>not address the struggle against imperialism and imperialist >war. > >Fourth, his campaign emphasizes electoralism and lobbying, >not building a movement based on struggle. > >Finally, Nader advocates the utopian conception of taking >monopoly capitalism back to an earlier, competitive phase, >rather than moving society forward toward socialism, where >the productive forces are owned by the working class and >production is organized for human need, not profit. > >This subject requires further discussion and elaboration in >the movement. > >The working class has no stake in the outcome of this >election. That Bush is slightly to the right of Gore is not >what's important. The decisive question is: Will the working >class remain dependent on one or another section of the >ruling class for its salvation? Will it remain passively >chained to the capitalist political machine, forced to take >what the bosses dole out? > >Or will the workers stand up independently as a class, >politically and organizationally, and press their demands on >the ruling class through militant, mass class struggle in >the factories, offices, streets and communities? Will they >wage a relentless struggle against capitalism, racism and >all forms of oppression? > >The fact that both parties feel the pressure to address the >masses' needs in the midst of this capitalist boom should be >a signal to all militants and revolutionaries that the >ground is growing more fertile for a genuine struggle. > >The Monica Moorehead-Gloria La Riva Workers World Party >presidential campaign is a direct way to vote for these >fundamental working class interests. > >- 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: <007a01c01f67$bb0603c0$0a00a8c0@linux> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] On the picket line: 9/21/2000 >Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:53:13 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 21, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >ON THE PICKET LINE > >AK STEEL WORKERS: 'HERE TO STAY!' > >Sept. 1 marked one year since union-busting AK (then Armco) >Steel locked out 620 Steel Workers union members in >Mansfield, Ohio. On Sept. 9 nearly 1,000 members, relatives >and supporters of Steel Workers Local 169 rallied and >marched in downtown Mansfield. > >There had not been a strike at the Mansfield Armco since >1971. But last year, Local 169 made it clear again and again >that it would not give in to management's demand for >unlimited mandatory overtime. > >In May 1999, Armco brought in 200 armed goons from the >Virginia-based Securcorp. They walked around the plant >slapping their billy clubs into their hands while glowering >at workers on the job. > >Last August, the union announced that its members would work >without a contract rather than submit to unlimited overtime. >On Sept. 1 union members reported to work and found the >gates padlocked. They have been on the picket line ever >since. > >There was no improvement for the locked-out workers after AK >Steel bought Armco. The company has used out-of-town scabs >since day one. Out-of-work scabs from the recently settled >Kaiser Aluminum strike have been offered work at AK Steel. > >The hired goons are now outside the plant. They follow >workers to their homes and to the grocery store, cursing and >taunting them. They even follow children home from school. A >defecting guard reported that these thugs are trained to >provoke violence and are beaten by their supervisors if they >show signs of weakness. > >Leaflets handed out at the rally asked, "Is there scab steel >in your car?" The answer was "probably." > >Ford, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota and Mitsubishi >all use AK steel in their vehicles. Both GM and >DaimlerChrysler recently gave AK awards for being a good >supplier. > >The defecting guard said the scab-produced steel is of very >poor quality. Will the use of scab steel add more deaths to >the toll caused by scab Bridgestone/Firestone tires? > >To further punish Local 169, AK has cut off pensions to the >surviving spouses of retirees, ended insurance benefits for >the locked-out workers and filed many lawsuits against the >local, the national union and individual members. > >But a year after the lockout there is still widespread >community and labor support for the workers. Speakers at the >Sept. 9 rally included Steel Workers District Director Dave >McCall, Steel Workers Secretary-Treasurer Leo Gerard, Ohio >AFL-CIO President Bill Burga, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, >representatives of the NAACP, United Students to Stop >Sweatshop Abuse and Auto Workers Region 2B, and even an >"independent" (company) union representing workers at >another AK plant. > >Local 169 President Dave Regan chaired the rally. He >announced many financial contributions from locals of the >Steel Workers, Auto Workers, UNITE, Laborers, Teamsters and >Service Employees and from Anti-Racist Action. Speakers >deplored the fact that the mayor and city council members >have all but abandoned the locked-out workers. > >A spirited march followed the rally. A court injunction >prohibits the union from picketing within 750 feet of the >plant, so members and supporters marched to with in 751 feet >of the plant and turned around. > >Loud and constant chants send a message to the AK bosses: >"Hey, AK, the union's here to stay!" > >N. OHIO TEACHERS,NURSES ON THE MOVE > >On