People Before Profit blog

A year after Newtown, more shootings, more gun profits

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 11:11:00 +0000

In the days surrounding the Dec. 14 one-year anniversary of the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., news media have reported these gun incidents:

On Dec. 18, a man was shot at a Chicago CTA station. The evening before, also in Chicago, a 16-year-old boy was shot on a neighborhood street.

On Dec. 17, a man started shooting in a Reno, Nev., medical center, killing one person and critically wounding two others before apparently taking his own life, state officials said.

On Dec. 15, two carjackers shot and killed a 30-year-old man in a shopping mall garage in Short Hills, N.J.

On Dec. 13, an 18-year-old high school student opened fire at Arapahoe High School in the Denver suburbs, shooting a 17-year-old fellow student in the head before killing himself. He was armed with a pump-action shotgun he had bought at a local sporting goods store a week earlier, 125 rounds of ammunition, and three incendiary devices, plus a machete, local officials said. (In Colorado 18-year-olds are legally allowed to purchase shotguns and long rifles.) The wounded student is still in a coma in the hospital. This was the 19th school shooting in the U.S. since Sandy Hook.

A host of other Dec. 13-15 shootings are reported by Joe Nocera of The New York Times, one of the daily and weekly gun reports he has done over the past year, detailing the vast number of shootings that often don't make the headlines.

And earlier in the month, Dec. 3, a 22-year-old student was arrested carrying two handguns on the campus of the University of New Haven, in West Haven, Conn. He had an assault rifle and bullets in his car. Police say they found 2,700 rounds of ammunition and newspaper clippings about the Colorado theater shooting at his home.

Who knows what other shootings may have incurred this month that have not gotten media attention.

Slate's crowd-sourced gun death tracker, as of Dec. 18, 2013, reports 11,607 people have died from guns in the U.S. since the Newtown shootings, based on media reports. Researchers say about 500 American children and teens are dying from gun wounds every year - a 60 percent increase from a decade ago - and an additional 7,500 are hospitalized for gunshot wounds, up 80 percent since 1997.

In April, four months after Sandy Hook, Forbes magazine columnist Abram Brown wrote, "The nation's appetite for weapons has never been higher. At least in the 14 years of FBI data on gun sales. The FBI's figures show seven million guns sold in the last three months, compared to 4.9 million sold in the same period a year earlier and two million sold a decade ago."

Brown then went on to predict: "With toothless gun legislation coming through Congress, the gun industry's profits will remain at record highs, as will share prices."

In fact, no federal gun control legislation was passed this year, except for a renewal of a ban on plastic weapons.

Three days after the Sandy Hook tragedy, the Christian Science Monitor found the gun industry to be "thriving," reporting that "profits for gunmakers and retailers are setting records." That year, the U.S. gun and ammunition manufacturing industry brought in an estimated $6 billion in revenue, the report said.

Now, a year later, the nation's number one gun manufacturer, Sturm, Ruger and Co., based in Southport, Conn., about 25 miles from Newtown, "has seen four consecutive quarters of double-digit net income growth" with profit increasing by an average of 72 percent. In the same period, number two gun maker Smith & Wesson had revenue up by an average of 37 percent, says Forbes.

There were an estimated 310 million guns in circulation in the United States according to the most recent figures (2009). That's a bit more than one gun for every man, woman, child and newborn baby in the U.S. It includes 114 million handguns, 110 million rifles, and 86 million shotguns. The number of available guns has increased 62 percent since 1994.

Over the past eight years, the firearms industry has donated up to $60.2 million to the gun-lobbying National Rifle Association, according to an updated Violence Policy Center report issued this September, titled "Blood Money II: How Gun Industry Dollars Fund the NRA." In the past two years, the levels of gun industry donations to the NRA have "risen dramatically," the center says.

Just after the Sandy Hook killings, the Wall Street Journal reported corporations were looking "to distance themselves from guns and gun makers amid a public outcry." But, as peoplesworld.org noted then, "unless there is a sustained public movement to curb guns as a source of profit, the corporate profit drive will continue to push guns to make money."

Photo: Chicagoans hold a vigil to mourn the deaths in Newtown, Conn., last year. John Bachtell/PW

Michigan residents fast for immigration reform

Fri, 13 Dec 2013 14:34:00 +0000

DETROIT - Cindy Garcia delivered a heartfelt plea on behalf of her husband as she fasted during the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dec. 12. "We've lobbied, we've marched we've done everything we can to make sure my husband Jorge, who now faces deportation, stays where he belongs, with us," she said.

Garcia was one of more than 45 labor and immigrant rights activists across Michigan who undertook a 24 hour fast for citizenship and immigration reform. The fast started Wednesday evening and ended 24 hours later on Thursday evening.

Garcia said Jorge, now 35, was ten when he came to the United States. Her lobbying and marching took her, and the couples' two youngest children, ages eight and 11, to Washington and Capitol Hill where for several days there they participated in the ongoing fast for immigration reform.

Garcia, a member of United Auto Workers who works at Dearborn Truck Plant, spoke at a press conference Thursday at the International Institute in Detroit. The event was sponsored by Michigan United, a statewide coalition working for immigration reform.

She said a 24-hour fast is a "small sacrifice" to make this holiday season.

Too many holiday dinners will have "an empty place at the table," said Michigan United organizer Miriam Cuevas. She pointed out that every day Republican Speaker John Boehner and the House of Representatives refuse to act, 1100 immigrants are deported.

"This issue is personal. I am a dreamer," Cuevas said. She has temporary protection from deportation under the president's executive order called DACA, but she said, "every day and every hour I worry" about what will happen when the protection expires.

It's also a personal issue for Seydi Sarr, of the Senegalese Association of Michigan. Sarr and others fought and lost the deportation case of local Senegalese artist Michel Mendy. In 2010, he was shot while a bystander during a robbery. Instead of going after the robber, the police detained him and turned him over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement. Though he had been in the country since 1998, he was deported earlier this year

Adding to Sarr's concerns is the violence Mendy may encounter because he is gay. He is forced to live "in hiding" in his native Senegal, where being gay puts one's life at serious risk, she said.

The process of fasting turns direct action into social action, said Prasanna Vengadam, president of South Asian American Voices for Impact. The hoped for end result of that social action, a path to citizenship, would benefit the nation as a whole, she said. She made the point that immigrants add to and help modernize our nation's economy thereby making our nation stronger.

"You are giving up on America if you don't support immigration reform," she said.

What is the cost to our nation's economy? It means a "three trillion dollar loss" over the next ten years, said Raquel Garcia-Anderson, a Michigan United organizer. She said that's the estimate of what would be added to the economy from taxes, fees and more once people gain citizenship and emerge from an underground economy.

Tying it to the recent budget cuts to programs like unemployment compensation and food stamps, Garcia-Anderson said, "I get tired of hearing about austerity. Reform would not cost, it would be a money maker."

Photo: John Rummel/PW

Teachers’ leader: Schools reflect society’s polarization and anger

Fri, 13 Dec 2013 13:03:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (PAI) - The "polarization and anger" running through U.S. society, as a result of the collapse of the American Dream, "is playing out in the schools as well," Teachers President Randi Weingarten warns.

In a free-flowing talk and Q & A at the Women's National Democratic Club in D.C. on Dec. 12, the head of the 1.5-million-member union adds the conflict appears in fights over charter schools, state and local school funding cuts, and even in the Obama administration, in its emphasis on business-like practices in schools and on test scores.

Weingarten's remarks came as Congress is stalled, yet again, on what to do about federal school funding, and as Democratic President Barack Obama and his Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, emphasize their "race to the top" program, egging schools on with additional federal funds - if the schools improve test scores.

That teach-to-the-test ethos riles both parents and teachers, Weingarten told the group, as it assumes teachers can solve all of society's problems in the schools, and they can't. And parents are upset because subjects that actually would draw their kids into school and make it a place to learn, like music and art, are sacrificed, she said.

"There's a conversation that says teachers, who are viewed as a combination of Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and Tony Soprano, can do it all. People want us to be angels - just like at Sandy Hook" during the school massacre there a year ago, she noted.

"They want us to turn it all around ourselves, and if we can't we should be fired."

The big reason teachers can't do it themselves, Weingarten said, is poverty, a theme she's emphasized before. The problems at low-performing schools, which are usually those in the poorest neighborhoods, lead to searches for "silver-bullet solutions" such as vouchers and charter schools, she added. Test data show little improvement.

"Testing is important," she admitted. "But it really says that something didn't happen in the engagement" between teachers and kids. And the success of such interaction drops, Weingarten told the group, when state and local officials slash education funding.

