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<LI><FONT face=Arial size=3><STRONG>NAFTA Complaint Highlights Mexico's Disregard for Its Labor Laws</STRONG></FONT></LI>
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<DIV><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/13051?akid=7859.16102.1gaj3-&t=19" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf size=3><STRONG>Suburbs Poorer, Middle Class Shrinking, Rich Enclaves Expanding</STRONG></FONT></A></DIV></LI>
<LI><STRONG><FONT size=3>URGENT: Justice for Janitors Action - Thursday at noon!</FONT></STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG><FONT size=3>Fix This Bridge! THURSDAY, 4 PM</FONT></STRONG></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>A Return to Jim Crow?</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Beware the Trojan Horse</FONT></H2></LI>
<LI><STRONG><FONT size=3>Manifiesto del Movimiento por el Control Obrero de la Gran Caracas</FONT></STRONG></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Online DVD Lawsuit -- Current and Former Netflix Subscribers</FONT></H2></LI>
<LI><STRONG><FONT size=3>General Strike/port action proposal for tonight's General Assembly in light of recent attacks</FONT></STRONG></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>There Is Power in Community Allies</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Goodbye to the 'Middle-Class'? A Lesson for Labor From Occupy Wall Street</FONT></H2></H2></LI></OL>
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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=4><FONT face=Arial>"NAFTA Complaint Highlights Mexico's Disregard for Its Labor Laws," November 14, 2011</FONT><BR></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://solidaritycenter.org/content.asp?contentid=1324" target=_blank><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><U>http://solidaritycenter.org/content.asp?contentid=1324</U></FONT></A><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Ualeindiv mailing list<BR>Ualeindiv@lists.uale.org<BR><A href="http://lists.uale.org/mailman/listinfo/ualeindiv">http://lists.uale.org/mailman/listinfo/ualeindiv</A></DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/13051?akid=7859.16102.1gaj3-&t=19" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Suburbs Poorer, Middle Class Shrinking, Rich Enclaves Expanding</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 11px; COLOR: #de4900; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif">By Loop 21 Staff | The Loop 21</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV><B>From: </B>The San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council <info@unionyes.org> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Date: </B>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:15:37 -0500 (EST)</DIV>
<DIV><B>To: </B><info@lclaa-sdimpcounties.org></DIV>
<DIV><B>ReplyTo: </B>info@unionyes.org </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject: </B>URGENT: Justice for Janitors Action - Thursday at noon!</DIV>
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<TD><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=qkoPRFeIzsmzBTv1GKeC6S8Sxt6P5ZxM" target=_blank><IMG height=260 alt="" src="http://unionyes.org/files/images/a%20new%20msg%20from%20the%20SDLC.preview.jpg" width=700></A></TD></TR>
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<H2 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">EMERGENCY ACTION</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR>Justice for Janitors!</SPAN></H2>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The Department of Homeland Security is threatening to audit janitors here in San Diego, which would devastate more than 1000 hard-working janitors and their families. </SPAN></SPAN><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Join more than 300 janitors and community and union members to protect working families and their jobs in San Diego and advocate an immediate end to enforcement-only immigration policies.</SPAN></SPAN></I><BR>
<H2 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">San Diego Day of Action</SPAN></H2>
<H2 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Thursday, November 17</SPAN></H2>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT size=4>March at 12 p.m.</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"><FONT size=4> from Civic Center Plaza (1200 3rd Ave., 92101)<BR>to the Federal Building</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><FONT size=4><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large">Vigil at 5 p.m.</SPAN></SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large"> at the Federal Building</SPAN></SPAN><BR><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: large">(880 Front St., 92101)</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: small"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">For more information or to RSVP, please contact Sandy at (619) 228-8101. Your presence is needed to strengthen rights for ALL workers and demand Justice for Janitors</SPAN></SPAN>!</P></TD></TR>
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<TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=8bvepYWwxIXpawmquDVzcC8Sxt6P5ZxM" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: smaller"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><FONT color=#0068cf size=1>Click here to unsubscribe</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></A></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
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<DIV>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry</DIV>
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<DIV><B>From: </B>Jerry Tomaszewicz <jtomaszewicz@unionyes.org> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Date: </B>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:13:27 +0000</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject: </B>Fix This Bridge! THURSDAY, 4 PM</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
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<P class=ecxMsoNormal>Join the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council in a National Infrastructure Day of Action, by calling on Brian Bilbray to support the American Jobs Act! We need to put American back to work and fix our country’s crumbling roads and bridges, and the American Jobs Act is a great first step.</P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal> </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal>We will rally at 4 p.m. at the parking lot at Clairemont Dr. and Morena Blvd., east of the I-5, and then march to the Clairemont Dr. bridge over the I-5. (See attached flyer for more information.) </P>
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<P class=ecxMsoNormal>We hope to see you on Thursday! </P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </SPAN></P>
