The wage slaves who are fighting for unions to better their lives, such as ending inequality, new contracts, benefits, end of outsourcing, firing workers for striking, and being locked out of a work place, also fighting for safer working conditions. They now have a place to get their word out and a place to compare notes on strategy and tactics. This has been offered by Maggie Trowe, who writes a column for the Militant newspaper, which every working toiler should have access to.
Trowe will help you with your struggles with bosses. Contact her at 306 W. 37th St. 13th Floor, New York, New York 10018 or 212-244-4899 or the Militant@mac.com.
It would be very helpful if all union members and nonunion people would subscribe to the Militant. This week the newspaper is talking about the Los Angeles, California, area grocery workers; farm workers fighting union busting in the U.S.; garment workers in Bangladesh; movers in Illinois in the U.S. strike for first contract; phone workers in New England in the U.S. walked out over job concessions; locked out uranium workers; Howard University workers fighting outsourcing; postal workers in the U.S. fighting for their jobs.
The U.S. farm workers in California are fighting for a raise from $9 to $11 an hour. They just took a kick in the gut from a Democratic governor Jerry Brown, who was just re-elected to another four years. He vetoed a bill, which would have required prompt enforcement of worker contracts imposed by binding arbitration.
What the hell, Jerry, is it you got yours and screw the farm laborers? I hope you have a plan to make this up to the workers. Maybe kick up the minimum wage to a living wage like $15 an hour and to take California back to a free education state up to a bachelor’s degree. Then you would be the labor Democrat that we had hoped for. Inequality is the GOP elephant in the room.
Yes, they are coming for us. Workers need to have one another’s backs because no one else will. Neither the broader labor movement nor the Democratic party are prepared to meet the urgency of this moment. So it’s going to fall upon the rest of us to mount a real resistance against Trump’s authoritarian takeover. We’re going to have to get our hands dirty. I don’t care if you have a good, well-paying union job and you are in the middle class now—if you see a worker being dragged out of his workplace regardless of how skilled the job and potentially taken to another country, you should be ready to be there for that worker. When I.C.E. shows up, gather around and shame them into leaving. It has worked in other places. America is sleep walking into authoritarianism, and if there’s anyone out there who is a member of a labor union that is safe—at this point— and doesn’t think this applies to them. Understand that they just haven’t gotten to you yet. They’re coming for all of us. There are ...
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