People Before Profit blog

Deadly combination vaccine production at mercy of profit-based system

Fri, 29 Oct 2004 06:06:00 +0000

Every year the flu virus kills approximately 36,000 people in the United States. This year health analysts are saying that the extent of the damage will depend on whether the available vaccine will get to those most at risk, and whether this year’s strains are particularly virulent. However, the issue is really much more fundamental than that.

There are two vulnerabilities in the nation’s immunization system: first it relies on a few private, for-profit manufacturers that use old technology in an attempt to maximize financial gain. Second, the right-wing government turns a blind eye to the realities of profit maximization. The governing ideology is that private, barely regulated companies will make safe products and quickly report problems.

Public health professionals, have long warned that the fragile system needs reforms. They say it could prove even more catastrophic if bird flu sweeps the globe or bioterrorists hit.

Since the 1970s, the number of companies making all vaccines has dwindled from 25 to five, even as the types of vaccines have doubled. Vaccines against six diseases now have a single manufacturer. Shortages occur whenever the companies encounter difficulties. This is the end result of decades of public giveaways to the private sector, and the encouragement of for-profit monopoly industries in health care. The issue is as old as the industrial revolution.

In 1892 the New York City Health Department developed a small internal unit called the “diagnostic bacteriological laboratory” to develop testing methods for patients in the city hospitals to determine who had diphtheria. This was important because the sooner this highly contagious disease could be diagnosed, the sooner preventive actions could be taken and effective treatments administered. The program was tremendously effective and the public health professionals who ran the lab decided to produce diagnostic kits at no charge for the city’s physicians.

By 1894 the NYC Health Department was producing diphtheria serum in excess of what was needed by city hospitals so it began to sell the serum in drugstores, and give it away to physicians to treat low-income families. The program was tremendously effective in reducing cases of diphtheria and, consequently, greatly reduced deaths and severe complications that resulted from the disease.

Other cities across the nation heard of this great success but did not have the capacity to produce the serum, so they began to place orders for it with the NYC Health Department. In short order, the Health Department had expanded production and distribution and was central to a dramatic nationwide drop in deaths and serious illnesses due to diphtheria. The Health Department was so efficient in the production of the serum that costs dropped from $12 per vial to $1 per vial.

Diphtheria serum production and distribution was so successful in protecting the public health that the Health Department expanded its operations to include the production and distribution of tetanus vaccine, rabies vaccine, and a testing kit for typhus. By this time the NYC Health Department had earned an international reputation for its aggressive stance in protecting the public’s health, including the health of the working class and those living in poverty.

However, at the same time, an organized and vicious opposition was growing. Local drug manufacturers and physicians denounced the Health Department’s activities as “municipal socialism” and “unfair competition.” The enormous public health successes were not followed by enormous profitability in the private sector, and this, in the eyes of the local capitalists and entrepreneurs, was heresy. For these entrepreneurial denizens, public health was simply a vehicle to make private profit. Public health without private profit would not be tolerated.

In 1898 New York City had a new mayor who did not share the vision of public health for all. Acting on behalf of the local interests of profit maximization, he ordered the Health Department to drastically cut its production and distribution of the life-saving serums and diagnostic kits. The Health Department complied, but kept a stockpile of vaccines and serums for emergencies.

A few years later, the Health Department sold a batch of emergency diphtheria serum that was outdated and about to spoil. That was the final straw for the local entrepreneurial drug manufacturers and physicians. Over 1,000 of them signed a letter petitioning the mayor to permanently prevent the sale of any such products by the Health Department. This, of course, freed the local drug manufacturers and druggists to sell vaccines and serums for what the market would bear, and once again opened the door to an increase in illness and death among the city’s poorest families.

It is now 2004. The corporate health entrepreneurs are international instead of local. Entire nations rather than a single health department have been forced to give away their public health responsibility to corrupt, dangerous, profit-maximizing corporate entrepreneurs. The solution lies in the struggle for a democratically controlled national health service that would provide drugs and medical care for all as an accountable public service.

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

Elderly vent anger over flu shot crisis

Fri, 22 Oct 2004 05:27:00 +0000

CHICAGO — “I can’t believe that seniors citizens have got to go through this mess,” Anna said to me as we stood in line for a flu shot early Monday morning out side the Atlas Center for the Aging here.

“This is horrible,” she added as adjusted the oxygen lines to her nose. “I don’t believe it.”

Anna and I were part of the several hundred elderly who were waiting to get a flu shot a little after 7 a.m. on Oct. 11 on the city’s South Side. There was a short line ahead of us and a much longer one behind. It was chilly and we could see our own breath.

Standing in line were many elderly holding on to their walkers and canes, some doubled over by age and who shuffled as they moved around. A number of people brought folding chairs, not knowing how long they would have to stand.

There wasn’t a kind word to be said about the Bush administration and the flu shot crisis among people I talked to around me. There were just sounds of disgust and angry words.

Later that day President Bush and his spokespersons tried to blame the shortage on the vaccine manufacturers, including the U.S.-owned Chiron Corp., and chided Democrats and others for “scaring people” about the shortage of shots. Vice President Cheney said the shortage was due to a “limited profit margin” on vaccines and drug company fears of lawsuits.

Yet doctors and independent health care professionals said there have been signs of a potential shortage of flu vaccines for several years. They noted the U.S. relies on only two suppliers to provide flu vaccines for the U.S. market, one of them Chiron. Half the country’s supply, about 47 million doses, were lost when Chiron’s vaccines were declared defective.

In contrast, Britain orders flu vaccines from five different suppliers, thereby hedging its bets should one or more of its suppliers fail to deliver.

At one point last week, Bush said he was “working with Canada to hopefully produce the (flu) vaccine,” leading to charges of a dramatic Bush flip-flop. Referring to the president’s stance against importing lower-priced drugs from Canada, Ed Coyle, head of the Alliance of Retired Americans, said, “It’s hard to accept the president’s logic that it’s safe to get Canadian-imported flu vaccines, but somehow unsafe to import other necessary medicines from Canada.”

The U.S. flu vaccine shortage has also led to charges of price gouging by some vendors and the arbitrary, unfair distribution doses on hand.

One response to the country’s pending crisis came Oct. 11 from a meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians, whose leaders urged Bush to convene a “crisis summit” on how to handle an increase in flu from those who are not able to get a flu shot.

At a press conference, Dr. Arthur Kellerman said, “We believe our nation faces the potential for a public health disaster this flu season. … We could have a situation where people are dying in the waiting room and dying in the hallways” if action is not taken.

