Democratic Socialists of America
Greater Detroit Local
Past Newsletters
May 2008UAW AAM
The following updates come from the UAWs American Axle Manufacturing website
March 28, 2008
On February 26, we began an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike over the Company’s refusal to provide the Union with the information it needs to bargain over changes in the profit sharing plan and AAM’s proposals on benefits. We filed a ULP charge over this with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Detroit the day the strike began, and – over the last two weeks – have presented evidence to the government in support of our position. The NLRB’s investigation in this case is ongoing.
AAM’s disregard for the law is not, however, limited to the way it conducts itself in negotiations. On February 26, the Company terminated the benefits of workers on disability leave as well as the SUB benefits of those who were laid-off prior to the strike. It also eliminated health insurance benefits for both groups of workers – and for those on Workers’ Compensation leave. Under federal labor law, employers are required to keep these benefits in place, even after a contract expires. The Company’s conduct is particularly outrageous because it’s aimed at harming people too sick or injured to work. These workers earned the right to benefits before February 26, and – because of their health – aren’t even able to participate in the strike. Management cut off these benefits solely because of the strike. On March 14, we filed a ULP charge protesting AAM’s unilateral change in benefits.
Furthermore, since the strike began, management has done all it can to interfere with our right to picket its facilities. One of the worst examples of this is the videotaping and photographing of peaceful picketers by the Company’s security guards in Cheektowaga, N.Y. Around March 2, AAM began taking video and still pictures of picketers during their shift change. The Company uses its cameras only when picketers are coming and going, for the obvious purpose of creating a record of which employees are picketing – in hopes of chilling the exercise of this right. Because there’s no legal justification for this, we filed a ULP charge with the NLRB office in Buffalo, N.Y. on March 13.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that, in its effort to gut our contract, the Company does not intend to play by the rules. AAM’s unfair labor practices – both at the bargaining table and away from it – are making a tough round of negotiations even more difficult. By standing together to protest these tactics, we’re showing management that we won’t tolerate its disregard for the law. Until it gets the message, our strike will continue.
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Feb. 26, 2008
As you know, the UAW’s Bargaining Committee has been meeting with the Company since December 12 in an effort to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. Despite our willingness to work toward compromises on the many issues that separate us, management continues making unreasonable proposals that would erode the wages and benefits that we’ve fought so many years to achieve and protect. Specifically, AAM is seeking: to increase dramatically the co-pays for prescription drugs, to terminate vision coverage, to freeze the defined benefit pension plan and replace it with a 401(k) plan and to eliminate health insurance for future retirees.
Before we can make an informed decision about whether to accept or reject such sweeping changes on matters of vital concern to all workers, we need to understand the Company’s proposals fully. For this reason, we’ve asked for information from AAM. We need this data not only to evaluate the Company’s position, but for the purpose of developing our own proposals. Unfortunately, management has not yet provided us with what we need to move forward in these areas – despite the fact that we requested most of this data weeks ago. Among the things that we have not yet received are:
• The average annual cost of the prescription drug plan;
• The average annual cost of the vision plan;
• A copy of the 2007 pension experience study (which will tell us whether the Company’s assumptions about the cost of the plan are correct);
• An explanation of the Company’s calculations on the per hour cost of retiree health insurance and the pension plan.
Equally frustrating has been the Company’s refusal to provide information that we need to discuss the profit sharing program. There is a large discrepancy between the sales data provided to the public and the sales figures used by the Company for internal accounting purposes (which are used to calculate the profit sharing numbers). The Company has not explained the difference in these two numbers. Additionally, the Company has not supplied us with sales and profit data related to its 11.5 axle operations for 2006 and 2007. They haven’t told us the revenue or pre-tax profits budgeted for 2008 or provided an explanation for how the Company allocates shared costs among different parts of its business. We need all of this information to evaluate how the profit sharing plan has been administered in the past and to determine what the appropriate profit sharing formula should be going forward.
