Possible nationwide general strike in US?

[StalinFanboy]

S.C. ILA 1422 Union Leader Calls for Possible Nationwide General Workers Strike "I don't see any other way than [proposing] a general workers strike,"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/corey-hutchins/sc-union-leader-calls-for_b_830861.html?ref=email_share
Corey HutchinsCorey Hutchins is a reporter for the Columbia Free Times.
Posted: March 3, 2011 12:24 PM
S.C. Union Leader Calls for Possible Nationwide General Workers Strike

A high-profile South Carolina union leader said Wednesday that he doesn't see any other way for the labor movement to win the battle against an anti-union bill in Wisconsin than to call for a general workers strike if such legislation passes.

Kenny Riley, who heads up the Charleston local 1422 of the International Longshoremen's Association - the largest and most powerful union in the Palmetto State - is a bright star among the national union leadership.

He's heading to Cleveland today for the Emergency Labor Meeting.

Riley will speak in Cleveland on a panel titled "How Can We Help Mobilize the Labor Movement to Fight the Attacks Against Working People?"

Panelists who were also scheduled include Russell Bannan, American Federation of Teachers Colorado State Organizing Director; Gladys McKenzie, Field Representative, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5 (Minnesota) and David Newby, President Emeritus, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

Riley's main worry is what will happen after all the rallies and protests that brought the debate over workers rights and collective bargaining onto the front pages of newspapers and prime-time TV broadcasts.

In Wisconsin, for instance, if Republican Gov. Scott Walker ends up passing a bill that strips collective bargaining rights, what good was all that noise?

"I don't see any other way than [proposing] a general workers strike," Riley says. "I would actually want to have a call for a general strike before the bill is passed."

Riley plans to say as much during the Cleveland meeting tonight.

Riley says he's tired of having feel-good meetings and isn't looking forward to listening to labor experts or historians talk in the abstract.

For his part, Riley is ready to move forward with warnings about the prospect of a nationwide general workers strike in response to the anti-collective bargaining legislation in Wisconsin, even if workers never actually have to pick up a picket sign.

"You don't always have to pull the trigger, but you have to pull a gun," he says.

If that sounds strongly worded, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley might have been expecting it.

The newly elected anti-union Republican governor recently took to her Twitter page recently to declare: "The more heavy-handed the unions are with us, the more we are going to talk smack back."

Last year, South Carolina had the third-lowest organized workforce in the country at 4.5 percent, according to the national Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Palmetto State has a bloody history when it comes to unions, including a brutal massacre in the town of Honea Path in 1934 when security forces working for a textile company opened fire on workers attempting to organize.

http://transportworkers.org/node/1731

[Os Cangaceiros]

Aren't general strikes/sympathy strikes illegal under the Wagner Act/Taft-Hartley or some other piece of legislation related to labor?

[Iraultzaile Ezkerreko]

Yep.

[MarxistMan]

An old chinese visionary wise man once said that when empires are close to its collapse, when empires are about to collapse they implement an excess of laws, regulations and codes.

Well, however that anti-strike law comes from a long time ago, because the USA was founded by oligarchic corporate elites, with an oligarchic corporate constitution with corporate anti-workers laws. That's what Michael Parenti said, in a youtube video about the myths of the USA founders.

But indeed, it's real hard to do any thing in America, with so many laws every where. Living in America feels like living in West Point or in a jail.

.


Aren't general strikes/sympathy strikes illegal under the Wagner Act/Taft-Hartley or some other piece of legislation related to labor?

[MarxistMan]

L397TWLwrUU
If general strikes are banned in USA, all we gotta do is to break the fascist laws




Aren't general strikes/sympathy strikes illegal under the Wagner Act/Taft-Hartley or some other piece of legislation related to labor?

[Jose Gracchus]

I don't think the Founding Fathers were "corporate" oligarchs, but they certainly did inaugurate a counterrevolutionary constitution, versus the radical American Revolution that took place in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

[pranabjyoti]

Well, I think at present all workers (not only public sector) have to organize and start building radical and militant organizations to fight the state. There is no other option.
I also suggest to contact organizations of public sector and other workers around the world for support.
Probably I can help to contact public sector workers organizations in India. I propose to start a thread and ask for help and lets see who will come out and how they can help.

