[PEN-L:12099] Workers rights and democratic development--People's Summit
Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 16:17:50 -0700 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Larry Kuehn [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Workers rights and democratic development--People's Summit International Forum: Workers Rights Democratic Development The Canadian Labour Congress and the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development will organize a labour forum within the framework of the 1997 People's Summit on APEC. The Forum will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 20-21, 1997. The objective of the Forum is to strengthen collaboration between trade unions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and labour support groups on the issues of labour rights and human rights. The Forum is comprised of two main components, The Tribunal on Workers Human Rights and the Conference on Workers' Human Rights Democratic Development. Guests and speakers include: (* denotes confirmed participant) Luis Anderson - trade union leader Warren Allmand* - human rights activist P.N. Bhagwati - supreme court justice Edward Broadbent* - human rights advocate Irene Fernandez* - human rights advocate Han Dongfang - trade unionist Pharis Harvey* - labour activist Ranee Hassarungsee* - women's rights advocate Charles Kernaghan - labour activist Apo Leung - labour activist =46rancisco Sionel Jos=C8* - author Yayori Matsui* - women's rights advocate Pierre San=C8* - human rights advocate Bob White* - trade union leader THE TRIBUNAL ON WORKERS HUMAN RIGHTS (Open Event) November 20, 1997 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Plaza of Nations, Vancouver Six workers from six different APEC countries will testify before a panel of internationally renowned judges and the assembled delegates to the Peoples' Summit. The testimonies will emphasize the individual and collective experiences of workers in the context of the global economy and will focus on the following issues: freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; migrant workers rights; workers in free trade zones; child labour; discrimination against women; forced labour. To receive a conference registration kit: Margaret Blamey, The Canadian Labour Congress, 1176-8th Avenue, New Westminster, B.C., Canada V3M 2R6, Tel: 604-524-0392, Fax: 604-524-5165, email [EMAIL PROTECTED], or Carole Samdup, International Centre for Human Rights Democratic Development, 63 de Br=C8soles, Montr=C8al, Qu=C8bec Canada H2Y 1V7, Tel: 514-283-6073, Fax: 514-283-3792, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] THE CONFERENCE ON WORKERS HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT (By Registration ONLY) November 21, 1997 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Landmark Hotel , Vancouver In order to develop a better understanding of the relationship between trade union rights and democratic development, the conference delegates will exchange strategies for improving respect for workers' rights, and seek to improve coordination of future initiatives. 9:00 - 9:45:Opening Plenary A brief plenary will precede a series of workshops. The plenary will introduce the context in which the workshop issues will be addressed, that is; an overview of findings at previous APEC Labour Forums in Kyoto and Manila, a briefing on developments within the Asia-Pacific Labour Network, and an analysis of the relationship between human rights and democratic development. Copies of the judges recommendations from the Workers' Tribunal will be circulated to the delegates during the plenary. 10:00 - 3:30: Simultaneous Workshops: * Making Transnational Corporations Accountable: Will examine such issues as codes of conduct, monitoring, consumer campaigns, government regulatory mechanisms and the practices of corporations in the world today. * Trade Unions and Democratic Development: Will look at the role of trade unions in fighting for democracy and how repression of trade unions is an assault on democracy. * Organizing Experiences in the Informal Economy or the Challenge of Subcontracting: Will focus largely on women who are found at the end of the subcontracting chain in both developed and developing countries including domestic workers, agricultural labourers, and migrant workers. * The International Trade Union Movement and Human Rights Groups Working Together: How can we collaborate, take part in joint initiatives and understand each others' mandates, commonalities and differences? Can the Asia-Pacific Labour Network and the broader NGO community develop specific joint initiatives for APEC in 1998? * International Trade Agreements and Labour Rights: Will compare and analyse different trade agreements and the politics of protecting labour rights. What networking strategies have been successful? What are the limitations and strengths of social clauses?
[PEN-L:12097] Steel workers leader on trial in Argentina (fwd)
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 15:10:49 + Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Jordi Martorell [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Steel workers leader on trial in Argentina To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear comrades: This is a solidarity appeal we have received from Taller de Estudios Laborales (Labour Studies Workshop-TEL)) in Argentina. A full report of the situation of the trial and background to this situation can be found at Labournet's web site (www.labournet.org.uk) or obtained from TEL ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). In solidarity, La Red Obrera/Labournet www.labournet.org.uk Dear Friends: We ask you to join and support the campaign for the acquittal of Oscar Martinez and dozens of working class leaders who are persecuted in Argentina. The trial of Oscar Martinez in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, is scheduled to begin September 8. Martinez is the organization secretary of the Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego steelworkers union and one of the most respected workers leaders in the province. That is why he is being persecuted by the government and its servile justice system. Martinez has been accused "aiding and abetting criminal acts" because he participated in an April 12, 1995 march against the brutal repression of workers who were occupying the Continental Fueguina plant. Police attacked the marchers, killing Victor Choque and injuring dozens of workers. We call on political parties, human rights advocacy groups, trade unions, student unions and all advocates of democratic liberties throughout the world to help get out the truth about Martinez and join the campaign for his acquittal. As part of the campaign, we propose to gather signatures for the following text to be sent to the court and the governor of Tierra del Fuego: Governor of Tierra del Fuego, Jose Estabillo Members of the Tierra del Fuego Criminal Court, Judges Novarino, Pagano and Zabalia Ramos We the undersigned demand the immediate acquittal of Oscar Martinez, organization secretary of the Rio Grande Steelworkers Union, on trial for the April 12, 1995 events outside the Tierra del Fuego government building and the police headquarters, where brutal police repression caused the death of Victor Choque. We hold that by trying Martinez, Luis Bazan of Cordoba or the pickets of Cutral-Co in Neuquen province the government seeks to smother workers struggles against economic plans that cause hunger and unemployment. Meanwhile, crimes committed by "trigger-happy" cops, such as the deaths of Victor Choque, Teresa Rodriguez and Jose Luis Cabezas go unpunished. We demand that those responsible for the violent repression that injured dozens of workers be tried and punished. Please send messages of support to Calle Chile 1362 - (1098) Buenos Aires - Argentina. Phone/Fax + (541) 381-2976. E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:12054] ILWU 8hr US West Coast shutdown on Liverpool Day of Action!!! (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Aug 29 13:39 PDT 1997 X-Priority: Normal Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 20:36:21 GMT Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: LabourNet [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ILWU 8hr US West Coast shutdown on Liverpool Day of Action!!! Comments: To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain Content-Length: 1616 28 August 1997 to: Jim Nolan (Chairman, Merseyside Port Shop Stewards) Dear Brother Nolan: I am writing to inform you that the ILWU is planning to shut down all the ports on the West Coast of the United States on Monday, September 8 as part of the International Day of Solidarity with the Liverpool dockers. We will be holding stop work meetings from 6p.m. to 2a.m. that day for the membership to discuss privatization issues, including our own beef at LAXT as well as the struggle against privatization and casualization at Liverpool. We are anxious to hear about other activities happening around the world on that day and the International Transport Workers Federation will forward that information to us as soon as it is available. We encourage all dockers unions and affiliates of the ITF to join in the actions of this Day of Solidarity. In solidarity, Brian McWilliams International President ILWU - 28 August 1997 to: David Cockroft (ITF General Secretary) Dear David: I am writing to inform you that the ILWU is planning to shut down all the ports on the West Coast of the United States Monday, September 8 to hold stop work meetings on privatization issues, including our beef at LAXT and highlighting the plight of the Liverpool dockers. The work stoppage will take place between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. so the membership can assemble. Please advise your other affiliates of our plans and keep us informed of other activities by ITF affiliates concerning this Day of Solidarity with the Liverpool dockers. In solidarity, Brian McWilliams International President ILWU
[PEN-L:12053] Strike at GM Plant in Colombia (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Aug 29 21:50 PDT 1997 X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sat, 30 Aug 1997 00:23:40 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Mauricio Cardenas [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Strike at GM Plant in Colombia To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In-Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Content-Length: 799 GM workers in Colombia, South America, started a strike which shut down manufacturing and assembly operations at a plant which produces 40,000 vehicles a year. Strikers demanded that the current two-tier hiring system be eliminated. More than half of the 1,700 workers are temps who get a fraction of the regular wage and benefits gotten by permanent workers. Some of the temps have been hired over and over again during the last 7 years, without getting the option of a permanent contract. Is is the first time in 14 years that GM workers go on strike. They are represented by a company-level union that comprises slightly over one third of the total number of workers. GM has assembled vehicles in Colombia for 30 years now. Its market share (including imports) in the country is over 30 percent.
[PEN-L:12029] Growing labour strife?
The Vancouver Sun Friday 29 August 1997 LABOR PEACE DISTURBED BY PILES OF GARBAGE Ken MacQueen and Eric Beauchesne It was a week with garbage on Vancouver streets where the buses should have been. There's talk of a national postal strike, and some 2,000 pulp and paper workers at Fletcher Challenge mills in Crofton, Elk Falls and MacKenzie have been striking since mid-July. Could it be the province is sliding back to the bad old days of the early1980s when the entire B.C. economy seemed impaled on a picket sign? No need to panic, say those who track B.C. labor issues. However, some see signs of unrest on both the provincial and national scene. A Statistics Canada report, released Thursday to coincide with the Labor Day holiday weekend, warns that "labor unrest may be on the rise following a prolonged 'cooling-off' period." It says the public sector is spoiling for a fight after years of wage freezes and job cuts, that union strike funds have swollen in the absence of disputes, and the number of days of work lost nationally to strikes is creeping up. After three weeks of triple-bagging their garbage, Vancouver residents might agree there is trouble in the air. Several of those recent provincial disputes, including Wednesday's wildcat BC Transit strike and the Vancouver outside workers' strike, have landed on the desk of mediator Brian Foley. Both are high-profile and troublesome, says Foley, head of the B.C. Labor Relations Board mediation division. "But the number of disputes over the past year has not been abnormal, has not been chaotic. The majority of collective agreements are being settled by the parties, either directly or in mediation, without the need for a work stoppage." This week's flurry of problems is "an accidental convergence of a couple of isolated events." says Jerry Lampert, president of the Business Council of B.C., which represents 155 major corporations employing one-quarter of the provincial workforce. "Generally, since the Labor Code came in 1992, the labor relations atmosphere has been pretty good." Ken Georgetti, president of the B.C. Federation of Labor, also credits the 1992 revision of the code by Mike Harcourt's NDP government for giving B.C. "relative peace" and the lowest number of work stoppages since the Second World War. Georgetti, whose organization represents 456,000 unionized workers, wonders if the era of peace is coming to an end. He raises as an example the 1,100 striking Vancouver outside workers whose wage demands are only about 18 cents an hour apart from the city's offer. "What you're seeing, although the dispute seems to be over a small amount of money, is a level of frustration from workers that they're not even keeping their noses above water for the last 10 years," says Georgetti. "You're going to see more of this." He predicts tougher bargaining from both private and public sector workers: government employees because they are falling behind private sector settlements, private sector workers, because they aren't sharing any of the corporate profits. Neither set of employers is leading by example any more, Georgetti says. "At some point in time their hypocrisy is going to come back and whack them between the eyes." Many of his concerns are reflected in Statistics Canada's "portrait of the trade union movement." It notes that, nationally, 3.3 million person-days of work were lost in 1996 because of strikes and lockouts, more than twice the 1.6 million a year earlier. That still falls far below the nine million days in 1980 when the country was rocked by more than 1,000 lockouts and strikes by what was then a smaller workforce. The B.C. ministry of labor's most recent figures show a steady drop in person-days lost to strikes -- from 345,850 in 1993 to 295,415 in 1995. Ernest Akyeampong, author of the Statistics Canada report, suspects the potential for strike action is greatest among government employees. "With wages freezes and rollbacks, they're certainly in a mood to get something back," he said. "There's the potential for action this year." The report comes as Canada faces the threat of its first postal strike in six years and Ottawa prepares to implement controversial amendments to federal labor laws, which business critics argue will give unions too much power and add to still high unemployment. The planned changes include a partial ban on the use of replacement workers during a strike and require employers to provide names and addresses of off-site employees to assist unions in the drive to certify such workers. B.C. has postponed changes to its labor code after an outcry from business, but it is expected to reintroduce amendments in the next session of the legislature. About 3.5 million Canadians, about one-third of all employees, belong to a union. Union membership rose fairly steadily to 3.8 million in 1990 from
[PEN-L:12028] When workers strike back
The Globe and Mail, August 27, 1997 WHEN THE WORKERS STRIKE BACK Stephen Roach The recently resolved United Parcel Service strike was a shot across the bow of the inflationless 1990s. U.S. workers are now beginning to challenge the very forces that have led to a spectacular resurgence in corporate profits and competitiveness. They are, in effect, saying "no" to years of corporate cost-cutting directed primarily at the labour force. The strike and the settlement, largely on the union's terms, challenge the wisdom of a Federal Reserve that seems content to ignore the danger of renewed inflation. And the settlement underscores the potential for a sharp decline in stock and bond markets. These concerns are at odds with today's conventional wisdom. Many believe the U.S. economy has entered a new era in which globalization, deregulation and the Information Age have combined to produce a rare and powerful recovery, led by increased worker productivity. In this scenario, wage gains are largely offset by the increased productivity. As a result, costs are held in check, inflation remains quiescent and profit margins widen inexorably. The financial markets enjoy the best of all worlds: low interest rates underpin a strong bond market and health corporate earnings feed an ever-rising stock market. The productivity-led recovery offers ample rewards for shareholders and workers alike. Labour can reap higher wages as its productivity increases, while investors can reap handsome returns. It's quite possible, however, that a very different scenario has been responsible for the good news on inflation and corporate profits in recent years. Call it a labour- crunch recovery -- one that flourishes only because corporate America puts unrelenting pressure on its work force. This is a much tougher and more pessimistic vision of the U.S. economy in the 1990s. Pressured by intense global competition to boost productivity in information or service industries, businesses become fixated on slashing labour costs. Intimidated by the threat of job security, labour initially complies with the demands. Companies hire more temporary and part- time workers, and full-time workers are made to stretch their work schedules as never before. At the same time, employees begin to bear more the cost of their benefits, including health insurance. Wages, adjusted for inflation, are squeezed, leading to a near stagnation that has persisted for more than two decades. Unlike the productivity-led recovery, the labour- crunch recovery is not sustainable. It is a recipe for mounting tensions, in which a raw power struggle occurs between capital and labour. Investors are initially rewarded beyond their wildest dreams, but those rewards could eventually be wiped out by a worker backlash. Investors are quick to defend the miracles of the productivity-led recovery that promises no end to the bull markets of the 1990s. But there's one small problem: there's not a shred of credible evidence in the macro-economy that supports the notion of a meaningful improvement in U.S. productivity. Indeed, in the just-completed revision of the national economic accounts, the poor productivity performance of the 1990s was left essentially unaltered. Average annual gains over the past six years were slightly less than 1 per cent, little different from the disappointing performance of the 1980s and less than half the gains of the 1950s and 1960s. Productivity revivalists argue that the data must be wrong. But the weight of evidence is increasingly in favour of the labour-crunch scenario. And it's not just the productivity statistics that favour this argument. There has also been a dramatic realignment of the economic pie, with a much larger slice going to capital and a smaller one to labour. Which takes us back to the recently settled UPS strike. For UPS, the cost of settlement, by some estimates, will eventually be as much as $1 billion (U.S.) a year. In the end, that's what worker backlash is all about. It speaks of a labour force that challenges the very notion of cost-cutting that has been central to economic recovery in the 1990s. - Stephen Roach is chief economist and director of global economics for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. Re-printed from the New York Times.
[PEN-L:11540] Labour tensions in South Africa
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 Originator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: "Nowetu Mpati" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Press statement around BCEA follows... Press Statement 29th July, 1997 SERVICE STOPPAGE LIKELY AS THOUSANDS OF MUNICIPAL WORKERS HEED COSATU'S CALL FOR MASS ACTION The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) would like to declare its full support for COSATU's rolling mass action, which begins on Monday. By threatening to withdraw the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill from Parliament, Minister Tito Mboweni is leaving municipal workers with no other choice but to stop services and take to the streets in support of the COSATU demand for basic rights. Minister Mboweni would do well to remember that the demand for a 40 hour week was first made by workers over 100 years ago, and is legislated in many countries today. It is of great concern to SAMWU that the Minister would think of allowing Business South Africa to block the inevitable transformation that workers have fought so hard for, and lost their lives for, in the past. This transformation and extension of worker rights was promised to the masses during the ANC campaign prior to the 1994 elections - was this merely an empty promise? The stalemate between workers and business has gone on for long enough! Every day that the Bill is delayed is to the disadvantage of thousands of workers who remain with no more rights than they had under apartheid. It is unacceptable to SAMWU that Minister Mboweni simply abdicate responsibility for millions of workers by threatening to abandon the Bill - if the Minister cannot see the bill being resolved by NEDLAC in the near future, he should take the road of a true democrat by allowing the Bill to be negotiated through Parliament. SAMWU members are ready to take to the streets in their thousands to fight for the COSATU demands!
[PEN-L:11508] Infomation on [Gold] Mining Requested! (fwd)
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Organization: The Other Media =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= S O S =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= --- K O L A RG O L DF I E L D S --- Dear friends, July 28, 1997 We are writing this note to request you to kindly pass on the following queries to appropriate persons or organ- isations to help us with required information on CIP technology in gold mining.We need information on Production Process, patterns of employment and issues of environment and safety. Details are found in the following note on KGF. Looking forward to your prompt response and action. With very warm regards, Yours sincerely, E. Deenadayalan The Kolar Gold Fields(KGF) is a premier gold mining area in India, located in Karnataka, and operated by the Bharath Gold Mines Limited (BGML), a Central Government Public Sector Undertaking. The mines have a recorded history of nearly 2000 years of operation. Owing to a faulty process of extraction, defective and outdated technology and deep mining there has been an escalation in the production cost of gold over time, rendering it uneconomic. Moreover the production during the first decade of this century was around 45 g/t while at present it is only 2.2 g/t. Thus the Union Government has decided to either close it or operate it with a reduced work force by launching a joint venture company and using CIP technology for gold recovery from the tailings. It is to be noted here that BGML, during their initial phases of operation, employed about 32,000 workers whereas at present the workforce has been reduced to about 6000 only. The closure or the retrenchment of workers will eventually create a catastrophic impact on the inhabitants of Kolar Gold Fields. The Citizens of KGF have sought help from outside to collaborate with them in their campaign against the closure of the mines. We, at our end, on behalf of The Other Media, are trying to develop scientific and effective arguments to counter the closure of mines. In this regard it may be noted that there are vast mounds of tailings which can be exploited either to extract gold or for some other purposes. Studies have shown that there is about 33 million tonnes of dumps accumulated over the years which may be a source of 24 tonnes of gold through the CIP technology. Thus we would be highly grateful to you if you kindly furnish us with the following information at the earliest :- A. PRODUCTION - A detailed description of the gold production process to recover it from the tailings - A brief outline of the CIP technology involved in the recovery of gold - How much capital is to be involved in its installation and how much is the operation and maintenance cost? - To what extent is this CIP technology viable in the Indian context and to what concentration should the gold be present in order to recover it from the tailings? - What is the rate of return of gold from the tailings? B. EMPLOYMENT - How mechanized or labour-intensive is this CIP technology? - What is the work-force required to operate this? - What type of skills are expected from the labourers for this technology? - What would be the average capital/job created? --- C. ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY --- - The CIP technology basically involves working with tailings with a high cementation of cyanide. Thus what are the hazardous processes and substances involved in CIP technology? - What are the occupational hazards involved in the process? - What are the precautions and safety measures to be adopted by the management? - What is done with the concentrated cyanide? Can it be put to any economic use? - Are there any environmental hazards involved in this process? If yes, what are those and how are those to be controlled or prevented? ... End of Message +--+ |T H E O T H E RM E D I A| |--| |K-14(F.F), Green Park Extn. | |New Delhi-110016 | |India.| |Ph : 91-11-6863830/6856640|
[PEN-L:11393] Re: references on immigration (fwd)
Forwarded message: Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 13:21:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Saskia Sassen [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: D Shniad [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [PEN-L:11334] references on immigration (fwd) Look at book by Isbister on Immigration; look at Portes and Rumbaut book; special issue of Social Justice (jpournal) on immigration. Contact Immigrant network crowd in Calif. good luck, Saskia Sassen On Sat, 19 Jul 1997, D Shniad wrote: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:11334] references on immigration friends, i need some references on immigration (economics, politics, unions and, etc.) i need them fast! thanks. michael yates
[PEN-L:11337] Forwarded mail...
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Jul 19 05:35 PDT 1997 Date: Sat, 19 Jul 97 07:24:35 CDT Message-Id: v03007804aff61dbc79e5@[144.92.181.184] Mime-Version: 1.0 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: John Fournelle [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 6221 Could you get this into your network? Carlos Salinas of Amnesty says the Leahy amendment is dead unless we can organize a grassroots swell of phone calls the next couple of days. Thanks. Please help spread Urgent Action to Save Leahy Amendment. Friends in Congress of Colombian Military have effectively gutted this prohibition on military aid (for War on Drugs) to army units (mainly Colombia and Peru) engaged in human rights violations. Vote will be Tuesday July 22 or soon thereafter. Full details at http://www.igc.apc.org/csn/leahy.html Thanks! Colombia Support Network [EMAIL PROTECTED] == Full text: STOP ATTACK ON LEAHY AMENDMENT July 18, 1997 From Carlos Salinas (Amnesty Intl) with clarifications added by Colombia Support Network. FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION -- For Human Rights in Colombia -- ACT BEFORE 5 PM TUESDAY JULY 22 HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE RESOLUTION GUTS HUMAN RIGHTS SAFEGUARD GOVERNING COUNTERNARCOTICS MILITARY TRANSFERS: CALL YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE (HOUSE SIDE ONLY) AND ASK THEM TO: PLEASE VOTE _AGAINST_ THE "RULE FOR FOREIGN OPERATIONS BILL" US Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121. Ask them for your Representative. Or if you know your Representative's fax number, please send them a letter. Please tell them that: The rule for the consideration of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill (Foreign Ops Bill) specifically targets the Leahy Amendment which prohibits US counternarcotics aid from going to specific foreign military units where there is credible evidence they've been involved in violations. (THIS IS, IN ESSENCE, REFERRING TO COLOMBIA AS WELL AS PERU.) Even offending units can receive aid if steps are taken to bring the responsible to justice. The rule was designed in part to remove this provision from the bill thus voting for the rule is voting to strike the Leahy provision. Voting for the rule is tantamount to saying the US should send military aid to units in spite of credible evidence those units have been involved in torture and murder. It is morally indefensible to provide military aid to known or suspected torturers and murderers. The rule must be voted down or rewritten to ensure the Leahy Amendment is not targeted. Update The rule was going to be voted on the evening of Wednesday July 16 but was postponed to Thursday, July 17. But then House Democrats, angry about another provision in the rule, protested during consideration of the Agriculture Appropriations bill and the House adjourned. The next vote that can take place is Tuesday July 22 after 5:00 p.m. This may come up from that point forwards. The vote may well be taking place in a highly charged partisan atmosphere with strict party line votes (Republicans for the rule, Democrats against), although the stated reason for the recess until Tuesday was to let tempers cool. It may also mean that some efforts may be made to rewrite the rule. Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), sponsor of the rule resolution insinuated as much during a C-SPAN interview as the House was adjourning on the afternoon of Thursday July 17. It is imperative that any re-writing include the Leahy Amendment. If the rule is rewritten, it should be done in such a way that it no longer makes the Leahy Amendment vulnerable. Background In the House of Representatives, a rule is a resolution which governs the handling of a bill on the floor, in this case, the "Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 1998," H.R. 2159, a.k.a. the Foreign Ops Bill. The Resolution providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2159) or Rule reads (page 2, lines 11-15): "Points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 or 6 of rule XXI are waived except as follows: beginning with ": Provided" on page 24, line 8, through "justice" on line 16." This refers to the Leahy Amendment which reads ( page 24, lines 8-16 of the Foreign Ops Bill): "Provided further, That none of the funds made available under this heading [Department of State, International Narcotics Control] may be provided to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible evidence to believe such unit has committed gross violations of human rights unless the Secretary determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that the government of such country is taking steps to bring the responsible members of the security forces unit to justice." What this does is allow a point of order against the Leahy Amendment (and only the Leahy Amendment), which will result in the removal of the Amendment. A point of order is an objection raised by a member that the
[PEN-L:11329] Unrest in China
The Globe and Mail Friday, July 18, 1997 MOUNTING LABOUR UNREST ALARMS CHINA'S LEADERS Disgruntled workers angry over shutdown of state factories By Rod Mickleburgh China Bureau An escalation in public protests against deteriorating working and living conditions has begun to alarm China's leaders. The latest serious outbreak occurred this month in the southwestern city of Mianyang, where thousands of angry workers confronted po- lice in demonstrations over the closing of their factories. A police crackdown injured scores of workers and several dozen were arrested, according to reports by a local dissident, Li Bifeng. One official acknowledged that "several big state-owned enterprises have declared bankruptcy and the workers and their families launched the protests so that they can ensure a basic standard of liv- ing." The Mianyang melees followed a provocative protest last month by more than 100 Beijing residents outside the city's high-walled Zhongnanhai compound, where many of China's top leaders live. The residents were protesting against the demolition of their homes and the failure to provide them with promised new accommodation. A more dramatic disturbance took place several months earlier in the city of Nanchong, not too far from Mianyang in the province of Si- chuan. There, an estimated 20,000 workers besieged the city hall for 30 hours, demanding back pay from their failing factories. On that occasion, authorities gave in. Loans were arranged, allowing workers to be paid for the first time in six months. Disgruntled workers have been blamed for a bomb explosion on a Beijing bus the same month. "These are more than isolated incidents," a Western diplomat said yesterday. "I believe Chinese authorities are very worried about them, and they are going to be more worried, because I think it's go- ing to get worse. "You have to assume there are already a lot more of these happen- ings than we know about." While issues such as forced resettlement, environmental degradation and poor housing have prompted many protests, the disturbances most unsettling to Chinese leaders are undoubtedly those involving workers, like those in Sichuan. Indeed, it could be said that the Chinese Communist Party's greatest fear these days is the very working class it still claims is running the country. According to a published report, public security chief Tao Siju warned recently that strikes, collective protests, petitions and dem- onstrations were "gravely disrupting public order," adding that all disturbances, no matter the cause, had to be "handled firmly . . . [with] no compromise." Since coming to power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party has crushed all attempts to establish independent, non-communist trade unions, with harsh sentences handed out to individual labour dissi- dents. A front-page article in the state-owned newspaper China Daily yes- terday provided a good example of the Chinese government's hostile attitude toward worker power. The article criticized "radical unionists" in Hong Kong for sponsor- ing legislation that would give unions there the right to bargain col- lectively for their wages and working conditions. "The government and many legislators worry that this may create la- bour confrontations and scare away investors," the article said. "The politicization of trade unions is also possible." The apparent rising tide of worker discontent in China comes at a time of growing economic dislocation. The "iron rice bowl" that once guaranteed Chinese workers a life- time of employment has long since cracked, as the country embraces economic reforms. China's official urban-unemployment rate hovers around 3 per cent, but many economists believe the real figure is at least twice as high. That would mean more than 10 million workers are currently unem- ployed, with only meagre social benefits on which to rely. Many more workers are hanging on to jobs in unproductive factories kept afloat only by large bank loans and a whittling of their pay. The prime culprit is China's vast stable of creaking state-owned en- terprises, which continue to employ more than 100 million workers. More than half lose money, many are idle and they are a steadily in- creasing drain on the national treasury. Yet Chinese leaders have until now been reluctant to accelerate the pace of bankruptcies because of fears of mass social unrest from sudden, widespread unemployment. Lately, however, there have been signs of renewed determination to confront the problem, regardless of the social cost. "The government just can't keep pouring money in. It's a black hole," the Western diplomat said. "One of their economists told me the other day their three top issues these days are the reform of state- owned enterprises, state-owned enterprise reform and reforming state-owned enterprises." The diplomat said there are also indications the
[PEN-L:11328] BURSON-MARSTELLER: PR FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER (fwd)
BURSON-MARSTELLER: PR FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER - By: Carmelo Ruiz The public relations (PR) business is one of the fastest growing industries in the global market economy. In order to face perils like labor unions, organized consumer activists and environmental groups, governments and corporations have come to rely more on slick PR campaigns. The peril to popular democracy posed by PR firms should not be underestimated. Using the latest communications technologies and polling techniques, as well as an array of high-level political connections, PR flacks routinely "manage" issues for government and corporate clients and "package" them for public consumption. The result is a "democracy" in which citizens are turned into passive receptacles of "disinfotainment" and "advertorials" and in which critics of the status quo are defined as ignorant meddlers and/or dangerous outsiders. Burson-Marsteller (B-M) is the world's largest PR firm, with 63 offices in 32 countries and almost $200 million in income in 1994. Although its name is unknown to most people-- even to many in activist circles-- B-M is fast becoming an increasingly important cog in the propaganda machine of the new world order. Human Rights, Anyone? On the human rights front, B-M has represented some of the worst violators of our age. These include: * The Nigerian government during the Biafran war, to discredit reports of genocide. * The fascist junta that ruled Argentina during the 70's and early 80's, to attract foreign investment. * The totalitarian regime of South Korea, to whitewash the human rights situation there during the 1988 Olympics. * The Indonesian government, which got into power through a CIA- sponsored bloodbath. (It should be pointed out, however, that B-M denies that it is handling the issue of genocide in East Timor) * Ideological barriers are no object. B-M also represented the late communist Romanian despot Nicolae Ceaucescu. * Other third world human rights violators that have been represented by B-M include the governments of Singapore and Sri Lanka. Doesn't this bother the consciences of B-M's executives? Not at all. Commenting on his firm's work for Argentina's fascists, B-M founder Harold Burson said that "We regard ourselves as working in the business sector for clearcut business and economic objectives. So we had nothing to do with a lot of the things that one reads in the paper about Argentina as regards human rights and other activities". Corporate Environmentalism For years B-M has been involved in major environmental issues all over the world, not hesitating to give polluters a helping hand when confronted by activist groups and/or government regulations. Many transnational corporations have turned to B-M for help in the creation of a pedantic, elitist and corporate-oriented brand of environmentalism. It is the hope of entrepreneurial sectors and neoliberal demagogues that this type of safe and harmless environmental activism will displace the more militant and agressive grassroots groups. B-M's environmental services have benefited industrial polluters, such as the following: * Babcock Wilcox, when its nuclear power plant in Three Mile Island had its famous mishap in 1979. * Union Carbide, to handle the public relations crisis caused by the Bhopal tragedy in 1984. * Exxon, to counter the negative press coverage it got in the wake of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in 1989. * Ontario Hydro, an industrial concern, headed by Earth Summit secretary general Maurice Strong, which is the biggest source of CO2 emissions in Canada. This corporation is currently selling nuclear reactors to Argentina and Chile. * The Louisiana-Pacific (L-P) logging company, famous for its union- busting, clear cutting of old growth forests and support for anti- environmental front groups. L-P hopes to convince its employees and the public that rural unemployment in North America is caused by environmental extremists and opressive government regulation and not by unsustainable logging practices or the relocation of s awmills to low-wage countries like Mexico. * B-M formed the British Columbia Forest Alliance (BCFA), a Canadian front group which has L-P among its founding members. BCFA is campaigning against restrictions on logging and is actively work ing to smear and discredit environmentalists. Other BCFA members include Mitsubishi and Weyerhaueser. * B-M is a key player in the nuclear industry lobby. According to Canadian journalist Joyce Nelson, B-M has for years "represented top nuclear power/nuclear weapons contractors such as General Electric, ATT, McDonnell Douglas, Asea Brown Boveri and Du Pont. In fact, Canada's first Candu [nuclear] reactor sale to Argentina in the early 1970's was later
[PEN-L:11324] U. of Illinois GEO Press Release 17 July 1997 (fwd)
Graduate Employees' Organization 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820 Campus Mail: MC-390 Phone: (217) 344-8283 Fax: (217) 344-8281 http://www.uiuc.edu/ph/www/taunion _ News Release from the G.E.O. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 17, 1997 Contact: Dennis Grammenos; Treasurer, GEO; (217) 367-9144 Ed Hertenstein; Co-president, GEO; (217) 328-5977 Visiting Steelworkers Support Graduate EmployeesU Unionization URBANA - More than 200 rank-and-file members of the United Steelworkers of America have been in town this week to participate in a labor education program held at the University of Illinois. An unexpected part of their education has been the discovery that the very university that has been playing host to them has been fighting the unionization of its graduate employees. GEO members distributed flyers to the steelworkers this week informing them of the graduate employeesU drive to unionize. The flyer read in part: "We want you to know about the hypocrisy of this university that collects funding to host a labor education program while, at the same time, it spends taxpayers' money to destroy [graduate employees'] democratic right to a union." Many of the steelworkers have contacted the office of chancellor Michael Aiken to express their dismay at what they termed "the administrationUs union-busting tactics" and to call for the recognition of the GEO. Steelworker Kat Dukes explained that she called Aiken's office and simply demanded that the administration stop playing "silly games," referring to the administrationUs insistence that graduate employees are just students and not employees. "Graduate employees carry the weight of the university on their shoulders and the administration should recognize their right to unionize," she said. "Is this or is this not America?" she asked. Charles Dale, another steelworker, expressed his surprise at what he called Rthe ludicrous hypocrisyS of the university. RRecognize the GEO," was his message for chancellor Aiken. "Graduate employees keep this university going and they deserve fair treatment," he added. "Uplifting," was the word used by GEO member Dennis Grammenos to characterized the outpouring of support from the steelworkers. "Graduate employees are grateful for the solidarity shown by the steelworkers. We had many who asked for extra flyers to take back to the steelmills to distribute to fellow union workers, folks who are parents and tax-payers" he said.
