Saturday: South-wide Mass Moral March, Raleigh, Feb. 8

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Saturday: South-wide Mass Moral March, Raleigh, Feb. 8 -- Analysis of the Moral Monday movement

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The 8th Annual Historic Thousands on Jones St. (HKonJ) March and People's Assembly will be Saturday, February 8 in Raleigh.

Join the Mass Moral March on Raleigh!

Thousands Stand Against Extremist Policies Being Passed by NC Governor and Legislature
Saturday, February 8

Gather at 9am
Corner Wilmington St. and Cabarrus St., Raleigh, N.C.


March with the Southern Workers Assembly in the Labor Contingent of the march. Meet at the corner of of Wilmington St. and Cabarrus St. near Shaw University in downtown Raleigh. Look for the yellow SWA banner and white solidarity flag.

The biggest, boldest Moral Monday demonstration is happening next Saturday, February 8 in Raleigh. You will want to be a part of this dramatic and historic occasion.Tens of thousands of people outraged at attacks on women, teachers, voting rights, workers, the poor, youth and the environment will be pouring in from all parts of the state – and from across the U.S.


This promises to be the biggest march and rally in the South in 50 years. You’ve got to be there.

This year’s annual people’s assembly will be held in the wake of a powerful push back to the immoral and unconstitutional policies supported and passed by Governor Pat McCrory, Speaker Thom Tillis, Senate Leader Phil Berger, Budget Director Art Pope and other extremists in the NC General Assembly during the 2013 Session. After 13 Moral Mondays in Raleigh leading to almost 1,000 arrests for civil disobedience and 24 local Moral Mondays spanning the entire state, the Forward Together Moral Movement and the HKonJ coalition will join together once again for the Moral March on Raleigh HKonJ People’s Assembly


Join Southern Workers Assembly and the Labor contingent to march for:
Union rights including collective bargaining
Living wages for all workers
Protect voting rights
Stop attack on unemployment coverage
Expand Medicaid
Fully fund all public services
End systematic racism, sexism and homophobia
and more!
Saturday, February 8th
Gather 9:00am
Rally begins at 9:30am on Wilmington Street, between South St. and MLK Jr. Blvd. The march will begin at 10:30 AM to Jones Street outside the NC General Assembly. The rally at the General Assembly features movement music, NC NAACP president Rev. William J. Barber II, other speakers, and video of landmark events in the past year.

For logistics, maps, buses and more information visit http://www.hkonj.com



“I am inviting all workers to join this movement, to stand up and to not be afraid, together we will continue to fight for $15 an hour”

- Lucia , Fast Food Worker, NC Raise Up




” There are increasing attacks on front-line city and state workers and the services we provide. We need a “Workers Bill of Rights” made into law to guarantee basic human rights. Divided we beg for a living wage, safe working environment, and a seat at the table…united we bargain! “

- Larsene Taylor, State Mental Health Worker, DHHS; Cherry Hospital, Goldsboro NC; Vice President, UE local 150, NC Public Service Workers Union




“I fight for public schools because I believe they are the great equalizer in our society. Everyone gets the opportunity to make themselves stronger and smarter. An educated community has a greater quality of life. I fight for my students’ right to a quality public education because if I don’t, who will?”

- Kristin Beller, Teacher, Millbrook Elementary, Organize2020/NC Association of Educators




Post-HKonJ SWA Organize the South Forum:

Sat. February 8th, 1pm at N.C. Justice Center, (224 S. Dawson St., Raleigh) lunch and refreshments will be served.

Join us to discuss the tasks ahead for the Southern labor movement. Speakers including Saladin Muhammad (UE Retired International Rep.), Donna Dewitt (SC AFL-CIO President Emeritus), fast food workers from NC Raise Up, worker-members of Farm Labor Organizing Committee and UE local 150-N.C. Public Service Workers Union.