[Dunk]

In the coming year, similar legislation will be proposed around the US. In states where it passes - without the people being able to force a referendum to vote the law out of existence - strikes will begin.

Things are going to get very interesting, very soon.

It would be fantastic to encourage solidarity not only across US state lines and across the public and private divide, but in the midst of our local struggle, to also encourage solidarity among our fellow workers with other worker struggles internationally.

Every leftist shares responsibility to fight for the working class - globally.

[theblackmask]

Aren't general strikes/sympathy strikes illegal under the Wagner Act/Taft-Hartley or some other piece of legislation related to labor?

Am I reading the law wrong in saying that this only applies to those in unions? A general strike itself isn't illegal, but unions wildcatting it up and not giving proper notice is, right? I mean, there's nothing stopping non-union workers from calling off sick and showing up at a demo right?

[MarxistMan]

DEAR FRIENDS !! It is time for a scientific plan, and for action in USA. Because for revolutionary change to take place in the United States, three conditions need to be in place:

1- The broad masses of people - workers, the oppressed nationalities and others who are held down by the monopoly capitalists - need to arrive at the conclusion that they are unable to live in the old way, and need to be willing to fight to bring the old order to an end.

2- The ruling class needs to be in real crisis, where it is divided against itself and unable to continue with business as usual.

3- And, finally, there needs to be a strong revolutionary organization, a new Socialist Workers Party that is capable of navigating complex political situations and that can lead the fight to establish working class political power.

In the U.S. today, none of these conditions exist. In my view, it is the central task of revolutionaries to create a new workers party - a political party that is serious about revolution in this country.

Such a party cannot be proclaimed or declared into being. It will be the product of bringing together or fusing Marxism with the workers movement. In a practical sense this means that a substantial section of the activists, organizers, and leaders need to take up the science of revolution, Marxism-Leninism, in order to build a workers party, that is in fact the advanced and organized detachment of the multi-national working class. This process will be the result of an organized effort, and it cannot come about spontaneously.

Building a new revolutionary party is a long-term project that requires perseverance and determination. It is not something that can be done in isolation from the people's struggle and movements. The party building work should be placed in the context of our three objectives: To win all that can be won while weakening our enemies; Raise the general level of consciousness, struggle, and organization in our immediate battles; and Win the advanced to Marxism-Leninism, thus building revolutionary organization.

The tasks of revolutionaries in relationship to building revolutionary organization change based on the development of the objective situation. Right now there are very few Marxists in the U.S. While the job of uniting them is an important one, this is not key to party building. Finding new socialists in the course of the struggle is the thing to do.

It is possible that an upsurge of the national movements will lead to the creation of Marxist organizations based among a specific nationality, as happened in the late 60's and early 70's. If this takes place again, it would mean prioritizing the principled unity of leftist organizations. Likewise if polarization in society due to the decline of U.S imperialism, or radicalization of a section of one or more social movements creates a layer of activists who are revolutionary minded, this in turn will affect the content of party building efforts.

Expanding the scale and scope of revolutionary organization with the long term goal of building a new socialist workers party is closely linked with the construction of a united front against monopoly capitalism. The organizational capacity and political understanding a Marxist party provides is the vehicle for working class leadership, and the scaffolding for the united front against monopoly capitalism.




S.C. ILA 1422 Union Leader Calls for Possible Nationwide General Workers Strike "I don't see any other way than [proposing] a general workers strike,"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/corey-hutchins/sc-union-leader-calls-for_b_830861.html?ref=email_share
Corey HutchinsCorey Hutchins is a reporter for the Columbia Free Times.
Posted: March 3, 2011 12:24 PM
S.C. Union Leader Calls for Possible Nationwide General Workers Strike

A high-profile South Carolina union leader said Wednesday that he doesn't see any other way for the labor movement to win the battle against an anti-union bill in Wisconsin than to call for a general workers strike if such legislation passes.

