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<LI><FONT size=3><STRONG>Mexico's La Jornada Bloquean Ocupas entradas a puertos de Oakland y San Diego Fw: Andrés Ruiz Furlong shared a link on your Wall.</STRONG></FONT></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>West Coast Port Shutdown Sparks Heated Debate betweenUnions, Occupy</FONT></H2></LI>
<LI><FONT size=3><STRONG>An Open Letter from America's Port Truck Drivers on Occupy the Ports</STRONG></FONT></LI>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=3>People of the Central Valley 5</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=3>AFRICAN AMERICAN TENANTS FIGHT A STOCKTON SLUMLORD</FONT></DIV></H2></LI>
<LI><FONT size=3><STRONG>Lawrence Weschler on Moving Beyond OWS</STRONG></FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT size=3><STRONG>Over 1,500 March at Occupy Oakland's Port of Oakland Demonstration: Police Say, "No Work Stoppage"</STRONG></FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT size=3><STRONG>Long-Term Jobless Eye Bleak Future as Benefits End</STRONG></FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT size=3><STRONG>ACN Trade Unionists of the Americas Demand Release of the Cuban Five</STRONG></FONT></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>House Republican Leaders Rush to Save the 1%</FONT></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>NPR News and Kaiser Poll Examines Experiences and Views of Long-term Unemployed</FONT></H2></H2></LI>
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<H2 class=ReadMsgSubject><FONT size=3>Anti-Union Law Squeezes Wisconsin Teachers</FONT></H2></H2></H2></LI>
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<P class=ecxheadline3 style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><FONT color=#0068cf><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/13878?akid=7981.16102.IghAuF&t=30" target=_blank>Child Labor, Torture and Rape: Attempts to Regulate the Brutal Diamond Industry Failing</A></FONT></P></H2></H2></H2></LI></OL>
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<DIV class="ecxiab ecxmedium-rectangle"><A href="http://sb1.jornada.unam.mx/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.jornada.unam.mx/nultimas/1895165630/Right1/OasDefault/demos_032b/demos_032b_02.html/34623162656235623465356161373730" target=_blank><IMG style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" src="http://anuncios.jornada.com.mx/demos/ccdemos_032_01.png"></A></DIV>
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<DIV class=ecxnewsImageInside><A href="http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/2011/12/12/9025234-planean-ocupas-bloquear-puertos-de-eu-en-protesta-contra-goldman-sacks/image_view_fullscreen" target=_blank><IMG class=ecxnewsImage src="http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/2011/12/12/9025234-planean-ocupas-bloquear-puertos-de-eu-en-protesta-contra-goldman-sacks/image_mini" width=250 border=0><FONT color=#0068cf> </FONT></A>
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<P class="section ecxlist"><FONT size=5>Bloquean 'ocupas' entradas a puertos de Oakland y San Diego</FONT>
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<P class=ecxdocumentDescription>En tanto, otros grupos marchaban a las terminales en Long Beach, Los Ángeles, Seattle y Anchorage.</P></DIV>
<P id=ecxbyline><STRONG>Notimex</STRONG> <BR><SPAN class=ecxdiscreet>Publicado: 12/12/2011 09:00</SPAN> </P></DIV>
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<DIV><EM>San Diego. </EM>Manifestantes contra Wall Street bloquearon este lunes las entradas a los puertos marítimos en Oakland y San Diego, mientras otros grupos marchaban a las terminales en Long Beach, Los Ángeles, Seattle y Anchorage.</DIV>
<DIV>Unos 60 manifestantes bloquearon una de las dos entradas al puerto de San Diego al final de una marcha desde el vecindario latino Barrio Logan, mientras otro grupo se dirigía al portal restante.</DIV>
<DIV>Por lo menos 250 policías de distintas corporaciones vigilaban a distancia prudente la protesta.</DIV>
<DIV>El grupo ante el portal del puerto circulaba tras una manta en fondo azul con la leyenda: "La globalización explota, esclaviza y contamina".</DIV>
<DIV>La organización Ocupe San Diego informó que permanecerá en las inmediaciones hasta horas de la tarde, cuando cientos de camiones de carga tendrían que salir del puerto para distribuir mercancías que llegan de la Cuenca del Pacífico al sur de California.</DIV>
<DIV>En Oakland, otro grupo se apostó a la entrada del puerto más importante del norte de California. Es la segunda vez que Ocupe Oakland obliga a suspender operaciones en la terminal marítima de esa ciudad.</DIV>
<DIV>Por su parte, otros contingentes marchaban a los puertos de Los Ángeles, Long Beach, Seattle y Anchorage. Ocupe Portland, en el estado de Oregon, informó que bloqueó ese puerto sin incidentes también esta mañana.</DIV>
<DIV>La organización de manifestantes contra Wall Street esperaba impactar a la banca Goldman Sacks, una corporación que según Ocupe Wall Street basa buena parte de sus operaciones en intercambio económico marítimo.</DIV>
<DIV>Aunque el Sindicato de Estibadores demanda la renovación de su contrato colectivo en Long Beach y Oakland, la unión sindical informó que los manifestantes contra Wall Street no les representan en su protesta.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/13893?akid=7983.16102.mFAKGi&t=5" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Occupy Protesters Seek to Shut West Coast Ports</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 11px; COLOR: #de4900; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif">By Agence France Presse</DIV></DIV>
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<STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>West Coast Port Shutdown Sparks Heated Debate between<BR>Unions, Occupy<BR></FONT></STRONG>by Evan Rohar<BR>Labor Notes<BR>December 12, 2011<BR> <BR><A href="http://labornotes.org/print/2011/12/west-coast-port-shutdown-sparks-heated-debate-between-unions-occupy" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://labornotes.org/print/2011/12/west-coast-port-shutdown-sparks-heated-debate-between-unions-occupy</FONT></A><BR> <BR>For the second time in a month, the Occupy movement<BR>called for mass action to shut down port operations.<BR>This time, the occupiers targeted the entire West<BR>Coast.<BR> <BR>The Occupy Oakland General Assembly unanimously adopted<BR>a proposal November 18 calling for the "blockade and<BR>disruption of the economic apparatus of the 1% with a<BR>coordinated shutdown of ports on the entire West Coast<BR>on December 12." (General assemblies are meetings, open<BR>to all, that make decisions for Occupy groups, using<BR>consensus.)<BR> <BR>The motion declares solidarity with Longshore Union<BR>(ILWU) members in Longview, Washington, in their<BR>struggle against grain terminal operator EGT. The<BR>company has refused to hire ILWU members and is now in<BR>a drawn-out battle that could shape the future of the<BR>4,000 union members who work the Pacific Northwest's<BR>grain elevators.<BR> <BR>Occupiers planned the shutdown without consulting with<BR>the union, and the ILWU put out a statement December 6<BR>to its members and supporters disclaiming support for<BR>the action and claiming its prerogative in the fight<BR>against EGT. "The ILWU has a long history of<BR>democracy," wrote ILWU President Bob McElrath. "Part of<BR>that historic democracy is the hard-won right to chart<BR>our own course to victory."