The results included 300,000 teachers, out of 3 million nationwide, laid off after stimulus money ran out and a billion-dollar hole in Philadelphia's school budget. The GOP-run state government, which runs the city's schools, yanked the money.

"Class sizes went up, music and art went bye-bye and then test prep took even more dollars away. And on top of all that, more kids are poor," due to the recession. "Two-thirds of the national achievement gap" in schools "is caused by poverty."

Nevertheless, what you hear from politicians, she said is "starve the schools." Then the politicians close the schools, destroying neighborhoods and telling parents that charters are "the only alternative."

"If you're telling me a kid can't get art and music because the dollars go to vouchers and charters, that's what I get mad about," she exclaimed.

Those scenarios led Weingarten earlier this year to join her Philadelphia Federation of Teachers members on a picket line - and get arrested - for protesting GOP Gov. Tom Corbett's budget cuts.

They also led Chicago teachers and residents into a mass, community-backed strike against school closures that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) ordered.

Despite those problems and political manipulation of school money, teachers still want to teach and make a difference in kids' lives, Weingarten declared. And her union is trying to help them do so by campaigning to make schools into community centers.

As such centers, which are already operating in several cities with AFT locals, the schools feed kids, provide after-school facilities, add health clinics, create all-day kindergartens, and give kids a safe haven from fearsome streets.

"We already feed the kids breakfast and lunch and some teachers even wash the kids' clothes," Weingarten comments. "The average teacher now spends $30 a week out of her own pocket to feed kids, on top of the $500 she spends on school supplies - and meanwhile her salary has been flat."

One thing AFT is not doing, she said, is defending tenure for incompetent teachers at all costs. Tenure should be used to give teachers protection to experiment with what works in the classroom and to prevent political interference, she told the group. But AFT believes tenure should not protect incompetent or unqualified teachers, since those teachers leave their kids' problems to successors in higher grades.

If parents want great and safe neighborhood public schools - and Weingarten says polls show they do - then they must get out and campaign for them, she said. That means taking to the streets in the cause of quality schools, as parents did in more than 100 cities on Dec. 9, she added. "We want your help, because we need people to reinvigorate public education," Weingarten concluded.

Photo: Chicago teachers' strike, September 2012. People's World.

Join us Tuesday to discuss the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela

Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:49:00 +0000

Nelson Mandela's recent passing was greeted with near universal respect and admiration around the globe. Why? What makes Mandela special? What did Mandela achieve in his life? What is the legacy of Mandela' life and struggles for South Africa and the world? Why is Mandela so revered and admired from the halls of power to the smallest villages and poorest ghettos?

Join peoplesworld.org for a teleconference discussion of these questions and more:

The Life & Legacy of Nelson Mandela

Tuesday, December 17
8:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Central, 6:00 p.m. Mountain, 5:00 p.m. Pacific
Call (605) 475-4850
Dial 1053538# when prompted

(Long-distance charges may apply.)

You can also RSVP on Facebook

We invite you to join us Tuesday, December 17 for a special People's World teleconference presentation on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela. People's World co-editor Joe Sims and Communist Party International Secretary Emile Schepers with our host Dee Myles will discuss this historic and global figure in the fight for freedom.

Joe Sims has traveled frequently to South Africa since the unbanning of the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), and has written and reported extensively on South African developments. Sims is From Ohio and lives in New York City.

Emile Schepers is the International Secretary of the Communist Party USA. A veteran civil and immigrant rights activist, Schepers was born in South Africa and has a doctorate in cultural anthropology from Northwestern University. He worked as a researcher and activist in working-class communities in Chicago for 40 years and now lives in Northern Virginia.

Call in Dec 17 to join them in the discussion.

Send your questions to questions@peoplesworld.org during the presentation.

Further reading on Mandela's life and legacy:

CPUSA condolence message to the ANC, SACP & COSATU

Obituary from People's World

People's World editorial: Hail & Farewell Mandela

South African Communist Party statement

African National Congress press statement

Nelson Mandela - a memory

Everyday South Africans celebrate Mandela's life

Remembering Mandela in Detroit

Photo: Denis Farrell/AP

Boehner’s Christmas message to America’s jobless: Drop dead!

Thu, 12 Dec 2013 16:19:00 +0000

It was too much to take even for seven Republican members of the House today, as Congress neared a vote on a budget deal that fails to renew federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million jobless Americans. The seven Republicans joined Democrats trying to add that into the deal, throwing a lifeline to folks facing disaster Dec. 28 when their jobless benefits run out.

But House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ill., said "No!" He claimed extending jobless benefits would blow a $25 billion hole into the savings in the budget deal that the House was going to vote on.

No reasonable person can possibly justify such indifference and cruelty.

For many families hunger is just around the corner this Christmas because Boehner recently oversaw the deepest cuts ever in the food stamp program.

The callous indifference of the GOP leadership is made worse by the fact that there is only one job available for every three Americans out of work.

And failure to extend the benefits will guarantee that in 2014 another 4 million people will face the same fate that the 1.3 million face this week.

It amounts to putting a dagger in the heart of an economy still struggling to recover. Even the pro-corporate Wall Street Journal has cited a recent Economic Policy Institute report stating failure to extend benefits will subtract almost $40 billion from the economy next year and will actually result in a further addition of 339,000 people to the unemployment rolls. That's how many jobs could be created if the jobless were out there spending those extended benefits.

As it stands, the compromise budget unfortunately does nothing to create the many millions of jobs needed to end the unemployment disaster, and it does not close a single tax loophole currently enjoyed by the wealthy, well-fed 1 percent.

With not a single good economic, political or humane reason for doing so, Boehner has told this nation's jobless that they can drop dead. He does this to please a radical right cabal and its corporate backers who care nothing for people, democracy or even the nation itself.

What must be done is clear. We must continue to grow the movement of labor and all its allies that can turn this nation around. And in 2014, we must vote out of office Boehner and every other GOP lawmaker who is responsible for this inhumanity.

Photo: The expiration of unemployment benefits is going to increase the number of people unable to feed themselves. Pictured is a food pantry in suburban Illinois. WBEZ.org

Bipartisan budget deal announced

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 16:02:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - The chairs of the Senate and House budget committees, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), announced yesterday a budget deal that would increase spending by $63 billion through the end of the next fiscal year and would offset that spending with $86 billion in spending cuts and revenues over the next decade, yielding a net deficit reduction of $23 billion.

The spending increase of $63 billion is the total of a $45 billion increase for 2014 and an $18 billion increase for 2015.

The proposal needs to pass both the House and the Senate, but already in the House, it is drawing fire from the same right-wing crowd that forced a government shutdown in October.

The compromise does not raise taxes on the rich or provide money for rebuilding infrastructure, things backed by Democrats. On the other hand it made no additional cuts in Social Security or Medicare, things Republicans have been pushing for. It also fails to extend emergency federal unemployment benefits for 1.3 million whose benefits expire on Dec. 28.

Trying to sell the compromise to conservatives, Ryan said it is "a budget agreement that reduces spending without raising taxes" while easing the pain of "arbitrary" spending cuts of the sequester. "This agreement makes sure we don't have a shutdown in January and that we don't have one next October," said Ryan.

Many progressives, of course, are also unhappy about the deal.

"There is no reason to cheer an agreement that requires unwarranted pension cuts for federal workers, including VA nurses who earned that pension, underfunds nutrition programs and fails to extend assistance for the long-term unemployed," said National Nurses United co-president Jean Ross, RN. "Austerity budgetting, reflected in this latest deal, continues the disturbing focus by politicians in both parties in Washington, who should be fighting for jobs at living wages, restoration of the disgraceful cuts in food stamps, healtcare for all, housing assistance, and other human needs, not simply how to please Wall Street ande the banks," said Ross.

Others felt there was no choice but to compromise. "For far too long here in Washington D.C., compromise has been a dirty word when it comes to the budget," Murray said. "We have broken through the partisanship and gridlock and reached a bipartisan agreement that will prevent a government shutdown in January and roll back sequestration cuts. In trying to sell the compromise to progressives, Murray said, "The deal supports the principle that sequestration cuts shouldn't be replaced by spending cuts alone."

The liberal Center for American Progress saw the deal as "imperfect" but as a "good first step." "The Murray-Ryan budget agreement is far from perfect. It only partially repeals the damaging austerity of sequestration," the Center said in a statement. "It makes some unfortunate but inevitable choices about where to cut spending and raise revenue, choices owed to conservative refusal to close any tax loopholes. However, while these unhappy compromises had to be struck to make it happen, the deal is certainly a better choice than further damaging our economy with another full year of sequestration."

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO said that while the deal "provides temporary relief from sequestration budget cuts over the next two years, it does not represent the clean break with austerity that our economy so urgently needs.