Kenny Riley, who heads up the Charleston local 1422 of the International Longshoremen's Association - the largest and most powerful union in the Palmetto State - is a bright star among the national union leadership.

He's heading to Cleveland today for the Emergency Labor Meeting.

Riley will speak in Cleveland on a panel titled "How Can We Help Mobilize the Labor Movement to Fight the Attacks Against Working People?"

Panelists who were also scheduled include Russell Bannan, American Federation of Teachers Colorado State Organizing Director; Gladys McKenzie, Field Representative, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5 (Minnesota) and David Newby, President Emeritus, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

Riley's main worry is what will happen after all the rallies and protests that brought the debate over workers rights and collective bargaining onto the front pages of newspapers and prime-time TV broadcasts.

In Wisconsin, for instance, if Republican Gov. Scott Walker ends up passing a bill that strips collective bargaining rights, what good was all that noise?

"I don't see any other way than [proposing] a general workers strike," Riley says. "I would actually want to have a call for a general strike before the bill is passed."

Riley plans to say as much during the Cleveland meeting tonight.

Riley says he's tired of having feel-good meetings and isn't looking forward to listening to labor experts or historians talk in the abstract.

For his part, Riley is ready to move forward with warnings about the prospect of a nationwide general workers strike in response to the anti-collective bargaining legislation in Wisconsin, even if workers never actually have to pick up a picket sign.

"You don't always have to pull the trigger, but you have to pull a gun," he says.

If that sounds strongly worded, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley might have been expecting it.

The newly elected anti-union Republican governor recently took to her Twitter page recently to declare: "The more heavy-handed the unions are with us, the more we are going to talk smack back."

Last year, South Carolina had the third-lowest organized workforce in the country at 4.5 percent, according to the national Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Palmetto State has a bloody history when it comes to unions, including a brutal massacre in the town of Honea Path in 1934 when security forces working for a textile company opened fire on workers attempting to organize.

http://transportworkers.org/node/1731

[theblackmask]

In a practical sense this means that a substantial section of the activists, organizers, and leaders need to take up the science of revolution, Marxism-Leninism, in order to build a workers party, that is in fact the advanced and organized detachment of the multi-national working class. This process will be the result of an organized effort, and it cannot come about spontaneously.

So anarchists and the anti-authoritarian left don't count? I guess if you at least alienate us from the start, you won't have to kill us later.

On a practical note, there is a decent sized Facebook event (8,000) dedicated to organizing a nationwide general strike at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147739558619715 . It's growing pretty fast and people are organizing events all over the country. I encourage people to join and spread the word so that we can keep the momentum going. I strongly encourage people to organize something in their area, call off work, or do something not on the internet in support on the 31st.

[Le Socialiste]

I'd support a general strike (and actively seek to participate in ways that help further said strike), but such action must be accompanied by a sense of awareness, a conscious decision to break with the tactics and compromises of the past to further the workers' struggle. Most importantly, it must be a sustainable movement, one that doesn't just start off strong and proceed to wither away; furthermore (and this is what worries me), the workers' engaging in a general strike must fight against any attempts to co-opt or hijack their struggle - I'm looking at you, Union bosses/liberals/Democrats! I think it's important that the people seeking such an action should be aware of the corruption that runs deep in the leadership of these unions. Many, if not most, are in the pockets of Big Business and the Democratic Party, and don't really seek the freedom and wellbeing of the workers they "represent". At some point, workers should break with the organizations that represented them in the past and seek the construction of new revolutionary committees and councils as a means of directing and coordinating the broader struggle. In other words, I wholeheartedly support a general strike - and hope it happens - but believe, at the same time, that such an action must be followed by the above (or some variation of the above).

[theblackmask]

This isn't about unions anymore. Any unions will have to declare a strike 60 days in advance for it to be legal, many unions can't even legally strike, and most unions won't get past the bureaucracy to do so within 90 days. By then, any momentum this movement had will be gone. While many union workers will be willing to take the risk, the laws will affect how many people will actively support the movement.

If non-union workers do not carry the inertia, this will die.