[PEN-L:11316] CAW settlement at Starbucks
The Vancouver Sun Wednesday 16 July 1997 STARBUCKS, UNION SIGN HISTORIC DEAL The B.C. contract with the coffee chain, which has 1,100 outlets, is a North American first. Bruce Constantineau, Sun Business Reporter Vancouver Sun Unionized workers at nine Greater Vancouver Starbucks coffee outlets and a distribution centre have voted 95 per cent in favor of an historic first contract that gives the 110 workers a 75-cent-an-hour pay raise, increasing the starting wage to $7.75 an hour. The British Columbia Starbucks locations become the first of more than 1,100 outlets in North America to negotiate a union contract with the Seattle-based coffee giant. The Canadian Auto Workers spent nearly 10 months working for a first collective agreement. "We see this as a very good beginning for Starbucks workers," said CAW national representative Roger Crowther. "They're getting a 75- cent increase on a ridiculous wage of $7 an hour." Starbucks responded to the two-year contract agreement Tuesday by announcing the same wages and conditions will apply to workers at all 96 B.C. Starbucks locations. Starbucks representative Shelly Silbernagel said the company did not make that decision to try to discourage union organizing at other B.C. outlets. "We have always had a philosophy of treating all our [employee] partners equally and that's the situation here." Silbernagel expects the CAW will try to organize more Starbucks stores but could not predict the outcome of future organizing drives. "Each partner will make his or her own informed decision. Ultimately, it's up to them." There are more than 130 Starbucks locations across Canada, and Crowther said Toronto-area workers have recently expressed an interest in joining the union. The 75-cent-an hour wage increase is retroactive to July 1, and another 12 cents an hour will be paid, effective July 1, 1998. The CAW said the base rate of $7.87 next year and the top rate of $10.62 will match the current rates paid to workers at CAW's 50 unionized Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets throughout B.C. The union acknowledged it didn't get everything it wanted, including paid sick leave and a base starting rate of $10 an hour. But it said it was pleased to negotiate an agreement where seniority becomes a key factor in shift scheduling, providing employees have the relative ability to do the work. The contract also contains strong anti-harassment language. Starbucks employee Lori Banong told a news conference Tuesday that many workers are pleased to win a first contract with Starbucks. "It was time to take back some control and make Starbucks realize it's the employees behind the counter that made the company what it is today," she said. Silbernagel said working conditions at Starbucks will remain basically the same and noted the contract contains "groundbreaking content" regarding the rights of a company to manage its operations. She noted, for example, the contract allows managers and assistant managers to do the work alongside unionized employees. B.C. Federation of Labor secretary-treasurer Angela Schira said the CAW contract with Starbucks is significant because service sector jobs are no longer just short-term, entry-level, part-time positions that only require low wage scales. "People now realize they are going to be working at these jobs for a few years so they need a wage that lets them make a decent living," she said. "The service sector is the fastest growing part of the economy and that's where most union organizing will take place in the future."
[PEN-L:11280] Re: Forwarded mail... (fwd)
From: Seth Klein, Coordinator, CCPA - BC Office RE: APEC The APEC leaders summit will take place in Vancouver this November. A parallel People's Summit on APEC will also be taking place between Nov. 19 and 24, during which a number of issue forums will occur. One of those forums will be a research forum. We would like to know who amoung who is doing research (or planning to do research) related to APEC. Are you researching trade liberalization, lesson from NAFTA/FTA, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, or APEC specifically? The CCPA and the organizers of the research forum may be interested in publishing your work, or in having it presented at the research forum. If you are doing APEC-related work, please email me at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks, Seth Klein Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives 804-251 Laurier Ave. W. Ottawa, ON K1P 5J6 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www: http://www.policyalternatives.ca
[PEN-L:11278] The Computer Delusion (Atlantic Monthly)
The Atlantic MonthlyJuly 1997 THE COMPUTER DELUSION by Todd Oppenheimer There is no good evidence that most uses of computers significantly improve teaching and learning, yet school districts are cutting programs -- music, art, physical education -- that enrich children's lives to make room for this dubious nostrum, and the Clinton Administration has embraced the goal of "computers in every classroom" with credulous and costly enthusiasm Thomas Edison predicted that "the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and ... in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks." Twenty-three years later, in 1945, William Levenson, the director of the Cleveland public schools' radio station, claimed that "the time may come when a portable radio receiver will be as common in the classroom as is the blackboard." Forty years after that the noted psychologist B. F. Skinner, referring to the first days of his "teaching machines," in the late 1950s and early 1960s, wrote, "I was soon saying that, with the help of teaching machines and programmed instruction, students could learn twice as much in the same time and with the same effort as in a standard classroom." Ten years after Skinner's recollections were published, President Bill Clinton campaigned for "a bridge to the twenty-first century ... where computers are as much a part of the classroom as blackboards." Clinton was not alone in his enthusiasm for a program estimated to cost somewhere between $40 billion and $100 billion over the next five years. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, talking about computers to the Republican National Committee early this year, said, "We could do so much to make education available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, that people could literally have a whole different attitude toward learning." If history really is repeating itself, the schools are in serious trouble. In Teachers and Machines: The Classroom Use of Technology Since 1920 (1986), Larry Cuban, a professor of education at Stanford University and a former school superintendent, observed that as successive rounds of new technology failed their promoters' expectations, a pattern emerged. The cycle began with big promises backed by the technology developers' research. In the classroom, however, teachers never really embraced the new tools, and no significant academic improvement occurred. This provoked consistent responses: the problem was money, spokespeople argued, or teacher resistance, or the paralyzing school bureaucracy. Meanwhile, few people questioned the technology advocates' claims. As results continued to lag, the blame was finally laid on the machines. Soon schools were sold on the next generation of technology, and the lucrative cycle started all over again. Today's technology evangels argue that we've learned our lesson from past mistakes. As in each previous round, they say that when our new hot technology -- the computer -- is compared with yesterday's, today's is better. "It can do the same things, plus," Richard Riley, the U.S. Secretary of Education, told me this spring. How much better is it, really? The promoters of computers in schools again offer prodigious research showing improved academic achievement after using their technology. The research has again come under occasional attack, but this time quite a number of teachers seem to be backing classroom technology. In a poll taken early last year U.S. teachers ranked computer skills and media technology as more "essential" than the study of European history, biology, chemistry, and physics; than dealing with social problems such as drugs and family breakdown; than learning practical job skills; and than reading modern American writers such as Steinbeck and Hemingway or classic ones such as Plato and Shakespeare. In keeping with these views New Jersey cut state aid to a number of school districts this past year and then spent $10 million on classroom computers. In Union City, California, a single school district is spending $27 million to buy new gear for a mere eleven schools. The Kittridge Street Elementary School, in Los Angeles, killed its music program last year to hire a technology coordinator; in Mansfield, Massachusetts, administrators dropped proposed teaching positions in art, music, and physical education, and then spent $333,000 on computers; in one Virginia school the art room was turned into a computer laboratory. (Ironically, a half dozen preliminary studies recently suggested that music and art classes may build the physical size of a child's brain, and its powers for subjects such as language, math, science, and engineering -- in one case far more than computer work did.) Meanwhile,
[PEN-L:11060] Re: Attachment
Translate the coded file into text. (No, I was not able to access the files.) KARL: How do I do that? Were you able to acces the files? On 26 Jun 97 at 12:08, D Shniad wrote: How about sending a plain text version? Yours etc., Karl
[PEN-L:11045] Solidarity with the Western Australian workers (fwd)
INTERNATIONAL MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY The General Secretary Western Australia Trades and Labour Council (WATLC) By e-mail to: Dear Comrades, The South African Municipal Workers Union stands with you in solidarity against the anti-worker legislation that has just been passed in Western Australia. We understand from a study done by the ICFTU that this legislation will be the most draconian in the industrialised world. SAMWU is currently fighting the privatisation of public services by multinational companies - a battle that goes hand in hand with the fight against the capitalist globalisation of the economy. Privatisation will mean that governments and the profit hungry private sector will become inextricably linked in putting profits before the needs of workers and communities. Globalisation will spawn an increasing amount of anti-worker laws worldwide, and it is vital that the international working class band together to heighten the struggle against neo-liberalism. In South Africa, proposed Basic Conditions of Employment legislation allows for downward variation of employment standards. It is clear that both South African and Western Australian unions face losing rights won for workers after many years of hard struggle. SAMWU believes that the legislation passed in your state is a thinly veiled attempt to crush the Australian labour movement completely. Southern Africa will not allow this to take place! Together with COSATU, we will mobilise our affiliates to take strong action against your government. If there is no sign that these fascist laws will be repealed by the beginning of August, we will begin mobilising for sanctions against Australia. We wish you luck for your mass action today and assure you of our utmost support in your struggle. Viva, Western Australian workers, Viva! Viva, a worldwide struggle against globalisation, Viva! Petros Mashishi President: South African Municipal Workers Union on behalf of SAMWU's 120 000 members
[PEN-L:11043] RIght to Know Nothing Legislation (fwd)
===Electronic Edition . . . RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT HEALTH WEEKLY #552 . . ---June 26, 1997--- . . HEADLINES: . . RIGHT TO KNOW NOTHING . . == . . Environmental Research Foundation . . P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403 . . Fax (410) 263-8944; Internet: [EMAIL PROTECTED] . . == . . Back issues available by E-mail; to get instructions, send . . E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the single word HELP . .in the message; back issues also available via ftp from. .ftp.std.com/periodicals/rachel and from gopher.std.com . .and from http://www.monitor.net/rachel/. . Subscribe: send E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . . with the single word SUBSCRIBE in the message. It's free. . = RIGHT TO KNOW NOTHING American corporations are successfully pursuing a new strategy to evade environmental laws and regulations. As the NEW YORK TIMES describes the new strategy, "Urged on by a coalition of big industries, one state after another is adopting legislation to protect companies from disclosure or punishment when they discover environmental offenses at their own plants."[1] In essence, state laws are giving corporations immunity from punishment if they self-report violations of environmental laws. Furthermore, any documents related to the self-reporting become officially secret, cannot be divulged to the public, and cannot be used as evidence in any legal proceedings. "This is a disaster for environmental enforcement," says David Ronald, chief of the environmental crimes division in the Arizona State Attorney General's Office. "It has been creeping through the states without anybody paying much attention."[1] The strategy took root in 1993 when the Oregon state legislature passed the first-ever "audit privilege" law, as they are called. Such laws --which have now been passed in at least 21 states and are pending in 13 or 14 others --typically contain the following provisions: ** Corporations that report violations discovered during a self-audit are immune from prosecution for their violations. They cannot be fined or otherwise punished if they disclose violations promptly to government authorities and take "reasonable" steps to achieve compliance. ** Individuals who participate in conducting an environmental audit cannot be called to testify in any judicial proceeding or administrative hearing. ** Perhaps most importantly, if a corporation conducts an environmental self-audit of its operations, the information in the self-audit cannot be disclosed to the public and cannot be used as evidence in any legal proceedings, including lawsuits and/or regulatory actions. Any information related to a self-audit becomes "privileged." This exemption typically covers any documents, notes, communications, data, or opinions related in any way to the audit. The corporation itself decides what is related to its self-audit and what is not. In essence, audit privilege laws allow a corporation to stamp any document "audit-related" and thus exempt it from public disclosure, discovery, or use as evidence in any legal proceeding. For companies facing Superfund lawsuits, or toxic tort actions, this exemption can translate into billions of dollars in avoided costs. ** Some states, such as Texas, have included additional provisions that make it a crime for employees or government officials to divulge anything related to environmental self-audits. In Texas, if a person divulges such information and it leads to penalties against a polluter, the individual who divulged the information must pay the polluters' fines, penalties, and other costs. This is a blatant "anti-whistle-blower" provision, clearly intended to silence individuals who might otherwise come forward with information about violations of law. Audit privilege laws --which are sometimes called Corporate Dirty Secrets Laws, or Right to Know Nothing Laws --apply not only to private corporations but also to governments as well. Thus citizens of a municipality can lose their right to know about pollution from their own local landfill when their state legislature passes an "audit privilege" law. The 21 states that have, so far, passed "audit privilege" laws include: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah,
[PEN-L:11041] Re: Attachment
How about sending a plain text version?
[PEN-L:11024] Fwd: RSF/IFEX alert on Indonesian internet control (fwd)
ACTION ALERT - INDONESIA 19 June 1997 Internet use to be controlled SOURCE: Reporters sans frontieres (RSF) Paris (RSF/IFEX) - On 18 June 1997, Minister of Tourism, Posts and Telecommunications Joop Ave said in launching a new Internet service for the partly state-owned telecommunications firm Indosat that Indonesia was planning to control access to the Internet as it went ahead with its programme to build the infrastructure to make the information superhighway accessible to many of Indonesia's 200 million citizens. Ave declared that "pornography [and] things that hamper or threaten national security" would be controlled. He added that "the values of the nation would definitely have a bearing upon the application of the Internet," and that Indonesia would not have an "anything goes" attitude toward the Internet. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Send appeals to authorities: -indicating that the threats against Internet use come during a period of restrictions on virtually every kind of freedom in Indonesia -requesting that all possible steps be taken immediately to guarantee the free flow of information, both on the Internet and on all other forms of media APPEALS TO: His Excellency General Suharto President Office of the President Bina Graha, Jalan Veteran No. 17 Jakarta Pusal, Indonesia Fax: +62 21 360 517/367 782/345 4438 Copies to: Agung Singgih, S.H. Attorney General Jakarta, Indonesia Fax: +62 21 720 8557 Haji Utoyo Oesman Minister of Justice Jakarta, Indonesia Fax: +62 21 525 3095 Ali Alatas Minister of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jalan Taman Pejambon 6 Jakarta Pusat Indonesia Fax: +62 21 345 0517 Please copy appeals to the source if possible. For further information, contact Barbara Vital-Durand at RSF, 5, rue Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51, e-mail: rsf@calvanet. calvacom.fr, Internet: http://www.calvacom.fr/rsf/. The information contained in this action alert is the sole responsibility of RSF. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF. _ DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE 490 Adelaide St.W., suite 205, Toronto (ON) M5V 2T1 CANADA tel: +1 416 703 1638, fax: +1 416 703 7034 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/___
[PEN-L:11011] [NYT,MH,AP] Leaders Honor a Union Giant, (fwd)
* New York Times News Service, June 23, 1997 Mexican Leaders Honor a Union Giant, And an Era By JULIA PRESTON MEXICO CITY, June 23 -- Government officials and labor leaders turned out Sunday to pay their last respects to Fidel Velazquez Sanchez, the 97-year-old labor patriarch whose death on Saturday marked the end of six decades of unbending top-down control of the Mexican union movement. But notably absent from the ceremonies was any outpouring of grief from rank-and-file workers. Local unions from around the country sent huge wreaths of white marigolds and scarlet roses. But the streets outside the Mexican Workers' Confederation, the scene of many labor demonstrations over the years, were empty except for the parked luxury cars of government and labor officials. President Ernesto Zedillo rendered his homage standing beside Velazquez's mahogany coffin during a wake in the atrium of the headquarters of the labor confederation. Velazquez ran the confederation for most of the last 60 years. "He always encouraged negotiation, not confrontation,'' Zedillo said. "He always worked for stability, not uncertainty.'' Inside, after Zedillo's speech a few workers started to shout "Fidel! Fidel!'' But their voices sounded thin as they echoed up toward the skylight, and the slogans quickly subsided. Government officials were ready to show their gratitude to Don Fidel, as he was known in Mexico, after he used his grip on the mainstream labor movement to help them impose a harsh belt-tightening program on Mexican workers that has begun to pull the country out of a steep recession that began in 1994. But dissident labor leaders and opposition politicians immediately criticized the legacy of low wages that Velazquez has left and predicted that his death would unleash a power struggle to produce a more decentralized and aggressive labor movement, and to break the decades-old bonds between the unions and the government. "The old labor system is passing away,'' said Kevin Middlebrook, an expert on Mexican labor at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies in San Diego. "It is quite likely that no one can maintain the unity and discipline Fidel Velazquez achieved. That was his historic contribution.'' Leaders of the labor confederation were shaken by the death of their leader, even though it was long expected, and moved to postpone the succession battle within their ranks. Based on a pecking order established in the confederation's statutes, 78-year-old Leonardo Rodriguez Alcaine, the head of the electrician's union, will act as secretary general until a national assembly meets in February. Rodriguez got the interim job because he is the only one of the highest leaders of the confederation who is in good health. But already there are murmurings among midlevel officials that the mainstream labor movement needs a younger leader who will be less identified with years of unquestioned support for government policies. As a sign of the confederation's lack of credibility with the public, the announcement of Velazquez's death Saturday morning prompted a storm of rumors that he had in fact died a day earlier but that the government delayed the announcement to allow for secret succession negotiations. Velazquez's personal physician, Dr. Salomon Jasqui, later made another announcement confirming the date and time of death. After Velazquez was first elected to head the labor group in 1941, he pioneered a system in which workers collaborated with the government in exchange for privileged treatment from public institutions like the national petroleum company and the social security system. But this pact was practically destroyed by the grinding economic crisis of the last two years. The buying power of the average Mexican worker today is less than it was in 1980. In the last two months Zedillo has been booed and taunted twice at labor gatherings, shows of disrespect that would have been unthinkable before the crisis. "What Fidel Velazquez left workers was constantly declining living standards,'' said Agustin Rodriguez Fuentes, the head of a dissident labor coalition. "His death means that we can begin to rehabilitate the labor movement.'' Velazquez's death is expected to cost Zedillo's political party, which has ruled Mexico for nearly 70 years, votes among workers in national legislative and local elections on July 6. Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, the leftist candidate for mayor of Mexico City, who polls indicate will be elected, said he lamented Velazquez's death as he would "that of any person,'' but he called him "the leader of a labor movement based on corruption and patronage.'' Rodriguez, the interim
[PEN-L:10999] Re: The PEN/PKT Challenge
Max, Who has called you to Paris? Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10960] Back to the streets!
The Daily Telegraph Friday 20 June 1997 Jospin finds key policy pledges hard to honour By Susannah Herbert in Paris France's Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, struggled yesterday to disguise his government's inability to meet his campaign pledges, and his debut policy speech was immediately attacked as disappointing and vague. M Jospin, who won power this month on a "more spending, less tax" platform, said in his speech that he would honour his promises, but he showed signs of backtracking on key issues, including privatisation and employment. "The French made a choice full of hope but heavy with demands," he said. His first attempt to meet these demands, by challenging Germany over the Franco-German stability pact at Amsterdam this week, failed ignominiously when he was forced to ratify a text he had earlier attacked as "absurd". His few firm commitments yesterday included a four per cent increase in the minimum wage from July 1. The rise was criticised as too low by the Communist Party, on whose support M Jospin depends for his parliamentary majority. The Communists, who have called for an eight per cent increase, were also critical of M Jospin's decision to put off government action on employment. Having promised during the election campaign to cut the working week from 39 hours to 35 without loss of pay, M Jospin said yesterday that the planned decrease would be introduced slowly over five years. "Change should get under way without delay. People don't understand why we are all going off on holiday when there are so many expectations," said Alain Bocquet, leader of the 38-strong Communist parliamentary group. One Communist MP, Maxime Gremetz, said he would not vote for M Jospin's programme because "it's not heading the right way. How can one implement real change without rejecting the logic of the Franco-German stability pact? It all means we're going along the same old road," he said. M Jospin's main excuse for vagueness is financial: having promised to take France into the single currency without belt-tightening, he now faces the impossible task of balancing the books. "The public finances are in a serious situation," he told MPs yesterday, adding that the true state of France's deficit would not be known until next month. Philippe Seguin, leader of the Gaullist parliamentary group, warned M Jospin that the hardest tasks lay ahead. "You are going to have to choose between the word you've given to our European partners and the word you have given to your electorate," he said, alluding to M Jospin's failure to wrest meaningful concessions over the single currency from Germany at the Amsterdam summit. On privatisation, M Jospin was careful to leave his options open. He said he did not favour the privatisation of big government-owned companies operating under competitive conditions, but suggested compromise solutions lay ahead for firms such as France Telecom, whose privatisation was interrupted by the election. "We know that adaptations will be needed to maintain our place among the world's most highly developed nations and in order to move closer to other European partners," the prime minister said. The new government, like the old, will need the money released by France Telecom's privatisation if it is to reduce the state deficit, estimated by the finance ministry at 3.5 to 3.7 per cent of GDP. However, privatisation as a principle is bitterly opposed by the Communist Party and much of the Socialist Party. Despite M Jospin's campaign promise to create 700,000 jobs - half in the public sector - yesterday's policy speech gave no guidance on details. However, in cancelling the planned construction of a canal linking the Rhine to the Rhone and in promising to close France's Superphenix nuclear breeder reactor, M Jospin has eliminated two major sources of employment, pleasing his Green Party allies but worrying the Communists. M Jospin said of the canal that he wanted "to avoid a start to construction of expensive infrastructures marked by disturbances and costs that are not in proportion to the advantages they can offer the community".
[PEN-L:10945] World Bank 22 June Toronto (fwd)
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 14:43:53 -0400 (EDT) From: sage [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY ENDORSES KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION TORONTO, June 18 /CNW/ - More than 1,400 people involved in international development and information technology will gather in Toronto June 22-25 for a major international conference to explore the role of knowledge, information and technology in development. The conference, entitled Global Knowledge 97: Knowledge for Development in the Information Age, will focus on turning the information revolution into a force for economic development, social cohesion and poverty alleviation in the 21st century. The conference will be opened by His Excellency, The Right Honorable Romeo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada, James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and The Honorable Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations. His Excellency Jos? Maria Figueres, President of Costa Rica; and His Excellency Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda will also attend the conference, as will The Honourable Diane Marleau, the Canadian Minister for International Cooperation and Minister responsible for la Francophonie. GK97 is sponsored by more than 45 public and private organizations and co-hosted by the World Bank and the Government of Canada. GK 97 will focus on three major themes: understanding the role of knowledge and information in economic and social development; sharing strategies for harnessing knowledge; and building partnerships to empower the poor and foster international dialogues about development. Participants have been selected from more than 120 countries based on their ability to make an impact in their communities and on the future direction of development. Participants include leaders of government; non-governmental organizations; business and industry; education and science and representatives from grassroots, national, regional, and multilateral organizations. Eight plenary sessions will be held featuring keynote speeches from world experts and industry leaders and practitioners including Arno Penzias, Nobel Laureate and Chief Scientist, Bell Laboratories; Katherine Hagen, Deputy Director General, International Labour Organization; Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers; Joy Mal?, Headmistress, Mengo Senior School, Kampala, Uganda; Federico Mayor, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Jean Monty, Chairman and CEO of Nortel; and Vivienne Wee, Director of ENGENDER. In addition the conference will include a number of working sessions on a wide variety of subjects. Participants will also use video and virtual conferencing to explore ways in which information and knowledge technology can contribute to global poverty reduction and sustainable development. Information and communications technologies are crucial for developing countries to become full partners in the global economy. New technology helps modernize and expand business and trade links and can provide communities with better access to basic services like health care, education, environmental monitoring and natural resource management. It can also work to alleviate gender inequities. Because people remain at the heart of sustainable development, the conference will focus heavily on the development of best practices and opportunities to build human networks in support of knowledge and information exchange. A virtual conference is being held through five websites leading up to Global Knowledge 97. An official conference website will be maintained for one year following the meeting in Toronto. This virtual conference will make GK 97 a truly global event, giving those with access to the internet a chance to participate in the debates surrounding the conference issues, to connect with other interested groups and individuals around the world and to interact electronically with participants. An inclusive list of speakers can be found on the conference website. -30- For further information: or media accreditation contact: Gerald Crowell or Kas Maglaris, GPC Communications, (416) 598-0055, fax (416) 598-3811, e-mail at gcrowell(at)ottawa.gpc.ca.; or access the conference website at www.globalknowledge.org http://www.tao.ca/earth/lk97/ http://www.tao.ca/earth/lk97/archive Bob Olsen Toronto [EMAIL PROTECTED] ]:-)
[PEN-L:10903] Admirable self restraint
Sid, In case you were expecting a rejoinder regarding your latest wave of EU-related posts, I'm not ignoring you. I haven't changed my mind. I just don't have anything new to say. Cheers, MBS Max, it's not only legitimate to say nothing under such circumstances -- it's admirable! Cheers, Sid
[PEN-L:10885] Pending crash?