North Carolina Local Worker Assemblies:

Raleigh/Durham - Sat. February 22, 12noon, Teamsters Union hall, 6317 Angus Dr, Raleigh (off HWY 70 Between Raleigh & Durham). Contact Angaza Laughinghouse at 919-231-2660 for more info

Charlotte - Sat. March 1, 12noon, Greenville Community Center, 1330 Spring St, Charlotte, NC, Contact Ben Carroll at 919-604-8167 for more information.

Goldsboro/Greenville/Wilson/Down East - Saturday, March 8, Wilson, NC, exact time and location TBA, contact Larsene Taylor at 919-273-2735 for more information

Moral Mondays: the emergence & dynamics of a growing mass human rights movement

By Saladin Muhammad

The Moral Mondays campaign in North Carolina that is mobilizing thousands to speak out against the legislative attacks on Black, working-class and poor people throughout the state is being talked about across the country, as it expands to other cities.


A Moral Monday rally in June 2013. Hundreds pack rotunda inside NC General Assembly; 151 were arrested that day. Photo: NC Student Power Union
Moral Mondays in North Carolina have a particular history that needs to be understood to recognize its political aims and the dynamics in moving it forward as a mass campaign and human rights social movement. Broad campaigns and movements for social justice have twists and turns that are influenced by the strength and bases of the class and political forces acting within them.

The critiques of social movements by many progressives too often rely on what’s written by the mainstream media without any contact with left and progressive forces which are active in those social movements. They also tend to analyze social movements as if there is only one permanent, leading political tendency and that other tendencies are merely tailing it and have no internal struggle, strategy and independent initiatives. The history of the Civil Rights Movement — where Dr. King was the mass spokesperson — points out the internal dynamics that exist within mass movements. Continue reading »


San Antonio Workers Rights Roundtable Launches Worker Assembly
Submitted by Joaquin Abrego



The San Antonio, Texas section of the Southern Workers Assembly convened a workers rights roundtable on January 16, 2014. The roundtable emerged from conversations between the Southwest Workers Union and Julie Rogers of the National Nurses Union. Both organizations were organizing workers in San Antonio and sought to deepen their connections and work in Southern Worker Assembly campaigns. In attendance were Southwest Workers Union representatives and members, National Nurses Union representatives and members, Fuerza Unida, Domestic Workers in Action, and Local 782 of the musicians union. The energy was amazing and participants were extremely cooperative.

Jessica O. Guerrero from Fuerza Unida stated, “This type of gathering is so important to our work. All of us benefit individually from exchanges like these, and our collective efforts are stronger for it. I’m happy to reconnect with some old allies and relieved and inspired that new faces and corazones (hearts) continue to join our work in la lucha/the struggle.” Guerrero continued, “We weren’t sure what to expect from the Workers Roundtable but we came away reinvigorated to continue our work.”

The prevailing conditions of workers in the U.S. South are poor. The roundtable demands an overall improvement of our working conditions. The Workers Rights Roundtable plans to meet bi-annually but participating organizations will continue to work together throughout the year to build capacity and momentum to fight for the rights of all workers, and seeks to launch a Southern Texas Worker Assembly.

For more information about the Southern Texas Workers Assembly or San Antonio Worker Roundtable contact Joaquin Abrego, organizer and representative, Southwest Workers Union at [email protected] or (210)413-8978


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Rocky Mount, NC 27802

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Huge turnout for Historic Thousands on Jones Street march

By staff

Raleigh, NC - An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people mobilized early in the morning of Feb.8 for the annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street in Raleigh, organized by the NAACP. This march was in conjunction with the start of the Moral Marches for 2014, intended to continue the momentum from last year's Moral Monday movement, in which thousands of protesters demonstrated at the doorstep of the state capitol. Over 900 people were arrested during acts of civil disobedience during the 2013 protests, refusing to give up their right to assembly.

Buses came from over 18 cities all across North Carolina. "Following the powerful Mountain Moral Monday last summer, seats quickly sold on five busses from Asheville alone. It is clear that the fight back against extreme attacks on workers, women, immigrants, teachers and students from our state legislature is getting off to a strong start in 2014," said Sarah Buchner, of Asheville.