"It is shocking that the Republicans have refused to include extension of unemployment benefits in the budget," he said.

Nevertheless, Trumka said Sen. Murray deserves applause "for resisting Republican demands to cut Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits, and food assistance for people with low incomes."

Murray herself wanted to go further than the deal she ended up signing off on. "I was disappointed that we were unable to close even a single corporate loophole," she said, when she discussed the deal after it was announced.

On unemployment benefits, Murray said House and Senate leaders would "continue to talk." She did not say whether there would be any separate votes on the extensions, however, raising speculation that any extension of benefits was already dead.

Photo: Scott Applewhite/AP

Overflow crowd at Peoples World celebration in New York

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 14:19:00 +0000

NEW YORK - The Friends of the People's World hosted its yearly fundraiser Dec. 8, the Better World Awards.

This year was an exceptional one; the Friends of the People's World hosted the event for an overflow audience at the Henry Winston Auditorium. Our Honorees were exceptional -- as they always are -- but being a participant at Sunday's event was truly special, special because one could envision a world without racism.

The diversity of the participants, black, brown and white of various ages, was absolutely wonderful; not only did it show the power of the movement that is changing the politics and economics of America but it showed too the idea that socialism is on the minds of many ordinary citizens.

Estevan Bassett-Nembhard, New York City organizer for the CPUSA, opened the event with the message, "Let it be said that, in the 2013 elections, voters in the five boroughs put the 1 percent on notice. Reaching consensus on jobs not jails, schools not corporate tax breaks. The voters of the city voted to move our city in a new direction." The audience broke out into chants of "Yes we can."

Joelle Fishman, host of the event and chair of CPUSA's Political Action Commission, introduced the honorees. "I am very honored and excited to be here today at the Better World Awards to share your celebration of the great election victory in New York that has captured the attention of the entire country," said Fishman. "This election is a victory over racism. It is a victory over stop and frisk. It is a victory over 20 years of direct Wall St. rule. But it is only a beginning. To realize the possibilities, everyone here has an important part to play going forward."

She then proceed to introduce and deliver the awards to Raglan George, Zakiyah Ansari and Lethy Liriano and the lifetime achievement award to Vinie Burrows and Ellen Perlo.

Bettie Smith, president of International Publishers, introduced Vinie Burrows, the accomplished actor who has given over 6,000 performances, on and off-Broadway. Burrows is a member of Dramatists Guild and representative for the Women's International Democratic Federation to the United Nations. Ms. Burrows paid tribute to Nelson Mandela.

"I object to the sanitizing of Mandela's militant beginnings in the papers of record," Burrows said. "Yes, he forgave his oppressors but after he defeated them."

Ellen Perlo's son, Art, spoke in loving admiration of his mother's life's work; a lifetime member of the Communist Party, working for a more just and peaceful world. While nourishing her passion for justice and equality she assisted her husband Victor -- world-renowned economist and author in researching and editing his work. At 98, she continues to produce art and participates in the work of the Party.

Honoree Lethy Liriano, thanked her parents for giving her direction which motivated her to graduate college and fulfill her dream. She is the Founder & Program Director of WHAM, the Washington Heights Artist Movement. WHAM provides the opportunity for children to pursue their dreams in the arts.

From humble beginnings to advocacy director with the New York State Alliance for Quality Education, to member of the new mayor of New York City, Bill De Blasio's transition team. Zakiyah Ansari, BWA honoree, told an extraordinary story of awareness and accomplishment.

Zakiyah was one of two New York City Coalition for Educational Justice parent leaders appointed to the City Council Task Force on Middle Schools. The Task Force led to recommendations adopted by the NYC Department of Education and the Campaign for Middle School Success. As a result, more than $30 million has gone to some of the lowest-performing middle grade schools to support school improvement efforts.

Executive Vice Chair of the CPUSA, Jarvis Tyner, introduced the keynote speaker, Raglan George, Jr., Executive Director of District Council 1707. Rags, as he is known, was born and raised in new York City and has been active in the labor movement for over 40 years.

His union represents childcare workers; those who are expected to give the very young their first or pre-school exposure to a well-rounded education.

He quoted Nelson Mandela: "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."

"We live in New York City." George said. "Millions of our children are being mis-educated and hundreds of thousands of our children have been unlawfully stopped and frisked and have been made sub-human by the authorities. New York City has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation for young people of color. Under the Bloomberg Administration the homeless rate has risen 13 percent."

He continued: "We applaud the election of Bill di Blasio, Tish James and Scott Stringer. Di Blasio's nearly fifty point vote over Republican Joe Lhota gives us a mandate that New Yorkers want safe, affordable and quality child care for our children. And we must do everything in our power to insure that the coming administration succeeds against the naysayers who continually want to diminish the public service sector. Di Blasio will be under tremendous pressure from capital, the right and the commercial press to mitigate his goals, but we must stay focused and support him."

The Awards given to the recipients read, simply:

"We ask for nothing that is not right, and herein lies the great power of our demand."

-Paul Robeson

Photo: Estevan Bassett-Nembhard opens the day's event. SmugMug/People's World

Officials call for further suspensions of deportations

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 11:27:00 +0000

A group of 29 members of the House of Representatives has sent a letter to President Obama asking that he respond to Republican obstructionism on immigration reform legislation, by suspending deportations on a massive scale. The letter, dated Dec. 5, was signed by a multiracial group of congresspersons, all Democrats.

The context is that it is appears more and more unlikely that the House of Representatives will pass any immigration reform legislation in 2013. Whether such legislation will be taken up in 2014, and how it will fare in the House of Representatives, where the Republicans have the majority and Speaker John Boehner adamantly refuses to allow a vote on any bill that does not have the support of a majority of the Republican House members (not merely of all members), is uncertain. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people are being deported every day, breaking up families, destroying the economic well being of both family members who are deported and those who are left behind, and doing nothing whatever that is positive for the wider society.

The argument that the 29 House members, supporting similar requests from 543 organizations including the AFL-CIO, the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the National Day Labor Organizing Network and United We Dream, is that it makes no sense that people who represent no threat to our country should continue to be deported at a fast clip simply because Congress can't get its act together.

Previously, the president had instructed I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to prioritize, for deportation processing, only persons who have criminal records or represent a threat to the community. Some people have managed to get relief through this, but not nearly as many as had been hoped, mostly because I.C.E. officials interpreted the criteria of eligibility too strictly. Then in 2012, the president announced the D.A.C.A. (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, whereby no deportation action is taken for young undocumented immigrants who had been brought here as minor children for their parents. This has been a more successful program, but leaves out a lot of categories of people. At the beginning of this year, the government announced an easier method for undocumented people who wish to regularize their status through their marriage to a U.S. citizen. This has potential to help thousands, but results are not in yet. This fall, the president announced that undocumented family members of people who serve, or have served, in the United States Armed Forces will have protection from deportation under a legal mechanism called "parole in place."

All these have been useful steps, yet do not help the bulk of the 11 million undocumented immigrants believed to be in the United States. So what the letter from the 29 congresspersons is asking is the following:

"The undersigned members of Congress respectfully request that you suspend any further deportations and expand the successful deferred action program to all those who would be potential U.S. citizens under immigration reform....."

Referring to Republican intransigence in the House, the letter goes on: "the senseless opposition that neither reflects the public will, nor the moral responsibility we hold, should not allow us to prolong the needless suffering of those who could so soon have their place in society fully recognized."

Other organizations advocate a stepwise expansion of deferred action protection, with an expansion of D.A.C.A. to cover parents of the young people protected under the program and also of U.S. citizen children.

The White House has claimed that the president does not have the authority to expand deferral of deportation to more categories of people. But an internal Homeland Security memo dated 2010 outlines a number of measures that can legally be taken.

Some have expressed fear that to do what the Congresspersons are asking would be to invite an attack by the Republican Party and would antagonize the public. Immigrants' rights activists point out that the Republicans are in hyper partisan attack mode anyway, on all issues, and that public opinion did not react negatively to previous steps to protect immigrants from deportation.

Signing the letter were the following congresspersons, all Democrats: Raul Grijalva (Arizona), Yvette Clarke (New York), Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), Tony Cardenas (California), John Delaney (Maryland), Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Eni Faleomavaega (American Samoa), Sam Farr (California), Alan Grayson (Florida), Luis Gutierrez (Illinois), Alcee Hastings (Florida), Filemon Vela (Texas), Eleanor Holmes-Norton (District of Colombia), Rush Holt (New Jersey), Michael Honda (California), Sheila Jackson-Lee (Texas), Barbara Lee (California), John Lewis (Georgia), Alan Lowenthal (California), Gwen Moore (Wisconsin), Grace Napolitano (California), Beto O'Rourke (Texas), Mark Pocan (Wisconsin), Charles Rangel (New York), Bobby L. Rush (Illinois), Jan Schakowsky (Illinois), Mark Takano (California), Dena Titus (Nevada) and Mark Veasey (Texas).