Aug. 31, only one day before their contract expired and a >strike action was scheduled, the Cleveland Teachers union >won a new contract that raises members' base pay >substantially. They had been among the lowest-paid teachers >in Cuyahoga County, ranking 25th out of 26 districts, while >their classes are among the most overcrowded. Now they will >rank ninth. > >After agreeing to a longer work day, the teachers asked for >a 6-percent pay increase in each of the contract's three >years. The school board first insisted on no more than 3 >percent. Finally, fearing a strike, the board agreed to a 5- >percent raise per year. > >Meanwhile, teachers in the Cleveland suburb of Richmond >Heights are walking picket lines. Job security and teacher >train ing are among the main issues. The Board of Education >has threatened to bring in scabs. But for now the schools >are closed. > >Nurses at Community Health Partners Hospital in Lorain had >their second one-day strike Sept. 6. The first was on Aug. >8. The registered nurses, who voted in the Service Employees >union in May 1999, are still fighting for a contract. They >oppose management's demand for an open shop. > >The hospital suspended nurses for four days after each of >the one-day strikes, while giving scab nurses a full week's >salary. > >The nurses won support from Auto Workers Local 2000 at the >Avon Lake Ford plant. On Sept. 11, that local pulled >$500,000 of union funds out of the Lorain National Bank and >urged its members to do the same. Community Health Partners >Hospital President James Kidd is vice president of the bank. > >Cleveland's Sept. 4 Labor Day Parade had strong contingents >from many unions in struggle, including the victorious >Cleveland Teachers, striking Screen Actors Guild and >American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members, >and a huge contingent of locked out Steel Workers from AK >Steel in Mansfield. > >Pride At Work had an official contingent for the first time. >Marchers chanted, "Hey hey, ho ho, scabs and bigots have got >to go." Few contingents showed support for the march's >official theme, "Labor salutes our safety forces"--an >unfortunate sop to the racist, anti-union police. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > > > > > > > >Message-ID: <008201c01f67$e2cdbb00$0a00a8c0@linux> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Philly teachers ready pickets >Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:54:20 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 21, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >PHILLY TEACHERS READY PICKETS > >By Joe Piette >Philadelphia > >The picket signs are ready. For the first time since 1981, >some 21,000 Philadelphia teachers and staff may soon be >walking picket lines. > >At a members-only rally Sept. 10, some 400 strike captains >and union representatives were briefed on the state of >negotiations and picketing laws. > >On Sept. 11 the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court again >refused to extend the current teachers' contract, which >expired Aug. 31. For the first time since the union won >collective-bargaining rights in 1965, city teachers are >working without a contract. > >"This means we can't assure our members that the school >district won't change the terms and conditions of employment >while we go on negotiating. ... Now the ball is back in the >district's court," said Ralph Teti, general counsel for the >Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. > >Teachers have been working in their assigned schools since >Sept. 7 pending the results of a Teachers union lawsuit >against State Act 46, a union-busting law that applies only >to Philadelphia teachers. > >Act 46 prohibits extending the teachers' contract past Aug. >31. It allows state officials to take over the school >district in the event of a strike, remove teachers' >certification if they do not return to work, appoint a new >school administration and impose new work rules. > >The state high court had previously ignored the law, simply >extending the old contract and allowing negotiations to >continue. It has still not ruled on whether Act 46 is >constitutional. The court asked both sides to submit >arguments within 20 days. > >ANTI-LABOR LAWS > >Another of the many anti-labor laws against the teachers >forces them to give the school district 48 hours notice >before a walkout. As of Sept. 12 no notice has been given. >Union leaders instructed teachers, secretaries and classroom >aides to report to work until they hear otherwise. > >Negotiations are set to resume Sept. 13. > >The school district's last offer "was an absolute insult to >this membership and the offer moves the process backward," >said Jerry Jordan, the teachers' chief negotiator. > >Wages, health care and the right to seniority are the main >issue. The district wants to ignore seniority in deciding >where teachers are assigned. It wants pay levels determined >by student performance and "teacher competency" instead of >length of service. Administrators would have the final say. > >The union reported Sept. 11 that 253 classes with 7,000 >students had no permanent teachers. "They can't adequately >staff the schools now," said union President Ted Kirsch. >"How will their proposals to reduce health benefits attract >more and better teachers?" > >With a unanimous vote, thousands of teachers have authorized >union leaders to call a strike. > >State