Despite the gusting wind and freezing temperatures, Civil Rights veteran 92-year-old Rosanell Eaton led the crowd in chants of “Fed up, fired up!” to kick start a spirited march through downtown Raleigh.

Organizers of the march made five demands:

1. Secure pro-labor, anti-poverty policies that insure economic sustainability.

2. Provide well-funded, quality public education for all.

3. Promote health care for all, including affordable access, the expansion of Medicaid, women's health and environmental justice in every community.

4. Address the continuing disparities in the criminal justice system on the basis of race and class.

5. Defend and expand voting rights, women's rights, immigrants' rights, LGBT rights and the fundamental principle of equality under the law for all people

Erin Byrd, a member of Black Workers for Justice spoke to the crowd, “We march for women. We march for every single woman who has lost unemployment benefits and still pushes their children forward. We march for every women who sends their child out into the world praying that they get home safely and aren’t gunned down because they’re playing their music too loud, or because they’re wearing a hoodie, or because they’ve got skittles in their pocket. We march for every woman who knows stand your ground laws don’t make your child any safer. Women are the 54%, that’s why we have to march and why we have to mobilize and why we’ve got to vote.”

One of the largest contingents in the march was the fast food workers, who have a campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Organizers came from North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia wearing red “Raise up” hats and carrying banners that said “Raise up for $15”, “We are worth more” and “Organize the South”.

The turnout and spirit of the event indicates that 2014 will be a year of increased struggle in North Carolina.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]






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[LFN] The Raleigh Demonstration: "Forward Together, Not One Step Back!"


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THE RALEIGH DEMONSTRATION: "FORWARD TOGETHER, NOT ONE STEP BACK!"

This chant repeated again and again by tens of thousands in Raleigh on Feb. 8, 2014, energized and inspired all who rallied and marched up Fayetteville Street toward the North Carolina capitol. We were young and old, black, brown and white, gay and straight, men, women and children steadfast in our belief in justice and equality and committed to peaceful, non-violent action. We were members of unions, churches, mosques, and synagogues, civil rights, women's rights, workers' rights, and environmental organizations. We came from all walks of life and all political persuasions, all participating in the Moral Monday March and Rally to restore voting rights, women's reproductive health rights, marriage equality, worker and environmental protections.

We were marching against repressive legislation that has robbed us of necessary rights and protections that we have come to expect as basic human rights, and hope to expand. Signs displayed messages such as "Stop the War on Women," "Healthcare is a Human Right," "Welcome to North Carolina. Turn Your Watch Back 50 Years." This was not the first Moral Monday march nor will it be the last. But it was the largest so far in this growing movement that has spread beyond the borders of North Carolina. It was also the largest march for civil rights and voting rights since the 1965 march in Selma, Alabama. More than 80,000 strong we marched to say, "We are united and together we are powerful."

The march and rally was both to protest the right-wing policies of the North Carolina government and to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the HKonJ (Historic Thousands on Jones Street, where the NC legislature sits) coalition. Since taking over the legislature in 2010 and the governorship in 2012, controlling the state government for the first time in over a century, North Carolina Republicans eliminated the earned-income tax credit for 900,000 North Carolinians; refused Medicaid coverage for 500,000; ended federal unemployment benefits for 170,000; cut pre-K for 30,000 children while shifting $90 million from public education to voucher schools; slashed taxes for the top 5% while raising taxes on the bottom 95%; axed public financing of judicial races; prohibited death row inmates from challenging racially discriminatory verdicts; passed one of the country's most Draconian anti-choice laws; and enacted the country's worst voter suppression laws, which mandates strict voter ID, cuts early voting and eliminates same-day registration, among other things.

