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36 WW 13 Sept 2012
36 WW 13 Sept 2012
36 WW 13 Sept 2012
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Thousands march through nancial district in Charlotte, N.C., countering the Democratic National Convention with a peoples agenda.
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WORKERS WORLD
In the U.S.
Court re-charges transgender author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Derrick Duncan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Protesters ood Wall Street South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Anatomy of a union victory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 On the picket line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Anti-war protests planned across North America . . . . . . . . . 5
Noticias En Espaol
Tres crisis del capitalismo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Organizando en el sur de EE.UU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
DERRICK DUNCAN
Its tragic when a person in his 40s We must work together for a better world dies suddenly of a mysterious illness. But its especially tragic when he is a working-class revolu- Duncan was a member of 1199, the Service Employees tionary, a staunch unionist, an immigrant from Jamaica union. Anne Pruden remembers that after he was elected a delegate in the early 2000s, Duncan joined other who yearned to visit the motherland in Africa. Derrick Duncan met Workers World Party in 1995 at Workers World members and friends to distribute fliers the annual Caribbean Day celebration held in Brook- at monthly delegate assemblies. Derrick had a working-class view of everything, says lyn, N.Y., during the Labor Day weekend. A flier about the fight to end the death penalty and save the life of John Parker. Thats what attracted him to our politics. political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal attracted him to He was unabashedly biased in favor of the working class. the struggle. Always a fighter to end racism and police And being an immigrant made him an internationalist. brutality, Duncans worldview expanded as he read Abu- Hillel Cohen, who leafleted 1199 meetings with Duncan, Jamals essays about the prison-industrial complex and agrees: Derricks experiences in life as a young immigrant worker won him to the struggle. connected the dots to capitalism. Donatien Bukuba, born in Burundi, shared the immiBoth John Parker in Los Angeles and Steven Ceci in Baltimore remember the enthusiasm and dedication grant experience with Duncan: We were both trying to Duncan brought to the mobilization in Los Angeles to make a living, often holding two jobs. When we didnt save Mumias life and end the death penalty during pro- have jobs, we would support each other. We took the tests at the Democratic National Convention in 2000. politics of Workers World and the International Action As an oppressed person, Derrick was inspired by this Center and applied them to ourselves the poor must work together to support each other. great revolutionary, Ceci told Workers World. Bukuba remembers the concern Duncan showed him Derrick often made clear his opinion that lesbian and gay people must have the same rights as heterosexuals. at a rally demanding reparations for African Americans And Id call him a workaholic thats how strong his in Washington, D.C. a decade ago. We were talking with a group of young, very militant Black men. Some work ethic was. A transporter at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Continued on page 3
National O ce 55 W. 17 St., 5th Fl. New York, NY 10011 212.627.2994 wwp@workers.org Atlanta P.O. Box 5565 Atlanta, GA 30307 404.627.0185 atlanta@workers.org Baltimore c/o Solidarity Center 2011 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21218 443.909.8964 baltimore@workers.org Boston If you would like to 284 Amory St. know more about WWP, Boston, MA 02130 or to join us in these 617.522.6626 Fax 617.983.3836 struggles, contact the boston@workers.org branch nearest you. Workers World Party (WWP) ghts for socialism and engages in struggles on all the issues that face the working class & oppressed peoples Black & white, Latino/a, Asian, Arab and Native peoples, women & men, young & old, lesbian, gay, bi, straight, trans, disabled, working, unemployed, undocumented & students.
