> WW News Service Digest #159 > > 1) Immigrant Workers Lead Labor's Upsurge > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 2) Firestone: Time for Workers to Take Charge > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3) Chinese Workers Seize Managers to Save Jobs > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 4) Who's a Murderer, Giuliani? > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 5) Millenium Summit: Solidarity Movement > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 14, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > > >IMMIGRANT WORKERS LEAD LABOR'S UPSURGE >Organizing Victories from Los Angeles to New York > >By John Catalinotto > >Immigrant workers are emerging as the heart of a dynamic >upsurge in the U.S. labor movement. New victories have >brought into the front lines the fastest growing section of >the workforce. > >In a recent report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated >that the number of immigrant workers has climbed by over 2.2 >million over the past three years to 15.7 million. > >This makes immigrant workers 12 percent of the U.S. >workforce, the greatest level it has been in seven decades. > >Couple this news with stories of immigrant labor organizing >victories from home-care workers in Los Angeles to green- >grocery workers in New York, and the impact on the fight for >workers' rights in general is clear. > >Immigrants are an especially large proportion of the >workforce in the hardest and lowest-paying jobs. These >include fruit and vegetable pickers, meatpackers, poultry >plant workers, gardeners, hotel housekeepers, restaurant >workers, janitorial service and building demolition workers. > >This large influx of immigrant workers is already having a >tremendous impact on the class struggle. The bosses who hire >them are trying to keep their wages low. They also try to >keep these workers in an insecure legal state, so that they >can use the threat of deportation against the estimated 6 >million that are undocumented. > >But these workers are capable of the greatest worker >militancy and solidarity. This development offers a >tremendous opportunity for labor to organize large numbers >of new members, strengthening the entire working class. > >Last Feb. 16, in a landmark policy change hailed in >immigrant communities from coast to coast, the AFL-CIO >Executive Council unanimously called for amnesty for the 6 >million undocumented workers and their families in the >United States. The AFL-CIO called on Congress to repeal a >1986 law that has victimized these immigrants. > >The resolution commits the federation to push for new >immigration laws that would protect undocumented workers >from firing or deportation if they try to unionize or >complain to the government about violations of labor laws, >including minimum wage and safety requirements. > >This policy of solidarity with immigrant rights, if fought >for consistently, would help organized labor win millions of >new adherents. A victory here would weaken the bosses' >ability to intimidate immigrant workers. This could breathe >new life into the workers' side of the struggle for better >wages, benefits, working conditions and jobs. > >This came to life on Feb. 25, 1999, when in a stunning and >historic victory for organized labor, the Service Employees >union brought over 74,000 Los Angeles home-care workers into >its ranks. It was the biggest union organizing victory since >1937, when the Auto Workers won its battle to represent >workers at General Motors. > >These workers, who care for elderly and disabled people in >their homes, are overwhelmingly immigrants, women, African >Americans, Latinos, Asians and people of other oppressed >nationalities. > >VICTORY IN GREENGROCER STRUGGLE > >A substantial number of undocumented immigrants live in the >New York metropolitan area. Organizing among Latino/a >greengrocer workers, African delivery workers, and garment >workers from Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean takes >place under the constant threat of INS raids and >deportations. > >But it does happen. Indeed, the latest organizing victories >are taking place among greengrocer workers in downtown >Manhattan. Some 14,000 Mexican workers are employed by the >produce industry in New York. Most work 14-hour days, seven >days a week, preparing fruits, vegetables and flowers in >sweatshop conditions. Most make less than the minimum wage >and receive no benefits. > >Last winter, after months of strike and boycott activity >involving immigrant-rights and community groups, Local 169 >of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile >Employees signed union contracts with two greengrocer owners >on the Lower East Side. The contracts provide workers for >the first time with at least minimum wage, overtime pay, >health insurance, paid sick days and one week of vacation >per year. > >The struggle continues at other stores. Charles Twist, a >union organizer and regular participant in the picket lines >on the Lower East Side and Fifth Avenue, told Workers World >that UNITE announced a legal victory at a news conference at >the end of August. > >"New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer was finally >forced to recognize and act on the fact that there are such >horrible sweatshop conditions existing in the greengrocers >and delicatessens in New York City," said Twist. > >One worker, Silverio Otero of Mexico, will receive $7,000 in >back wages through a settlement Spitzer arranged. Otero was >required to work 72 hours a week for $240, which amounts to >$3.33 per hour, far below the already low $5.15 minimum >wage. > >Twist said, "Two stores on the Lower East Side were fined a >total of $100,000 for 10 workers who had been working for >around $3 per hour for the last few years." > >Twist pointed out that "there has been strong support from >the community--people silently throw up fists of support as >they walk by, others are outraged when they learn that >people are being paid so little. And many people have >refused to shop. Business is down from 60-70 percent at most >stores being boycotted." > >East Natural and Abigail's on Fifth Ave. and Olympic on the >Lower