The Baltimore Sun June 17, 1997 Market on verge of collapse, analyst says When the stock market crashes, it'll be like an earthquake leveling a city. That's what Thomas H. Eichler says. And he feels the rumbling. Eichler, who is the president and chief investment officer of Eichler Magnin Inc., a Los Angeles-based investment management firm, says that within the next 12 months the stock market will plunge by 50 percent. "Within the next year we expect one of the major financial crashes of this century. We feel there will be an economic depression. We don't think people will have a chance to get out," he said. Eichler is a member of a small group of experts that is bearish on the stock market. Those who have made negative predictions over the past three years have been baffled and embarrassed time and time again because stocks keep driving higher. The Dow Jones industrial average -- a closely watched barometer made up of 30 large companies -- has more than doubled in the past 2 1/2 years, closing Friday at 7,782.04, up from 3,838.48 on Jan. 3, 1995. But the 35-year-old Eichler believes that the stock market has peaked and that it is on the verge of a crash that mirrors 1929. Here's why: Eichler argues that there are gaping imbalances in the U.S. financial system. While corporations are making big profits, incomes of consumers have stagnated, the savings rate has slipped, debt levels have risen, and taxes as a percentage of income are at their highest levels this century, he said. "That type of mix is very worrisome," he said. With debt levels rising and incomes barely growing, consumer spending is bound to slow, he said. That will filter through to companies that produce goods and services. Less money to spend means that fewer people will buy lawn mowers or take the family out to eat. He argues that investors are paying unrealistic amounts for stock, more than twice their normal value. "If you went to normal valuations, we are talking about 3,300 to 3,500 on the Dow," Eichler said. "Investors are not prepared for this type of decline. People are really in a vulnerable position. This financial speculation has almost been like a steroid. Be assured, it is nothing more than just a steroid." Some key market indicators buttress his views. Stocks in the SP 500 are selling at about 22 times average earnings, the highest price-to-earnings ratio since World War II except for 1987. The market was hit with a 35 percent correction that year. Stocks are selling at more than four times their book value. At the market's August 1987 peak, before the crash, they were selling at just over two times their book value. The dividend yield, which goes down when the price of stocks goes up, stands at a record low of 1.73 percent. In August 1987, it was 2.54 percent. Another reason the market will fall, Eichler says, is that investors will pump more money into foreign stocks as economies around the world recover at the expense of U.S. companies. "It seems to me absurd that somebody wouldn't accept my scenario," Eichler said. "It is backed by 100 years of history and reasonable economic analysis." Richard Cripps, chief market strategist of Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., agrees that stocks are over-valued, but he doesn't see a 1929-type crash. "Making that type of analysis is 100 percent looking in a rear-view mirror," he said. "History adds a lot of perspective, but we have a dynamic environment right now." Eichler is a student of history, and much of it has come from his father and two grandfathers who ran their own brokerage firms. His grandfather Henry believed that people helped companies raise capital by buying their stock. They were rewarded through appreciation and dividends. "They were very traditional and very conservative," he said. Eichler manages the company with the same philosophy. The firm oversees $30 million for wealthy clients. Thirty-eight percent of the assets are in cash; 24 percent are in stocks, which include closed-end bond funds and utilities; and the rest is salted away in gold, bonds and other fixed-income instruments. Eichler Magnin returned 8.5 percent last year, far off the pace of the SP 500's 20 percent return. "We have clearly been wrong based on what people out there expect," he said. "The easier way out is to do what everybody else is doing. We want to preserve assets." But Eichler doesn't think he's wrong about the crash he feels rumbling. "It's almost like an earthquake coming from Los Angeles," he said. "It's scary."
[PEN-L:10884] Jospin's compromise
The Globe and Mail Tuesday, June 17, 1997 Compromise ends bickering between France, Germany Unemployment problem gains recognition at EU summit By Madelaine Drohan European Bureau France declared victory yesterday in its battle with Germany over joblessness, securing a promise that European Union leaders would pay more attention to the problem, starting with a special jobs summit later this year. The promise ended the public bickering between Lionel Jospin, the new Socialist Prime Minister of France, and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl over whether European funds should be used to finance large public-works projects. Their public fight had threatened to derail the summit of European leaders that began yesterday. "This is a great success for France," said Manuel Valls, spokesman for Mr. Jospin. "It's a good compromise. It's a good deal." Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, whose country holds the six-month rotating presidency of the 15-member union, helped restore harmony with a package of measures including the jobs summit, a pledge by the European Investment Bank to investigate ways of funding small businesses, and the joint promise by the leaders written into a treaty that they will make employment a priority. Mr. Jospin was satisfied that France had moved employment high on the EU agenda. And Mr. Kohl went along because no new money would be spent. The European Investment Bank is funded by EU countries but only makes loans on a commercial basis to projects and companies that are commercially viable. "There are only winners in this game. There are no losers," declared Jacques Santer, who as president of the European Commission is the EU's top bureaucrat. "We're extremely relieved and very happy that we've managed to get this action." Mr. Santer was happy because the compromise saved the Amsterdam summit from failure and kept the drive for a single currency on track. If France had stuck to its guns about using public funds to create jobs, it could have delayed the Jan. 1, 1999, launch date for the currency. Yesterday's compromise also meant the leaders could turn today to what was supposed to be the real meat of the meeting: streamlining how Europe operates and preparing the group to accept new members in the 21st century. Mr. Jospin's demands on jobs had shaken the other European leaders, who did not know what to expect from the Prime Minister whose left-wing coalition took office only two weeks ago. His opening position was that Europe should revive plans shelved three years ago for massive, publicly funded projects such as high-speed train lines criss-crossing Europe. Just how effective any job-creation measures will be in reducing the number of unemployed in Europe from the current level of 18 million remains in doubt. European leaders have held so-called jobs summits before, and they have done little to fix the problem. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair was dismissive of the employment package, saying there were differences between Britain and France on how to go about tackling unemployment. Britain, whose unemployment rate is among the lowest in the EU, sides with Germany and against France on the question of spending public money to create jobs. When asked how many jobs might be produced by yesterday's action, the British spokesman replied: "Eight." He added that job creation is a matter of national policy, not European policy. But France's attempts to reform its generous social-security system and make the kind of spending cuts necessary to give its economy a boost have met with widespread labour unrest. Truckers, fishermen, doctors and students have taken their turn marching through the streets of Paris to protest against even the most minor changes. The former right-wing government lost the June 1 election because its popularity had been so badly dented by strikes and protests. Mr. Jospin was elected on a platform of promising to create 700,000 jobs, half of them in the public sector, and reducing the working week to 35 hours from 39. No other country in Europe has recently adopted such methods. The kind of changes that a country such as Britain has made, cutting public spending, allowing freer rein to market forces and removing layers of regulation, have been dismissed by French Socialists, who say they want to have nothing to do with what they call the Anglo-Saxon model.
[PEN-L:10871] (Fwd) State of China's Working Class (fwd)
Date: Sun, 15 Jun 1997 10:58:47 -0700 (PDT) Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Michael Eisenscher [EMAIL PROTECTED] To:Labor Research and Action Project [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: State of China's Working Class X-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] World News Review 15-6-97a China: Inequality greater than is the West, 210,000 Labour disputes reported unrest rising Beijing Dangdai Sichao in Chinese, 20 Apr 97 No 2, pp 15-23 ** The full text of this Dangdai Sichao report is available on request, it contains the results of surveys carried out amongst hundreds of thousands of Workers in State Owned Industries across China. e-mail us for the full version [EMAIL PROTECTED] ...Then, what are the reasons that make more and more workers disbelieve scientific Communism, choose the ideal on personal life and even believe in religion? (Note: According to a nationwide survey of workers, 8-9 percent of the workers were religious among the total number of workers surveyed. However, 20 percent of the workers in Shanghai and 26.5 percent of the workers surveyed are religious.) I believe that this situation can be attributed to two major factors--the international factor and the domestic factor. Of the two, the domestic factor is the main one. It is specifically manifested as follows: First, the weakening socialist awareness with Marxism as the guidance has caused confusion and misled the public opinion to a certain extent during a certain period. It prevents China's theoreticians from studying and correctly explaining the several deep-rooted problems in the course of developing socialist modernization, and hinders enterprises in following the correct path in reform. It not only abets corruption and degeneration, but also deeply affects people in choosing their values. Since the introduction of the reform and opening-up policy, two of our principal party leaders had, on separate occasions, committed mistakes on the issue of opposing bourgeois liberalization. Deng Lijun's songs became a fad of the time, and the book Abandoned Capital blatantly sought publicity. The "China Human Rights Group" and the "Thawing Society" appeared in the late 1970s, and the Beijing disturbance broke out in late spring and early summer in 1989. Public funds were used in feasting and other kinds of entertainment, and some people even used public funds to visit prostitutes and engage in gambling. Persons such as Wang Baosen overtly babbled about ideals and faith, while covertly leading a fast life. All these indicate the need to strengthen ideological education among ourselves. Second, A considerable number of state-owned and collective enterprises are not doing well. Some of them suffer losses, while others are forced to suspend or curtail production. Some workers do not get paid on time or simply receive no pay. As a result, some workers' families live in dire poverty. Their situation shows a striking contrast to the sudden wealth attained by some dubious characters and the wanton extravagance of some "influential officials" and "upstarts." Workers' weak economic status affects their political and cultural status, and makes them feel passive in their mind. The number of workers laid off by enterprises continues to increase, and the rate of urban unemployment is on the rise. This not only pushes the workers' families in deep water, but also undermines social stability. In accordance with the statistics compiled by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the number of workers who were laid off or asked to accept reduced wages or retirement reached 6,924,110, almost 7 million. In accordance with the statistics compiled by the Ministry of Labor, among the 108 million workers in the country, there are approximately 30 million redundant workers in state-owned enterprises throughout China (of whom about 15 million lie idle and another 15 million are covertly idle) accounting for 25-30 percent of the total number of workers. The urban unemployment rate was 2.3 percent in 1992, 2.5 percent in 1993, and 2.8 percent in 1994, and it was estimated to be 3 percent in 1995 with a continuous upward trend. This rate is estimated to reach 4.8 percent by the year 2000. Some people believe that if the 20 million covert idle workers and the 6 million on-the-job unemployed workers in enterprises forced to completely or partially suspend production are included, China's urban unemployment rate will be 10 percent, not 2.8 percent. In accordance with statistics compiled by the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions, there were 84,500 laid- off workers waiting for jobs in Shanghai in 1992. The number of unemployed in 1993 was 68,900 more than that in 1992, and that in 1994 was 44,700 more than that in 1993. The number of
[PEN-L:10874] Spring Issue of International Labour Review (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Jun 16 17:43 PDT 1997 X-Authentication-Warning: sunspot.ccs.yorku.ca: lanfran owned process doing -bs X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 20:41:36 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Sam Lanfranco [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Spring Issue of International Labour Review To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Content-Length: 1014 INTERNATIONAL LABOUR REVIEW Guide to Vol 136 (1997) No. 1. (Spring) The Spring 1997 issue of the International Labour Review Contains the following articles: Introduction, the Editor "Labour law reform in Latin America: Between state protection and flexibility", by Arturo S. Bronstein "Labour markes and employment practices in the age of flexibility: A case Study of Silicon Valley", by Martin Carnoy, Manuel Castells and Chris Benner "Atypical employment in the European Union", by Andries De Grip, Jeroen Hoevenberg and Ed Willems "Labour disputes in western Europe: Typology and tendencies, by Maximos Algisakis "Can Alternative Dispute Resolution help resolve employment disputes?", by Arnold M. Zack Perspectives [Section]: Parental Leave - Correspondence with the Review should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Requests for publications should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] -
[PEN-L:10873] PBS
The Nation June 13-20, 1997 PBS Strikes Labor Public television added another episode of timidity to its history this spring when the Public Broadcasting Service rejected a documentary because it had received funding from unions. Out at Work, directed by Kelly Anderson and Tami Gold, documents the workplace experiences of two gay men and a lesbian after their employers and co-workers found out they were gay. The woman was fired by the infamous Cracker Barrel; one of the men, a Detroit auto worker, was harassed and threatened by his co-workers; the other, a Bronx librarian, fought for health benefits for his lover with AIDS. Lisa Heller, executive producer of the public TV series P.O.V., had said she was "seriously considering" putting the film on her schedule, and thus it was submitted to PBS headquarters for routine review. Sandra Heberer, PBS's director of news and information programming, acknowledged to Heller in a letter that the documentary was "compelling television responsibly done on a significant issue of our times." The network claimed, however, that its "guidelines prohibit funding that might lead to an assumption that individual underwriters might have exercised editorial control over program content...even if, as is clear in this case, those underwriters did not." At first glance, the rejection appeared to be a way to dodge a gay-themed program, as with PBS's queasiness about funding a sequel to Armistead Maupin's popular Tales of the City. But Heller, who said she was "disappointed" with the PBS rejection, insisted that P.O.V. has "a good track record" in getting gay-themed films approved for PBS distribution. The problem, then, is with the documentary's funders. Nine labor unions and the Astraea National Lesbian Action Foundation, among others, backed the documentary, some with contributions as low as $500. Harry Forbes, a PBS publicist, explained that because the underwriters "were all sort of labor- oriented," it created a possible perception of conflict of interest. Of course, public television is overflowing with regular programming, specials and documentaries that are funded by corporate-oriented organizations of all sorts. Critics have long railed over PBS-accepted documentaries like The Man Millions Read, a hagiography of New York Times columnist James Reston that was partly funded by the Times and directed by a member of the Sulzberger family, which owns a controlling interest in the paper. Other examples include a 1991 special on the American diet that was partly underwritten by Nestlé and The Machine That Changed the World, a 1992 documentary that was funded in part with a $1.9 million grant from computer manufacturer Unisys. Why didn't the "perception of conflict of interest" kill these programs? A PBS official explained that the Times was a producer rather than an underwriter of its program, though he doubted that labor unions would be allowed to produce a PBS program. Asked if the Out at Work rejection meant that labor unions could never fund a PBS-distributed documentary about workplace issues, Forbes said, "I think that's probably true." This labor lockout is astonishing not only because it denies viewers a full debate but because it obliterates the lead role unions have played in the history of public broadcasting. There would never have been a portion of the broadcast spectrum reserved for educational purposes without the labor activism of the twenties and thirties. When he was vice president of the United Auto Workers, Leonard Woodcock served on the Carnegie Commission that wrote the blueprint for the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, and $25,000 from the U.A.W. and $100,000 from the Communications Workers of America helped get the Corporation for Public Broadcasting started in the late sixties. Now, however, public television's largest distributor says union money is verboten, unless it pays for programming in which unions have no interest. The antilabor standard will no doubt be popular among the commercial sponsors PBS is flirting with. Whether it runs ads or not (outgoing F.C.C. chairman Reed Hundt has come out against the proposition), the public television system, which was founded out of frustration with commercial television's limitations, is now sadly more limited than commercial television. Just ask filmmakers Gold and Anderson; they're repackaging Out at Work to be shown on HBO. James Ledbetter James Ledbetter, a staff writer at The Village Voice, is the author of Made Possible By...: The Death of Public Broadcasting in the United States (Verso), which will be published this fall.
[PEN-L:10872] Sprint
The Nation June 12-18, 1997
Hotline to the White House
Sprint, blatantly anti-union, has drawn N.L.R.B. censure but Bill Clinton's
praise.
By Bill Mesler
It was the most exciting day of Eliza Lopez's life. This past February at the
ritzy Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, the 29-year-old single mother from
Guadalajara met with Vice President Al Gore to talk about the shutdown of
San Francisco-based La Conexion Familiar. Three years ago, that Hispanic-
oriented marketing subsidiary of Sprint was abruptly closed, leaving its 235
workers jobless just days before they were to vote on joining a union -- an
election the union was expected to win easily. The A.F.L.-C.I.O. has called the
case the most glaring violation of workers' right to unionize in decades. Gore
was using the Biltmore Hotel meeting to cultivate his new post-NAFTA, "labor
friendly" image well before the race for the Democratic presidential
nomination in 2000 heats up.
Lopez told Gore about harsh working conditions at La Conexion Familiar
("The Family Connection"), where access to drinking water and toilets was
strictly limited. She told him about commissions promised but never paid. And
she told him how the loss of her job left her trapped in a violent relationship
because she didn't have the resources to care for her two children on her own.
"He seemed very moved," said Lopez. "He said he was going to talk to Bill
Clinton and figure out how the government can force employers to respect
employees' legal rights. He also said he was going to try to not let any
government employee use Sprint."
Gore wasn't the first Administration official to show concern over the La
Conexion case. Almost immediately after the 1994 firings, Labor Secretary
Robert Reich said he would try to revoke Sprint's contract to handle the Labor
Department's long-distance telephone service (the company is under contract to
carry 40 percent of the federal government's long-distance calls). But three
years after the La Conexion workers were fired, and months after an order by
the National Labor Relations Board to rehire the employees and pay them back
wages, they still haven't seen a dime from Sprint, said to have the "worst labor
record of any telecommunications company in the world" by a spokesperson
for the 4.6-million-member Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International
union. And despite the Administration's promises to labor to take on Sprint, it
has yet to lift a finger against the company. Sprint was even singled out for
praise by President Clinton. In his 1997 State of the Union Message, Clinton
called Sprint a company that is leading the way to "create jobs so that people
can move from welfare to work."
A closer look at Sprint's relationship with the Democrats shows that at the
least, Clinton's kid-gloves treatment looks like a political trade-off: Kansas-
based Sprint (led by its conservative Republican chairman, Bill Esrey) gave
Clinton a surprise endorsement in the presidential campaign, and people
associated with Sprint gave more than $25,000 to the Clinton campaign; the
President then gave the telecommunications giant an endorsement on national
television better than any commercial. There may be even more to the
relationship between the White House and Sprint, involving one well-known
Democrat on the Sprint payroll. No, not Murphy Brown -- Webster Hubbell.
It's still unclear why the company agreed to pay the former Associate Attorney
General and Clinton chum from Arkansas $90,000 in November 1994, just a
month before Hubbell pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion and mail fraud. But
it did. Congressional investigators, and special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, are
now trying to determine if any of the payments were hush money to keep
Hubbell from cooperating with the Whitewater investigation.
Sprint supported the Clinton campaign and made payments to Hubbell. In its
other dealings with the government, it has received preferential treatment from
the Labor Department; won surprising approval of a controversial merger with
German and French companies in 1994; and gained a substantial rewrite -- and
delay -- of a NAFTA report on the impact of plant shutdowns that was
commissioned because of La Conexion (the report was finally released this
month). Sprint could even win approval of a newly proposed alliance with
Teléfonos de México (better known as TelMex), Mexico's telecommunications
company, which is owned by notorious financier Carlos Slim, believed to have
amassed the largest fortune in Mexico through his political ties.
Like many of the Democrats' financial-scandal woes, the Sprint relationship
bears the imprimatur of the late Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. In January
1991 Brown, then chairman of the Democratic National Committee,
announced a new working arrangement between the party and Sprint. "The
Democratic Party has entered into an agreement
[PEN-L:10862] EU vs. social Europe
In their open letter to the heads of government of the 15 member states of the European Union, published June 12, 1997 in several European papers, 331 European economists expressed concern about the current policy trajectory in Europe. They characterized the European Central Bank (ECB) as the _only_ significant European body making socio-economic policy and argued that parliaments and governments will soon lack the ability to correct ECB policies if the bank takes extreme measures to ward off inflation because the ECB will act with complete autonomy. Apologies to Pen-ers -- especially those who favour the EU as a means of pursuing European unity -- are affronted by my proclivity to repeat this same theme. But how, given this state of affairs, can the EU be seen as a vehicle for the unification of Europe along progressive lines? Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10859] 20,000 Protest on EU Jobs (fwd)
The Irish Times FOREIGN Monday, June 16, 1997 =20 A crowd of an estimated 50,000 carries banners as they march in an unemployment protest in Amsterdam on Saturday. Trouble broke out when a group of marchers tried to get to the Dutch National Bank building, where the EU summit takes place today and tomorrow. =20 Photograph: Jasper Juinen/Reuter=20 _ =20 =20 20,000 PROTEST ON EU JOBS =20 By Patrick Smyth, Amsterdam =20 The message to Lionel Jospin was spelled out bluntly on a French placard: "Can you feel us breathing down your neck?" And they turned out in their thousands to deliver it. =20 Twenty thousand demonstrators from all over Europe converged on Amsterdam on Saturday, a large proportion of them French, to give a particularly warm but scarcely friendly welcome to the European Union leaders who start their treaty-changing summit today. =20 The summit should be about jobs, social exclusion, the rights of women, the protesters said said. There were a few other concerns they wanted to mention while they were at it, from the rights of Kurds to the fight against racism. =20 All life was there - punks and pensioners, black and white, with whistles, drums and klaxons. Some toyi-toyied to new forms of protest rap. The old-guard communists of Italy's Rifondazione Communists set off from Dam Square to a rousing chorus of - what else? - Bandera Rossa. =20 There were Renault workers, greeted with a huge cheer for their fight against job losses in Brussels, and striking Liverpool dockers. =20 A Mohican with green spiky hair carried a placard with a picture of Lenin, an old lady, that of Karl Liebknecht, the hero of Germany's communists, while a student defiantly waved a most familiar old wall poster of Che. =20 One group's banner proclaimed itself "International Black Women for Wages for Housework." =20 A young woman tried to sell Christian Witness to a man from the Union of Progressive Belgian Jews. The "Committee for a Workers' International" proclaimed in its papers the election of one Joe Higgins in Dublin West. =20 Everyone was selling to everyone else - mostly messages about the failure of capitalism in different hues - socialist red, environmental green, red-green, anarchist black, and red-black. =20 On the ring road round the city over 1,000 bikers sealed roads in protest against EU attempts to reduce noise levels, while 500 Portuguese olive oil workers were due to empty a tanker of their produce somewhere they shouldn't. =20 A few hundred had walked a good part of the way to the city as part of the "European Marches against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Exclusion", organised by the European Network of the Unemployed. =20 Contingents, including 17 marchers from Ireland, had set off from as far afield as Morocco, Sarajevo, Finland's Arctic Circle, and Derry. =20 Mary Murphy, who had walked from Dublin as a member of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, described the experience as deeply moving. =20 Local organising committees housed them on their way and had publicised their passage so that people came out to the doors to cheer them on as they tramped through rural France. =20 She wasn't looking for the new millennium, only EU action on jobs and the beefing up of the Maastricht criteria by the inclusion of employment. Europe, she said, had to balance its social and economic priorities. =20 The placards attacked "neo-liberalism" and "globalisation", the "militarisation of Europe", or demanded "a 35-hour week" and a "Social Europe". =20 "No pasaran!" the Spanish trade unionists chanted, reviving the old Civil War cry, "They shall not pass", while the Dutch handed out leaflets urging the legalisation of cannabis. =20 Not all, mind you, were exactly politically correct - "get a life not a job!" was the message of one young anarchist. But then this is the "real" left, we were told repeatedly, not the carefully manicured, sound-bite merchants of New Labour. =20 Fears of serious violence have so far failed to materialise, although a group of about 150 on Saturday went on the rampage after police had prevented them from occupying the summit conference centre. Windows were broken and there were a few arrests. =20 As for the "mass-vomit", promised on the Internet, its organisers clearly hadn't the stomach. =20 =A9 Copyright: The Irish Times Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:10823] FW: Pakistan Carpet Workers Strike (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jun 13 19:48 PDT 1997 X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: v02140b02afc777bd4edb@[198.94.6.6] Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 19:16:35 -0700 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Chris Lowe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: FW: Pakistan Carpet Workers Strike To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 3245 This was sent by a colleague to an Africa list I'm on. Chris Lowe CWI, PO Box 3688, London E9 5QX. E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel.: 00 44 181 533 0201 Fax: 00 44 181 985 0757 11 June 1997 Urgent Action required! Pakistani Carpet Workers on strike The Committee for a Workers' International is appealing for world-wide support to be given to a strike in Pakistan of some of the most harshly exploited workers in the world. On 11th June, the United Carpet Industries Labour Union brought out 20,000 workers in Lahore, closing all 130 workplaces in the city. Red flags were flying outside the occupied factories and above the four 'strike camps' set up by the union. A demonstration of support was held in temperatures of 40 degrees. After 30 years without striking, the workers are now demanding not only substantial wage rises but the implementation of labour laws in the industry, retirement pay, measures to protect their health and safety and an end to child labour. The average wage is Rs1600 ($40) a month and has not changed for three years while prices have risen more than 200%. Labouring intolerably long hours with no protection, carpet-workers suffer all kinds of debuilitating health problems. In the washing processes, chemicals are used that burn the skin from face and limb. In the cutting rooms, the heavy dust goes straight into the lungs. Worst of all, the bosses that make the big money out of this sweated labour cannot be forced to the negotiating table. Everything is sub-contracted out and all responsibility 'devolved' from the real profiteers. The bosses have refused to acknowledge the existence of the union, let alone discuss with its leaders. They blame various non-governmental organisations for putting jobs in danger with their 'bad publicity' about child labour. The strikers' message is that they are no longer prepared to work for employers who put their lives at risk and take away the childhood of thousands of children. There are 80,000 carpet-workers in Pakistan. The Lahore strikers are giving them hope by making a stand. They have organised to make sure the strike is 100% and are determined to press home every one of their demands. In this they deserve and need the support of the whole international labour movement. While feelings are undersatndably running high as decades of frustration are unleashed, a disciplined approach is being maintained. The carpet bosses have not hesitated in the past to threaten violence against strike leaders and the forces of the state could move at any time to arrest them and the most prominent of their supporters. Please send messages of support to: Ittehad Carpet Industries Labour Union, 40 Abbott Road, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax ++9242 7239128. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Protests to: Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister House, Islamabad, Pakistan. Fax: ++92 51 256687 and Pakistan Carpet Manufacturers Exporters Association, Ali Complex, 23 Empress Road, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: ++92 42 6305296. Professor Martin Legassick History Department University of the Western Cape Private Bag X17 Bellville, 7535, South Africa Phone: 021-959-2225 Fax: 021-959-3598
[PEN-L:10826] MAI conference 7 Nov Toronto (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jun 13 17:59 PDT 1997 Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 20:53:40 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Bob Olsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: MAI conference 7 Nov Toronto Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 1250 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Laura Cooper) To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date:Fri, 13 Jun 1997 12:00:57 -0400 Subject: C4LDforum-L: MAI-Clarke There is an article in the June 15 issue of Catholic New Times (published at 80 Sackville St, Toronto 416-361-9874 or 1-800-320-4609) by Tony Clarke (of the Polaris Institute) whose book Silent Coup: Confronting the Big Business Takeover of Canada is due out momentarily. CNT has excerpted Appendix V of the book which gives (for me anyway) an easily readable account of MAI. On Nov 7-9 of this year the Polaris Insititue is planning a "Public Teach-In on Corporate Rule" to be held at UofT. There will be international delegates. (I have no further info on this). Clark says in the article "What matters most is that people who opt for the local economy, for example, stay in creative interaction with people who are trying to get a new way to grip some of the levers of global power. We'll need each others' insights, and we'll need to have some shared strategy. There's lots of room for different approaches. Finding new ways to restore citizen-led democracy will take all of us." Laura Cooper .. Bob Olsen Toronto [EMAIL PROTECTED] ]:-)
[PEN-L:10825] MAI-APEC Email List (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jun 13 18:57 PDT 1997 Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 21:39:31 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Bob Olsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: MAI-APEC Email List Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 1007 MAI-APEC is a fully moderated list, started by Bob Olsen in June 1997, to disseminate documents and information about the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Messages posted to MAI-APEC-L are fowarded to [EMAIL PROTECTED] I will then post to the List those documents that I feel will be of greatest interest to the greatest number of MAI-APEC list subscribers. My hope is to provide information that will help Canadians to understand MAI-APEC and then to influence political decisions made in Canada. Others are welcome to join or to send us info. I expect that the volume may vary between 2-12 messages per week. Note: I have no academic background, having barely finished high-school, and know practically nothing about the Web or operating an email list. To subscribe to MAI-APEC, send the message subscribe MAI-APEC to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks. Bob Olsen Toronto [EMAIL PROTECTED] ]:-)
[PEN-L:10824] NGOs on Africa World Trade Summit (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jun 13 19:49 PDT 1997 X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: v02140b00afc62bc20936@[198.94.6.6] Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 19:16:15 -0700 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: "WOA (by way of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Christopher Lowe by way of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chris Lowe)" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: NGOs on Africa World Trade Summit To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 7273 Africa: US NGO Statement, Denver Summit Date distributed (ymd): 970610 WOA Document This posting consists of a press release and a short statement from the Congressional Black Caucus and a coalition of US NGOs on the occasion of the Denver Summit. A full statement of position is available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.africapolicy.org/denver/denindex.htm A text version of the full statement may be obtained (in two parts) via e-mail. Send the message "send denver" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please type it exactly as written, as that will facilitate a reply. News from the US-Africa Trade Policy Working Group Conveners: Bread for the World, Washington Office on Africa For immediate release: June 7, 1997 For more information, contact: Doug Tilton ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Ray Almeida ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) CBC and NGOs Say Africans Must Have Voice in Economic Policymaking Washington, D.C. -- The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and twenty-two religious and secular organizations have issued a statement calling on the leaders of industrialized nations to consult with Africans before making policy decisions which affect African nations. The heads of government of the Group of Seven (G7) countries Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States will hold their annual economic summit in Denver, Colorado from June 20 to June 22. The event has become known as the Denver Summit of Eight in recognition of the inclusion of the Russian leader, Boris Yeltsin, in most of the summit deliberations. The Summit participants are expected to consider measures to promote economic liberalization in Africa and to accelerate the integration of African nations into global economic networks. The CBC and the organizational endorsers of the statement, "Africa and the Denver Economic Summit," insist that African representatives should be take part in reaching decisions that directly affect African nations. They fear that, otherwise, the Summit will repeat the errors of the 1884-84 Berlin Conference, at which the major European powers and the United States carved up the African continent, establishing colonial enclaves and imposing commercial regulations. -30- *** Africa and the Denver Economic Summit We applaud the industrialized nations participating in the Denver Summit of Eight for the decision to pay particular attention to Africa. However, we greatly regret that the participants will have no opportunity to consult directly with African officials. If Africa is to be on the agenda, Africans should be at the table. It is imperative that the Denver Summit of Eight not become a modern-day Berlin Conference at which powerful nations make decisions about Africa's future without consulting Africans themselves. Africans across the continent are initiating projects and debating policies consistently and constructively. We urge policy makers to recognize these developments and to establish a mechanism to facilitate systematic consultation with all those whose lives will be affected by the choices made. This requires that the summit participants initiate a dialogue that involves not only their counterparts in African governments, but also a broad cross-section of African public, private, and civil society sector representatives. We hope that such discussions would develop a comprehensive program of action for consideration at the 1998 economic summit. We recognize that Africans do not speak with one voice, nor are all individuals and groups equally well-equipped to make their voices heard. Consequently, a particular effort must be made to consult with those who typically find themselves on the political and economic periphery: rural dwellers, women, workers, youth, the unemployed, elderly, and disabled. We fear that, in the absence of these perspectives, certain principles fundamental to policy development and assessment will be ignored. These include criteria that have already emerged from our own discussions with African community and civil society organizations and that resonate with our experiences in domestic struggles for social and economic justice: 1. The single most important question which must be asked about any Africa initiative, whether
[PEN-L:10794] Re: unnecessary condescension?