Each year influenza claims the lives of 36,000 people in the U.S. and sends about 200,000 to the hospital. The people most at risk are the very old, the very young, or people with chronic illnesses. With increasing numbers of people losing their health insurance and going without needed checkups, many will sure be in a weakened physical condition this season, a condition that will make them more susceptible to getting the flu.

The author can be reached at pww@pww.org. Phil E. Benjamin contributed to this story.

Salman Rushdie decries war, censorship

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 05:55:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — “What’s that they say about the pen being mightier than the sword?” asked Salman Rushdie, author of “The Satanic Verses,” the irreverent tale of the prophet Muhammad that caused Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini to pronounce a judgment of death on Rushdie in 1988. The author recently visited Connecticut, where he opened Fairfield University’s Open Visions Forum.

Regarding his dispute with Khomeini, Rushdie said he had simply outlived it. Following the death of Khomeini in 1998, the Iranian government publicly stated it would call off its “fatwa” against Rushdie. While some Islamic fundamentalists still consider it to be active, the author has officially come out of hiding and even felt safe enough to have allowed The New York Times to cover his wedding to Indian actress, Padma Lakshmi, earlier this year.

On the current U.S. administration, Rushdie told the World: “President Bush did not tell the truth to the United Nations. Things in Iraq are not getting better, they are getting worse. This is not my opinion — everybody knows that Bush is just electioneering. … In Britain they woke up quicker than in the U.S. They knew they had been sold a bill of goods and sent to war on a lie. I don’t know why there isn’t more outrage over here.”

And it’s not just the U.S.-led war in Iraq which Rushdie takes issue with when it comes to Bush administration’s policies. As the newly elected president of American PEN, the association of writers and editors, Rushdie has led a successful effort to gather tens of thousands of signatures in an attempt to overturn what he calls the “Big Brother provisions” of the USA Patriot Act.

“It applies to the usual suspect countries and proclaims that any writer, translator or literary agent who writes an introduction, footnotes, or any type of explanation which goes beyond the direct translation, will be considered to have traded with the enemy,” said Rushdie. “And writers banned in those countries must also be banned here. ... If this happens, we will take the U.S. government to court on the grounds of infringing our very fundamental freedoms.”

In a related development, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero struck down parts of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional in a decision on Sept. 29. Marrero said that, contrary to the Act’s provisions, the government must first get a judge’s approval before getting access to an individual’s Internet and telephone accounts.

The author-turned-activist stated he fully understands terrorism exists and must be dealt with appropriately, but it is not necessary to “censor poets.” He said that, throughout the ages, many writers and great thinkers were banned, tortured and killed — just as Khomeini tried to do to him. He added that fear of terrorism and the government’s use of that fear is why many Americans have stopped questioning their leaders.

“September 11th was a sucker punch,” said Rushdie. “The terrorists got lucky once because of a colossal security failure in the U.S. We then came to believe that they were more powerful than they really were. But, we now have a terrorist state that didn’t exist before. How did it happen? You heard Bush say, ‘Bring it on.’ Now every terrorist who wants to kill Americans goes to Iraq. The only way it can stop is if America stops bullying the world.”

The author also told the World that while he had a good laugh over the grounding of Yusef Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) from a recent flight, he finds it rather absurd.

“If Cat Stevens is the problem, then we are all screwed,” mused Rushdie. “Let the Cat in!” Yusef Islam was deported to England on Sept. 22.

Rushdie said the U.S. government should examine its policies to see if what it’s doing in the name of security is helping or hurting.

“I came to this country for freedom,” said Rushdie. “It would be a great tragedy if fear allowed our freedom to be taken away.”

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

What we need today a program for working peopleELECTION PLATFORM 2004, COMMUNIST PARTY USA

Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:39:00 +0000

Editor’s note: The Communist Party USA recently released the following election platform. We reprint it here as part of our coverage of the broad, people’s movement to defeat President Bush. The platform is also available on-line, in English and Spanish, at www.cpusa.org.

This is no ordinary election year. Across our country, people are searching for security, hope and peace.

The George W. Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have delivered unemployment, economic insecurity, inequality, fear and war. Instead of freedom and democracy, the people of our country and the world have been subjected to unilateral military aggression and curtailment of democratic rights, based on lies and deceit. The young generation is being shut out of education and good job opportunities.

These policies are not accidents. They flow from a campaign by the biggest, most aggressive capitalist interests for complete control over all the world’s resources, markets and labor. The shocking disparity between wealth and poverty worldwide, and the never-ending search for new sources of profit, set the stage for sharp conflict.

The 2004 elections are a test of history in our country’s quest to build a democracy “of, by and for the people.” For too long, big money corporate politics has turned away millions of voters from participation. In 2000 the Supreme Court disregarded the voters’ choice and installed George W. Bush. Now is the time for all democratically minded people to stand united, march to the ballot boxes and vote in massive numbers to end right-wing Republican control of the White House and Congress.

Nothing can be taken for granted. No state should be conceded in this national crusade to take our country back from extremist, life-threatening policies.

The power of the movement to defeat Bush on Nov. 2 goes far beyond this election. The new alliance of labor, African Americans, Latinos, women, youth, seniors, and glbt, peace and environmental activists who make up this movement holds in its hands the potential to win much bigger change. The upsurge of independent activity to defeat the ultra-right opens new possibilities toward a people’s party free of transnational domination.

The need for a system free of the exploitation, racism, militarism and profit-driven policies that burden our country today is on the agenda for consideration, discussion and action.

Throughout our history, the Communist Party has recognized the need for fundamental change with a vision of a socialist United States built on the foundations of our Bill of Rights. In 2004, we project a program to meet the immediate needs of the people of our country.

The bottom line in this election year is that the devastating, dangerous, anti-human, Bush/ultra-right agenda must be delivered a resounding defeat. The entire world is watching.

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS

Living-wage unionized jobs, health care, decent affordable housing, quality public education, racial equality, equality for women, a clean and peaceful environment, and civil liberties should all be basic human rights.

Tax cuts for the rich and limitless funds for war are bankrupting our government and making our nation less safe. A complete change in priorities is necessary to meet human needs, insure a certain future for the young generation and provide real security. No one should be forced into poverty in our wealthiest nation.

We offer the following People before Profits Program as a basis for movement building. We support the many efforts of labor, community, civil rights, youth, peace and environmental coalitions that move toward these goals.

JOBS AND ECONOMIC SECURITY

Almost 10 million workers are unemployed, 3 million more than when Bush took office. Millions more, including many youth, are stuck in low-wage, part-time jobs. Emergency action is needed to create good jobs.