East Side have been picketed for the last few months. >"Valentino's on Fifth Ave. settled quickly," said Twist, >"and workers can look forward to support from progressive >students at nearby New York University and the New School as >the fall term opens." > >The Mexican American Workers Association began the drive for >unionization. UNITE and the Lower East Side Community Labor >Coalition joined together to organize effective support for >the strikers. They joined forces to build community >outreach, a boycott of the stores and student activity in >solidarity with the workers. > >STATUE OF LIBERTY'S MOTTO > >It is an example of what can be done to strengthen workers' >rights in the U.S. But it must be combined with a fight for >immigrants' rights in general. > >In an Aug. 30 New York Times story on documented immigrants >facing deportation for minor crimes, one imprisoned >immigrant, Alejandro Bontia, said, "The motto of the Statue >of Liberty in today's America is: give me your poor, your >tired and your hungry, because we still have empty jail >cells." > >Progressive unionists will make sure that what new immigrant >workers face is not sub-minimum wages and a jail cell but >union wages and the solidarity of the organized labor >movement. > >- 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) > > > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2000 22:45:05 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Firestone: Time for Workers to Take Charge >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 14, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >LESSONS OF FIRESTONE TIRE CRISIS: SHOULD WORKERS >TAKE OVER THEIR INDUSTRY? > >By Milt Neidenberg > >Could the tragic loss of life and serious injuries caused by >defective Bridgestone/ Firestone tires have been avoided? >Did scab replacements produce a dangerous and flawed product >during the 27-month struggle from 1994 to 1996--tires which >have caused many deaths and injuries when their treads >separated from the rest of the tire? > >The answer to both questions is "yes." > >The defective tires were built primarily in Decatur, Ill., >when the tire corporation extensively and ruthlessly >replaced a skilled, experienced union workforce with scabs. >The bosses call them replacement workers to legitimize their >role in strikes and lockouts. Scab labor is cheap labor. >Scabs serve at the mercy of profit-driven corporations and >have no rights. > >The Ford Motor Company bought these defective tires and knew >where and under what conditions they were built. Yet they >conspired with Bridgestone/Firestone to twist and bend the >truth to cover it up. Only recently did they publicly admit >they knew scabs built those tires. > >It has been confirmed again and again that in a corporate >culture that feeds on lies and deception, profits come >before safety regulations. > >What really happened during those fateful years when >millions of defective tires were built? > >The class struggle had reached a fever pitch in Decatur. >There was a bitter and prolonged strike at Caterpillar, the >world's largest producer of earth-moving equipment, a >company similar to Bridgestone/Firestone. > >There was another strike at A. E. Staley, a giant corn- >grinding corporation, whose product ends up as sweetener for >beverage corporations like Pepsi-Cola. Tate and Lyle, a >British conglomerate, had acquired Staley in a 1988 merger. > >Bridgestone, a powerful Japanese rubber corporation, had >merged with Firestone to produce Bridgestone/Firestone. It >immediately put into operation a brutal plan that downsized >the unionized workforce and increased production levels. >This resulted in inhuman speedups on the assembly and >production lines--speedups that made it difficult to >separate out defective rubber. > >Union members who testified in preparation for legal suits >against Bridgestone/Firestone recently exposed these >production problems. > >DECATUR WAS THE 'WAR ZONE' > >Unionists all over the United States knew Decatur as the >"War Zone." It was an embattled city under assault from >absentee corporate/bankers who were determined to break the >unions. It is important to note that the rank-and-file >rubber workers, skilled and with years of experience, fought >for over two years to save their jobs and maintain some >leverage over wages and working conditions. > >Many workers lost their homes. Families broke up due to >extreme financial and personal tensions. Other workers left, >seeking jobs elsewhere so they could send money back to keep >their homes intact. And all during this period they saw >company-paid goons intimidate the picket lines so scabs >could cross and produce tires at an unprecedented rate-- >tires that later turned up with many defects. > >When the rank and file fought back against the goons, cops >attacked them. Court injunctions limited picketing. > >It is ironic that during this corporate assault the rubber >workers asked for a national boycott of >Bridgestone/Firestone. Had the boycott succeeded, many >tragic accidents could have been avoided. > >In May 1995, following a 10-month strike and prior to their >merger with the Steelworkers, the Rubber Workers agreed to >return to work. In November 1996 they signed a new contract >with the company. Still Bridgestone/Firestone kept a >majority of the scabs in the workforce. > >Under the contract, a minority of union members returned to >work alongside thousands of scabs. Union workers reported >that management personnel set standards of production and >conduct in the plant. Any worker who failed to abide by >these standards was subject to indefinite suspension and >disciplinary action, up to and including discharge. > >The last issue of the Staley Workers Solidarity Report from >January 1996 summed up conditions in the Decatur War Zone. >It spoke for all the thousands of courageous workers from >the different unions who were forced to take down their >picket lines. The scabs were in and the skilled, experienced >labor unionists were out. > >Union workers would trickle back subject to the bosses' >decisions. The front-page headline was "Decatur War Zone Now >a Corporation Concentration Camp." > >It was during this