AAM’s refusal to provide information that is critical to resolving the many outstanding issues is an unfair labor practice (ULP) under federal labor law. As long as it continues to proceed in this fashion, the Company’s conduct will cast a cloud over bargaining, and make it more difficult to reach an agreement on all of the issues that separate us. If management does not immediately remedy its ULP’s, we will have no alternative but to strike in an effort to compel AAM to follow the law and begin bargaining in good faith.
On The Picket Line
By Maurice Geary
Whenever Workers lives are on the picket line, The Democratic Socialists Of America support them. The American Axle workers have been on strike since February 26 because the Company wants to cut their wages in half, and the Bosses have threatened to move out of the country for cheaper labor unless the workers accept this cut. Meanwhile, the company is prosperous with 37 million dollars in profits and Richard Dauch, the CEO, was paid 10.2 million dollars in compensation in 2007.
Workers cuts include loss of pensions with a substitution of 401 Ks. I joined the picket line on March 10 and again on March 24. As a DSA member, I felt right at home. Workers were clustered at all the gates of the multi plant buildings, and we walked up and down in front of the gates. I talked with the strikers about the real problems they face. One worker shifted his UAW picket sign from one hand to the other as he spoke about how the workers on strike had made the profits of the company and the CEO’s million dollar compensation and are now walking the street to keep their wages and benefits which they won in Union contracts. Another worker noted that he was glad for any support. Today it is American Axle workers , but tomorrow it will be others, and we must support each other’s struggles. After an hour of picketing, I was invited to the Union Hall(235) on Holbrook. There was coffee and conversation and workers pouring in all day with stories about their experience on the line and at home. Strike pay, whil welcome, hardly met their needs and contributions were needed and made. I went back on March 24 and walked with a growing number of supporters from other unions. Solidarity means victory.
The company is calling for replacement Scabs and we must work with the Union to fight this. .Previously laid off workers were called back, but all of them joined the picket line in solidarity.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY YDS UPDATE
By Christina Field
The MSU YDS chapter has been busy with several events the past six weeks. First, following MSU’s Spring Break, YDS held a talk-in on campus with the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice, (MECAWI). Two MECAWI representatives discussed the current housing crisis in Detroit and the organization’s work urging Govenor Jennifer Granholm to declare a state of Emergency and a moratorium to help stop foreclosures and utility shut-offs through out the state. MECAWI and YDS discussed the moratorium created in the 1930s for a similar situation and how it can be pushed again today. In the discussion session, groups spoke about how to work to address the issue in Detroit and Lansing as well.
On March 20, YDS joined several other campus groups in an anti-Iraq War march of more than 170 people and attended a rally following the event. The focus of the march this year was capitalism and war. Many flyers posted throughout campus gave statistics relating war funding to healthcare, education, and housing using such facts as “one day of the Iraq War = $720 million, that’s enough for 34,904 college scholarships.”
The community Service Committee had a couple members work at the Rescue City Mission again in Lansing to serve food at their women and children’s shelter. Members also went door-to-door in dorms collecting cans, bottles, and change for Detroit’s Habitat for Humanity to help aid the foreclosure crisis. As they collected items, they also distributes YDS information and flyers regarding the Student Debt Talk-in. Other committees were working hard to promote the talk-in event also. While the Education Committee worked to provide various articles and materials about student debt, the Ministry of Information - as they continued work on the blog - creeated great flyers about the event to post on campus.
The Student Debt Crisis Talk-in was certainly a highlight of the semester. It was held with the Detroit DSA chapter and the panel included speakers David Hecker (president AFT-Michigan), Darrell Tennis (founder of Capitol Service), David Duhalde (Youth Organizer for DSA), and with an introduction given by Gina Rome, a MSU James Madison Freshman and YDS member. the panel discussed the current financing of higher education in America, how it burdens our youth today, and how it threatens the competitivenes in the “Knowledge Economy.” The meeting explored how America’s financing of higher education has made college inaccessible to most poor and working class people. There was discussion of lower education and how lack of funding there can lead to problems for students gaining access to higher education, the effects of working longer hours to try to fund personal education, and how the U.S. should distribute the wealth more towards education to benefit people and our economy.