Photo: Labor unions and immigrant rights groups march on May Day in New York City, May 1, 2010. (Libero Della Piana/PW)

The curious case of Hobby Lobby

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 16:37:00 +0000

Can a for-profit corporation have religion? Can its religious feelings be hurt? If some of its employees take a pill to prevent pregnancy, does that violate the corporation's rights?

That's what's at issue in two cases the Supreme Court recently agreed to hear, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius.

Hobby Lobby is a giant hobby and craft supplies chain store with 578 stores and about 21,000 employees across the country. It brings in about $3 billion in revenue annually. Hobby Lobby was ranked 147 in Forbes' list of America's largest private corporations last year. Its owner, David Green, was ranked 90 in Forbes' list of the 400 richest people in America. Green makes a point of publicizing his strong Christian beliefs, and the chain makes much of the fact that it is closed on Sundays and pays above minimum wage because of its owner's religious beliefs.

Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., a cabinet-making business, has 1,000 employees in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Washington State. Its owners, Norman Hahn and his family, are Mennonites. Unlike Hobby Lobby, Conestoga's owners do not broadcast their religious views on their website.

But both corporations have challenged the Affordable Care Act's requirement that employers of more than 50 employees provide their workers with health insurance that covers basic preventative care including equal, free access to contraception. The Obama administration added an exemption for churches and nonprofit religious organizations. That did not apply to for-profit, secular corporations like Hobby Lobby or Conestoga.

Hobby Lobby and Conestoga currently cover contraceptives in their employee health plans, but Green and Hahn do not want to cover certain types of birth control - specifically "Plan B" and similar "morning after" pills that, they claim, prevent a fertilized egg from being implanted in the womb and developing into a fetus. The owners consider this a type of abortion, which they oppose on religious grounds. But they are wrong about these drugs, according to prominent medical experts. These experts have filed a "friend of the court" brief showing that such pills simply prevent fertilization of an egg in the first place - in other words, they just prevent conception, like other birth control methods. They do not cause any sort of abortion.

Why is this important?

Consider that obstructing and overturning "Obamacare," as the 2010 law has become known, has been a top campaign of the Republican Party and especially its tea party wing from the get-go. It was front and center in the Republicans' recent shutdown of the federal government.

In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld a core part of the Affordable Care Act, the "mandate" that requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. That ruling by the right-dominated court, led by right-winger Chief Justice John Roberts, was seen as a politically motivated effort by Roberts to salvage the court's declining reputation as well as his own. But it infuriated opponents of the health reform law.

These new challenges, seemingly limited in scope, are being trumpeted by right-wing sources as a crusade for religious freedom in the face of an oppressive secular government. It fits right in with the far-right campaign to discredit not only the Obama administration, but any attempt at regulation of corporate power in the public interest. Hobby Lobby is being represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Among this fund's board of directors are J. Kenneth Blackwell, the Republican former Ohio secretary of state denounced by Ohioans for obstructing and suppressing the vote in 2004; the president of the Catholic University of America; and figures connected with a range of right-wing think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, Stanford's Hoover Institution, the Manhattan Institute and the Witherspoon Institute.

In the Supreme Court's notorious 2010 Citizens United decision, the court ruled that corporations have the same right as people to freedom of speech and can therefore do unrestricted political spending. Now, the court will decide if corporations have the same right as people to free exercise of religion, including the right to be exempt from regulations like a church or other religious institution. Lower courts have taken opposite stances on the hot question.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby's challenge to the health care law, saying the law would force Hobby Lobby to choose between paying catastrophic fines or "violating its religious beliefs."

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Conestoga's challenge to the coverage requirement, saying, "[T]he law has long recognized the distinction between the owners of a corporation and the corporation itself. A holding to the contrary - that a for-profit corporation can engage in religious exercise - would eviscerate the fundamental principle that a corporation is a legally distinct entity from its owners." It continued, "We simply cannot understand how a for-profit, secular corporation - apart from its owners - can exercise religion."

"The Hahn family chose to incorporate and conduct business through Conestoga, thereby obtaining both the advantages and disadvantages of the corporate form," the court said, noting, "the free exercise claims of a company's owners cannot pass through to the corporation."

New York Times legal expert Linda Greenhouse writes, "There's a powerful argument to be made, both in policy and law, that an employer of any faith or no faith who chooses to enter the secular marketplace can't pick and choose which rules to follow."

A blogger at the Akron, Ohio, Beacon Journal asks a question that many people are worrying about: "If Hobby Lobby, a for-profit, non-religious, corporation can be excluded from compliance to law on the basis of 'compelling biblical principles,' why would any other for-profit corporation not be able to do the same....over any law they didn't like?"

The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on these cases in March 2014 and issue rulings in June.

Photo: Nicholas Eckhart CC 2.0

Ban Tasers in Texas schools, groups demand

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 15:29:00 +0000

AUSTIN, Tex. - In the wake of an incident in which a Bastrop deputy immobilized a Texas high school student on school grounds with a stun gun, leaving him hospitalized and in a coma, a coalition of civil rights and social justice organizations are asking the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to end use of so-called "less-than-lethal weapons" in school districts statewide.

These groups are asking the nine-member Commission to create and implement new standards barring the use of Tasers, stun guns, and pepper spray on Texas students. View their letter to the commission here.

"Tragic incidents like this one demonstrate why the state should not grant police free rein to wield weapons in schools for the apparent purpose of maintaining order," said Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas. "Schools should be safe havens from this type of police use of force. I hope the commission will heed our call to end use of Tasers and pepper spray."

On Nov. 20, a member of the Bastrop County Sheriff's department "tased" Noe Nino de Rivera, a 17-year-old student at Cedar Creek High School, causing de Rivera to fall and hit his head, after which he was airlifted to an Austin hospital where he remains in a medically-induced coma.

According to eyewitness accounts, de Rivera was not involved in the fight that the deputy was attempting to stop when he used the stun gun on the boy; in fact, de Rivera was trying to stop the fight.

"In this post-Sandy Hook era, everyone is cognizant of the need to keep schools and students safe, however there are far more effective ways to maintain order in schools that do not pose such a high risk to students," said Texas Appleseed Deputy Director Deborah Fowler. "We need a statewide policy on use of force in schools that makes it clear that Tasers, stun guns, and pepper spray are inappropriate to use on children. And, if we are going to increase the number of school safety officers, it is imperative that officers are adequately trained."

In September, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would provide $45 million in funding for additional school safety officers across the country. Texas received approximately $2 million of that funding.

The request to the state commission outlines the potential physical harm posed by Tasers, which pack a shock of up to 50,000 volts and are designed for use on adults engaged in criminal or potentially violent activity, not children. The letter also highlights the physical dangers of pepper spray-also used in some Texas schools-and points out that its use on children is widely condemned by medical experts.

Co-signees on the letter include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas, Disability Rights Texas, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Texans Care for Children, Texas Appleseed, and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC).

Photo: UCLA students protest use of Tasers by police on campus, Nov. 17, 2006. (Michael Linder, KNX)

1.3 million jobless could go over the cliff Dec. 28

Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:34:00 +0000

CHICAGO - Regina Elbe has a Bachelor's degree and 15 years solid experience working as an administrative assistant at a bank office in the Loop. She has filed 112 job applications since losing her job June 15 and hasn't been able to find a new job.

Elbe, 36, lives in the Bridgeport neighborhood here and, at a coffee shop on South Halsted St., said today that she lives with her brother who works part time at a Subway sandwich shop in town and her mother who collects a small Social Security check. Elbe, whose unemployment benefits run out this month, said, "I was once the main breadwinner but now we are not really able to make ends meet."

The Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which has provided support to millions who lost their jobs during the recent economic hard times, is set to expire Dec. 28, 2013.

Job openings and labor turnover data released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the ratio of job seekers to job openings remained in October at 3 to 1, which is about equal to the worst month of the early 2000s downturn. It means that for two out of every three job seekers, there are no jobs available, no matter what they do.

To make matters worse, since the beginning of the recession, seven states have cut their jobless benefits to less than 26 weeks, which is the level where those benefits have been since the 1950's.

Unless Congress acts there will be a cutoff of unemployment checks to 1.3 million unemployed people, crushing them under a double blow in the states that have already cut benefits. Those states have cut anywhere from one to 14 weeks of benefits and include Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois and Arkansas. Some states have also made it more difficult to qualify for benefits and have decreased the size of their checks as well.

