ONE BIG UNION
CHINESE GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGES UNION STRIKES: WHY?
The Chinese government’s response to recent strikes
in the auto manufacturing industry may come as
a surprise to Western observers. The government
didn't appear to react as workers at Foshan Fengfu
Autoparts, a Honda parts supplier in Guangdong
went on strike in June, to demand higher wages.
The Chinese government stood back and watched
as the Foshan Fengfu strike spread throughout
southern China’s manufacturing centre, as tens
of thousands of workers insisted on higher wages.
Liu Shanying, an analyst at Beijing’s Institute
of Political Science, says the government’s
tolerance is not weakness, but wisdom.
Shanying says China wants to promote higher wages
to close the gap between the rich and the poor
& to provide its people with more cash to spend.
“If incomes won’t go up, how can domestic demand
be boosted?” Shanying asks. “Strikes for better
pay are very much in line with the big trend of
Chinese economic development.”
The Chinese recognize organized labour’s role
in sustaining general prosperity.... unlike
the USUK governments, who attack unions to
"protect" only the privileged wealthy few.
Instead of ensuring that firemen, policemen,
teachers and many other public employees,
earn enough to contribute to the economy,
USUK governments cut both wages and benefits,
in order to weaken the public employee unions,
just as they gutted the NUM and Steelworkers.
The decline in union membership in USUK,
coincides with the decline of their economies.
Without the safety net of union wages, fewer
people are able to genuinely afford domestic
goods and services. The attempt to get round
this conundrum through credit card & mortgage
fiascos; that is, through debt, has nearly
brought the whole world to its knees & is behind
most of the aggressive "blame someone else" wars.
The Chinese aren't led by sell-out puppets,
who see individual selfish greed as paramount.
Is YOUR government? Are you?
WE WANT THE LABOUR PARTY BACK !!!
To great applause, Tony Woodley, joint leader of Unite,
says on the opening day of Unite's annual conference
in Manchester, that there is "no road back for Labour"
until the party apologises for taking the UK
into the illegal and unjust Iraq war.
"That war was a crime," he confirms.
Mr Woodley says it's good that some of the Labour
leadership candidates have "finally found their
voice" on Iraq, adding that it would be better
if they could now call for all invading troops
to get out of Afghanistan as well.
Mr Woodley then talks of union matters:
"There is another issue which I believe
all candidates should face up to. It is
the scandal that at the end of 13 years
of Labour government, the right to strike
is hanging by a thread - at the mercy of
employers who would rather sue than settle,
and Tory judges who appear to think strikes
are okay as long as they don't inconvenience
the bosses in any way at all."
Mr Woodley says firms from British Airways to
Metrobus and Tesco have used the law against
Unite, adding: "If this is allowed to carry on,
then the trade union movement will be trying to
defend our members in the teeth of an economic
whirlwind with not just one, but both arms...
tied behind our back.
"This position is a lasting mark of shame
on the 13 years of New Labour government,
that the party founded to rescue unions
from the hands of the judges should pass
us on to the Con-Lib coalition hemmed in
by the courts at every turn."
Mr Woodley says Unite's vote in the Labour Party
leadership election should go to the candidate
who pledges to scrap anti-union laws, and says
the contest to find a new leader should give the
party the chance to rediscover its "purpose in life".
"We need our party back. For too long we have
been told that we are a drag on its electoral
prospects, that the unions have to be neither
seen nor heard. But it wasn't the unions that
wrecked the economy, it was the filthy rich
that Peter Mandelson was intensely relaxed about."
NURSES WIN !!!!!!!!!
“Temple provoked this strike in an effort to
weaken our unions and eliminate our right to
speak out for our patients. What they got
instead was an emboldened, stronger union
membership that will continue to work under a
contract with some of the best working
conditions and benefits in Philadelphia".
PASNAP leader Jackie Silver
After 28 days on strike, 1,500 members of the
Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and
Allied Professionals (PASNAP) defeated Temple
University Hospital management's attempt to
break their two locals. Their victory is
a victory for us all.
Union members rejected outrageous concessions
including the infamous “gag rule” or non-
disparagement clause that would have prevented
them from advocating for their patients by
speaking out about conditions at Temple.
Management provoked the strike by insisting that
this despicable contract was its “best and final offer.”
The PASNAP victory is especially important for
nurses who, while legally bound by their
licenses to advocate for their patients,
are often reluctant to strike.
How they won
Temple was prepared to pay whatever it cost
to break the union. It spent an estimated
five million dollars a week on scab salaries,
transportation, housing, food and security.