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<P class=ecxMsoNormal><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Jerry N. Tomaszewicz, Jr. </SPAN></I></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">Executive Assistant to Secretary-Treasurer & CEO Lorena Gonzalez / Field Organizer</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">3737 Camino del Rio South, Suite 403</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">San Diego, CA 92108</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">desk: 619.228.8101, ex. 5</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">cell: 413.210.3664</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">fax: 619.281.1296</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">email: </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><A href="mailto:jt@unionyes.org"><SPAN style="COLOR: #ff8000">jt@unionyes.org</SPAN></A></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> or </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><A href="mailto:jtomaszewicz@unionyes.org"><SPAN style="COLOR: #ff8000">jtomaszewicz@unionyes.org</SPAN></A></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #ff8000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">web: </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"><A href="http://www.unionyes.org/" target=_blank><SPAN style="COLOR: #ff8000">www.unionyes.org</SPAN></A></SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><B><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #808040; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. And you cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore." -- Cesar Chavez</SPAN></I></B><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'">jnt/OPEIU-537, AFL-CIO</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: #1f497d"> </SPAN></P>
<P class=ecxMsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'"> </SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><B>Nov. 16, 2011</B></SPAN></SPAN><BR>
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<TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=1SFBEHf04QH1zztXCM2YJZ05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><IMG title="Bridge repair" alt="Bridge repair" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/bridge_wp.jpg" border=0></A><BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=mNMD1Vn9gOXZXsAWUsqO3p05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Tomorrow, at dozens of bridges that are in desperate need of repair, union members and jobless workers will call on Congress to invest in infrastructure to create jobs</FONT></A>. Click <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=bbJCYFf3d1FkvLHAZ2xXhijrBXNBAwwS" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>here</FONT></A> to find an event near you.</SPAN></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">A delegation of African American labor and civil rights leaders is in Alabama on a fact-finding mission on the state’s new anti-immigrant law that some say is reminiscent of the Jim Crow South. They will investigate the law’s impact on Latino working families, thousands of whom have reportedly fled the state.</SPAN></SPAN><BR>
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<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Got comments? Post them at </SPAN></SPAN><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=NNOnKO2qdmkv5gN0EPplGZ05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank></A><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=YWjqsv0cXqdm%2Bze9sZUJcp05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><B><FONT color=#0068cf>blog.aflcio.org</FONT></B></SPAN></A><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">.</SPAN></SPAN><BR>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=WBTUi5jl1rekcnIZVD84pJ05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Find a Bridge Action Near You Nov. 17</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=5szco0GxQTC9zcwYPvOSIp05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Raids on Occupy Protesters ‘Inexcusable,’ Says Trumka</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=BMrlUe7U1GtS4z0Wgdds9505dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Poet Laureate Levine: I Do Believe in People</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=VY5Yyqym1uFFQYwQTKL60J05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>IMF Authors: Banking Deregulation Worsens Economic Crises</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=hfBzzqR04ZQ0DuthZZefeZ05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Harkin to Republicans: Focus on Jobs, Not Attacks on Workers’ Rights</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><IMG height=12 alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/blog_arrow-blt.gif" width=16 border=0> <A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=SkOun5hEBtIl3nx18/8yZZ05dP5Qreiw" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Union/Toys for Tots Partnership Kicks off Annual Drive </STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></P>
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<DIV><FONT face=Verdana,Arial,sans-serif size=2><BR><BR>The attacks on Medicare, Medicaid and even Social Security are relentless. And instead of helping get Americans back to work, some in Congress are now trying to use tricks to dismantle these basic protections. The latest trick is a Trojan horse called a "Balanced Budget Amendment."<BR><BR>Changing the U.S. Constitution to include a balanced budget requirement would make it even harder fix the jobs crisis and would force deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.<BR><BR><A href="http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vUSWbOzpfI/nRy6g9UzuLUn/01uhsb8S&url=http://action.afscme.org/c/51/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY%3D2438%26amp%3btag%3DadvE_BBA_blast-62807%26amp%3btrack%3DadvE_BBA_blast-62807" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf><B>That's why I hope you'll take action and send a message to your representative right now as he/she consider this bill</B>.</FONT></A><BR><BR>A balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not a solution to the real problems we face. A balanced budget amendment would put the economy in a strait jacket, throwing 15 million more people out of work and doubling the unemployment rate. It would lead to the same deep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that are called for in the House-passed Republican budget. It makes me sick that this proposal would balance the budget on the backs of middle-class families and the most vulnerable in our society.<BR><BR>