In addition to the 1.3 million who would lose their benefits immediately, the ending of federal benefits would affect 3.5 million more jobless Americans by the end of 2014. That, according to President Obama, is how many unemployed people are still expected to be job hunting after their state benefits expire. The president used his weekly address last Saturday to demand that Congress extend the benefits.

"For many families this can be the difference between hardship and catastrophe. Last year alone it lifted 2.5 million people out of poverty, and cushioned the blow for many more," the president said. Obama also said that failure to extend the benefits would "harm the economy itself. Unemployment insurance is one of the best ways to boost the economy," he said.

Republicans, as expected, don't see it the way the president does.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) argued that unemployment benefits shouldn't be extended for the jobless, saying they "do a disservice" to the unemployed.

"When you allow people to be on unemployment insurance for 99 weeks, you're causing them to be part of this perpetual unemployed group in our economy," he said, ignoring completely the fact that job seekers overwhelmingly outnumber the jobs available.

Democrats in the Senate and the House have introduced bills that would extend the federal benefits for another year.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that a one-year extension of jobless benefits would actually amount to a full-fledged jobs program, adding some 200,000 jobs to the economy as a result of the stimulative effect of the money in people's pockets.

Photo: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined by Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., left, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., right, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, to discuss the unfinished work of Congress at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 5. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Seattle elects socialist to city council

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 15:57:00 +0000

SEATTLE - Seattle voters shocked the political establishment here, Nov. 5, when they elected an avowed socialist, Kshama Sawant, to the nine-member Seattle City Council.

All council members in this city are elected non-partisan and at-large. So Sawant's 51 percent victory over 16-year incumbent councilman, Richard Conlin, was seen as an indication of a shift to the left among voters citywide.

Sawant racked up 60 percent margins in the Central District, Seattle's historically Black community, the International District with heavy concentrations of Asian American voters, and in Wallingford, adjacent to the University District. She scored 55 percent or higher in the University District home of the University of Washington. She also won above 55 percent in Fremont and Ballard, the center of Scandinavian American voters, and in Beacon Hill, a solidly working class district south of downtown.

Underlining the class split in the vote, Conlin won in the "outer ring" neighborhoods, Laurelhurst, Magnolia, Montlake, Sand Point, and West Seattle. Conlin was the lone "No" vote on mandatory sick leave for Seattle workers; he advocates outlawing panhandling and has supported the redlining of low-income mortgage borrowers in Seattle.

Sawant was born in India and moved to the United States after graduating from college when her husband was hired by Microsoft. She is an economics professor at Seattle Central Community College. When Seattle police evicted the Occupy Wall Street encampment from Westlake Park, she arranged for the camp to move to the campus where she teaches. Sawant, herself, was an organizer for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Sawant made the fight for a $15 per hour minimum wage the centerpiece of her campaign. The issue is so popular that voters in SeaTac, home of the Seattle-Tacoma airport, put an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour on the ballot. It was approved by a razor thin margin. Enemies of the increase are now challenging it in court and a recount is expected. Already, Washington State has the highest minimum wage in the nation with increases pegged to the rising cost of living. Currently $9.19 an hour, it is set to rise to $9.32 in January.

Sawant also campaigned for rent control in the city. She called for a "millionaires tax" to curb income inequality and ease the fiscal crisis in Washington State where there is no income tax, only a regressive 8.5 percent sales tax. She denounced police brutality and police use of lethal force in Seattle. And she campaigned for immigration reform.

She is a member of the Socialist Alternative party, followers of Leon Trotsky. The labor leadership in the U.S. she has stated, "has completely betrayed the working class. They are hand in glove with the Democratic Party .... and they tell the workers that you have to be happy with these crumbs."

She charges that the "Democratic Party pays lip service to workers' needs. In reality both the Democrats and Republicans serve the interests of a tiny financial aristocracy."

Yet already questions are being asked about these statements that run so counter to the spirit of unity that put her in office. Thanh Tan, a widely respected columnist in Seattle, writing in the Seattle Times blog, declared, "Having an immigrant woman of color join the Seattle City Council is a powerful symbolic feat. Sawant has injected new energy into Seattle politics.... If she wants to be effective, though, she has to convince at least four other council members to support any rule change she puts on the table."

Serving on the city council, Tan continues, goes beyond making speeches. "It's also about governing, building coalitions and counting votes that matter."

Tan is warning Sawant that, by herself, she will not be able to achieve any of the goals she advocates. To win, she will need allies and coalition partners in a broad-based movement that includes the leadership and membership of the Washington State labor movement. The battle is so intense, some say, it amounts to outright class war against workers being carried out by the Tea Party Republicans here, and in those struggles, many Democrats are allies of the labor movement.

A few weeks ago, a reporter asked incumbent Seattle mayor, Mike McGinn, his view of the SeaTac minimum wage initiative. McGinn said he fully supports it. Not to be outdone, McGinn's challenger, State Senator, Ed Murray, said he supports a $15 minimum wage not just at SeaTac but for all Seattle workers. Murray won the election. He is now "Mayor-elect" of the Emerald City. He is a Democrat. The broad movement to win a citywide, $15 minimum wage will be mobilizing in the streets for the $15 minimum wage to help Murray remember that he supports that demand. If he keeps his promise he will be regarded as a crucial ally by overworked, underpaid workers everywhere.

As for the Republicans, they will be working overtime to block any increase in the minimum wage or any of the other reforms urged by Sawant. The first rule of smart politics is: "Know your friends; Know your enemy."

Photo: Kshama Sawant, right, speaks outside Seattle City Council chambers about her support for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour for all workers in the city. Ted S. Warren/AP

San Jose residents push for developer fee to fund affordable housing

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 12:52:00 +0000

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Over 160 people packed a hall Dec. 4 at Sacred Heart Community Services to press city council members, Madison Nguyen and Sam Liccardo, to support imposing a fee on developers to fund affordable housing. The meeting was organized by Sacred Heart's Housing Action Committee, a diverse group of residents fighting for affordable housing in a city where renting a modest two-bedroom apartment requires a six-figure income.

Jolene Jones, co-emcee of the event, pointed out that San Jose has the highest housing rental cost of any city in the country, exceeding even Manhattan and Honolulu. San Jose also has the dubious distinction of having the fourth-largest homeless population in the United States-8,000 according to the Census count, but in reality, as Liccardo pointed out, more likely around 12,000-13,000.

The California Redevelopment Agency formerly supplied as much as $20 million a year for affordable housing here. The agency was dismantled in 2011, leaving people seeking affordable housing in the lurch. Bills to reinstate redevelopment funds in some form have been vetoed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown.

Housing advocates won a first victory this year when the city council voted to fund a so-called "Nexus study," demonstrating a link (nexus) between new market-rate housing and the need for affordable housing.

"Every family that moves into market rate housing creates a need for teachers, firefighters, workers at the grocery store, and others who can't afford market-rate housing," explained Jones.

Because of this, several California cities, including San Francisco, Fremont and Berkeley, have imposed fees on builders of new market-rate housing to fund the affordable housing that new market-rate construction makes necessary. Now that the facts are in, it's up to the city council here to pass a similar measure.

The measure needs six votes to pass. Thus far, four council members have expressed support and four said they oppose it with two - Nguyen and Liccardo - uncommitted. They were invited to this forum because they must supply the two additional votes.

"Without their yes votes there is literally no plan for affordable housing," Jones told the crowd. "The developers and the Chamber of Commerce have the money, but we have something much more powerful. There's power in numbers."

Liccardo and Nguyen both have a history of supporting affordable housing and other social justice issues, but they are also seen as allied to business interests. They both strongly supported a pension-slashing measure for city employees that passed last year after the mayor warned residents that they would face sharp cuts in city services if the measure failed.

Several participants gave moving testimony on the personal devastation wrought by the local housing market. Claire O'Neil told of how her husband joined the military because it was the only way he could provide health coverage for his family-which disappeared when he was discharged because of injuries he suffered in Iraq. Though both had advanced training and supposedly marketable skills-she in fashion technology and retail management and he as an EMT and auto mechanic-the only jobs they have been able to find are low-level retail that don't pay enough for housing; they have been living for six years in her parents' house, in a living room off the kitchen where they have no privacy.

Another speaker, Bruce Roberts, was lucky enough to find affordable housing in a facility for seniors and people with disabilities. "For me, housing means survival," he said-he has a form of sleep apnea that is life threatening unless he sleeps with special medical apparatus.

Jones, likewise, showed herself a victim of the housing crisis. She has a debilitating condition that allows her to work only 20 hours a week. She tried to get a Section 8 voucher for a rent subsidy, only to find that the waitlist had been closed with 58,000 people still waiting. Other option for affordable housing likewise failed.

"I am being priced out of the city that nurtured me," she said, "Council members, there's something that can be done here and now. What specifically will you do to champion this issue?"

