire, the Florida governor, want us to listen to their words about democracy and justice and ignore their actions against democracy and justice. But they can be beat.

They can’t be beat at their own game, because they’ve got that one rigged. The cards are marked, they’ve got the slickest spin doctors shuffling the decks against us, their bag men are going around collecting wads of cash from the rich, famous and immoral, and they’re throwing away wads of tax money, swiped from us, in their efforts to buy and rent votes, whether in Congress or at the UN.

But they can’t rig reality.

War is not peace. Economic crisis isn’t a healthy economy. A 'jobless recovery' is still a recession. Stealing votes, buying political support and rigging elections don’t constitute democracy. Twisting arms behind the scenes isn’t building international support. Acting like the bully of the world isn’t something the good guys do (as in 'the struggle of good against evil'). Security is not hunger, poverty, unemployment and depression.

So we have to be as radical as reality. That’s one playing field Dubya doesn’t control.

We have to spin back just as hard as the administration flacks do, only with truth to back us up.

The dirty, semi-hidden truth of Bush’s policies is that they benefit only the smallest percentage of the people of the U.S. They actually don’t even benefit the majority of the ruling class in most cases. Bush and his brother, out to continue their new dynasty, have 'devious plans' to circumvent the will of the people when they don’t like what the people vote for. They have power, real power, military and financial power, but they don’t have the real interests of the people on their radar screens. Their political calculations are all aimed at seeing how much they can get away with, how ruthless they can be at home and abroad. They predict boom times for the already rich and powerful. Do you doubt that Karl Rove and others of his ilk are plotting their 2004 election strategy right now?

In order to turn things around, we have to work hard at turning the majority of people around, by bringing new forces into motion and struggle. We have to change the equation by speaking the truth to millions, starting now.

Just as reality drove a stake through the heart of Bush the First’s re-election plans, we too can marshal reality to be knights of truth and justice, warriors for peace, prophets of economic democracy and prosperity for the people of our country and the world.

The Bushes can be beaten. Just as a majority of the country went from re-electing Nixon to six months later a larger majority demanding his impeachment, so too the dirty tricks of the Bush brothers can be exposed by the light of truth and reality.

Marc Brodine is chair of the Communist Party of Washington State. He can be reached at marcbrodine@attbi.com

International notes

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 10:17:00 +0000

Czech Republic: Protests vs NATO summit

A counter-summit to last week’s top-level NATO meeting, organized by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, brought together 150 delegates from the European Peace Forum, the World Federation of Democratic Youth and nearly 40 communist and left parties from all over Europe and beyond.

Despite the Czech government’s well-publicized 'anti-terrorist' security measures, including snipers, U.S. fighters overhead, aerial surveillance by Czech army helicopters, many thousands of police in the streets and harsher border controls intended to keep out 'foreign radicals,' thousands of demonstrators did manage to protest the summit.

In what Italy’s Party of the Communist Refounding called 'an unprecedented attack on the freedom of the press,' Ivan Bonfanti, a reporter for the Liberazione newspaper, was expelled by Czech authorities on his arrival at Prague airport. The PCR reported that other would-be demonstrators, including PCR members, were stopped at the Czech border and rejected because they carried flags and a banner.

Ecuador: New president promises to ‘give voice to poor’

Lucio Edwin Gutierrez, a former career military officer who ran a campaign of reaching out to the country’s Indians, trade unions and left-wing parties, won the presidency last Sunday by 54 percent to 46 percent for banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa, considered Ecuador’s wealthiest man.

When he began to campaign two years ago, Gutierrez said, 'We started in my old car, three or four people, running around Ecuador, eating in the car, sleeping in the car.' He added, 'Little by little, we began to reach people.' Gutierrez finished first in a field of 11 candidates in first-round voting Oct. 20.

'Ecuador can begin to convert itself into a more just country, a more honest country, a country with a better living standard and a country that is authentically democratic,' the president-elect told a television interviewer this week.

Gutierrez helped lead a brief coup by military officers who joined an Indian uprising three years ago.

Thailand-Indonesia: Demonstration for Shangri-La workers

Hundreds of union members and supporters demonstrated outside the Bangkok Shangri-La Hotel last Saturday as Thailand’s Prime Minister gave the keynote address at a high-level meeting of Asian political parties. The action was organized by the IUF international food workers federation’s Thai outreach organization and labor rights groups.

With leading political representatives from across the region in attendance, the demonstrators unfurled banners denouncing the nearly two-year-old lockout at the Jakarta, Indonesia Shangri-La Hotel. They called on the Indonesian, government to act to reinstate the Jakarta workers at their jobs, delivered a letter and petition supporting the Shangri-La workers and their union to the Thai Prime Minister, and distributed a press release about the conflict to meeting participants and the media.

In December 2000, the Jakarta Shangri-La Hotel locked out its entire workforce, closed the hotel for three months, and fired some 800 union members.

World Days for Children: 246 million children working

Almost a quarter of a billion children were working as child laborers during last week’s Nov. 19 World Day for Children, according to Kailash Satyarthi, chairperson of the Global March against Child Labor.

'These World Days should be marked with a renewed determination to protect the lives of all children,' the Global March against Child Labor said in a statement. 'Governments must be called upon to meet the commitments in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the ILO Conventions on child labor.'

The commercial exploitation of children in both developing and developed countries has come to be recognized as the most common form of child abuse today, the Global March said. 'Subjected to physical, psychological and emotional abuse, child laborers are often trapped with no other options.'

European Union: Report says EU lacks minority protections

Roma, Muslims and Russian-speaking minorities continue to face discrimination in Central and Eastern European countries seeking membership in the European Union, according to a report released this week by the Open Society Institute. Though all Central and Eastern European EU candidate countries have adopted special policies to improve the situation for Roma or to facilitate integration for Russian speakers, these have yet to be effectively implemented, the OSI said.

Even where comprehensive policies have been adopted, as in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, the report said government political support is lacking, and funding and administration are insufficient.

Nor is the problem limited to 'candidate' countries. The report noted that Britain has 'a sophisticated framework' against racial and ethnic discrimination but lacks protections against religious discrimination, France and Italy lack comprehensive policies to protect Muslim communities. Spain and Germany have not adopted comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, and lack adequate protections for Roma.