H Support the Employee Free Choice Act to allow workers to gain union representation without harassment or recrimination. H Create living-wage, union jobs with a massive program to rebuild the bridges, schools, water treatment plants, and parks of our nation, while sending funds to cities and states to fully staff education, childcare, health care and other peoples’ needs. H Special measures for federal spending and job creation in the African American and Latino communities where jobless rates are up to twice as high because of overt and institutional racism. H Expand aid and job creation in rural areas with disproportionately high unemployment. Protect family farmers with price supports and no curtailment of subsidies. H Expand federal funding of youth jobs, vocational and apprenticeship programs and higher education especially geared toward low-income and racially oppressed youth. H Raise the minimum wage to living wage standards taking into account cost of housing and other essentials. H Provide adequate federal funding to cities and towns for first responders and emergency personnel.

HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE

Health Care for All. Over 43 million now have no health coverage, 4 million more than when Bush took office. The fake “Medicare reform” will not deliver prescription drugs, but will undermine the entire program. No one should be without health care.

H Support the Medicare for All bill, HR 676, which provides full health coverage including prescription drugs, for everyone. H Allow bulk government purchase of prescription drugs and re-importation of drugs as an emergency measure. Curb price gouging by the pharmaceutical industry. H Access to reproductive health care for young women. H Expand funding for HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

Equal, Quality Public Education. The Bush administration eliminated $8 billion in funding to public education after creating new, costly mandates in the “No Child Left Behind” act, which undermines public education in favor of vouchers for some children to attend private or religious schools. Every child should have the best possible public education.

H Guarantee full dedicated federal funding for quality, equal public education from pre-K through college. H Enact the DREAM Act and Student Adjustment Act to increase access to education for immigrants. H Increase Pell Grants. Repeal provisions that deny funds to students with drug convictions.

Social Safety Net. The Bush administration has slashed funding for human needs and privatized services. The social safety net should be expanded and secured.

H Extend unemployment compensation to include entire time without a job. H No privatization of Social Security or Medicare. Use the Social Security surplus to increase benefits instead of funding the Bush tax cuts and war in Iraq. Protect retirement funds. H Restore and expand the social safety net for women and children and victims of economic dislocation. Emergency measures to end child poverty. H Expand Section 8 and other affordable housing measures. Federal funding of construction and maintenance of housing for working-class families.

END RACISM, BIGOTRY AND DISCRIMINATION

The gap in equality of health care, education and employment has widened for African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Asian-Pacific Islanders. Immigrants, women and gays have been targeted. Winning equality is a vital interest for all working people.

H Enforce and expand affirmative action to end racism and achieve equality in jobs, housing, health care, education (including university admissions), and all areas of life. H Outlaw racial profiling. Enact federal hate crime legislation. H Alternative sentencing for non-violent crimes. Abolish the death penalty. H Enact the SOLVE Act, HR 4264/SB 238, to fulfill the goals of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, including a clear path to citizenship, equal rights on the job and civil liberties protections. H End the wage gap for women. Equal pay for equal work. Reject efforts to repeal

Roe v. Wade that would restrict women’s reproductive rights. H Reject the Bush proposed amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit gay marriages. End discrimination because of sexual orientation.

PEACE AND FOREIGN POLICY

End the United States’ unnecessary and illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Hundreds of young soldiers have been killed and thousands wounded, along with many thousands of Iraqi civilians, while giant military contractors reap financial benefit.

H Bring the troops home from Iraq. U.S. out, UN in. Full funding for veterans benefits. Support HR 690 for a full investigation into prison abuses in Iraq, especially at Abu Ghraib. H End the policy of preemptive war, war without end and world domination and occupation. Foreign policy based on cooperation and negotiations utilizing the United Nations. H Stop procurement and testing of nuclear weapons. Stop deployment of nuclear weapons to outer space. H End the harmful buildup of the military budget. Transfer funds to human needs. H Repeal NAFTA and negotiate enforceable labor and environmental rights into the body of all new agreements. H Support a Department of Peace as a cabinet-level position. H Remove military recruiters from public schools and campuses. Require parental agreement before students’ names are given to the military. H End the policy of promoting regime change in Cuba, Venezuela and other countries. End support for repressive governments around the world.

PRESERVE AND PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT

The Bush administration’s “Healthy Forests” and “Clear Skies” initiatives only further pollute land and water and deplete our natural resources. The environment should not be destroyed for profits.

H Protect our natural resources. Repeal the Healthy Forests and Clear Skies acts. Prosecute corporate polluters. H Develop renewable clean energy alternatives. H Support the Apollo Project of labor and environmental organizations to create environmentally friendly jobs in transportation and infrastructure. H Enact energy price controls and public ownership with investment in renewable and sustainable energy. H Ratify the Kyoto Treaty.

DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

The large-scale disenfranchisement of African American voters and the stoppage of the vote count in Florida in 2000 was an assault on the integrity of the entire election. Extreme infringements to democratic rights have escalated during this administration. Democratic rights and civil liberties make our nation strong.

H Repeal the USA Patriot Act, which limits constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech and dissent. H End appointments of right-wing, extremist judges to federal courts. H Funding for enforcement of the Voting Rights Act to ensure that no voters are denied their rights. Restoration of voting rights to ex-felons in every state. Same-day voter registration to allow for the largest turnout. H Pass the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003, HR 2239, to require a verifiable paper trail for every electronic voting machine. H Publicly financed elections to take big money influence out of politics. H Expand opportunities for minority candidates by replacing the “winner take all” election system with Instant Runoff Voting and Proportional Representation, which allow voters to rank candidates by choice and elect the candidate with the most overall support. H End monopoly control and censorship of the media.

TAX THE RICH

The Bush administration tax cuts to the rich forced a budget deficit and severe funding cuts to states, cities and towns for human needs and services. A fair tax system can provide the resources for strong communities and healthy families.

H Repeal Bush tax cuts for the rich. H Restore tax rates on the rich and corporations to 1970 levels. H Restore and increase federal funding for human needs. H Enact a refundable child tax credit.

For more information, write to Communist Party USA, 235 W. 23rd St., New York NY 10011, e-mail cpusa@cpusa.org, or call (212) 989-4994. Contact the Young Communist League at ycl@yclusa.org, or call (212) 741-2016. *(See related story below)

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The first debate: Kerry knocks Bush out of the ballpark

From a recent interview with Sam Webb, national chairperson, Communist Party USA:

“The Bush team thought this would be their knockout blow,” said Sam Webb, “but instead, Kerry knocked Bush out of the ballpark. Public opinion polls show two out of three viewers (some say over 71 percent) thought Kerry won. The whole political dynamic has changed and Kerry is on new ground. His supporters were energized and the race is more competitive now.”