Both Nguyen and Liccardo expressed strong support for an impact fee. When pressed, however, whether they would push for the highest possible fee for each type of new housing construction, they waffled somewhat. Nguyen said that they needed to be careful not to kill the goose-meaning the developers-that lays the golden eggs. Liccardo, a proponent of (market-rate) high-rise housing in mass transit corridors, not only indicated that he wants to keep fees low on such construction (or exempt it entirely), but also was indefinite on what fees he would allow for smaller rental buildings.

Both council members, however, urged the group to continue pressuring city hall to act on this issue. Both declared themselves ready to meet again, and Liccardo said, "I look forward to continuing this struggle with you."

Photo: PW/Henry Millstein

Remembering Mandela in Detroit: You are my friends and comrades

Fri, 06 Dec 2013 15:57:00 +0000

The following is a Facebook status post by Armando Ramirez about the 1990 visit of Nelson Mandela to Detroit, and a comment on the post by April Smith who saw Mandela speak at Tiger Stadium, in June 1990. We invite all our readers to send in any remembrances you may have about the anti-apartheid struggle or Nelson Mandela. Email us at editors@peoplesworld.org. Amandla!

After Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, he was invited to visit Detroit by the mayor, Coleman Young. When he arrived, a rally was prepared for him to meet with the people of Detroit. The rally was not held in a fancy hotel ballroom or at a sports stadium or at a millionaire's home. It was held at the giant Ford Rouge Complex, in the building where Ford Mustangs were assembled. After the mayor introduced all the political, corporate and union officials, he finally introduced Mandela. One of the first things that Mandela said was how glad he was to be with the workers of Detroit. "You are my friends and allies. You are my comrades."

At that time the Ford Rouge Complex had over 18,000 workers there. Only a few hundred were lucky enough to be present at this rally for Mandela. I was asked to be part of the Honor Guard for Mandela. It was a great honor for me, something I'll never forget.

April Smith:

Then at Tiger Stadium, which was packed to the max, he began the rally with, "Mother, mother, there's too many of you cryin'. Brother, brother, there's too many of you dyin'." The place erupted!

Photo: Nelson Mandela addresses the crowds at Tiger Stadium during his visit to Detroit, Michigan. Directly behind him stands his longtime supporter, UAW President Owen Bieber. At left is UAW Vice-President Marc Stepp. (Daymon J. Hartley/copyrighted/No reproduction without the permission of the owner)

Amistad Awards inspire unity and struggle

Fri, 06 Dec 2013 13:04:00 +0000

NEW HAVEN, CONN. -- From the opening video and drumming to the remarks of the awardees, songs, youth slide show and finale, an atmosphere of unity and optimism inspired the entire multi-racial audience at the 2013 People's World Amistad Awards, held in the auditorium of Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School.

Taking off from the event's theme of "Marching On for Jobs, Freedom & Peace," a thread throughout the afternoon was solidarity with nurses and tech caregivers at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London who had been locked out the night before.

In his closing remarks Rev. Scott Marks brought the crowd to its feet as he called for door-to-door organizing that will "move forward" the fight for jobs and other needs. "I will not go back!" he exclaimed passionately.

Marks and all the awardees praised the vision and work of the Communist Party in their communities. The event was held on the occasion of the CPUSA's 94th anniversary.

Former state Senator Ed Gomes, a steelworker, state representative Edwin Vargas, a teacher, and

Laurie Kennington, president of Local 34 clerical and technical workers at Yale all accepted large framed posters of the Amistad statue that stands in front of New Haven City Hall, cheered on by family, friends, co-workers, elected officials and union and community leaders.

"They're trying to turn the working class into the working poor and the only ones who will stop it are people like you in this room," said Gomes, recalling his years working at Carpenter Steel in Local 2216 United Steel Workers in Bridgeport. It was enjoyable to serve in the Senate, he said, but his best experience was union organizing. He urged everyone to keep the pressure on elected officials to meet people's needs.

Stationed at Walter Reed Hospital at the time of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Gomes went to the rally. The experience changed his life. Gomes was among those featured in a video produced by AFT Connecticut shown as the audience arrived.

Rep. Edwin Vargas, who taught in the Hartford public schools for 35 years, serving as union president for part of that time, and in many national, state and local positions in union and Puerto Rican community organizations said that while he has received many awards, this one has special meaning because "this is an award from people who are the hard core of the movement."

Quoting Che Guevara that "the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love," Vargas elaborated on the fact that justice cannot be achieved without peace.

In his first term in the legislature this year, Vargas played a key role as a member of the Commerce Committee to win passage of a Commission on Connecticut's Future. The Commission includes labor, peace and environment representatives along with business, industry and education professionals and is mandated to study how the state's economy can be transitioned to production other than military, the predominant industry in Connecticut for decades.

Laurie Kennington, president of Local 34 Unite Here clerical and technical workers at Yale, likened the attack on L & M workers to actions by Yale and other corporate health centers in Connecticut that are sub-contracting work to non-union firms. "It could be divisive because health care workers are represented by different unions," she said, referring to AFT, 1199, AFSCME and Local 34. "But in this state I know we will come together." she said.

Praising the work of New Elm City Dream and the YCL over the last two years for jobs for youth and jobs for all, Kennington urged a commitment to fight unemployment in New Haven, and explained how everyone is affected. "The great wages that Local 34 members earn now have to cover more family members as husbands lose jobs and children come back home to live."

Local 34 along with sister locals 35 and GESO at Yale have been instrumental in encouraging and helping elect a majority of union members to the New Haven Board of Alders, and in electing Toni Harp as the first woman African American mayor. Harp was an Amistad Award recipient in 2012. The Alders have adopted the priorities of the community for jobs, the needs of youth and safe streets.

Kennington recognized her parents who had traveled from Durham, North Carolina to be present, and expressed her pride at the fact that they had been among the nearly 1,000 arrested during Moral Monday protests of right-wing legislation this summer.

The afternoon was punctuated by a youth rendition of Live Every Voice and Sing directed by Jill Marks, Puerto Rican music by Sonia Castro, Chilean songs by Juan and Rebecca Brito, and a rousing finale by Michael Mills Rhythms of the Heart drumming which involved the entire audience.

A highlight of the event was a slide show presented by the Young Communist League and New Elm City Dream with photos of the work and organizing for jobs they have carried out over the last two years.

The Amistad Awards are presented annually by the People's World on the occasion of the anniversary of the Communist Party USA.

"The People's World Amistad Awards lift up those who are marching on to inspire our movement to think bigger together and reach higher together," said Joelle Fishman, chair of the Connecticut CPUSA, in opening the program. She led a crowd chant of "People before Profits."

Caption: Fatima Rojas, UniteHere Local 215 organizer and former Amistad recipient, presents awards to Ed Gomes, Edwin Vargas and Laurie Kennington, while John Olsen, president emeritas Conn. AFL-CIO, looks on from back row. PW/Henry Lowendorf

Obama: Collective bargaining can close the income gap

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 13:51:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (PAI)-In a wide-ranging speech on the state of the economy, President Obama took sharp aim at income inequality, citing the growing gulf between the rich and the rest of us. And he declared that strengthening collective bargaining is one way to close that gap. But the president didn't stop there. Since Republicans hate his solutions, he challenged them to come up with their own ideas to help the middle class.

Obama's speech yesterday was his most detailed ever on the ways income inequality harms individuals, hurts the economy and destroys trust in both institutions and the nation as a whole. It also ends upward mobility, he declared.

To solve the problem, President Obama laid out a "roadmap" of principles to close the income and wealth gap and pledged to keep fighting for them for the rest of his term.

And he said, to applause, that one part of that roadmap is "to ensure our collective bargaining laws function as they're supposed to so unions have a level playing field to organize for a better deal for workers and better wages for the middle class.

"It's time to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act so that women will have more tools to fight pay discrimination," he added. "It's time to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act so workers can't be fired for who they are or who they love," Obama added, also to applause for both.

The Republican-run House has, since the president took office, reflexively opposed anything and everything he has proposed. That includes extending federal unemployment benefits, which are scheduled to end at the end of December. With joblessness still above 7 percent, Obama's speech included demanding their extension.

"Christmastime is no time for Congress to tell more than 1 million Americans that they have lost their unemployment insurance, which is what will happen if Congress does not act before they leave on their holiday vacation," he declared.

Overall, Obama said, "what drives me as a grandson, a son, a father-as an American-is to make sure that every striving, hardworking, optimistic kid in America has the same incredible chance that this country gave me," he declared, to applause. "It has been the driving force behind everything we've done these past five years. And over the course of the next year, and for the rest of my presidency, that's where you should expect my administration to focus all our efforts.