I'd like to echo Blair's comments. If participants in Pen (or any other list) find other participants' views too obnoxious, the answer is obvious -- sign off the list. I presume that by participating, folks are trying to influence the views of others, not shit all over them and prove to them that they're benighted fools. Cheers, Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10796] New book on New Zealand's labour contracts
Here is the publisher's description: Working Free? The Origins and Impact of New Zealand's Employment Contracts Act by Ellen J. Dannin The Employment Contracts Act (1991), a key component of the structural reforms that have taken place in New Zealand since 1984, is discussed internationally as a model for designing new labour laws. A bold and radical measure, the Act repudiated collective action and bargaining, rejecting almost a centure of practice, and transformed the unions and workplace relations. In this important book, an American lawyer, who has spent several visits to New Zealand studying labour issues, tells how the ECA was passed, a story of high drama, analyses its performance as labour law, a matter of widespread disagreement; and explores its economic, social and legal impact. Well written and well informed, this book gains rom blending an outsider's perspective with an insider's knowledge of the events, issues and processes. Working Free is a major contribution to the continuing debate about the New Zealand reforms and a study of international significance. Auckland University Press forthcoming July 1997 University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand
[PEN-L:10771] Discontent rising in Peru
The New York Times June 10, 1997 Peru's Poverty and Repression Dull Fujimori's Gleam By Diana Jean Schemo LIMA, Peru -- Eager to show what a man of the people he was, President Alberto Fujimori drove his jeep high into the dusty slums where Lima's poor live. With his country's two most important guests in tow, he rolled over stretches of new road and pointed out freshly built schools. He waded into swarms of cheering mothers and youngsters, who scrambled to touch his sleeve. But after the president and the dignitaries had gone, the people who remained behind spoke of a desperation for jobs that was not about schools or roads or a presidential handshake. "He comes once every five years," said Willy Saavedra, a 27-year-old father of two. "Only when he needs something." Less than two months after Peruvians treated him like conquering hero and sent his popularity soaring to 69 percent, Fujimori finds himself facing an increasingly hostile electorate. Polls show that his approval rating has plummeted in recent weeks and now stands at 39 percent -- exactly where it was before the raid. For the first time in seven years in office, Fujimori is confronting public protests stirred both by the pervasive poverty and some of his recent actions. There have been media exposes about corruption, killings and torture by the intelligence services that are integral to his hold on power. And the president came under diplomatic and domestic criticism when his congressional majority dismissed the three judges who had ruled against his bid to run for a third term in the year 2000. But the most pervasive threat to Fujimori's popularity can be seen in places like the The Carnations soup kitchen, an unlit shack more cave than house, where the hot lunches that sell for 40 cents are gone by 1p.m. Economic Crisis a Way of Life Throughout the country, thousands of soup kitchens like The Carnations began with the economic crisis of the 1980s. Now, people here said, crisis has become a way of life. It was to places like the soup kitchen that Fujimori invited the Unites States' special envoy, Thomas McLarty, and Enrique Iglesias, chief of the Bank for Inter-American Development, on one of the president's locally famous "windshield tours" through the slums. And it is in places like the soup kitchen that the discontent that simmered after he left helps explain the drop in the president's popularity, Seven years of the president's fiscal austerity program, for example, has left countless young fathers like Saavedra waiting on the sidelines, praying for a job. According to figures published in Gestion, a financial newspaper, last week, 19 percent of all Peruvians, or 4.5 million people, live in extreme poverty, without sanitation, water, electricity or gas. Half the population lives below the poverty level, up from 38 percent in 1985. "We didn't even get to work on the road, because the Army did it," he said. His wife, Yesinia Ramos, watched one of their daughters, Lady Denise Rosa, as she fed a pebble to her doll, lying on the ground. Like Saavedra, Luis Garcia, 22, was waiting for work. He left school at the age of 10 to collect fares on a public transportation van. At 15, he got his first and last steady job, at a shoe factory that went bankrupt before the year was out. On Monday, the last day somebody hired him, Garcia was back collecting bus fares for the day. He earned less than $4. Last year, Garcia's wife abandoned him and their daughter, Damares Milagros. The child is now 18 months old, with a moon face and bangs that fall over her eyes, and Garcia is raising her alone. She wears unmatching socks, but her clothes are clean. Her father's sneakers are torn clear across the top. Political analysts say the president, facing popular protests for democracy for the first time since taking office in 1990, is at a turning point. The slack that he was once granted, in the name of overcoming terrorist violence and righting the economic shambles left by his predecessor, appears to be running out. "Only 15 percent of all Peruvians either don't know, don't care, or think we're living in a democracy," said Hernando de Soto, an economist who is a former adviser to Fujimori. The gutting of the constitutional Tribunal, however, was "the last straw" for many Peruvians. "Before, the things Fujimori may have done that weren't following the rules, people saw them as necessary or required to end the violence," he said. "Now, there's a sense that these measures are being taken in terms of personal interests and ambition." Last week, a broad base of opposition leaders, students and workers turned out by the thousands in protests the country had not seen in at least a decade. The Pontifical Catholic University of Peru took out a newspaper ad to decry the dismantling of the constitutional court. News media reports of torture, killing and corruption by the intelligence
[PEN-L:10769] Workers March on Paris (fwd)
The Irish Times FOREIGN Wednesday, June 11, 1997 =20 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting the new French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, as he carries a sign that reads "Vilvoorde will live", a reference to the Belgian Renault car plant which is due to close, during a march in Paris yesterday =20 Pascal Rossignol/Reuter=20 =20 _ =20 FRENCH UNIONS RALLY FOR JOBS IN EUROPE =20 _ =20 Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in Paris yesterday to urge the EU to give higher priority to jobs and remind new French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, of a campaign pledge to stop further austerity. =20 Members of all major trade unions except the independent Force Ouvri=E8re (FO) marched through the capital behind a banner proclaiming "Europe for Jobs" in the first major rally since Mr Jospin's Socialist-led government swept to power last week. =20 Unions want EU leaders at next week's Amsterdam summit to lay the foundations of a more socially-minded Europe that lays more stress on jobs and less on financial belt-tightening in a drive for a single European currency. =20 "This demonstration shows a spectacular increase in awareness around Europe of the need for all European workers to co-ordinate their demands," said Mr Louis Viannet, head of the Communistled CGT union. =20 Ms Nicole Notat, head of the pro-Socialist CFDT, which is France's biggest union ahead of the CGT, said: "Yes, we need the single (European) currency. Yes, we need Europe for good economic development but that won't be enough to build jobs." =20 The marchers included about 700 workers from French carmaker Renault's Vilvoorde factory in Belgium protesting at controversial plans to shut the plant. Mr Jospin promised during the election campaign to push Renault to explore alternatives to the shutdown. =20 The French march was one of a series across Europe called by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) for May 28th. French unions postponed it until yesterday to avoid a clash with the snap parliamentary election. =20 Mr Jospin has pledged to give top priority to reducing record 12.8 per cent unemployment. He plans to create 700,000 jobs and cut the working week from 39 hours to 35 with no loss of pay over five years. =20 He has also set conditions for joining the euro from 1999 and promised he will not further tighten austerity to qualify. In addition, he has pledged not to raise taxes overall. =20 Both the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, which has two ministers in the new government that took office last week, had said they supported yesterday's march. - (Reuter) =20 _ =20 =A9 Copyright: The Irish Times Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:10733] New Zealand
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Home Page The full story about the New Zealand economic "miracle" There is intense international interest in the state of New Zealand because structural adjustment during the last decade has been an almost "pure" version of the free market policies that the World Bank, IMF and similar bodies advocate. The World Bank arranges regular study tours by senior politicians and government officials from less developed countries on topics ranging from agricultural reform to the privatisation of government activities. The New Zealand model of administrative reform is under active study in Japan, the Swedish employers have mounted a strong lobby to introduce New Zealand industrial relations policies there, study visits of politicians, economists, journalists, employers and unions have come from Iceland, Norway, Germany, France, Austria and other countries, the Australians are under pressure to follow the financial sector liberalisation example and so on. So much was deregulated and privatised in such a short period of time that it is difficult to paint an accurate picture of complex events. This allows outrageous claims to be made and defended, particularly if supporters of the New Zealand model are careful in selecting the starting points in data series, and in concentrating on those statistics that show positive results. In short, the New Zealand story is a good news story only if half the story is told. This report takes issue with the basic propaganda that structural adjustment in New Zealand has created an "economic miracle" that other countries should follow. It does that by telling the full story, not half of it. If the actual performance of the New Zealand economy is assessed outside of all the fuss and fanfare that the international right wing community has created, there is really not much to comment about. Summary of Current Economic Conditions A snapshot of the New Zealand economy shows a fairly conventional pattern of a small, open economy that has passed the peak of a cyclical upswing. The annual rate of GDP growth in the year to September 1996 was 2.3 percent (and falling), down from 4.3 percent in the previous year and 6.6 percent at the peak of the cycle fifteen months before that. The main private forecasting agencies predict that GDP growth will fall below 2 percent by March 1997. Unemployment stopped falling in the third quarter of 1995, and has started to increase, albeit slowly at this stage, to 6.3 percent by the September 1996 quarter. (The latest figure shows another drop in the unemployment rate to 5.9 percent, but the results are unreliable. Both employment and unemployment fell in the December quarter, the balancing factor being a surge in the number of women who inexplicably stopped looking for employment. The strong implication is survey sample error) Consumer price inflation peaked at 4.6 percent per annum in the June 1995 quarter, but in 1996 it has hovered between 2 and 2.6 percent. It is currently (year to December 1996) 2.6 percent. The monetary authorities reacted to the emerging inflationary pressures associated with the cyclical peak by tightening monetary conditions, and this has led to an appreciating exchange rate. The Trade Weighted Index appreciated by 18 percent between the June quarter of 1984 and mid December 1996. This, and the normal expansion of domestic consumption associated with the business cycle, has led to a deterioration in the balance of payments. The current account deficit is currently 4.6 percent of GDP and is forecast to remain at about that level for some considerable time (at least two more years). The Economic "Miracle" Why then, do the international agencies regard New Zealand as a success story?. In part it is because the almost complete opening up of the economy to international finance, investment and trade has created new opportunities for private capital; in part it is because the almost complete removal of worker rights and trade union roles sets an example of what might be as far as employment law is concerned, and in part it is because restructuring has seen a massive fall in the role of the government in the economy, a lowering of tax rates on company profits and higher incomes, the generation of government surpluses and a radical decline in the level of government debt. In order to export these policies, the right wing has to convince other governments that the consequences are positive. It is important to note, though: * that the initial costs of restructuring were very high; * that when the economy did grow, it might well have grown in spite of the restructuring and not because of it; and * any gains are probably short term, and are not sustainable. The supporters of the New Zealand experiment point out that the economy grew strongly from late 1992, and that unemployment fell from 11 to 6 percent. They do not
[PEN-L:10729] Liberals under pressure
The Globe and Mail Tuesday, June 10, 1997 Slashing is over, Liberals predict Party to put on a beneficient face By Scott Feschuk and Hugh Winsor Parliamentary Bureau As members of the new and old Liberal caucuses met yesterday in Ottawa, the message from many was clear: Those dark days of sacrifice and austerity are a distant memory -- the old, caring Liberals are back. "The bad days and the tough days are behind us," said Joe Fontana, an Ontario MP who chairs the Liberal caucus. "You're going to see a government that . . . is poised to take care of some of the opportunities that are around the corner for Canadians. "This caucus is really, really hyped up about the fact that we can be creative again . . . and not only have to look at cuts. As we balance our budget, you can do a heck of a lot of things in terms of flexibility you have within your fiscal framework." Specifically, Mr. Fontana said the elimination of the deficit within the next two years -- and perhaps sooner -- will enable the Liberal government to "invest" in research and development, families, children and health care. "What you'll see is some very, very innovative government action," he said. "All of the hard work has been done now -- the cutting is over, the economy is building. . . . This country's going to be rockin' for the next four years." The new Liberal caucus -- down 22 seats from 1993 to a slim majority of 155 - - is facing the challenge of trying to reconcile conflicting electoral outcomes within Canada's regions. Ontario elected Liberals in 101 of its 103 seats, an apparent endorsement of the status quo. But the governing party lost more than half its seats in Atlantic Canada -- a clear consequence of the cutbacks -- and also elected fewer members in the West, though seemingly for reasons related to national unity. Carolyn Parrish, re-elected for a second term in Ontario's Mississauga West, said she expects the government to move toward the left on the political spectrum. "I think what we've done to this point is what had to be done -- it was done out of necessity, it was done because the country needed it," she told reporters. "Now that that job is done, we have to look at preserving the Canada we've always known and the Canada that has always been Liberal." Roger Gallaway, MP for the Ontario riding of Sarnia-Lambton, said caucus members from Canada's most populous province expect the Prime Minister to heed the election-day message from voters east of Quebec. In Atlantic Canada, where Liberals took 31 of the 32 seats in 1993, voters elected eight New Democrats, 13 Tories and 11 Liberals. "People are looking for something slightly to the left," Mr. Gallaway said of Canadians in general. "They're not looking for a continuation of the last four budgets." Even some who are urging Mr. Chrétien to keep the national wallet in his back pocket and to proudly recall the fiscal accomplishments of the past 3 years acknowledge they seem to be swimming against the current of caucus opinion. "The voters sent a message to the government that they thought our policies were too harsh on Atlantic Canada, and that message, I think, has been received," said Francis LeBlanc, who lost his bid for re-election in Nova Scotia (he represented Pictou-Antigonish-Guysborough for two terms). However, he called on the cabinet to stay the fiscal course. "The government should maintain its course and in Atlantic Canada support measures and initiatives that will make a difference in terms of job creation. That doesn't mean throwing money at job creation." Paul Zed, surprised by his loss in the New Brunswick constituency of Fundy- Royal, told colleagues he had heard only half of the voters' message as he canvassed during the campaign. Voters had told him what a good job he had done as their MP, he said, but then went on to explain how they were unhappy with the Chrétien government. Asked whether she was caught in an ebb tide, former Halifax MP Mary Clancy noted that all 11 Nova Scotia Liberals were defeated. "It wasn't an ebb," she said, "it was a tidal wave." Georgette Sheridan, who lost to Reform in Saskatchewan's Saskatoon- Humboldt, resorted to humour to explain the outcome. "By the end of the first week, the Reformers were coming over the stockade. By the third week, they had reached the women's quarters." At their final caucus meeting, the defeated Liberals were given engraved plaques signed by Mr. Chrétien thanking them for their contribution to the Liberal Party. The mood was "bittersweet," Mr. LeBlanc said. "You felt good for all of the people who were coming back and sad when you realized you are not going to be here to work with them." There was no one issue that sparked the Atlantic results, he said, as much as a general unhappiness with the government, particularly with the harmonized sales tax, which added 15 per
[PEN-L:10728] More trouble in the EU
The Globe and Mail Tuesday, June 10, 1997 Budget crisis grips German government Kohl urged to step down as coalition backing his government near collapse By Alan Freeman European Bureau The three-party coalition supporting the government of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl appears close to collapse over its inability to agree on how to fill a hole of 20 billion marks in this year's budget. A split would prompt an early election. Germans are not scheduled to go to the polls until the fall of 1998. "I think the situation has never been as serious as it is right now," said Jens van Scherpenberg, senior research fellow at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, a leading German think tank. Escalating the growing malaise in the centre-right government that has ruled Germany for 14 years, Helmut Schmidt, Mr. Kohl's influential predecessor as chancellor, yesterday called on Mr. Kohl and his finance minister, Theo Waigel, to resign because of fiscal mismanagement. "The only thing left to do is to make room for people with new ideas," Mr. Schmidt, a Social Democrat, told German television. Mr. Kohl threatened to quit several times in the past week over the budget crisis, newspapers here reported. Mr. Kohl's credibility has been severely bruised after an awkward effort last week by his finance minister to use a revaluation of the country's gold reserves to fill the budget gap. The government was forced to retreat from the effort after the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, and several of the government's critics attacked the measure as an accounting trick. Mr. van Scherpenberg noted that although Mr. Kohl has been under fire in the past, this time the problems are more profound. In previous crises, Mr. Kohl was frequently criticized by the news media and the intelligentsia, but he found backing with the public, a situation that has changed. "I think he's out of tune with the man in the street, and that is different from earlier times," said Mr. van Scherpenberg, who thinks that many Christian Democrats now believe Mr. Kohl will be a liability in next year's election, when he will try for a fifth term as chancellor. Germany's weak economy doesn't help matters. The latest jobless statistics show that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumped to 11.4 per cent in May from 11.2 per cent in April. More than 4.3 million Germans are out of work. The increase in unemployment not only hurts Mr. Kohl politically, it deepens his government's fiscal problems by forcing a rise in spending on jobless benefits. All of this makes it even more difficult for Germany to meet the Maastricht Treaty rules required for membership in the proposed European single currency, known as the euro. The rules stipulate that nations wishing to join may have deficits of no more than 3 per cent of gross domestic product. The Free Democrats, the smallest of the coalition parties with 6.9 per cent of the popular vote in the 1994 election, oppose making up the budget shortfall through any tax increases, including a proposed hike in gasoline taxes. "Opposition is dangerous, but raising taxes is fatal," said Otto Graf Lambsdorff, honorary chairman of the Free Democrats. The party's deputy chairman was quoted as saying that if the government insists on raising any taxes, "then we'll have to leave." "It's a real deadlock and a real mess," Mr. van Scherpenberg said. "I can't see any face-saving way out for anybody unless somebody loses badly, and it will be the FDP if taxes are raised." The Free Democrats obviously think the public is on their side. Focus, a German news magazine, carried an opinion survey on the weekend showing that 81 per cent of Germans oppose higher taxes as a way of bridging the budget gap. On the other side of the coalition spectrum is the Christian Social Union, the Christian Democrats' sister party in Bavaria. This party remains the most outspoken supporter of the need to maintain the strict requirements of Maastricht. The Christian Socialist Premier of Bavaria, Edmund Stoibler, has suggested that it would preferable to delay the launch of the currency rather than accept a watering down of the criteria, even though Mr. Kohl has repeatedly refused to even broach the idea of a delay. The European Monetary Union is on shaky ground elsewhere, too, as the new French Socialist government has called for a "period of reflection" on an agreement designed to punish member countries that exceed budget-deficit limits. The demand was seen as weakening prospects for the euro and was blamed for a decline in prices on European stock exchanges yesterday and for a slide in the value of the French franc. Mr. Kohl meets new French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin at one of the periodic Franco-German summits, scheduled to take place in Poitiers, France, on Friday.
[PEN-L:10710] MAI Giants (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Jun 8 22:05 PDT 1997 Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 00:57:04 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Bob Olsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: MAI Giants Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 8367 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (GATT-Fly) From: D Shniad [EMAIL PROTECTED] JOURNAL OF COMMERCEWednesday, April 23, 1997 GLOBAL GIANTS: FEARS OF THE SUPRANATIONAL Critics say a proposed treaty could give too much power to multinationals, whose revenues can exceed those of some nations. By Paula L. Green, Journal of Commerce staff Corporate economic tentacles will creep a bit further around the globe with an investment treaty now before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. Critics already upset with the growing influence of multinationals are afraid that the Multilateral Agreement on Investments -- a full-blown international treaty facing approval by each signatory's parliament -- will simply hand corporations more power if it is signed. Officials from the 29 OECD countries are meeting this week in Paris to talk about the pact -- aimed at providing a level playing field for international investors by mandating national treatment. That means foreign investors will have the same breaks as domestic companies, even in such traditionally sensitive sectors as mining, fisheries and agriculture. "I think it's overwhelmingly negative and gives corporations more power," said Mark Weisbort, research director at the Preamble Center for Public Policy, a Washington think tank. "It takes economic decision- making from elected officials and parliaments and gives it to unaccountable, unelected, supranational institutions." After nearly two years of negotiations, the pact is set for completion within the next year. Several developing nations, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Singapore and Taiwan are reportedly interested in signing. Critics say the agreement goes beyond the investment treaty approved as part of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, known as Trims, or Trade-Related Investment Measures. It could even hurt developing countries' ability to control the activity of foreign investors and their impact on land, water and air use, they add. "We're concerned about its deregulation aspects on the environment . . . and there's no balance in it. Corporate rights are not balanced with corporate responsibility," said Charles Arden-Clarke, a senior policy analyst at the Worldwide Fund for Nature in Gland, Switzerland. But Robert Z. Lawrence, a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, believes the globalization of corporations has provided substantial social benefits and given countries more options. "The idea that bigger and bigger companies is a bad idea is false. Countries have grown tremendously by attracting foreign investment," Mr. Lawrence said. "And as global markets become more competitive, it tilts the balance in favor of the country." Corporate critics have long charged that multinationals take advantage of globalization to get around national tax, environmental and operating rules. The proliferation of trade pacts and a worldwide economic shift toward more open markets from Moscow to Mozambique has also given multinationals more leverage against the nation state. At the Institute for Policy Studies, which last year released a study called "The Top 200: The Rise of Global Corporate Power," analysts view the OECD pact as a mechanism to give corporations more power. "It's a scary development . . . it lifts control on corporations without giving any more power to the people," said Sarah Anderson, a fellow at the Washington-based institute who worked on the study. "Trade barriers have been lifted with trade pacts and this lifts investment barriers. It takes away regulations that have been developed over the decades to protect governments and citizens." The institute study, completed last fall, shows that 51 of the 100 largest economies in the world are corporations. The study uses 1995 statistics to compare a company's annual sales with a nation's gross domestic product. The output of General Motors Corp. is bigger than Denmark's economy, for example. And the annual sales of Wal-Mart Inc. exceed the gross domestic products of 158 nations, including Israel, Poland or Greece. Media blitz misleading Ms. Anderson says multinationals are already creating worldwide webs of production, consumption and finance while bringing economic benefits to only a third of the planet's 5.6 billion people. And the corporate media blitz about the benefits of globalization are misleading, she claims. Corporations, for example, alwa
[PEN-L:10709] A Checklist for Effective Campaigning (fwd)
Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Sam Lanfranco [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: A Checklist for Effective Campaigning PREFACE from LABOR-L listmanagement. The following is an excellent checklist and should be glued to the coffee/lunch space wall in every activist site on our small and cosy globe. LABOR-L listmanagement would like to underline one theme in the checklist, and correct one minor oversight. The theme is simple. Know what the other social action/social justice groups are doing in your 'proximate zone of focus'. That way we can all engage in a sensible and effective strategy of 'zone play' and 'strategic hand-off' for maximum impact. This electronic venue is the opportune social process space for knowing who is doing what. It is easy here and involves a couple of simple steps. 1. Report out and remain transparent in what you do so that others can keep aware of when to call on you, when to 'hand off' a query or task to you, and when to offer help. 2. Keep aware of the groups most relevant to your work. They are not your competitors and if that is the relationship - somebody between those in your proximate zone of activity 'have a problem' This way, if A knows B, and B knows C, and C knows D, effective handoffs of strategic tasks can happen between A D with little effort and minimal burden. I will use a simple example. Everybody and her sister is jumping on the 'micro-credit' bandwagon. In the abstract it sounds good. In the concrete it is a 'contested space' with both social justice and global financial forces engages in strategic moves. For example, do you know the difference between 'micro-credit' efforts and 'micro-finance' efforts? The later has to do with building sustainable micro-credit capacity from the bottom up. The former includes everything from bottom-based (grass roots strategies) though to how to incorporate micro-credit into the strategies of global financial institutions (top-down). Since this is a 'contested space' in terms of conflicting agendas surrounding a common activity (who controls micro-credit operations) it is better to 'hand off' the strategic response when asked for opinion and or evidence. Not only can a well-meant innocent response be off target, it can anger and injure a sister/brother initiative. Of course, this presumes that we take time to find out what our 'zone of proximate activity' colleagues are actually doing. That is probably a good idea in its own right and helps with whom to point to and whom not to point to. So, in short, we need to behave a bit more like we are stuggling in common cause. That doesn't mean I buy in to your agenda or you buy in to my. It does mean that our strategies and logistics are better informed as to what others are doing. For a short discussion of this issue you might look at at: http://www.yorku.ca/research/dkproj/o2i.htm (4 pages) [Lastly, a word about language. The term "gypped" used in the following is unfortunate. The Romany (Gypsies) from (probably) western India are a wandering caucasian peoples - and named Gypsy because of the early erroneous belief that they came from Egypt. The Gypsies have been the subject of terrible treatment over history. If we need a term for being cheated we should use 'cheat', coming from escheat, which refers to the property (of peasants, serfs, etc.) being confiscated by the lord of the manner. Or maybe, today, we should call it being 'gapped'!] --- forwarded article --- Following article was scanned from "Fighting the Global Sweat Shop" - A Newsletter for Workers and Activist [Issue #1, Spring - 1997]. For Comments, suggestions, and inquiries write to the Editorial Collective, Fighting The Global Sweatshop, 30 Seaman Ave., #3F, New York, NY 10034, Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Ph:1-212-645-5230 = A Checklist for Effective Campaigning [ *Fighting the Global Sweatshop* has received the following list of suggestions from the National Labor Committee (NLC), based on strategies that have worked for that organization in its campaigns. The list was compiled by Maggie Poe.] NLC is a non profit human rights organization which organizes corporate campaigns around the issue of worker rights, focussing on the maquila industry in Central America and the Caribbean. Our recent tussles have been with the Gap, Kathie Lee Gifford, and the Disney Company. These campaigns were quite different, but I've checklisted some of the strategies we commonly use: * GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT An editor of a major mainstream magazine was keen on doing a piece on overseas sweatshop labor, but needed the facts and figures. It just so happened that we knew how much the sewing worker got paid per hem, how many garments were sewn each day, and plenty more of this kind of minutia.