“Kerry seemed presidential” in style, noted Webb, “while Bush seemed to be a very small person.” On substance, Webb sees that “Kerry made a good case against Bush’s foreign policies. He held that that the Iraq war was based on lies — ‘a colossal misjudgment.’ Iraq was a diversion from the war on terror, where the hunt for Bin Laden has been ‘outsourced to Afghan warlords.’ Kerry would pursue no long-term interest in Iraq, as opposed to Bush’s building 14 bases there.”

“Kerry’s points on nuclear weapons flew in Bush’s face,” Webb said. “Bush’s belligerence on bunker busters, the missile shield, and pulling out of international treaties don’t make us safer — and as Kerry pointed out, they don’t stop nuclear proliferation.”

“For the next two debates,” Webb thinks, “house parties will be an important place to build on this momentum. Participate in them, or organize one yourself for friends, co-workers, neighbors. People can watch and discuss together.”

“The whole get-out-the-vote effort is going to ratchet up a few notches. We urge everybody in the country to join those efforts, and in voter registration where it’s still open. Now that the two candidates have shared the same platform, people can compare and measure presidential timber of each. Our CPUSA position stands out even more strongly now — there are serious differences between Kerry and Bush, and the outcome of this election will have enormous consequences.”

GOP steps up attacks on foreign born

Fri, 08 Oct 2004 08:00:00 +0000

News Analysis

The Bush administration and the Republican leadership in Congress are stoking the fires of anti-immigrant agitation in the weeks before the election. In Congress, the Republican leadership is using the perceived urgency of acting on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to push through legislation aimed at civil liberties, especially of immigrants.

A series of amendments have been tacked on to the House version of a bill, HR 10, that would turn back the struggle for immigrant rights by forbidding any state from allowing undocumented workers to have driver’s licenses, and sharply restricting the use of home country consular documents for identification. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger just vetoed legislation on driver’s licenses.

These items, part of an anti-immigrant campaign led nationally by Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), collide directly with immigrant rights fights going on all over the country.

In addition, the House legislation would implement parts of the long-awaited “Patriot Act II” by making it possible for the administration to deport non-citizens for their political associations, with almost no judicial review whatsoever. Never mind that, in case after case, the government’s “evidence” against people it has rounded up turns out to be bogus or nonexistent.

In the Senate version, S 2845, there is an attempt to add wording from the CLEAR Act via the Sessions/Miller/Cornyn Amendment. Among other things, the CLEAR Act would authorize local, county and state police to investigate people they think might be undocumented immigrants. Police departments would be pressured to do this by the threat of losing federal funds, and would be protected by law from resulting civil rights lawsuits. In particular, this could be used to intimidate migrant workers trying to organize a union.

A further amendment to the Senate bill, added by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), would undermine due process rights of everyone by, among other things, allowing the government to conceal evidence from defense attorneys in certain cases.

The National Immigration Forum and other immigrant rights organizations have denounced these amendments and called for public pressure to defeat them. Significantly, the 9/11 Commission itself has denounced the anti-immigrant amendments.

Meanwhile, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has warned that the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI are increasing moves against aliens perceived to be “out of status,” as well as increasing “voluntary interviews” with immigrants from certain countries.

The election is less than a month away and the Republican Party is willing to use any divisive wedge issue to frighten the public into voting against its own interests. Such a party needs to be removed from power.

Emile Schepers is a longtime civil and constitutional rights activist. He can be reached at pww@pww.org.

Hey, Twin Cities: Thanks for the support!

Fri, 08 Oct 2004 05:15:00 +0000

The Twin Cities were alive with political activity the Sept. 24-26 weekend. Volunteers were doing voter registration in front of grocery stores. Parents, organized by ACORN, met with a Minneapolis school district representative to ask questions about No Child Left Behind. University of Minnesota students debated the situation in Venezuela. Peace in the Precincts organized a rally and issued a six-point “Road Map Out of Iraq.”

At one community center an “African Americans for Kerry” event was going on, at another — Resource Center of the Americas — classes and a forum on Haiti. Steelworkers handed out leaflets, against outsourcing, at a Vikings game.

Dozens of neighborhood stores, laundromats, coffee shops, community centers, college buildings, union halls and libraries also received their new copies of the People’s Weekly World. And friends and supporters of the People’s Weekly World munched on hamburgers, salad and cake while discussing how to “beat Bush,” and getting a report on a recent Communist Party delegation to Cuba.

The annual Twin Cities PWW cookout, hosted by Janet Quaife and Harry McAllister, along with a used books sale, raised $1,000 for the 2004 fund drive.

“The cookout had food for thought as well as to eat,” McAllister said. “People are hungry to get together, have political discussions and figure out how to make change for the better.” That’s why everyone appreciates the PWW, Quaife added, noting that the paper pulls all those things together.

The PWW enjoys a wide readership in the Twin Cities area. Volunteer distributors circulate 1,600 papers weekly. I went on an all-day distribution with two of these hard-core volunteers: Morgan Soderberg and Peter Molenaar.

Morgan and Peter introduced me to many small business owners and workers along their routes. “I love this paper because it tells the truth,” one storeowner told me. “Please help yourself to something to drink for free.” I took a bottle of water.

The large weekly distribution is a labor of love, but it still costs. Twin Cities readers, who enjoy the PWW every week, can make a contribution to the fund drive. Every contribution — whether $10 or $1,000 — helps keep our “reader-powered” paper going.

Thank you Twin Cities for all your support! Keep up the fight. Please send your contribution in today.

Yours in peace and solidarity, Terrie Albano Editor

Native American Indians get out the vote rez-style

Fri, 08 Oct 2004 05:09:00 +0000

CASS LAKE, Minn. — Sitting in her tiny office at Leech Lake Tribal College here, Elaine Fleming ran through the get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities she is helping to organize among the college’s students, faculty and staff. They had just held a successful “Rock the Vote — Rez Style” concert that attracted many of the college’s 209 students.

“We are trying to get them to think about what their issues are, and the importance of the vote,” Fleming said.

This is the 80th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act, passed in 1924, which finally gave the indigenous peoples of this country the right to vote. This year, the National Congress of American Indians is spearheading a grassroots voter drive, Native Vote 2004. The slogan, appearing on billboards, posters, T-shirts and buttons, is “80 years ago they couldn’t. Today you can. Vote 2004.”

