received from Anuradha Talwar & Biraj Patnaik [Right to Food Campaign] (At the WTO Ministerial, Nusa Dua, Bali) India has wilted under pressure from the US and agreed to accept conditionalities that were not part of the G-33 proposal. The text of the agreed draft can be accessed below (see section WT/ MIN 913)/ W […]
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Tampa Workers Outsmart Ronald McDonald’s Police
Tampa, FL – Striking workers from Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, and other fast food restaurants joined supporters for a militant march and protest in Tampa, FL. This day of action is part of the Fight For 15 campaign, a national action movement of low-wage workers against corporate giants like McDonalds, Burger King, and Taco Bell. These big fast food corporations make billions in profits by exploiting their workers. The national day of action saw thousands of workers across the country walkout over unfair labor practices, demanding an end to retaliation and harassment for organizing, as well as demanding a $15 wage, and union representation.
On Thursday, December 5, the day started when an entire shift of Dunkin Donuts workers shutdown their store with a 6:00 AM walkout over harassment and retaliation from management. Later, more strikers and supporters joined, including India Lewis, a 19-year-old single mother, illegally fired from Burger King. Lewis was fired for talking with her co-workers about organizing for better conditions and respect on the job. The crowd swelled to over 100 protesters picketing along a string of restaurants, including KFC and IHOP, and then marching on McDonald’s chanting “15 and a union!” & “Hold the burgers, hold the fries, make our wages supersized!”
The protest was met at McDonald’s by dozens of police standing side-by-side with a string of corporate managers. The bosses and police were trying to prevent the striking workers from entering the store and talking with McDonald’s workers. The managers even went so far as to lock the doors of the store, trapping customers and workers inside the store. When workers went to lead the protest back to the KFC, the police vacated the McDonald’s parking lot to head off the protest. The militant workers and strikers sensed an opportunity and lead the protest back to shutdown the McDonald’s drive-thru.
The protest included workers from OUR Walmart who use similar tactics to strike Walmart in efforts to fight for better conditions. The recent strike wave is part of a broader movement to revive the strike and embrace militant tactics to fight against exploitation by the 1%. Organizers in Tampa plan to continue organizing future strikes, as well as actions to demand Justice for India Lewis, pushing Burger King to reinstate her.
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Tens of thousands rally in Gaza to mark PFLP 46th anniversary
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Dec. 7 statement from the Popular Front of the Liberation Palestine (PFLP)
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine marked the 46th anniversary of its founding with a mass rally in al-Katiba courtyard in Gaza City, with tens of thousands of participants, including leaders, cadres and members of the Front, women’s, student and youth organizations, with the participation of representatives of the national and Islamic forces.
Large images of the General Secretaries of the Front – the founder, George Habash (Al-Hakim), Abu Ali Mustafa, and imprisoned General Secretary Ahmad Sa’adat – adorned the banner at the front of the stage, as well as the image of national martyrs and leaders Yasser Arafat, Fathi Shikaki and Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.
Banners were draped on the walls, calling for Palestinian national unity, and resistance, and saluting the Front’s history over 46 years. Performers played national Palestinian and PFLP songs and danced dabkeh, traditional Palestinian dance.
Comrades Hani Thawabteh and Shireen Abu Oun chaired the rally, at which Comrade Jamil Majdalawi delivered the keynote address. He saluted the martyrs, the prisoners, and the masses of Palestinians at home and in exile, particularly those in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria facing continued repression and new displacement, and to our people in the Naqab who are confronting the Prawer plan, the new Zionist scheme to displace Palestinians.
Majdalawi said that over the years, the harvest of the Palestinian national movement has not reached the great sacrifices or the goals of our people, and all of our forms of resistance have been weaker than they should be and can be, which only exacerbates the imbalance of power in favor of the Zionist enemy.
He described internal Palestinian division and lack of national unity as devastating to the Palestinian movement. In addition, the Palestinian Authority’s return to the dangerous and futile negotiations with the Zionist enemy in open rejection of Palestinian national consensus is particularly damaging.
Instead of negotiations, what is needed is resistance in all forms and the implementation of our people’s rights to return, self-determination and national liberation, Majdalawi said.
He saluted the ongoing steadfastness of the Palestinian people, which will be what secures the victory of our people over the criminal enemy. He particularly saluted the steadfastness of our people in Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, in all of its forms to confront the enemy and its continuous plans. Support for the struggle of our people is growing inside and outside Palestine; hundreds of international activists confront soldiers and illegal settlers beside the steadfast Palestinian people and various levels of political, cultural and economic struggle are taking place around the world.
Majdalawi highlighted the ongoing siege on Gaza which is denying access to the most basic necessities including food, medicine, building materials and fuel, causing an electricity crisis in the sector, and transforming the area into a massive prison due to the ongoing, prolonged and repeated closure of the Rafah crossing, the only exit for the Palestinians of Gaza to the outside world. This comes in addition to mass unemployment and the drinking water crisis, attacks on fishers at sea, and the retreat in services by the UNRWA, when refugees are over two-thirds of the population in Gaza.