[PEN-L:10666] Forwarded mail...
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sun Jun 8 08:09 PDT 1997 X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 08:47:28 -0600 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: EW Plawiuk [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 2737 [We Care] Media Release May 28, 1997 Privatization gets failing grade in Edmonton Public Schools Edmonton - The results of a 17 month evaluation of contracting out demonstrated clearly that contractors could not do the work in Edmonton's Public Schools. Just as importantly, the independent Evaluators found that privatization actually interfered with the Board's ability to meet its obligations under the School Act. "Finally the nonsense that private companies can do public sector work better than public employees and managers has been put to the test", said Doug Luellman, President of the Public Board's custodial staff, CUPE Local 474. "And the private firms have been found wanting. Custodial work in schools is not the same as just cleaning an office building. We are there to ensure the students work not just in a clean school, but also in a secure environment." The performance of the Board's own staff own staff exceeded that of the contractors by 18%. Yet the contractors costs in four of the five schools were higher than the Board's own staff by an average of 10%. The fifth school contract bid was too low to do the job and complaints arose throughout the 17 month experiment. At the end of the pilot project, in-house custodians had to clean up the school. The estimated cost of this clean up is $10,000. More disturbing were the findings that contracting out could not "reliably deliver the safety, security and therefore the stability required in a school setting". The bidding process itself resulted in driving down wages so low that the contract companies could not keep staff. Low wages led to low skill levels and high labour turnover. The turnover rate was 500% in the contract schools. Yet if contractors paid decent wages, they would have lost the bid. The high turnover in contract schools "made the feeling of security non-existent". Principals complained of unlocked doors and windows. Principals and teachers in contract schools were constantly diverted from their principle responsibilities to deal with custodial matters. Parents expressed concern about who was working in these schools. "It's time the province backed off pretending that privatization and contracting out are the solutions to its deep funding cuts to education", said Luellman. "It's time the province put back the money it cut to maintain to keep our schools clean and secure." For a twenty page brief/summary or a copy of the 123 page original study contact: Doug Luellman, President, CUPE Local 474, Phone: (403) 424-9696 Fax: (403) 426-6202 Mailing address: #102-10154-106 St., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5H 2S1 E-mail address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CUPE 474: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5202/474.htm
[PEN-L:10653] CD on Toxic Substances (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Jun 7 07:12 PDT 1997 X-Authentication-Warning: sunspot.ccs.yorku.ca: lanfran owned process doing -bs X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sat, 7 Jun 1997 10:02:23 -0400 Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Sam Lanfranco [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: CD on Toxic Substances Comments: To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Content-Length: 640 --- Forwarded Message Follows --- Sender: "Int. Fed. of Environmental Journalists" [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Anne Wemhoff [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Updated TSCA + SW-846 CD FYI, A completely updated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Inventory and the U.S. EPA's official Solid Waste Test Methods (SW-846) database are now available on a single CD-ROM. It features 62,000+ chemicals, instant search/retrieval, and the SW-846 Third Edition base manual with updates, diagrams and flowcharts. See http://www.env-sol.com for additional information. Anne Wemhoff
[PEN-L:10654] World Forum (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jun 6 17:43 PDT 1997 Message-Id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Date: Fri, 06 Jun 1997 20:36:46 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Bob Olsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: World Forum Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Length: 5549 Here is approximately 1/5 of a document outlining a World Forum. It speaks of the same problems that we face here in Canada. Let me know if you want the entire document. =20 Ask for mia\documents\worldforum Thanks! Bob Olsen Toronto [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Date: Wed, 04 Jun 1997 09:45:00 -0500 From: michel lambert [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: apec-L: Forum of the alternatives A network of the networks! In Cairo, last november (1996) was lunched a new initiative by Samir Amin to create a new network of progressives organisations and indivuduals troughout the world. Following is the manifesto of the "World Forum for Alternatives" World Forum for Alternatives May 1997 =ABIt is time to reclaim the march of history=BB To confirm your interest in joining the Forum write to the Secretary of the Follow-up Committee :=20 Samir Amin Forum Tiers Monde Third World Forum C.P. 3501 Dakar, S=E9n=E9gal phone and fax: (221) 21 11 44 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** Table of Contents - Manifesto - Goals and Objectives - Provisional Programme of Activities - Attachment 1 : List of members of the Follow-up Committee *** Manifesto It is time to reclaim the march of history =20 Humanity s future is at stake. Scientific progress and technical advances, the supreme achievements of knowledge, fortify the privilege and comfort of a minority. Instead of contributing to the well-being of all, these feats are used to crush, marginalize and exclude countless human beings. Access to natural resources, especially in the South, is monopolized by the few and is subject to political blackmail and threats of war. =20 =20 It is time to make the economy serve the peoples of the world =20 The economy provides goods and services mainly to a minority. In its contemporary form, it forces the majority of the human race into strategies for abject survival, denying tens of millions of people even the right to live. Its logic, the product of neoliberal capitalism, entrenches and accentuates grotesque inequalities. Propelled by faith in the market s self-regulating virtue, it reinforces the economic power of the rich and exponentially increases the numbers of the poor. =20 It is time to break down the wall between North and South =20 Monopolies of knowledge, scientific research, advanced production, credit and information, all guaranteed by international institutions, create a relentless polarization both at the global level and within each country. Trapped in patterns of development that are culturally destructive, physically unsustainable and economically submissive, many peoples throughout the world can neither define for themselves the stages of their evolution, establish the basis of their own growth, or provide education for their younger generations. It is time to confront the crisis of our civilization The confines of individualism, the closed world of consumption, the supremacy of productivism - and, for many, an obsessive struggle for sheer daily survival obscure humanity's larger objectives: the right to live liberated from oppression and exploitation, the right to equal opportunities, social justice, peace, spiritual fulfilment and solidarity. It is time to refuse the dictatorship of money =20 The concentration of economic power in the hands of transnational corporations weakens, even dismantles, the sovereignty of states. It threatens democracy - within single countries and on a global scale. The dominance of financial capital does more than imperil the world s monetary equilibrium. It transforms states into mafias. It proliferates the hidden sources of capitalist accumulation drug trafficking, the arms trade, child slavery. =20 It is time to replace cynicism with hope =20 Stock prices soar when workers are laid off. A competitive edge is gained when mass consumerdom is replaced with elite niche markets. Macro-economic indicators react positively as the ranks of the poor multiply. International economic institutions coax and compel governments to pursue structural adjustment, widening the chasm between classes and provoking mounting social conflict. International humanitarian aid trickles to those reduced to despair. It is time to rebuild and democratize the state =20 The programme of dismantling the state, reducing its functions, pilfering its resources and launching sweeping privatizations leads to a demoralized public sector,
[PEN-L:10652] Re: Bitter Paradise on TV Ontario (fwd)
Forwarded message: From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sat Jun 7 09:22 PDT 1997 X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-Id: v01540b00afbf49bd6ca3@[207.23.95.14] Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Sat, 7 Jun 1997 09:41:45 -0800 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (David Webster) Subject: Re: [PEN-L:10629] Re: Bitter Paradise on TV Ontario (fwd) Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 1127 Copies of Bitter Paradise can be ordered from Elaine Briere c/o Snapsot Productions, phone (604) 325-8350. This number will soon be changing -- full ordering information will beposetd when i get Elaine's new address. In the meantime, give her a call. Peace, David Webster East Timor Alert Network/Vancouver From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fri Jun 6 16:11 PDT 1997 Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 16:11:19 -0700 (PDT) From: "William S. Lear" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:10629] Re: Bitter Paradise on TV Ontario (fwd) On Fri, June 6, 1997 at 15:25:57 (-0700) D Shniad writes: BITTER PARADISE: THE SELL-OUT OF EAST TIMOR Is it possible to order a copy of this on videotape? Bill "The thinking of the old world has altered little : where there are profits to be defended, law, justice, freedom, democracy and peace are the victims. Only the peoples of one nation can help those of another." -Xanana Gusmao, leader of the East Timorese resistance Cipinang prison, Jakarta, 1995
[PEN-L:10622] MAI Canadian Soverignty (fwd)
MAI --THE MULTINATIONALS' CHARTER OF RIGHTS COLUMN NUMBER 1 approx June 1, 1997 By HUBERT BEYER VICTORIA, BC, Canada - A couple of weeks back, I wrote a piece on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, and how it could be that Canada, along with 28 other nations, has been negotiating, in total secrecy, what could well spell an end to Canadian sovereignty as we know it. Sterling Newspapers, which runs my column in a dozen or so of its papers, posted the piece on the Internet, and an extraordinary thing happened: within days, my electronic mailbox was jammed with response to my column, not just from British Columbians, but from people around the world. Day after day, there I received between 15 and 20 messages from readers in British Columbia, the rest of Canada and the U.S., and as far away as Norway, Italy, Germany and Great Britain. The central theme of all these responses was great unease, not just about the proposed agreement, but the fact that the negotiations have been conducted in utter secrecy, without any public consultation. And considering the scope of the proposed agreement, that's cause for worry. In a nutshell, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, or MAI for short, is to facilitate the free flow of investment among member nations. One of he more alarming aspects of the agreement is a clause that would forbid any government to attach conditions to investments. In practical terms, that would mean no government, federal or provincial, could tell potential investors that they have to create jobs. BC Premier Glen Clark's Jobs and Timber Accord, which will compel the forest industry to create jobs in return for receiving tree-cutting rights, would not be permissible, once the agreement is in effect. I'm not the only one who is worried. From the Boston Cambridge Alliance for Democracy came this message: "At a time when more responsibility is being shifted to state and local government to deal with social needs, new laws are being drafted at the international level which will restrict the power of state and local government to affect economic development, environmental or labor standards, and the retention of domestic industries." George Monbiot, one of the UK's leading environmentalists, lambasted the British media for having so vocally defended the cause of democracy during the recent elections, while completely ignoring a serious threat to national sovereignty. "The real future of Britain is being discussed not here, but elsewhere, and in the utmost secrecy. The columnists who have so shrilly defended the sovereignty of Parliament from the technocrats in Brussels (headquarters of the European Union), have so far failed to devote a single column inch to the shady deliberations of the EU's bigger brother." The UK media aren't the only ones who have virtually ignored the MAI. One of the few Canadian newspapers that did touch on the issue was the Telegraph-Journal in New Brunswick. "Looking for an election issue to raise when federal candidates come knocking during this election campaign? Try the MAI on for size. Never heard of it? Join the club, the TJ said in its April 30 editorial. "The premise of the MAI is that global investors want legal protection r their money when they choose to invest in a foreign country. Against what must it be protected? Any obligations a host country may wish to impose on that foreign investment. "The MAI would prohibit any level of government from imposing job creation requirements, local hiring quotas or procurement rules, requirements to reinvest profits into research and development, or special taxation rules to capture a are of exported profits - in short, anything that would restrict profit-making or taking on foreign companies investing in, say, Canada." Well, the MAI didn't become an election issue. The Liberals avoided it like the plague, the Tories and Reform presumably like the agreement, and Alexa McDonough didn't have a clue when it was first raised. In my books, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment is a "Charter of Rights" for multinational corporations, and if we're nor careful, it will make minced meat out of our own Charter of Rights. Beyer can be reached at: Tel: (250) 920-9300; Fax: (250) 385-6783; E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:10623] Silent Coup Tony Clarke (fwd)
Date:Fri, 6 Jun 1997 07:43:13 -0400 From: ccpa [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Silent Coup Book Release Big Business Remains the Real Election Winner Come hear Tony Clarke outline the new politics in the era of corporate rule and launch his new book SILENT COUP: Confronting the Big Business Takeover of Canada Silent Coup is the story of how CEOs of the largest corporations in Canada planned and executed their takeover of out country. It alerts us to the destructive effects of corporate rule on our economy, our jobs, our social programs, and our political democracy. Tony Clarke shows how social movements and community organizations can be retooled and revitalized, how they can effectively confront the transnational corporations and restore true economic, social and political democracy in Canada. WHEN: Monday, June 16, 1997 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. WHERE: CCPA National Office 251 Laurier Ave. W. Suite 804, Ottawa RSVP: attendance only Fax: (613) 233-1458 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copies of Silent Coup can be obtained from the CCPA for a pre-payment of $19.95. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives 804-251 Laurier Ave. W. Ottawa, ON K1P 5J6 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www: http://www.policyalternatives.ca
[PEN-L:10627] response to query (fwd)
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thu Jun 5 20:35 PDT 1997 Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 23:32:17 + From: "Andrews, David R" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: response to query Sid, I'll resond to your inquiry, but I hope you will post the results to PEN-L. Formally, I belong to the Syracuse Peace Council (which bills itself as the oldest peace group in the country) and Peace Action of Central New York, but my energies go more to my role as a member of the board of directors of a low income community development credit union, the Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union (SCFCU, aka, the Smash Capitalism Federal Credit Union, our treasurer/CEO, Ron Ehrenreich is a former Socialist Party candidate for Vice President). I also serve on the board of directors of CommonWorks, an organization focused on promoting the growth of cooperatives in Central New York. I have also recently served on the steering committee of the Central New York Labor Religion Coalition. I am nevertheless still an academic and have even seen a few articles get published. David Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:10633] Response to Anders
Anders asks a series of questions, basically asking why French Social Democracy couldn't pursue a progressive program designed to transform or derail the current (reactionary) trajectory of European unification. Cutting to the chase, it seems to me that your real question is this: whether politicians with a clear sense of tactics and strategy could make an important difference if they reached out to the victims of European neoliberalism and attempted simultaneously to raise political consciousness and to promote a series of coherent political-economic alternatives. I believe that they could make an important difference if they chose this path. But I would concur with the sentiment of Michael's initial comment that generated this discussion. A move in the direction of progressive intervention by the French government is highly unlikely, given the fact that Jospin is coming into office with no sense whatsoever of what to do by way of alternative to the regressive policies in which he and Mitterand were so complicit in the 1980s and early 1990s. Even if we could overcome this problem by waving a magic wand and giving French S-D a sense of progressive initiative and audacity, I believe that their active opposition to neoliberalism would be much more likely to lead the forces of neoliberal unification, led by people like Kohl, to abandon the already shaky unification project and to unite their efforts to isolate and undermine the progressive French opposition than to promote European unification on a progressive basis. In short, I believe that the prospects for transforming the European Union from a reactionary to a progressive project are nil. Cheers, Sid
[PEN-L:10626] MAI Web Site Report (fwd)
NOW Magazine, Toronto June 5, 1997 Netizens out secret investment treaty Cyberspace new player in furtive top-level negotiations By COLMAN JONES Secret negotiations on a global investment treaty that threatens to greatly strengthen the power of transnational corporations aren't that secret anymore -- thanks to the Net. All around the world, activists are radically stepping up debate about the multilateral agreement on investment (MAI), a proposed deal that would rob governments of the right to make rules about foreign investment. For the last two years, away from public scrutiny, high-level senior bureaucrats from the 29 countries that form the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have been quietly drafting this new set of global regulations for investment. Until this past February, when a negotiating text was finally leaked, it had been virtually impossible to obtain information about MAI. Now that the document has entered the public domain, a large body of analysis is emerging, one that paints a frightening picture. According to William Witherell, the OECD's director of financial, fiscal and enterprise affairs, in a commentary at http://www.odc.org/wither.htm MAI is designed to provide a "level playing field" for international investors by removing most of the remaining barriers to, and controls on, the flow of cash worldwide, and instituting uniform rules on both market access and legal security. Easing rules =20 Fears abound that the agreement will speed up the flow of jobs away from industrialized nations and put more pressure on countries to compete for investment dollars by cutting wages and easing rules on labour, consumer safety and the environment. While negotiations continue behind closed doors in Paris, a far more public discourse is taking place in cyberspace. A good starting point is MAI? No Thanks...!, a page assembled by Victoria, B.C., counsellor, translator and computer whiz Hendrik Zimmermann. Zimmermann has brought together a smorgasbord of information about MAI, prefaced by a spirited poetic ode borrowing from the words of William Blake that conjures up images of mad priests frantically dancing around the biggest golden calf, presumably representing treasured opportunities for profit. One of the more straightforward critiques of MAI comes from Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch in Washington, part of Ralph Nader's Public Citizen group. Global Trade Watch has joined with the Preamble Collaborative, another D.C.-based think tank, located at http://www.rtk.net/preamble/, and a coalition of other organizations to bring the MAI negotiations out of the dark. Investors rights Preamble offers one of the more succinct analyses, The Multilateral Agreement On Investment: A 'Bill of Rights' For International Investors? The Global Trade Watch site devoted to MAI is constantly updated, and you can even subscribe to an electronic mailing list to get all the latest news on the deal delivered directly to your hard drive. The text of the proposed agreement itself can be found in several spots in cyberspace, either all in one huge text file http://web.uvic.ca/german/hendrik/mai.txt) or conveniently split up into separate sections (http://www.essential.org/monitor/mai/contents.html) courtesy of the Multinational Monitor, a monthly publication that tracks corporate activity, especially in the Third World, focusing on the export of hazardous substances, worker health and safety, labour union issues and the environment. Although the language of MAI is essentially bureaucratic in nature, some passages make for pretty scary reading, especially those outlining the most favored nation (MFN) stipulation. This requires governments to treat all foreign countries and investors identically with respect to regulatory laws. Economic sanctions that punish a country for human rights violations by preventing corporations from doing business there would be among the kinds of laws prohibited by this section. Back here in Canada, the MAI-Not project, run by Carleton students affiliated with the Ontario Public Interest Research Group, is part of the growing international movement to put a stop to the treaty. Their home page, at http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~af558/, is a rather skimpy effort, however, simply featuring the text of a flier the group has produced on MAI -- which they spell out as "Mega-rich Alliance for Irresponsibility" -- and links to other resources. At least it's a start One of the most thorough summations comes from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, where Tony Clarke, director of the Polaris Institute, recently got his hands on a draft copy of the full text of the agreement. His preliminary analysis, titled The Corporate Rule
[PEN-L:10625] Re: French elections
If this is the case, Doug, what should French folks have done in the context of the recent election? Cheers, Sid A not-entirely-fanciful scenario: the new French government fails even in its weak program, unemployment remains high, and the National Front gains in appeal. So the sans papiers might have it worse in the long run. The dangers of lesser-of-two-evil politics. Doug
[PEN-L:10621] Bitter Paradise on TV Ontario (fwd)
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 14:20:35 -0800 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (David Webster) Subject: Bitter Paradise on TV Ontario BITTER PARADISE: THE SELL-OUT OF EAST TIMOR Screens on TV Ontario this Sunday, June 15, at 9 p.m. (Province of Ontario only) Bitter Paradise is Elaine Briere's one-hour documentary about East Timor, the complicity of Canadian academics, business and government, and activist attempts to help East Timor. It won Best Political Documentary at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto earlier this year. Watch for Andre Ouellet's reply to Elaine's attempts to ask a question on East Timor: "This is not on the agenda." And ... Coming this fall: the book of the film -- Bitter Paradise study guide. "The thinking of the old world has altered little : where there are profits to be defended, law, justice, freedom, democracy and peace are the victims. Only the peoples of one nation can help those of another." -Xanana Gusmao, leader of the East Timorese resistance Cipinang prison, Jakarta, 1995
[PEN-L:10559] March on Amsterdam (fwd)
The Irish Times=20 HOME NEWS Thursday, June 5, 1997 _ =20 UNEMPLOYED FROM EUROPE WALK TO AMSTERDAM =20 _ =20 By Michael Foley=20 =20 Like medieval pilgrims, thousands of unemployed people from all over Europe will make their way on foot to Amsterdam for the EU summit in the city later this month. =20 Among them will be a group of 14 Irish unemployed who will be seeking a commitment to full employment in the new EU treaty which the 15 heads of government will be discussing. =20 On June 14th, about 40,000 people will gather in the Dutch capital to lobby and protest at the levels of unemployment and poverty within the EU. =20 The 14 Irish participants, who began their journey from Derry, met the President, Mrs Robinson, yesterday before making their way south to Cork, from where they will take a ferry to Roscoff in Brittany. =20 There they will meet up with a French group and make their way to Amsterdam. =20 Mr Michael O'Mara is one of those who, by a combination of walking and taking buses, will be in Amsterdam. He is unemployed and gives his time to the unemployed information centre in Clondalkin, Dublin. He is seeking a commitment to job creation and the eradication of poverty within a time-scale, possibly five years. =20 By the time he arrives in Amsterdam, he will have travelled 3,000 kilometres. He will be travelling with unemployed from eight Irish counties, North and South. The general secretary of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, Mr Mike Allen, said the marchers would lobby to ensure that political weight was put behind verbal commitments to full employment. =20 The Irish group was the most westerly, the Finns the most northerly. =20 A group from Sarajevo was also taking part, while the Spanish marchers had set out in April, he said. =20 The marchers are expected to arrive in Amsterdam on June 12th, two days before the summit. There are nearly a quarter of a million unemployed in the Republic and throughout Europe, about 17.5 million people are registered as unemployed. =20 About 35 million people live below the poverty line and some five million are without homes. =20 =A9 Copyright: The Irish Times Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:10570] Response to Max
Max: "As I've said before, the EU is a GOVERNMENT of Europe. (NAFTA was a mere regional trade agreement between governments.) It starts with certain features and biases, but its potential, for good or for ill, is vast. Politics on the ground informs the development of this potential. The new government in France has a pretty good case now for radical modification of Maastricht." Sid (from British Columbia -- but hey, all those Canadian provinces look alike): The difficulty isn't with the "case", Max. The difficulty is with the fact that we're only in the beginning of the process of saying "no" to the plans that transnational capital has for us. We are nowhere vis-a-vis seizing control of the political-economic process and building our own model of what we want. (Presuming we could agree on what that was.) Max: "Despite our understanding that an actual political process of progressive advance will be replete with reversals, betrayals, inadequacies, etc., we persist in a search for a 'clean' vehicle. The right frame of reference to evaluate present circumstances is to ask how progress ... was made possible in the past." Sid: I think the quest for the "right vehicle" is symptomatic of the problem, Max. That leaves progressive forces in a position of taking what's given them -- in this case the EU and Maastricht -- as the starting point for building positive alternatives. I've been trying to argue that if we define our starting point as shoveling the shit we're handed by transnational capital, we're never going to create a perfumed piece of art. Unless and until the folks on the ground who are finally beginning to reject the neoliberal project and the institutions in which it is incorporated start to come up with their own, progressive alternatives (with the help of engaged progressive intellectuals), then we'll be shopping around forever for the right vehicle in capitalism's car lot. Max: "For any convinced that Social Europe is nothing more than an exercise in 'parliamentary cretinism', the question of practical alternatives looms. Calls for a socialist Europe, however elegantly couched, beg the question of the political process which gets us there." Sid: Good point Max. I wouldn't pretend to have the answer to this question. I'm simply insisting that it's misguided to shop for the vehicle that will get us there in the above-mentioned car lot. Cheers.
[PEN-L:10575] Re: Response to Michael's quandary
You're absolutely correct in your interpretation, Jerry. Cheers, Sid PS -- what are you doing to change the world? D Shniad wrote: This is true, ironically (perhaps especially true) of many Marxist intellectuals, despite Marx's famous thesis on Feuerbach about the need to stop analyzing and start changing the world. The much-quoted XI "Theses on Fuerbach" ["The philosophers have only *interpreted* the world, in various ways: the point, however, is to *change* it"] can not be interpreted as a call to "stop analyzing the world." Such an interpretation would not fit well into either Marx's perspective on praxis or his own life's work. It would be more reasonable, and in keeping with Marx's other writings and actions, to say that he held that one should *both* analyze and change the world. Jerry
[PEN-L:10572] From the archives
The Vancouver Sun December 3, 1996 FRENCH MINISTER ON TOUR TO SELL EU IDEAL The campaign is up against growing public opinion that sees integration as unbridled capitalism. By Nick Spicer, Southam Newspapers PARIS -- It looks like one of our national unity campaigns. A minister travels the countryside telling people about the benefits of cooperation, about how jobs can only come by sticking together, about mutual understanding between peoples. Constitutionally challenged Canada? No, France. French European Affairs Minister Michel Barnier has been touring France since Oct. 15 with a triple objective: giving Europe a bigger place in national politics, listening to people's views on Europe, and providing people with information on the future of France in the European Union. He's up against a public opinion that's turning away from the ideal of European integration because people associate it with unbridled capitalism and the 1992 Maastricht Treaty's guidelines on budgetary reform. "The big problem we're having is that people don't see any solutions in Europe. They see it as an additional constraint in their lives, but the opposite is true," said Pierre-Jerome Henin, Barnier's public relations officer. "People don't understand that their problems can't be solved on a national basis, but only on an international -- European -- basis," he added. Henin's view is supported by a 1996 poll commissioned eaerlier this year by the European Commission showing that Europe's goal of integration is in danger of being supported only by national elites. It suggested that wile over 90 per cent of high level decision-makers in Europe think their country's membership in the EU is a "good thing," only 48 per cent of other Europeans do. And 15 per cent of people who aren't politicians, union heads, teachers, journalists or religious leaders consider belonging to the EU a "bad thing." There's also growing opposition in both France and the rest of Europe to the next step in Europeanb integration, the single currency to be called the euro. During the minister's visit last Thursday to Soissons in the northern region of Picardy, 150 anti-EU union members demonstrated as Barnier opened one of the regional forums of the National Dialogue for Europe. Barnier is just beginning a six month campaign to involve 1,000 youth volunteers, and broken into "regional" and "national" phases. The operation has a budget of $13 million Cdn.. but the European Commission is picking up half the tab. The centre-right government is actively pro-European but has to face down the Euroskeptic division within its own ranks. And as a final decision on which EU countries will join a single currency is 14 months away, European integration will likely become a main election issue. The ruling coalition faces voters early in 1998.