Fleming is chair of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department at the tribal college, where she teaches history, philosophy, Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/indigenous) studies, and women’s studies. She is also mayor of Cass Lake, a town of 860, within the reservation boundaries of the Leech Lake Band of the Ojibwe tribe.

Fleming, 52, grew up here. This is her first involvement in electoral politics. “I always hated politics,” she told the World.

But after writing and teaching about human rights issues, she said, last year she decided to run for office. She is the first Anishinaabe mayor and the first female mayor in this town, which is 60 percent Native American. She prefers the term “indigenous American” because “it encompasses the global fight for rights as indigenous nations, so often ignored. We are nations within the nation.”

Fleming paused to review a flyer promoting a mock election. Other events include a candidates’ forum — the first ever in Cass Lake. Students will get a chance to voice their views at open mikes and on “Don’t give us no sheet — tell us your issues” speak-out sheets.

The neighborhood where Fleming grew up was declared a Superfund toxic site in 1984. The area, which covers one-fourth of the city, is contaminated with dioxins and other cancer-causing toxins from a lumber mill now owned by International Paper Co. The mill is closed, but the cleanup that was supposed to have been completed years ago is still unfinished. The water remains contaminated.

“People can’t use well water to wash their cars or water their gardens,” Fleming said. She is angry at the Bush administration’s hostility to environmental concerns. In particular, she noted that the administration has blocked refunding the Superfund cleanup program, which was originally paid for primarily by corporate polluters.

“We are spending billions and billions on war. We need to reallocate that money,” she said. “Let the Iraqis have their rights as indigenous Iraqis. We have so many needs here.”

Judy Hanks is statewide coordinator of Native Vote 2004 for Minnesota. She is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band, and is public relations coordinator for the Mille Lacs Band in Onamia, Minn. She spoke to the World before heading to a statewide Native Vote team meeting. Minnesota has about 33,000 Native eligible voters living in 11 reservations as well as in urban areas like the Twin Cities.

Recalling the closeness of the 2000 presidential race, Hanks noted that the Mille Lacs tribe has some 2,600 eligible voters. In this year’s hotly contested presidential contest, those 2,600 votes could determine the outcome, she said.

Native American voters have played a pivotal role in key races over the past few years, including the victories of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson in 2002. Thus, they see the power of the vote in making political leaders address their long-ignored needs. Many of these are the same as for all rural voters, said Hanks — housing, jobs, economic development, and health care. She noted than indigenous Americans have the highest rates of diabetes in the country, but the least funding for health care.

But for Native voters this year’s election is also about electing a president and Congress that will respect tribal sovereignty and treaty rights. The Supreme Court has ruled against tribal hunting and fishing rights in the recent period, and the next president will likely be filling two expected vacancies on the high court, Hanks noted.

The nonpartisan Native Vote 2004 campaign is aiming to get 1 million indigenous voters informed and activated nationwide. The grassroots efforts have grown into “more than I ever anticipated,” Hanks said. “People are getting excited.”

Tribes and urban Indian groups are holding candidate forums and GOTV and vote-protection training. Mille Lacs will do a mailing from the tribe’s chief executive to all members 18 and over reminding them of the importance of voting. The mailing will include voter registration forms (Minnesota has same-day voter registration — people can register on Election Day), polling place information, and an absentee ballot.

Each tribe in the state has a GOTV team, and they are coming up with innovative ideas, Hanks said proudly. One Fond du Lacs woman suggested renting a plane to fly over the rural community with a GOTV banner, and the team just may do it.

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

Coalition registers millions, seeks huge turnout Nov. 2

Fri, 08 Oct 2004 05:05:00 +0000

Leaders of the nationwide voter registration movement are reporting that millions of new voters have registered for the Nov. 2 election, breaking records. This has taken place especially in swing states like Ohio, where the determination to remove George W. Bush has inspired a record signup.

In Cuyahoga County alone, which includes Cleveland, 235,000 Ohioans have registered, more than double the number in 2000. That includes 100,000 people who registered for the first time.

“I think it is absolutely unprecedented both in the numbers of people who have registered and in the number of groups involved in the registration effort,” said Judy Gallo, co-convener of the Greater Cleveland Voter Registration Coalition. “To the extent these newly registered voters turn out to vote — and are not disenfranchised — they will have a tremendous impact on the election in Ohio.”

Bush carried Ohio by only 165,019 votes in 2000. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the new registrations are 10 to 1 Democratic. John Kerry’s clear victory in the first televised debate has erased Bush’s lead nationally and narrowed it in Ohio.

Democratic vice presidential contender John Edwards slammed Dick Cheney during the sole vice presidential debate in Cleveland Oct. 5. Edwards pointed out that Ohio has lost more than 200,000 jobs since Bush took office and Cleveland has become the nation’s poorest city.

“A long resume does not equal good judgment,” Edwards said as Cheney scowled. “Mr. Vice President, I don’t think the country can take four more years of this kind of experience.”

Gallo said about 600 grassroots volunteers with her group registered 10,000 new voters, while the AFL-CIO, NAACP, America Coming Together, ACORN, and other groups signed up even more, concentrating on African Americans, Latinos, youth and women in working-class neighborhoods that vote Democratic but with low voter turnouts.

“Now we are focused on getting out the vote,” Gallo said. “We will put out a bulk mailing to every newly registered voter. We will phone-bank to everyone and also do door-to-door canvassing. We expect a high voter turnout.”

Jocelyn Travis, executive director of the Ohio Election Protection Coalition (OEPC), told the World, “It is a challenge with so many first-time voters. We have to make sure they understand the voting process. We are encouraging people to take their IDs to the poll to prevent people from having to vote with provisional ballots.”

Travis said the coalition wants voters to be familiar with the punch card and electronic voting machines so they are not intimidated when they get into the polling place.

“We have to make sure people know their voting rights,” she said. “For example, if you spoil a ballot, you have the right to ask for replacement ballots as many as three times.”

In Ohio, 69 out of 88 counties will use the old punch card machines because of the state’s non-compliance with a new law requiring a voter-verifiable paper trail on all electronic voting machines.

Travis said she has crisscrossed Ohio in recent months. “The numbers of new voters signing up is overwhelming,” she said.

“Not only young people but also senior citizens who feel a commitment to make their voices heard in this election. We’re finding that voters are being disenfranchised especially in African American and Latino precincts.” OEPC has recruited 2,000 volunteers and 300 lawyers to monitor polling places on Election Day.

