Blog

Sevagram Gandhi Ashram,
Wardha (Maharashtra)
20-21 October, 2013

In January 2013, a three-day workshop on the organisational question was held, in which various groups and individuals hailing from diverse radical tendencies had participated. In continuation, we are facilitating another interaction on 20-21 October with a more concrete task of grounding class politics and the organisational question in the specificities of working class composition and self-activities. It will deliberate among many other aspects of this task, upon how industrial and larger social changes are the effects of the dynamics of labour-capital conflict, how older forms of working class organizations as modes of workers self-activities are outmoded in this conflict and new forms emerge.

The recent industrial and social conflicts in India make these deliberations imperative for any radical realignment and networking among communist tendencies within the working class. Militants of these tendencies must engage themselves in, as Marxist-Humanists in the 1950s-60s used to say, the most important revolutionary task of our times – “Recognise and Record”. The recognition of politics and organisational forms in the everyday class struggle is what constitutes the agenda of “workers’ inquiry” and proletarian journalism. Militant investigations into the dynamic creativity of labour (which is subversive and constitutes crisis from the perspective of capital) and capital’s endeavour to channelise and subsume this creativity through technological changes and socio-industrial restructuring are major exercises before us. Only these hot inquiries provide the possibility of avoiding sectarian fossilisation – over-generalisation of local and past experiences, and reorganise ourselves as credible tendencies within the working class.

We propose to continue our discussions (1) on the organisational question and politics of the working class, with an additional focus (1a) on the import and politics of workers’ inquiry. There will be a discussion (2) on the recent upsurge in the Middle East and a working class perspective on it. Also, there will be a session (3) to discuss the possibility and importance of an all India-level (or world-level) workers’ journal/newspaper as a forum to network among the participants.

Participants:
Parivartan Ki Disha, Nagpur (09921336289, 09096089231)
Radical Notes, Delhi (09990327014)
Faridabad Majdoor Samachar, Faridabad (01296567014)
Gurgaon Workers News, Gurgaon
Mazdoor Mukti, Kolkata (09433882799)
Mouvement Comuniste , France
KPK, Collectively Against Capital, Czech & Slovakia
&
Some individuals without organisational affiliations.

Press Statement from teachers of Delhi University We, the undersigned teachers of Delhi University, wish to express our deep sense of shock and outrageat the treatment meted out by the police to our colleague, Dr. G N Saibaba, Asst. Prof. in English at Ram Lal Anand College. At about 3.00 PM today, a large 50 […]

Milwaukee, WI – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) have announced improvements to UPS Teamster health care “TeamCare” after a vote by the Teamster rank and file in several regions rejected a concessionary contract offered by UPS.

“I think that the improvement to the TeamCare on Sept. 4 is a big difference to the TeamCare they offered in the Tentative Agreement that was offered in May. I fully believe than these changes were brought on because of the Vote No movement,” commented Mark Timlin, founder of the 4000-plus member “Vote No On UPS” Facebook page.

A re-vote on seven rejected supplements and riders will be mailed out on Sept. 18, according to the IBT.

Although the national agreement passed by a slim 2 to 3% margin, the agreement cannot take effect until all regional and local agreements have been settled, so those eligible to re-vote, including Teamsters in the Central Region, Ohio, Michigan, Local 243, Metro Philly and Western Pennsylvania have the ability to vote no again.

Keep voting no

While health care gains were made, another no vote in the Central States Region, among others, will be necessary to fight the rest of the health care concessions, improve pay and full-time jobs for insiders and improve language on harassment.

Those who voted no in the initial round were angry with the cuts to health care, lack of additional full-time jobs, harassment, and longer wage progression scales for new workers, who would make less for longer periods of time than ever before.

The Vote No movement seems likely to continue strong, because although health care improvements were made, the health care plan is still worse than the previous contract. For instance, it includes a deductible in the last year, something UPS Teamsters never had to worry about before.

Teamsters currently in the TeamCare plan will not be given the same benefits, extending a two-tier system beyond wages and into union-run health care. Workers currently in the plan will begin paying deductibles immediately. Two-tier systems create different compensations for employees doing the same work, often based on seniority or part-time vs. full-time status. They are used by companies to break down solidarity among workers and violate the union principle of equal pay for equal work.

Other concerns include language on harassment. For instance, Article 17(i) in the Central Supplement is a loophole management uses to fire employees and it needs to be removed.

Ken Hall backtracks

UPS Teamsters were particularly upset with this concessionary contract at a time when UPS posted record-breaking profits of over $4 billion and broke another profit record in the first quarter of 2013, posting well over an additional $1 billion.

In response to rank-and-file Teamster outrage at the concessions, Teamster General Secretary Treasurer Ken Hall has backtracked on his initial claim that health care negotiations, as well as other stipulations covered in the national agreement, were a done deal. On Sept. 4, a new mailing was sent to the membership detailing significant improvements to the Teamster-run plan. Many of those who voted against the contract in the first round of votes see this as a victory, forcing the union to recognize and do something about the tens of thousands concerned about contract concessions.

For thousands of UPS Teamsters across the country, the struggle continues to stem UPS management’s attacks on the wages, benefits and working conditions of drivers and warehouse workers and to hold Ken Hall and IBT President Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. accountable to the members. The Vote No movement has already beat back some concessions and will continue the fight into the next round by urging another ‘no’ vote.

Democracy  and Class Struggle says the Indian  State cannot act with impunity, even the United States  is having its wings clipped these days – the treatment of G N Saibaba shows how weak the Indian State is before progressive ideas, the intellectual ideas of revolutionary socialism.

Protest the treatment of one of India’s finest intellectuals

See Also:

 
http://

COMMITTEE FOR THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS

185/3, FOURTH FLOOR, ZAKIR NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110025

13/09/2013

CONDEMN THE ARBITRARY RAID OF THE HOUSE OF PROF. GN SAIBABA, A PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL AND JOINT SECRETARY OF RDF!

CONDEMN THE CRIMINAL DESIGNS OF THE JOINT INTELLIGENCE-SPECIAL CELL-GADCHIROLI POLICE COMBINE TO IMPLICATE PROF. GN SAIBABA ALONGWITH THE FALSE CHARGES FRAMED AGAINST

Democracy and Class Struggle says we have US War socio-paths like McCain and bourgeois rationalists like Grayson.

Grayson has the rational arguments but the socio paths have the deep State power.

The US Bourgeoisie’s Deep State does not even trust its own House of Representatives or Congress, let alone the people who are seen as the enemy – this internal contradiction cannot exist forever and

Democracy and Class Struggle says we have US War socio-paths like McCain and bourgeois rationalists like Grayson.

Grayson has the rational arguments but the socio paths have the deep State power.

The US Bourgeoisie’s Deep State does not even trust its own House of Representatives or Congress, let alone the people who are seen as the enemy – this internal contradiction cannot exist forever and

Toby Jones: Saudi Arabia is interested in ousting Assad but not a popular government taking his place

Saudi Arabia’s rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents

There was also a recent threat of a similar nature against Russia if it continued with support for Syria.

See

Toby Jones: Saudi Arabia is interested in ousting Assad but not a popular government taking his place

See also: http://democracyandclasstruggle.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/syria-saudi-price-bandar-behind.html

Democracy and Class Struggle

are pleased to publish report on Maoist Strike in Kathmandu Valley has part of CPN Maoist boycott strategy for upcoming Elections from our comrade Peter Tobin.

Friends, Comrades,

Below is letter from me published in today’s Republica – a Nepalese national daily.  I sent it to coincide with today’s Maoist strike (bhanda) in Katmandu and Valley area as