law dictates that school strikes must end before the >school year is shortened to less than 180 days. That means >the teachers can strike only four to five weeks before >coming into further conflict with the state. Fines could >then be levied against the strikers and taken from their >pension funds. > >- 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: <009101c01f67$fc815200$0a00a8c0@linux> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Why the minimum wage should be raised >Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:55:03 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 21, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >WHY THE MINIMUM WAGE SHOULD BE RAISED: WORKING MORE FOR LESS > >By John Catalinotto > >George W. Bush and the Republicans don't want to increase >the minimum wage at all. President Bill Clinton and the >Democrats suggest that increasing it by $1, to $6.15, over >the next two years will be enough. > >But a look at current economic statistics shows that even >with the increase it would leave tens of millions mired in >poverty and tens of millions more buried in debt. The >minimum wage would still have far less purchasing power than >it did in 1968, at its peak value. > >The last eight years have been an unprecedented capitalist >boom period. A boom, that is, for the capitalists. > >What has trickled down to the workers, especially to middle- >and low-wage workers, has been mainly a big increase in jobs >and hours worked, with only a small increase in real income. > >And that increase doesn't take into account the extra >expenses caused by increased work hours in the household >unit, such as increased costs of prepared foods and child >care. > >The Economic Policy Institute, an independent think tank >supported by organized labor, has released information from >a book it will publish next January showing in detail just >how the so-called boom has affected working people in the >United States. > >The EPI reported the following key points: > >Despite the "boom" in the second half of the 1990s and the >low official unemployment rates, the national poverty rate >in 1998 was still 12.7 percent, just one-10th of a >percentage point less than in 1989 and a full percentage >point higher than in 1979. > >While overall unemployment was at its lowest in decades, it >still reflected racist bias. In 1999, unemployment for >whites was 3.7 percent, less than half the 8-percent rate >for Black workers and well below the 6.4-percent rate for >Latinos, the groups measured separately in the study. > >Real income growth over the entire decade was slow and >unequally distributed. Higher-paid employees increased their >wages much faster. The biggest winners were the top >executives and the really wealthy people who own the lion's >share of stocks. > >For low- and middle-income workers whose income increased >this last decade, the increase in the number of hours that >families worked each year was the primary factor >contributing to the income growth. > >Because of the tight labor market, welfare cutbacks and >"workfare," poor families significantly increased their >labor hours in the 1990s. In 1998, the average poor family >with children worked 1,213 hours, 13 percent above the 1989 >level. > >The greatest increase in work time has been among what the >EPI calls "middle-class families," which really means those >with income close to the median family income--at the middle >of the population. For this group, weeks worked increased by >the equivalent of a person working over one-third of a year-- >19 weeks more in 1998 than in 1969. The growth in weeks >worked among higher-income households, by contrast, was only >half as much. > >Between 1989 and 1998, the income of a middle-income, >married-couple family grew 9.2 percent. Most of this growth >came from an increase in family work hours, up 246 hours to >3,885 total. > >That is about six extra full-time weeks a year since 1989. > >African American middle-income families worked an average of >4,278 hours per year. That's almost 500 hours per year more >than white families--and more than two full-time jobs. > >Meanwhile, the real wage of the median chief executive >officer rose 62.7 percent between 1989 and 1999. Now this >typical CEO is paid 107 times more than the typical worker, >almost doubling the 1989 ratio. > >WHAT ABOUT THE STOCK MARKET? > >Some people--usually the very rich and those they pay to >speak and write for them--claim that the stock market rise >in the 1990s made big wage increases unnecessary. > >But the EPI report points out that "for a typical household, >rising debt, not rising stock market, was the big story of >the 1990s." > >Less than half of households hold stock in any form. And 64 >percent of households have $5,000 or less in stocks. > >If you look at averages, "from 1989 to 1998 the value of >stock holdings of the typical household grew by $5,500 and >the value of non-stock assets grew by $8,500. Meanwhile, >typical household debt increased $11,800. > >"While households in the middle of the wealth distribution >captured 2.8 percent of the total growth in stock market >holdings between 1989 and 1998, these same families >accounted for 38.8 percent of the unprecedented rise in >household debt." > >It was really only the wealthiest few percent of families >who made big gains from the stock market, and of them the >wealthiest 1 percent made the biggest killing. There is