The Forward Together Moral Movement has put together a long-term strategy which includes litigation to challenge the voter suppression bill, voter registration, outreach, non-violent direct action, and a watchdog group, which ensures that any legislation put forth in the state has the interest of the people at heart. "Freedom Summer 2014" is also planned to energize the youth vote. Five demands have been put forth by the coalition:

1) Secure pro-labor, anti-poverty policies that insure economic sustainability;

2) Provide well-funded, quality public education for all;

3) Stand up for the health of every North Carolinian by promoting health care access and environmental justice across all the state's communities;

4) Address the continuing inequalities in the criminal justice system and ensure equality under the law for every person, regardless of race, class, creed, documentation or sexual preference;

5) Protect and expand voting rights for people of color, women, immigrants, the elderly and students to safeguard fair democratic representation.

Members of the Labor Fightback Network were participants in the day's activities along with the Southern Workers' Assembly, Black Workers for Justice, South Carolina AFL-CIO, Savannah Central Labor Council, Raise Up, UE Local 150, Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC), NJ State Industrial Union Council, SEIU, and numerous other unions and community groups. The Southern Workers Assembly's call to join the Moral Monday March and Rally included: Union Rights highlighting the right to Collective Bargaining; Living Wages for all Workers; Protect Voting Rights; Stop Attack on Unemployment Coverage; Expand Medicaid; Fully Fund all Public Services; End Systematic Racism, Sexism and Homophobia; and more.

The Southern Workers Assembly meeting held after the march emphasized grassroots empowerment and included a panel of workers from FLOC, UE Local 150, Raise Up fast food workers, and a teaching assistant. They discussed their campaigns for higher wages, health and safety, environmental justice, and a workers' bill of rights, http://southernworker.org at the state and municipal level. In the discussion following the panel others brought up the importance of independent politics, the need to repeal Taft-Hartley, and the recent resolution to Organize the South passed unanimously at the national AFL-CIO convention in September of last year, with slight modifications.

That resolution was approved by members of the Savannah Regional Central Labor Council based on a resolution drafted by a committee chaired by Brett Hulme, President of the Council, and supported by Black Workers for Justice, Southern Workers Assembly and many other groups. This followed the Labor Fightback Network's founding conference held in NJ last year in which the need to pour resources into organizing the South was the subject of speeches and workshops. Those present were encouraged to support the petition for those arrested and facing charges in the Moral Monday actions. These charges must be dropped. Sign the petition to Stop the Criminalization of the Right to Protest at http://southernworker.org/email-and-petitions/dropmoralmondayscharges/

It is important to note that in North Carolina, and in many other states, the roots of this wave of repressive legislation can be traced to ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, known by many as the author of the infamous "Stand Your Ground" laws. ALEC was founded in 1973 as a clearinghouse to promote legislation at the state level and has since developed into a highly prominent corporate funded lobbying vehicle for advancing corporate interests, despite the fact that it is a tax deductible 501 (c) (3) public charity that has never reported any lobbying expenditures to the IRS.

ALEC develops model legislation which it promotes to state legislators at posh resorts throughout the U.S. A 2009 ALEC model is behind restrictive "Voter ID" legislation which limits the democratic influence of average Americans by disenfranchising disabled, low-income, elderly, people of color, and student voters. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the Voter ID Act may have disenfranchised 5 million Americans during the 2012 elections, even though voter fraud is a virtually non-existent problem. "ALEC and its sponsors have an enduring mission to pass voter suppression laws that would impose barriers on direct democracy" veteran journalist John Nichols wrote in The Nation. At least ten Stand Your Ground laws were introduced in 2013 and two passed. Fifty two bills were introduced to enact or tighten Voter ID restrictions of which five passed. So much more could be said about ALEC's destructive agenda to undermine rights of workers and unions, reduce and/or deny medical benefits, enact Stand Your Ground laws, etc. To get more info, go to www.ALECExposed.org, a project of the Center for Media and Democracy.