Doug Fraser remembered as social activist
Former UAW President Doug Fraser was remembered at a memorial at Wayne State University as a vibrant labor leader who combined a vision of social activism and a steadfast commitment to his union members with a gregarious personality.
Detroit DSA, with many members at the memorial service, had honored him with its Douglass-Debs award in 2004.
Doug, as he was known to most everyone, died February 23, 2008 of complications from a long battle with emphysema.
Former Vice President Walter Mondale, who flew into Detroit to pay his respects to a man he said he couldn’t figure out how to say no to, was joined in the tribute by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Congressman John Dingell, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and others.
Shortly after becoming UAW president in 1977, Doug led a delegation to press President Carter for health security legislation, testified before Congress on energy and health bills, faced reporters on ‘Meet the Press,’ and addressed several union meetings.
At his first press conference at UAW headquarters, Doug endorsed the push by consumer advocates to build safer cars, with air bags and automatic seat belts. “I think the autoworkers,” he said, “are free to take a position on any social question.”
Doug led UAW members in marching for the Equal Rights Amendment, lobbied with Coretta Scott King for the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, called for a freeze on car prices, and withdrew UAW funds from banks that provided loans to South Africa, stilt struggling under the weight of apartheid.
In July 1978, furious at a big business campaign to scuttle a modest program of labor law reform, Doug resigned from the Labor-Management Group, a top-level forum for union and Industry Leaders, In a scathing letter of resignation, Doug accused business elites of waging a “one-sided class war’” against workers, the unemployed, the poor and minorities.
Along with Michael Harrington, founder of Democratic Socialists of America, Doug co-chaired the Democratic Agenda caucus at the 1978 midterm Democratic Party convention in Memphis which challenged the centrist and corporate-driven domestic budget priorities of the Carter Administration.
UM GRADUATE ASSISTANT WALKOUT WINS CONTRACT VICTORY
By David Morrill Schlitt
On March 24, despite having reached an agreement on ten out of twelve of the articles in the contract for graduate student instructors (GSIs), the University of Michigan’s bargaining team walked away from the table-three hours before our contract was set to expire. We in U-M’s Graduate Employees Organization (GEO - AFT Local 3550) had already extended the contract twice in a show of good faith, in order to get a deal done. This time, when the University allowed the contract to lapse, our membership had a ready response. Monday, the administration walked out on us. Tuesday, graduate students staged a walkout of their own.
As graduate students, we teach 27 percent of the classroom hours at U-M, yet, by the University’s own accounts, we do not earn a living wage. Close to seven hundred graduate students signed up to walk the picket lines on Tuesday, and we were joined by supportive undergraduates, faculty members (including many from our sibling organization, Lecturers’ Employee Organization - AFT Local 6244), and construction workers, all standing together in solidarity.
Many months of work went into the contract negotiations that culminated in Tuesday’s walkout. And it is thanks to the energy of our membership, the leadership of our cracker-jack bargaining team, and the support of U-M faculty, staff, undergraduates, and workers at U-M construction sites, that we have been able to win a historic contract for Michigan’s 1,700 GSIs.
The three-year contract still has to be ratified by the full membership of the GEO, but if it is approved, GSIs will receive a salary increase of 6.2% in the first year of the contract, and 3.5% for the contract’s second and third years. This wage increase falls just a percentage point short of the union’s initial demands and represents a dramatic departure from the University’s earlier offer of three percent for the first year, and 2.5% for the following two years (which would effectively have been a wage cut, given an inflation rate of more than three percent).
