> > WW News Service Digest #154 > > 1) Verizon strkers vs. merger mania > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 2) Is Verizon James Earl Jones? > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 3) Philadelphia women prisoners speak > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 4) The rape charge & Washington's war propaganda > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 5) Israeli settler state in crisis as deadline looms > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 6) Cape Cod drives Army out of Camp Edwards > by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 24, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >VERIZON STRIKERS vs. MERGER MANIA > >By Milt Neidenberg > >Fear now pervades management at Verizon, the giant >telecommunications corporation formed by the merger of Bell >Atlantic and GTE. Did the monopoly take the unions' pre- >strike preparations too lightly in negotiating a contract? > >It was clear that the Communications Workers and the >Electrical Workers unions, who together represent more than >87,000 striking members in 13 states, were fired up over >management's heavy-handed, oppressive tactics. But Verizon >decided to ignore it. > >That was a serious miscalculation. > >The strike is one of the largest and most militant in years. >Directory assistance has completely broken down. Requests >for repairs and installations in 13 states have nearly >tripled. > >Customers are angry and frustrated. Threats to leave the >company for other service providers are real in the >cutthroat competitive telecommunications industry. > >Verizon's strategy has backfired. They have relied >completely on automated services and scab supervisors to do >the job. > >Thirty thousand managers, untrained and ill equipped to >handle the technical aspects of the industry, are no >substitute for an experienced, skilled, unionized workforce. >Working them 12 hours a day, seven days a week can't >overcome this fundamental weakness. > >Herein lies the breakdown of operations that has left >thousands across the region without phone service--not >sabotage, as the company falsely charged. > >This truth didn't stop the courts, always available when the >bosses are in need, from issuing restraining orders against >the unions in at least three states. > >Verizon management compounded its miscalculations when it >announced Aug. 8 that the company had purchased a 55 percent >stake in NorthPoint Communications at a cost of $800 million >in cash. > >That was a clear provocation. The unions charged that the >money could have been made available to improve their >contracts. > >NorthPoint is a non-union, high-speed Internet digital >subscribers line (DSL). The Electrical Workers have warned >Verizon that they are going to organize NorthPoint's 1,500 >non-union workers, a plan that would blunt Verizon's >strategy to eliminate jobs and undermine union wages, >benefits and working conditions. This issue has yet to be >resolved. > >Verizon was initially more concerned about its nationwide >advertising campaign to make the merged corporations a >household name rather than discussing the unions' demands. > >On Aug. 8, the second day of the strike, Wall Street and the >stock market confirmed the unsettling position Verizon had >gotten itself into with 87,000 union workers. Verizon shares >plunged more than 12 percent and an additional 3.7 percent >the following day. > >BOSSES BLINK > >As the strike gets stronger and the workers' anger grows, >Verizon has begun to blink. > >The company's first concession occurred less than a week >into the strike when it reportedly agreed to the unions' >demand for better access to represent the 32,000 non-union >workers at Verizon Wireless. Fifty-five percent of Verizon >Wireless is owned by Verizon and 45 percent by Britain's >Vodafone AirTouch PLC. > >This means that Verizon would be a "neutral player" in a >procedure called a card check. Under this agreement, Verizon >bosses would recognize the union once a majority of the non- >union workers signed authorization cards. > >The unions would thus avoid costly and protracted legal >entanglements with the National Labor Relations Board and >the courts--a process that often takes years. > >Verizon Wireless is the nation's largest phone company as >well as the largest wireless owner. This significant >concession on union representation will have far-reaching >effects on an industry that is overwhelmingly non-union. > >In addition to the card-check victory, the Communications >Workers announced on Aug. 8 that GTE/Verizon signed a >tentative agreement with its unionized work force in >Kentucky moments before a walkout. Progress is reported in >western North Carolina and other areas. > >WORKERS VS. MEGA-MERGERS > >Verizon began as Bell Atlantic following the breakup of AT&T >into 22 Bell Systems companies in 1982. It bought out Nynex, >one of the Bells, in 1997, and recently merged with GTE to >form Verizon. > >Mega-mergers and spin-offs like this are intensifying mass >layoffs, downsizing, increased productivity and obscene >profits. In every industry in the last decades-- >telecommunications, banking, oil, auto, military-industrial >and others--corporate mega-mergers have wrecked havoc. > >These corporate mergers and acquisitions are usually carried >out in secret to keep the workers in the dark. Meetings are >held behind closed doors. Billions of dollars and overpriced >stocks change hands in the boardrooms of high finance. >Commercial bankers, investment bankers, high-priced lawyers >and accounting firms, along with an army of "gimme" >parasites, are paid hundreds