"Many of the ideas that can make the biggest difference in expanding opportunity I've presented before. But let me offer a few key principles, just a roadmap I believe should guide us in both our legislative agenda and our administrative efforts," he said.

The principles include a relentless "growth agenda," though Obama warned growth alone would not guarantee higher wages and incomes. In another part of the speech, he pointed out that when he graduated high school, the average CEO earned 20 times to 30 times the income that a median worker.

Now the CEO earns 270 times the median, and the wealthiest one percent of the U.S. controls half of all U.S. wealth, the president pointed out.

"But what's also true is we can't tackle inequality if the economic pie is shrinking or stagnant. The fact is if you're a progressive and you want to help the middle class and the working poor, you've still got to be concerned about competitiveness and productivity and business confidence that spurs private sector investment. That's why from day 1 we've worked to get the economy growing and help our businesses hire." The result is eight million new jobs since the recession bottomed out, Obama stated.

"And now we've got to grow the economy even faster. We've got to keep working to make America a magnet for good, middle-class jobs" in factories, energy, infrastructure and technology "to replace the ones that we've lost in recent decades."

Growing the economy will also require simplifying the corporate tax code and eliminating loopholes and dumping the across-the-board budget cuts, called sequestration, the GOP-run House imposed two years ago, he said. And it means concentrating on the "opportunity deficit," not the budget deficit. The latter deficit is shrinking as the economy recovers, Obama noted.

Other steps in Obama's roadmap include widening educational opportunity - from curbing rising college costs to increasing community college education to more extensive preschool - and raising the minimum wage. Earlier this year, the GOP-run House rejected a Democratic proposal to raise the minimum to $10.50 hourly.

"There are airport workers, and fast-food workers, and nurse assistants, and retail salespeople who work their tails off and are still living at or barely above poverty. And that's why it's well past the time to raise a minimum wage that in real terms right now is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office," Obama said.

"This shouldn't be an ideological question. It was Adam Smith, the father of free-market economics, who once said, 'They who feed, clothe, and lodge the whole body of the people should have such a share of the produce of their own labor as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed, and lodged.' And for those of you who don't speak old-English, let me translate. It means if you work hard, you should make a decent living. If you work hard, you should be able to support a family."

And the president directly took on the GOP, whose answer for his policies has been tax cuts for the rich and budget and benefit cuts for everyone else.

"Let me end by addressing the elephant in the room here, which is the seeming inability to get anything done in Washington these days," Obama said. "I realize we are not going to resolve all of our political debates over the best ways to reduce inequality and increase upward mobility this year, or next year, or in the next five years. But it is important that we have a serious debate about these issues.

"The longer that current trends are allowed to continue, the more it will feed the cynicism and fear that many Americans are feeling right now-that they'll never be able to repay the debt they took on to go to college, they'll never be able to save enough to retire, they'll never see their own children land a good job that supports a family.

"And that's why, even as I will keep on offering my own ideas for expanding opportunity, I'll also keep challenging and welcoming those who oppose my ideas to offer their own. If Republicans have concrete plans that will actually reduce inequality, build the middle class, provide more ladders of opportunity to the poor, let's hear them. I want to know what they are.

"If you don't think we should raise the minimum wage, let's hear your idea to increase people's earnings," he challenged. "If you don't think every child should have access to preschool, tell us what you'd do differently to give them a better shot.

"If you still don't like Obamacare-and I know you don't-even though it's built on market-based ideas of choice and competition in the private sector, then you should explain how, exactly, you'd cut costs, and cover more people, and make insurance more secure. You owe it to the American people to tell us what you are for, not just what you're against," the president said in his dare to his foes.

Pro-worker economist Larry Mishel, head of the Economic Policy Institute, mostly praised Obama's speech. Mishel also noted Obama said the income divide, despite popular perceptions, is one of class, not race. After calling for empowering workers, Mishel said Obama "followed this with recommendations to strengthen collective bargaining, achieve pay equity for women, rebuild manufacturing and raise the minimum wage. He noted the need to continue to combat racial discrimination while also asserting the increased prominence of class as a determinant of well being.

Photo: AP

Medina, other immigration reform fasters, step aside for reinforcements

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:39:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (PAI) - Saying their 22-day "fast for families" to demand Congress approve comprehensive immigration reform had gotten worldwide attention, former Service Employees Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina and his fasting colleagues ended their D.C. vigil by handing off the fast to a group of successors.

The fast drew continued attention to the issue, and support from Democrats all the way up to President Obama, who visited the fasters in their tent at the foot of Capitol Hill on Dec. 1. But it did not budge the decision-makers it targeted: the anti-immigrant, anti-Hispanic GOP majority in the U.S. House.

Those lawmakers had no reaction whatsoever to the fast. And House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who keeps comprehensive reform bottled up so his colleagues cannot vote on it, didn't even reply to the fasters' invitation to come and talk.

Medina stepped down as SEIU's secretary-treasurer several months ago to concentrate on convincing Congress to approve comprehensive immigration reform. That includes a 13-year-long path to eventual citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented people, including 7.5 million undocumented workers, in the U.S.

Comprehensive immigration reform is important to workers, both undocumented and native. That's because venal, vicious and law-breaking employers exploit the undocumented through low pay, no pay, and denial of their rights. When workers try to organize or stand up for themselves, the firms call in immigration agents to deport them.

And those same companies also threaten native-born workers with firing - and replacement by the undocumented - unless the U.S.-born workers agree to wage cuts, benefit cuts, a reduced standard of living, and no organizing.

Comprehensive reform, however, would let the undocumented apply for "blue cards" - a residence card - while they take English classes and satisfy other requirements, according to the comprehensive bill the Senate passed earlier. And it would immediately bring the undocumented under U.S. labor law protection.

Medina "handed over" his fast to Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., and the Rev. Jim Wallis of Sojourners. In a joint statement, Medina and his fellow fasters said "we fasted in the shadow of the Capitol to call attention to the human suffering caused by our broken immigration system. We believe we have raised awareness about families being ripped apart by deportations, immigrants dying in the desert and millions of people living in fear every day.

"However, Speaker Boehner is not listening. He has failed to act and move forward with immigration reform legislation. Several times we invited the speaker to meet with us to discuss ways we can come together and fix a system that takes such a terrible human toll. He has not responded. We still hold hope that he will find it in his heart to make his words real when he said immigration reform is not absolutely dead."

The labor movement still strongly supports comprehensive reform and the fasters, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, speaking just before the ceremonial end to the fast, told the packed crowd outside the fast tent.

"All of us coming together - faith leaders, labor, community leaders, young people - can win, will win and will get this legislation passed," she declared.

Medina and the other fasters, supported and escorted by their friends and colleagues - including SEIU President Mary Kay Henry - weakly walked to the center carpet behind the mike and sat patiently waiting for the symbolic end of their fast: Bread and liquids offered by two Catholic prelates, including Cardinal Emeritus Theodore McCarrick of D.C. They then left, with their escorts, for a medical checkup.

Photo: Weak after 22 days of fasting these immigration reform activists ended their own personal fasts yesterday but made way for replacements who will continue the vigil for passage by Congress of comprehensive immigration reform. From left to right, Cristian Avila of Mi Familia Vota, Dae Jung Yoon, with the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium, and longtime labor leader Eliseo Medina, all of whom fasted for 22 days. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Detroit bankruptcy: Revenue, not spending, the problem

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 17:26:00 +0000

DETROIT - Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes ruled today that Detroit, once home to almost two million people and responsible for producing one half of the world's cars, was insolvent and unable to provide basic services, making it the largest municipality in the country eligible for a Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing. He made that ruling even while saying the city did not bargain in good faith with its creditors.

His ruling will cause concern for the 23,500 retired city workers collecting pension benefits. Though their pensions are protected by the Michigan state constitution, Rhodes ruled they are not protected in a federal bankruptcy court.

However, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr should feel some restraint. While Rhodes ruled pensions can be cut he also indicated he will not approve a plan with steep cuts and won't approve pension cuts unless the entire plan is "fair and equitable."

Of course what is fair and equitable for the average pensioner making less than $19,000 a year and what is fair for Wall St Banks are two separate things.

Michigan Council 25 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the city's largest employee union, filed an immediate appeal on the ruling to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The union also plans to ask Rhodes to allow the case to be sent directly to the 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals to expedite the case.

Regarding the controversial idea of selling city assets including works of art from the world renowned Detroit Institute of Art, and the city's water and sewage utility, Rhodes noted the sales of city assets would not address the long-term issues of the city. One-time infusions of cash won't fix things, he said.