Andrea Kaminski, executive director of the Madison-based Wisconsin League of Women Voters, told the World her state is one of six that permit Election Day registration.

“My own personal experience is that there is incredible interest in this election, much higher than in elections past. Registrations are up, especially in Democratic precincts. It’s pretty amazing. The question is whether they will vote.”

The Wisconsin League is partnering with Wisconsin Women Equal Prosperity in a series of candidate forums on the issue of women’s depressed economic status in the state. The aim is to encourage women to register and vote. In the 2000 election, 50 million women, disproportionately women of color and single mothers, did not vote.

Elizabeth Milner, president of the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters, told the World, “It’s very heartening that so many people are registering. At our state headquarters [in Harrisburg] the phones were ringing off the hooks until yesterday’s deadline. All our locals were having massive voter registration drives.”

Philadelphia recorded 204,000 new voters, the highest number in 21 years. In neighboring Montgomery County, 32,000 new voters have signed up since May.

Milner said the election is now a “horse race” that could be a repeat of the 2000 election in which Democrat Al Gore won the popular vote but Bush secured the Electoral College vote with the Supreme Court’s help.

“The League of Women Voters favors abolishing the Electoral College,” she said. “We can’t allow this to keep happening that the Electoral College chooses a candidate that did not win the popular vote.”

In Florida, another battleground state, ACORN announced it has registered 212,317 voters, including 61,000 in Miami-Dade and 31,581 in Broward.

The author can be reached at greenerpastures21212@yahoo.com.click here for Spanish text

The battle for Congress heats up

Fri, 01 Oct 2004 05:58:00 +0000

“I have never considered myself a partisan person, but the Republican Party left me behind, so I had no choice but to leave the Republican Party behind,” Steven Brozak told delegates to the Democratic Convention this summer. “But I am far from alone ... and I will be in the majority come Nov. 2.”

Brozak is a former Marine and Iraq war veteran running for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th congressional district against incumbent Rep. Mike Ferguson. His experience in Iraq convinced him the policies of President George W. Bush needed to be defeated and that he needed to run.

Brozak’s race for a House seat is one of the fierce battles being waged to break the ultra-right grip on the House of Representatives and Senate. As the presidential race tightens the number of competitive congressional races has grown, including on some traditionally Republican turf.

Changing the face of Congress

If Democrats win a majority, the political leadership of Congress would change radically. The new majority leader in the U.S. Senate would be Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who has a pro-labor voting record of 85 percent. Daschle would replace Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who has voted pro-labor only 5 percent of the time.

In the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has a 96 percent pro-labor record, would replace Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who has a 7 percent lifetime pro-labor record. Similar changes would take place in every committee of Congress and determine what legislation gets to the floor.

Ultra-right Republicans are determined by any means necessary to expand and permanently institutionalize their majority. Led by Tom “The Hammer” DeLay (R-Texas), they carried out an unprecedented congressional redistricting in Texas with the aim of eliminating five Democratic representatives. DeLay is under investigation for illegally laundering campaign money from the Republican National Committee to Texas state legislative campaigns to win Republican control and carry out the redistricting. Already three of DeLay’s aides have been indicted. (See story, page 5.)

Many races revolve around peculiar local political dynamics and issues, in addition to national issues of the Iraq war, terrorism, civil rights and liberties, jobs, health care and education. Democrats and their allies have to overcome some big obstacles to win in swing and traditionally Republican districts. For example, campaign committees associated with DeLay are flush with cash and have channeled it to many House races.

On paper, Democrats will need to win three seats in the Senate and 12 in the House but because of Republican redistricting, Democrats will have to actually win more seats in the House. To gain control, Democrats have to win nine out of 15 Senate races (assuming a Kerry win) considered to be competitive, including in South Dakota, North and South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida, Okla-homa, Colorado, and Washington.

But Democratic candidates have an advantage, too — the unprecedented grassroots mobilization taking place in cities, towns and neighborhoods. In most cases, they are being backed by broad coalitions of labor and people’s forces who have been engaged in massive efforts to register millions of new voters and tireless door-to-door canvassing. A massive get-out-the-vote effort will peak on Election Day.

Increasingly, it appears that voter turnout, especially by African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and women, will decide many races. If the primary elections in state after state are any indication, the turnout will be enormous.

America’s future

In the 1994 elections, congressional Republicans introduced their “Contract on America,” which was credited with sparking a huge changeover of seats. That year Republicans won control of the House, which they have maintained every since. It is referred to as the “Decade of Deceit.”

In 2002 Republicans exploited the fears of terrorism and ran a hysterical campaign in the buildup to the Iraq war. Democrat leadership wilted in that atmosphere, which resulted in even more losses.

But in 2004 things are different. Democrats, pushed by a groundswell of mass electoral action, are determined to regain control. They have fielded a strong group of congressional candidates. House Democrats have also unveiled their own Partnership for America’s Future, a covenant that embodies their program to roll back the Republican ultra-right policies.

Many of the most competitive races are in swing districts where Republicans are fielding candidates in lockstep with Bush policies. They include blatant racists and lunatics that are so far to the right they are even turning off Republican moderates and independents.

Many of the Democratic candidates have been steeled in battle against the ultra right and backed by broad coalitions of labor, civil rights, women’s, consumer, environmental and grassroots groups like MoveOn.org, True Majority, Emily’s List and others.

There are a number of outstanding African Amer-ican, Latino and women candidates among them. They will help bring greater diversity and stronger voices against the ultra-right agenda. For example, former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney won the Democratic primary in Georgia, virtually ensuring her return to Congress. Republicans ganged up on McKinney in 2002 for being so outspoken against the Iraq war and about the investigation into the Sept. 11 tragedy. McKinney refused to buckle under and fought her way back.

Democrats are also buoyed by victories earlier this year in special congressional elections. In South Dakota — where the vote of Native Americans was considered decisive — Stephanie Herseth won a House seat, as did Ben Chandler in Kentucky’s 6th CD. Chandler’s victory was the first time a Democrat has taken a House seat from a Republican in a special election since 1991.

The Senate

Typical of Democratic candidates are four running for the U.S. Senate. In Illinois, Barak Obama is running to fill an open seat against right-wing talk show host Alan Keyes. Both candidates are African American.

Republicans are deeply divided between moderates and ultra-right-wingers, whom Keyes represents. With practically no support in the African American community, Republicans have been blasted for their blatant racism in picking Keyes, a resident of Maryland.

