Steelworkers convention: back to class struggle basics
The 32nd Constitutional Convention of the United Steelworkers of America (USWA) two weeks ago came at a critical time for the union and the labor movement. With 50 steel companies in bankruptcy in the last few years, times have been tough. Jobs have been lost. Contracts have been shattered. Pensions and health care have been lost or sharply cut for thousands of retired steelworkers.
Young workers, unorganized and unnoticed in the era of McJob
With the complex internal discussion occupying the entire labor movement today, I can’t help but add another dimension to the conversation. Within the AFL-CIO, many constituency groups are valiantly fighting for the interests of women, people of color, same-gender loving and other historically underrepresented workers … and are doing it so that these voices won’t be muted in the inevitable reorganization of organized labor. After all, nearly 30 percent of union workers are people of color, according to an article by Dwight Kirk in Black Commentator, and women now make up 42 percent of union membership. These workers clearly have much at stake as so many of them have lost their stable union jobs.
EDITORIAL: For peace and liberty
With the tide turning on some issues, it’s time to step up the struggle for peace abroad and civil liberties at home. Two Bush administration priorities gravely threatening these core values are the USA Patriot Act and the drive to develop new nuclear weapons.
May Day: Made in the USA
The battle for time; May Day: Made in the USA; Chicago labor reclaims May Day
USW investigates Teflon chemical
Citing worker and consumer safety concerns, the nation’s largest industrial union, United Steelworkers (USW), announced that it has launched an inquiry into the use of a Teflon-related chemical by hundreds of food packaging and other paper manufacturers across the country.
Workers Memorial Day: Honoring those who lost their lives from workplace injuries or illnesses
Workers Memorial Day is an international day of remembrance, held on April 28, the day the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed in 1970. That day, people gather in hundreds of communities across the U.S. and more than 29 countries worldwide to honor those who have lost their lives as a result of work-related injuries or illnesses.
Asbestos bill fatally flawed
WASHINGTON (PAI) — Despite some improvements in the latest legislation, the AFL-CIO has dropped its support of a comprehensive asbestos victims compensation bill.
Rumsfeld encouraged as Iraqis chant, You go, America!
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said today that he was encouraged by massive demonstrations in Baghdad marking the second anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein, telling reporters that he was particularly heartened by the Iraqis’ chant of “You go, America!”
Labor begins new push for Employee Free Choice Act
WASHINGTON (PAI) — Flanked by workers harassed or fired for trying to form unions, labor leaders and key lawmakers reintroduced the Employee Free Choice Act on April 19.
World Notes
Canada: Set Wal-Mart protest for May 7; Czech Republic: Defend democratic rights; Kuwait: Women to vote; Nicaragua: ‘Week of action’ vs. CAFTA; Southern Africa: AIDS devastates farm workers; Indonesia: Sailors protest U.S. security rules