Majdalawi said that there is a decline in the grip of the United States over international affairs, and this weakening of the leader of imperialism and injustice in the world will necessarily mean an increased weakness in the enemy camp that supports and sustains the Zionist aggression on our people, emphasizing that the US is still the primary economic and military power in the world and that there are long years of struggle to come by the people and exploited classes of the world to defeat imperialism and achieve justice and equality.
On the Arab level, Majdalawi expressed support for the democratic process in Tunisia and the importance of protecting pluralism in Tunisia, warned of the dangerous exclusivity taking place in Egypt that must be discarded in favor of pluralism and democracy for all, and expressed his standing with the Syrian people in the struggle for a united Syria, with democratic freedoms and equal rights for all Syrians and their political and social forces without discrimination, in addition to our stand against external interference which aims to destroy the potential of the country’s future and sink the country into the morass of obscurantism, as supported by the U.S. imperialists and their allies.
Majdalawi announced that the Front has just completed its seventh national conference. Several historic leaders of the Front have stepped down from their positions and did not put their names forward in the elections at the conference, in order to support renewal in the organization and to prevent ossification and bureaucracy, including comrades Abdel Rahim Mallouh, Younis al-Jalou, Abdelaziz Abu Al-Qaraya and himself, Jamil Majdalawi.
He concluded by calling for progressive and democratic Palestinian forces to come together to build resistance and unity and mobilize the people towards victory.
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The Green Nazi Deep Ecology of Martin Heidegger by Mark Musser
Democracy and Class Struggle is continuing our investigation into Eco-Fascism and the Green Nazis and we are publishing this article from 2011 from Mark Musser.
Mark Musser unlike J.Sakai whose recent contribution on Green Nazis we have just published here is not on the revolutionary left but has been a Christian Missionary in the former Soviet Union and hence an unlikely source for
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On December 6th 2013,today we commemorate the 25th death anniversary of Comrade Purushottam Palli ,the veteran tribal Communist leader from Koraput by Harsh Thakor
This article reflects the personal views of Harsh Thakor
On December 6th 2013,today we commemorate the 25th death anniversary of Comrade Purushottam Palli ,the veteran tribal Communist leader from Koraput.who expired on this date in 1988. Com.Palli sowed the seeds for revolutionary tribal movement in Orissa.
Born in Nandapur of Koraput district Comradae Palli received no formal education,
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Detroit judge rules against union workers and pensions
Detroit, MI – In a blow to Detroit unionized public workers and their pensions, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes ruled on Dec. 4, that workers’ pensions are not protected. The judge overruled the Michigan constitution, which protects pensions as contracts between government and workers. Judge Rhodes said the Detroit bankruptcy could proceed anyway. This means that city of Detroit workers will not hold a special place in the bankruptcy proceedings versus municipal bond holders, insurers and others jockeying to collect in court.
This is the second great setback for workers and unions in Michigan, coming on the heels of last year’s ramming through of so-called ‘right to work’ laws by Republicans and right-wing Governor Snyder. That same Republican-dominated legislative session overrode a fresh, legally binding referendum passed by Michigan voters that rejected Governor Snyder’s use of Emergency Financial Managers (EFM). The Republicans simply tinkered with the old law and passed a new EFM as part of an appropriations bill – which cannot be put to a referendum.
For union workers in Detroit, a city which is 84% African American, the bankruptcy is a disaster. Despite union givebacks and changes to retirement and pension plans, workers are hearing bankruptcy experts say they can expect between 10 and 20 cents on the dollar for their years of hard work and dedication. So despite years of union contracts, negotiated with local elected officials and approved under state laws, a judge will ultimately decide how much of a pension workers will get.
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees union, or AFSCME, represents about 70% of Detroit city workers, excluding categories like police and firefighters. AFSCME says their pension benefits were reduced by nearly 40% since 2012. In addition, on the job workers took a 10% pay cut in the past fiscal year to help avoid bankruptcy. Right now the average yearly pension is $19,000, but could go down to $9000 after the judge’s ruling.
There is no doubt that Detroit is a suffering city, whose manufacturing base along with hundreds of thousands of jobs largely disappeared since the 1970s. In previous decades Detroit was seen as a successful and exciting city, popularly known throughout the world for cars, sports, Motown music and good jobs. African Americans and their labor were a large part of this success. People in Detroit were proud of their city, their struggles and their accomplishments and they exercised more control over their lives than ever before.
However the big capitalists began to abandon Detroit starting in the 1970s, taking their investments and production elsewhere – to the suburbs, the South and overseas. Population began to fall, reaching less than half of what it once was, down to 701,000 today. With population falling steeply after 2000, Detroit now has a smaller tax base and the same and sometimes greater responsibilities. Corporations that did stay paid less in taxes. The good jobs dwindled. The great economic crisis that hit in 2008 left even more workers unemployed – today around 18% – hurting city income even more.
