Dear Affiliates, and Supporters,
Save these important dates: April 8 will be our next IUC membership meeting at 6 PM at IFPTE Local 195, 186 N. Main St, Milltown, NJ. Sen. Barbara Buono will join us. “Heist” will be shown.
May 10-12 we are co-hosting a very exciting Labor Fightback Conference at Rutgers.
Join us for the LABOR FIGHTBACK CONFERENCE at Rutgers being held May 10-12, 2013. We have endorsed this important and timely conference and encourage you to do so too. Invitation below.
Go to http://laborfightback.org/conference to register and endorse on line.
In Solidarity,
Carol
OPEN LETTER TO CONCERNED TRADE UNIONISTS
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Please be advised that a national Labor Fightback Conference for concerned trade unionists who want to do something about labor’s plight will be held May 10-12, 2013 at the Rutgers University Student Center, New Brunswick, New Jersey. The undersigned urge attendance at this critically needed conference, with any interested union free to send as many representatives as desired.
This conference will address the key question: “What strategy will enable labor to mount the most effective and powerful fightback possible against the corporate assaults?”
The conference is being held in the aftermath of enactment of right-to-work in Michigan and Indiana; destruction of bargaining rights for Wisconsin public employees; the all-out assault on defined pension plans; demands by large corporations making huge profits for substantial concessions; layoffs, curtailment of benefits, and other austerity measures in cities and states across the country; 25 million unemployed or underemployed; and the list goes on.
And in the months to come, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will be targeted for steep cuts, which could imperil the health, welfare and very lives of the 90 million people who are dependent on these programs.
Labor’s plight ─ and the plight of the working class as a whole ─ is dire but by no means hopeless.
Despite the defeat of the recall, we take heart in the mobilization of over 100,000 Wisconsin workers and the occupation of the state’s capitol building, labor’s stunning referendum victory in Ohio, the outcome of the Chicago Teachers strike, victories of the West Coast longshore workers, and the new winds blowing in the struggles of low paid retail workers at Walmart and many food centers for a living wage and basic human rights, including the right to have union representation.
The purpose of the Rutgers conference is to explore how we in labor can most effectively mount an independent fightback action campaign based on such united front demands as putting America back to work; preserving and expanding safety net programs based on No Cuts, No Concessions, No Shared Sacrifice; Medicare for All; retirement security; and redirecting war spending to fund human needs.
We also strongly believe that labor must resurrect campaigns to organize the South and repeal repressive anti-labor legislation, especially Taft-Hartley. In this regard, we welcome the development of the Southern Workers Assembly at its recent meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, which drew hundreds of trade unionists and others.
At the centerpiece of a fightback action campaign, in our opinion, is the building of labor-community coalitions. The Chicago teachers set an example for the entire labor movement by the way they forged an alliance with community groups and activists, which was key to the teachers’ victory. The Rutgers conference can help advance the formation of such coalitions on a local and national level.
It is through building labor-community coalitions that we will be able to mobilize the largest number of people. Confining ourselves to lobbying and nothing more will not get the job done. Street heat that will move hundreds of thousands ─ even millions when you consider the 90 million people who depend on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid ─ is what is needed now more than ever.
Finally, at Rutgers we can discuss how to hold accountable politicians whose loyalty is to the corporations, not the working class majority ─ politicians we often supported in the past and who betrayed our trust. How best can we fight for our own agenda? Isn’t it high time to assert labor’s political independence in our workplaces, in the streets, and in the electoral arena, starting with running independent, local, labor-community candidates for public office, who run on a platform that reflects the interests of the overwhelming majority?
We hope that you agree that there is a compelling need for trade unionists concerned about the issues cited above to convene for a free-wheeling discussion and debate leading to an action program. Please plan to join us for the Rutgers conference (a registration form is enclosed or attached). We look forward to seeing you there!
For further information, please call 973-944-8975 or email conference@laborfightback.org or write Labor Fightback Conference, P.O. Box 187, Flanders, NJ 07836.
In solidarity,
Ken Riley, President, South Carolina AFL-CIO
Donna Dewitt, Retired President, South Carolina AFL-CIO
Kevin Gundlach, President, South Central Federation of Labor, Wisconsin
Charity Schmidt, Co-President, University of Wisconsin-Madison Teachers Assistants’ Association (TAA), Executive Board, South Central Federation of Labor, Wisconsin