<BR> <BR>Members of the Occupy movement interpreted the union's<BR>distancing itself as, at best, a legal safeguard<BR>against the fines that could result from a work<BR>stoppage that violates the contract's strike bar. At<BR>worst, they saw it as a product of the union movement's<BR>timidity, born of decades of retreat and identification<BR>with employer interests.<BR> <BR>ILWU members and officials expressed alarm at how the<BR>port shutdown was called and questioned why the Occupy<BR>movements called for action without consulting the<BR>people that action would affect most.<BR> <BR>Occupy spokespeople responded that they reached out to<BR>union members after the shutdown call was made. Kari<BR>Koch of Occupy Portland said they have been flyering at<BR>shift changes at the port for a week. "We would not be<BR>doing this action if we didn't have any support from<BR>the rank and file," Koch said.<BR> <BR>But occupiers didn't call ILWU Local 8 there, she said.<BR>(They sent an email.) Occupiers were worried the local<BR>could be legally liable if it coordinated with<BR>protesters.<BR> <BR>Huge numbers showed up at the gates this morning in<BR>Oakland and shut three port gates. Occupiers, who plan<BR>to disrupt the afternoon shift as well, reported no<BR>animosity from ILWU members and port truckers.<BR> <BR>While it's certainly the case that the union movement<BR>needs a kick in the pants, and the occupiers have done<BR>a lot to aim the shoe, ILWU members and officers say<BR>democracy in movements-union and Occupy alike-means<BR>giving say to the people affected, not assuming their<BR>participation or support because an action is just.<BR> <BR>But Mike Parker, a retired UAW activist in the Bay Area<BR>and co-author of Democracy Is Power, said most strikes<BR>are inconvenient for someone, including other workers.<BR>Their success relies on all workers affected by an<BR>action honoring the line, whether or not they felt<BR>appropriately warned.<BR> <BR>Other unionists involved in the occupy movement say the<BR>ILWU should recognize the need for tactical<BR>flexibility.<BR> <BR>"The Occupy movement is simply taking from labor<BR>history," said Robbie Donohoe, an Electrical Workers<BR>member who has been active in organizing for the<BR>shutdown. "We're making it safer for workers to<BR>challenge the boundaries of laws that were created to<BR>secure the reins of power firmly in the hands of the<BR>1%."<BR> <BR>HERE WE GO<BR> <BR>Regardless of whether ILWU leaders support the<BR>shutdown, union and community members have done person-<BR>to-person outreach to make it succeed.<BR> <BR>The Oakland Education Association's executive board<BR>backed the call; President Betty Olsen Jones has been<BR>leaftleting port truckers at 6 a.m. along with<BR>occupiers and union activists.<BR> <BR>A largely immigrant workforce of "independent<BR>contractors" that move cargo in and out of the ports,<BR>the truckers are legally prevented from unionizing.<BR>Some criticized the November 2 port shutdown in Oakland<BR>because the truckers were unprepared for the huge march<BR>that succeeded in shutting down the port, which trapped<BR>many of them for hours. Lacking a union, they have few<BR>structures to appeal to for support.<BR> <BR>Anthony Levierge of the Bay Area's ILWU Local 10 and a<BR>half-dozen active rank and filers have been passing out<BR>flyers and explaining the rationale for the shutdown to<BR>fellow members. "It's been a mixed bag of attitudes,"<BR>he said, adding that he believed members would "honor<BR>the history and legacy of social justice unionism that<BR>ILWU members have fought hard for."<BR> <BR>The West Coast longshore union has a history of<BR>honoring community picket lines for good causes, but<BR>the question of how those actions are decided-and<BR>actually brought to bear against multinational<BR>employers who move billions of dollars of goods through<BR>the ports-is a complicated matter.<BR> <BR>Samantha Levens, a Bay Area member of the Inland<BR>Boatmen's Union, an ILWU affiliate, said education and<BR>preparation among the members should have been a first<BR>priority. She noted that some previous shutdowns took<BR>months to prepare-like a May Day work stoppage in 2008.<BR> <BR>When confronted with a picket line at port gates, ILWU<BR>members have the right under their coastwide contract<BR>to stop work and call an arbitrator to rule on possible<BR>safety threats or the validity of the picket line.<BR> <BR>Success in shutting down ports along the coast depends<BR>upon presenting a credible safety threat to longshore<BR>workers. If emergency vehicles cannot make it into the<BR>port, or if the workers feel threatened by mass pickets<BR>and police presence, they will call an arbitrator to<BR>decide whether the action presents a bona fide risk.<BR>The decision to call an arbitrator can delay the<BR>beginning of work, and if the workers are sent home<BR>they may not be paid, depending on the circumstance.<BR> <BR>Port bosses warned the ILWU that the 2008 May Day<BR>stoppage against the military occupation of Iraq and<BR>Afghanistan was "unauthorized" but members went through<BR>with it regardless.<BR> <BR>"Because the members had discussed and debated it<BR>before they voted on it and had been building support<BR>amongst the ranks heading towards the vote, the buy-in<BR>and ownership of the action was firmly in the hands of<BR>the members," Levens said.<BR> <BR>THUMBS UP AND DOWN<BR> <BR>Complicating the union landscape have been efforts from<BR>Bay Area building trades unions to force labor to<BR>oppose today's port shutdown.<BR> <BR>The Alameda Central Labor Council, with the approval of<BR>ILWU Local 10's president, tabled a motion that<BR>condemned the Occupy action, after several delegates<BR>argued that the occupiers deserved at least neutrality.<BR> <BR>But the Building Trades Council denounced the shutdown,<BR>and the Alameda council hurriedly adopted a negative<BR>position December 5.<BR> <BR>After the first resolution was tabled, the CLC's<BR>Executive Secretary Treasurer Josie Camacho (whose<BR>husband Victor Uno is an Oakland port commissioner and<BR>Electrical Workers business manager) pushed a second<BR>motion decrying the shutdown.<BR> <BR>Eric Larsen, member relations secretary for AFSCME<BR>Local 444 and labor liaison with Occupy Oakland, was<BR>barred from addressing the CLC about the port action.<BR> <BR>"I pleaded with them to let me speak," he said. "They<BR>would not."<BR> <BR>He said council leaders claimed the reason for<BR>rejecting him, and their denunciation of the shutdown,<BR>came from Occupy's inability to communicate.<BR> <BR>ORIGIN: LOS ANGELES<BR> <BR>Originally, the idea of a December 12 protest was<BR>initiated by Occupy Los Angeles, to coincide with<BR>immigrants' rights activities around Our Lady of<BR>Guadalupe Day.<BR> <BR>Sarah Knopp, a 12-year member of the Teachers union<BR>(UTLA) in Los Angeles, said occupiers decided to target<BR>SSA Marine, a terminal operator owned by Goldman Sachs<BR>with container terminals in North and South America and<BR>in Vietnam.<BR> <BR>SSA Marine is notorious for its environmental, labor,<BR>and human rights abuses and its exploitation of port<BR>truck drivers paid piece rates to move cargo containers<BR>on and off the docks. Occupiers were also motivated by<BR>the firing of 27 port truckers who work for a separate<BR>firm, Toll Group. Those fired had worn Teamster shirts,<BR>part of a long-running campaign to beat the legal<BR>prohibitions on organizing.