Workers World 55 West 17 Street New York, N.Y. 10011 Phone: 212.627.2994 E-mail: ww@workers.org Web: www.workers.org Vol. 54, No. 36 Sept. 13, 2012 Closing date: Sept. 4, 2012 Editor: Deirdre Griswold Technical Editor: Lal Roohk Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, LeiLani Dowell, Leslie Feinberg, Kris Hamel, Monica Moorehead, Gary Wilson West Coast Editor: John Parker Contributing Editors: Abayomi Azikiwe, Greg Butterfield, Jaimeson Champion, G. Dunkel, Fred Goldstein, Teresa Gutierrez, Larry Hales, Berta Joubert-Ceci, Cheryl LaBash, Milt Neidenberg, Bryan G. Pfeifer, Betsey Piette, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Gloria Rubac Technical Staff: Sue Davis, Shelley Ettinger, Bob McCubbin, Maggie Vascassenno Mundo Obrero: Carl Glenn, Teresa Gutierrez, Berta Joubert-Ceci, Donna Lazarus, Michael Martnez, Carlos Vargas Supporter Program: Sue Davis, coordinator Copyright 2011 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published weekly except the first week of January by WW Publishers, 55 W. 17 St., N.Y., N.Y. 10011. Phone: 212.627.2994. Subscriptions: One year: $30; institutions: $35. Letters to the editor may be condensed and edited. Articles can be freely reprinted, with credit to Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., New York, NY 10011. Back issues and individual articles are available on microfilm and/or photocopy from University Microfilms International, 300 Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106. A searchable archive is available on the Web at www.workers.org. A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. Subscription information is at workers.org/email.php. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
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WW PHOTO: BRYAN G. PFIEFER
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together, get organized and build social movements to raise demands to the powers that be. And thats exactly what were doing building a movement for jobs, education, health care, the environment and housing, and against wars, racism and bigotry, deportations and jails. Throughout the remainder of the week, the coalition plans to support actions and events being developed by other groups, including the Undocubus and the Southern Workers Assembly on Sept. 3. It will also be mobilizing support for the reoccupation of Marshall Park, being led by Occupy Charlotte, which was evicted from the park by police eight months ago.
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By Sue Davis
In her message of solidarity, Vice Mayor E. Denise Simmons stated: I am a firm believer in the power of union membership. It is my belief that we are always in a much stronger position to bring about positive conditions, and widespread fairness and respect, when we band together and speak with a unified voice. In unity, we find our strength, and this is essential to ensuring fairness for the individual worker. The meeting addressed the workers questions and concerns, as well as rumors and falsehoods spread by the employer. Most importantly, the workers were able to show one another their unity. Election The election was held on June 18 at the Somerville and Waltham yards, beginning at 5 a.m. Two stalwart organizing committee members, Carlos Fernandez and Tony Chiquillo, arrived at the Somerville yard at 3:30 a.m. to set up a table with refreshments and Vote Union YES! placards. Different Eastern drivers, when not on bus trips, were present around the table throughout the day, maintaining enthusiasm and stimulating rank-and-file unity with union shop-talk. Union supporters, including several Boston bus drivers, Ed Childs of Unite HERE Local 26, and Frank Neisser and Gerry Scoppettuolo of the International Action Center, were also present. Local businesses showed solidarity and a National Grid union worker filled the cooler with iced drinks. The tension was palpable as government agents tallied the ballots immediately after the polls closed. Finally, the totals were announced: 41 votes in favor of the union, 36 against. A sigh of relief was followed by blasting music and victory speeches. The core organizing committee had remained firm. Challenges After losing a decisive battle, the employer began to take illegal action against the workers of Eastern Bus. No Trespass signs blanketed the facility, high-tech surveillance cameras were positioned throughout the Somerville bus yard, a list of rules that violated collective bargaining rights was produced and disseminat-
ed, and an anti-union consultant was hired as the new director of labor relations. This agent of the boss pro ceeded to physically threaten workers. Perhaps the most grievous antiunion action was the firing without cause of a driver who is a member of the organizing committee after he refused to sign a company-drafted affidavit falsely charging another worker with misconduct. In addition, the employer submitted a petition to the NLRB challenging the validity of the election. At an NLRB hearing on July 16, the workers packed the room. The employers case quickly unraveled because of a lack of merit and convincing evidence. The hearing officer took nearly six weeks to return a decision on the matter. However, the wait proved worthwhile. On Aug. 23, she overruled all three of the employers objections and recommended union certification. Winitzer has until Sept. 6 to appeal the hearing officers report. Struggle for contract The organizing committees campaign for a just contract began on Aug. 28. The city of Cambridge held its standard orientation for drivers at the Kennedy-Longfellow School. Following orientation, the drivers acquired control of the room and held a meeting with USW 8751 Vice President Steve Gillis and Kirschbaum. This meeting served two functions: to discuss the next stage of the union fight and to show the director of transportation and the owner of Eastern Bus that the drivers are standing firm in the struggle for their deserved union rights. Joseph Montuna, a founding leader of the union campaign, says: Our fight is not against one person, but against a system or a culture of favoritism and injustice. With a good union contract, the ownership must treat all drivers equally and provide benefits to all of us, whether you voted for the union or not. Lets stand together for our rights. Thus far, the union committee has mapped out several aspects of the contract campaign: to have a union election victory party, form a negotiating committee and formulate demands, follow up on more than a dozen NLRB Unfair Labor Practice charges, protect workers under company attack and build rank-and-file union power. The message is clear: The struggle continues! Workers unite! In unity there is strength!