The bargaining team, led by second-year history student Colleen Woods, based its salary proposal on a novel concept: taking the University at its word. According to figures published by the University of Michigan’s Office of Financial Aid, living in Ann Arbor for only eight months out of the year as a single graduate student costs $15,980. The average graduate employee, however, makes only $15,199. With this year’s contract campaign, we intended to close this gap. In the wake of a powerful walkout, with the threat of a second day of striking hanging over the heads of the Administration, we have succeeded.
Our gains were not limited to GSI’s base salaries. A rallying point for this year’s negotiations was parity for low-fraction GSIs-those employees working less than half time (of course, it’s pretty amazing to find out just how many hours “less than half time” ends up adding up to…). Before this round of contract negotiations, low-fraction employees rarely had access to health insurance, they rarely had tuition costs waived, and they actually made less per hour than an equivalent GSI with a 0.5 appointment (the standard appointment in many departments). For decades, the University has refused to budge, confident that they could use low-fraction employees, as a relatively small proportion of our membership, as a wedge to divide us. They would have us choose: either wage increases for the bulk of GSIs or wage parity for the low-fraction employees. This time our membership made it clear that we would not settle for an “either/or” arrangement, and that the rights of low-fraction employees were central to our bargaining platform. As a result, we were able to win zero-premium health insurance for ALL graduate employees, full wage parity for low-fraction workers, and full tuition waivers for all employees working at least 7.5 hours a week. We also were able to expand childcare subsidies for parents and made significant progress toward full mental health parity.
For most of Tuesday, GEO’s membership was sprawled across the University of Michigan; spirited picketers lined most of the campus’s main facilities (including Michigan Stadium, currently under construction-except on Tuesday). At only three points during the day was everyone gathered in the same place: A mid-day rally brought everyone to the campus’s central “Diag”; At an afternoon rally we marched past the President’s House; and at the end of the day, we gathered for a meeting at the Arbor Brewing Company. At each of these events, I was astonished by the numbers, the enthusiasm, the solidarity, and the warmth of our membership. But it was at the last event, at the Arbor Brewing Company, that, despite myself, I couldn’t help but get a little romantic about organized labor. At some time after nine p.m., Colleen Woods returned from the emergency negotiations called by the administration to report on the University’s latest offer. The admin saw our strength, she noted, and wanted to avert another day of striking. We were operating from a position of power and were able to extract some very fair proposals from the administration.
After a question-and-answer period, we voted to give the bargaining team the authority to call off the second day of the walkout. There were cheers, hugs, applause. And then, in the dim backroom of the Arbor Brewing Company, the GEO membership spontaneously broke out into a full-throated rendition of Solidarity Forever. Before I could shake myself out of my sentimentality and go back to being a historian, I looked out over the crowd and saw a scene ripped from a book by John Dos Passos or Upton Sinclair-but one where the good guys actually won.
Visit www.umgeo.org to learn more about Michigan’s Graduate Employees Organization and the 2007-2008 contract campaign.
David Morrill Schlitt is a a GEO Associate Member, a member YDS/DSA, and first year doctoral student in history.
Congratulations to DSA!
By Helen Samberg
We are now 25 years young.
Wisely born out of two groups with similar political activities with many mutual orientations and goals, the New American Movement (NAM) and the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) merged in March 1983 to form Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
The merger occurred at a joint NAM/DSOC convention in Detroit. Michael Harrington, author of The Other America and founder of DSOC, joined other nationally prominent participants from literary, academic, union, and political fields for the three day convention. Many of these individuals continue their activism to this day.
We are happy to note that our youth group is growing. Watch for further information and save November 8th for our Douglass-Debs celebration.
Calendar of Events
May 3
DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, May 3 from 10 AM until noon at the Royal Oak Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue in Royal Oak
May 6
Michigan Coalition for Human Rights spring film series will show the documentary The Big Sellout on Tuesday, May 6 at 7 PM at St. John’s Episcopal Church at Eleven Mile Road and Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak. The film brings us face to face with the architects of the reigning world economic order, as well as with the little people bearing the brunt of their policies. It demonstrates how ordinary people of both developing and industrialized nations are fighting the commodification of basic public goods.