<BR> <BR>After Oakland Occupy expanded the call to all ports on<BR>the West Coast, Occupy L.A. decided to stay with its<BR>original plan-a march from Harry Bridges Park to an SSA<BR>terminal, and a community picket to block a gate. The<BR>ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles take up 25 miles of<BR>coastland and handle 85 percent of all traffic on the<BR>West Coast, an operation too vast to blockade with the<BR>numbers the protesters expected.<BR> <BR>Knopp and fellow occupiers stood outside a recent ILWU<BR>Local 13 meeting and flyered the workers to build<BR>support for the SSA action. They received a "totally<BR>friendly reception," Knopp said. "Everyone thinks it's<BR>a great idea."<BR> <BR>"We're initiating a process where the Occupy movement<BR>can build a base in the labor movement," said Michael<BR>Novick, a UTLA retiree.<BR> <BR>Saying that L.A. occupiers recognize the ILWU is not a<BR>position to act today (and its leadership was not<BR>solicited to participate), Novick added that the port<BR>truckers may be better placed to carry out the action<BR>in this crucial port. With no union contract, they face<BR>no sanction except loss of a day's pay.<BR> <BR>A loose association of port truck organizers who helped<BR>to shut the port on May 1, 2006, when immigrants rights<BR>protests shook the country, met December 9 to decide<BR>whether to attempt a similar action December 12.<BR> <BR>Ernesto Nevarez, a port truck organizer, said truckers<BR>at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port stayed away for<BR>hours Monday morning as nearly 1,000 marchers rallied<BR>at port gates.<BR> <BR>SPLIT, DEMOCRATICALLY<BR> <BR>Every ILWU officer and international staffer reiterates<BR>the union's solidarity with the Occupy movement and its<BR>goals. But the December 12 action has annoyed many.<BR> <BR>Cameron Williams, president of Local 19 in Seattle,<BR>said, "It's kind of like if I planned a party at your<BR>house and didn't ask about it." Local officers say<BR>occupiers circumvented the union's democratic process.<BR> <BR>"The occupiers have been understandably confused by<BR>mixed signals from individuals in the ILWU," said Craig<BR>Merrilees, communications director for the<BR>international. He believes some members are speaking to<BR>occupiers without the backing of the organization's<BR>internal democratic process.<BR> <BR>President Scott Mason of Local 23 in Tacoma,<BR>Washington, said he hasn't "felt much movement either<BR>way" from the members.<BR> <BR>"Local 8 officers aren't in support of it," said Jeff<BR>Smith, president of the Portland longshore local. "If<BR>it went to a rank-and-file vote I don't know what would<BR>happen."<BR> <BR>Rank and filers won't get a chance to have their say.<BR>Local 8's next membership meeting is December 14.<BR> <BR>Occupiers leafleted the dispatch hall but members say<BR>they might have succeeded in convincing more of the<BR>Portland rank and file if outreach had started before<BR>the action was set.<BR> <BR>Levens expressed support for the Occupy movement's<BR>goal-to confront corporate power-but not its approach<BR>in this action.<BR> <BR>"The lack of communication with the members and union<BR>officials leaves the Occupy activists and union members<BR>without the benefit of sharing our [earlier] Oakland<BR>experience with shutting down the port and community<BR>pickets," said Levens, who has been active in Oakland<BR>general assemblies.<BR> <BR>Parker said the constraints on unions are too great to<BR>expect a better process.<BR> <BR>"Even if Occupy Oakland were the best, most democratic<BR>it could be, there is no way that they could consult<BR>with elected leaders of the ILWU," he said. "Unions are<BR>faced with a choice of gambling everything [by openly<BR>supporting a strike] or of protecting themselves by<BR>disclaiming responsibility and honoring lines by using<BR>loopholes."<BR> <BR>It doesn't help that the institutions assessing<BR>liability-right-wing courts-are not on labor's side.<BR> <BR>Parker says the occupiers may have to look for new ways<BR>to hit the 1%.<BR> <BR>"The continued focus on the docks, because it is easy<BR>and takes advantage of the solidarity traditions of the<BR>dock workers, makes the dock workers themselves the<BR>targets and the targets start resenting it," Parker<BR>said.<BR> <BR>SOLIDARITY WITH LONGVIEW<BR> <BR>Occupy Oakland said a big part of the reason for<BR>today's action was solidarity with ILWU Local 21 in its<BR>struggle against grain shipper EGT. Some in the<BR>movement say the ILWU officialdom, which badly needs to<BR>beat EGT, is merely covering its legal bases by<BR>distancing itself from the action.<BR> <BR>But leaders of locals up and down the coast say a<BR>coastwide work stoppage for Local 21 could actually<BR>harm its struggle, by uniting employers to support EGT.<BR> <BR>A more immediate fear could be legal reprisals<BR>resulting from an injunction and contempt charges<BR>leveled by a federal judge against Local 21 and the<BR>international. Fines for the local's disruptions,<BR>blockades, and grain-dumping this summer have already<BR>totaled $315,000.<BR> <BR>If a federal judge determines that occupiers are acting<BR>on the union's behalf, Mason said, "we can be charged<BR>$5,000 for every incident."<BR> <BR>Still, Local 21 President Dan Coffman, who gave a<BR>speech about EGT to Occupy Oakland the day after its<BR>general assembly adopted the shutdown call, does not<BR>conceal his enthusiasm for the movement.<BR> <BR>Coffman cited the November 2 port shutdown as an<BR>inspiration to his members, who have been on the picket<BR>line for six months.<BR> <BR>Supporters of Occupy and ILWU Local 21 are preparing<BR>for January, when a ship headed for Asia is scheduled<BR>to retrieve grain from the disputed elevator in<BR>Longview. An independently organized action could allow<BR>the ILWU to circumvent the legal minefield set in front<BR>of its own membership.<BR> <BR>"We're going to do whatever we can to stop that ship<BR>from being loaded," Coffman vowed.<BR> <BR>Eduardo Soriano-Castillo contributed to this story from<BR>Oakland.<BR><BR><BR>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@<BR>
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<STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>An Open Letter from America's Port Truck Drivers on<BR>Occupy the Ports<BR></FONT></STRONG>December 12, 2011<BR> <BR><A href="http://cleanandsafeports.org/blog/2011/12/12/an-open-letter-from-america%E2%80%99s-port-truck-drivers-on-occupy-the-ports/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://cleanandsafeports.org/blog/2011/12/12/an-open-letter-from-america%E2%80%99s-port-truck-drivers-on-occupy-the-ports/</FONT></A><BR> <BR>We are the front-line workers who haul container rigs<BR>full of imported and exported goods to and from the<BR>docks and warehouses every day.<BR> <BR>We have been elected by committees of our co-workers at<BR>the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle,<BR>Tacoma, New York and New Jersey to tell our collective<BR>story. We have accepted the honor to speak up for our<BR>brothers and sisters about our working conditions<BR>despite the risk of retaliation we face. One of us is a<BR>mother, the rest of us fathers. Between the five of us<BR>we have 11children and one more baby on the way. We<BR>have a combined 46 years of experience driving cargo<BR>from our shores for America's stores.