Keyes is running his campaign on right-wing religious issues, including banning abortion, condemning gays and lesbians, while advocating concealed weapons. He is being used to batter Obama, who distinguished himself in the Democratic primary with his integrity and opposition to the Iraq war. Obama leads the race by some 51 percentage points, including among a majority of Republicans, and would become only the fifth African American to serve in the Senate.

In Oklahoma, considered to be very conservative, the race pits right-of-center Democratic Rep. Brad Carson against an ultra-reactionary former congressman, Republican Tom Coburn. Carson is a former lawyer, who represented poor clients and is a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Coburn is also running on religious fundamentalist issues. He has been so bad, including racist insults against Native Americans, advocating the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions and admitting to having sterilized a number of women, that many Republican conservatives are shying away.

In Colorado, Ken Salazar, Mexican American and popular two-term attorney general, is running against billionaire Peter Coors of the extreme right-wing Coors family. Salazar is running as a champion of working people, economically hard-hit rural communities, and environmental protection.

Republican registration in Colorado outnumbers Democrats by 188,000, but Latinos make up 18 percent of the state’s electorate and turnout has been increasing each election. In addition, Salazar is gaining among independent voters, who overwhelmingly believe that Coors is out of touch with average families and is not concerned about the environment.

In Florida, state Senator Betty Castor is opposing former Bush HUD Secretary Mel Martinez. Castor is president of the state Senate, past education commissioner, and president of the University of South Florida. Martinez’ extreme views are isolating him and many Republicans will break ranks and vote for Castor, according to the latest polls.

The House

Democrats have fielded four women candidates in the swing districts in eastern Pennsylvania. They are among a number of women candidates being supported by Emily’s List, NOW, Planned Parenthood and other women’s organizations. All are running against ultra rightists and among the chief issues is the right to reproductive freedom.

Candidates include Democrat Lois Murphy in the 6th CD against incumbent freshman Rep. Jim Gerlach, and Democratic state Senator Allyson Schwartz, who is running for an open seat against Republican Melissa Brown in the 13th CD.

In Minnesota, Patty Wetterling, a longtime advocate against child abuse, is challenging Rep. Mark Kennedy, an extreme right-winger with a “zero” percent rating from Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Gwen Moore, Democratic candidate for Congress in Milwaukee, says, “I believe that this is a year when people are going to vote for someone who they believe will stand up for them, and I’m one of those people,” says

Moore, whose parents were both union members, was swept to victory in the Democratic primary by a huge turnout with strong support from grassroots organizations, a section of labor and women’s organizations. She would be Wisconsin’s first African American member of Congress.

Several candidates are outspoken opponents of the Iraq war. In addition to Brozak, MoveOn.org has highlighted four other competitive races where antiwar candidates are running:

Ginny Schrader, an attorney, is running for an open seat in Pennsylvania’s 8th CD that was held by a Republican. Dianne Farrell of Westport, Conn., is running against incumbent Rep. Chris Shays, who has increasingly voted with the Bush administration.

Former Norwich City Council member Jim Sullivan in Connecticut’s 2nd CD is running against right-wing incumbent Rep. Rob Simmons, a former CIA officer who is trying to portray himself as a moderate although he voted with the Bush administration 90 percent of the time.

“Simmons votes like he is George Bush’s congressman from Texas and not our congressman from Con-necticut,” says Sullivan.

In Colorado, state Representative John Salazar, older brother of U.S. Senate candidate Ken Salazar, is challenging in the 3rd CD. Salazar would be the first Mexican American elected to the Congress from Colorado.

In New York, Frank Barbaro is running against incumbent Rep. Vito Fosselli in a district that covers parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island. Barbaro is a former state judge, assembly member and dockworker and has been a staunch advocate of workers’ rights and against the Iraq war. He is running on both the Democratic and Working Families Party lines and is backed by a powerful grassroots campaign led by New York’s labor movement.

The congressional districts covering the collar counties around Chicago have been Republican strongholds for years, but all that may be changing. Rep. Phil Crane of the 8th CD is an extreme right-winger and the longest-serving Repub-

lican in Congress. Increasingly, Crane’s ultra-right views are out of step with moderate Republican and independent swing voters, especially with the influx of more working people and minorities. For the first time ever, a 1,000-strong peace march was held in Barrington, in the heart of the district. Moderate Democrat and small business consultant Melissa Bean is closely challenging Crane. Republicans are very nervous.

The same can be said for Rep. Henry Hyde, whose 6th CD covers Dupage County. Hyde is being challenged by Christine Cegelis, a former member of the Communications Workers of America, who has broad support of labor and community organizations.

Republicans are even a little nervous in Texas now. Not all is going according to plan. DeLay and the Republicans hoped to pick up five seats with the new redistricting, but all five races remain close. The five Democratic incumbents are running in districts that are 60 percent Republican or greater.

Moderate incumbent Democratic Rep. Martin Frost is putting up a ferocious fight against another incumbent ultra rightist, Rep. Pete Sessions. This has become the most expensive House race in the country.

Democrat Rep. Chet Edwards is running in the 17th CD, which covers Bush’s hometown of Crawford, against 10-year State Rep. Arlene Wohlgemuth. Edwards opposed the federal partial-birth abortion ban and is an advocate of the separation of church and state.

“The values of labor and the progressive movement are at stake in this election,” Sharon Palmer, president of the Connecticut American Federation of Teachers, told the World.

“If we don’t defeat George Bush and take back Congress, much of the social agenda of the 1930s will be destroyed,” said Palmer, a leader of Labor for Jim Sullivan. And that’s why she and hundreds of thousands of volunteers will work tirelessly until Election Day.

John Bachtell is district organizer of the Illinois District of the Communist Party USA, and can be reached at jbachtell@rednet.org.

From plains to shining sea The call is 'Dump Bush!'

Fri, 01 Oct 2004 03:37:00 +0000

Heartland unionists put in long hours

MOORHEAD, Minn. — Standing in a factory parking lot here on a sparkling September day, surrounded by fields of sugar beets, corn and soybeans that stretch as far as the eye can see, a postal worker, an electrician, a payloader operator and a railroad track maintainer divided up lists of union members and got ready for another afternoon of knocking on doors.

Before splitting up to get to work, they swapped a few stories about one guy who’d slammed the door on them last week and all the people who’d told them, “We’ve got to get rid of that son-of-a-b—— Bush.”

It’s a scene that is being repeated daily in towns and cities all across the country as the U.S. labor movement undertakes Labor 2004, an unprecedented worker-to-worker drive to “pink slip” the most anti-labor president in our lifetime, and put John Kerry in the White House.

