labor

SF Labor: Calls on Labor Movement to Mobilize in Washington, D.C. August 24

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 3:25am

Approved May 13, 2013

In Support of the SCLC and King Center call for a March and Rally in Washington, DC on August 24, 2013 and in Support of the July 2 Northern California Demonstration to Demand a Massive Federally Funded Jobs-Creation Program and No Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

Whereas, President Obama announced his support for cuts to Social Security by switching to a chained CPI inflation index that will reduce cost-of-living adjustments; and

Whereas, President Obama announced his support for cuts to Medicare; and

Whereas, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and The King Center have called for a march and rally in Washington, DC on August 24, 2013 to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream speech; and

Karl Marx Birthday

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/07/2013 - 11:51am

May 5th was the birth date of Karl Marx, one of humanity’s most influential theorists.

His most popular text, The Manifesto of the Communist Party, emphasizes not simply the possibility but the probability of social revolution in capitalist countries, including the U.S. Arguing that capitalism operates only in the interests of the capitalists, who comprise an ever smaller percentage of the population, while the vast majority find themselves thrown into the working class with increasingly poorer working conditions, Marx concluded it was simply a matter of time before working people would organize themselves, seize the reins of power, and begin to reorganize society so that it operated in their interests, that is, in the interests of the majority.

Austerity or Keynesianism: Can’t we do better than this?

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/02/2013 - 1:07pm

By Systemic Disorder

Those who do the work in the workplace should get the rewards

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/03/2013 - 5:56pm

By Systemic Disorder

Democrats and Labor: A Tale of Abuse

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 03/07/2013 - 5:52am

The Democratic Party’s participation in the recent national “sequester” cuts is yet another big dent in their love affair with organized labor. But break-ups are often a protracted process. Before a relationship ends there is usually a gradual deterioration based on irreconcilable differences, until the split becomes inevitable. The decades-long marriage of labor unions and the Democratic Party is nearing such a divorce. Labor unions are becoming frustrated as the Democrats flaunt their affair with corporate America and Wall Street.

What are some of the issues driving towards separation? It just seems that no matter how much labor leaders shower the politicians with money and affection, the Democrats just aren’t returning the love.

Although the Democrats were always a fickle partner, their coldness evolved into aggression under Bill Clinton, who oversaw a slew of anti-worker legislation, most notably NAFTA and welfare “reform.”

AFL-CIO’s Own Oil Disaster

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 03/03/2013 - 9:15pm

With less than transparency, the AFL-CIO just issued a statement endorsing “expanding the nation’s pipeline system.” Although it did not explicitly endorse the Keystone XL pipeline, the labor federation nevertheless managed to extend its blessing to the project while hiding behind vague generalities. However, the logic of its position is unambiguous: the federation is in favor of extending pipelines in general and without qualification; the Keystone XL is a pipeline. Therefore logic compels us to infer that the federation supports the extension of the Keystone XL pipeline.

‘Transatlantic Partnership’ intended to duplicate secret Trans-Pacific Partnership

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/27/2013 - 4:27pm

By Systemic Disorder

Why Organized Labor Must Stand Against the Keystone XL Pipeline

Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 02/12/2013 - 8:28am

Spurred by real urgency over the corporate driven ruin of the environment, a growing social movement is taking shape that will be on display this Sunday, February 17, when tens of thousands descend on the streets of Washington, D.C. in a show of power titled “Forward On Climate.”

What is the target galvanizing these forces? The proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, to be built by TransCanada, which would carry crude oil extracted from the tar sands in Alberta, Canada, some 2,000 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico for export.

What is the outcome hoped for by those who will attend? That President Obama reject the project, finally and definitively, when it comes up for his approval this winter.

Is The “Democracy Initiative” What We Need?

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/24/2013 - 9:08pm

Last December, at the National Education Association headquarters in Washington, D.C., leaders from a variety of progressive organizations such as Greenpeace, the NAACP and the Communication Workers of America met with the intention of beginning a national campaign to, in the words of Mother Jones reporter Andy Kroll, “remake American politics.”

Millions of dollars were pledged towards this effort and up to 35 groups have since joined, including such Labor heavyweights as the national AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union. The combined memberships of these organizations is in the tens of millions, providing enough potential social weight to start something significant if the national campaign is able to connect with and mobilize the ranks.

How To Defend the Public Sector

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/13/2013 - 4:29am

The attacks on the public domain, particularly public education, social services, and the public sector unions that are linked to these services, are coming in rapid-fire succession, sometimes in an overwhelming barrage where the victims have little time to comprehend what is happening and respond effectively.

This should come as little surprise. The attacks are part of a well orchestrated, decades-long campaign initiated by the corporate sector, which is intent on ensuring that government policy be crafted in their own narrow self interests, which they disingenuously equate with the public good. They are promoting raw, free-market capitalism, which includes the privatization of government services, including education, the elimination of government regulations on businesses whenever possible, the reduction of taxes on corporations and the rich, the evisceration of workers’ rights and their wages and benefits, and so on.

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