<CENTER><A href="http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2YjKom%2BdYkLvEaL/lhuEQ0n/01uhsb8S&url=http://action.afscme.org/c/51/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY%3D2438%26amp%3btag%3DadvE_BBA_blast-62807%26amp%3btrack%3DadvE_BBA_blast-62807" target=_blank><IMG height=200 alt="Take Action!" hspace=0 src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4002/c/51/images/110719-bba-callout-b.jpg" width=480 border=0></A></CENTER><BR>This proposal is an outright affront to basic American values. It would write into the Constitution unrealistic, inappropriate economic policy. It would put the entire federal budget and safety-net programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and even veteran's benefits on the chopping block — while maintaining the millionaire tax giveaways that got us into this mess in the first place. It’s disgraceful.<B><BR><BR><A href="http://afl.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ShTOfxRJy9TQPUedcMxjDUn/01uhsb8S&url=http://action.afscme.org/c/51/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY%3D2438%26amp%3btag%3DadvE_BBA_blast-62807%26amp%3btrack%3DadvE_BBA_blast-62807" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Take action</FONT></A></B> against this outrageous proposal today. <BR><BR>In Solidarity,<BR><BR>Chuck Loveless<BR>Legislative Director<BR>AFSCME</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/control-obrero-leftmenu-167/7140-movcontrolobrerogccs" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/control-obrero-leftmenu-167/7140-movcontrolobrerogccs</FONT></A></DIV>
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<TD class=ecxcontentheading width="100%"><A class=ecxcontentpagetitle href="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/control-obrero-leftmenu-167/7140-movcontrolobrerogccs" target=_blank><FONT color=#000099><STRONG>Manifiesto del Movimiento por el Control Obrero de la Gran Caracas</STRONG></FONT></A> </TD>
<TD class=ecxbuttonheading align=right width="100%"><A href="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/control-obrero-leftmenu-167/7140-movcontrolobrerogccs?tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=#" target=_blank><IMG alt=Imprimir src="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/templates/rt_versatility4_j15/images/printButton.png"></A> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<TD vAlign=top><SPAN class=small><FONT size=1>Escrito por Mov. Control Obreo GCCS </FONT></SPAN> </TD></TR>
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<TD class=ecxcreatedate vAlign=top>Martes 15 de Noviembre de 2011 </TD></TR>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><IMG height=112 alt=primer-encuentro-nacional-el-control-obrero-c-L-HQ_2kU-175x130 src="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/images/stories/primer-encuentro-nacional-el-control-obrero-c-L-HQ_2kU-175x130.png" width=150><STRONG>A continuación les presentamos el manifiesto elaborado por los compañeros y compañeras que forman parte del Movimiento por el Control Obrero de la Gran Caracas, de cara al nacimiento del gran Polo patriótico (GPP) y a su construcción desde las bases, así como también, de cara a la situación actual de la lucha del movimiento obrero venezolano contra los ataques del capital y de la burocracia del estado burgués, planteando por lo tanto, la necesidad de profundizar y radicalizar el proceso revolucionario para poder derrotar al capitalismo, y asegurar así el triunfo del pueblo en la próxima batalla electoral del 7 de Octubre.</STRONG><BR><BR>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><STRONG>MANIFIESTO DEL MOVIMIENTO POR EL CONTROL OBRERO DE LA GRAN CARACAS</STRONG></P>
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Vivimos en una sociedad atravesada y desgarrada por profundas y terribles contradicciones. A pesar de que una buena parte de los hombres y mujeres que forman parte de la sociedad venezolana y mundial no se han dado cuenta aún de ello (o no quieren quizás darse cuenta de ello), vivimos en un mundo donde pocos gobiernan a muchos, donde un puñado de capitalistas y latifundistas, se apropian gratuitamente de la mayor parte del fruto del trabajo de las masas obreras y campesinas. La vida bajo el capitalismo es una permanente batalla diaria por el sustento, una batalla que deben realizar todos los días los oprimidos de la sociedad, por alcanzar las condiciones mínimas para sobrevivir, una batalla que cada día más deja de ser netamente económica para pasar a hacer una lucha política tenaz contra la burguesía y sus medios de dominación.<BR>
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Sin embargo, tal ha sido el impacto de los medios de dominación de la burguesía sobre los pueblos, sobre todo de sus aparatos ideológicos, tales como la educación oficial y los medios de comunicación, que ha logrado la disociación de millones de personas que no desean sentirse parte del pueblo, de las masas trabajadoras, y siguen repitiendo consciente e inconscientemente las mentiras y falsas consignas de la burguesía, sirviendo así a sus mecanismos de dominio que los aislan y alienan del conglomerado explotado.<BR>
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A pesar de ello, como consecuencia de las propias contradicciones del sistema capitalista que tienden a <IMG height=198 alt=espana-15octubre-2011 src="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/images/stories/espana-15octubre-2011.jpg" width=168>conducir a la sociedad a períodos de crisis cada vez más graves y profundas, sus efectos sobre la población se hacen cada vez más visibles, devastadores y terribles, como el caso de Grecia donde la edad de jubilación ascendió a 73 años, o en España donde el desempleo general supera el 20% y el juvenil 50%, lo que genera como consecuencia un despertar de las masas trabajadoras que durante años estuvieron en su mayoría aletargadas frente al sistema, generando movilizaciones cada vez mayores y poderosas de las masas obreras contra el capitalismo, no sólo en Grecia o España sino en todo el mundo, como hemos podido ver en Egipto, Túnez, Chile, Gran Bretaña, el resto de Europa y del mundo árabe, e incluso hasta en los EEUU.<BR>
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En el caso de nuestro país, como consecuencia de esas contradicciones, que se reflejaron concretamente en décadas de la más cruda miseria y opresión para nuestro pueblo, la clase trabajadora venezolana y el pueblo oprimido en su conjunto despertaron también del letargo político al que estuvieron sometidos durante décadas, para comenzar a tomar con ambas manos las riendas de su propio destino como pueblo, iniciándose así, el período histórico que ha sido denominado como la Revolución Bolivariana.<BR>