A regular cash flow is what the city needs. A report released three weeks ago by Demos, an economic research and policy center caused quite a stir when it concurred and said revenue, not spending, is the city's number one problem. It pointed out that contrary to popular opinion, city spending has declined over the last five years but its expenses have increased.

Further, the report noted, an exodus of jobs and loss of tax base devastated Detroit. The number of employed Detroit residents "fell by 53 percent from 2000 through 2012." On top of that crisis was another: the city was particularly hard hit by the foreclosure crisis.

AFSCME District Council 25 President Al Garret recently hammered on another problem: hundreds of millions in state aid were withdrawn over last decade. The city only gets about half as much revenue as it did 10 years ago.

Pensioners are right to be angry: Cuts for them, obscene profits for banks, and exorbitant incomes for CEO's. Rev. Charles Williams II, President of the Michigan Chapter of the National Action Network, pointed out one more indignity in a press release today. Money is not tight for all. "Governor Snyder and Kevyn Orr put together a package to spend millions on a hockey arena just weeks ago in Detroit."

Photo: United Autoworkers members protest extreme wealth gap and corporate greed. (PW/John Rummel)

GOP blocks immigration reform

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 13:21:00 +0000

As the year 2013 draws to an end, the fight for immigrants' rights, and especially for the legalization of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants believed to be in the United States, continues. There is intense activity at the base, small advances in the executive field, but more or less a complete bottleneck in the legislative efforts. That bottleneck has a name: John Boehner.

During the summer, many labor and community organizations exerted pressure on Republican members of the House of Representatives, to get them to agree in principle to legalization with citizenship. The balance of power in the House is currently 200 Democrats versus 232 Republicans, so it was necessary for 25 or so Republicans to pledge support (remember that although most Democrats support legalization of the undocumented, not all do. This means that even more Republicans have to be won over). According to reports, this objective may have been achieved .

However, the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has stated that he will follow the "Hastert Rule" named for his predecessor, John Hastert, who refused to let any legislation come up for a vote that does not have a support of the majority of Republican members of the House. So Boehner has either to be backed down, or 217 signatures of House members have to be got for a "petition to discharge", which allows a direct vote of the whole House without going through committees. Now, there are only 5 work days in the House until it adjourns on December 13, so prospect of getting any legislation done this year is increasingly doubtful. But immigrants' rights activists are not giving up.

Among supporters of progressive immigration reform there is basic unity as to goals, including legalization of the undocumented with full rights for all, but there are some divergences of opinion on strategy and tactics.

Some are understandably pessimistic about a legislative fix, and therefore are concentrating on pressuring the Obama administration to expand the categories of people who will be temporarily protected from arrest and deportation. There has been some progress. On November 15 President Obama extended the DACA program, which defers deportation for "dreamers", young people who were brought here without papers when they were minors, to members of military families, using the legal mechanism of "Parole in Place."

This has raised hopes that more people could be brought under such protection which, without giving anybody a green card and a path to citizenship, at least allows them to live and work in the United States without fearing an immigration cop's knock on the door. This has stirred the hope other categories of people, for example the undocumented parents of both dreamers and U.S. citizen children, could be covered. Such a move, though not definitively solving the undocumented immigration problem, would have public support and would serve the interests of family unity and child welfare. Obama said on November 24 that he can't do this, implying that it would be illegal. But then, how was it legal for the White House to give a break to "Dreamers" and military families? The Republican right would yell, but they yell anyway, and opinion surveys consistently show that a majority of Americans support a humane immigration policy.

Some are so pessimistic about the legislative effort that they sharply condemn it. A special shock that reinforced this attitude was the inclusion in the Senate's immigration bill, S 744, which was passed in June, of negative elements, which not only trade off legalization of the undocumented for new repressive and guest worker measures, but also endanger the ability of lower income undocumented immigrants to get legalization at all. The House bill (HR 15) is less extreme, but still has problems, and for now it appears blocked. So there are calls to abandon the legislative effort and concentrate everything on pressuring the administration to stop all deportations. But even if this proves possible, it does not give undocumented immigrants access to permanent resident status ("green cards") let alone eventual U.S. citizenship. A new administration coming in after the 2016 elections could, by a new executive order, wipe out everything that has been gained by executive order. There is a lack of sophistication in some of these arguments: It is assumed that if the immigrants' rights movement, or some considerable sector of it, boycotts activity in Congress that this activity will be rendered harmless. On the contrary, it would hand the whole thing over to the most extreme reactionaries.

While some organizations pressure the House of Representatives to break the bottleneck, many are also pressing the White House to suspend more deportations. There are marches, sit-ins, civil disobedience, fasts and other protest actions all over the county, some aimed at the legislative and others at the legislative branch; most at both.

Meanwhile, deportations continue at a fast clip, and political instability on top of a coffee crop failure in Central America is leading more people to attempt the dangerous trip north.

Photo: Fast for Families

San Jose won't give up on immigration reform

Mon, 02 Dec 2013 16:51:00 +0000

SAN JOSE, Calif. -About 200 documented and undocumented immigrants and their supporters held a lively demonstration Nov. 27 outside the Office of Homeland Security here, calling on Congress and the Obama administration to stop deportations and enact comprehensive immigration reform, making it clear that they weren't going to stand idly by while the Republicans in the House leadership block a badly needed new immigration law.

The protest was organized by the Santa Clara County Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, a broad-based grouping that includes the South Bay Labor Council and several unions, religious congregations and clergy, and other community organizations and activists.

The rally featured accounts by several undocumented immigrants about how their families had been torn apart by deportation and the difficulty of finding and keeping work without papers. The disruption of families is one of the cruelest tolls taken on immigrants by the enforcement of current immigration law. Almost two million have been deported since the Obama administration took office in 2008. Thousands of children are forced into foster care because their parents have been deported. The demonstration featured a symbolic Thanksgiving table, three of whose seats were occupied by a mother and two sons whose father was a victim of the administration's vigorous deportation policy.

The table had places for others whose voices need to be heard in the struggle for immigration reform, including a Dream Act student from San Jose State University brought to the U.S. as an infant but now facing possible deportation, the "business community," and "elected officials." Fortunately, that last seat was occupied by Representative Zoe Lofgren, a staunch supporter of immigrant rights, who said, "Democrats are willing to sit down with Republicans to fix the broken immigration system, but what we can't do is nothing. An absence of action in Congress is simply unacceptable."

Father Jon Pedigo, an organizer with the Coalition and pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in heavily Latino east San Jose, emphasized the need for those in power to hear all voices in the struggle: "This demonstration is about showing who is at the table and who is not when it comes to the debate on immigration reform. There is a lot of frustration here because very little is happening as the right players are not being included in important conversations around this issue. True reform will come when the negotiations involve labor, business, the clergy, Dream Act students and their parents, and elected officials, including Republicans."

Steve Parry, pastor of a church primarily serving the homeless, underscored the need for unity: "We believe in God, and God has given us these rights"-including, he pointed out, the right to a job and to education-"but we can't win these rights unless we're united, and that's why we're here."

The rally was a festival of colorful T-shirts. Several dozen people wore orange shirts proclaiming "LiUNA!-Feel the Power." LiUNA is the Laborers' International Union of North America. They reported that businesses would glady hire immigrant workers until they demand better wages, benefits, or working condition-and then, according to several speakers, immigrant workers get intimidation and rejection.

Others wore white T-shirts declaring, "I am a voter." One of these, Elena Pacheco who does workshops of "Dreamer" students at high schools in the nearby community of Mountain View, told this reporter that she wants people to know that not all Latinos are undocumented-"We're legal, and we vote-for people who will do something about immigration."

Demonstrators vigorously waved a variety of handmade signs: "Unification not Separation," "We Are Here to Stay," "¡Justicia!" and "I Stand for Farmworkers: Stop Deportation Now!" Passing motorists honked horns in a symphony of support.

"We are tired of excuses," said Fr. Pedigo. "If nothing is done, an escalation of frustration will continue. If Democrats want to retain our support, they must act. If Republicans want to obtain our support, they must act. Either way, this issue is not going away."

That frustration-but also determination-echoed far and wide as the rally closed with vigorous shouts of "¡Sí se puede!"-"Yes we can!"

On Nov. 30, in San Francisco, the president delivered a speech pushing for immigration reform. He was interrupted by a young man standing in a crowd behind him, who urged the president to use his executive order to end the disgrace of separating families. He yelled, "You have the power to stop deportations!" The president disagreed and said, "Actually, I don't," telling security to not escort the man out. "He can stay there.... I respect the passion of these young people," Obama said, adding that Congress needs to act to fix the broken immigration system because the United States is "a nation of laws." But immigrant rights activists say that the president can do more on deportations and separated families than currently being done.

Teresa Albano contributed to this story.

Photo: PW/Henry Millstein