of millions of dollars to pull >off these mergers successfully. > >Thanks in large part to these transactions, the value of >U.S. stocks has risen by more than $10 trillion since 1994-- >to $16 trillion, or 16 millions of millions of dollars. > >Workers in and out of unions are the main victims of the >cover-ups of these wheeling and dealing operations. They are >often caught by surprise when restructuring and the fallout >of layoffs and downsizing begin. > >Verizon workers are fighting to avoid this kind of >catastrophe. The strike has exposed the corporate >machinations and schemes that make the mega-mergers >profitable. > >The timing of the strike can upset Verizon's plans to >intensify exploitation to suit the needs of the merger. With >the strike as leverage, the rank and file can resist the >layoffs that are inevitable in any merger. They can fight >Verizon's plans to transfer unionized jobs to the non-union >sector. > >They can withstand the corporate decision to transfer them >to areas where the merger needs experienced workers and >eliminate many of the stress factors that permeate their >jobs--especially forced overtime. They can force Verizon to >subject speed-ups and restructuring plans to negotiations, >instead of allowing bosses to reorganize at will. > >Frenzied, merger-driven development has enabled Wall Street >to be the dominant player in the world of international >finance capital. Bankers use the wealth extracted from the >labor power of the workers and the sacrifices forced upon >them to impose their imperialist policies and further >impoverish workers all over the world. > >A broad and growing movement of progressive forces, >including militant youths and people of color, are >challenging this anti-worker corporate culture. These >activists have challenged both the Democratic and Republican >conventions, pointing to the lords of high finance and mega- >merger architects that control both parties and their >candidates. > >Linking these struggles with the 87,000 striking Verizon >workers who are fighting these powerful corporate forces >could be a basis for unity against a common enemy. > >VERIZON WORKERS SHOW THE WAY > >Will the strike of 87,000 telecommunications union members >be an influence on the million-fold work force of this >highly competitive, overwhelmingly non-union industry? That >is the greatest fear of the telecommunications bosses >industry-wide. > >And fearful they should be. These operations are ripe for >union organizing. > >In 1998, Worldcom merged with MCI to create a combined work >force of 75,000 employees. Less than 500 are unionized. At >Sprint only 10,500 of the company's 78,000 workers are >unionized. > >There are virtually no unionized workers in the long >distance, wireless and Internet industries. VoiceStream >Communications has agreed to be acquired by Deutsche >Telekom, a German telecommunications corporation that has no >union workers. Bell South Corporation has 52,000 union >employees of a total workforce of 99,000. > >Others like AT&T, Southwestern (owned by SBC), and other >former Bell companies, which have a higher percentage of >union workers, are in the process of building up non-union >sectors in their wireless and Internet divisions. > >With the Verizon strike now in its second week, the unions' >tentative victory on the card check issue to reach the >unorganized in Verizon Wireless will undoubtedly spread to >other non-union workers in the telecommunications industry. >The corporations will fight these efforts with a vengeance. > >That will raise the need for creative forms of struggle on >company property--like the sit-ins of the 1930s--and in the >streets to overcome the bosses' challenges. > >The 87,000 Communications Workers and Electrical Workers >will need to be prepared for a continued, aggressive battle >as Verizon digs in. While the outcome looks favorable to the >unions, the final victory is yet to be decided. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > >Message-ID: <025c01c009df$e9e79840$0a00a8c0@home> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Is Verizon James Earl Jones? >Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 09:18:06 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 24, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >IS VERIZON JAMES EARL JONES? > >When people think of Verizon/Bell Atlantic, they think of >actor James Earl Jones and his great voice. But this is just >slick advertising. What is Verizon and who's really behind >it? > >Here are some of the facts: > >Verizon is no mom and pop outfit. The company has 95 million >telephone lines in the United States; 25 million wireless >customers; and 4 million pager customers. It's the world's >big gest provider of print and online directory information. >Verizon operates in >96 of the top 100 markets in the country. The company >reported $60 billion in revenues for 1999. > >Verizon is not just a monopoly here. It owns the main >telephone companies in 21 countries and has a presence in >another 19 countries. These include Canada, Venezuela, >Dominican Republic, Britain, Italy, Greece, Micronesia, >Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, New Zealand, and the U.S. >colony of Puerto Rico. Verizon has 6 million wireless >customers overseas. > >Who's on the board of directors? Not James Earl Jones. > >The following Fortune 500 companies are represented on the >board: > >Banks: Chase, First Union, PNC > >Pharmaceuticals: American Home Products > >Oil: Shell > >Military-Industrial Complex: United Technologies > >Steel: USX > >Transportation: CS Railroad > >When you look at who owns the