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Es en este contexto histórico que decimos que Bolívar y Zamora han despertado en <A href="mailto:nosotr@s%20para"><FONT color=#000099>nosotr@s para</FONT></A> continuar la lucha que ellos encabezaron siglos atrás contra los opresores, opresores que a diferencia de aquellas épocas, lo único que han cambiado es el disfraz con el cual se nos presentan, pero sin embargo, no han cambiado casi nada en lo que respecta a la esencia de su explotación sobre el pueblo.<BR>
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<IMG height=210 alt=ni_capitalistas_ni_burocratas_si_al_control_obrero_movimiento_nacional2 src="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/images/stories/ni_capitalistas_ni_burocratas_si_al_control_obrero_movimiento_nacional2.jpg" width=280>La lucha que actualmente está librando la clase trabajadora contra la burguesía venezolana cada vez que organiza un sindicato revolucionario y clasista en una empresa, o cada vez que ocupa una fábrica cerrada para ponerla a producir bajo control de l@s trabajador@s, así como la lucha que libran <A href="mailto:l@s%20trabajador"><FONT color=#000099>l@s trabajador</FONT></A>@s estatales cada vez que organizan un sindicato o un consejo de <A href="mailto:trabajador@s%20a"><FONT color=#000099>trabajador@s a</FONT></A> fin de luchar contra el sabotaje promovido por la burocracia contrarrevolucionaria e implementar el control obrero sobre la administración y producción o sobre el proceso de trabajo en general, es una continuación de las luchas que libraron Zamora y del ejército campesino revolucionario contra los antiguos latifundistas, usureros y empresarios de la época, así como la lucha de Bolívar y del ejército popular independentista contra esclavistas, latifundistas y contra el imperio español. Todas estas luchas son simplemente fases históricas de una única lucha, la lucha de clases entre opresores y oprimidos, la lucha de las masas trabajadoras por expropiar a quienes diariamente han expropiado durante siglos el fruto de su sudor y esfuerzo, a fin de poner tales riquezas al servicio de toda la sociedad y no de un puñado de parásitos.<BR>
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A pesar de que como planteamos arriba, millones de <A href="mailto:trabajador@s%20a"><FONT color=#000099>trabajador@s a</FONT></A> nivel mundial no se consideran parte de la clase obrera, es importante destacar que todos y todas las que devengamos un salario, que vendemos nuestra fuerza de trabajo a un patrono y que no poseemos otros medios de producción ni herramientas de trabajo más que nuestra propia fuerza de trabajo y preparación técnica, somos todos obreros; ya sea que laboremos de conserjes, vigilantes, ingenier@s, oficinistas u otr@s, todos generamos la riqueza que hace posible la existencia de la sociedad, ya sea en forma de dinero o de bienes y servicios, a cambio de lo cual recibimos una parte muy pequeña en forma de salario.<BR>
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Ahora bien, dentro de la lucha de clases, la burguesía trata siempre de acercarse a los propios dirigentes<IMG height=149 alt=Control_obrero_guayana src="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/images/stories/Control_obrero_guayana.jpg" width=201> de la clase trabajadora, a fin de engañarles y comprarles, siendo éstos al final víctimas de la avaricia heredada del sistema, que terminan colocándose también el disfraz de la burguesía, repitiendo muchas veces sus peores prácticas. Todo esto lo realiza la burguesía con el fin de tener sus propios agentes políticos dentro de nuestras propias filas revolucionarias, como un mecanismo más sutil de dominación de la clase obrera.<BR>
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He allí una de las contradicciones políticas esenciales de nuestro proceso revolucionario: La existencia de una burocracia contrarrevolucionaria que posee todavía un fuerte liderazgo frente al movimiento popular revolucionario, y que sin embargo, no apoya un programa de cambios y transformaciones verdaderas y radicales de nuestra sociedad actual, que plantee como tareas esenciales, la abolición del estado burgués como aparato de opresión de la clase obrera por parte de la burguesía, y su substitución por un estado construido sobre la base de los consejos de trabajador@s, verdaderamente democrático y al servicio de las mayorías oprimidas, así como también, la socialización de la propiedad de los latifundios, de la industria y de la banca, a fin de ponerles al servicio de la construcción de una economía socialista bajo control de la clase trabajadora, que satisfaga las principales necesidades de nuestro pueblo, y contribuya a lograr para éste la mayor suma de felicidad posible.<BR>
<BR><IMG height=231 alt=mafalda_tortuga_burocracia src="http://www.luchadeclases.org.ve/images/stories/mafalda_tortuga_burocracia.gif" width=214>Dicha burocracia, es la misma que le cierra cada vez más las puertas al pueblo en las instituciones, que sabotea el funcionamiento de las misiones, que hace más lentos los procesos de trámite para la ejecución de políticas gubernamentales que son imprescindibles para el bienestar de nuestras comunidades, que desvía recursos para proyectos sociales de salud, alimentación o infraestructura, que persigue y acosa al movimiento obrero organizado dentro del estado, que le tiende la mano a la derecha cuando habla de revolución, en fin, que sabotea descaradamente al proceso revolucionario jugando a su derrota y buscando hacer un daño enorme a la gestión de nuestro Camarada Presidente Hugo Chávez.
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Por todo lo expuesto arriba, nosotr@s, <A href="mailto:l@s%20trabajador"><FONT color=#000099>l@s trabajador</FONT></A>@s que formamos parte del Movimiento por el Control Obrero de la Gran Caracas, conscientes de nuestro papel en la historia, y por lo tanto, conscientes de que es necesario dotar de un programa de lucha revolucionario al movimiento popular, así como de construir espacios para la dirección colectiva del proceso revolucionario que hagan frente al ala reformista y burocrática de la dirigencia de nuestra revolución, hemos tomado por obligación trabajar arduamente en la construcción colectiva de tales espacios, que nos permitan articular las distintas luchas de los trabajadores y trabajadoras de distintos ministerios, instituciones estatales, fábricas y demás empresas en una sola lucha, a fin de promover la unidad del movimiento obrero y la movilización cada vez más masiva de la clase trabajadora y el pueblo todo en la lucha por la construcción del socialismo.<BR>
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En ése sentido<STRONG> DECLARAMOS:</STRONG><BR>
<STRONG></STRONG><BR>
<UL>