two-and-a-half year period of corporate >tyranny and turmoil that Bridgestone/Firestone produced the >defective tires that Ford put on its Explorers. Ford has now >publicly confirmed what was well known for years--that most >of the defective tires they bought from >Bridgestone/Firestone were built with a scab workforce in >Decatur. Yet for more than five years, Ford continued to >mount these tires on their high-selling and high-profit >sport utility vehicles. > >Now the corporate criminals are having a falling out. Ford >has accused Bridgestone/ Firestone of producing defective >tires in Decatur, and Ford is accused of knowing about the >defects long ago. The corporations were forced to admit the >truth because of fear that legal liability in the mounting >deaths and injuries could cost them hundreds of millions of >dollars. > >CORPORATIONS FACE MONUMENTAL CRISIS > >They are also worried that they will lose customers to giant >transnational competitors in the rubber and auto industries. >How this will play out among the global corporations has yet >to be revealed. But under the glare of public scrutiny, >there are reports of more deaths from the defective tires. >More groups are preparing lawsuits and the corporations' >stock prices are plunging. Both corporations face a crisis >of monumental proportions. > >Ford closed three plants in order to replace defective >tires. The auto giant reported it would lose production of >10,000 Explorer and 15,000 Ranger vehicles. This will have a >ripple effect on suppliers who will have to curtail >operations. > >In addition, Ford faces a recall of two million vehicles >produced from 1983 to 1995 for knowingly installing >defective ignition mechanisms, according to a complaint >upheld by a California judge. > >There is now belated pressure from the National Highway >Traffic Safety Administration to add another 1.4 million >recalls of defective tires to the 6.5 million that were >agreed to earlier. The agency finally admits most of these >defective tires were also manufactured in Decatur. > >In addition, the Venezuelan consumer protection agency has >accused both corporations of criminal activities. It is >asking the Venezuelan prosecutor to charge Ford and >Bridgestone/Firestone with conspiring to hide defects that >caused many deaths and injuries in that country. Venezuela >is one of 18 countries where tires are being recalled. > >Recently John Lampe, the executive vice-president of >Bridgestone/Firestone's U.S. subsidiary, hypocritically >reported that his company "would soon appoint an independent >investigator to look into the company's products and >practices." > >Ford spends millions of dollars daily on TV ads showcasing >their chief executive, Jacques Nasser, trying to control the >public relations damage and restore consumers' confidence. > >Now that the evidence is in, there will be Congressional >hearings on the culpability of the two corporations that >knowingly endangered the safety of millions of people. Past >experience indicates these hearings will be an election-year >political show that ends in no serious legislation with >penalties and controls. > >The bitter events of the Decatur debacle can impart >important lessons to the workers and indicate what can be >done. It wasn't the government that brought these tragic >events to light. It was public anger and frustration fuelled >by mounting deaths and injuries that put the corporations on >trial. > >It is timely and urgent during this period of crisis for the >labor movement to impart a broader, independent and militant >perspective to the over 100 million workers in the >multinational working class in the United States while these >two global giant corporations are still on the defensive. > >WORKERS' TAKEOVER OF INDUSTRY > >The time has come to raise the question of a workers' >takeover of the tire industry. > >In his 1986 book, "High Tech, Low Pay," Workers World Party >founder Sam Marcy outlined this strategy. Marcy viewed the >demand for a workers' takeover as a "possibility of >overturning the capital-labor relationship in a huge plant >or preferably, where it might be more successful, in an >industry." He proposed that this demand should be raised >during a crisis. > >The Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford crisis is no isolated >event. It is endemic to all the giant transnational >corporations that impose their financial power here and >around the globe in the sacred name of profits. > >Didn't the Verizon strike prove that without an experienced >and skilled workforce, notwithstanding the thousands of >management scabs working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, >the biggest telecommunications corporation in the world was >powerless? Yes, it did. > >The workers are capable of running any industry. Raising the >issue of workers' control over the corporation will find >favor not only among the multinational working class here >but the millions of consumers who are suspicious of products >manufactured by the transnational corporations. > >Even if there is no strike to rally around, the slogan of a >workers' takeover of the industry would enable the labor >movement to prepare, educate and organize for the days >ahead. > >Workers' control over production and all conditions in the >workplace raises the issue of the right to occupy the plants >to safeguard jobs--especially in this period of mega-mergers >that dominates corporate life. When workers on strike >occupied factories during the late 1930s--known as the sit- >in strikes--they gave a splendid example of what could be >done during a crisis. > >Veterans of the Decatur War Zone have a strong message for >the hundreds of thousands of trade unionists who are >marching on Labor Day. It's inscribed on their T-shirts: >"Never forget." > >********* > >AGREEMENT REACHED AT BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE > >After three days of intense negotiations, the Steel Workers >locals representing more than 8,000 workers at > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Anti-Imperialism list for anti-imperialist news. Subscribe/unsubscribe messages: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________________