no >doubt that in this decade the rich grew enormously richer. > >While most incomes increased, the steep rise in costs for >health care, education and housing made the poor even >poorer. And continued layoffs made work life insecure for >all workers, despite the low unemployment rates. > >AMOUNT OF HUNGER > >How little the "boom" was able to do for people living in >poverty can be seen from the annual report from the U.S. >Agriculture Department. > >Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman had to admit, "Though the >report shows that hunger and food insecurity have declined >since 1995, the fact is it remains unacceptably high despite >the most prosperous economy in history." > >About 12 million U.S. children faced hunger in 1999--17 >percent of the nation's kids. > >Over 21 percent of African American children went hungry or >lived on the edge of hunger in 1999. The ratio for Latinos >was 20.8 percent. > >It is apparent that to allow the population to feel at all >secure, programs guaranteeing food distribution and adequate >health care are absolutely necessary. A significant increase >in the minimum wage would guarantee that those who do find >jobs can earn enough to live securely. > >Even a minimum wage equivalent to the 1968 level--which >would be about $8 today--would not guarantee a living wage >in most of the country. For Clinton and Gore to offer $6.15 >is inadequate. > >Monica Moorehead, who is running for president on the >Workers World Party ticket, says that her party's program is >to demand a $12 per hour minimum wage. "This," she told >Workers World, "would guarantee a living wage for an >individual and would not force a family to hold down two or >three jobs just to get by." > >- 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: <009201c01f68$12921fc0$0a00a8c0@linux> >From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [WW] Bernard Livingston: 1911-2000 >Date: Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:55:40 -0400 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 21, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >BERNARD LIVINGSTON: 1911-2000 > >By John Catalinotto >New York > >Bernard Livingston, a close friend of Workers World Party >over the past decade, died Sept. 7 of a heart attack at age >89. It was his 62nd year as a committed Marxist. The near >nonagenarian, described by his close friends as "provocative >and feisty," attended political meetings and protests up to >the last days of his life. > >People who met him in the past 15 years knew him as an >outspoken defender of socialism and the Soviet Union. Around >1985 he began organizing and attending an informal gathering >of people who shared Marxist ideas and his support for the >Soviet Union. The group met every two weeks at a Ukrainian >restaurant on Second Avenue and Ninth Street in Manhattan >for discussions. > >More than outspoken, he wore oversized buttons on his jacket >with photos of revolutionary leaders like Marx, Engels, >Lenin and Stalin. He didn't flinch from the arguments these >sometimes provoked in the streets or the subways. > >Livingston was born in Baltimore in 1911 and raised in that >city. He graduated from law school and then moved to New >York. He never practiced law. > >Many of his current friends and comrades didn't know that he >was a successful photographer and author of six books, >including "Their Turf," "Papa's Burlesque House," "Zoo: >Animals, People, Places," and the best known, which he >published himself, "Closet Red." > >In "Closet Red," Livingston revealed how his photography >career started from an abortive stint in the Army during >World War II. Though he was already a Marxist--not yet a >member of any party--he was asked to serve in a counter- >intelligence unit. He assumed he'd be tracking down Nazi >sympathizers. > >Not so. He wrote: > >"'Listen to what your buddies talk about,' I was instructed. >'Keep an eye open for communists and red propaganda, and >file regular reports.'" > >Livingston was suddenly relieved of that distasteful >assignment and later pushed out of the Army for his own >world outlook, though he managed to fight for an honorable >discharge based on his flat feet. He then began what was for >a Marxist an unorthodox career. > >"After discharge from the Army, I managed to be admitted >into the world of the ruling class as an observer. There, >not being suspected of sympathy with the 'red focus of >evil,' I was able to circulate with an open eye among >Kennedys, Dukes, Whitneys and other pillars of the >Establishment. In the process I learned something about how, >in its special style, that Establishment responds to the >issues of the day." > >His book provides an insightful and amusing view of the >lives of the rich and otherwise banal. > >Ending his contact with the power brokers, Livingston became >for a period a member of the Communist Party USA. He later >broke with that party, seeking a program more independent of >capitalist politics and the Democratic Party, but always >loyal to socialism and to the USSR. > >He gravitated toward Workers World Party, where he remained >active to the end. He will be missed by his comrades and >friends in the struggle. > >- 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) > > > > > > > _______________________________________________________ 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] _______________________________________________________