<LI><STRONG>Basta de precarización del trabajo juvenil y del adulto mayor, la tercerización e inestabilidad laboral.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Contra la discriminación por raza genero o edad de cualquier trabajador o trabajadora.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Basta de persecuciones, acoso laboral, amedrentamiento contra <A href="mailto:l@s%20trabajador"><FONT color=#000099>l@s trabajador</FONT></A>@s que se organizan en sus centros de trabajo. <A href="mailto:l@s%20trabajador"><FONT color=#000099>l@s trabajador</FONT></A>@s tienen plenos derechos a organizarse, ya sea en sindicatos, comités de prevención y salud laboral y/o en consejos de </STRONG><A href="mailto:trabajador@s"><FONT color=#000099>trabajador@s</FONT></A><STRONG>.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Contra la discriminación por orientación sexual, identidad de género y/o expresión de género.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Apoyo total a las luchas de mujeres y hombres por sus derechos a la crianza de sus <A href="mailto:hij@s%20en"><FONT color=#000099>hij@s en</FONT></A> edad inicial y la extensión de los periodos de lactancia materna. </STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Basta de cerrar los medios de comunicación del Sistema Nacional de Medios Públicos (SNMP) a la difusión de las luchas de la clase obrera contra la burocracia y contra la manipulación sobre la noticia de las luchas obreras que hace el sector privado.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Contra la discrecionalidad del Ministerio del Trabajo en relación con los conflictos laborales del sector público.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Por una nueva y revolucionaria Ley Orgánica del Trabajo y la Ley Especial de Consejos de Trabajador@S</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Basta del sicariato por parte de patronos privados y uso de los organismos de fuerza pública e inteligencia contra la clase obrera.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Nuestra defensa del internacionalismo proletario, en ése sentido apoyamos todas las luchas de la clase obrera contra la burguesía y su aparato represivo de estado en cualquier lugar del planeta.</STRONG></LI>
<LI><STRONG>Nuestro total apoyo al camarada Presidente Hugo Chávez frías de cara a la misión 7 de octubre.</STRONG></LI></UL>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><STRONG>¡NI BUROCRACIA NI CAPITAL! ¡MÁS SOCIALISMO Y MÁS REVOLUCIÓN PARA VENCER EL 7 DE OCTUBRE! </STRONG></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><STRONG>¡TODO EL PODER PARA LA CLASE OBRERA!</STRONG></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"> </P>
<P align=center>Visita: <A href="http://controlobrerogc.blogspot.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#000099>http://controlobrerogc.blogspot.com/</FONT></A> Siguenos en el twitter: <STRONG>@ControlObreroGC</STRONG> o por nuestro grupo en el fb: <A href="mailto:controlobreroencaracas@groups.facebook.com"><FONT color=#000099>controlobreroencaracas@groups.facebook.com</FONT></A></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
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<DIV style="Z-INDEX: 1">From: OnlineDVDclass.com <donotreply@OnlineDVDclass.com><BR>To: inmart5 <inmart5@aol.com><BR>Sent: Tue, Nov 15, 2011 4:54 pm<BR>Subject: Online DVD Lawsuit -- Current and Former Netflix Subscribers<BR><BR></DIV>
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<TD align=middle><B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; TEXT-ALIGN: center">If You Rented Online DVDs from Netflix<BR>A Class Action and a Settlement with Wal-Mart May Affect Your Rights</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN><BR><BR><I><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Para <SPAN class=ecxSpellE>una</SPAN> <SPAN class=ecxSpellE>notificación</SPAN> en <SPAN class=ecxSpellE>Español</SPAN>, <SPAN class=ecxSpellE>llamar</SPAN> 1-877-389-4469 o <SPAN class=ecxSpellE>visitar</SPAN> <A href="http://www.onlinedvdclass.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.OnlineDVDclass.com</FONT></A> <BR><BR></SPAN></I></TD></TR>
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<TD><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Records show that you paid a subscription fee to rent DVDs online from Netflix anytime from May 19, 2005 to September 2, 2011. We are emailing to tell you about a Settlement and lawsuit that may affect your legal rights. You may be eligible to receive a cash payment or gift card from the Settlement. Please read this email carefully. Go to <A href="http://www.onlinedvdclass.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.OnlineDVDclass.com</FONT></A> for more information.<BR><BR>There is a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walmart.com USA LLC (together called “Wal-Mart”) and Netflix, Inc. (“Netflix”) involving the price of online DVD rentals. The Class Action seeks money for current and former Netflix subscribers. A Settlement has been reached with Wal-Mart. Netflix and Wal-Mart believe that the lawsuit has no basis. Netflix has <U>not</U> settled the lawsuit and the litigation continues against it.<BR><BR><B>What is the lawsuit about?</B><BR><BR>The lawsuit claims that Wal-Mart and Netflix reached an unlawful agreement under which Wal-Mart would withdraw from the online DVD rental market and Netflix would not sell new DVDs. Wal-Mart and Netflix deny that they entered into such an agreement or that they have done anything wrong, that the Plaintiffs have been harmed in any way, or that the price of online DVD rentals was raised or inflated by any agreement between Wal-Mart and Netflix. The Court has not decided who is right.<BR><BR><B>The Litigation Class Against Netflix</B><BR><BR><B><I>Who’s included in the Netflix Litigation Class?</I></B> Any person or entity in the United States that paid a subscription fee to Netflix anytime from May 19, 2005 to September 30, 2010.<BR><BR><B><I>What are my rights in the Netflix Litigation Class?</I></B><BR><BR><B><U>Remain in the Litigation</U>:</B> If you wish to remain in the Litigation, you do not need to take any action at this time.<BR><BR><B><U>Get out of the Litigation</U>:</B> If you wish to keep your individual right to sue Netflix about these claims you must exclude yourself. To ask to be excluded, send a letter to the address below, postmarked by <B>February 14, 2012,</B> that says you want to be excluded from <I>In re: Online DVD Rental Antitrust Litigation</I>, MDL No. 2029. Include your name, address, and telephone number.<BR><BR><B>The Wal-Mart Settlement Class</B><BR><BR><B><I>Who’s included in the Wal-Mart Settlement Class?</I></B> Any person or entity living in the United States or Puerto Rico that paid a subscription fee to rent DVDs online from Netflix anytime from May 19, 2005 to and including September 2, 2011.<BR><BR><B><I>What does the Settlement provide?</I></B> Wal-Mart will pay $27,250,000, in cash and gift cards, to settle the lawsuit. If you qualify, you can get a cash payment or a gift card that can be used at <A href="http://www.walmart.