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Written by Paul Joseph Poposky
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Monday, 29 June 2009 |
 On Wednesday, May 27th, a small but diverse group of labor and community organizers, concerned citizens, union workers and retirees gathered at the Center for Theology and Social Analysis in St. Louis, MO to meet Laura Kurre, one of the organizers of the new National United Healthcare Workers union (NUHW) in California. Ms. Kurre spoke at length about the recent dispute between the NUHW and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), born of the contested trusteeship imposed by SEIU on their third largest affiliate, United Healthcare Workers-West (UHW). |
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Written by Josh Lucker
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Friday, 15 May 2009 |
 It now appears that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will not be passed in the 111th Congress. According to the official excuse given by the Democrats, it lacks the necessary votes to “invoke cloture.” As Socialist Appeal explained in the past, big business clearly does not want the bill to pass, as evidenced by the huge propaganda campaign that they have financed. We also pointed out that the bosses’ “concerns” have absolutely nothing to do with any abstract concern for “democracy,” least of all the democratic rights of the workers, and everything to do with the fear of a resurgent labor movement. |
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Written by Tom Trottier
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Wednesday, 13 May 2009 |
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 On February 11, 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report on “Major Work Stoppages in 2008.” The Federal Government defines a major work stoppage as a strike or lockout involving 1,000 employees or more that lasts at least one full shift...
...The statistics show that there were just 15 major work stoppages in 2008, down from 20 in 2006 and 21 in 2007. The last time there were more than 50 major work stoppages was twenty years ago in 1989, when there were 51... ...Some labor leaders and capitalist commentators might look at these statistics and draw the conclusion that strikes are a thing of the past. The theoreticians of Big Business and their political leaders believe that workers should not expect higher wages and benefits, but must work harder for less. Unfortunately, the labor leaders echo their argument. However, no class will give up its rights and privileges without a fight and this includes the working class. The working class will fight back; but the question is not only how to fight back, but how to fight back and win. |
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Written by David May
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Monday, 11 May 2009 |
 President Obama has just passed the 100 day mark of his term in office. What a difference a few weeks makes! Even though GM and Chrysler have already been given millions in public money, Chrysler has now been allowed to go bankrupt. All of its plants will be idled until it emerges from bankruptcy. And despite putting forward the option of a UAW “ownership stake” in GM and Chrysler, Obama is at the same time addressing auto workers with the cold vocabulary of Wall Street: Viability, Profitability and Liability. And these words are not hollow. The administration’s restructuring plan is backed up with factory closings, mass layoffs, wage and benefit cuts and possibly the closing of entire companies. |
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Written by A Member of AFT Local 420
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Thursday, 09 April 2009 |
 Teachers, students, parents, and citizens in St. Louis have struggled for years to preserve and improve the city’s public education system. However, these defenders of public education have continually faced an onslaught of attacks from the Mayor, Missouri State Government, private interests, and now the School Board itself. Although the history of the St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) is complicated, only a brief account of the last nine years is necessary to explain why the district remains in its current predicament. |
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Written by David May
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Monday, 06 April 2009 |
 As President Barack Obama visits Europe following the G-20 summit in London, projecting the “new face of U.S. politics,” in the U.S. itself, this image is already starting to crumble under the harsh reality of the economic crisis. For example, Obama is no longer addressing auto workers in terms of “Change” but rather, with the cold vocabulary of Wall Street: Viability, Profitability and Liability. And these words are not hollow. The administration’s recent restructuring plan is backed up with factory closings, mass layoffs, wage and benefit cuts and possibly the closing of entire companies. |
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Written by Kevin Bell
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Friday, 03 April 2009 |
 On Tuesday, March 17th, a group of 80 workers in the industrial town of Windsor, Ontario, occupied the Aradco auto parts plant. This occupation marks the re-awakening of the occupied factories movement in Canada and is an important turning point in the ongoing crisis of the North American auto industry. |
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Written by Tom Trottier
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Sunday, 15 March 2009 |
 On Wednesday, March 11, 2009, more than 150 Stella D’Oro strikers and their supporters rallied at the factory at 3:00 PM. Stella D’Oro workers have been on strike since August 2008. The company made demands that would end their pensions, make workers pay for much of their health care, and cut wages and other benefits. The company, Brynwood Partners, a private equity firm, wants to eliminate this union and have a low paid, “no or low benefit” workforce in its place. |
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Written by David May
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Tuesday, 10 March 2009 |
 The incoming Obama administration has begun putting new bailout plans into action for nearly-bankrupt auto companies GM and Chrysler. The most recent “rescue packages” have come with more than a few strings attached. As the economic crisis deepens, the bosses will seek to unload the burden onto workers’ shoulders. This underlines the need for militant, class struggle policies in the unions to place the burden of the crisis where it belongs: with the bosses! |
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Written by Tom Trottier
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Friday, 06 March 2009 |
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 In a recent article by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), statistics show that union membership in the U.S. has grown for the second year in a row. It is no surprise that many workers are turning to the labor movement and joining unions as a way to fight back against the bosses, as the crisis of capitalism continues to unfold.
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Written by Shane Jones
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Sunday, 01 March 2009 |
 Marxists are in favor of every reform that increases the workers’ class consciousness, confidence, political and social power. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is a welcome, albeit only partial clearing of the thicket of legal restrictions on workers’ rights to organize themselves into unions. |
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Labor Movement 