[PEN-L:10561] Response to Michael's quandary
Michael talks of being in a quandary about what to do next. One of the things that frustrates me about professional intellectuals (and why I didn't stay in academia) is that they are content with reading and writing for themselves. This is true, ironically (perhaps especially true) of many Marxist intellectuals, despite Marx's famous thesis on Feuerbach about the need to stop analyzing and start changing the world. Just a question for folks on Pen: how many of us are involved in parties, coalitions, unions, labour councils, peace groups, environmental organizations or whatever? Inquiring non-academics want to know. Cheers, Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10573] COSATU on flexibility
Address by Mbhazima Shilowa, General Secretary, Congress Of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) at Investment Conference in Bonn, Germany 5 June 1997 Time: 11a.m. Chairperson, comrade Nzo, delegates, comrades and friends. It is my pleasure to present to you the COSATU perspective on the restructuring of state assets and the labour market. At. least you will have the opportunity to raise questions and to engage in discussions. I always prefer to have an open and frank debate rather than have a false consensus. The debate about the our country's macro-economic policies has largely been characterised more by what the private sector and governments elsewhere think we should be doing, and less by what the needs of our country are. This is also true of the debate on the restructuring of state assets and the labour market. COSATU's approach is informed by the fact that the new South Africa has inherited the apartheid legacy of low economic growth, extreme inequalities in wealth and incomes by international standards, high levels of poverty and unemployment, unequal development between provinces, lack of infrastructure in most black areas, racially skewed land distribution, low levels of skills among black workers, a deformed public sector with low levels of investment particularly in the mid to late 80's, denial of rights to black workers, starvation wages which are paid to most workers as well as under performance by most of our industries. This apartheid legacy will not disappear on its own but will require massive efforts by all south Africans if we are to succeed. Nor will the market left on its own correct them. In this regard we see the role of the state as being to ensure that we adopt policies that move us away from this path to a new one where the needs of South Africans are supreme. Restructuring of state assets. Let me briefly deal with the COSATU position on the restructuring of state assets. Our approach and outlook is informed by our overall commitment to the restructuring of the South African economy. This includes redefining the role of the civil service, police service and the army and better deployment of our resources. We need to shift spending patterns away from apartheid wastage expenditure to one aimed at meeting RDP goals and objectives. At the same time, we should ensure that there is meaningful delivery on areas such as Education, Health, Public transport, social welfare and basic infrastructure. We believe that the role of parastatals and public utilities should be looked at so as to determine their new role in transformation and development of our country. This should be guided by the National Framework Agreement reached between Labour and government in 1996. This places emphasis on the objectives of restructuring, principles underpinning the process, structures and approach, the need to create employment, training and retraining of workers, role of the state in the productive sector of the economy, provision of infrastructure, protection of consumers, etc. Labour Market. There exists a misconception, ruffled in the main by South African business and the commercial press as well as a lunatic fringe outside of the country, that one of the key problems facing the South African economy is the alleged inflexibility of the labour market. Or put differently, that wages are too high by international standards, in relation to the level of productivity of the economy. This claim flies in the face of recent studies by among others the ILO, which found that in many respects the labour market is too flexible, and that millions of workers remain vulnerable and unprotected. The battle cry of those who want to demonise the trade union movement as a destructive economic force, and return us to the days of the apartheid cheap labour system is: "we need greater labour market flexibility". This coded attempt to turn the clock back, and remove basic rights and protection of workers (in the name of "flexibility') will precisely lead to the entrenchment of apartheid's economic rigidities which have acted as a fetter on the development of our country -- the suppression of the creativity and potential of the majority of South Africans. This type of "flexibility" ( license to exploit), has led, not to dynamism, innovation, and the unleashing of our productive potential, but to stagnation, and destruction of our human and natural resources. The in-depth study by the ILO on the South African labour market referred above argues that, for the majority of South African workers, particularly the low paid black workers, particularly women, the labour market is far too flexible. Rigidity in so far as wages is concerned tends to be concentrated at the upper echelons of the labour market, especial the managerial and professional strata, who use their access to scarce skills and historically accumulated priviledges to entrench their positions in a
[PEN-L:10580] The Corporate Rule Treaty (long)
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/mai.html The Corporate Rule Treaty MAI-DAY! The Corporate Rule Treaty The Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) seeks to consolidate global corporate rule By Tony Clarke Canadians are gradually becoming aware of the increasingly powerful role that transnational corporations (TNCs) are playing in their daily lives. But few are aware that the power of these global giants is being consolidated through a series of negotiations that are now taking place in Paris. Led by the United States, the 29 countries that comprise the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are secretly negotiating what is designed to be a global investment treaty. The Canadian free trade experience reminds us of how crucial such international agreements can be. After all, the cornerstones of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994) and the FTA (the U.S.-Canada Free trade Agreement of 1989) are its investment codes. In turn, these investment codes constitute a bill of rights and freedoms for transnational corporations. Through national treatment clauses and provisions for the elimination of job content requirements, export quotas and foreign investment measures, these codes have enormously increased the power of transnational corporations over our economic, social and environmental future. Now Ottawa is actively supporting Washington's bid to constitutionalize transnational corporate power on a world-wide scale through the negotiation of a Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Initially, the European Commission (EC) had proposed that a global investment treaty be developed as the centrepiece of the new World Trade Organization (WTO). But the U.S. feared that opposition from developing countries in the WTO would "water down" any consensus that might be reached on an investment treaty. The U.S. therefore decided that the best way to achieve a "high standard" investment treaty was to negotiate it through the rich nations' club of the OECD. As U.S. officials have stated, their prime objective is "to obtain a high-standard multilateral investment agreement that will protect U.S. investors abroad." To that end, the MAI is designed to establish a whole new set of global rules for investment that will grant transnational corporations the unrestricted "right" and "freedom" to buy, sell, and move their operations whenever and wherever they want around the world, unfettered by government intervention or regulation. In short, the MAI seeks to empower transnational corporations through a set of global investment rules designed to impose tight restrictions on what national governments can and cannot do in regulating their economies. The ability of governments, for example, to use investment policy as a tool to promote social, economic and environmental objectives will be forbidden under the MAI. While corporations are to be granted new rights and powers under the MAI, they are to have no corresponding obligations and responsibilities related to jobs, workers, consumers, or the environment. This spring, a confidential draft text titled Multilateral Agreement on Investment: Consolidated Texts and Commentary is being circulated among government and corporate officials in the OECD countries. Behind closed doors, secret consultations and negotiations have been taking place at the OECD headquarters in Paris. The original plan was to have the draft text ready for approval at the OECD ministers' meeting scheduled for early May, 1997, but OECD officials have since decided that another four to five months will be needed to complete the negotiations. If this draft MAI is adopted by the OECD countries, the cornerstones of a new global economic constitution will be cemented in place. Even though the MAI will initially apply only to OECD signatory countries, an accession clause built into the proposed treaty allows non-OECD countries to sign into the pact, provided that certain conditions are met. This gives the U.S. the tools it needs to ensure that a "high standard" investment treaty is established on a global basis without risking a watered-down version through prolonged negotiations under the WTO. Indeed, it can be argued that this MAI was originally pioneered by NAFTA. Many of the terms and conditions originally laid down in the investment code of NAFTA have been transplanted into the draft MAI. Even some provisions that were rejected in the final negotiations of NAFTA reappear in the OECD investment treaty. Now a NAFTA-plus investment code is about to be adopted by the 29 countries of the OECD, thereby setting the stage for a world-wide investment treaty in the 21st century. This new global constitution, however, is certainly not designed to ensure that the rights and
[PEN-L:10512] The latest high tech merger
World Wide Web giants Netscape and Yahoo have announced their plans to merge to become the world's largest internet provider. The new firm will be located in Israel and will be known as: Net'n'yahoo. This coincidentally coincides with the merger of El Al Airlines and Al- Italia Air Lines to be based in Rome and will be known as "Vell I'll tell ya."
[PEN-L:10511] Jane Kersey on APEC -- long
http://www.carleton.ca/~shick/kelsey.htm DEMYSTIFYING APEC Dr. Jane Kelsey APEC (the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) is hard to get a grip on. Unlike the European Union (EIJ) it is avowedly not a trade bloc. Operating under the slogan 'open regionalism', APEC exists to service the needs of capital and promote its optimal expansion through unregulated markets, unrestrained foreign investment and unrestricted trade- firstly among its own members, then globally by ratcheting up the process in other parts of the world. What is APEC APEC has no institutional or bureaucratic structure, nor even a set of binding agreements of the kind the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) does. Instead it operates through a secretive annual cycle of ministerial meetings, scripted by meetings of officials and coordinated by a small secretariat in Singapore. The agenda, deliberations and outcomes of those meetings are visible only to those with privileged access, either as representatives of the member 'economies' or as official observers. The latter are limited to the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), APEC's Business Advisory Council and the South Pacific Forum. It is impossible for any outsider to participate. A different member takes the chair of APEC each year and. depending on who it is, can wield considerable influence on the direction in which APEC moves. Commitments made by APEC members are described as voluntary and non- binding. That is formally true: APEC toes not directly regulate its member's economies. Agreement is reached by consensus; commitments are not binding on members: there is no formal dispute resolution process; and APEC has no enforcement powers. Peer pressure is meant to push governments to remove restrictions faster than they would on their own, and to minimize the risk of retreat. However, recent progress has been too slow for the Anglo-American members (US, Australia Canada and New Zealand) and they have begun pressing behind the scenes for a more legalistic, binding approach. While there are no formal criteria for membership of APEC, actual or promised liberalization is a de facto condition of entry. It is not clear where the APEC 'region' begins and ends. The 'Asia Pacific' is an artificial construct, with no natural geographical boundaries no common historical, D cultural social base, and no distinct or coherent identity of its own. It spans a diversity of small, middle and major powers with conflicting domestic concerns and in international alliances and interests. The 18 members comprise the six ASEAN countries of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei, plus Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea South Korea and United States.. Yet the US and Canada have no obvious non-economic link to Asia. Australia and New Zealand have some geographical contiguity, but little more. Some obvious participants like China and countries of the South Pacific wore originally omitted altogether, most of the latter still are. The ASEAN countries who are integral to Asia have been least enthusiastic about the project. Indeed, Malaysia has actively promoted the idea of an East Asian Economic Caucus which would leave the US, Canada Australia and New Zealand out. A three year moratorium on membership was imposed in 1993. A number of countries, including Vietnam and India, are now seeking to join. The 1996 meeting in Manila will have to decide whether to take in new members and if so, an what criteria. Concern has been expressed that the inclusion of India, in particular, would significantly alter the dynamics of APEC, because of India's size, the intense domestic opposition to its structural adjustment program, and the difficulties India already faces in meeting its commitments under the Uruguay Round of the GATT/WTO. APEC has always been market driven and is heavily influenced by big business and private sector free marketeers. It mainly relies for research on the tripartite think tank of business representatives, academics and officials ‘acting in their own capacity' known as the PECC, which operates through specific task groups, forums and sponsored studies. It bas had formal observer status at APEC meetings from the start Between 1993 and 1995, APEC sought guidance on its vision from an ad hoc Eminent Persons Group (EPG), made up of radical free traders nominated by APEC members. Its reports were highly influential during that time in pushing APEC rapidly down the 'free trade and investment' road. But it was also perceived as heavily US driven, and far too ideological to be of practical use. Its role has since been assumed by the new Business Advisory Council (BAC), whose first report in Osaka in 1995 urged the accelerated implementation of Uruguay Round and APEC commitments, and expansion of APEC's mandate. Originally the
[PEN-L:10529] Tijuana strike/emergency alert (fwd)
Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers Craftsmen Hall, 3909 Centre Street, Ste. 210 San Diego, CA 92102 phone (619) 542-0826; fax (619) 295-5879 June 2, 1997 E M E R G E N C Y A L E R T Maquiladora Workers Demand Union Recognition! Faxed Letters Urgently Needed Workers at the Han Young de Mexico maquiladora which produces chassis and platforms for tractor trailer trucks for Hyundai Precision America refused to enter the plant in Tijuana for work today to demonstrate their unified demand for union recognition. While the company's failure to pay utilidades, the 2% profit-sharing bonus as required under Mexican labor law, was the immediate impetus for the work stoppage, the workers' overriding concern is health and safety problems in the plant. Workers are often not provided with appropriate facial shields, gloves, coveralls or safety shoes. Some workers are losing their vision and many experience a burning sensation in their eyes due to constant exposure to lead fumes. Workers exhibit burns on their hands, chest, arms and clothing. While the workers assemble and weld at least 26 chassis daily that sell for $1800 each, they make between 280 and 360 pesos ($33-$46) weekly. Workers complain this is not enough to cover basic necessities. Han Young employes 125 workers. Current production involve a large contact Hyundai has to produce trucks for the U.S. Marines. The Han Young maquiladora, like most maquiladoras in Tijuana, pays a government connected "union" known as the Confederacion Regional de Obreros Mexicanos (CROM). Workers do not participate in any meetings of the "union" and have never seen a copy of its contract with the company. It is a standard practice by the maquiladora industry to pay for "protection contracts" against independent organizing by the workers. It is clear that international pressure can play a key role in the Mexican government's determination to recognize the workers' right to organize a union of their own and in the company's decision to bargain with the union. The Support Committee urges you to send letters immediately to the Mexican Labor Board with copies to the Governor of Baja California and Hyundai and Han Young expressing your solidarity with the striking workers. DEMAND RECOGNITION OF MAQUILADORA WORKERS' RIGHT TO ORGANIZE THEIR OWN UNION! PLEASE FAX LETTERS (see sample) ASAP to: Antonio Ortiz, Presidente Junta de Conciliacion y Arbitraje 011-52-66-86-33-00 If the above number does not answer, call 011-52-66-86-32-14 and say that you want to send a fax. Please fax copies of your letter to: Governor Teran Teran 011-52-65-58-11-78 Ted Chung, President, Hyundai Presicion America (619) 293-7264 Won Young Kang, Gerente General, Han Young de Mexico 011-52-66-80-44-81 Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers (619) 295-5879 == SAMPLE LETTER Sr. Antonio Ortiz, Presidente Conciliacion y Arbitracion By fax: (66) 86-33-00 Senor Ortiz: I am writing to express my support for the Han Young maquiladora workers' demand for union recognition. The Han Young maquiladora workers suffer numerous health and safety problems due to the company's continual failure to provide adequate safety gear. Such injuries include burns, and, due to constant lead exposure, failing vision. After years of unfulfilled promises of safety shoes and other protective devices, and the company's failure to pay utilidades in compliance with Mexican labor law, the workers felt they had no choice but to withhold their labor. Most Han Young workers are petitioning for their own union because they feel the CROM has not assisted them in any way, nor has it represented their interests. The workers have never had union meetings and have yet to see their employer's contract with the CROM. In the interests of these workers' right to organize and choose their own union representatives, we urge you to expedite registration of the Han Young workers' union and facilitate the positive resolution of this dispute. Added note: Given that their pay is less than a dollar an hour, the Han Young workers have not been able to build up a substantial strike fund. They are currently soliciting donations. DONATIONS to purchase food and support the families of striking workers can be sent to: Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers Craftsmen Hall, 3909 Centre Street San Diego, CA 92103 Please make your check payable to "SCMW" and write "Han Young Worker Strike Fund" in the memo section of your check. Thank you for your support!!! End Included Message
[PEN-L:10532] MAI Sierra Club (fwd)
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Sierra Club of Canada) Subject: Recent postings to web sites of WTO/MAI info Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 01:24:36 -0400 Subject: Recent postings to web sites of WTO/MAI info A home page for Common Front on the World Trade Organization information has recently been added to the Sierra Club of Canada web site. The url address is: http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/trade-env/ The final draft of "An Environment Guide to the World Trade Organization" by Steve Shrybman is available at this address. Additionally, the page contains a link to a text version of Tony Clarke's document on the MAI (Multilateral Agreement on Investments), "The Corporate Rule Treaty". This document is available from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives web site at: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/ The full text of the draft MAI (January 13, 1997) is available from the Multinational Monitor's web site: http://www.essential.org/monitor/ (specifically: http://www.essential.org/monitor/mai/contents.html). This site also provides useful links to a number of other NGO and government sites, including SEC filings for U.S. corporations. Andrew Chisholm Sierra Club of Canada
[PEN-L:10533] APEC 9-11 June, Toronto (fwd)
APEC Ministerial Conference in Toronto June 9-11 (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Australia Brunei Darussalam CanadaPeople's Republic of China Chile Hong Kong Indonesia Japan Republic of Korea Malaysia MexicoNew Zealand Papua New Guinea Republic of the Philippines Singapore Chinese Taipei Thailand United States The Environment Ministers from the 18 APEC countries, which together account for more than half the world's trade, will be meeting in Toronto, Canada on June 9, 10 and 11. The Anti-Apec Action Network is organizing protests at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, the site of the Ministerial Conference. June 9, 3:00 - 6:30 pm at the Royal York Hotel. June 9, 5:30 pm rally at Old City Hall, Queen and Bay Sts, march down Bay St (Canada's financial district) to the Royal York Hotel. June 9, 7:30 pm Public Forum at Holy Trinity Church, behind the Eaton Centre. Speakers include: - Maude Barlow, Council of Canadians - Tony Clarke, Polaris Institute - Edwen Guillan-Panay, Human Rights Committee - Bern Jagunas, CAWG - Danny Beaton June 10 and 11, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm For more information call 416-537-7290 or 416-323-9726 Laura Eggertson, writing in the Toronto Globe and Mail reported on May 12, 1997 that: The Asia-Pacific countries have transformed their trade group from a chat club into a powerhouse that will sidestep the World Trade Organization and set the agenda on opening global markets to goods and services. APEC members, which include Canada and the United States, account for about half the flow of goods and services around the world. Although APEC is a voluntary organization that reaches non-binding decisions by consensus, it will now take on greater prominence in the world trade scene. Members have decided to move quickly to identify specific products and services for which they can eliminate duties and quotas, instead of waiting for another interminable round of negotiations on global free trade at the World Trade Organization. The products and services chosen are closely driven by the private sector, through a business advisory group. "One of APEC's key features [is] its close collaboration with business on the trade agenda," federal Trade Minister Art Eggleton said at the close of the meeting Saturday. (10 May 1997) Once a significant number of APEC countries have agreed on the outline of a deal, negotiations can be moved to the WTO -- the more unwieldy trade watchdog, which has 130 member countries. The last group of global negotiations, known as the Uruguay Round, took seven years to complete. WTO agreements are binding and subject to dispute settlement. The United States and Canada have been pushing for APEC to gain more prominence because they believe it's easier to get deals among a smaller group of countries which are large enough to carry enough weight to intervene on the world scene. The Asia-Pacific nations have set a deadline for free trade among them -- 2010 for the developed countries and 2020 for developing nations. Politically, the U.S. administration has been criticized in Congress and by right-wing Republicans such as Pat Buchanan for surrendering sovereignty to the WTO. Drafting trade deals under APEC -- a less-visible, less-structured organization -- would remove some of the political heat. "As the Asia-Pacific region becomes more and more important in the world economy, so the impact of what you decide in APEC assumes a greater global significance," he told the Montreal conference. (10 May 1997) The Montreal meeting and a leaders' summit that Canada is slated to host in Vancouver in November are also expected to accelerate talks toward a deal on financial services, which would eliminate restrictions that now make it difficult for banks and insurance companies to operate globally. Countries have a Dec. 15 deadline to reach that deal. Washington scuppered the last attempt to reach a deal on financial services by pulling out, saying that other countries' offers were not enough to justify opening the U.S. market. Ms. Barshefsky made it clear that the United States wants countries to open
[PEN-L:10534] Blair's latest
The WSJ says: "Britain's Mr. Blair ... [has] outlined a "welfare-to-work" program that is more right wing than what many European conservatives would dare suggest." Kind of like Clinton's ending welfare "as we know it." Cheers, Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10528] Re: French elections
Max, Your irrepressible optimism vis-a-vis "social Europe" and unification reminds me of the kid who's whistling away as he's shoveling tons of horse shit out of the stall. When aske why he's so happy, he answers: "With all this horse shit, there's got to be a horse in here somewhere!" How the hell can you translate all of the recent events that have transpired in Europe into renewed evidence/pressure for a "social" Europe in the context of the EU? Cheers, Sid Shniad Maybe the electoral result gives the requisite kick in the ass to the European unification process to hasten the rise of "Social Europe." A bientot, MBS
[PEN-L:10531] MAI-CAW (fwd)
Message from Bruce Allen CAW (Canadian Auto Workers) Local 199 Date: Tue, 3 Jun 1997 21:38:47 -0400 (EDT) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Resolution on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment Fellow Workers, The following is the text of a resolution that I am trying to get adopted at the 1997 CAW Constitutional Convention slated for August in Vancouver. I am widely circulating this owing to the secrecy which has surrounded the Multilateral Agreement on Investment and the resulting lack of public awareness about it. Your comments are most welcome. In Solidarity, Bruce Allen CAW Local 199 Resolution to the 1997 CAW Constitutional Convention Whereas the Federal Liberal government has been secretly involved in negotiations for a Multilateral Agreement on Investment since May 1995 and, Whereas the Multilateral Agreement on Investment is being negotiated to further advance the policy course that was established by the 1988 Canada - U.S. Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA and the GATT and to make it even easier for transnational corporations to buy, sell and move their operations whenever and wherever they please on a global scale and, Whereas the net effect of this Multilateral Agreement on Investment will be to further implement a global corporate agenda without any regard for the socio-economic and ecological consequences of it, Therefore, be it resolved that the CAW initiate a major public campaign to demand that the Canadian government immediately suspend its particpation in the negotiations to conclude a Multilateral Agreement on Investment and convene the broadest possible public hearings regarding its socio-economic and ecological implications.
[PEN-L:10469] Re: UK:TUC MOVES INTO ENERGY MARKET [UIS]
I guess I'm more than a bit jaundiced on this kind of effort, but this move into credit cards and consumerism via union membership seems to me to be part of an attitutde of resignation on the part of union bureaucrats: if we can represent workers as workers in the current anti-labour environment, let's see what we can get them in their role as consumers. And the added advantage is that corporations cooperate in this kind of effort instead of opposing us. Cheers, Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10445] EU crisis (2)
The Daily Telegraph Thursday 29 May 1997 Crisis over euro after Bundesbank blocks Kohl By Andrew Gimson in Bonn The future of the euro was in doubt last night after the Bundesbank refused to help the German government meet the criteria for membership of the new currency. In a stinging rebuff to Chancellor Kohl, the bank rejected the attempted use of its gold reserves by Theo Waigel, the finance minister, to reduce the budget deficit to below the Maastricht limit of three per cent. The bank declared its determination to defend its independence, and said that if the euro was launched because of the scheme put forward by Mr Waigel, it would lack credibility. In theory, the German government could still force the bank to revalue its gold reserves, and pass the resulting book profit of about 15 billion pounds to Bonn. In practice, German public support is likely to be overwhelmingly with the bank. The Bundesbank is probably the most respected institution in Germany and the idea that it should be humiliated to allow the Deutschemark to be exchanged for the euro would probably prove unacceptable. Last night, Mr Kohl, Mr Waigel and other leading members of Germany's coalition government said they were determined to press ahead with the revaluation of the gold reserves this year. They denied infringing the Bundesbank's independence and said gold would have to be revalued when the euro was introduced in 1999, and there was no point in waiting. The government is expected to examine a draft proposal on the issue next week, and it would have to use its slim parliamentary majority to change the law to force the Bundesbank to capitulate. A spokesman for Hans Tietmeyer, the Bundesbank president, denied a newspaper report that he had threatened to resign rather than accept the government's plan. The Bundesbank's statement, issued after yesterday's meeting of its Central Council, pointed out that both the German government and the bank "have until now continually emphasised that the convergence criteria in the Maastricht Treaty must be credibly and lastingly fulfilled", and said this would not be achieved by the proposed revaluation. If it carried out Mr Waigel's wishes, "negative effects" could be expected on the credibility of the choice in May 1998 of which countries could join. The statement is seen as warning that if Germany is allowed in through creative bookkeeping, it would be impossible to keep countries such as Italy and Spain out with similar accusations. One German journalist said last night that short of being exposed as a child molester, it was hard to imagine a heavier blow to Mr Kohl than the bank's rebuff.
[PEN-L:10425] MAI Victoria BC, Canada (fwd)
Multilateral agreements and democracy: Where do politicians, business people and international civil servants lead us to? By Y. Bajard, D.Sc, Secretary, National Centre for Sustainability (Victoria and Vancouver, B.C. Canada) I worry about current action at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization for Economic and Community Development (OECD). With their confidentially negotiated multilateral agreements, they determine our common future without citizen involvement. Therefore, I wish to share with you my analysis and proposal for action. 1. Introduction: This paper is based on a. the independent information now circulating about the WTO and the MAI. (A large part of this information is available at these web sites: http://www.islandnet.com/plethora/ http://www.citizen.org/gtw/ http://www.wto.org/ http://www.oecd.org/ ) b. my participation in a recent meeting in Victoria two weeks ago with Andrew Griffith, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Canada near the WTO. The meeting focused on the Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) and not, as we had expected, on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). The WTO deals with the MEAs and the OECD with the MAI. The two subjects are officially independent. 2. Analysis based on the meeting and other readings on the subject: The participants in the meeting raised several questions about the MEAs and also about the MAI as their respective independence is artificial and the two are related. In general, Mr Griffith was very open and answered the questions raised as well and willingly as he could. However, clearly, he came from a different perspective on the process than the persons attending the meeting. 2.1. Differences in perspectives. For Mr. Griffith, economic growth and globalization of the market, with their supranational processes, multilateral agreements and treaties, are natural and desirable. The goal in these processes is to remove obstacles to trade, regardless of possible social and environmental effects. There is neither recognition of likely natural constraints to economic growth, nor questioning of the premises of the economic system in place and of its compatibility with reality. Seen from Mr. Griffith's perspective, Multilateral Agreements inscribe in a logical process, justified by the goal and necessary to the common good of nations and people. Mr. Griffith was not aware of the work of Peter Vitousek et al. in 1986, re: the human appropriation of the Net Primary Production of the Sun on emerged lands (still uncontradicted), or of the projections into the future made by Herman Daly, based on the Vitousek findings. Neither did he seem aware of, or concerned with, other work done on this subject (William Rees, for example). With all due respect, his attitude reminds me of the ideological blindness of many honest people working in ideologically inspired states or organizations (socialism, capitalism, most religious dogmas). The persons who attended the meeting with Mr. Griffith in Victoria look comprehensively at the situation and systematically question all relevant aspects of the current economic and social systems, including the multilateral agreements, before reaching a proposal for a solution to its inherent issues. Their attitude follows the process of scientific research defined by many philosophers of science such as Bergson, Bachelard and Edgar Morin. Clearly, critical and lateral thinking and a really strict scientific process are indispensable to the valid review of processes stemming from unverified dogmas. A similar difference in perspective was observed in all conversations and exchanges between representatives of the official process and independent members of the public. Mr. Griffith is therefore not an exception. 2.2. Contents The objectives, contents, and the relative precedence of the multilateral agreements are very worrying. The key objective of the OECD and of the WTO is, explicitly, "No restrictions to trade". All other considerations are secondary. A profitable global trade is assumed to generate the wellbeing of most people. There is no consideration of social inequities and of possible natural limits. There is also no consideration of the fallibility of human planning and regulatory processes. The MEAs are multilateral agreements between national governments, committing contracting partners to a specific environmental improvement target by a specific date. An example is the Montreal Protocol. The MEAs are binding and prevail over national, regional and local legislation. Yet, they themselves need to be turned into law in the signatory countries. Finally they need to be implemented, and the implementation of environmental laws is more often than not hindered by the
[PEN-L:10416] 2 MAI sites (fwd)
Date:Wed, 28 May 1997 19:54:35 -0400 To: MAI-L (worldwide) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Hendrik) Subject: "MAI? No thanks...!" information To whom it may concern: To circumvent possible technical difficulties at one web site there are now two technically independent ways to obtain the MAI background information on the web: http://www.islandnet.com/plethora/ http://www.geocities.com/athens/3565/nomai.html
[PEN-L:10387] Alexa on MAI (fwd)
I just received this message about the NDP's position on the MAI. Penners
can use it as grist for the mill in the debate between Paul Phillips and
Tom Walker.
Cheers,
Sid Shniad
Here is the position of the New Democratic Party of Canada
on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), one week
before our national election on June 2, 1997.
http://websmith.ca/fndp/election97/english/PressReleases/may27.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, May 27, 1997
McDONOUGH QUESTIONS HIDDEN AGENDA ON MAI
TORONTO -- Canadians have a right to know what the Multilateral
Agreement on Investment (MAI) will mean for their future, NDP
Leader Alexa McDonough said today.
"The Liberals are negotiating the MAI behind closed doors,
cutting Canadians out of the loop," said Ms. McDonough. "The
agreement has huge implications for Canadians but the Liberals
have been working overtime to keep it out of the spotlight.
Canadians have a right to know about this deal."
Canadians negotiators are at the OECD Ministerial Council today
discussing the MAI, which would limit the power of a national
government to establish rules for corporations operating within
their boundaries. A leaked draft of the agreement shows that the
Liberals are discussing proposals that would extend well beyond
the provisions of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and NAFTA.
"The Liberals are asking Canadians for a blank cheque in this
election, but have done nothing to deserve it," she said. "We
need more NDP MPs in Ottawa who won't let the Liberals get away
with this kind of secrecy and hidden agendas."