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.walmart.com</FONT></A>. The actual amount paid in cash and in gift cards depends on the total number of valid claims filed.<BR><BR>Class Counsel will ask the Court to award the following: (1) attorneys’ fees up to 25% of the Settlement Fund, plus costs that Class Counsel estimate at up to $1.7 million, (2) administration and notice costs, and (3) $5,000 for each of the Class Representatives (up to $80,000 total which could include the class representatives from cases filed in California state courts). After these fees and costs are deducted from the Settlement Fund, the remaining amount will be equally divided amongst the Wal-Mart Settlement Class Members who file valid claims.<BR><BR><B><I>How to get Settlement benefits?</I></B> You must submit a Claim Form to get benefits. You can submit a Claim Form online (for gift cards only) or by mail. The deadline to submit a Claim Form is <B>February 14, 2012.</B> Click <A href="http://www.onlinedvdclass.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>here</FONT></A> to get a Claim Form or call 1-877-389-4469.<BR><BR><B><I>What are my rights in the Wal-Mart Settlement Class?</I></B><BR><BR><B><U>Remain in the Settlement</U>:</B> If you wish to remain in the Wal-Mart Settlement Class and get benefits, you need to file a claim.<BR><BR><B><U>Get out of the Settlement</U>:</B> If you wish to keep your right to individually sue Wal-Mart about the claims in this case you must exclude yourself by <B>February 14, 2012</B> from <I>both</I> the Wal-Mart Settlement Class and the Netflix Litigation Class. See the instruction on how to “Get out of the Litigation” above.<BR><BR><B><U>Remain in the Wal-Mart Settlement Class and Object</U>:</B> If you stay in the Wal-Mart Settlement Class you can object to it by <B>February 14, 2012</B>.<BR><BR>The detailed notice, available at <A href="http://www.onlinedvdclass.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.OnlineDVDclass.com</FONT></A> or by calling 1-877-389-4469, explains how to exclude yourself or object.<BR><BR>The Court will hold a hearing on <B>March 14, 2012</B> to consider whether to approve the Settlement, and a request for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses. If you wish, you or your own attorney may ask to appear and speak at the hearing at your own cost.</SPAN></TD></TR>
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<TD align=middle><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><BR><B>For More Information: 1-877-389-4469</B> <A href="http://www.onlinedvdclass.com/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>www.OnlineDVDclass.com</FONT></A><BR><B>Netflix Lawsuit, PO Box 2602, Faribault, MN 55021-9602</B></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
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<DIV style="Z-INDEX: 1"><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN> Tue, November 15, 2011 10:36:24 AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> General Strike/port action proposal for tonight's General Assembly in light of recent attacks<BR><BR><FONT face=Arial>The following proposal will be presented to the GA tonight by the Port Action/General Strike affinity group which met the last two Sundays on the west steps:<BR><BR>OccupyLA Proposal by Port Action/General Strike affinity group<BR><BR><B>What:</B> Carry out a port action, "Occupy the Ports/A Day without Goldman Sachs," on December 12 as part of the Dec. 12 day of action, Boycott and March already adopted by the GA. The occupation will take place at at least one facility owned by SSA Marine, a shipping company belonging to Goldman Sachs, (coordinated with a possible port shut down by the port truck drivers) as a build up towards a General Strike on May 1, 2012.<BR><BR><B>How:</B> a) Establish a General Strike Preparation Committee of OccupyLA, which will work with the Dec. 12 Coalition, port truck drivers, longshore, warehouse and other port workers, community residents, unions, and OccupyLongBeach to plan and organize the Dec. 12 actions. b) Develop alliances in the process with organized and unorganized labor, student and community groups to prepare for and build towards a General Strike on May 1, 2012, >> EMPHASIS ADDED: or at any moment that circumstances and conditions demand<<. c) Call on other Occupations to act on Dec. 12 and May 1.<BR><BR><B>Why:</B> The 1% are depriving port truck drivers and other workers of decent pay, working conditions and the right to organize, even while the port of LA/LB is the largest in the US and a huge engine of profits for the 1%. They have pursued a conscious policy of de-industrialization that has resulted in "trade" at the port meaning that there are 7 containers coming in for every one going out. They have driven migrant workers into a "grey market" economy and repression. The port drivers and other workers have the power to push forward the kind of change we need. By building towards a general strike, we can spread the Occupy movement and sink roots in the 99%.<BR><BR>I intend to add the following two sentences near the end of the "why" section as a friendly amendment during discussion, to go between "...repression." and "The port drivers...:"<BR><BR>The 1% use police brutality and repression, jails and prisons to suppress, divide and try to silence the 99% and all who oppose their insatiable greed. To put an end to all that, we call on the 99% to march, boycott, occupy the ports, and STRIKE on December 12 for full legalization, good jobs for all, equality and justice.</FONT><BR><BR><BR>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</DIV>
<DIV class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass PlainTextMessageBody" id=mpf0_MsgContainer style="Z-INDEX: 1"><PRE><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4><STRONG>There Is Power in Community Allies<BR>BY JAKE BLUMGART<BR></STRONG></FONT>WEDNESDAY NOV 16, 2011 8:59 AM<BR> <BR><A href="http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12300/there_is_power_in_community_allies/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12300/there_is_power_in_community_allies/</FONT></A><BR> <BR>NYC wage theft victory shows growing role of nonunion<BR>labor groups<BR> <BR>Jesus Najera's job at the Brooklyn grocery store Master<BR>Food, where he has worked since 2004, used to force him<BR>to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, with no overtime,<BR>for less than $4 an hour. (The minimum wage is currently<BR>$7.25.) Abuses of this magnitude are quite common in the<BR>low-pay, service sector, especially among the immigrant<BR>community.