<BR> <BR>We are inspired that a non-violent democratic movement<BR>that insists on basic economic fairness is capturing<BR>the hearts and minds of so many working people. Thank<BR>you "99 Percenters" for hearing our call for justice.<BR>We are humbled and overwhelmed by recent attention.<BR>Normally we are invisible.<BR> <BR>Today's demonstrations will impact us. While we cannot<BR>officially speak for every worker who shares our<BR>occupation, we can use this opportunity to reveal what<BR>it's like to walk a day in our shoes for the 110,000 of<BR>us in America whose job it is to be a port truck<BR>driver. It may be tempting for media to ask questions<BR>about whether we support a shutdown, but there are no<BR>easy answers. Instead, we ask you, are you willing to<BR>listen and learn why a one-word response is impossible?<BR> <BR>We love being behind the wheel. We are proud of the<BR>work we do to keep America's economy moving. But we<BR>feel humiliated when we receive paychecks that suggest<BR>we work part time at a fast-food counter. Especially<BR>when we work an average of 60 or more hours a week,<BR>away from our families.<BR> <BR>There is so much at stake in our industry. It is one of<BR>the nation's most dangerous occupations. We don't think<BR>truck driving should be a dead-end road in America. It<BR>should be a good job with a middle-class paycheck like<BR>it used to be decades ago.<BR> <BR>We desperately want to drive clean and safe vehicles.<BR>Rigs that do not fill our lungs with deadly toxins, or<BR>dirty the air in the communities we haul in.<BR> <BR>Poverty and pollution are like a plague at the ports.<BR>Our economic conditions are what led to the<BR>environmental crisis.<BR> <BR>You, the public, have paid a severe price along with<BR>us.<BR> <BR>Why? Just like Wall Street doesn't have to abide by<BR>rules, our industry isn't bound to regulation. So the<BR>market is run by con artists. The companies we work for<BR>call us independent contractors, as if we were our own<BR>bosses, but they boss us around. We receive Third World<BR>wages and drive sweatshops on wheels. We cannot<BR>negotiate our rates. (Usually we are not allowed to<BR>even see them.) We are paid by the load, not by the<BR>hour. So when we sit in those long lines at the<BR>terminals, or if we are stuck in traffic, we become<BR>volunteers who basically donate our time to the<BR>trucking and shipping companies. That's the nice way to<BR>put it. We have all heard the words "modern-day slaves"<BR>at the lunch stops.<BR> <BR>There are no restrooms for drivers. We keep empty<BR>bottles in our cabs. Plastic bags too. We feel like<BR>dogs. An Oakland driver was recently banned from the<BR>terminal because he was spied relieving himself behind<BR>a container. Neither the port, nor the terminal<BR>operators or anyone in the industry thinks it is their<BR>responsibility to provide humane and hygienic<BR>facilities for us. It is absolutely horrible for<BR>drivers who are women, who risk infection when they try<BR>to hold it until they can find a place to go.<BR> <BR>The companies demand we cut corners to compete. It<BR>makes our roads less safe. When we try to blow the<BR>whistle about skipped inspections, faulty equipment, or<BR>falsified logs, then we are "starved out." That means<BR>we are either fired outright, or more likely, we never<BR>get dispatched to haul a load again.<BR> <BR>It may be difficult to comprehend the complex issues<BR>and nature of our employment. For us too. When<BR>businesses disguise workers like us as contractors, the<BR>Department of Labor calls it misclassification. We call<BR>it illegal. Those who profit from global trade and<BR>goods movement are getting away with it because<BR>everyone is doing it. One journalist took the time to<BR>talk to us this week and she explains it very well to<BR>outsiders. We hope you will read the enclosed article<BR>"How Goldman Sachs and Other Companies Exploit Port<BR>Truck Drivers."<BR> <BR>But the short answer to the question: Why are companies<BR>like SSA Marine, the Seattle-based global terminal<BR>operator that runs one of the West Coast's major<BR>trucking carriers, Shippers' Transport Express, doing<BR>this? Why would mega-rich Maersk, a huge Danish<BR>shipping and trucking conglomerate that wants to drill<BR>for more oil with Exxon Mobil in the Gulf Coast conduct<BR>business this way too?<BR> <BR>To cheat on taxes, drive down business costs, and deny<BR>us the right to belong to a union, that's why.<BR> <BR>The typical arrangement works like this: Everything<BR>comes out of our pockets or is deducted from our<BR>paychecks. The truck or lease, fuel, insurance,<BR>registration, you name it. Our employers do not have to<BR>pay the costs of meeting emissions-compliant<BR>regulations; that is our financial burden to bear.<BR>Clean trucks cost about four to five times more than<BR>what we take home in a year. A few of us haul our<BR>company's trucks for a tiny fraction of what the<BR>shippers pay per load instead of an hourly wage. They<BR>still call us independent owner-operators and give us a<BR>1099 rather than a W-2.<BR> <BR>We have never recovered from losing our basic rights as<BR>employees in America. Every year it literally goes from<BR>bad to worse to the unimaginable. We were ground zero<BR>for the government's first major experiment into<BR>letting big business call the shots. Since it worked so<BR>well for the CEOs in transportation, why not the<BR>mortgage and banking industry too?<BR> <BR>Even the few of us who are hired as legitimate<BR>employees are routinely denied our legal rights under<BR>this system. Just ask our co-workers who haul clothing<BR>brands like Guess?, Under Armour, and Ralph Lauren's<BR>Polo. The carrier they work for in Los Angeles is<BR>called Toll Group and is headquartered in Australia. At<BR>the busiest time of the holiday shopping season, 26<BR>drivers were axed after wearing Teamster T-shirts to<BR>work. They were protesting the lack of access to clean,<BR>indoor restrooms with running water. The company hired<BR>an anti-union consultant to intimidate the drivers.<BR>Down Under, the same company bargains with 12,000 of<BR>our counterparts in good faith.<BR> <BR>Despite our great hardships, many of us cannot - or<BR>refuse to, as some of the most well-intentioned suggest<BR>- "just quit." First, we want to work and do not have a<BR>safety net. Many of us are tied to one-sided leases.<BR>But more importantly, why should we have to leave?<BR>Truck driving is what we do, and we do it well.<BR> <BR>We are the skilled, specially-licensed professionals<BR>who guarantee that Target, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart are<BR>all stocked with just-in-time delivery for consumers.<BR>Take a look at all the stuff in your house. The things<BR>you see advertised on TV. Chances are a port truck<BR>driver brought that special holiday gift to the store<BR>you bought it.<BR> <BR>We would rather stick together and transform our<BR>industry from within. We deserve to be fairly rewarded<BR>and valued. That is why we have united to stage<BR>convoys, park our trucks, marched on the boss, and even<BR>shut down these ports.<BR> <BR>It's like our hero Dutch Prior, a Shipper's/SSA Marine<BR>driver, told CBS Early Morning this month: "If you<BR>don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."<BR> <BR>The more underwater we are, the more our restlessness<BR>grows. We are being thoughtful about how best to<BR>organize ourselves and do what is needed to win<BR>dignity, respect, and justice.