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GERMANY
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SOUTH AFRICA
MARXISM, REPARATIONS
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COLOMBIA
Palestinians
tinians who were banned from competing in the Olympics took Israeli athletes hostage to draw attention to the Palestinian peoples suffering. They wanted to exchange the Israeli athletes for 200 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails. The U.S., West German and Israeli governments were united in refusing to negotiate with the Palestinians. Workers World Party swam against the stream then. A leaflet written by this reporter, What every worker should know about the violence at the Olympics, explained: This time the West German government got its orders from the Israelis, specifically from an Israeli general [Moshe Dayan] and Israeli representatives at the scene of the bloodshed. Accordingly, the West Germans flew the Palestinians and their Israeli hostages to an airport at a NATO base, as sure a deathtrap for both the Jewish athletes and the Arabs as a bed of quicksand. West German police and military forces had surrounded the area before the helicopters carrying the Palestinians and Israelis even landed. Almost immediately, the police fired directly into the vehicles containing both Arabs and Jews, and in the end, everyone was killed. Just like [New York Gov.] Rockefellers Attica stormtroopers of a year ago [1971], the Israeli state, with the help of the West Germans, had ruthlessly sacrificed their athletes as expendable Jewish blood, so they could have an excuse to bomb Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and Syria. WWP dispatched squads, which included many Jewish comrades, including this reporter, to distribute the flier. Zionists tried to tear them up because their big lie was threatened by the message. Golda Meir, the Israeli head of state in 1972, once said, There is no such thing as the Palestinian people. Forty years later, the indomitable spirit and struggle of the Palestinians, who have stood up to Israel and U.S. imperialism, have inspired a much larger movement than existed 40 years ago. The worlds workers and oppressed have answered Meirs racist big lie with the solidarity message of Long live Palestine!
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Segunda parte
Este artculo es la segunda parte de la introduccin al libro, El capitalismo en un callejn sin salida, Destruccin de empleo, sobreproduccin y crisis en la era de la alta tecnologa un punto de vista Marxista, por Fred Goldstein. Traducido por Manuel Talens y Atenea Acevedo. Revisado por MO. De qu manera ocurrieron estas depresiones? La Depresin Prolongada que haba empezado en 1873 termin solamente cuando condujo a la clase capitalista estadounidense hacia el imperialismo. Las fuerzas productivas y el sistema de ganancias haban superado el estrecho marco del Estado-nacin capitalista. El desempleo en EE.UU. slo se redujo con la denominada Guerra Hispanoamericana de 1898, que llev a la conquista estadounidense de las Filipinas, Cuba y Puerto Rico y a la influencia en Asia y Latinoamrica. Este proceso sangriento fue el mismo que haba llevado a los capitalistas europeos a la lucha por frica en la dcada de 1880. De igual modo, la Gran Depresin termin al desarrollarse la Segunda Guerra Mundial cuando la industria se convirti en produccin para la guerra. En la posguerra, los medios de produccin masiva, las infraestructuras y las viviendas destruidas tuvieron que ser reconstruidas. La crisis actual, que se inici en diciembre de 2007, surgi de las mismas condiciones que precedieron a las dos crisis anteriores: el fenomenal crecimiento de