<BR> <BR>It has been estimated that more than $30 billion is<BR>stolen from American workers every year. If the cases<BR>are fought at all, workers are usually able to reclaim<BR>some of their stolen wages, but not their jobs. <BR> <BR>But the Master Store story is atypical. Najera and some<BR>of his co-workers fought back, with the help of New York<BR>Communities for Change (NYCC), a Brooklyn-based<BR>community advocacy organization, and Local 338 of the<BR>Retail, Wholesale and Department Store/United Food and<BR>Commercial Workers union. "Things were very, very bad,"<BR>Najera says. "But we started to organize in the store so<BR>they didn't keep abusing us." <BR> <BR>Now, a little less than a year later, the workers have<BR>won back a significant amount of their stolen wages and<BR>secured a union contract specifying benefits and<BR>increased pay.<BR> <BR>This innovative settlement, ratified by workers on<BR>October 31, is the result of a collaboration between<BR>NYCC and Local 338, which has many grocery worker<BR>members. In 2010, the local began canvassing<BR>neighborhoods across Brooklyn, talking to workers and<BR>trying to get them interested in the organization. In<BR>December they met a couple of the Master Food workers,<BR>and three months later the workers voted to join the<BR>RWDSU/UFCW local 338. <BR> <BR>After negotiations with the employer broke down, they<BR>filed a lawsuit against the company in May. But instead<BR>of merely securing the stolen wages, they used the<BR>employer's illegal actions and the staggering sums<BR>stolen as leverage. The amount owed to the workers was<BR>enough to bankrupt the business, but the workers agreed<BR>to settle for well below the total amount in exchange<BR>for continued employment under a union contract. <BR> <BR>"There wasn't much the employers could do because we<BR>were hitting them from both sides," says Lucas Sanchez,<BR>an organizer with NYCC. "We had the workers organized in<BR>the union and we had the workers organized as plaintiffs<BR>in the lawsuit. The employer tried to retaliate by<BR>cutting some hours, but we responded immediately. We had<BR>rallies, the support of local elected officials, and<BR>press coverage. There wasn't much he could do except try<BR>to negotiate the best settlement possible." <BR> <BR>Negotiations ended last month, and the workers came away<BR>with $300,000 of the $500,000 claimed in back wages and,<BR>of course, the contract. (Najera personally won<BR>$15,000.) In addition to the standard minimum wage pay<BR>which they were cheated out of before, the workers will<BR>receive a raise of 35 cents an hour, followed by another<BR>25 cents next year. Benefits include vacation, holiday,<BR>sick, personal and funeral days, and a guarantee that<BR>"the Employer shall not hire any new employee if said<BR>hiring results or would result in the reduction of any<BR>current employee's hours of work."<BR> <BR>The new contract also includes grievance procedures to<BR>resolve issues that arise in the workplace. As much as<BR>the material gains, the union contract is important<BR>because it gives the workers protection from abuse or<BR>retaliation, especially important for low-wage workers.<BR>Few people realize that a union is basically the only<BR>sure way to protect a worker from employers who are<BR>legally allowed to fire-at-will, for any reason. <BR> <BR>"It's a complicated world out there, and being a union<BR>puts them on firm footing to analyze what's going on<BR>around them," says Kevin Lynch, former organizing<BR>director for Local 338 and an advisor to NYCC. "The fact<BR>that a boss can fire you because of the color of your<BR>hat comes as a shock to natives, but it isn't a shock to<BR>immigrants, because they are often treated with total<BR>contempt on the job. What's going to be a learning<BR>experience for them is that the boss can lo no longer do<BR>that--the confidence that comes with a written contract."<BR> <BR> <BR>The Master Food campaign wasn't an isolated fight. It is<BR>part of a wider campaign orchestrated by NYCC, and<BR>several other lawsuits are pending against other<BR>employers with similar records of wage theft and other<BR>kinds of abuse. They hope to use the model organize<BR>other unjust, low-wage workplaces, including car washes<BR>and restaurants.<BR> <BR>These industries have proved difficult for unions to<BR>organize through traditional means. Low-wage workers are<BR>often unaware of their rights and work in establishments<BR>with high turnover rates, making organizing drives<BR>difficult to sustain. Immigrant workforces present<BR>special challenges, including language barriers and<BR>fears of immigration authorities for those workers who<BR>do not have the proper documentation.<BR> <BR>Because labor unions can be hesitant to invest scarce<BR>resources in such a risky organizing drive, workers'<BR>centers and community groups have been low-income<BR>workers' chief source of support and solidarity. While<BR>workers' centers have experienced success winning back<BR>wages and educating workers, they largely haven't been<BR>able to provide the long-term protections afforded by a<BR>union contract. But many of those within the workers'<BR>center movement are expanding their efforts by working<BR>with unions. The NYCC model is just one example. In<BR>Chicago, the Arise Chicago workers' center and the<BR>United Steelworkers are acting in concert to organize<BR>carwash employees who have long been cheated of their<BR>wages and their rights.<BR> <BR>"Unions are not going to go after small workplaces,<BR>because they have to be resource efficient," says Adam<BR>Kader, director of Arise Chicago, which is working on<BR>several union-organizing projects. "Workers centers can<BR>make it worth a unions' while. If you partner with a<BR>workers center you'll have an organized, militant,<BR>competent group of people to work with. And we have a<BR>point of access with hard to reach workers, because we<BR>are rooted in those hard-to-reach communities."<BR> <BR>In the meantime, the Master Food employees are going<BR>about their jobs with a heightened sense of confidence. <BR> <BR>"I'm so happy, extremely happy, and so are all my other<BR>co-workers," Najera says. "I'd like to send a send a<BR>message to the Hispanic community here in New York that<BR>we do have rights, we just have to organize each other<BR>to defend our rights. We are not alone. We just have to<BR>look for the support."<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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<DIV class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass PlainTextMessageBody" id=mpf0_MsgContainer><PRE><STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>Goodbye to the 'Middle-Class'?