Dennis Edwards, 36, has worked for 13 years at the post office in Detroit Lakes, a town of about 7,400.

“I work 8 to 4, Monday to Friday — banker’s hours,” he told the World. “I gave it up to work full-time for the AFL-CIO to get out the vote.” Edwards, president of Local 1333 of the American Postal Workers Union, is putting in long hours, nights and weekends, door-knocking and phone-calling “because President Bush is waging a personal attack on unions.”

Citing Bush’s moves to privatize postal operations, Edwards said, “I’m fighting to save my job and for my future.”

Many workers in this rural area are concerned about the “free trade” agreements that Bush is promoting, which hurt the local economy by forcing down farm prices. Edwards also mentioned “the consistent lying from Bush” that is angering everyone from teachers to firefighters. “He stood on the rubble of 9/11 and said ‘I’ll get you more firefighters,’ but he never has.”

Since starting his Labor 2004 duties at the beginning of September, Edwards has been working at it six days a week, door-knocking in towns around western Minnesota. This is the first time he’s done anything like this.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s so positive to see union members coming together to save their jobs, save their lifestyles, save their families.”

Al Pereira is a member of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees. He suffered a neck injury two years ago after 13 years swinging a sledgehammer for 17 hours a day, pounding anchors that hold railroad ties in place. He is from Hoffman, Minn., a town of 670.

“We need a new president.” Pereira said. “He started a war he never should have, killing our kids.” Pereira has three of his own — two sons, 16 and 19, and a daughter, 23.

“They’re not going to go fight some politician’s bull crap,” he said. “You aren’t killing my kids over politics.”

Tony St. Michel is an electrician at American Crystal Sugar here, and education officer of Local 266 of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union. He grew up in the tiny town of Halstad, Minn., where his high school class numbered 12. “I was in the top 12,” he said with a grin.

St. Michel has worked at the sugar plant for 30 years. Now he’s giving up a good chunk of his free time to get Bush out of office.

“Union-busting seems to be Bush’s ultimate goal,” St. Michel said. Aside from “the occasional guy that slams the door,” the union door-knocking is getting a really good response, he said. "Union members appreciate that we’re out there.”

“The labor movement is getting back to basics,” said Mark Froemke, who drives a payloader at American Crystal Sugar in East Grand Forks, Minn. He is also western region president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO.

These days Froemke is the full-time Labor 2004 zone coordinator for all of western Minnesota. He spends hours on the phone each night organizing teams of union members. The trunk of his car is filled with flyers from the Minnesota AFL-CIO highlighting the contrasts between Kerry and Bush, and a big carton overflowing with packets of computer printouts. Each packet contains a list of 25-50 union members and union household members in one neighborhood, with detailed street maps and worksheets. Next to each name, there are spaces to record the issues each person feels is most important in the elections, and whether the person favors Bush, Kerry, Nader or is undecided. All the answers are noted for follow-up. Each household gets the union flyer.

Walking up a driveway in a tidy working-class neighborhood, Froemke spoke with a gray-haired man wearing a Teamsters cap, who was watering his tomato plants.

“I could never vote for Bush,” the Teamster retiree said.

At another house, when St. Michel asked a woman if she had decided her presidential choice, she replied, “It sure won’t be Bush.”

As the sun settled behind the nearby Red River, Froemke and St. Michel had talked to about 25 union households. A few had said they were still undecided, one or two didn’t want to talk. Not one had said they were backing Bush.

The author can be reached at suewebb@pww.org.click here for Spanish text

Health care tops list in California

Fri, 01 Oct 2004 03:15:00 +0000

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Health care is taking center stage in the election campaign here, as the struggle heats up over Proposition 72, the Health Insurance Act, which will provide health insurance to over a million uninsured Californians, and limit how much employers can charge workers for their health benefits.

“What happens in California about Prop. 72 has great national importance for working families,” California Labor Federation (CLF) Political Director Bryan Blum told the World in a telephone interview. “If it is killed here, it will be a decade before it could advance again.”

Prop. 72, which would initially require employers of 200 or more workers to provide coverage, and would later reduce the threshold to 50 workers, upholds a state law passed by the Legislature last year and signed by Gov. Gray Davis before he was recalled in October 2003. It is opposed by a coalition of giant retailers including Wal-Mart and McDonald’s as well as the Chamber of Commerce. The latest poll shows 51 percent of likely voters support Prop. 72, while 29 percent are opposed and 20 percent are undecided.

The issue is seen as helping to bring voters to the polls on Nov. 2. “It makes politics mean something to people personally to vote to get health care,” said Bill Camp, executive secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council. “The issue gets people out to vote, and if they vote for Prop. 72, they will vote for (John) Kerry and (Sen. Barbara) Boxer, because the Republicans have sold the people out on every health care issue.”

The California Labor Federation is a major supporter of the Yes on Prop. 72 Coalition, which embraces over 160 labor, faith-based and community organizations, including the California Medical Association, Health Access, the Latino Issues Forum, ACORN, the Immigrant Welfare Collaborative, the ACLU of Southern California and NOW.

The CLF is emphasizing member-to-member communication on key issues, starting with Prop. 72, with mailings to members, check-ups on registration status, worksite leafleting, and workplace discussions on the importance of Prop. 72 to uninsured and insured alike.

“Our members need to get the truth from sources they trust, rather than being taken in by false TV ads from the retailers. We are a trusted source for them,” said Blum.

While most California congressional races are not as competitive as those targeted nationally by the AFL-CIO, the state Senate’s most competitive race is District 5 in the Central Valley, where Democratic Sen. Mike Machado is challenged by Stockton mayor and union-buster Gary Podesto, owner of a large chain of nonunion grocery stores. The CLF is helping the central labor councils to phone-bank and walk precincts.

Several California labor councils are also sending union members to neighboring battleground states, Nevada and Oregon.

“When I walked in Sparks (Nevada), I talked with seven registered Republican union members, and six of them were going to vote against Bush,” said Camp. “Nevada’s a ‘right to work’ state and the people are very upset about Bush’s new overtime rules. There are also a lot of retired workers there, very concerned about health care.”

In Reno and Sparks the California volunteers walked with area union members organized by the Washoe County Labor Council.

The Sacramento CLC recently cosponsored a dinner-dance with the janitors’ union, SEIU Local 1877, to raise funds to send several janitors to Arizona, another battleground state.

Ray Trujillo, the Northern California director of the State Building and Construction Trades Council, said, the GOP “doesn’t want labor to have a voice but we’ll have a big voice this year.”