Teamsters Local 705 denounces war plans
By Shawn Gaynor
Asheville, North Carolina, Oct. 23 (AGR) In a
reflection of the clearly growing sentiment against war on Iraq,
the countries second largest Teamsters local, based in Chicago,
Illinois, denounced Bushs plans for the war. The resolution,
passed Oct. 20, was brought by handlers from the CACH and Jeff
St. UPS facilities, and states that Teamsters local 705
stands firmly against Bushs drive for war.
The resolution was passed at a membership meeting attended
by roughly 400 Teamsters, and was only discussed for about 10
minutes before passing with only one member casting a dissenting
vote.
There was not very much discussion on it because there
was no dissent, stated Paul Waterhouse, a 705 official,
who added that their were many Vietnam veterans who had served
in the US Army and Marine Corps present at the meeting.
The Teamsters, whose transportation industry jobs are tied
closely to oil prices state in the opening of the resolution:
we value the lives of our sons and daughters, of our brothers
and sisters more than Bushs control of Middle East oil
profits.
We have no quarrel with the ordinary working-class men,
women, and children in Iraq who will suffer the most in any
war, the resolution continues.
The measure raises concerns that the cost of the war will take
away billions of dollar from social spending on schools, hospitals,
housing, and social security.
In a clause representing the unions belief about the
motives behind the proposed war, Local 705 states: Bushs
drive for war serves as a cover and distraction for the sinking
economy, corporate corruption, lay-offs, and Taft-Hartley [used
against the locked out ILWU longshoremen].
This is the start of doing anti-war work not the finish,
said Kieran Knutson, a steward at the Jeff St. UPS who co-sponsored
the resolution. Union resolutions by themselves dont
mean anything unless they are used by activists in the workplace
to build sentiment and action against the war.
The 21,000 member union local intends to talk to other Teamsters
locals in the area about their concerns about a possible war
on Iraq.
We hope this resolution encourages other workers to adopt
similar resolutions and encourages the growth of anti-war activities
in the labor movement, concluded Knutson.
To support Local 705 in its stance contact their office at
312-738-2800
800 rally and march for striking janitors
By Dan Keshet
Boston, Massachusetts, Oct. 19 As the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU) Local 615 janitors strike finished
its third week, about eight hundred janitors, students, and
community members rallied in Copley Square, followed by a spirited
march through the Prudential Center and back to Copley Square.
The janitors strike targets major downtown Boston buildings
serviced by contract cleaning agencies, especially UNICCO. The
unions primary demands include more full-time jobs, health
insurance for more janitors, and better wages.
Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift has cancelled the states
custodial contract with UNICCO Service Company after the SEIU
threatened to expand their strike to four state buildings.
Under their current contract, janitors must work twenty-nine
hours per week in order to qualify for health care, but only
one in four reach that threshold. The janitors have settled
contracts favorably with many smaller cleaning service companies,
but they have failed to settle with Newton-based UNICCO, an
international service company with over 20,000 employees and
$600 million in revenues.
The rally crowd was a diverse mix, including janitors, other
union members, politicians and political activists, and other
community organizations. The event was almost entirely bilingual
in English and Spanish; nearly all of the janitors are immigrants
from Latin America, and speak either Spanish or Portuguese as
their first language.
Supporting unions included Local 2324 of the UAW at Boston University,
representing office workers and other support staff. Elly Leary,
the former Vice President of the union, said she was there because
she believed in the union motto, an injury to one is an
injury to all, while Jim Gallagher recalled the unions
1979 strike to achieve a living wage and health insurance.
The rally inlcuded state and city officials and many political
candidates and New Hampshire SEIU members- the SEIU is the largest
union in New Hampshire.
Students in the crowd came from MIT, Emerson, Suffolk, and Northeastern
University.
About fifteen Northeastern students had camped out the night
before in front of Churchill Hall, which houses Northeastern
University President Richard Freelands offices. The students
met with the President in the morning and spoke with him for
about fifteen minutes, according to student participants Scott
Breiding and Seth Amsden. Breiding said the conversation was
respectful, but the President would not agree to the students
demands that he instruct Consolidated Service Corporation, the
cleaning agency which employs Northeastern janitors, to pay
all of their janitors living wages and give them health insurance
benefits.
When striking janitors saw the students tents as they
arrived on campus at 10am, many of them began weeping, according
to Amsden, and told the students that if they ever needed support,
the janitors would be there for them.
Other community groups in attendance on the 19th included the
Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), the Community
Church of Boston, and Kahal Braira, a Boston congregation
of secular humanist Jews, who have raised over $1000 for the
janitors strike fund. Nikhil Aziz, an Indian-born immigrant,
came with the Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia.
He connected the janitors struggle as workers avoiding
oppression to all other struggles to overcome oppression, whether
it be heterosexism, racism, or sexism.
At least one hundred or so members of the crowd were from radical
socialist or anarchist groups. Anarchist groups in attendance
included BAAM! and members of the North Eastern Federation of
Anarcho-Communists - the Sabate Collective and the Firefly Collective.
Two young anarchists carried red-and-black anarcho-syndicalist
flags, while another carried a purple-and-black flag she identified
as representing anarcha-feminism.
Source: Boston Indymedia with additional information from
The Alarm!
Second general strike this year grips Italy
Compiled by Shawn Gaynor
Oct. 18 (AGR) Over a million workers staged demonstrations
across Italy on Friday as union protests caused disarray with
a one-day strike.
An estimated 250,000 union workers marched through the streets
of the financial capital, Milan. Workers chanting anti-government
slogans took to the streets in 120 towns and cities to protest
against stiff cuts in health and education in the budget and
labor reforms, which they say undermine workers rights.
The strike was called by Italys largest and most left-wing
trade union the CGIL, which represents 6 million workers.
Across the country today, millions of workers have joined
the call and come out in the streets in protest, CGIL
chief Guglielmo Epifani told thousands of workers gathered in
the center of the northern industrial city of Turin, where the
financially troubled auto maker, Fiat, is based.
The worst hit sector was transport -- Italys airports
and train stations were scenes of desolation.
The national airline, Alitalia, had to cancel more than 250
flights and tens of thousands of airline passengers were thought
to have been stranded.
There was also disruption to the railways, with more than 100
train services -- about 40% of routes -- cancelled.
Most schools closed as did many banks and health services were
reduced to the essentials.
Many Italians opted to take a day off as getting to their workplace
was nearly impossible because of protest marches, the lack of
urban transport, and traffic jams.
Weve won the challenge, declared Epifani,
The strike, which has been adhered to throughout the country,
tells us that we are right.
It was the second general strike in six months and follows
dozens of half- and full-day stoppages across a range of industries
this year as worker anger over Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconis
policies boils to the surface. In recent weeks, Italian companies
have announced more than 20,000 lay-offs.
The CGIL is angry over the governments plans to amend
a section of a 1970 labor law.
The government wants to make it easier for firms to lay off
workers and help the growth of small companies. The left-wing
union has said it called the strike because Berlusconis
budget and financial policies, as well as his labor reforms,
are aggravating the economic slowdown and could end up putting
about 280,000 people out of work.
The CGIL is hoping Fridays demonstration will prompt
the government to reconsider not only the labor reforms but
also next years budget, which it says does not do enough
to spur growth in an economy that has barely grown in the last
year.
The demonstrations are a major headache for Berlusconi, who
has never forgotten that the last time he was prime minister,
in 1994, his government fell after just seven months shortly
after millions took to the streets to oppose planned pension
reforms.
Sources: Reuters, BBC
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