<BR> <BR>Nowadays greedy corporations are treated as "people"<BR>while the politicians they bankroll cast union members<BR>who try to improve their workplaces as "thugs."<BR> <BR>But we believe in the power and potential behind a<BR>truly united 99%. We admire the strength and<BR>perseverance of the longshoremen. We are fighting like<BR>mad to overcome our exploitation, so please, stick by<BR>us long after December 12. Our friends in the Coalition<BR>for Clean & Safe Ports created a pledge you can sign to<BR>support us here.<BR> <BR>We drivers have a saying, "We may not have a union yet,<BR>but no one can stop us from acting like one."<BR> <BR>The brothers and sisters of the Teamsters have our<BR>backs. They help us make our voices heard. But we need<BR>your help too so we can achieve the day where we raise<BR>our fists and together declare: "No one could stop us<BR>from forming a union."<BR> <BR>Thank you.<BR> <BR>In solidarity,<BR> <BR>Leonardo Mejia<BR>SSA Marine/Shippers Transport Express<BR>Port of Long Beach<BR>10-year driver<BR> <BR>Yemane Berhane<BR>Ports of Seattle & Tacoma<BR>6-year port driver<BR> <BR>Xiomara Perez<BR>Toll Group<BR>Port of Los Angeles<BR>8-year driver<BR> <BR>Abdul Khan<BR>Port of Oakland<BR>7-year port driver<BR> <BR>Ramiro Gotay<BR>Ports of New York & New Jersey<BR>15-year port driver<BR><BR><BR>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@<BR>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=4><STRONG>People of the Central Valley 5</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=4><STRONG>AFRICAN AMERICAN TENANTS FIGHT A STOCKTON SLUMLORD</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Photos and text by David Bacon</FONT><BR><FONT color=#000000></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>STOCKTON, CA (12/12/11) - Doyle Gardens sounds like it might be a pleasant apartment complex, where residents stroll down walkways between flower beds surrounded by greenery. Its name is a lie.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>In this large apartment complex in downtown Stockton the residents, mostly poor and working-class African American families, instead live with terrible conditions. Patricia Norman points to the trash outside her door. Yolanda Jackson's sink is on its last legs, and the insulation on the door of her refrigerator can't keep the cold locked inside. Tomoro Hooper sits disconsolately beneath the broken towel racks of his bathroom, while his grandmother, Patricia Perkins, stares at the cracks in the linoleum.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>In Laronda Trishell's apartment the bathroom is also falling apart,. One of the drawers in her kitchen has a bottom that doesn't slide. If she forgets when she pulls it out, all her utensils wind up on the floor.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Vicky Robinson used to live in the complex too. She still feels a commitment to the friends she made there, and today helps them get organized to force the landlord to fix the many problems. Some have even complained of bedbug and cockroach infestations. Robinson points to a hole in a window made by a bullet. Instead of replacing the glass, though, a plywood sheet sits in the frame behind to broken pane. Robinson meets with tenants around a table in the courtyard, to talk about these and other defects. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Disabled resident Ricky Cobb reads a notice taped to his door by the landlord, so nervous now about the organizing that people from the manager's office keep track of the meetings and visitors. This fall the tension came to a head, when 20 current and former tenants filed a suit against George Garcia and Starr Property Management. The management firm says it no longer handles the Doyle Gardens property for Garcia, who operates a local bail bond company and owns the complex. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>While conditions at Doyle Gardens seem extreme, they reflect the high level of poverty in the San Joaquin Valley, especially among African American families. According to a report by Sarah Bohn of the Public Policy Institute of California, Central Valley counties around Fresno (Merced, Tulare, Kings, Kern, and San Joaquin) were among the poorest, with poverty rates in excess of 20%. Stockton is the largest city in San Joaquin County, where 22% of the people live below the poverty line. In California as a whole, Bohn says, African Americans have a poverty rate of 22.1%.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>The 35,000 African Americans living in Stockton make up 12% of its population. With a rental vacancy rate of 9.4%, you'd think people might find another place to live. But many tenants are trapped in Doyle Gardens by the restrictions on the Section 8 subsidies, for which they qualify because of their extremely low incomes. In effect, housing authorities are acting as Garcia's enablers by allowing him to continue to collect the subsidy while making few, if any repairs.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Even city code enforcers seem lackadaisical. Richard Dean, program manager for code enforcement, told the Stockton Record after the suit was filed that Garcia is "working pretty well with us," that he has a "management plan" and has made changes. "At this point, we're comfortable we're heading in the right direction," Dean told the Record. Garcia called the suit a "shakedown."</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Many residents are clients of California Rural Legal Assistance, which is helping them to sue Garcia. "We believe the housing conditions to be substandard," explained Marcela Diaz, the directing attorney in CRLA's Stockton office.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000>For more articles and images, see <A href="http://dbacon.igc.org">http://dbacon.igc.org</A> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>See also Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press, 2008)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Recipient: C.L.R. James Award, best book of 2007-2008</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000><A href="http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2002">http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=2002</A> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>See also the photodocumentary on indigenous migration to the US</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>Communities Without Borders (Cornell University/ILR Press, 2006)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000><A href="http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4575">http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4575</A> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000>See also The Children of NAFTA, Labor Wars on the U.S./Mexico Border (University of California, 2004)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000><A href="http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9989.html">http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9989.html</A> </FONT></DIV><PRE>--
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<DIV>__________________________________<BR><BR>David Bacon, Photographs and Stories<BR><A href="http://dbacon.igc.org">http://dbacon.igc.org</A> <BR><BR><BR><BR>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=ecximgborder style="FLOAT: left"><A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=5eUcaViYEpePnUqpTBxpB3JauP1Uy7KL" target=_blank><IMG height=110 alt="" src="http://www.truthdig.com/images/reportuploads/preoccupywallstreet_160.jpg" width=160 border=0></A></SPAN>
<FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4><STRONG>Lawrence Weschler on Moving Beyond OWS</STRONG><BR></FONT>"<A href="http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ngSID1uTxn36KiQJKbns2p8FQGAoPtw7" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Time to Start Preoccupying Wall Street</FONT></A>" -- What would it be like if activists were to spend the next several months developing, articulating and organizing toward a major national mortgage and student loan strike? Such a loan strike would be slated to begin on some specific preannounced date in the intermediate future. Why not, say, on Oct. 1, 2012, right in the middle of the next presidential campaign? <BR><BR><BR><BR>
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<STRONG><FONT size=3>Over 1,500 March at Occupy Oakland's Port of Oakland Demonstration: Police Say, "No Work Stoppage"<BR></FONT></STRONG>Susan Mernit, Oakland Local: "More than 1,500 marchers are at the Port this morning, according to Oakland police. 400 protesters at Berths 55/56 of the Port of Oakland are marching to shut down the facility at the same time that police in riot gear are massing to stop them." <BR><A href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=koybkFAMmiSMrp5CJsCAL29iVb7pFlCw" target=_blank><FONT color=#cc0000>Read the Article</FONT></A> <BR><BR><BR>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@<BR>
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<STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>Long-Term Jobless Eye Bleak Future as Benefits End<BR></FONT></STRONG><A href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Kbw0F18cnoFJDAIMcLrkAm9iVb7pFlCw" target=_blank><FONT color=#cc0000>Read the Article at Reuters</FONT></A><BR>
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acnnews 5<BR><STRONG><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4>Trade Unionists of the Americas Demand Release of the Cuban Five<BR></FONT></STRONG> <BR>HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 12 (acn) A text demanding the immediate and<BR>unconditional release of Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Fernando<BR>Gonzalez and Antonio Guerrero —who along with Rene Gonzalez are<BR>internationally known as the Cuban Five— will be delivered to the office<BR>of U.S. President Barack Obama and to the U.S. embassy in Mexico.<BR> <BR>According to the Trabajadores weekly, the document was approved by trade<BR>unionists from the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and Cuba during<BR>a recently concluded Union-Political Course sponsored by the Our Americas<BR>Trade Union Meeting.<BR> <BR>The text condemns the injustice committed against the Cuban Five, who were<BR>arrested in 1998 and given harsh sentences for monitoring anti-Cuba<BR>right-wing groups in South Florida that were planning and carrying out<BR>terrorist actions against the Caribbean nation.<BR> <BR>Hernandez, Guerrero, Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez remain unjustly<BR>imprisoned while Rene Gonzalez was recently released, but he was forced to<BR>stay in U.S. territory for three years on probation. <BR> <BR>The declaration holds the U.S. Government responsible for the safety of<BR>Rene Gonzalez, who is being prevented from joining his family in Cuba.<BR> <BR> <BR>Cuban5/ef/12:25<BR> <BR>Entregarán en oficina de Obama texto solidario con los Cinco<BR><BR>
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<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><B>Dec. 12, 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=H7wFhOsXVGhvVNtyFAfXNaqgp6ppjJ%2BZ" target=_blank><IMG title="" alt="" src="https://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4001/c/18/images/ben-kingsley-vid.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=l5uFAyAsndoesiNKckSEdZykdG4aAV4M" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Actor Ben Kingsley shows how a Robin Hood tax on Big Banks wouldn’t hurt the 1% but would help the 99%</FONT></A>.</SPAN></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">House Republican leaders unveiled a budget plan Friday that would cut benefits for jobless workers, cut pay for public employees, cut preventive health services, reduce premium assistance for low- and middle-income individuals buying health insurance and raise premiums for many Medicare beneficiaries. Who does it help? The 1 percent.</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=ixbYvXYdVJBcGfSwYT9mrZykdG4aAV4M" target=_blank></A><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=pufU9z%2B8Q2yzTznNmK3ODJykdG4aAV4M" 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=UuBTn7MlHQC0KCOg9zOQKJykdG4aAV4M" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Forget the BMW. We Want a Tiny Fraction of a Cent</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=ajstKjkShd0zwcldAFh9eZykdG4aAV4M" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>NLRB Drops Boeing Case as Machinists Requested</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=vu9IAiQaDXbBMaEbyDhHlJykdG4aAV4M" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>These Corps Skirt Taxes, Cough Up Millions for Lobbyists</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=4JEHHo0JsE3lsAXbD5jSTJykdG4aAV4M" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Check Out Visits by Jobless Workers to Lawmakers’ Capitol Hill Offices</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></P><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy>
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<P align=left><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=Uh6IJMXfy6b8SFooPbyZpZykdG4aAV4M" target=_blank><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy><STRONG>Human Rights Day: Celebrate Our Struggles, Build for the Future</STRONG></FONT></A></FONT></FONT></P><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 13px" face=Arial color=navy></FONT>
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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 13px"><A href="http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=IS45rlWj5d9vVNtyFAfXNaqgp6ppjJ%2BZ" target=_blank><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><STRONG><FONT color=#0068cf>Read more important news</FONT></STRONG></SPAN></A><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"> of the day on the issues working families care about. </SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<TD class=ecxdate align=right width=394>Monday, December 12, 2011<BR><IMG height=15 src="http://www.kff.org/emails/weekly/images/spacer.gif" width=300 border=0> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<P class=ecxsubheader><STRONG>NPR News and Kaiser Poll Examines Experiences and Views of Long-term Unemployed</STRONG><BR><IMG height=5 src="http://www.kff.org/emails/weekly/images/spacer.gif" width=300 border=0><BR></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<DIV align=left><SPAN class=ecxpromohead>CONTACT</SPAN></DIV></TD></TR>
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Rakesh Singh<BR>(650) 854-9400<BR><A href="mailto:rsingh@kff.org"><FONT color=#0068cf>rsingh@kff.org</FONT></A><BR>