Knowing this was a fight for survival, PASNAP
members began organizing months in advance
of the strike. The union built community and
political support, educated its members about
their COBRA rights and unemployment benefits
and lobbied for support from other unions
across the country.
PASNAP set up a website to provide its members
and the public with up-to-date information
including picket schedules. The website gave clear direction:
“Every member will have a responsibility to
participate in picketing on a schedule..
The picket line is the heart and lungs of our
strike, and everyone needs to participate.
The basic responsibility for each member
is three four-hour shifts each week.
Its how we keep in touch and how Temple knows
we’re strong... Picketing schedules and
activities will be developed by the Strike
Coordinating Committee (Volunteers welcome)
and will be flexible to allow members to
work their second jobs.”
Nine-four percent of PASNAP members honored
the picket line - no small feat in these tough
economic times. Even as the strike entered its
third week with no settlement in sight, picket
lines remained strong and spirited.
On April 28, jubilant members voted for
their new contract, 1045 to 30.
Lessons of the PASNAP victory:
• Nurses can be powerful fighters
for patients' rights.
• Nurses have more power
when they ally with other health workers.
• It is critical to prepare members
well in advance of a strike.
• Make the picket line the centre of the strike
• Actively involve all members.
• It IS possible to win.
Employers will back down when confronted with
a united and determined workforce.
The tactics PASNAP used to defeat Temple
should be studied by every activist.
What they did, we can all do.
Watch the strike video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=tiy7sjwo7L4&feature=player_embedded
Eileen Prendiville works as a staff nurse
in a San Francisco hospital. She belongs to
the California Nurses Association,
a member union of National Nurses United.
************************************************
Please forward widely!!!!!
Attached and pasted below is a form letter of
protest and solidarity to stand with the Temple
Nurses as they fight for better patient care,
free speech and workers' rights. Their fight
is a fight for everyone. The more we can clog up
the mailboxes, phone lines and email inboxes of
Temple's management, the better.
Please feel free to alter the beginning and end
of the letter to give it some personal flair.
By email, letters should be sent to
president@temple. edu
poconnor@cozen. com.
Phone calls should be made to
215-204-7405
610-941-2375
snail mail should be sent to
Ann Weaver Hart,
President
Temple University
180-1 North Broad Street
Philadelphia,
PA 19122
and Suite 400,
BO Box 800
200 Four Falls Corporate Center
West Conshohocken,
PA 19428
Please CC emails to the President of the union,
peakin101@comcast. net
and the socialist helping to lead the strike:
martyrn@verizon.net.
With Solidarity and Thanks,
Greg Beiter
Socialist Alternative
April 2010
Dear President Hart and Chairperson O’Connor,
I’m writing to you today to clarify a few issues
surrounding the strike at Temple University
Hospital. I have been following the matter
closely, and feel that the true reason this
strike happened is not evidently portrayed.
First and foremost, this strike is about
the future of patient care at the hospital.
The 1,500 healthcare professionals and nurses
at TUH were forced to strike for four main reasons,
and I want to take the time now to make sure
you are aware of these four factors:
1) Safe Staffing Ratios in the Hospital –
When a nurse has too many patients to take care
of at a time, she or he cannot guarantee each
patient the best care possible. Studies have
shown that patient deaths decrease significantly
when proper RN to patient ratios are in place.
2) “Gag Clause” proposed by Temple – Temple
administration is trying to impose a non-
disparagement clause into the unions’ contract,
which would prohibit union members from speaking
ill of the institution in public. TUH wants the
nurses and professionals to deal with all
complaints “internally.” The strikers believe
that this is a violation of their constitutional
rights, and that it is their duty to speak out
for patient safety using any medium available.
Contrary to recent rumors, Temple has not
formally taken this clause off the table.
3) Removal of Tuition Reimbursement –
Many nurses chose to work at TUH - ten, fifteen,
thirty years ago - because they were promised
free tuition for their children at Temple,
or a subsidy at another university. Last year,
Temple unilaterally took this benefit away,
but only for its hospital employees. Though
the Pennsylvania Labor Board declared this move
illegal, Temple is trying to eliminate tuition
reimbursement from the contract.
4) Double and Triple Healthcare Premiums –
Last year, Temple University was able to
negotiate its healthcare premium down by 10%.
This year, though they are paying less, the
administration is asking Temple nurses to pay
double their current premium, and allied
professionals to pay triple. It doesn’t add up!
Moreover, Temple is spending over $5 million of
tuition and taxpayer dollars per week on
strikebreakers. What is being spent in one week
is well over the amount it would take Temple
to settle a contract for four years.