The NDP Leader posed four questions to the Liberals on the MAI:
o Can we keep requiring that companies who get Canadian tax dollars
create and maintain jobs in Canada?
o Can we keep using our natural resources for the benefit of
Canadians? Or does this deal force us, for example, to give
fishing licenses to foreign companies?
o Do we have to swallow foreign takeovers of Canadian companies,
where there's no clear value to Canadians?
o Does this deal have clear standards to protect working people,
the environment, human rights and culture?
Authorized by the New Democratic Party of Canada Association, Official
Agent for Canada's NDP.
end -
Here is the address for the NDP:
http://websmith.ca/fndp/election97/english/introenglish.html
email:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Here is the address for NDP Leader, Alexa McDonough:
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/alexa.halifax/
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:10357] For Canadians -- Reform site
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Billie C. Carroll) Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Reform Watch website Date: 26 May 1997 15:12:27 GMT Hi Sid If you are not already aware of it, there is now an online version of the Reform Watch newsletter, distributed for several years by Murray Dobbin. It also has quotes and profiles of Reformers, as well as policy analysis by issue. You can access the site at: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/refwatch/ Good reference materials to counter Reform's whitewashing rhetoric. in solidarity, Billie
[PEN-L:10354] NZ jobs site
Subject: The Jobs Research Website Launched Today Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 12:50:46 + From: "vivian Hutchinson" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: "The Jobs Research Website" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "The Jobs Research Website" [EMAIL PROTECTED] T H E J O B S R E S E A R C H W E B S I T E - a New Zealand - based internet resource for employment action ... Check it out ! http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/ WEBSITE LAUNCHED TODAY The Jobs Research Trust is pleased to announce the launch of their internet resource called the Jobs Research Website. This new internet resource will continue our purpose of developing and distributing information that will help our communities create more jobs and reduce unemployment and poverty in New Zealand. It will continue to provide essential information on jobs, employment, unemployment, the future of work, and related economic and education issues. The main project of the Jobs Research Trust -- producing the Jobs Letter every 2-3 weeks -- has already become a critical resource for the large range of people involved in the employment issue in New Zealand -- community welfare workers, training providers, careers advisers, educators, employers and the business community, employment activists, government departments, and local and national politicians. The new Website is freely available to all internet users, and will contain : * the back issues of the Jobs Letter's diaries, articles and features * associated key papers and articles on employment action in NZ and the world * links to other internet resources on employment issues and the future of work * our "Statistics that Matter" feature in an expanded format, and with historical trends (still under construction) * full keyword search capacities across the whole database (still under construction) NEW ON THE JOBS WEBSITE Take a look at these recent Jobs Letter features now freely available on the Jobs Research Website. *Microcredit -- from Grameen to Washington. An overview of the Feb 1997 Washington Summit dedicated to expanding the programme that lends money to poor people so that they can start small businesses and improve their lives. http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/jbl05510.htm * Ensuring Basic Economic Security. Futurework co-ordinator Sally Lerner calls for a serious look at new mechanisms to allocate work and distribute income. http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/jbl05410.htm *World Trade, Jobs and the Environment Kevin Watkins of OXFAM argues that behind the 'dense fog' of trade jargon, the environment, our rights as consumers, employment standards and the livelihoods of the world's poorest people are under attack. http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/jbl05310.htm *The ILO Jobs Report The Jobs Letter Editors give an edited summary of the 1996- 97 ILO report on world employment trends. http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/jbl05210.htm *Governments, Community Organisations and Civil Society. Garth Nowland-Foreman of Christchurch looks at the challenges facing voluntary organisations in New Zealand in the 1990s. http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/jbl05110.htm REFERENCES AVAILABLE FOR JOBS LETTER ITEMS In response to requests from researchers in the employment field, our internet website will contain annotated source references for all the items contained in our Jobs Letters .. a feature which the Jobs Letter format does not have the room for, but will make our information much more useful to the many researchers and writers who regularly use our information. REGISTER FOR EMAIL ANNOUNCEMENTS OF WEBSITE UPDATES if you want to be kept informed of developments and updates to the Jobs Research Website, we will be sending out an email newsletter every 4-6 weeks with new links to information and features. We will also include pointers to other material on the internet which we have found relevant to our own research and projects in the employment field in New Zealand. You can register for these free announcements by visiting the registration page on our website at http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/register.htm LATEST JOBS LETTER MATERIAL STILL ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION While the Jobs Research Website will be freely available to all internet users, we will not be placing the most recent (three months) copies of the Jobs Letter on the archive. These will continue to be available only to subscribers, and to preserve our income base for the Jobs Letter -- subscriptions pay our bills. EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE JOBS LETTER The new subscription details for the Jobs Letter are : The regular (4-6 page, posted) Jobs Letter costs $NZ112.50 incl GST for 30 letters. This subscription also includes a free email version on request. The email-only version costs $NZ56.25 incl
[PEN-L:10353] Re: Virtual History (fwd)
D Shniad, Don't blame the new technology on the reactionary content of virtual history. The traditional media were just as bad. Actually, the new media presents for the first time a realistic opportunity for alternative histories. While digital media (or what is called CBT in the corporate world) must be very well done if it is to be effective, which costs money, it costs on the order of $4 to reproduce CD ROM disks. With a bit of cooperation, it would not be all that difficult to produce US history, West Civ. or World History from a labor perspective and then distribute it to schools at a fraction of the cost of hard cover texts. My own interest is in a web interface for educational purposes. There's actually a good deal less self-contained distance learning education that uses that means, but a year or two from now we will see a significant percentage of higher education carried out in this way (for better or worse, I'll admit). Once an on-line resource is created (not child's play if it is to be effective), it is almost costless to distribute the world over, and it can be constantly updated and improved. There's always been room for a dramatically different and vigorous working-class perspective on history, but there have been constraints on putting it forward as an alternative. Current economic trends are about to create a window of opportunity. Haines Brown Hartford Web Publishing [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:10352] Newspaper striker welcomes march on Detroit (fwd)
Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 19:40:03 -0500 Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Jim Davis [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Newspaper striker welcomes march on Detroit [Editor's Note: The following is the text of a speech given at a gathering of Detroit newspaper strikers and supporters on March 1, 1997. The gathering was sponsored by ACOSS (Action Coalition of Strikers and Supporters). June 20 and 21, 1997 are the dates for the mobilization for Action! Motown '97, in support of the Detroit newspaper workers who have been on strike since July 1995. For more information on Action! Motown '97, call 313-961-4480 or visit the Acoss web site at: http://members. aol.com/actmotown] By Daymon J. Hartley DETROIT -- Good afternoon, fellow locked-out workers and supporters. Let me remind you: This is a war. And in this war we've suffered many casualties. More than 70 strikers have suffered serious injuries including brain damage. Four strikers died prematurely -- undoubtedly from the stress of our struggle. Sister Sue Wozniak. Brother Art Robbins. Brother Gerald Janish. Brother Ron Gates. We're tired. We're frustrated. We've faced so many crises. And our belief in the American Dream has become a nightmare. But we are a relentless group. And we refuse to let the sacrifices our brothers and sisters have made be in vain. We're facing a new crisis today. We're struggling now with an unconditional offer to return to work. An offer that was made against the will and without the democratic input of most strikers. Have no doubt, it was a surrender on the part of some of our international leaders. I don't know about you, but I haven't surrendered yet. I have, however, turned my energies to fighting on a new front. Make no mistake, I'm not here to cheerlead or to put a happy face on our situation. Because this is a crisis. And within this crisis, we will face new opportunities and new dangers. The trick is for us to recognize and seize the opportunities and to lessen the dangers. Many of us knew 20 months ago that 2,000 strikers and their families could never defeat two multibillion-dollar corporations and their many corporate allies at their own game. They will always have more money to fight with. But we will always have more people. The only way we can win now or ever could win is by surrounding ourselves with the people and the power of the entire labor movement. Finally, we've got a chance to do that. The labor leaders in Washington have answered our call for a national labor march. Maybe it was their idea of a consolation prize. But nevertheless, on June 20 and 21, we will have the opportunity to bring thousands of unionists and other fair-minded people to Detroit to do what we should have done -- what some of us tried to do -- right from the beginning of this strike. I'll leave the details of that strategy up to your imagination! We now have the chance -- and the AFL- CIO's resources -- to show these corporations -- and the entire corporate class -- that if they mess with one of us, they mess with all of us. This march gives us the chance to mobilize the thousands and hundreds of thousands of supporters we know we have locally, nationally and even internationally. Yes, we now have the potential to energize all of labor and make up for PATCO, Staley, Caterpillar and all the other brutal defeats we have suffered for far too long. You know, some people don't like it when you bring up those blemishes on the labor movement. But I refuse to forget those defeats and all the defeats and blows we've suffered during this strike. Because I believe that famous philosopher who once said, "Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it." I don't know about you, but I don't care to relive too much of the past 20 months. We've hurt these companies. They have hurt us. And worst of all, we've hurt ourselves. Indeed, we in Detroit and really all of labor are in a crisis. But now is not the time to wallow. It's not the time to throw in the towel. It's time to mobilize. It's time to energize. Finally, our chance, the working person's chance to take back the streets, the corporations and, let's say it, it's time for the working person to take back this country. In those famous words, if not now, when? When we will get another opportunity like this? And if not here, where will we take a stand against a corporate class that is determined to destroy this country's working class? No Contract, No Peace! Shut down Motown! ** This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition), Vol. 24 No. 6 / June, 1997; P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654, [EMAIL PROTECTED] or WWW: http://www.mcs.com/~jdav/league.html For free electronic subscription, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "Subscribe" in the subject
[PEN-L:10339] Theobald on the Canadian election
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Hendrik) Subject: "Global Leaders have no clothes" Last year (1996) the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had invited Robert Theobald, New Orleans based U.S. economist, to deliver the "Fall Massey Lectures", part of the "Ideas" programming series. However, shortly before the lectures were scheduled to begin, the CBC cancelled his appointment, purportedly because of disapproval over his innovative approach to presenting ideas (which can best be described as cooperative and provocative). In the wake of the ensuing publicity a successful program of lectures and workshops in Canada was organised which saw him travel in Canada in the last six months. He has just published "Reworking Success" (New Society Publishers), and today we received a column on the Canadian election which he prefaces as follows: I have been encouraged to write a column on the Canadian election, in the context of the failure of all recent elections to avoid the real issues. I hope it will be relevant to those in other countries as well. This column can be forwarded to listserves, etc., if it is felt to be useful. It can also be published without my permission, but I would be interested in knowing what uses anybody finds for it. * GLOBAL LEADERS HAVE NO CLOTHES. Robert Theobald. Imagine a father arriving home to see his house on fire. He runs into the burning shell to rescue those he holds most dear... and emerges carrying his safe full of money and securities. After making sure that the money is secure he runs back towards the house to save his children... but it is too late. His family is consumed in the flames. Like the father, our politicians continue to ignore the increasingly visible dangers. They act as though economic forces are the only ones of importance, that maximum economic growth will solve all problems, that international competitiveness is the primary relevant determinant of action. They ignore the accumulating evidence that the gaps between the rich and the poor are widening both within countries and between them and that current directions will worsen developing dynamics rather than reverse them. The economic profession, in which I was trained, has disgraced itself by failing to surface these realities. Instead, economists continue to reinforce the patterns that jeopardize the lives of our children and grandchildren. They continue to base their entire house-of-cards on an already disproved belief that the biosphere has an infinite capacity to provide us with raw materials and absorb our garbage. Both politicians and economists continue to pretend that the approaches we have used in the twentieth century will work in the twenty-first. When challenged, they say that there are no choices. It is like saying that the father had no choice: that he was forced to save his money before his children. The results he experienced reflected his choice, just as the trends we are experiencing globally reflect ours. Going into the Canadian election, there was widespread recognition that all of the parties, taken together, excited the enthusiasm of less than a quarter of the electorate. One might have hoped that this would have led one major party to decide that it was time to level with people and to treat them as adults rather than to disguise what is really going on in the world. It is time to face the fact that NAFTA and the World Trade Organization have already reduced the rights of communities and nations. Now a Multilateral Agreement on Investment is being negotiated, essentially in secret, to eliminate even more local, and national, decision-making. Despite the extraordinary implications of the proposed agreement, no major party seems aware of the importance of deciding where Canada should stand. In one sense, this is not surprising. A real discussion on what is important to Canadians would break through the superficialities of the debate and show that not only does the Emperor has no clothes on but that he's making obscene gesture! Long-run ecological issues are continuing to worsen as the citizens of developed countries refuse to face the consequences of their actions or their responsibilities to the rest of the world. The rich countries were put on notice at the Rio Environmental Conference that they had to take the first steps if a global debate on population and ecological balance was to develop. In the five years since Rio, we have not even kept the commitments made at that time. The consequences of delays are cumulative and they have already started to damage our interests. These dangers are not only systemic and long-run. They affect our individual, immediate lives. For example, skin cancers have risen dramatically because of declines in the ozone layer. Weather- related disasters, like the floods in Manitoba, are on the increase and these
[PEN-L:10338] Virtual History
Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 From: Norman Solomon [EMAIL PROTECTED] "VIRTUAL HISTORY" ... AND VIRTUAL MENDACITY By Norman Solomon / Creators Syndicate This spring, thousands of youngsters have gotten involved in "the ultimate multimedia exploration of the American experience." Virtual history is here -- wrapped in a red-white-and-blue package that bears the venerable imprint of American Heritage magazine and promises "the only software your kids will ever need to study American history!" A single CD-ROM disk now provides hours of music, video clips, audio narration and "3D virtual reality walkthroughs." It all comes under a lofty title: "The History of the United States for Young People." These days, adults are often pleased to see children sitting at computers and learning with a few keystrokes. The scene is so modern ... so 21st century! The kids are learning, all right. But what? If they're studying, say, the Vietnam War, the computer tells about the escalation of U.S. "air strikes" and then explains: "By the end of the 1960s, bombing raids had become an almost daily occurrence." But the CD-ROM wizardry never gets around to the human suffering caused by those "air strikes" and "bombing raids." The narrative slant presents Washington's war makers as well-intentioned champions of democratic values. Ironically, kids who use the glitzy history disk to learn about the war in Vietnam are encountering the same distortions that many of their parents and grandparents rejected three decades ago. Such virtual history may not be any worse than the usual textbook kind. But it can be quite a bit more insidious. A grisly visual image -- a row of human skulls -- appears on the screen when "the South Vietnamese were unable to stop the North Vietnamese advance. In April 1975, communist forces captured Saigon." But the picture of skulls suddenly disappears when other words arrive: "In 1969, President Nixon secretly ordered the bombing of communist bases in Cambodia." Evidently, in cyberhistory, communist bombs cause ghastly horrors while the effects of American bombs don't merit a blip on the screen. How's that for virtual propaganda? If this is "the only software your kids will ever need to study American history," we're in big trouble. If "The History of the United States for Young People" is any indication, the current multimedia innovations are opening new vistas for deceiving the next generation. The more that computers and software become glorified as megabyte beacons of progress for everyday life, the less we hear about GIGO -- one of the basic aphorisms that emerged early in the computer age. "Garbage In, Garbage Out." Vows to put computers in every classroom don't deal with a key question: Are we fixating on the latest gizmos while failing to scrutinize content? The widespread obsessions with technical glitz could amount to perpetual distractions that mesmerize children and adults alike. The American Heritage history disk -- which adapts a big- selling school book for eighth graders -- "makes the textbook really come to life," an official who helped produce the CD-ROM told me. But the ultimate target is grown- ups: "It's really for parents to buy for kids." No one owns America's heritage, of course. But, since 1986, a few rich guys named Forbes have owned American Heritage. Steve Forbes -- the editor in chief of Forbes magazine -- is the CEO of the privately held parent company, Forbes Inc. Forbes ran for president last year and declared: "I want to reduce the (tax) rate further and further and further. We won't get it to zero emissions, you might say, but that wouldn't be a bad goal." That says a lot about what he thinks of government. Joining with Forbes Inc. to produce "The History of the United States for Young People" is Simon Schuster, a subsidiary of the media giant Viacom. Clearly, the manufacturing of multimedia history for young people is a very big business. "Only through history does a nation become completely conscious of itself," wrote the 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. "Accordingly, history is to be regarded as the national conscience of the human race." But what happens when we turn over the national conscience to the high- tech market? 2
[PEN-L:10335] Irish CP on the EU
(This document is part of the European History section of the documentary collection, World History Archives, and is associated with the world history resource page, Gateway to World History.) The European Union and the Future of Socialism by James Stewart, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) from Unity, publication of the CPI Reprinted by the People's Weekly World, 22 May, 1995, pg. 18. With the collapse of socialism in Europe, our continent is now dominated as never before by the European Union (EU). Its evolution and its impact are of vital significance for the working class of this continent. Writing at the beginning of the century, Lenin said that the slogan of a "United States of Europe" was either impossble or reactionary. As we see the enlargement process gather force within the EU, it is obvious that this is not impossible - but it remains reactionary. For Irish Communists, any approach to the EU based on the illusion that it can be democratized or that its fundamental nature can be changed ignores the reality that the EU is a supranational form of monopoly capitalism, designed to allow the maximum freedom for capital while restricting the rights of labor. In one sense, of course, the EU is the application locally of the globalization of the international econmy, with a relative freedom of movement of capital throughout the world. This allows the monopoly concerns to play one section of workers off against another: closing a plant in one country while expanding a similar plant (usually at lower wages) in another. Monopoly competition is operated to maximize profits and reduce labor costs. The EU also serves another international purpose. The loss of direct empires has circumscribed the power of exploitation of the old imperialist centers; they now hope to revive their fortunes by pooling resources, and so reimpose upon the Third World conditions of total dependency. The key points about the European suprastate are, firstly, its fundamental lack of democracy, and, secondly, the fact that the contradictions between the various imperialist centers have by no means been obliterated, only glossed over. The Communist Party of Ireland starts from this fundamental premise: that there can be no advance to socialism in Europe unless the power bloc of the European Union as an instrument of monopoly capitalism is overthrown. Controls and restrictions on the freedom of monopoly capital are essential if working people are to redirect the resources created by their labor - away from an insane and resource-consuming drive for more and more profits (a process that is ultimately environmentally unsustainable) to meeting the social needs of Europe's people. In this sense we support the idea of a Europe of the peoples, as against a Europe of the bosses. What we need to end is the present pressure to reduce all standards to the lowest common denominator, with low wage rates in the Third World and in eastern Europe being used to set the norm for workers in western Europe. International cooperation and coordination is needed by the working class so that the pressure can be upward to bring wages and conditions to the best levels. For example, in the GATT negotiations there were various arguments over the balances between different produces and commodities of concern to various negotiators. But nowhere was the demand entertained that freedom of access to developed industrial markets should be matched by International Labor Organization recognized standards of social and trade union rights. And in consequence we are now told our own rights must be watered down so that "we" can compete. This relates directly to the question of sociaIism. Throughout our movement, there has been, and continues, a vital debate about why socialism was overthrown in eastern Europe. Was Marxist theory fundamentally flawed? Was it all a problem of the "command economy"? Was the system's capability of development stifled by failures of democracy? Socialism must start off from the viewpoint that it has a different set of priorities: one that would see human society in harmony with nature, where development and the purposeful employment of all people's labor power is not lost sight of in a bewildering kaleidoscope of individual greed The issue of the European Union is at the core of our response to this. Ireland, and perhaps Greece, are alone among member states of the EU in having been colonized and exploited countries, in having never been colonizers or having had empires to exploit. The transfer of resources from richer EU states to the periphery like Ireland cannot offset the historical transfer of vast funds from an exploited Ireland to a rapacious English colonialism. Not only would the Irish boast that we built the roads, railways and canals of industrial Britain, but in common with the peoples of India
[PEN-L:10334] Phillips vs. Walker
Somehow I missed Tom's original missive, which elicited such a heated response from Paul. Any chance either of you gents could send me the orginal? Cheers, Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10312] Bad news from Europe (re: EU)
Today's Vancouver Sun had an article headlined "Blair predicts trouble in Britain if EU rules restrict competition." Excerpt: "British officials say Blair senses that enthusiasm has wanted in the EU for piling on regulations, such as shortening work hours, which hamper competitiveness. Blair's aide said he told [European Commission President Jacques] Santer there would be 'serious political trouble in the United Kingdom' if the social chapter brought more 'social regulation'." I guess this is the key to a successful social charter: no regulations capable of giving it teeth. Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10307] MAI-India (fwd)
Date:Wed, 21 May 1997 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Hendrik) Subject: MAI: Globalisation is a disaster for India Reference: Global Times [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 1997 People's News Agency. -- GLOBALISATION OF THE ECONOMY A disaster for India and other developing countries by Acharya Krtashivananda Avadhuta Supporters of capitalism make vociferous campaigns in favour of globalisation of the economy. Multinational corporations (MNCs), with the collaboration of Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have imposed their strategic plan through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The strategy is to allow MNCs free access to all countries, removing all trade restrictions. The similarities amongst the "standard menus" of all these institutions is obvious: STANDARD GLOBALISATION MENUS IMF AND WB * Reduction of budgetary subsidies * Removal of subsidies for agricultural inputs * Removal of food subsidies * Pursuance of liberal economic policies * Promotion of foreign investment * Import liberalisation * Privatisation of the banking sector WTO * Reduction of subsidies * Reduction of support for domestic agriculture * Removal of PDS (food subsidies) * Pursuance of free trade by developing countries * Removal of restrictions on MNCs in utilities industries * Removal of barriers on imports * Lifting restrictions on entry of foreign investors In his speech as outgoing chairman of the Group of 77, Luis Ferdinand Jaramillo of Colombia presented a sweeping critique of North-South relations. He traced the decline of the U.N., multilateral programmes and the Third World in global affairs to the rising power of Bretton Woods institutions, which are under the control of Northern countries. He commented, "The Bretton Woods institutions for their part continue to be made the centre of gravity for the principle economic decisions that affect the developing countries. We have all been witness to the conditionalities of the WB and IMF. We all know the nature of the decision making system in such institutions. Their undemocratic character, their lack of transparency, their dogmatic principles, their lack of purism in the debate of ideas and their impotence to influence the policies of the industrialised nations. We all know the way structural changes are imposed and how projects are formulated. And how subsequently, when many of those policies and projects fail their authors disappear from the facilities of Pennsylvania Avenue. Nobody is then accountable for anything" Dubious Benefits The question may arise whether globalisation is justifiable for countries like India. An audit of the performance of the Indian economy after reforms were initiated in July 1991 fails to reveal any spectacular achievements. The opening of the economy to foreign capital has not succeeded in attracting a significant flow of capital or technology into the country, especially into the productive sector. Exports have picked up, partly as a result of devaluation of the rupee and partly because of general improvement in world trade. But after an initial slump, imports have grown rapidly, and present indications are that there is likely to be a huge trade deficit by the end of the present financial year. Foreign debt has increased significantly and the WB has cautioned that the servicing of the debt and repayment obligations may begin to exert pressure on the international balance of payments in 1996-97 and beyond. It may be asked whether an increase in foreign investment will lead to a higher growth rate and better absorption of rural labour in non-agricultural employment. Employment in the private industrial sector, which stood at 7.55 million in 1982-83, was only 7.67 million in 1990-91 - that is, after nine years. This is only a 1.5 percent increase. At the same time, gross capital formation at current prices rose by four times - 400 percent. Modern industry is knowledge intensive. It may result in jobs for the highly educated, but it is unlikely that jobs will be generated for the poor, especially the surplus agricultural force of rural India, even when the growth rate of investment is high in the private sector. Majority Unbenefitted The failure of the reform process is evident from the speech of G.V. Ramakrsna, member of the Central Planning Commission, for the Garg Memorial Lecture at the Institute of Naval Architects, New Delhi in April 1995: "Where are we now and how far have we come in the reform process? After three years, different people are looking at the reforms from their own perspectives. They have more colour TVs, more channels on cable, more imported goods, and so on. Nobody is any
[PEN-L:10290] Paper on NAFTA, etc. -- LONG
Anyone who resents receiving this lengthy piece has only Bill Burgess to blame! (I'm sending it in response to his repeated comments about not wanting to misstate my position re: international trade, etc.) Cheers, Sid Shniad G.A.T.T., THE CANADA-U.S. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT AND N.A.F.T.A.: ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND THE CORPORATE GAME PLAN A PAPER PRESENTED BY SID SHNIAD RESEARCH DIRECTOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS WORKERS UNION, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA TO THE THIRD COLOQUIO DE XALAPA -- "REESTRUCTURACION PRODUCTIVA Y REORGANIZACION SOCIAL" OCTOBER 7 TO 10, 1992 "THE FUTURE AWAITING THE AMERICASA TIME FOR EMPOWERING THE POOR THROUGH NEW INVESTMENT, TRADE AND GROWTH. A TIME FOR CULTURAL RENEWAL. OUR EFFORTS -- AND THE EFFORTS OF MILLIONS OF CITIZENS OF THE AMERICAS -- CAN ACHIEVE NEW GAINS FOR HONEST, DEMOCRATIC AND LIMITED GOVERNMENT. AND TOGETHER, WE CAN USHER IN A NEW ORDER OF PEACE, A NEW TIME OF PROSPERITY, BOTH ANIMATED BY PERSONAL FREEDOM." U.S. President George Bush, explaining why he favours free trade. "A TRADE DEAL SIMPLY LIMITS THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE U.S. OR OTHER SIGNATORY GOVERNMENT MAY RESPOND TO PRESSURE FROM THEIR CITIZENS." Michael Walker, Executive Director of the Fraser Institute, describing what he sees as a positive characteristic of free trade agreements. (The Fraser Institute is a corporate-financed right wing think tank located in British Columbia, with strong organizational and financial links to right wing think tanks the world over. Its Board of Directors has included such economic luminaries as Friederich Hayek and George Stigler, as well as Sir Alan Walters, Margaret Thatcher's chief economic strategist. The Fraser Institute has been the architect of much of the detailed planning behind the corporate assault on Canadian society that has occurred over the past fifteen years. It plays an active propaganda role as well, sponsoring speeches by notables such as Milton Friedman and has hosted speaking tours by Roger Douglas, the Finance Minister of New Zealand in the former Labor government whose economic program featured unprecedented deregulation of that country's economy.) FREE TRADE: THE BACKGROUND The economic stagnation that has gripped the world economy for the past twenty years appears to be deepening. Daily news reports from around the world bring word of increasing unemployment, collapsing real estate markets, currency devaluations and panicking financial markets. There is a growing realization that the global economic crisis -- the most severe since the 1930s -- is spreading. Responding to pressure from the corporate sector, conservative governments around the world have been following a political/economic strategy for economic restructuring designed by organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In accord with this strategy, governments have privatized government-owned assets, deregulated the private sector (including financial institutions), cut back social spending, undermined progressive taxation, reduced corporate taxes, and imposed regressive consumption taxes. Corresponding efforts have been made in the realm of international trade negotiations. Although governments and corporations would have us believe that the 1988 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the 1992 Canada-U.S.-Mexico North American Free Trade Agreement stemmed from a modest desire to reduce tariffs and liberalize the rules governing international trade, this explanation has little to do with what is actually transpiring here. To understand what is really at issue in these negotiations and how these developments parallel other parts of the international restructuring strategy, we must take a brief look at the history of multinational trade discussions. When international representatives met in Havana in 1947 to discuss the establishment of an International Trade Organization (ITO), many delegates -- particularly the British, Australians and New Zealanders -- expressed a commitment to collectivist and socialist policies. The draft charter of the ITO reflected this commitment, obligating member countries to promote full employment, to guarantee labour standards, and to allow for the expropriation of the assets of foreign companies with compensation to be paid in local currencies. Hostile to the ITO's policy orientation, American business interests and their trade representatives worked to undermine the organization before it came into existence. Their efforts paid off; its charter was never presented to the American Congress. In place of the ITO, the U.S. promoted a plan for the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Established in 1948, GATT was designed to be an international trade body