Chris Lee<BR>(202) 347-5270<BR><A href="mailto:clee@kff.org"><FONT color=#0068cf>clee@kff.org</FONT></A><BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<P class=ecxtext>As the country struggles to recover from the impact of the Great Recession, one much discussed and analyzed economic measure has been the number of Americans who are unemployed. NPR News and the Kaiser Family Foundation partnered on the <EM><A href="http://smtp01.kff.org/t/26495/328209/26257/0/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>Long-Term Unemployed Survey</FONT></A></EM><A href="http://smtp01.kff.org/t/26495/328209/26257/0/" target=_blank></A> to better describe the experiences and views of two groups of individuals: the long-term unemployed (those who have been out of work for a year or more and would prefer to be working) and the long-term underemployed (those who are working part-time and have been without full-time work for over one year, but are interested in full-time employment). Today marks the release of the survey findings, which are available <A href="http://smtp01.kff.org/t/26495/328209/26257/0/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>online</FONT></A> and at <A href="http://smtp01.kff.org/t/26495/328209/26259/0/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>NPR.org</FONT></A>.</P>
<P class=ecxtext>NPR is reporting the first part in a series based on the findings today on "Morning Edition." The series, "Still No Job: Over A Year Without Enough Work," will continue throughout the remainder of the year across all newsmagazines and at NPR.org.</P>
<P class=ecxtext>Among the many findings about the long-term un- and underemployed:</P>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>Most of the long-term un- and underemployed previously held jobs that were fairly low-paying (more than half earned less than $30,000 a year in their last job). While a small share say leaving their last job was their own choice, about half say it was their employer’s decision, and another one in five say it was some of both. </SPAN></LI></UL>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>Fewer than four in ten are very or somewhat confident they’ll be able to find a job with the pay and benefits they need to get by. </SPAN></LI></UL>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>Three-quarters say they feel financially insecure and majorities say that in the past two years, they have taken money out of savings or retirement funds to pay bills, been contacted by a collection agency, sold personal belongings, or borrowed money from relatives or friends. </SPAN></LI></UL>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>A third say that in the past two years, they’ve changed their living situation, such as moving in with relatives or friends in order to save money, nearly a quarter say they’ve had their utilities turned off and nine percent report losing their home due to eviction or foreclosure. </SPAN></LI></UL>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>Many of those who have been grappling with joblessness for a long time report negative impacts on their mental and physical health. More than half say that as a result of being out of work they have had difficulty sleeping or gained or lost more than 10 pounds. A third say they have lost touch with close friends or family members as a result of their employment struggles, and they are more likely to say their relationships with their spouses, family members, and friends have gotten worse rather than better. </SPAN></LI></UL>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>More than four in ten say they or another member of their household have had problems paying medical bills in the past two years, and nearly three-quarters also report at least one problem in the household with skipping or delaying care due to cost in the past year. </SPAN></LI></UL>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>Just over one in ten feel the federal, state, and local governments have helped them "a lot" while they’ve been out of work, and when asked about federal government efforts to try and deal with the country’s economic situation, the long-term un- and underemployed are more than three times as likely to say these efforts have hurt them and their family as to say they have helped. </SPAN></LI></UL>
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<LI><SPAN class=ecxtext>While almost four in ten say their employment situation makes them more likely to vote in the next election, the large majority says that being out of work has not changed their political views.</SPAN></LI></UL>
<P class=ecxtext>The full question wording, findings and methodology of the survey as well as a link to all the NPR reports based on the survey can be viewed <A href="http://smtp01.kff.org/t/26495/328209/26257/0/" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>online</FONT></A>.</P>
<P class=ecxtext>The survey is part of a series of polling projects about health-related issues by NPR and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Representatives of the two organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining sole editorial control over its broadcasts and online reporting relating to the survey results. The survey research team included Mollyann Brodie, Ph.D., Liz Hamel, Bianca DiJulio, Sarah Cho, and Theresa Boston from the Kaiser Family Foundation; and Joe Neel, Vickie Walton, Steve Drummond, Uri Berliner and Anne Gudenkauf from NPR.</P>
<P class=ecxtext>The survey was conducted via landline and cellular telephone Oct. 17-Nov. 16, 2011 among a nationally representative random sample of adults ages 18-64 who met the definition of long-term unemployed (N=413), long-term underemployed (N=300), or full-time employed (N=757). The margin of sampling error for the total sample of un- and underemployed and for full-time workers is +/-5 percentage points; for results based on subsets of respondents the margin of sampling error is somewhat higher.</P>
<P class=ecxstyle4 align=center><SPAN class=ecxtext><EM>The Kaiser Family Foundation, a leader in health policy analysis, health journalism and communication, is dedicated to filling the need for trusted, independent information on the biggest health issues facing our nation and its people. The Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, California.</EM></SPAN> </P>
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<DIV class="SandboxScopeClass ExternalClass PlainTextMessageBody" id=mpf0_MsgContainer><PRE><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt" size=4><STRONG>Anti-Union Law Squeezes Wisconsin Teachers<BR></STRONG></FONT> <BR>BY EVAN ROHAR<BR>DECEMBER 5, 2011<BR>LABOR NOTES<BR> <BR><A href="http://labornotes.org/2011/11/anti-union-law-squeezes-wisconsin-teachers" target=_blank><FONT color=#0068cf>http://labornotes.org/2011/11/anti-union-law-squeezes-wisconsin-teachers</FONT></A><BR> <BR>Wisconsin teachers are feeling the pinch as the<BR>consequences of Governor Scott Walker’s anti-union bill<BR>set in. The campaign to recall Walker announced late<BR>November it had 300,000 of the 540,000 signatures<BR>needed by mid-January to force a vote.<BR> <BR>Education budget cuts of $1.6 billion eliminated about<BR>4,000 teaching and support positions statewide. The<BR>union is reaching out to parents and grandparents to<BR>stress the impact the layoffs will have on students—and<BR>hopes to build on those relationships in its effort to<BR>recall Walker and overturn the law.<BR> <BR>Christina Brey, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin<BR>Education Association Council (WEAC), noted that<BR>elements of the law’s implementation, such as what<BR>specifically constitutes collective bargaining, are yet<BR>unclear. "The legislation was created that way—to keep<BR>everything in chaos," she said. "Instability is<BR>something that this administration has thrived on when<BR>it comes to public workers."