Sincerely,
AFTER GREECE - THE DELUGE - WARN UNIONS
Labour unions across Europe will take action
as Greece is left alone in the economic crisis
by other short-sighted EU member states,
Yannis Panagopoulos, president of umbrella
labour union GSEE, says.
"The solidarity of other European labour unions
has been impressive. We witness the phenomenon of
German labour unions denouncing their
government's unwillingness to back Greece,"
Panagopoulos says, referring to the fact that Berlin,
together with other EU member states, is still not
offering Greece enough support to solve its fiscal crisis.
Apart from making pledges of support, EU labour unions,
especially those from Southern European countries,
will join forces in the near future, perhaps in May, he says.
"The Portuguese, Spanish and Italian people understand
that we share the same destiny; they all know that
when Greece gets through this adventure,
it will be their turn next," he says.
Panagopoulos stresses that over 70% of the Greek debt
is owed to UK, French and German banks.
This is what the distinguished economist,
Dr Tremblay, has to say in his latest statement:
"...the same thing that the new securitization
finance did to US homeowners and to GM is being
done these days to Greece. Greece's government
debt has been transformed into derivative products,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_security
insured with CDSs. Speculators are buying those
Greek CDSs in the hope that the government of
Greece will default on its debt. — This is the
main reason behind the drop in the euro and of
pound sterling in the last few weeks. There is
a fear of a domino effect, with many European
countries to default if speculators begin
attacking one country after another.
This could even bring down the euro monetary union.
— This is a crazy and immoral system.
The plot thickens even more with the rumour
that AIG has been a major issuer of Greek CDSs.
If this were true, this would mean that the US
taxpayers are paying for AIG's losses on Greek
CDSs with US bail-out funds, thus financing the
possible collapse of the euro monetary zone! —
This cannot be allowed to go on. There should be
an international conference to stop that madness.
UNION LEADERS SAY SPIVS WRECKING FUTURE FOR YOUNGSTERS
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber says
economic recovery for the UK's people
can only take place if unemployment is tackled,
and a genuine "non-spiv" economy created.
He says, in tough times, spending billions on
ID cards & Trident nuclear missiles
is "wrong, wrong, wrong".
He attacks Tory plans to cut spending, saying
they will make the economy "nose dive".
In his opening speech, Mr Barber urges caution
about believing "signs" of an economic recovery:
"The economy has fallen off a cliff.
"Green shoots" mean little when thousands of
people a day are joining the dole queue.
"Rising share prices count for little
when a million & more young people can't find work.
"And bumper bonuses, well they're an obscene joke...
"It is only when unemployment comes down,
only when we create decent jobs that pay decent wages
and only when vital public services are safe from cuts
that we will be able to talk about a real recovery."
He says that the young are least to blame
for the economic crisis, but are now
most likely to suffer most from it.
Mr Barber says it is vital that the UK doesn't
write off a generation to unemployment
and criticises Conservative plans
for savage public spending cuts.
"I am so horrified when I hear the Conservatives
talk of public expenditure cuts which would turn
any progress towards economic recovery into a
nose-dive back into recession.
Brendan says cuts will only promote recession:
"Here in this city which was so scared by the
riots of the 1980s, let us remember the
crippling economic & social costs of Tory recessions
and let us resolve: never, ever, again."
Tony Woodley, general sec. of Unite:
"We've got a situation where the spivs and
speculators have made themselves fortunes
and have made life a misery for millions
of us in Britain today.
"It's right that victims shouldn't have to
pay for the excesses of others."
Here's a fun video about Wal-Mart's
exploitative labour practices
based on Garth Brooks' song!
It's only about 2 minutes long.
film fun
UNIONS RALLY TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL.
FIRST THE UK'S TUC - NOW FRANCE!!!
A French labor union is joining the
international movement to apply Boycotts,
Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) on Israel,
according to a statement.
“The commitment of the CNT to support the
Palestinian people over many years
has led us naturally to join this vital campaign
to end the exploitation and occupation by Israel,”
says a statement from the National Work Confederation
(Confédération Nationale du Travail - CNT).
The international secretary of the union says
it is inviting each of its constituent members
to join the BDS campaign & participate in its activities.
“Our joining this Boycott, Disinvestment and
Sanctions campaign is coherent with our
solidarity with Palestine, defined by our
statement of support of the Palestinian people’s
struggle, adopted by the CNT during its 2006
congress. This statement is the expression of
the anti-colonial & internationalist principles
of our union,” the statement continues.
“It confirms our opposition to all forms of
colonization and occupation as well as our
solidarity with the oppressed against the
oppressor,” the organization also says.
“As it was done in the case of South Africa,
this initiative aims at weighing through
economic means and the media on the state
of Israel until the unpunished oppression
of the Palestinian people and the denial
of their fundamental rights end,” the statement says.