North Carolina's Moral Monday Coalition gives us a blueprint to be followed and duplicated as widely as possible. Its strength is in its diversity and its broad appeal to social and economic justice. On the heels of the devastating UAW loss at the Chattanooga VW plant, it is evident that labor/community coalitions are needed more than ever. As we saw in the UAW election, right-wing anti-union money was funneled through local residents for opposition messages on billboards and other anti-union publicity. Perhaps a strong, united labor/community coalition voice could have countered the third-party political threats and intimidation factor more effectively. The broadest possible coalitions are needed to mount the necessary push-back against such right-wing attacks whether such assaults are targeted at labor, people of color, voters, women, students, seniors, immigrants, or the environment.

According to Saladin Muhammad from Black Workers for Justice and the Southern Workers Assembly, Moral Mondays have mobilized thousands and undercut the claim to moral high ground of the religious right, whose so-called moral agenda is racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and divisive, and tries to appeal mainly to the white working class. In contrast, the Forward Together Moral Movement seeks to unify, not divide. Rev. William Barber, President of the North Carolina NAACP, calls it an agenda-based coalition: anti-racism, anti-poverty, pro-justice. At the Feb 8 rally he said, "We must see ourselves as existing in society not as isolated selves but as part of the whole." And at the conclusion of the exuberant rally after a gray, cloudy morning, the sun burst forth affirming the hopeful, positive, forward thinking, and high spirited atmosphere of the event.

- - - - -
Issued by the Labor Fightback Network. For more information, please call 973-944-8975 or email [email protected] or write Labor Fightback Network, P.O. Box 187, Flanders, NJ 07836 or visit our website at laborfightback.org. Facebook link :
Donations to help fund the Labor Fightback Network based on its program of solidarity and labor-community unity are necessary for our work to continue and will be much appreciated. Please make checks payable to Labor Fightback Network and mail to the above P.O. Box or you can make a contribution online. Thanks!

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Moral Monday rally at Florida State Capitol draws hundreds

Demands 'Higher Ground' for Florida

By staff

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Tallahassee, FL – More than 200 people from Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami met at the steps of The Old Capitol in Tallahassee for Florida’s first Moral Monday rally, March 3. The NAACP organized the rally and was joined by other coalition members. Protesters discussed a people’s agenda for the next 60 days of the Florida legislative session, which began on March 4.

The rally was modeled after the giant Moral Monday rallies in North Carolina. Moral Mondays are a response to the North Carolina General Assembly’s extreme right-wing attacks on working people, women, immigrants and African Americans. Facing the Florida legislature's equally extreme right-wing politicians and Republican Governor Rick Scott, protesters demanded a state government committed to justice for working and oppressed people.

Protesters united behind the demands for affordable health care and Medicaid expansion, ex-felon rights restoration, jobs, public education, voting rights and an end to Governor Scott's infamous voter purges.

Out of all the demands spoken about during the rally, higher wages, ending Stand Your Ground laws, and freedom for 33-year-old African American mother Marissa Alexander received the most enthusiasm from the crowd. Alexander, a resident of Jacksonville, received a 20-year prison sentence for firing a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband in 2012. She has a new trial scheduled for July 2014 and progressive activists across the country are mobilizing to demand her freedom. However, Florida State Attorney Corey is now seeking a 60-year sentence for Marissa Alexander. Corey is the same Florida prosecutor who notoriously flubbed the murder trials of the men who separately killed Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis.

The crowd heard from many speakers and groups, including Reverend William Barber of the North Carolina Moral Monday rallies, the NAACP, the Florida AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood and progressive churches, mosques and synagogues.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown also addressed the crowd, “The truth is when we are in politics, we only have two choices: one is the low road to destruction, and the other is the pathway to higher ground.” Invoking Dr. Martin Luther King, Barber stated, “I'm reminded that the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”

Bearing signs that read, “We march to end racial profiling” and “We march for jobs and freedom,” the crowd chanted on the steps of the Capitol for more than four hours. Energy remained high for the entire event as activists from across Florida discussed future efforts to fight the state politicians’ right-wing policies.

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]






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