During the great economic crisis, the U.S. government spent billions to bail out banks and insurance companies, but there is no lifeline for Detroit and its workers. Instead they are being punished with bankruptcy, as if it is the only option. In the process, the politicians and judges are breaking contracts and abandoning long-held promises to workers and unions. Republican Governor Rick Snyder, instead of working with Detroit to avoid crisis, cut state funding in recent years ($66 million was cut between 2011-2012) and then took over local government by appointing an Emergency Financial Manager, sidelining the Mayor and other elected officials. The Governor has used the EFM to take over in small blue-collar towns, local school districts, and now the city of Detroit. The result of the EFM is always the same: cuts in social programs, privatization of schools and services and a refusal to negotiate with union workers, followed by their eventual replacement. In most cases thus far, the targets of EFM are government bodies run by African Americans.
Detroit faces real problems, but the rich and their politicians take advantage of the situation, and turn it into a crisis so they can seize power. Next they privatize valuable assets, like the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, at bargain basement prices. Wall Street wants to get their hands on the water works, so they can charge higher prices to homeowners and make a profit off of what should be a public utility. The EFM for Detroit, Kevyn Orr, has outside experts providing ‘valuations’ of the full range of city assets, including the parking meters and parking garages, publicly owned land like Belle Isle and other parks, the Detroit-WindsorTunnel (to Canada) and the Coleman A. Young International Airport. It may soon all be up for sale.
Even the public works of art in the Detroit Institute of Art are not safe. Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr had all the art appraised this week by Christie’s auction house. Orr’s representative, the New York investment banker Ken Buckfire, had secretly sent Christie’s appraisers to the art museum in June on an ‘informal’ basis. This past week, Buckfire was forced to cancel an ‘informal’ tour of Detroit. ‘Advisers’ were going to be shown the assets of the city that are going up for sale.
Judge Rhodes’ ruling is an attack on pensions, workers and unions across the country. It opens the door for other cities to run out on their contracts and displace unions. With Illinois pensions being called into question and some California cities facing similar funding problems, Detroit is now a test case. Republicans are leading the charge to force bankruptcy, suspend and override election results, to sell off assets and to cut and privatize social services. The Democrats are shrugging their shoulders and promising things will be different at the next election. The unions are in a life and death fight in Detroit. Workers have a lot at stake.
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People’s Thanksgiving Dinner to raises funds for Rasmea Odeh defense
Chicago, IL – Since 1992, activists with Fight Back! news, some of whom are members of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, have held a People’s Thanksgiving dinner. According to Joe Iosbaker, “It was started as part of a movement to protest 500 years of colonialism and to celebrate the resistance of the indigenous people.”
Each year the dinner has recognized activists and organizations that have contributed to struggles in Chicago and around the country.
This year, there is urgency to the gathering. Rasmea Odeh, a beloved activist in the Palestinian community in Chicago, is under attack by the U.S. government. The Sunday, Dec. 8 dinner will raise funds for her defense, in addition to helping to keep publishing Fight Back!.
Hatem Abudayyeh, a friend of Fight Back!, and himself a victim of repression, said, “The FBI and the U.S. attorney in Chicago have used political repression against 23 anti-war and international solidarity activists for the past three years. Now the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. attorney in Detroit are victimizing Rasmea.”
Odeh faces 10 years in prison and deportation if she is convicted of falsifying her application for citizenship.
Along with Rasmea Odeh, the dinner will honor two activists with the Anti-War Committee-Chicago: Newland Smith, a longtime fixture in the Palestine solidarity movement, and Sarah Simmons for her role resisting Mayor Emanuel’s attack on the Chicago Teachers Union and public education. Pete Camarata, a founder of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, will be recognized for his lifelong efforts for the cause of working people. And the continued struggle for justice for Trayvon Martin will be highlighted by a Skype message from Michael Sampson, a Dream Defender who occupied the State Capitol in Florida after the acquittal of George Zimmerman.
For more information on the dinner, go to www.StopFBI.net
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Mandela led Fight against Apartheid, but not against increasing Inequality- Patrick Bond
Patrick Bond with some necessary criticism of Mandela’s Legacy – progress in South Africa is dependent upon facing up to these problems of inequlaity and bringing Socialism back on the Agenda.
Kasrils slams ANC during handover
By CHARLOTTE CHIPANGURA -
Mandela led Fight against Apartheid, but not against increasing Inequality
Patrick Bond with some necessary criticism of Mandela’s Legacy – progress in South Africa is dependent upon facing up to these problems of inequlaity and bringing Socialism back on the Agenda.
Kasrils slams ANC during handover
By CHARLOTTE CHIPANGURA -
London – Panel discussion on State Surveillance and Counter-Terror, Dec 10
Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC), Statewatch, National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom (CPBF), Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers invite you to a PANEL DISCUSSION ON State Surveillance, Counter-Terror Powers and Global Securitisation Strategies Tuesday 10 December 2013, 6.30-8.30pm Venue: National Union of Journalists, 308-312 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP […]