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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>An Opening to Worker-Occupation of Factoriesþ</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>They're coming for your rights at workþ</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Child's plea: Please help my dadþ</FONT></H2></LI>
<LI><STRONG><FONT size=3>Dec 12th; Will it happen?þ</FONT></STRONG></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Last Chance to Tell Secretary Geithner to Stop Wrongful Foreclosuresþ</FONT></H2></LI>
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<P class=ecxheadline2 style="FONT-SIZE: 18px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12895?akid=7842.16102.QNR6eY&t=5" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf><STRONG><FONT size=3>The 1%'s War on America's Public Education Challenged by Brave OWS Kids, Teachers and </FONT>Parents</STRONG></FONT></A></P></LI></OL>
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<DIV class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass PlainTextMessageBody" id=mpf0_MsgContainer><PRE><STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>Occupy Wall Street: An Opening to Worker-Occupation of<BR>Factories and Enterprises in the U.S. <BR> <BR>by Peter Ranis<BR></FONT></STRONG> <BR><A href="http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/ranis091111.html" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/ranis091111.html</FONT></A><BR> <BR>The Social Economy Context<BR> <BR>The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement has clearly<BR>expressed the hopes and great potentialities of the<BR>working class both in the U.S. and globally. The 99<BR>percent are speaking up and saying that they will no<BR>longer do the bidding of the 1 percent. In essence it<BR>is the revolt of the masses, the underclass in their<BR>many guises. People in NYC's Zuccotti Park are doing<BR>incredible things autonomously and with purpose. They<BR>are developing an island of political and economic<BR>autonomy that draws attention to what people can do on<BR>their own and for themselves. From many walks of life<BR>they are standing up and speaking with measured purpose<BR>and being heard. This is a valuable lesson for the<BR>American working class and their right to stand up and<BR>defend their jobs in factories and enterprises from<BR>being "disappeared."<BR> <BR>The crash and recession of 2008 only heightened the<BR>concerns that we have about the capacity and<BR>willingness of liberal capital to provide for justice<BR>and equity for the overwhelming majority of Americans. <BR>The lack of societal concern by the large hierarchical<BR>capitalist firms and financial institutions has never<BR>been so clearly manifested. OWS represents a momentous<BR>breakthrough that demonstrates that we can indeed come<BR>together at this crucial time as workers, social<BR>movements, intellectuals, and labor unions, and use<BR>this critical opening to move forward to confront<BR>capital-labor relations throughout America.<BR> <BR>The U.N. has declared 2012 the International Year of<BR>Cooperatives. This only adds to the imperative for<BR>exploring the many ways that worker-managed factories<BR>and enterprises can be seen as an alternative to<BR>traditional capitalist firms and companies. <BR>Cooperatives as worker-managed enterprises, for a<BR>number of institutional and societal reasons, represent<BR>alternative productive vehicles attempting to override<BR>the impact of deindustrialization, globalization, and<BR>the neoliberal ideological offensive. The social<BR>economy and solidarity relationships, represented by<BR>worker-managed enterprises, need to be examined as<BR>focal points for working-class and middle-class<BR>capacities to sustain the possibilities of a productive<BR>worker-centered culture. This has become ever more<BR>urgent given the shrinkage of labor union density,<BR>especially the decline of private-sector organized<BR>workers. Worker-managed factories and enterprises are<BR>called for particularly at this moment with the<BR>declining industrial base of the American working<BR>class. Perhaps upward of 25% of the American<BR>industrial heartland lies idle with the potential for<BR>unemployed workers to create cooperatives and other<BR>self-managed enterprises to fill that vacuum. But they<BR>need not be limited to laborers. The large bulk of the<BR>American working class find themselves in the services,<BR>in commerce, and among contingent workers,<BR>subcontracted workers, and immigrant workers. All of<BR>these groups deserve the benefits and entitlements that<BR>capital-labor reorganization would provide them.<BR> <BR>Workers need to embrace the knowledge that<BR>worker-managed workplaces are a realistic and grounded<BR>alternative. Certainly in countries such as Argentina,<BR>Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, and Canada, worker<BR>self-managed companies have asserted themselves as new<BR>forms of worker solidarity, autonomy, and participatory<BR>initiatives within the capitalist economy. The<BR>experiences of the 21st century's first decade<BR>demonstrate that class consciousness and political<BR>awakening are enhanced, not diminished, by workers<BR>banding together into economic units that depend upon<BR>working-class and middle-class economic initiatives<BR>providing new forms of penetrating and mediating the<BR>challenges of the capitalist marketplace.<BR> <BR>The Worker-Management Alternative<BR> <BR>There is much reason to be positive about the<BR>feasibility, continuity, and longevity of the major<BR>innovations among cooperatives and recuperated<BR>enterprises. These constitute participatory worker<BR>involvement in managing enterprises, worker direct<BR>democracy through periodic assemblies, job rotations<BR>and reskilling, and educational and cultural outreach<BR>to community groups, social movements, and labor<BR>unions.1<BR> <BR>Research, particularly in Argentina, points to a<BR>heightened involvement among the cooperative and<BR>recuperated enterprise workers in public policy and its<BR>implications for the working class writ large.2 I have<BR>observed that workers in Argentine cooperatives have a<BR>far better sense than other workers, even those<BR>unionized, in relating their working lives with other<BR>roles they play as community citizens and political<BR>activists, thus broadening their societal place.<BR> <BR>There is clear evidence from the Spanish and Argentine<BR>cases that workers can organize and run the means of<BR>production while retaining equity and justice for the<BR>employees involved. Income distribution is not skewed<BR>to the top, management salaries and short-term profit<BR>taking by owners as well as managers are avoided, and<BR>capital is thus constantly reinvested in the firm<BR>itself. Cooperatives also serve as schools for<BR>participatory democracy as workers self-manage their<BR>work life, the largest investment of time in their<BR>daily lives.3<BR> <BR>The world's leading industrial cooperative, the Spanish<BR>Mondragon multinational cooperative, serves as an<BR>emblematic case of what can be achieved. Judith D.<BR>Schwartz writes:<BR> <BR>One hallmark of the Mondragon model is its use of<BR>capital. Rather than flowing into the pockets of<BR>executives and outside investors, a company's profits<BR>are distributed in a precise, democratic way; set aside<BR>as seed money for new cooperatives; distributed to<BR>regional nonprofits; or pooled into shared institutions<BR>like the university and research center. In other<BR>words each individual cooperative gains long-term<BR>benefits from the financial assets of the whole.4<BR> <BR>Cooperatives are also better organized and sustained by<BR>values foreign to typical venture capital firms and<BR>thus are much more likely to withstand economic crisis<BR>such as the U.S. economy experienced in 2008. Robb,<BR>Smith, and Webb argue persuasively:<BR> <BR>As the world learned in September 2008, as the value of<BR>investor owned publicly traded shares dropped by<BR>20-40%, the unlimited return may be negative as a<BR>result of the unregulated pursuit of narrow self<BR>interest. Cooperative financial institutions did not<BR>create any of the "toxic paper" nor did the value of<BR>cooperative shares decline. The absence of<BR>cooperatives from this massive malfeasance and turmoil<BR>are additional benefits of deploying capital as<BR>cooperative capital. Those benefits accrue to both<BR>individuals using cooperatives to meet their needs and<BR>to the public generally. They are public policy<BR>benefits.<BR> <BR>They go on to say:<BR> <BR>The founders of the Mondragon cooperative wanted to<BR>create workplaces that were participatory and to stop<BR>the drain of people from the region. Since launching<BR>its first cooperative in 1956 the Mondragon group has<BR>grown to a workforce of 92,700 in 2008. The Caja<BR>[bank] has successfully participated in the growth of<BR>the Mondragon cooperative while achieving a solid<BR>success as a financial institution. In 1988 it<BR>administered 1.3 billion Euros and by 2008 that had<BR>grown to 13.9 billion Euros.5<BR> <BR>The proliferation of OWS from New York City to Oakland<BR>and beyond testifies to the yearning for more<BR>democratic and participatory means of existence. <BR>Moreover, public opinion has cast a favorable eye on<BR>these movements as they are touching deep-seated needs<BR>among all sectors of society.6 The OWS represents a<BR>progressive challenge to finance and corporate capital<BR>by focusing on their multiple defects rather embracing<BR>a reflexive anti-capitalist jargon. By the same token,<BR>where cooperatives have flourished, they represent a<BR>radical challenge to public policy by not beginning<BR>with a generalized, diffuse left-critique of capitalism<BR>without a clear and defined entry point. Recuperated<BR>enterprises by workers combine a left outlook that has<BR>a majoritarian basis because its demands and needs are<BR>so reasonable yet comprehensive. They typify the real<BR>frustrations of the unemployed and the potentially<BR>unemployed and should receive the sympathy and support<BR>of most citizenry in any capitalist country. The<BR>Wisconsin mobilizations, the Arab Spring, and the<BR>Spanish general strikes, as well as the proliferation<BR>of OWS, constitute a left-populist insurgency that<BR>bodes well for a push against corporate capital and its<BR>minions.<BR> <BR>The Deindustrialization Crisis in the U.S.<BR> <BR>The U.S. crisis of unemployment and underemployment,<BR>16% by 2011,7 is probably more severe than at any time,<BR>including the Great Depression, because of the special<BR>and novel structural nature of unemployment caused by a<BR>global-oriented capitalist sector, the spread of<BR>technology throughout the world, and the increasing<BR>competition from skilled, low-wage workers abroad. <BR>Since the onset of the recession of 2008, 15% of the<BR>U.S. industrial sector jobs have been lost. Growing<BR>free trade deficits arising from the NAFTA alone have<BR>caused the loss of almost 700,000 U.S. jobs, most of<BR>them in manufacturing.8<BR> <BR>What is required is a fundamental reorientation of the<BR>responsibility of public policy-making in defending the<BR>American working class. This has been essentially an<BR>absent ingredient. James Galbraith has written of the<BR>American predator state in which the wealthy class has<BR>taken over the government and legitimized certain<BR>approaches to the U.S. economy, among them monetarism,<BR>supply-side tax cuts, balanced budgets, and free trade.<BR>The underlying philosophy of the predator state is the<BR>inviolability of private property as exempt from heavy<BR>taxation.9 Robert Skidelsky has contended that<BR>Keynesian economic thought revolving around fiscal<BR>economic interventions has been categorically pushed<BR>aside since the Reagan presidency to the detriment of<BR>the U.S. industrial policy. He argues that the<BR>Bretton-Woods Keynesian era of 1951-1973 was superior<BR>to the Washington Consensus periods in terms of GDP<BR>growth rates, absence of recessions, lower<BR>unemployment, and more income equality. In<BR>contradiction to neoclassical economists in the U.S.,<BR>he demonstrates that, despite the better growth rates,<BR>lower unemployment and greater income equality of the<BR>former, there was no difference in inflation rates<BR>between these two periods.10<BR> <BR>The contemporary role of government has been ambivalent<BR>in restoring public and private employment as has its<BR>reaction to outsourcing and offshoring. A Democratic<BR>administration, confronting a demonically cynical,<BR>neo-conservative House of Representatives, has not<BR>embraced fundamental initiatives that would reconstruct<BR>a declining industrial economy. My view is that we<BR>need a serious change in the direction of the state. <BR>As has been shown by OWS and its Wisconsin predecessor,<BR>it has become increasingly evident that concerted<BR>activism can highlight the challenge by heralding the<BR>potential power of the solidarity economy. We need to<BR>examine the areas in which progressive community,<BR>political, and legal activists, with the cooperation of<BR>public agencies and city councils, can come together as<BR>advocates for working-class and middle-class<BR>empowerment.<BR> <BR>In the U.S. context, the deep economic recession<BR>beginning in 2008 with double-digit unemployment both<BR>nationally and in various hitherto industrial states<BR>offers a rare combination of structural and ideological<BR>openings for reintroducing New Deal-style executive and<BR>legislative interventions. It is significant that the<BR>rise of worker cooperatives in Argentina followed on<BR>the heels of the financial default and economic crisis<BR>of 2001 fueled by rampant deindustrialization, high<BR>unemployment, and a dramatic growth of poverty and<BR>indigence.<BR> <BR>The Argentine Example<BR> <BR>In Argentina, workers have asserted their right to take<BR>over factories on the basis of national and provincial<BR>constitutional law that allows for the takeover of<BR>private enterprises with reasonable compensation in the<BR>interest of the "common good" and "public use." These<BR>actions occur when there is clear evidence that the<BR>effects of economic recession are fraudulently used by<BR>owners to decapitalize and disinvest in their firms. <BR>Some owners have reaped millions of dollars in<BR>government credits for non-production-related financial<BR>speculation while breaking labor contracts with workers<BR>and depriving them of their earned wages. Still others<BR>simply walked away from their enterprises by declaring<BR>bankruptcy and then, unburdened by financial duress,<BR>began new ones with unorganized cheaper labor. <BR>Expropriation by Argentine provincial or municipal<BR>legislatures on a case-by-case basis gives the<BR>cooperative workers protection from the creditors'<BR>demands upon the previous owners who incurred any<BR>possible debts. Without expropriation creditors can<BR>demand the auctioning off of the buildings and their<BR>contents, throwing the workers into the streets. 60%<BR>of the worker cooperatives have been given legal<BR>protection by provincial expropriations.11 In some<BR>cases bankruptcy court rulings allow the workers to<BR>commence production as compensation for lost wages and<BR>benefits or allow for rental or lease agreements --<BR>always under the legal usage of the right to set up<BR>worker cooperatives. In a few exceptional cases,<BR>workers themselves purchase the bankrupt enterprise<BR>over time.12<BR> <BR>It should not be lost on the OWS movement that the<BR>watchword for Argentine workers recuperating their<BR>factories was "Occupy, Resist, and Produce!" In many<BR>cases workers occupied the factories that were about to<BR>be abandoned by their owners and sought support from<BR>neighbors, community networks, social movements,<BR>public-spirited lawyers, and progressive left political<BR>parties with a history of militancy. Once established,<BR>workers banding together can almost always make a go of<BR>the recuperated factory or enterprise by a significant<BR>shift in working-class cultural values and<BR>orientations. Workers working collectively, rather<BR>than competing individually to please managers and<BR>bosses, a climate of fostering a team mentality becomes<BR>possible. In a recuperated worker cooperative,<BR>knowledge of the enterprise's resources necessary for<BR>production, deeper knowledge of the product itself, and<BR>an understanding of the challenges to market the<BR>product become more widely dispersed among the<BR>workforce. The workers are involved in the hiring of<BR>new cooperative members, participate in the discipline<BR>of those working, and have the increasing potential to<BR>participate in questions of reinvestment or<BR>redistribution of the profits. Information is no<BR>longer held by capitalist owners and managers as a<BR>wedge of power applied against the workers but<BR>generously shared with those workers with a vocation<BR>and appetite for enhanced understanding of the<BR>production process.<BR> <BR>The rate of continuity of Argentine cooperatives as of<BR>2008 was 93% with only a 7% mortality rate.13 They<BR>have managed to carve out areas of economic survival<BR>that attests to worker initiative, collective<BR>engagement, and reconfiguring the workplace. As the<BR>workers proceed in the occupation and recuperation of<BR>their workplaces, they are touching on fundamental<BR>questions concerning the direction of the neoliberal<BR>economy. As the legal advisor to the 480-member<BR>Zanon/Fasinpat ceramic workers cooperative told me, "If<BR>there were 100 Zanons this would be a different<BR>country. Zanon is struggling not to be just another<BR>factory but to be the leading edge of social change in<BR>Argentina."14 By their capacity to form alliances with<BR>progressive legal, community, political, and labor<BR>forces available to them, they symbolize an alternative<BR>path to economic development that is predicated on<BR>worker solidarity and democracy in the workplace. The<BR>collective ownership of the workplace acts as a<BR>cultural catalyst for worker sacrifice, ingenuity, and<BR>creativity. Workers often originally formed<BR>cooperatives to avoid unemployment and poverty.15 <BR>Nevertheless through struggle and sacrifice they become<BR>socialized to a novel working class culture they are<BR>willing to defend. I argue that this model can be<BR>duplicated in the United States.<BR> <BR>The University of Buenos Aires amassed a comprehensive<BR>study on the current state of Argentine recuperated<BR>enterprises.16 The number of enterprises recuperated<BR>as cooperatives increased from 161 in 2004 to 205 in<BR>2010, and the numbers of workers so employed and<BR>officially documented increased from 7,000 to 9,400.17 <BR>Once the recuperated enterprises become cooperatives,<BR>legitimized by provincial and municipal expropriation<BR>laws, they demonstrate impressive solidarity among<BR>themselves by way of inter-cooperative associations,<BR>community and neighborhood groups, and a scattering of<BR>political parties and social movements such as the<BR>piqueteros (representing the poor and unemployed who<BR>take direct action to express their grievances).18 <BR>Though the Argentine national state has not been the<BR>initiator of the recuperated enterprise movement, it<BR>has not obstructed its development. Though the support<BR>has not been overwhelming, ministries in the federal<BR>government as well as those of various provinces and<BR>municipalities have intervened with subsidies, worker<BR>training, and legal counseling as well as social<BR>welfare programs. There has also been support from the<BR>public at large by way of donations, client help, food<BR>contributions, and political party pro bono advice.19<BR> <BR>The overwhelming majority of the newly formed worker<BR>cooperatives meet either weekly or monthly to appraise<BR>administrative and production policies. In addition<BR>the cooperatives revise and reorganize working<BR>conditions by job rotations and other strategies to<BR>humanize daily work habits. More than half of the<BR>cooperatives allow only 33% difference between the<BR>highest and lowest paid member and over half keep the<BR>difference to just 25% or less. The differentiations<BR>are understandably based on the functions performed by<BR>the worker, the hours worked, the specialized category<BR>stipulated by prior union contracts, and worker<BR>seniority.20<BR> <BR>Many cooperatives open up their facilities to the<BR>community, creating specialized kindergartens,<BR>elementary and secondary schools, as well as student<BR>internship and training programs and even documentation<BR>centers and worker-oriented libraries.21 <BR>Significantly, Argentine recuperated enterprises and<BR>cooperatives are important participants in social<BR>movements and are particularly active in cultural and<BR>educational outreach to their surrounding communities<BR>and neighborhoods. For example the Zanon/Fasinpat<BR>cooperative ceramic factory of Neuquen Province has<BR>created a community health clinic which it subsidizes;<BR>in the city of Buenos Aires, Maderera Cordoba has<BR>created a cooperative woodworking secondary school and<BR>IMPA (Industria Metalurgica y Plastica de Argentina) an<BR>adult education curriculum; the Chilavert printing<BR>cooperative opens its space to publishing workshops,<BR>literary readings, and art exhibits; and the Hotel<BR>Bauen cooperative facilitates space for community<BR>groups to present artistic, cultural, and political<BR>events.22<BR> <BR>Eminent Domain and the Solidarity Economy<BR> <BR>In the U.S. we have the same mechanism as exists in<BR>Argentina to achieve worker-owned and worker-managed<BR>factories and enterprises: eminent domain. Eminent<BR>domain is constitutionally sanctioned and has been<BR>applied for community, infrastructure, and development<BR>purposes. Plant closings have severe negative economic<BR>repercussions and societal externalities on workers and<BR>communities. These events then legitimize the right to<BR>regulate them by way of eminent domain on behalf of the<BR>public interest.<BR> <BR>The collective social rights of workers who have built<BR>up the value of the firm through years of hard work and<BR>applying their know-how and skills have to be legally<BR>asserted. The companies cannot be free of societal<BR>obligations. By outsourcing jobs they have broken a<BR>contract for which there must be reparations and<BR>consequences. The use of eminent domain can spark a<BR>public debate about the obligations of corporations and<BR>confront the passive acceptance of the steady decline<BR>of jobs with livable wages.<BR> <BR>Although there are thousands of credit, consumer,<BR>housing, utility, insurance, and agricultural<BR>cooperatives in the U.S. servicing millions of<BR>Americans,23 there are only about 300 small worker<BR>cooperatives in which workers are truly involved in the<BR>day-to-day organization and participation in production<BR>and services. The use of eminent domain can provide<BR>the impetus to put worker-owned and worker-managed<BR>enterprises into the critical discussion of recovering<BR>jobs in America. In a landmark decision for the<BR>struggling American working class, the U.S. Supreme<BR>Court in Kelo v. New London (2005) ruled in favor of<BR>the city of New London by reason of eminent domain to<BR>take over private property for reasons of "public<BR>purpose." The court ruled on behalf of New London's<BR>economic development plan based on the "takings clause"<BR>of the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment which<BR>states, ". . . nor shall private property be taken for<BR>public use, without just compensation." Justice John<BR>Paul Stevens wrote for the majority that expropriation<BR>of private holdings as part of urban development is<BR>justified for the public purpose of increasing jobs,<BR>tax revenues, and reversing urban decay. In a previous<BR>relevant case, Berman v. Parker (1954), a unanimous<BR>court observed: "The concept of public welfare is broad<BR>and inclusive." It becomes clear in Berman that the<BR>meaning of public use had been expanded to include<BR>"public interest" and "public welfare" by way of<BR>eliminating blight in a poverty-stricken neighborhood<BR>in Washington, D.C.<BR> <BR>In the U.S. eminent domain has been used for many<BR>decades for building highways, airports, hospitals,<BR>municipal offices, schools, libraries, public parks,<BR>and sport complexes in the name of urban development<BR>and the public benefit. It is more appropriate to<BR>apply this same rationale to protect against the loss<BR>of industrial and service jobs on behalf of labor and<BR>the American working class.24 What greater public<BR>purpose could there be than preserving work for the<BR>public! We need to use eminent domain for development<BR>purposes much as we use taxation and regulatory and<BR>zoning legislation.<BR> <BR>Once expropriated, the factories and enterprises would<BR>then be turned over to the workers themselves who have<BR>the technical skills and know-how to run these<BR>industries. In Argentina, for example, workers have<BR>shown they can maintain and manage enterprises and<BR>industries, be they metal plants, tire factories, food<BR>processors, chemical plants, meatpacking plants,<BR>textile factories, auto parts installations, electronic<BR>component suppliers, ceramic factories, lumber<BR>factories, glass factories, supermarkets, printers and<BR>publishers, health clinics, hospitals, schools, and<BR>hotels as successful and viable establishments.<BR> <BR>What distinguishes worker-run firms from traditional<BR>capitalist firms is that, in the former, workers<BR>achieve a greater knowledge of work procedures and the<BR>rationale for the entire production process. In<BR>addition workers enhance their knowledge of the<BR>enterprise budget through open assemblies that make the<BR>decisions concerning capital reinvestment versus profit<BR>distribution.<BR> <BR>The formation of worker cooperatives via eminent domain<BR>provides a platform where worker productivity and wages<BR>move together, where shareholder dependency doesn't<BR>exist, where equity firms have no role. Cooperatives,<BR>for example, do not rely on equity capital which<BR>requires high rates of profit often resulting from<BR>nonproductive sources of revenue. Within the<BR>newly-formed cooperative structure, the previously very<BR>visible disjunction between full-time, part-time, and<BR>temporary workers is abolished. There is a basic<BR>modicum of worker security and worker alienation is<BR>substantially reduced. Without owners and privileged<BR>managers and their super-sized salaries, workers share<BR>the enhanced profits equitably. Where speedups and pay<BR>cuts are required everyone shares in the downturn;<BR>hours may be cut, salaries reduced, until profits are<BR>reestablished, but the decisions are made by a majority<BR>in worker assemblies and the workforce remains in<BR>place.<BR> <BR>David Gutknecht has highlighted a salient difference<BR>between cooperatives and traditional capitalist firms:<BR>"Cooperatives keep capital in the community where it<BR>was generated, while stock companies export capital<BR>elsewhere. Since they give surplus revenue back to<BR>their members, cooperatives keep wealth in their<BR>communities. Stock companies do the reverse. By<BR>distributing profits to shareholders, they take capital<BR>out of the community."25<BR> <BR>Workers' Self-Empowerment in the U.S.<BR> <BR>Legally, eminent domain can legitimize the worker-owned<BR>and worker-managed factories as they strive to maintain<BR>their jobs and salvage the enterprises for themselves<BR>and their communities, while organizing for the larger<BR>goal of defending industrial and enterprise development<BR>and viable employment within the U.S. We have seen<BR>examples of worker comprehension of their rights as the<BR>creators of capital and their rights to keep their<BR>industry and jobs when equity firms have sought to<BR>vacate the premises and break contracts with both<BR>workers and communities. We have the partial examples<BR>of the Republic Windows and Doors workers in Chicago in<BR>2008-2009, the Stella D'Oro bakery workers in the<BR>Bronx, New York in 2008-2009, and the Taunton, MA<BR>Haskon Aerospace workers in 2010-2011 taking the<BR>crucial initial steps of sit-down strikes and factory<BR>occupations to oppose equity firms leaving the workers<BR>and communities behind (in these cases, equity firms<BR>Gillman, Brynwood, and Esterline took out equipment to<BR>cheaper sites in other states or other countries). The<BR>latter two plants, however, closed in the end, throwing<BR>136 and 100 workers respectively into unemployment, and<BR>in the Chicago case, a new firm has taken ownership<BR>(Serious Materials) which has rehired only 10% of the<BR>former 260 workers.<BR> <BR>Factory occupations, sit-ins, petitioning public<BR>authorities to save jobs, nevertheless, are the<BR>necessary backdrops to advocacy for the application of<BR>eminent domain procedures. The formation of worker<BR>cooperatives by the U.S. working and middle classes has<BR>a major potential if supported by labor unions and<BR>organizations of central and municipal labor councils<BR>combined with community and legal organizers and<BR>activists. Desperate times call for desperate<BR>measures, and factory and enterprise occupations need<BR>to be put on the immediate horizon. Workers must<BR>initiate eminent domain proceedings in every single<BR>case of a runaway ownership, making it de rigueur<BR>activity everywhere in the U.S., so that it becomes a<BR>reflexive, multiplier activity accepted as a legitimate<BR>response to arbitrary and irresponsible behavior by<BR>private owners.<BR> <BR>The American public has shown in surveys that it<BR>supports tax increases to bridge budget deficits rather<BR>than decreasing pay and benefits to the working class<BR>or reducing health care, educational expenditure, or<BR>public transportation.26 There is little question that<BR>public opinion would support workers defending their<BR>jobs and homes against equity firms whose commitment is<BR>not to any particular community or country but to<BR>itself and its investors. Chains of worker<BR>cooperatives could become regional interlacing<BR>industrial zones committed to each other's existence<BR>and survival with an outreach to ever wider communities<BR>in terms educational, cultural, and job opportunities.<BR> <BR>Civil society's need must take precedent over private<BR>property sanctity. The writings of William Blackstone<BR>in 18th century England gave credence to state<BR>obligations over the John Locke's (17th century) view<BR>of the preeminence of the absolute of private property.<BR>Judicial decisions, stimulated by opinions by Justice<BR>Louis Brandeis, have broadened the eventual<BR>redefinition of eminent domain from public use to<BR>public purpose, public needs, and public benefit. As<BR>Brandeis wrote "the rights of properties and<BR>individuals have to be remolded from time to time at<BR>the behest of the needs of society." Such<BR>interpretations and applications of eminent domain were<BR>very common in the progressive era, the New Deal Years,<BR>and even the Eisenhower years. We have the Supreme<BR>Court decisions in Berman (1954), Midkiff (1984), and<BR>Kelo (2005), plus the various state cases such as the<BR>Poletown v. City of Detroit case in Michigan (1981) and<BR>various private transportation and utility eminent<BR>domain proceedings in Minneapolis (1974), New York City<BR>(1976), Wisconsin (1978), and Connecticut (1982) -- all<BR>strengthening the usage of the takings clause of the<BR>constitution for a greater public purpose be it for<BR>ending community blight, inequitable usage of land,<BR>economic development, and providing for a public need. <BR>It is only since the advent of Reaganomics that we have<BR>had John Locke's ideas imposed again via the Institute<BR>of Justice (1991), a right-wing think tank, and the<BR>Castle Coalition (2002), a right-wing advocacy group<BR>who have fastened on "eminent domain abuse" as a term<BR>of opprobrium which muddies the water of its positive<BR>usages and outcomes.<BR> <BR>It is more and more obvious we cannot rely solely on<BR>the labor movement for grand initiatives, given that<BR>only 12% of our workforce is now unionized (8% of<BR>private-sector workers). It has to be the laborers,<BR>employees and middle-class workers representing 85% of<BR>Americans upon whom we base these aspirations.<BR> <BR>As Occupy Wall Street has made clear, at present the<BR>American working class is subject to the overwhelming<BR>ideology of property rights, banking and business<BR>subsidies, flawed and give-back collective bargaining<BR>agreements, and at-will firings that inhibit their<BR>capacity for effectiveness as well as destroy their<BR>sustenance. Further we are under the aegis of<BR>neoclassical economists (Bernanke, Summers, et al.) who<BR>focus on the health of an economy as predicated on GNP<BR>growth whether it provides for jobs or not.<BR> <BR>Beyond Factory Occupations<BR> <BR>In December 2008, the United Electrical (UE) workers<BR>occupied the Chicago Republic Windows and Doors factory<BR>in protest against the company throwing its workers<BR>into the street without the two-month notice required<BR>by the 1988 WARN labor law. In Great Britain workers<BR>occupied three Visteon plants which supply parts for<BR>Ford Motor Company. In Ireland the Waterford Crystal<BR>plant was worker-occupied after it was bought out by a<BR>U.S. equity firm KPS. And in France, workers took<BR>bosses and managers hostages (so-called "bossnappings")<BR>for a day or over night in the French Caterpillar<BR>plant, a SM plant, a SONY plant, and a Michelin plant. <BR>All these protests resulted in either reducing the<BR>numbers of workers scheduled to be laid off, saved all<BR>jobs for a certain period, gained dramatically enhanced<BR>severance pay or promises of a new entity that would<BR>transfer and restore their jobs.27<BR> <BR>The commonality in all these worker actions was the<BR>occupation of the factory or offices before attempting<BR>to negotiate with the owners and mangers. That gave<BR>the workers the legal, political, and ethical<BR>bargaining power to confront capital on its own playing<BR>field, namely by contending that the company is<BR>breaking a contract and a commitment to a community. <BR>And because of the dramatic nature of the workers'<BR>militancy, in all these cases of worker occupations of<BR>plants and managers' offices, the U.S., British, and<BR>French public officialdom got involved in the support<BR>of the workers: in Illinois state legislators, Chicago<BR>ward councilors, Senator Richard Durbin, Vice-President<BR>Joe Biden, and President Barack Obama supported the<BR>sit-down action; in Ireland, various Northern Ireland<BR>governmental ministers gave their support to the<BR>Visteon workers; and French President Nicolas Sarkozy<BR>made commitments that there would be no immediate<BR>layoffs. This influenced and solidified legal opinion,<BR>public support, and gave the workers the additional<BR>moral authority to push their demands.<BR> <BR>These are key first steps, but it is critical to take<BR>the second step and form a worker-managed enterprise<BR>and call for city or state legal action using eminent<BR>domain. Leaving the factory before securing political<BR>support and legal initiatives, as in the case of the<BR>courageous and defiant Stella D'Oro bakery workers on<BR>strike in the Bronx, New York in 2008-09, is not the<BR>best alternative. The 136 workers had shown themselves<BR>to be a coherent and solid group of workers, striking<BR>for 11 months to resist draconian job givebacks. Not a<BR>single worker crossed the picket line, while they<BR>engaged an important community, political, and labor<BR>support group and used its union Local 50 of the Bakery<BR>Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers<BR>(BCTGM) to attain a positive National Labor Relations<BR>Board (NLRB) ruling that mandated back pay and<BR>benefits. Almost immediately after the NLRB ruling in<BR>July 2009, Brynwood Partners, the equity firm that now<BR>owned Stella D'Oro, announced plans to close the<BR>factory and eventually sold it to the manufacturer,<BR>Lance, Inc. which moved the company to Ohio in the fall<BR>of 2009.<BR> <BR>As important as the Stella D'Oro solidarity outreach<BR>was, it was not enough to save the jobs of the 136<BR>workers. Without a decisive plant occupation,<BR>community groups and labor unions alone are not enough<BR>to carry the day. Concerted worker activism is the<BR>required first step followed by the use of eminent<BR>domain proceedings instituted by the municipalities<BR>involved. In New York City, however, neither the city<BR>council nor the mayor provided the necessary critical<BR>support. Had OWS been in place at that time, there is<BR>no doubt that this movement could have provided the<BR>necessary mobilization on behalf of these Bronx<BR>workers.<BR> <BR>The UE Chicago workers took that first principled and<BR>reasonable step of peacefully occupying and maintaining<BR>the Republic plant ready for production. This stood as<BR>a powerful message and opportunity for the American<BR>working class to make that cultural leap. In February<BR>2009 a bankruptcy court judge ruled that a California<BR>building materials company (Serious Materials) could<BR>purchase the plant's assets and employ the 260 workers<BR>involved in the occupation of the factory. However,<BR>this alternative was fraught with the uncertainty of<BR>market calculations by the private buyer. By mid 2010,<BR>Serious Materials had rehired only 30 workers. It<BR>would have again been appropriate if a progressive<BR>community and political coalition in Chicago had called<BR>for the intervention from the city council to implement<BR>eminent domain proceedings.28<BR> <BR>In Taunton, MA, workers, again of the United Electrical<BR>Workers (UE), were in a serious labor conflict with<BR>Esterline Technologies, which planned to move 100 jobs<BR>to non-union plants in California and Mexico. The<BR>Taunton plant, Haskon, Inc, made door seals and silicon<BR>gaskets for aircraft. Despite being a profitable<BR>enterprise with profits of $120 million in 2010,<BR>Esterline announced it would auction off the equipment<BR>in December 2010 to pay for the workers' severance<BR>package. The UE was able to get the support of<BR>Congressman Barney Frank, state legislators, and the<BR>City Council to request a delay the auctioning of the<BR>Haskon equipment until mid-February 2011. For the<BR>first time in recent modern labor history, the union<BR>then attempted to initiate eminent domain proceedings,<BR>with the support of the Taunton City Council and the<BR>Mayor, to seize the Esterline machinery and buy the<BR>property and factory on behalf of the workers. <BR>According to the Massachusetts Constitution law of home<BR>rule, eminent domain can be applied to taking of<BR>property, both personal and intangible (machinery and<BR>equipment).<BR> <BR>This purposeful and creative methodology sadly failed<BR>for several reasons. Firstly, the Taunton City Council<BR>in late December 2010 passed a home rule petition sent<BR>to the Massachusetts legislature to apply the use of<BR>eminent domain to purchase the company machinery and<BR>equipment. A home rule petition became a necessary<BR>procedure because Esterline did not own the building,<BR>only the machinery and equipment. Secondly, the<BR>Esterline Company demanded $300,000 to pay the cost of<BR>the equipment and machinery from the Haskon workers to<BR>avoid an auction that would probably be worth a third<BR>of that. Thirdly, the auction occurred on January<BR>19th, two days before the Massachusetts legislature<BR>reconvened to even consider an eminent domain<BR>intervention and the severance package was approved by<BR>the aerospace workers at Haskon.<BR> <BR>Still, this labor confrontation in Taunton, MA showed<BR>the possibility of applying eminent domain to runaway<BR>plants. The UE and the workers were able to get the<BR>support of local unions, Jobs with Justice chapters,<BR>Massachusetts Nurses Association, Jewish Labor<BR>Committee, Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor<BR>Council, and community residents of Taunton. They were<BR>able to use this groundswell to get the City Council<BR>and Mayor to vote in favor of eminent domain and to get<BR>voices of support from state legislators as well as<BR>their congressional representative, Barney Frank. As<BR>in the Stella D'Oro case in Bronx, New York, an<BR>important factor was the certainty of a severance<BR>package as opposed to the challenges of the struggle,<BR>both political and financial, to see eminent domain<BR>proceedings to their conclusion. This requires a good<BR>deal of courage on the part of the workers involved as<BR>well as the willingness to depart from the norms of<BR>previous plant closing scenarios. Unless eminent<BR>domain becomes a manageable choice -- a default<BR>alternative -- severance payouts will continue to<BR>poorly compensate workers while closing their<BR>industries and commerce throughout America.<BR> <BR>The Occupy Wall Street Context<BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>Cooperatives and recuperated enterprises are in the<BR>last analysis defensive strategies, but they allow the<BR>workers to act "as a class in itself and for itself" as<BR>Marx advocated. These structures combine human values<BR>of self-interest and survival with real democratic<BR>participatory life. Theoretical liberal democratic<BR>representative government has proven over time to be<BR>inadequate to the needs of workers. As the Occupy Wall<BR>Street movement shows, people are yearning for actual<BR>on-the-ground democratic participatory life, not just<BR>wishing to defend economic interests. In taking over<BR>the factories and enterprises, workers can concretize<BR>the OWS movement, becoming protagonists who represent<BR>themselves and, in so doing, represent the overwhelming<BR>majority of people in any given community. When<BR>workers occupy a factory or enterprise, it is really<BR>about what they attempt to keep, not what they attempt<BR>to take. By dint of their work they have produced a<BR>product, raised capital and invested it, and supplied<BR>the surrounding community with their consumption, their<BR>taxes, and their everyday involvement in the life of<BR>their town or city. It is crucial to expand the narrow<BR>definition of private property. Whose property is it<BR>anyway? The erstwhile owners and managers who<BR>accumulated the original capital and initiated the<BR>investment proposal, or the workers who have made them<BR>usable and useful and magnified their value through<BR>years and often decades of commitment and hard work?<BR> <BR>Workers cannot be separated from the capital they have<BR>produced. A necessary collective contract has<BR>developed over time that puts the workers in the<BR>forefront of who is responsible in the final analysis. <BR>This relationship or, really, social contract has<BR>superseded the simplistic notion of private property as<BR>belonging to the owner.<BR> <BR>The implementation of eminent domain on behalf of the<BR>working class provides a sense of the workers as not<BR>only the legitimate owners of the enterprise but views<BR>workers as independently demanding equity and basic<BR>social justice. Deindustrialization in Argentina since<BR>the military regimes of 1976-83, followed by liberal<BR>and neo-liberal civil administrations in the 1980s and<BR>1990s, led to the economic crisis of 2001. After the<BR>financial default and the explosion of unemployment and<BR>poverty in 2001-2002, cooperatives became a clear and<BR>necessary working-class choice in Argentina and the<BR>government helped workers recuperate enterprises, as<BR>discussed above. These conditions approximate those in<BR>the U.S. since the deep recession that began in 2008<BR>and continues today to impact the U.S. working class<BR>that is undergoing a dramatic deterioration.29<BR> <BR>We need to expand what is politically the right of the<BR>working class to occupy factories and offices when they<BR>are threatened with unwarranted closure based solely on<BR>the desire for more rapid accumulation of profit. <BR>There are examples, particularly in Argentina, that<BR>demonstrate that these methods are both legitimate and<BR>effective. Perhaps more important, however, is the<BR>spirit of rebellion shown us by Egyptian workers and<BR>students. We have seen that rebellion is correlated<BR>with certain demographic and economic characteristics<BR>shared by Egypt and the United States. Where<BR>unemployment is high, income inequality is large, and<BR>social media penetration is significant, the potential<BR>for rebellion is also high. This Middle Eastern<BR>profile fits the U.S. far more closely than our Western<BR>European counterparts. The OWS movement has<BR>highlighted this American reality as never before.<BR> <BR>Workers must respond to employer decisions to close the<BR>plant, remove the machinery, and break the social<BR>contract. Worker occupations are the necessary and<BR>required response to them, just as OWS is to the<BR>financialization and corporatization of the American<BR>economy. They can be legally defended by way of<BR>eminent domain. Support from municipal councils and<BR>state legislatures are important ingredients, but<BR>worker mobilization is the indispensable first step. <BR>The economic crisis calls for such measures. Alliances<BR>must be established between public entities and<BR>authorities and the 99 percent (!) of the Americans who<BR>constitute the middle and working classes. A<BR>coalitional offensive needs to be mounted against the<BR>self-serving U.S. employer class that no longer upholds<BR>equity and fairness to its workers and employees.<BR> <BR>Worker-managed factories and enterprises represent an<BR>attempt to bypass and even subvert the traditional<BR>capitalist firm as they experiment with workplace<BR>organization that avoids both the state socialist model<BR>of top-down controls and the capitalist hierarchical<BR>firms. They plant the seed in market economies that<BR>points to a third way of organizing work.<BR> <BR>Eminent domain, however, should not be considered a<BR>revolutionary departure from traditional public policy<BR>that includes the powers to tax and spend, to regulate<BR>place of work environmentally, to zone for economic<BR>purposes, to apply rent control, and to protect workers<BR>and communities from health and safety hazards. The<BR>former depends on, and in turn complements, the latter.<BR> <BR>With a novel approach to using eminent domain on behalf<BR>of workers for the clear benefit of economic<BR>development, social justice, and worker autonomy, we<BR>can reverse the trend of condemning an increasing<BR>number of communities to unemployment, a shrinking tax<BR>base, poverty with the concomitant rise of Medicaid and<BR>public assistance expenditures, and the continuing<BR>erosion of America's skilled labor force. How can<BR>communities continue to stand idly by while crucial<BR>employers, who have fed off the public trough and their<BR>loyal workers, often for decades, decide to get up and<BR>leave when the eminent domain procedure is available? <BR>Eminent domain is the viable mechanism that will place<BR>worker autonomy and worker rights at the center of the<BR>political debate in the defense against the continuing<BR>decline of decent jobs in America.<BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>Notes<BR> <BR>1 Peter Ranis, "Argentina's Worker-Occupied Factories<BR>and Enterprises," Socialism and Democracy, 19, No. 3<BR>(November 2005): 93-115 and "Factories without Bosses:<BR>Argentina's Experience with Worker-Run Enterprises,"<BR>Labor Studies in Working Class History of the Americas,<BR>3, No. 1 (Spring 2006): 11-23.<BR> <BR>2 Peter Ranis, "Argentine Worker Cooperatives in Civil<BR>Society: A Challenge to Capital-Labor Relations,"<BR>Working USA: The Journal of Labor and Society, 13, No.<BR>1 (March 2010): 77-105.<BR> <BR>3 Carl Davidson, New Paths to Socialism (Pittsburgh,<BR>PA: Changemaker Publications, 2011): 17-37; David<BR>Schweickart, After Capitalism (Lanham, MD: Rowman &<BR>Littlefield, 2011); Andres Ruggeri, Las Empresas<BR>Recuperadas en la Argentina (Buenos Aires: Programa<BR>Facultad Aberta, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras de La<BR>Universidad de Buenos Aires, 2010); Marcelo Vieta, "The<BR>New Cooperativism," Affinities: A Journal of Radical<BR>Theory, Culture and Action, 4, No. 1 (2010): 1-8.<BR> <BR>4 Judith D. Schwartz, "In Cleveland, Worker Co-Ops<BR>Look to a Spanish Model," Time (December 22, 2009).<BR> <BR>5 Alan J. Robb, James H. Smith & Tom J. Webb,<BR>"Co-operative Capital: What It Is and Why Our World<BR>Needs It," paper for EURICSE Conference on Financial<BR>Cooperative Approaches to Local Development Through<BR>Sustainable Innovation, Trento, Italy, June 10-11,<BR>2010: 8-9.<BR> <BR>6 New York Times, October 26, 2011.<BR> <BR>7 New York Times, May 2, 2011.<BR> <BR>8 Robert E. Scott, "Heading South: U.S.-Mexico Trade<BR>and Job Displacement after NAFTA," Economic Policy<BR>Institute, May 3, 2011. Overall it has been estimated<BR>that since 2000, the U.S. has lost six million jobs and<BR>50,000 enterprises have been shuttered.<BR> <BR>9 James K. Galbraith, The Predator State: How<BR>Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why<BR>Liberals Should Too(New York: Free Press, 2008).<BR> <BR>10 Robert Skidelsky, Keynes: The Return of the Master:<BR>Why, Sixty Years after His Death, John Maynard Keynes<BR>Is the Most Important Economic Thinker for America(New<BR>York: Public Affairs Press, 2009). Income inequality<BR>in the U.S. has never been more skewed than in the<BR>present period. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office<BR>has shown that, from 1979 to 2007, average after-tax<BR>income grew 275 percent for the 1 percent of the<BR>population with the highest income. By contrast, the<BR>poorest fifth of the population's income rose by only<BR>18 percent, while the three-fifths of the population in<BR>the middle-income sectors rose by 40 percent. The<BR>share of income for the top 1 percent climbed from 8<BR>percent in 1979 to 17 percent in 2007. Those in the<BR>lowest fifth received 5 percent, down from 7 percent in<BR>1979, and those in the middle three-fifth's share of<BR>income declined by 3 percent since 1979. See the New<BR>York Times, October 26, 2011.<BR> <BR>11 Hector Palomino, et al., La Nueva Dinamica de la<BR>Relaciones Laborales en la Argentina (Buenos Aires:<BR>Jorge Baudino Ediciones, 2010): 36.<BR> <BR>12 Ranis (2005): 100-105.<BR> <BR>13 Palomino (2010): 29.<BR> <BR>14 Ranis (2010): 89.<BR> <BR>15 Julian Rebon, Desobedeciendo el Desempleo (Buenos<BR>Aires: Ediciones Picaso/La Rosa Blindada, 2004).<BR> <BR>16 Ruggeri (2010).<BR> <BR>17 Ibid., 7, 37.<BR> <BR>18 Ibid., 18-19.<BR> <BR>19 Ibid., 69-70.<BR> <BR>20 Ibid., 44-46, 52, 54.<BR> <BR>21 Ibid., 77-79.<BR> <BR>22 Ranis (2010).<BR> <BR>23 For example, there are approximately 7,400<BR>cooperative credit unions servicing 93,000,000 people<BR>in the U.S. Worldwide, one billion people are<BR>associated with cooperatives.<BR> <BR>24 Peter Ranis, "Eminent Domain: Unused Tool for<BR>American Labor," Working USA: The Journal of Labor and<BR>Society, 10, No. 2 (June 2007): 193-208.<BR> <BR>25 David Gutknecht, "Thinking Outside the Coop,"<BR>Cooperative Grocer, #136 (May-June, 2008): 5. Robb,<BR>Smith and Webb argue similarly, "Cooperatives, rather<BR>than being forced to invest their savings in obscure<BR>financial instruments that offend their values and<BR>finance investor capital endeavors in distant places,<BR>will be able to see their savings used to meet needs<BR>closer to home" (16).<BR> <BR>26 New York Times, March 1, 2011.<BR> <BR>27 Peter Ranis, "Worker-Run U.S. Factories and<BR>Enterprises: The Example of Argentine Cooperatives," In<BR>Emily Kawano, ed. Solidarity Economy: Building<BR>Alternatives for People and Planet (Amherst, MA.,<BR>Center for Popular Economics, 2009), 115-123.<BR> <BR>28 Kari Lydersen, Revolt on Goose Island: The Chicago<BR>Factory Takeover and what it Says About the Economic<BR>Crisis (New York: Melville House, 2009) and Ranis,<BR>2009.<BR> <BR>29 Steven Greenhouse, The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for<BR>the American Worker (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008).<BR>Peter Ranis is professor emeritus in the Ph.D. Program<BR>in Political Science at the Graduate Center, CUNY. He<BR>is the author of numerous books and articles and is an<BR>activist member of his union-the Professional Staff<BR>Congress of CUNY. Click here to see his CV. He can be<BR>reached at ranis@york.cuny.edu. URL:<BR>mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/ranis091111.html MR<BR>StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter <BR> <BR>____________________________________________<BR> <BR>PortsideLabor aims to provide material of interest to<BR>people on the left that will help them to interpret the<BR>world and to change it.<BR> <BR>Submit via email: labor@portside.org<BR> <BR>Submit via the Web: <A href="http://portside.org/submittous3" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/submittous3</FONT></A><BR> <BR>Frequently asked questions: <A href="http://portside.org/faq" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/faq</FONT></A><BR> <BR>Sub/Unsub: <A href="http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/subscribe-and-unsubscribe</FONT></A><BR> <BR>PS Labor Archives: <A href="http://portside.org/archive" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://portside.org/archive</FONT></A><BR> <BR>Contribute to Portside: <A href="https://portside.org/donate" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>https://portside.org/donate</FONT></A><BR></PRE></DIV>
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Dear Friend, <BR><BR>Your rights at work are under<A href="http://action.cwa-union.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=kcTzWUzsoJvbJ1jVxFMPcAiLJDg4y4MN" target=_blank><IMG height=250 alt="Protect your rights at work - Write Congress" hspace=6 src="http://action.cwa-union.org/c/11/images/20111108-NLRB-voting-rights-at-work.jpg" width=200 align=right vspace=6 border=0></A> attack from extremists in Congress who are trying to make it almost impossible for working people to join unions.<BR><BR>Corporations will do anything to prevent workers from standing up for themselves. A large group of their Republican friends want to impose rule changes on the National Labor Relations Board. The new rules would allow bosses to stall workers’ organizing efforts by delaying union elections. <BR><BR>With some Republicans breaking from their party, we have a chance to stop this. The vote will be close so we need to put as much pressure as we can on lawmakers to get them to oppose this attack on workers. <BR><B><BR><A href="http://action.cwa-union.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=4g4ZS3iaEoA1k7Yxrtm0FgiLJDg4y4MN" target=_blank><U>Send a message to your Congress member right away by using our easy tool and tell them to vote NO on HR 3094. </U></A></B><BR><BR>Tell them that you want them to vote NO on HR 3094 because it is an attack on workplace democracy that would create unlimited delays for union elections. While the elections are on hold, workers would be banned from hearing from unions, while management would have a free hand to bombard employees with anti-union rhetoric and encourage frivolous complaints. <BR><BR>The proposed law encourages marathon pre-election hearings – again, further delaying workers’ right to an election and it also rigs bargaining units to favor employers, throwing out 75 years of case law and making it even harder to have a fair election.<BR><BR>These changes would cause the NLRB union election process to grind to a halt and tip the already unbalanced playing field more firmly to the benefit of employers.<BR><BR>Across the country, working people are fighting back against extremists who attack workers' rights. We are standing up for the American dream of a good paying job with decent benefits for people who work hard for a living. Voters rejected anti-worker laws in Ohio this week, now let us put a stop to this extremist bill.<BR><BR>Please send a message to your member of Congress today and tell them to vote NO on HR 3094 on the National Labor Relations Board. <BR><BR><A href="http://action.cwa-union.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=Rc7gH%2BU4QuUdn9j53cW%2BOQiLJDg4y4MN" target=_blank><B><U>www.cwa-union.org/FairUnionElections</U></B></A><BR><BR>In Unity,<BR>
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<DIV align=center><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a794/2843733486/VEsH/" target=_blank><IMG height=85 alt=wrapper src="http://www.ufw.org/images/unitedfarmworkerswrapper.jpg" width=633 border=0 longDesc=http://www.ufw.org></A><BR><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a795/2843733486/VEsE/" target=_blank><IMG height=28 alt=donate src="http://www.ufw.org/images/donatebar.gif" width=633 border=0 longDesc=https://secure.ufw.org/page/contribute/rubyridge2011></A><BR></DIV>
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<TD vAlign=top width=377 height=405><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 18px"><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 24px">Child's plea: Please help my dad</SPAN><BR><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a792/2843733486/VEsF/" target=_blank><SPAN style="COLOR: #ff0000"><EM><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 16px">Sign the Darigold petition TODAY!</SPAN></EM></SPAN></A></STRONG></SPAN><BR><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px">The children of the Ruby Ridge workers drink milk. Many of our children drink milk. We all want our children to be healthy and strong. Yet for the children of the workers at Ruby Ridge, drinking milk comes at a high price. <STRONG>Their stories give us a glimpse of the price these children have paid.</STRONG><BR><BR><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a792/2843733486/VEsC/" target=_blank><IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px solid; BORDER-TOP: 0px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 2px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px solid" height=163 alt="" src="http://action.ufw.org/page/-/briananssisters.jpg" width=234 align=right></A>15 year old <STRONG>Brian Ramirez</STRONG>, tells us,<EM> "At Ruby Ridge they didn’t treat my dad right. He didn’t have any water, they wouldn’t give him a lunch hour, they would have to wait 10 hours just to be able to eat. This is wrong, this makes me mad but it also makes me sad because my dad works very hard to be able to give us a better future. I have three little sisters Estrellita, Eden and Evelyn. My papa did that work in order to give us a better future but what the company did was take advantage of my dad...Every human being has the right to fight for his rights. What my dad did was fight for all of the workers at Ruby Ridge so that his coworkers can also better their working conditions."</EM><BR><BR><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a792/2843733486/VEsD/" target=_blank><IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: 0px solid; BORDER-TOP: 0px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 2px; BORDER-LEFT: 0px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 2px; BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px solid" height=145 alt="" src="http://action.ufw.org/page/-/rafita.jpg" width=134 align=left></A><STRONG>Rafael Muniz, Jr's</STRONG> dad was also fired from Ruby Ridge. Eleven year old Rafita, as he known, says: <EM>“They fired [my Dad] only for trying to make things right at the company. This makes me feel very sad, angry, and bad. My dad didn’t deserve to be treated this way.”</EM><BR><BR>Milk shouldn’t have to come at such a high price. <A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a792/2843733486/VEsA/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf><STRONG>Please support Brian, Rafita and the other children of Ruby Ridge workers and their parents</STRONG>.</FONT></A> Let them know that they’re not alone in their support of their parents. <A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a792/2843733486/VEsB/" target=_blank><STRONG><FONT color=#0068cf>Take action now and sign the petition</FONT></STRONG></A> which will be delivered to Darigold after the Thanksgiving holidays.</SPAN><BR>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a792/2843733486/VEsO/" target=_blank><IMG height=25 alt="" src="http://www.ufw.org/images/takeaction_v.jpg" width=124><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"><FONT color=#0068cf>http://action.ufw.org/dgpetitionkids</FONT></SPAN></A></SPAN><BR>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a793/2843733486/VEsP/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf><IMG height=10 alt="" src="http://www.ufw.org/images/tellafriend.gif" width=32 border=0></FONT></A><B>After you take action please share this campaign with your friends and family. </B>You can send them an <B>e-mail</B>, <FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">post this campaign on your </FONT><FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Facebook</FONT><FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> and/or </FONT><FONT style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-STYLE: italic">Twitter page</FONT> by <B><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a790/2843733486/VEsHBQ/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>clicking here</FONT></A></B> or going to </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a790/2843733486/VEsHBA/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://action.ufw.org/page/share/darigoldpetitionkids.</FONT></A></SPAN></STRONG><BR></TD>
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<BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14px"><STRONG>Why Darigold?</STRONG></SPAN><BR>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px">Ruby Ridge is part of the Darigold cooperative, a large dairy processing company headquartered in Seattle, WA. <STRONG>The milk the dairy produces is marketed under the Darigold brand.</STRONG></SPAN><BR>
<P align=center><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a791/2843733486/VEsHBw/" target=_blank><IMG height=91 src="http://action.ufw.org/page/-/darigold.jpg" width=139></A><BR><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a791/2843733486/VEsHBg/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://consumer.darigold.com/locations.html</FONT></A></SPAN></P>
<P align=left><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px">Darigold products include milk, butter, and yogurt. You can see where Darigold products are sold by visiting their website by <A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a791/2843733486/VEsHAQ/" target=_blank><STRONG><FONT color=#0068cf>clicking here</FONT></STRONG></A>.</SPAN></P>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px"><STRONG>Campaign Background</STRONG></SPAN><BR>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12px">Ruby Ridge is a large dairy located in Eastern Washington. An overwhelming majority of workers employed at the dairy signed union authorization cards asking the UFW to represent them. Workers complained about not being allowed to take breaks, eat lunch, and having to drink water out of a hose used to wash cow manure off the dairy floor. They tell us they continue to not to have any benefits above and beyond an hourly wage. They report that owner Dick Bengen has often carried a rifle with him on his large dairy farm that he uses to scare the workers into line. Mr. Bengen made a point of explaining the special purpose of this rifle to worker Miguel Cuevas, when he told him, "This rifle is for those people with the union."<BR><BR>When the UFW approached Ruby Ridge owners Dick and Ruby Bengen, their good faith offer was flatly rejected. Workers inform us that it was then the Bengens unleashed their retaliatory campaign against workers, firing over a dozen suspected union activists. With the support of the UFW, a number of those workers have filed suit against Ruby Ridge.<BR><BR>Ruby Ridge subsequently filed a SLAPP lawsuit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) against both Ruby Ridge workers and the UFW in a blatant attempt to silence workers.</SPAN><BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
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<SPAN class=ecxstyle5 style="FONT-SIZE: 10px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana,geneva"><STRONG>United Farm Workers, P.O. Box 62, Keene, CA 93531, </STRONG></SPAN><A href="http://action.ufw.org/page/m/3bed9c37/14563619/46bf2d5f/2b46a7e2/2843733486/VEsEDQ/" target=_blank><STRONG><FONT color=#0068cf><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: verdana,geneva">http://www.ufw.or</SPAN>g</FONT></STRONG></A></SPAN><BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
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<DIV>Recipe for a port wide shutdown.</DIV>
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<DIV>There is no sure way to make it happen as there are many factors but most important is that the workers themselves must build consensus and in order to do that they must first be presented with the issue and there must be a catalyst.</DIV>
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<DIV>The weekly pay for drivers is between $500 to $700 a week, not enough to survive and not decent for the 50-70 hours of work.</DIV>
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<DIV>The Occupy movement has reached everyone, including the port troqueros. Also, the migrant movement is planning a major action for <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_0>Dec. 12</SPAN>, el dia de la Virgin de Guadalupe. <BR></DIV>
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<DIV>The Occupy Movement and the Migrant movement must work in solidarity which will require some serious discussion and coalition building.</DIV>
