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From the Field: Working America Members on the Economy
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Polls and headlines show the economy is at the top of people’s minds these days. So it’s not surprising that when members of Working America, the AFL-CIO community affiliate, are asked by canvassers what issue is most important to them, the economy is far and away the leading answer.
It’s not just an answer that’s given more often, either. There’s a new tone, too. In Pennsylvania, one of our canvassers reported:
Two weeks ago, a lot of folks told me the economy was their #1 priority, but this week when I asked, most folks just said, “What do you think?” as if it were ridiculous that I even had to ask.
In Michigan, one canvass director described the “Well, duh,” look members gave him when he asked what issue was most important to them.
Apparently, “it’s the economy, stupid” never goes out of style.
Working America members, who regularly vote on the issues most important to them, said in the latest poll that health care and good jobs were among their top concerns. Check out how Working America members voted here.
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This is more of a solution than just electing another bunch of Democrats: Four union locals embraced a call for a U.S. general strike at the recent AFSCME convention
I excerpted the relevant parts from an article by Steve Hoffman who is an AFSCME Local 304 delegate to the Martin Luther King Jr. County Labor Council. He played a key role in bringing the strike resolution to the AFSCME convention and advocating for it there. Contact him at stevhoff@earthlink.net.
Public workers are fed up with watching the crucial services they provide slashed to free up money for the war machine. And like everyone else, they are chafing under the relentless pressure of skyrocketing food and fuel prices, job losses, and stagnant wages.
So members in several local unions quickly embraced two resolutions that opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and boldly proposed strike action and pro-labor solutions to the deepening economic crises.
One resolution was written for the national convention of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). It called on AFSCME leaders to organize a nationwide strike to save public services by ending the war and taxing corporations and the rich.
The second resolution was addressed to the annual convention of the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC). It called on the two main labor federations, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, to launch a nationwide general strike against the war, high oil prices, mortgage foreclosures and evictions, and the lack of affordable healthcare. It also condemned attacks on immigrant workers.
Four locals sign on.
The AFSCME national strike resolution was adopted by Seattle-area AFSCME Locals 304 and 341. And in July, the president of AFSCME Local 444 in Oakland, Calif., emailed the message: “I am proud to inform you that our local voted to endorse the AFSCME Local 304 Antiwar Strike Resolution.”
These unions were inspired by recent examples of mass strike action: the May Day 2006 walkout by immigrant workers to oppose racist anti-immigrant legislation; and the May Day 2008 shutdown of all U.S. West Coast ports, led by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, to oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It’s no coincidence that the call to action resonated among AFSCME members; most work for state and local governments that face severe budget cuts.
In California alone, a $16 billion shortfall threatens to slash funding for healthcare for the poor and elderly, education, libraries, and parks. Governor Schwarzenegger’s solution is to reduce all state employees to the federal minimum wage!
For these workers it was a no-brainer to demand that the billions of dollars wasted on war and corporate tax breaks go instead to save public services, create jobs to rebuild infrastructure and public housing, and guarantee healthcare for all.
Lively discussion at the convention showed that many delegates welcomed the opportunity to consider what labor’s response should be to these hard times, and were open to considering the bold proposal of mobilizing AFSCME’s 1.4 million members in a strike.
The following week the general strike resolution stepped into the batter’s circle at the WSLC convention in Vancouver, Wash. Supporters caucused and hit the convention with resolution copies and a cover letter signed by 28 unionists from 18 different WSLC-affiliated unions, both private and public sector.
Several backers, including leaders from unions of electrical and longshore workers, further argued that a general strike is what today’s dire situation calls for. A Vietnam vet spoke passionately about the ruined lives of soldiers and tremendous strain to veteran’s hospitals caused by the war.
Several members motivated the need for a serious hearing before the delegate body. Instead, committee members weakened the resolution, calling for a rally in place of a general strike. They sent on the amended resolution to the convention as a whole with a “do pass” recommendation.
The weaker version prevailed, with language calling for a nationwide rally. But many delegates took this to mean that labor should spearhead a major demonstration, along the lines of the 1999 protest in Seattle against the World Trade Organization.
Keep agitating!
The government is taking over major lending institutions to avert a collapse of the financial system. Clearly, the times will get even tougher for working people.
The education and the fighting spirit that these resolutions inspired needs to spread in preparation for the day that labor is ready to take decisive action. If the rank and file turn up the heat, leaders can be pushed to act, or to step aside for others with the mettle to match these challenging times.
excerpted from Freedom Socialist newspaper, Vol. 29, No. 5, October-November 2008