CNT describes itself as “an anti-capitalist
internationalist union involved in social class struggles.”
Originally launched with an appeal from 170
Palestinian civil society groups, the boycott
campaign has been gaining momentum, especially
since Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip last winter
which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead.
************************************************
International Health Workers for People Over Profit (IHWPOP)
has joined the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign
against Israel. We oppose Israel’s repression of the Palestinians
and support a single state in Israel/Palestine
with equal rights for all.
************************************************
It could be said that U.S. Trade Unions are not famous
for backing Peace in the Middle East....
Labour bureaucrats are often "as one" with Israeli officialdom.
U.S. Labour unions have invested hundreds of
millions of dollars of members’ funds in Israel bonds.
Only one year ago, 29 top US labour leaders condemned
British unions for calling for a boycott against Israel.
This year, the tide has finally turned.
U.S. Longshoremen struck for one day and refused to handle
arms and freight in protest at the Middle East wars.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees called
for a boycott of Israeli goods TWO years ago, in 2006.
COSATU, South Africa’s biggest union federation
did exactly the same in 2007.
IMPACT (the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union);
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers,
and Ireland’s largest public sector union,
voted for a boycott in Spring 2008:
and UNISON, the biggest union in the UK
voted for a boycott last month, in June.
"THE GOVERNMENT MUST BE DOING SOMETHING WRONG
Former trade minister Digby Jones joins a mass
"march for jobs" in Birmingham, demanding
urgent action to help workers.
"I'm losing my marching virginity," says Lord Jones,
former director general of the CBI employers' group,
who joined Brown's "government of all the talents",
but stepped down in 2008. He says:
"If you've got Woodley and Jones on the same ticket,
the government must be doing something wrong."
Jones is calling for the government to subsidise
short-term working to avoid laying off staff.
"This government is desperate not to be seen
to be doing a British Leyland. But if you look
at Jaguar or Nissan or Honda or Jaguar Land Rover,
these are great, globally competitive companies."
Unemployment is rising faster in the West Midlands
with it's mass industry, than in any other region.
Derek Simpson, general secretary, Unite, says
the UK government is being "too timid":
"Our message is clear: workers are not going to
pay the price for the bankers "crisis".
"We are serving notice on all politicians:
whichever of their homes they are in,
securing jobs is now our priority, and we are
not going to take "no" for an answer."
Brown's New Labour welfare "reform", stripping
many of benefits, forcing people to work while on
the "dole", and further privatising UK social
services, is being carried on now by the "coalition"
and is opposed by a real coalition of Trade union
leaders, anti-poverty campaigners & progressives.
They ALL demand that welfare cuts MUST stop in a
recession, as it will lead to a permanent slump.
Among those signing up to a statement against cuts,
are; the GMB and PCS, the UK Coalition Against Poverty,
the National Carers Forum, Church Action on Poverty,
the Get Fair Coalition & social policy professors.
What is the point, they ask, of driving people
into work, if there isn't any ?
The joint statement says:
"Many of the plans were unacceptable when they
were first published and the worsening economic
situation should lead to a fundamental rethink.
"The Government's proposals remove entitlements
and fail to value the important work of parents and carers.
"Parents with young children, carers, the sick,
the disabled, people with mental health problems
and other vulnerable groups face tougher tests
to qualify for benefits. If they fail they could
be cut off with no support."
Forcing people to work for benefits could be seen,
they say, as a basic attack on human rights.
All together now !!!
LABOUR GOES GLOBAL - with "WORKERS UNITING".
The UK's biggest union Unite, the product of last year's merger
between the Transport and General Workers Union (T&G) and Amicus,
is now united with a Union in North America.
The agreement is between Unite and the United Steelworkers' union (USW).
The combined group has more than three million members
in the UK, the US, Canada and the Caribbean.
Andrew Murray;
"We are dealing with global companies that can move capital
- and employment - around the world at will in many cases.
While big business is global and labour is national,
we are going to be at a disadvantage."
Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Unite,
urges other unions, from Poland to Australia,
to join "Workers Uniting".
The president of USW, Leo W Gerard, says the
merger counters "the growing power of global capital".
"Globalisation has given financiers licence to
exploit workers in developing countries at the
expense of our members in the developed world," he says.
"Only global solidarity among workers can overcome
this sort of global exploitation wherever it occurs."
Labour unions from Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America,
are also talking about some form of co-operation.
******************************
Here's a song and video to inspire !
DOWN WITH TYRANNY ONE BIG UNION song
PLEASE !
Send in your suggestions and contributions...
Email:
rayjoseph05@AOL.com
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