stock, you discover a Who's >Who of big business and big banks: Barclay's, Fidelity >Management, Bankers Trust, Mellon Bank, State Street Bank >and others. > >Your may not see these folks in the Verizon ads. You may not >see their faces on your telephone bill. But these corporate >interests are part of the system of exploitation that >dominates our lives from telephones to political offices. >They're part of the system we are fighting when we protest >police brutality. > >So when you pass the picket line, let the strikers know you >support them. Not only because their battle is just--but >because they are fighting for all of us! > >[Sources: Verizon Web site (www.verizon.com), Wall Street >Journal (www.wsj.com), Yahoo Full Coverage (www.yahoo.com).] > >--Jeff Bigelow > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > >Message-ID: <026201c009e0$06d01b80$0a00a8c0@home> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Philadelphia women prisoners speak >Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 09:18:53 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 24, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >Philadelphia > >WOMEN PRISONERS SPEAK > >By Berta Joubert-Ceci >Philadelphia > >Over 450 people were arrested during the Aug. 1 protests >against the "criminal injustice system" at the Republican >Convention. The 20 protesters who remain in Philadelphia >jails will be released Aug. 15, supporters said. > >After deliberating among themselves and consulting with >lawyers, the activists have decided to switch their tactics >from "jail solidarity" to "court solidarity." > >Judges reduced the bail for many protesters during their >second week in jail. Bail was originally as high as $10,000 >to $1 million. > >Kris Hermes from the R2K Network legal defense team told >Workers World that the newly released activists plan to hold >a press conference on the evening of Aug. 15. > >There the ex-prisoners--most of them women--will announce >their new strategy. > >The women will also speak out about the conditions they were >subjected to while in jail, including physical and >psychological torture, isolation and sexual abuse. > >Hermes said the activists want to keep the focus on the >struggle to abolish the prison-industrial complex and the >current situation of the 2 million people behind bars in >this country. > >They will give voice to the general prison population by >reading a list of demands drafted by non-protesters in the >jails. These prisoners' 16 demands include the right to a >speedy trial, prompt medical and dental attention, decent >food, an end to overcrowding, an end to abuse by guards and >reliable phone service. > >In a statement, the protesters said, "These demands reflect >the long-term day-to-day problems inside the Philadelphia >prison system that are not unique to us and will remain long >after we are gone. > >"These are the problems that we were trying to draw >attention to when we were arrested." > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > >Message-ID: <026801c009e0$23da3080$0a00a8c0@home> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] The rape charge & Washington's war propaganda >Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 09:19:41 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Aug. 24, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >U.S. court rules against Serb leader > >THE RAPE CHARGE & WASHINGTON'S WAR PROPAGANDA > >By Sara Flounders > >On Aug. 10, a federal court in New York ruled that Radovan >Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader during the civil war in >Bosnia seven years ago, must pay $745 million in damages for >the crimes of rape, torture and genocide committed during >the civil war. > >Of course, no money is expected to be recovered. The charge >was originally filed in 1993 for propaganda purposes at the >height of the Bosnian civil war. The decision seven years >later received the full front page and three inside pages of >coverage in the Aug. 11 edition of Newsday, and wide >attention in other media. > >How could a U.S. federal court in New York even have >jurisdiction over what happened in another country to people >who had no connection to the United States? > >This "trial" is part of a continuing effort to give the U.S. >government the basis to charge and convict leaders of any >country that is the target of CIA destabilization. It >revived all the charges that were used to justify U.S. >military intervention and occupation in the Balkans. > >Karadzic is not charged with committing any of the crimes >directly. He is charged as the leader of a government that >has been a target of continuing demonization. > >Karadzic could not travel to New York or present any defense >in this one-sided trial. He is in hiding in Bosnia after >being indicted on similar charges at the court established >at The Hague by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright-- >the so-called International Criminal Tribunal for the Former >Yugoslavia. > >Of course, no testimony presented in the U.S. federal court >in New York or the Tribunal based at The Hague even >mentioned Washington's role in manufacturing the break-up of >the Yugoslav Federation, fomenting the civil war and bombing >civilians in Bosnia and Yugoslavia. > >But the criminal role of the United States, Germany and >other Western governments has been well documented by >people's tribunals in New York, Berlin, Rome, Athens, Moscow >and Kiev, Ukraine, over the past year. > >NATO BASES THE REAL GOAL > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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