[PEN-L:10296] Blair on labour and the EU
From all appearances, Trevor, it doesn't seem that the EU will be dragging Britain in a progressive direction: The Daily Telegraph Thursday 22 May 1997 BLAIR TO PRESS FOR FLEXIBLE JOB LAWS By George Jones, Political Editor Tony Blair will deliver a blunt message to Europe tomorrow that it must move towards more flexible labour markets. He will tell his first European summit that Britain, while signing up to the social chapter, will veto attempts to impose high social costs. The Prime Minister has been invited to a mini-summit in the Dutch coastal town of Noordwijk to meet his 14 fellow EU leaders. While keen to show that he will bring a more co-operative approach to relations with the EU, Mr Blair is determined that Britain should not lose its growing competitive edge over leading European rivals. A report published yesterday claimed that Britain had been catapulted from 15th to seventh place in a league table of the world's most competitive countries and had opened up a substantial lead over Germany and France. During the election campaign the Conservatives claimed that, if Labour gained power, the rest of the EU would use the social chapter to force Britain to adopt Continential-style working practices and additional social costs, with the loss of 500,000 jobs. However, Mr Blair has told Cabinet colleagues that if Europe is to meet the global challenge - particularly from the "tiger" economies of south-east Asia - it must have flexible labour markets. He believes he can use the goodwill of the new Government to press the case for the rest of Europe to adopt the more flexible labour laws pioneered by Britain, which have resulted in a large number of overseas firms choosing it as a location for inward investment. Britain, he will argue, can use its experience to bring about change and greater flexibility in Europe through the social chapter. Mr Blair will tell his EU colleagues that there is a "third way" - between Tory-style laissez-faire policies and the kind of over-regulation that has imposed extra costs on employers in Germany and France. He believes more flexible labour markets must be underpinned by measures such as a minimum wage and education and training measures to improve the skills of workers - but that does not mean overburdening employers with regulations. He will make clear that Labour will not allow the social chapter to be used to introduce legislation that could damage British competitiveness. Mr Blair intends to serve notice that his Government will block any move to introduce qualified majority voting - which removes the national veto - on social security legislation and worker involvement on company boards. An authoritative Government source said last night: "We don't want to lose control of our social security costs. We would veto such extra costs being imposed here." Mr Blair's strong support for flexible labour laws will be seen as a further sign of New Labour's willingness to adopt the policies of the former Tory government. He is keen to demonstrate that he will lead a pro-business government. But his support for flexible labour markets will be seen as a further sign that he is keeping at arms length from the trade unions, who had seen Europe as a way of regaining many of the rights and privileges taken away during the past 18 years. Mr Blair told MPs yesterday that the Government would be able to get a "far better deal" than the Tories over lifting the beef ban. But he forsaw no early breakthrough. "We have inherited a quite appalling situation in relation to BSE - and not just the expense. The way these negotiations were handled was a disgrace. It will take time to sort out." Cheers, Sid
[PEN-L:10289] MAI ACTION ALERT! (fwd)
Subject: MAI ACTION ALERT! Ok MAI enthusiasts, it's time for some action. As you know, the OECD Ministerial meeting is May 26-27 in Paris. This was the original completion date of the MAI, but thanks to the effective opposition organized by citizen's and activists LIKE US, they have delayed the completion date a couple months (ok - the delay was actually caused by "unresolved issues" in the text, but regardless, we got a couple more months). I want you to take 2 minutes of your time today and write to the OECD. Tell them what your concerns are with the MAI. You can do this two ways: (1) go to the following website and click on "feedback" at the bottom of the page, it's a long one... http://www.oecd.org/news_and_events/release/nw97-41a.htm (2) write directly to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The advantage with option (1) is that you can read some interesting reports written about the MAI by OECD officials. Either way, do it today! And if you have more than 2 minutes (which I'm sure most of you do) call your Congressmembers/elected officials. Ask them what information they have on the MAI and if they have been consulted in the negotiations. Tell them your concerns - that the MAI liberalizes investment flows without holding corporations accountable for their actions; that the MAI will cause greater capital flight, environmental degredation and exploitation of labor; that the negotiations have been conducted in virtual secrecy without the scrutiny of citizens, elected oficials, the media and NGOs. To get you real fired up before sending your email to the OECD and placing your calls to your representatives, the following are some quotes I pulled off the OECD web site written by officials involved in the MAI negotiations: "...90 per cent of the text of the Agreement has been essentially completed..." "By the OECD Ministerial meeting in late May, our Ministers will be able to take note of the advanced state of the texts of all the major elements of the agreement with only a limited number of open issues" "The MAI will cover all phases of investment, including the entry and post-establishment phase and will include stronger dispute settlement provisions." In reference to MFN and GATS, "...the scope of the MAI is much broader than these agreements since it includes all economic sectors, including manufacturing and natural resources as well as services." Refering to the context of the Ministerial meeting this weekend: "The issues are set in a current context of a rapidly globalising world driven by the twin forces of technology, investment and trade. Governments must adapt quickly to these new realities." "Trade and investment are the driving forces behind globalisation creating a 'borderless world.'" Chantell Taylor Field Organizer Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch 215 Pennsylvania Avenue SE Washington, D.C. 20003 phone: (202)546-4996 fax: (202)547-7392 [EMAIL PROTECTED] *To receive reports, updates and articles on the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI), subscribe to the MAI listserv. Write to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] reading ONLY: subscribe MAI-NOT your name organization state ie: subscribe MAI-NOT Chantell Taylor Public Citizen DC
[PEN-L:10288] Performance requirements
I've been meaning to respond to one of Doug's missives from last week, but have neglected to do so. Doug asked (rhetorically? sarcastically?) whether folks really are opposed to increased international trade per se, citing the example of Japanese car manufacturers setting up production facilities in the U.S. and asking what was wrong with this activity. (Correct me if I'm misstating your question, Doug.) I don't know of anyone who opposes foreign investment per se. What I, for one, am concerned about, is the neoliberal/deregulatory impact of the international "trade" deals that are being negotiated today. One key deleterious effect of these pacts is that they are explicitly designed to prevent countries from imposing performance requirements (environmental, mandatory investment, job creation, etc.) on foreign companies. The fact that Japanese car companies are setting up show in the States can be attributed at least in part to the pressure from the U.S. government on Japanese car companies to reduce their imports of cars produced in Japan. A major reason for this pressure to reduce imports has been concern that the high level of Japanese imports was putting enormous downward pressure on the U.S. dollar. In other words, in this case Washington was de facto imposing a performance requirement on Japanese car manufacturers. Given its economic clout, the U.S. is in a position to do this unilaterally. But ironically, it is precisely this kind of activity -- forcing foreign companies to set up shop domestically if they want access to a country's domestic market -- that the new international "trade" deals are designed to prevent. Cheers, Sid Shniad
[PEN-L:10269] Re: Re EU
Trevor (and others): what does it mean to say that "NAFTA is just a trade group"? NAFTA, the CAnada-US FTA, the WTO and other such arrangements impose a set of restrictions on countries' ability to regulate the behaviour of capital. I'm very uncomfortable with the (oft-repeated) proposition that NAFTA's simply about trade. It's one of the corner stones of neoliberalism on the world stage today. Sid In reply to Maggie, I'm not saying that international trade groups like the EU and NAFTA can be turned to progressive purposes. I think that the EU and NAFTA are quite different types of initiative. NAFTA is just a trade group, and I do not see any progressive possibilities in it. As far as the EU is concerned, I do not consider it to be just a trade group - it is precisely the political dimension that make it different from NAFTA; also I do not see it so much as an international organisation, but rather as part of the process of creating a (West) European state structure. As far as progressive initiatives are concerned, I agree with Maggie. I think they will only be realised if they are pushed for by strong union and/or popular movements. But I think on key issues like shorter hours, such movements will need to be developed at a European level if they are to be effective. Trevor Evans Berlin
[PEN-L:10276] Boston conference on the MAI -- please forward
Boston Cambridge Alliance for Democracy c/o Jean Dunbar Maryborn, Co-chair 427 River St. Norwell MA 02061 617-826-2482, [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5/21/97 For Immediate Release Contact: Jean Maryborn 617-826-2482 NATIONAL SPEAKERS COME TO BOSTON FOR CITIZENS' CONFERENCE ON MAI GATT, NAFTA, now MAI -- A First in the Nation Conference on the Next Step in Corporate Governance. Boston. Saturday; May 31, a first in the nation citizens' conference titled "MAI: Big Business Over the Rest of Us?" brings national experts in the areas of business, public policy and citizen advocacy for debate over the merits of MAI, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment. The event is 9:30 to 5:00, at Devlin Hall, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill. The Agreement, negotiated quietly by government and trade representatives of the 29 richest nations, is designed to free the flow of investment capital and profits. The Conference will be the first time for citizens to debate the issue, explore and expose it to public scrutiny, asking how it will effect their lives, their jobs, their environment, and the ability of their elected governments to control corporate behavior on issues important to them. The program features: Keynote: Lori Wallach of Public Citizen, the watchdog group in Washington DC founded by Ralph Nader, setting the context of MAI. Introduced by Ronnie Dugger, Alliance for Democracy, the talk will be followed by a discussion period, then workshops on potential MAI impact, with experts in their fields. (List attached.) Debate on the potential impact of MAI, moderated by US Rep. John Tierney. Participants: Cynthia Beltz, American Enterprise Institute; Ronnie Dugger, founder of the Alliance for Democracy; Lori Wallach, Public Citizen. Marino Markesh of the National Association of Manufacturers has been invited, plus a representative of the Department of State, Treasury, Commerce or the EPA. Economic Alternatives: In Boston's proud tradition of fostering independent thinking, the day will round out with Pat Choate, Vice Presidential Candidate, Reform Party, and Hilary French of the Worldwatch Institute, looking at alternative economics. The conference is sponsored by local chapters of the Alliance for Democracy, Public Citizen, and the Sociology Department of Boston College, with a wide variety of co-sponsors, (list attached.) Public Citizen and the Alliance expect this first in the nation event to be replicated across the country. Cost is $10, $8. preregistered, $5 low income . To pre-register, send a check by 5/28 to "Boston/Cambridge Alliance for Democracy," c/o Adams, 10 Newland Rd, Arlington MA 02174. For more information: 617- 266-8687 or 508-872-6137. Web page: http://world.std.com/~dadams/MAI. Devlin Hall is handicap accessible. Specialized Workshops: The trade agreements' potential impacts on: Small and Medium Business. Raymond Vernon (Kennedy School, Harvard), and Alan Tonelson (US Business Industry Council) Labor. Thea Lee (AFL-CIO) Regional Development. Scott Nova (Preamble Collaborative) Environment. Andrew Deutz (Woods Hole Research Center) On and by Media. Charles Sennott (Boston Globe) Culture, Community and Organizing : Mary Zepernick, Virginia Rasmussen (Program on Corporations, Law Democracy; WILPF) Law the States. Robert Stumberg (Georgetown University Law Center) Political Power and Democracy. State Rep. Jim Marzilli, Mel King, Simon Billenness (Franklin Research and Development Institute) Workshops to be followed by an Action/lunch-workshop "How to Campaign: Making Your Convictions Count," with Simon Billenness, Scott Nova, State Reps. Jim Marzilli and Byron Rushing. Co-sponsors: AFL-CIO, Bikes Not Bombs, Boston CISPES, Center for Popular Economics of UMass, Amherst; Community Church of Boston, CPPAX, Dollars and Sense, 5th District Citizens Concerned about Central America, Franklin Research and Development Corp., Rev. David Garcia, Dir. Episcopal City; Mission, Mass. Federation of Teachers, MassPIRG, Mobilization for Survival, New England Council for Responsible Investing, Northeast Action, Sisters of Saint Joseph Office of Justice and Peace, United Church of Christ/Norwell Peace and Justice Committee. Background: by Paul Johnson 508-281-2699 Will International Business Over-ride Laws Passed by our Elected Governments? At a time when more responsibility is being shifted to state and local government to deal with social needs, new laws are being drafted at the international level which will restrict the power of state and local government to affect economic development, environmental or labor standards, and the retention of domestic industries. The Multilateral Agreement on Investment, being prepared by O.E.C.D. (The European-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) with the United States, is designed to make it easier for
[PEN-L:10275] Univ of Calif @ Santa Cruz Strike (fwd)
From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed May 21 15:23 PDT 1997 X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 18:18:23 -0400 Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Sam Lanfranco [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Univ of Calif @ Santa Cruz Strike This is a message from the University of California At Santa Cruz, where a strike of technical employees is underway at the moment. My own university, having just gone through a 51-day faculty strike, is rich with similar stories. - Sam Lanfranco LABOR-L ListManagement --Forwarded message -- Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 13:45:35 -0800 From: Ina Clausen [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: to share with list Our UPTE-CWA Santa Cruz president received this letter. wanted to share a letter I received from a UCSC UPTE member, Lance Bresee, who works for Lick Observatory at UCSC. This letter, to me, expresses what we should be trying to achieve both individually and collectively. It would be difficult for me to put into words how I felt when I received this letter, but "grateful" comes immediately to mind. I also feel proud to be part of the organization he describes. We make mistakes, but UPTE is a fine organization and it is made up of many, many fine people. Lindey Cloud President UPTE-Santa Cruz This morning, when I arrived at work, a coworker told me about driving by the UPTE members holding the banner at the base of campus, and giving them the "thumbs down" sign. He seemed proud of this childish gesture. "They looked at me like they couldn't understand why I would do that." He said. "Why DID you do that?" I asked, not understanding. I heard that he resented the union for costing him pay raises. This logic, which leads one to conclude that UPTE is responsible for the actions of the University which a posted notice shows to have been illegal, according to a PERB ruling, seems to me to be the equivalent of suggesting that wealthy people, by owning valuable possessions, are responsible for burglars. The reality, which seems clear today after becoming involved myself and witnessing things which my coworker fearfully avoids looking at, is that the University is trying to punish the tech unit for becoming unionized, and they do not care what it costs. The small amount requested for retroactive pay increases, which one UC Chancellor described as mere "noise in the system" in the UC budget, has already been exceeded by the costs of 27 months of bargaining and the moneys held up by the California State Legislature. Recently, while riding back from the UAW picket line with a fellow union member after a meeting to discuss the current action, my new friend commented that he had "never expected to get in this deep." We were both candidates to meet with the Chancellor on that Friday. I never even thought I would JOIN this union, much less volunteer to represent it in a face-to-face meeting with the chancellor. I did not vote for the union back in 1994. I had no desire to be represented by a union. When the union won the election, I had no desire to join. I first started paying dues to the union when the university illegally withheld the 2.2% raises. I could see that this was a clear violation of contract law, and knew that UC could not possibly believe this action legitimate. Therefore, UC was willing to violate the law to punish the union. This action frightened me; I realized that my employer was capable of illegal actions in retribution to employees. I knew that we would have to sue to get the money, and that lawyers did not work for free, so I began paying union dues. I began to become active in the union when I saw my coworkers sitting and waiting to see if "the union" would get a good contract without support. I watched as UC negotiators delayed and argued against giving techs the same raises they gave every one else, occasionally showing up at the last minute with an excuse rather than a proposal, until they could claim that retroactive pay could not be provided as it was "already spent." In this time I married. My new wife had a child, and another was on the way. We were living in my one-bedroom apartment, and I knew I needed better shelter for my family. You can read my story in the current City on a Hill, but it became clear that, if UC negotiators were successful in breaking this union, it would mean no raise and a possible pay cut. This would spell disaster for my family. No longer could I passively sit back and let these few people do the dirty work of providing for my family by fighting this new threat. As I participated in union meetings, I saw that the nature of the union changed; I saw the impact of my involvement in the meetings. Even though I abstained from every vote,
[PEN-L:10270] Kuttner on markets (long)
Copyright 1997 by The American Prospect, Inc. Preferred Citation: Robert Kuttner, "The Limits of Markets," The American Prospect no. 31 (March- April 1997): 28-41 (http://epn.org/prospect/31/31kutt.html). THE LIMITS OF MARKETS By Robert Kuttner Adapted by the author from Everything for Sale: The Virtues and Limits of Markets, Alfred A. Knopf / Twentieth Century Fund, published January 1997. The claim that the freest market produces the best economic outcome is the centerpiece of the conservative political resurgence. If the state is deemed incompetent to balance the market's instability, temper its inequality, or correct its myopia, there is not much left of the mixed economy and the modern liberal project. Yet while conservatives resolutely tout the superiority of free markets, many liberals are equivocal about defending the mixed economy. The last two Democratic presidents have mainly offered a more temperate call for the reining in of government and the liberation of the entrepreneur. The current vogue for deregulation began under Jimmy Carter. The insistence on budget balance was embraced by Bill Clinton, whose pledge to "reinvent government" was soon submerged in a shared commitment to shrink government. Much of the economics profession, after an era of embracing a managed form of capitalism, has also reverted to a new fundamentalism about the virtues of markets. So there is today a stunning imbalance of ideology, conviction, and institutional armor between right and left. At bottom, three big things are wrong with the utopian claims about markets. First, they misdescribe the dynamics of human motivation. Second, they ignore the fact that civil society needs realms of political rights where some things are not for sale. And third, even in the economic realm, markets price many things wrong, which means that pure markets do not yield optimal economic outcomes. There is at the core of the celebration of markets relentless tautology. If we begin by assuming that nearly everything can be understood as a market and that markets optimize outcomes, then everything leads back to the same conclusion—marketize! If, in the event, a particular market doesn't optimize, there is only one possible conclusion—it must be insufficiently market-like. This is a no-fail system for guaranteeing that theory trumps evidence. Should some human activity not, in fact, behave like an efficient market, it must logically be the result of some interference that should be removed. It does not occur that the theory mis-specifies human behavior. The school of experimental economics, pioneered by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, has demonstrated that people do not behave the way the model specifies. People will typically charge more to give something up than to acquire the identical article; economic theory would predict a single "market-clearing" price. People help strangers, return wallets, leave generous tips in restaurants they will never visit again, give donations to public radio when theory would predict they would rationally "free-ride," and engage in other acts that suggest they value general norms of fairness. To conceive of altruism as a special form of selfishness misses the point utterly. Although the market model imagines a rational individual, maximizing utility in an institutional vacuum, real people also have civic and social selves. The act of voting can be shown to be irrational by the lights of economic theory, because the "benefit" derived from the likelihood of one's vote affecting the outcome is not worth the "cost." But people vote as an act of faith in the civic process, as well as to influence outcomes. In a market, everything is potentially for sale. In a political community, some things are beyond price. One's person, one's vote, one's basic democratic rights do not belong on the auction block. We no longer allow human beings to be bought and sold via slavery (though influential Chicago economists have argued that it would be efficient to treat adoptions as auction markets). While the market keeps trying to invade the polity, we do not permit the literal sale of public office. As James Tobin wrote, commenting on the myopia of his own profession, "Any good second-year graduate student in economics could write a short examination paper proving that voluntary transactions in votes would increase the welfare of the sellers as well as the buyers." But the issue here is not just the defense of a civic realm beyond markets or of a socially bearable income distribution. History also demonstrates that in much of economic life, pure reliance on markets produces suboptimal outcomes. Market forces, left to their own devices, lead to avoidable financial panics and depressions, which in turn lead to political chaos. Historically, government has had to intervene, not only to redress the gross inequality of market-determined income
[PEN-L:10253] The EU: the rhetorical struggle continues
Trevor: [T]he EU has ...contradictary roots. For example, many of the bourgeois politicians who were involved in promoting the European Community in the 1950s were concerned to ensure that the national divisions which had given rise to two world wars should be overcome. Sid: I grant that this was the case in the 1950s, Trevor. But in my eyes, the entire thrust of the move to monetary union and the rest of Maastricht concretely demonstrates what is happening in Europe today and what the goals are of those who are promoting greater centralization at the pan- European level. In your comments, you yourself refer to "the lack of democratic accountability of EU institutions". Trevor: The fact that the right - or at least big capital - have been more successful than the left and the working class movement in shaping the EU is no reason to abandon the struggle at that level. [M]embers of the EU have for some time found that there monetary policy is effectively determined by what the Bundesbank does. For the governments of these countries, a structure which allows them to share in shaping European monetary policy is seen as a step forward. Sid: I have to pose the same question to you, Trevor, that I posed to Max -- how is it that monetary union will provide the people of Europe more of an opportunity to pursue independent, progressive monetary policies than they were able to pursue when they enjoyed total [albeit formal] power over monetary policy within their own national boundaries? How will the move to monetary unification lessen the reactionary reach of the Bundesbank? This makes no sense to me. Trevor: I think it is mistaken, and also dangerous, to argue that powers are being transferred from national governments to the EU, and that this is reducing democratic accountability ...Certainly, it's important to push for greater democratic control at the national level, and also for that matter, at a regional level within nation states, particularly in the case of the old centralised states like Britain and France. But, given the degree of integration of the European economy, I think that there are many areas where it is more appropriate to push for democratic control at the level of the EU. Sid: Specifically HOW can this be done at the EU level, Trevor? Cheers, Sid
[PEN-L:10229] MAI Mexico (fwd)
Forwarded message: Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 01:18:41 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Bob Olsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: MAI Mexico Message forwarded by Bob Olsen.. From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Hendrik) Subject: Poor Journalism From Mexico From: Norman Solomon [EMAIL PROTECTED] Via: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Michael Givel) Via: Emilie Nichols [EMAIL PROTECTED] Via: Caspar Davis [EMAIL PROTECTED] [ Hendrik's comment: although not explicitly linked to the MAI (Multilateral Ageement on Investment-OECD) issue, this report is valuable background information when discussing the implications of MAI and "globalisation" in the style of transnational corporations - agribusiness is, after all, part of the problem.] POOR JOURNALISM SOUTH OF THE BORDER By Norman Solomon Filled with speeches and photo ops, President Clinton's visit to Mexico produced a lot of good press back home. Most journalists sang the official tunes about immigration, drugs and corruption. The few off-key notes didn't last long, as when ABC's Peter Jennings reported: "This is where the U.S. gets cheap labor and makes enormous manufacturing profits." Perhaps you saw TV footage of Mexican people living in dire poverty. But it's unlikely that you heard much about *why* so many are so poor. If the network's roving correspondents knew why, they avoided spilling the beans. But not all the U.S. reporters arrived and left with Clinton. One of the few who actually lives in Mexico is John Ross, a freelance journalist who has been covering Latin America for 16 years. He's committed to probing beyond the conventional media wisdom. When I reached him in Mexico City during Clinton's trip, Ross began by pointing out that "Mexico is a country where 158,000 babies annually do not survive their fifth year due to nutritionally related disease. Two million more infants are seriously harmed by underfeeding." The crisis, he stressed, is growing more severe. "As many as 40 percent of all Mexicans suffer from some degree of under-nutrition. And a report by Banamex, the nation's top private bank, indicates that half of Mexico's 92 million citizens are eating less than the minimum daily requirement of 1,300 calories as a result of the deepest recession since 1932." Imagine the human realities behind the dry statistics: "Mexico's basic grain consumption dropped by 29 percent in 1995," Ross says, "and meat and milk consumption has slipped by an alarming 60 percent and 40 percent respectively during the last three years. The price of tortillas, the staple of poor people's diets, has doubled in the past 18 months." President Clinton's upbeat visit to Mexico is now history. And so is the superficial sheen put on that event by U.S. mass media. Ross -- who wrote the award-winning 1995 book "Rebellion From the Roots: Indian Uprising in Chiapas" -- refuses to polish the sheen. Instead, he tells about places like the town of San Agustin Loxicha in southern Mexico, "where poverty is so extreme that babies die in the priest's arms during baptism." The town is in a region that supplies coffee beans to cafes in my neighborhood and yours. Those who challenge the conditions in Loxicha face an iron fist, Ross explains: "Fifty of Loxicha's most upstanding citizens, including most of the town government and seven of its teachers, are penned up just outside the Oaxaca state capital, at the riot-scarred Santa Maria Ixcotel penitentiary, behind thick black steel doors in two cramped cells." The pending charge is armed rebellion. Ross adds that "the prisoners tell of classic torture by authorities -- their heads were wrapped in rags and dirty water poured into their mouths; electric wires were attached to their genitals; they were threatened with being hurled from helicopters into the ocean." Far from media spotlights, the Mexican military -- wielding U.S. equipment -- is on the march to bolster the status quo, Ross reports. In Oaxaca, the routine includes "forced interrogations, widespread use of torture, secret prisons and kidnappings of prominent citizens, according to a report filed in February by the Mexican League for the Defense of Human Rights, the state's most active independent human rights group." Today, at least 60,000 troops are deployed across broad terrain to crush resistance. In Ross's words: "From the Huasteca mountains, an impoverished, coffee-growing range that stretches through five states in eastern Mexico, all the way to the Lacandon jungle on the Guatemalan border, the Mexican army moves through indigenous zones, setting up road blocks, conducting house-to-house searches, arbitrarily beating and incarcerating Indians." Meanwhile, Ross says, 27 million Mexican people still labor -- against worsening odds -- to scratch the soil for a living. They do so "despite a decade of decapitalizing the agrarian
[PEN-L:10196] LABOUR: Separate Corporate Standards Not The Answer, Experts Say (fwd)
Forwarded message: Date: Sat, 17 May 1997 17:40:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Jagdish Parikh [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], union-d@[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: LABOUR: Separate Corporate Standards Not The Answer, Experts Say /* Written 4:18 PM May 17, 1997 by newsdesk in igc:ips.english */ /* -- "LABOUR: Separate Corporate Standard" -- */ Copyright 1997 InterPress Service, all rights reserved. Worldwide distribution via the APC networks. *** 14-May-97 *** Title: LABOUR: Separate Corporate Standards Not The Answer, Experts Say by Yvette Collymore WASHINGTON, May 14 (IPS) - The move by some manufacturer and consumer groups to develop special labels and codes of conduct for the production of internationally traded goods will not protect the rights of all workers and will be difficult to enforce, according to labour experts. While these initiatives may be well-meaning, there remains no system to ensure that corporations which are fuelling the integration of the global economy respect international labour rights, says the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Michel Hansenne, the chief of the Geneva-based U.N. agency, is here promoting his proposal for a ''global social label'' to tag goods that meet core labour standards, including the abolition of forced and child labour, freedom of association, and collective bargaining. While consistent with the ILO's own objectives, existing initiatives ''raise a number of questions,'' according to Hansenne. ''One wonders, for example, whether a system of self- enforcement can be said to offer all the guarantees that one would expect.'' For one thing, Hansenne told a Congressional forum Wednesday, the initiatives would likely protect only workers in export industries. In many developing countries, the percentage of workers dealing with export goods is ''very small,'' compared to that of workers in domestic production. ''That's why we have to federate our efforts to make sure all workers are protected,'' he told U.S. government, business, and labour representatives at a public policy forum. As grassroots campaigns focus attention on sweatshops, child labour, forced labour, and environmental accidents, corporations and citizens' groups are proposing their own labour and environment standards. The issue has achieved some urgency as trans-boundary trade expands in an increasingly global economy. Without proper enforcement of ground rules, corporations, some of whose yearly sales figures greatly exceed the gross domestic products of many countries, will trample all over workers' rights and environment standards, analysts warn. In one of the latest efforts to codify standards, a U.S. task force set up by the White House last year following publicity about sweatshop conditions in apparel and footwear plants owned or contracted by major U.S. corporations, has produced a voluntary code of conduct to protect worker rights in these facilities. When the accord between leading U.S. apparel makers and labour, human rights, and consumer groups was unveiled last month, President Bill Clinton said it promised to improve the lives of millions of garment workers around the world. It requires companies which get on board to observe local minimum wage and child labour laws and sets a work-week limit of 60 hours for employees. It also mandates the creation of a new association to implement the code and approve independent agencies to monitor compliance. If companies are found to comply with the accord, they will be permitted by the association to attach a ''No Sweat'' label to their products. Some labour rights groups have denounced the accord as too weak, and some companies have reservations about the idea. Clothing manufacturer Liz Claiborne says it supports the move, but many issues need to be worked out. For instance, ''external monitoring also presents a serious challenge,'' says Roberta Schuhalter Karp, the company's vice president of corporate affairs. She says monitoring must be both ''credible and economically feasible'' for companies that adhere to its standards. ''Otherwise businesses that comply will be at an economic disadvantage vis-a-vis their competitors that do not.'' A study released by the U.S. Department of Labour late last year issued a warning against corporate codes of conduct, saying they will not by themselves end the exploitation of child workers. Codes of conduct have created a ''potential downward trend in the use of children'' in apparel manufacturing worldwide, but the codes are only as effective as the enforcement mechanisms, says the report, 'The Apparel Industry and Codes of Conduct: A Solution to the International Labour Problem'. Its findings were based on a survey of 45 U.S. importers, as well as on-site visits to 70 plants in six countries that make clothing for U.S. firms. ''Private industry now recognises that it can take steps to
[PEN-L:10195] Re: The EU: against wishful thinking
Tom did a very nice job of encapsulating my argument -- a better job than I did in the original! Sid