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<DIV>Then:</DIV>
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<DIV>Of the @ 12,000 port troqueros half are landbridge drivers and the rest are delivery. 2/3s work day shift and 1/3 work night shift. The night shift is predominately landbridge going directly to the rails and local large container yards.</DIV>
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<DIV>Any informational picketing on <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_1>Terminal Island</SPAN> will be too dangerous for both the drivers and the picketers. Very Dangerous. Resources can be better directed more efficiently. <BR></DIV>
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<DIV>The key locations for a "tease" before Thanksgiving are the rail yards;</DIV>
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<DIV>The entrance gate for BNSF but not on their side of the corner. Do not block traffic as u will only be hurting the workers. </DIV>
<DIV>Across the street from the outgate for the UP railroad.</DIV>
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<DIV>Both of these locations are only several blocks from each other on Washington Blvd just west of the 710. <BR></DIV>
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<DIV>The other location is across the street from the ICTF yard which is located on Sepulveda Blvd just west of the 47 Freeway, the Terminal Island Freeway.</DIV>
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<DIV>These are the three main points for reaching landbridge drivers and can be done with a 3 hour morning session, <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_2>8-11am</SPAN> and an evening session, <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_3>6-9pm</SPAN><BR></DIV>
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<DIV>These hot spots can be hit hard, every 2 days (?) after thanxgiving and before Dec. 12.</DIV>
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<DIV>Additional hot spots include:</DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_4>Wilmington</SPAN>; C street offramp of the Harbor Freeway. On the east side of Figueroa to maximize visibility. Great place for a press conference. This is outside of berth 136, Trapac<BR></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_5>San Pedro</SPAN>: The Vicent Thomas Bridge offramp to Harbor Blvd. <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_6>China</SPAN> Shipping<BR></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_7>Long Beach</SPAN>: Anaheim st and Henry Ford ave. This is the entrance to <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_8>the Henry Ford</SPAN> Bridge. Berth A10, Zim and Mediterranean. MSC<BR></DIV>
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<DIV>If u do the rail yards you will get the landbridge drivers notified and they will build the consensus amongst themselves and the delivery drivers will follow.</DIV>
<DIV>Hitting the latter 3 sites will reach the delivery drivers and will re-affirm the action.</DIV>
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<DIV>Another key spot is the Anaheim Street overpass on the 710 freeway. Banners etc can be used close to <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_9>Dec 12</SPAN> to excite the drivers. DO NOT throw anything nor hang anything off the overpass as they might be startled and crash. DO NOT use your bodies nor anything to try to impede their driving. They unit when full weights 80,000 pounds.</DIV>
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<DIV>I will do a flyer tomorrow with the traditional <SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_10>MO</SPAN> for your consideration. The truck stop magazine racks have to be utilized. <BR></DIV>
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<DIV>The Occupy Movement can be the catalyst that is needed. The migrant movement has to deliver the message on spanish language media.</DIV>
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<DIV>This is the gateway to the global economy.</DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=ecxyshortcuts id=ecxlw_1321029877_11>Oakland</SPAN> did it but the single port entrance is situated differently. The Port of Aztlan is like 10 times bigger. If the Occupy LA/LB activists are successful it will give it never before imagined credibility and might just be the trigger for a generation of social change by the 99%</DIV>
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<DIV>This plan is not perfect nor a promise to work. It is how I would attempt it based on 25 years of "facilitating" shutdowns in the Port of Aztlan.<BR></DIV>
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<DIV>If the Port Troqueros shut down so will all the warehouses and transportation industry. This might just be what is needed to change the course of history.<BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR><BR>Solidarity,<BR><BR>ernie<BR>just another worker.....<BR></DIV>
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<P align=center><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: larger"><STRONG><FONT size=2>Take Action Today!<BR></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P>
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<P align=left><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: medium"><FONT size=3><BR><BR>We have been in crisis for several years and we are still waiting for smart policies to address the nation’s housing situation. Our families have had enough, though, and the winds are changing. Our leaders are beginning to listen and they need to hear from you.<BR><BR>Since its launch in April, the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) Home for Good (H4G) campaign has gathered more than 9,000 petition signatures and postcards asking Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to halt wrongful foreclosures and preserve responsible homeownership. Advocates like you made that happen. We will deliver the signatures to the Treasury in just a few days, so this is your last chance to add your name. Help us bump that total to 10,000 signatures before next Monday, November 14. <BR><BR></FONT><A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9ZsYUnFl1ZpGKUJ5tzVPLEVZxG9gL%2B%2Bf" target=_blank><U><FONT color=#e31b23 size=3>Add your signature today!</FONT></U></A><FONT size=3> If you’ve already signed, </FONT><A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=PX9hs2WnU1o4UL4uPhJjSUVZxG9gL%2B%2Bf" target=_blank><U><FONT color=#e31b23 size=3>invite a friend to do the same</FONT></U></A><FONT size=3>. <BR><BR>After signing, join us for a </FONT><A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=qeZP5A2S7khDVtdJgQRd8EVZxG9gL%2B%2Bf" target=_blank><U><FONT color=#e31b23 size=3>National Call</FONT></U></A><FONT size=3> to hear from White House officials about how your action will help improve the state of America’s housing market. <BR><BR>Sincerely,<BR><BR>Janis Bowdler<BR>Director, Wealth-Building Policy Project<BR><BR></FONT></SPAN></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<P align=center><FONT size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: smaller">You are subscribed to this list as cgpelayo@hotmail.com. </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: smaller">You can <A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=cRZBpZyHLLoQEJy7eQ1xY0VZxG9gL%2B%2Bf" target=_blank><U><FONT color=#e31b23>click here</FONT></U></A> to unsubscribe. If you were forwarded this email and wish to sign up for NCLR’s Action Network, <A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Zj9tLU4QqFPpQd1kV/Xl10VZxG9gL%2B%2Bf" target=_blank><U><FONT color=#e31b23>click here</FONT></U></A></SPAN></FONT>.</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><IMG height=70 alt=footer src="https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5873/images/email_breaking_alert_footer.jpg" width=660 useMap=#Map border=0></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
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<A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12895?akid=7842.16102.QNR6eY&t=4" target=_blank><IMG height=106 alt="" src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyimages_1320876326_doe2.jpg_640x640_150x107" width=150 border=0></A> <BR>
<P class=ecxheadline2 style="FONT-SIZE: 18px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12895?akid=7842.16102.QNR6eY&t=5" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>The 1%'s War on America's Public Education Challenged by Brave OWS Kids, Teachers and Parents</FONT></A></P>
<P style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #666; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In the past couple of weeks, some of the most innovative and inspiring actions related to Occupy Wall Street have come from a bunch of dedicated education activists. <A class=ecxreadmore style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; LETTER-SPACING: 0.1em" href="http://act.alternet.org/go/12895?akid=7842.16102.QNR6eY&t=6" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>READ MORE</FONT></A></P>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; COLOR: #4d4d4d; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, Times, serif"><EM><FONT size=1>Sarah Jaffe / AlterNet</FONT></EM></SPAN><BR>
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