On the AFL-CIO NOW BLOG web page appeared the article: Jobs Don’t Live Here Anymore by Tula Connell, Aug 6,
The unemployment data is due tomorrow, and it’s likely to be bad, with an expected 300,000 to 320,000 jobs lost in July, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and others. That’s a big problem. But unfortunately, when it comes to getting the nation back to work, tomorrow’s unemployment rate isn’t the biggest problem we face. What’s really troubling is long-term unemployment. (follow this link for the entire article.) 2009http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/08/06/jobs-dont-live-here-anymore/#comments To this article I made the following comment: JerryWells on 06.08.2009 at 19:00 (Reply) To: Tula Connell, “So let me know your ideas and I’ll pack them up and take them with me.” A mere comment space here is not enough for some “ideas”. The organized labor movement is almost completely impotent in the face of the collapse of the capitalist economy, and the vast devastation to working people that is taking place. The simple trade union philosophy, of being a “business partner” to capitalism, under the current collapse of U.S. and global capitalism, has effectively allowed the destruction of the trade union movement and is rapidly turning this country into a ‘third world” as far as working people are concerned. The labor movement must re-think it’s entire organizational and political strategy if it is to survive let alone to lead working people. The system of economics called capitalism, run-amok gangster capitalism, has collapsed. As far as working people are concerned, capitalism will never be “bailed out”, fixed, or reformed in a manner that restores the standard of living needed by working people to survive adequately. BILLIONS AND TRILLIONS of dollars are being sucked up by Wall Street, banks, the military-industrial complex without limit, oversight or even basic accounting. At the same time public education is being destroyed, public health care is being “reformed” to further the profits of the parasitic health corporations, wars for profit are being expanded, even Social Security and Medicare are being threatened by Obama as entitlements “costing too much”. The greed of gangster capitalism is limitless and is causing the mpoverishment of tens of millions of workers in this country. Under existing capitalism, employers and investors forever need to maximize profits. Thus manufactures moved labor intensive jobs to China, where workers earn “slave” wages with no benefits, where there are 130 million unemployed in China to keep wages forever low. Employers don’t want to pay the “living wages” needed by workers living in the U.S. Capitalist globalization will forever diminish the living standards of U.S. working people. Most important, employers don’t want to pay for health care, retirement, or any fringe benefits which further eat up profits.Simple trade unionism wants to get good wages and good benefits that occurred after World War II. The conditions of global capitalism have changed this forever. There is no return to the “good old days” where unionized workers became home owners, owned a car, went on vacations every year. Under existing capitalism this kind of capitalism is no longer a “dream” for working people, but has become a nightmare of impoverishment. Some ideas: 1. To survive with sufficient food, potable water, clothing shelter, health care, education, for working people, we need to end barbaric capitalism and transition to a democratic socialist economy. 2. The essential “benefits” that working people need today are secured through political struggle, not simple trade union struggle. National health care, Social Security, OSHA standards, public education, disability and retirement insurance, etc. are all secured by political struggle at the federal level. Local employers won’t and can’t afford private health insurance costs or other benefits that we now. THUS ORGANIZED LABOR MUST GREATLY EXPAND IT’S VISION AND PURPOSE TO GO BEYOND SIMPLE TRADE UNION CONTRACT EFFORTS. 2. DUMP THE DEMOCRATS: The greatest impact to improve the power and leverage of organized labor at this conference, would be to break with the Democratic Party and issue a call for the formation of a new socialist political party that represents the economic interests of all working people. 3. MEDIA FOR WORKING PEOPLE! A new national mass media initiative should create new radio and television programs to inform, educate and organize working people into the new party. The anti-labor Rush Limbaughs in the mass media must be challenged. PBS needs a voice of the people to challenge the Wall Street Journal, etc. that control the time and content of a supposedly public media. 4. END THE WARS FOR PROFIT! To bring about this new economy and a new society, vast changes must be made to end the vast waste and corruption that is destroying us all. The unending wars of Bush and Cheney are now being expanded by Obama, promoting all the same crooks to head the key posts of his administration. THE VAST SUMS WASTED ON WAR PROFITEERING ARE VITALLY NEEDED TO RESTORE THE ECONOMY TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE. There is so much that needs to be done! But the first step must be taken by organized labor movement, with people and money resources, to make a start. Is the labor movement leadership too conservative to see the need for change? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Also a link to a WSWS story was included in my comment: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/aug2009/pers-a06.shtml Stocks, profits up—Jobs, income down Whose recovery? 6 August 2009 Patrick Martin ----------------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________________ YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