<BR> <BR>Now many school districts are imposing new employee<BR>handbooks on teachers in place of contracts,<BR>unilaterally establishing more onerous work conditions.<BR> <BR>Teachers in the Milwaukee suburb of New Berlin have<BR>been organizing against a handbook that was implemented<BR>without teacher input at the beginning of the school<BR>year.<BR> <BR>It includes provisions for a work day as long as 11<BR>hours, elimination of preparation periods during the<BR>day, and additional training after work without<BR>compensation.<BR> <BR>The school board claimed that soliciting teacher input<BR>would amount to illegal collective bargaining, even<BR>though other districts did so without state<BR>interference.<BR> <BR>Grievance procedures have turned into a "kangaroo<BR>court" whose highest body is the school board, said<BR>Ellen La Luzerne, a WEAC regional staffer for suburban<BR>and rural districts south and west of Madison.<BR> <BR>Five WEAC locals in the Milwaukee area, along with AFT<BR>Local 212 and AFSCME, mobilized 200 members to the<BR>back-to-school board meeting at which the New Berlin<BR>handbook was adopted.<BR> <BR>The union’s efforts were enough to beat back some of<BR>the provisions, including demeaning skirt length<BR>requirements and a cut in sick days by more than half.<BR> <BR>Still, the new handbook eliminated a sick leave bank,<BR>in which members pooled extra days to aid stricken<BR>colleagues, such as those with cancer, who’d run out of<BR>their own sick days. Staffer Steven Cupery said the<BR>district is hurting people at "their greatest time of<BR>need."<BR> <BR>The school district called the teachers’ mobilization<BR>"union bullying," and board members complained that the<BR>union brought outsiders to the meeting.<BR> <BR>Cupery said the district has "no problem with outsiders<BR>and bullying when it’s the Tea Party."<BR> <BR>He said right-wingers mobilized by a wealthy Milwaukee<BR>talk radio host heckled teachers at the meeting,<BR>interrupting them during public comment and pelting<BR>them with pacifiers.<BR> <BR> <BR>STILL WORTH IT<BR> <BR>With dues checkoff gone, collective bargaining<BR>outlawed, and unions decertified by default, the new<BR>environment has forced WEAC to take an organizing-model<BR>approach and get closer to its members.<BR> <BR>The union is ratcheting up its activist base by holding<BR>more meetings, producing newsletters more frequently,<BR>pushing a union message through social networking, and<BR>spending more time in one-on-one conversations with<BR>members.<BR> <BR>Still, keeping the union afloat without steady<BR>financing is taking a toll. In anticipation of lost<BR>revenue, 40 staffers got layoff notices in August.<BR> <BR>Units with contract extensions that preserved dues<BR>checkoff softened the blow, as did the hard work of<BR>WEAC staff and members who signed members up for dues<BR>collection. About half the layoff notices were<BR>rescinded.<BR> <BR> <BR>BEAT THE DEVIL<BR> <BR>The union is striking back against Wisconsin’s<BR>conservative movement, going after its paragon Scott<BR>Walker in a recall effort that kicked off November 15.<BR> <BR>After the uprising that brought 100,000 into the<BR>streets last winter against Walker’s law, Wisconsin<BR>unions tried to recall six Republican senators this<BR>summer. They managed to defeat only two of the three<BR>they needed to flip the senate.<BR> <BR>But through its coalition work in the recalls, the<BR>teachers union realized it could mobilize a broad base<BR>of Wisconsinites, not just its own members, Brey said.<BR>With the Walker recall, the union sees an advantage in<BR>a statewide vote, too, rather than trying to win in<BR>senate districts that tilted Republican.<BR> <BR>The Walker recall will proceed without financial<BR>backing from national unions, however, so WEAC will<BR>rely on its energized membership to get friends,<BR>family, and neighbors out to the polls. Recall<BR>campaigners announced late November they had 300,000 of<BR>the 540,000 signatures needed by mid-January to force a<BR>vote.<BR> <BR>Teacher unions are also using the struggle against the<BR>handbooks as a rallying point to recertify the union.<BR> <BR>Cupery says his union faces a hostile management<BR>campaign. Administrators are meeting one on one with<BR>employees, telling them the union is an outside agent<BR>and has no place in a cooperative workplace.<BR> <BR>Firing back, the union is asking members if they are<BR>better off than they were a year ago. The answer seems<BR>to be a resounding "no."<BR> <BR>"Many of our best teachers plan on leaving the district<BR>or leaving education altogether," wrote Diane Lazewski,<BR>New Berlin’s teacher union leader, in an email. "Morale<BR>is so low it can’t help but affect the entire<BR>atmosphere. Teachers are shutting down."<BR> <BR> <BR>RECERTIFY<BR> <BR>Under Governor Scott Walker’s law, members must vote<BR>each year to recertify their existing union as their<BR>collective bargaining agent. Many unions in Wisconsin<BR>are skipping the process.<BR> <BR>Larger unions, such as AFSCME Council 24, have<BR>determined that the resource cost outweighs the<BR>benefits of recertification. The state teachers union<BR>is leaving the matter up to individual locals.<BR> <BR>Some are seeking recertification because some benefit<BR>remains in preserving official bargaining<BR>representative status.<BR> <BR>Unions that maintain certification can bargain for wage<BR>increases, although these are limited by the new law to<BR>the Consumer Price Index. In maintaining their status,<BR>unions hope for a seamless transition if collective<BR>bargaining rights are restored legislatively.<BR> <BR>Walker’s law gave teachers a wage cut of 5 to 15<BR>percent this year due to increases in pension and<BR>medical contributions. Support staff took cuts of up to<BR>20 percent.<BR> <BR>"A lot of people took cuts, but they’re seeing the<BR>benefits of maintaining union organization," said La<BR>Luzerne.<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></PRE><PRE>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@</PRE><PRE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=415 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/13878?akid=7981.16102.IghAuF&t=29" target=_blank><IMG height=81 alt="" src="http://images.alternet.org/images/managed/storyimages_1323635731_screenshot20111211at3.35.03pm.png_640x448_95x68" width=112 align=left border=0></A></TD><TD><FONT color=white>-</FONT></TD><TD vAlign=top><P class=ecxheadline3 style="FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif"><FONT color=#0068cf><A href="http://act.alternet.org/go/13878?akid=7981.16102.IghAuF&t=30" target=_blank>Child Labor, Torture and Rape: Attempts to Regulate the Brutal Diamond Industry Failing</A></FONT></P><P style="FONT-SIZE: 12px; COLOR: #666; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The holiday season is a time of material pleasures, but it's also a time to take stock of how our social values tend to be at odds with the objects we most prize. <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/13878?akid=7981.16102.IghAuF&t=31" target=_blank><B><FONT color=#0068cf>READ MORE</B></A> </P><P style="FONT-SIZE: 11px; COLOR: #4d4d4d; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">By Michelle Chen / In These Times </P></FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></PRE></DIV>
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