<BR>A Lesson for Labor From<BR>Occupy Wall Street<BR>BY STEVE EARLY<BR>Working om The Times<BR></FONT></STRONG>Nov. 15, 2011<BR><A href="http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12299/good-bye_to_the_middle-class_a_lesson_for_labor_from_occupy_wall_street/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/12299/good-bye_to_the_middle-class_a_lesson_for_labor_from_occupy_wall_street/</FONT></A><BR> <BR>Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has given our timorous,<BR>unimaginative and politically ambivalent unions a<BR>much-needed ideological dope slap. Some might describe<BR>this, more diplomatically, as a second injection of<BR>"outside-the-box" thinking and new organizational<BR>blood.<BR> <BR>Top AFL-CIO officials first sought an infusion of those<BR>scarce commodities in labor when they jetted into<BR>Wisconsin last winter. Without their planning or<BR>direction, the spontaneous community-labor uprising in<BR>Wisconsin was in the process of recasting the debate<BR>about public sector bargaining throughout the U.S. So<BR>they were eager to join the protest even though it was<BR>launched from the bottom up, rather than in response to<BR>union headquarters directives from Washington, D.C.<BR> <BR>This fall, OWS has become the new Lourdes for the old,<BR>lame, and blind of American labor. Union leaders have<BR>been making regular visits to Zuccotti Park and other<BR>high-profile encampments around the country. According<BR>to NYC retail store union leader Stuart Applebaum, "the<BR>Occupy movement has changed unions"--both in the area of<BR>membership mobilization and "messaging."<BR> <BR>It would be a miraculous transformation indeed if<BR>organized labor suddenly embraced greater direct<BR>action, democratic decision-making and rank-and-file<BR>militancy. Since that's unlikely to occur in the<BR>absence of internal upheavals, unions might want to<BR>focus instead on casting aside the crutch of their own<BR>flawed messaging. That means adopting the Occupation<BR>movement's brilliant popular "framing" of the class<BR>divide and ditching labor's own muddled conception of<BR>class in America.<BR> <BR>Them and us, updated<BR> <BR>In his 1974 memoir and union history, United Electrical<BR>Workers co-founder Jim Matles reminded readers that<BR>labor struggles are about "them and us"--or, as OWS puts<BR>it, "the 1 percent" vs. the "99 percent."<BR>Unfortunately, most other unions have long relied on<BR>high-priced Democratic Party consultants, their focus<BR>groups and opinion polling, to shape labor's public<BR>"messaging" in much less effective fashion. The results<BR>of this collaboration have been unhelpful, to say the<BR>least. Organizations that are supposed to the voice of<BR>the working class majority have instead positioned<BR>themselves-narrowly and confusedly-as defenders of<BR>America's "middle class," an always fuzzy construct now<BR>being rendered even less meaningful by the<BR>recession-driven downward mobility of millions of<BR>people.<BR> <BR>As SUNY professor Michael Zweig argued in his book, The<BR>Working Class Majority: America's Best-Kept Secret,<BR>labor's never ending mantra about the "middle class"<BR>leaves class relations--and the actual class position of<BR>most of the population--is shrouded in rhetorical fog.<BR> <BR>Zweig points out that the working class in America<BR>today looks quite different than the blue-collar<BR>proletariat of the last century, which leads many to<BR>believe that differences in "status, income, or<BR>life-styles" define where they stand on the economic<BR>and social ladder. But "the real basis of social class<BR>lies in the varying amounts of power people have at<BR>work and in the larger society....The sooner we realize<BR>that classes exist and understand the power relations<BR>that are driving the economic and political changes<BR>swirling around us, the sooner we will be able to build<BR>an openly working class politics."<BR> <BR>As Zweig would agree I'm sure, labor's "framing" not<BR>only lacks the clear resonance of that employed by the<BR>new anti-capitalist campaigners of OWS; "one of the<BR>great weaknesses" of the standard union view of class<BR>"is that it confuses the target of political conflict."<BR>When the working class disappears into an amorphous<BR>"middle class," not only do the "working poor" (a mere<BR>46 million strong) drop out of the picture, but "the<BR>capitalist class disappears into 'the rich.' And when<BR>the capitalist class disappears from view, it cannot be<BR>a target."<BR> <BR>Well, thanks to OWS --but not most unions--that target is<BR>back in view. As a result of Occupation activity, there<BR>is now a far more favorable climate of public opinion<BR>for waging key contract fights at Verizon and other<BR>Fortune 500 companies.<BR> <BR>A corporate pig roast in Albany<BR> <BR>During the two-week strike by 45,000 Verizon workers in<BR>August, union PR people issued leaflets urging support<BR>for the CWA-IBEW "fight to defend middle-class jobs."<BR>This characterization of strike goals enabled Verizon<BR>to run newspaper ads claiming that the $75,000 a year<BR>or more earned by telephone technicians made them part<BR>of the "upper middle class"--and thus, apparently not<BR>worthy of sympathy from customers or members of the<BR>public whose jobs provide family incomes closer to the<BR>national or regional average.<BR> <BR>By late October, Verizon technicians, who are part of a<BR>reform movement in CWA Local 1101, had marched through<BR>lower Manhattan in solidarity with OWS and along with<BR>NYC teachers, teamsters, and transit workers. Similar<BR>links between occupiers and Verizon contract<BR>campaigners developed in Boston.<BR> <BR>Meanwhile, in upstate New York, members of CWA Local<BR>1118 held a "corporate pig roast"--right around the<BR>corner from "Cuomoville," the OWS encampment in<BR>downtown Albany that has so annoyed the state's<BR>Democratic governor. At this OWS-inspired event,<BR>Verizon workers invited occupiers (more used to vegan<BR>and vegetarian fare) to join them. They were also<BR>brandishing new signs, with a far better, more<BR>universalist message: "We are the 99 percent!"<BR> <BR>Interaction like this, between OWS and union<BR>rank-and-filers, has been mutually beneficial in many<BR>other places. On the labor side, Occupation activity<BR>has been a much-needed source of new energy and ideas.<BR>Lets hope that union members can keep pushing labor's<BR>communications strategy in a more resonant<BR>OWS-influenced direction. If they succeed with that<BR>objective, more substantive and harder to achieve<BR>organizational change could be next on the agenda.<BR> <BR>An earlier version of this article appeared in Logos.<BR> <BR>Steve Early is a former national staff member of the<BR>Communications Workers of America (CWA) who has been<BR>active in labor causes since 1972. He is the author of<BR>The Civil Wars in U.S. Labor (Haymarket Books, 2010)<BR>and a contributor to the forthcoming, Wisconsin<BR>Uprising: Labor Fights Back, from Monthly Review Press.<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><BR><BR><BR></DIV></DIV>
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