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FYI: The following post by me is from the Peace and Freedom Party Blog: http://peaceandfreedom.org/blog/?p=1793#more-1793 This post is an edited comment made on a posted article the AFL-CIO NOW web site. The article, with all the comments, can be read here: The Working Class Has Spoken. Will Democrats Listen? My comment is really an perhaps expression of wishful thinking. The labor movement and it’s leaders have been the fully corrupted “business partners” to corporate capitalism for decades, The lack of a “left” today is due to absence of a mass independent, anti-capitalist (socialist) labor movement or political party that represents the economic interests of the working class. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “The Working Class Has Spoken. Will Democrats Listen?” Obviously not! The Democrats and Obama are now the ruling party to further looting the treasury and destruction of the public services essential to working people. Everything “accomplished” in this first year of Obama has been to restore and expand the wealth of Wall Street, the profits of Big Business, the transfer of social wealth to the military-industrial complex with more wars for more profits, the corrupt enrichment of “Health Care” corporations, etc. All this “recovery” of profit and wealth by the ruling elite from the the economy invariably impoverishes working people. The more important question that must be asked now is this: ” The Working Class Has Spoken. Will ( AFL-CIO) President Trumka Listen?” President Trumka has refused to listen to the delegates to the AFL-CIO in Pittsburgh in September that unanimously voted to support “single-payer” health care legislation. He also refused to listen to the 500 plus union locals that voted for “single payer” Medicare-for-All. Mr. Trumka continues to support Obama’s “Health Care Reform”, with all it’s obvious faults, often posted on this (AFL-CIO) blog. There are powerful steps that Mr. Trumka, the AFL-CIO leadership, and the leadership of organized labor could easily take, if they would just listen to the explicit demands of union members. Organized labor must also listen to the painful outcries and demands of millions of un-organized working people, not just organized “middle-class” workers, as all workers and their families are being impoverished and destroyed by Obama and the Democratic Party. It is vitally important for “leaders” to “listen”. But more importantly it is time to ACT! Organized labor leadership must now SPEAK OUT NOW and to ORGANIZE NOW to promote the economic interests of all working people. In the process, the organized trade union movement membership will undoubtedly increase and trade unions will become the powerful instrument of working class power. Here are some ACTIONS that the trade unions need to make, after listening and understanding, based on the needs of the working class today: 1. Announce that the AFL-CIO no longer supports Obama’s “Health Care Reform” in any form, and is supporting the legislation for “Medicare for All” single payer health care. 2. Announce that the AFL-CIO no longer supports neither Republican nor Democratic Parties, as both are consumed with corrupt corporate money and interests. Neither party represents the economic interests of working people, organized or unorganized. Both corporate controlled parties have betrayed the vital economic needs of all working people, organized and unorganized. 3. The AFL-CIO realizes now that the simple strategy of trade unionism, the economic struggle for a contract with an employer, is now an inadequate strategy to meeting the needs of organized workers. 4. The struggle for economic betterment of organized working people must now be greatly expanded into a political struggle. Sociali Security, Medicare, minimum wages, OSHA safety conditions, section 8 housing support, pensions, unfair working conditions, etc. are all now secured and protected from government legislation at federal, state and local levels of government. 5. Therefore, the AFL-CIO, along with other union organizations, under these dire economic and political conditions, is calling for a founding convention of a new political party dedicated to promoting the economic and social interests of all working people, organized and unorganized. The new party, by refusing all corporate money and agendas, will involve millions of working people in democratic political struggle to secure the vital needs of the people. 6. The the economic and social needs of working people never find any expression in the corporate owned mass media nor even in the corporate controlled public media such as NPR and PBS. Thus we announce a new effort to secure a democratic media that gives a voice to the economic needs and social concerns of all working people. We demand “equal time” on mass media, with daily and weekly programing on weekdays and weekends. Working people desperately need easily accessible information and education to overcome the complete corporate suppression of working class perspectives on current affairs. 7. These steps above will complement and enhance the struggle of unions to organize workers and secure union contracts. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
