Big Labor in the U.S. Is Organizing Nationwide Protests

Big Labor, Big Business, Big Government = One Entity, the Corporate State

The façade is crumbling. And as more and more people realize that they have been used and robbed, we will move swiftly from Huxley’s “Brave New World” to Orwell’s “1984.” The public, at some point, will have to face some very unpleasant truths. The good-paying jobs are not coming back. The largest deficits in human history mean that we are trapped in a debt peonage system that will be used by the corporate state to eradicate the last vestiges of social protection for citizens, including Social Security. The state has devolved from a capitalist democracy to neo-feudalism. And when these truths become apparent, anger will replace the corporate-imposed cheerful conformity. The bleakness of our post-industrial pockets, where some 40 million Americans live in a state of poverty and tens of millions in a category called “near poverty” (coupled with the lack of credit to save families from foreclosures, bank repossessions and bankruptcy from medical bills), means that inverted totalitarianism will no longer work. We increasingly live in Orwell’s Oceania, not Huxley’s The World State. [2011: A Brave New Dystopia, truthdig.com, December 31, 2010]

The corporate state — that is, the U.S. government and its corporate allies — are looking out for you — literally — with surveillance tools intended to identify you, track your whereabouts, monitor your activities and allow or restrict your access to people, places or things deemed suitable by the government. The goal of the corporate state, of course, is to create a total control society — one in which the government is able to track the movements of people in real time and control who does what, when and where. In exchange, the government promises to provide security and convenience, the two highly manipulative, siren-song catchwords of our modern age. [The Rutherford Institute, The Total Control Society Is Here: Iris Scanners, November 16, 2010



The rioting of public sector workers depicted in the video above is why the Army wants rapid-fire rubber bullets for crowd control.

Welcome to the Police State. Get ready for Martial Law.

Wisconsin Defeat Could Help Launch Counterattack on GOP

March 11, 2011

AP – With the labor movement suffering an epic defeat in Wisconsin, union leaders plan to use the setback to fire up their members nationwide and mount a major counterattack against Republicans at the ballot box in 2012.

Wisconsin's measure stripping public employees of most bargaining rights swiftly advanced to GOP Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday, and he promised to sign it as soon as possible. But labor leaders say the events in Wisconsin have helped galvanize support for unions across the country. They hope to use the momentum to help fight off other attacks and grow their membership.

Said the president of the AFL-CIO:

"I guess I ought to say thank you particularly to Scott Walker. We should have invited him here today to receive the Mobilizer of the Year award from us!"

As several states seek to follow Wisconsin's lead, newly invigorated public unions are looking ahead to the next election. Democrats are pressing to recall Republican opponents of organized labor and turn the debate into a focal point of next year's campaign.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted 53-42 Thursday to pass the bill after about three hours of discussion, far less than the 61-hour, three-day marathon it took to approve a previous version two weeks ago.

The passage drew shouts of "shame, shame, shame" from protesters in the gallery and came only a day after dramatic action in the Republican-controlled Senate, which used a legislative maneuver Wednesday to quickly adopt the bill without any of the 14 Democrats who fled to Illinois three weeks ago.

Democrats said their counterattack efforts were already beginning to bear fruit in the form of donations: The party's Wisconsin chapter said it raised $300,000 overnight and has collected $800,000 from 32,000 donors in just five days. Party chairman Mike Tate said Senate Democrats have raised $750,000 over the past month alone.

Republicans said they were simply doing what voters wanted.

In last year's election,

"People spoke very clearly and very loudly and said they wanted government to change here in Madison," Republican Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said. "It's a tough vote, but it's the right vote. People are sick of the status quo."

Shortly before the vote, police had to move dozens of protesters who were sitting just outside the Assembly chamber doors, blocking the way for lawmakers. Officers dragged many of them away, but there were no arrests.

The protesters have been a constant presence in the building for more than three weeks, with their numbers swelling to more than 80,000 for one weekend rally. About 1,800 were in the building Thursday, and hundreds screamed outside the chamber doors before the vote.

Walker had repeatedly argued that ending collective bargaining would give local governments the flexibility they needed to confront the cuts in state aid necessary to fix Wisconsin's deficit, which is projected to grow to $3.6 billion deficit over several years.

"This is ultimately about a commitment to the future, so our children don't face even more dire consequences than what we face today," Walker said at a news conference in the West Allis community of Milwaukee.

He said the bill would prevent layoffs of 1,500 state workers.

His proposal touched off a national debate over labor rights for public employees, and its implementation would be a key victory for Republicans, many of whom have targeted unions in efforts to slash government spending.

Labor organizations have already pledged to pour more than $30 million into efforts to stop legislation in dozens of states seeking to limit public workers' bargaining rights or otherwise curb union power. Union officials are helping to mobilize protesters in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and other states to keep the pressure on.

"Gov. Walker's overreaching has brought us to this moment to be able to talk about jobs, to be able to talk about the right to collective bargaining," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Thursday in Washington. "This is the debate we've wanted to have for 25 years. Well, guess what? Suddenly the debate came to us."

In Ohio, the Republican-led state Senate has passed similar legislation to restrict collective bargaining, and a House panel is considering the measure. The debate is sure to sow opposition to the GOP agenda, said Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Seth Bringman, and it was "also encouraging many Republican, middle-class voters who have not voted for our candidates in the past to maybe come over to our side."

Walker and Republicans argued from the outset that the collective bargaining measures were directly related to balancing the budget. For weeks, they refused to separate the two ideas.

The fact that they did so in the end to pass the legislation shows that their true intent was to abolish unions, said Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca.

"To me the charade is over," Barca said.

In the aftermath of the debate, eight Republican senators and six Democrats are being targeted for recalls. Recall efforts against Walker cannot start until Nov. 3.

Kristopher Rowe, the main organizer of efforts to recall Republican Sen. Alberta Darling, said the group has collected about $3,000 in donations since Wednesday's Senate vote. Rowe said the group has "several thousand signatures" and more than 1,000 volunteers to canvass for more.

Darling, who won her 2008 election by 1,007 votes, said she stands by her vote and will continue to defend the position if drawn into a recall election.

"The test is what the voters decide to do," Darling said. "I'm just going to keep going to work for the people, and I'm certainly going to defend this position because this is what I was sent here to do in the last election."

The political fallout from Walker's agenda could continue for years — through recall efforts and possible court action and on the campaign trail.

"Once you fundamentally threaten the existence of unions, key support for the Democratic Party, there's no way to settle this except in future elections," said University of Wisconsin political science professor Charles Franklin.

Senate Democrats who fled to Illinois were on their way back Thursday, but they were not expected to return to the Capitol because the Senate will not be in session again until April 5.

Also Thursday, the Justice Department said it was investigating several death threats against Republican senators.

Marty Beil, director of the state's largest public employees union, which represents 20,000 workers, said Walker had taken the state "far away from its core values."

"But after each dark night, there comes a new day," Beil said. "And this new day starts today, as Wisconsin citizens across the state answer this insult by pouring their energy into recalling Wisconsin senators who have sold their souls to the highest bidder."

Look Out! Unions Plan 'Movement-Wide Dramatic Actions'

The irony is that it should be the private sector that is uprising against the public sector and their unions and politicians which have pillaged the public treasury.

March 10, 2011

Emerging Corruption - The U.S. labor movement is going on a nationwide offensive to push, not only for the protection of collective bargaining “rights,” but also for a socialist “wish list” including an end to the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a “massive public works program,” socialized health care, higher taxes on the “rich,” and “international worker solidarity.”

In an Emergency labor meeting (ELM) in Cleveland Ohio, last Friday/Saturday, labor bosses hunkered down to plan a national fightback against the Tea Party driven GOP agenda of government spending cuts, balanced budgets and smaller government.

The unions are planning more than mere street marches. This is “not-business-as-usual”but will involve unspecified “movement-wide dramatic actions.”

From Democratic Socialists of America's Talking Union Blog

Ninety-six union leaders and activists from 26 states and from a broad cross-section of the labor movement, gathering at the Laborers Local 310 Hall in Cleveland on 4-5 March 2011, pledged to make the fight against union-busting and the budget cuts/concessions in Wisconsin the centerpiece of an emergency action plan centered on two national days of action called by the labor movement on March 12 and April 4.

March 12: Participants pledged to go back to their unions and workers’ organizations to promote the March 12 Day of Action called by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. Brother David Newby, President-Emeritus of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, attended the ELM and relayed the proposal from his state federation that all unionists and labor activists in Wisconsin and neighboring states mobilize in Madison on March 12, with labor-led solidarity actions the same day in cities across the country.

April 4: Participants welcomed the call issued by Larry Cohen, International President of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) to organize on April 4, the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a “not-business-as-usual” Nationwide Day of Action at workplaces and communities across the country in support of labor rights. This call has since been supported by the AFL-CIO Executive Board, which is urging “movement-wide dramatic actions” on this day.

Participants agreed to promote broad support for this April 4 Day of Action in all ways deemed appropriate by unions and community organizations on the ground, including, where possible, industrial actions. They also urged support for these actions around demands that link the struggle in defense of labor rights to the struggle against budget cuts and concessions, and that point to solutions to the federal and state budget deficits, including taxing the rich and the corporations, cutting the war budget, and creating 27 million full-time jobs through a massive public works program (which could be launched immediately and with a $1 trillion “Bridge Loan” from the Federal Reserve).

To promote these actions, participants pledged to go back to their cities to build “We Are All Wisconsin!” committees of labor and community activists.

“Perspectives” adopted by the Emergency Labor Meeting included;

• As recent events in Wisconsin have reaffirmed, the key to an effective fight-back is mobilization of the union ranks. We envision a strategy that includes both actions in the workplace and in the streets.
  


• We not only defend the social insurance model — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public education, food stamps, unemployment insurance, etc. — but demand that these programs be strengthened and improved. And it is high time we follow the example won by our Canadian sisters and brothers decades ago by extending Medicare to all.
  


• A unified, energized working class could reach out for even wider alliances. There are millions of students, mom-and-pop businesses, family farmers, and others who are being squeezed by the corporate class. Seeking to partner with the Chamber of Commerce and corporate America, however, can only lead to failure for labor and its allies.


• Our goals cannot be met while American blood and vast amounts of our tax dollars are being consumed by unjust wars to advance the global corporate agenda. We say end the wars, bring all of our troops home now — and put the war budget to work for human needs.
  


• Instead of supporting wars of intervention, the labor movement should embrace international worker solidarity. The mutual declarations of support between protesters in Madison and insurgent independent unions in Egypt are a proud example that deserve wide emulation.

The unions and their socialist bosses understand that this is a battle for America’s soul.

If the Tea Party/GOP has enough backbone to win the day, America has a shot at restoring liberty and prosperity for all. Think Maggie Thatcher, communist inspired coal strike , 1983.

If the unions win, America as we have known her, is finished.

Read More...