June 1
DSA Executive Committee meeting on Sunday, June 1 from 10 AM until noon at the home of Helen Samberg, 30785 Hunters Drive, Apartment 23 in Farmington Hills
July 12
DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, July 12 from 10 AM until noon at the Royal Oak Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue in Royal Oak
Agenda for May 3rd General Membership Meeting
I. Treasury Report
II. Committee Reports
A. Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network (MichUHCAN)
B. Jobs with Justice
C. Michigan Alliance to Strengthen Social Security and Medicare
D. Detroit Area Peace with Justice Network
III. Nominations for Detroit DSA Executive Board
IV. Contribution to Cranbrook Peace Foundation Student Leadership Project
V. Report on DSA “Student Debt Crisis” Forum
VI. Discussion of Congressional and State House Races—Fall Fundraiser, Canvassing
VII. Speakers: State House Candidates Sarah Roberts (St. Clair Shores) and Vickie Barnett (Farmington-Farmington Hills)
VIII. Video Clip from Bill Moyers’ Journal featuring DSA member Michael Eric Dyson
February 2008
500,000 Signatures Needed
DSA Backs Health Care Ballot Initiative
David Green
We are all familiar with the problem. Despite the fact that we spend $2 trillion per year on health care, over 47 million
Americans�including over 1 million Michiganians�lack health insurance. Another 50-70 million have inadequate insurance. In
Michigan, we spend $60 billion per year on health care (roughly $6000 for every resident). In fact, the cost of health care for
auto workers is the single most expensive component in the manufacture of an automobile (approximately $1500 per vehicle).
This severely impairs the ability of our auto companies to compete with manufacturers in other countries that have national
health insurance, which further erodes Michigan�s economy.
Despite our lavish spending on health care, the U.S. lags behind the rest of the industrialized world in many measures of
quality in health care delivery. For example, the World Health Organization rates the American health system as 37th in the
world (below Costa Rica, Chile, and Columbia). We rank 21st in the world in infant mortality. We are 17th in the world in female
life expectancy and 18th in the world in male life expectancy.
As socialists, we recognize the root of the problem: We treat DSA backs health care ballot initiativehealth care as a commodity rather than a human right. We
socialists have long advocated a simple solution to this problem: single-payer national health insurance. Nevertheless, our efforts
to pass single-payer legislation have been stymied at both the federal and state level as powerful economic interests (e.g., the
pharmaceutical and insurance industries) have lobbied to block this legislation. Therefore, we are trying a new tactic.
Along with our colleagues in the Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network (MichUHCAN), we are proposing to place
a constitutional amendment on the Michigan ballot in November. This ballot proposition recognizes health care as a basic human
right. It simply states:
"The State Legislature shall pass laws to make sure that every
Michigan resident has affordable and comprehensive health
care coverage through a fair and cost effective financing system.
The legislature is required to pass a plan that, through public
or private measures, controls health care costs and provides
for medically necessary preventive, primary, acute and chronic
health care needs."
Dozens of community organizations, elected officials, unions, health care organizations, and faith-based organizations have
endorsed the health care ballot initiative. We need 500,000 signatures to get the health care ballot initiative on the November
ballot. You can help in two ways:
1) Collect signatures -- Visit the Health Care for Michigan
website (www.healthcareformichigan.org) for instructions
on how to download, and collect signatures for, the
petition.
2)Donate money to support the petition drive. Visit the Health Care for Michigan website (www.
healthcareformichigan.org) to donate on-line or mail a check made payable to �Health Care for Michigan� to the
following address:
Health Care for Michigan
28342 Dartmouth
Madison Heights, Michigan 48071
We have an opportunity to make Michigan the first state to recognize health care as a fundamental human right. We can help to create a groundswell of support for universal health care that may someday lead to national health insurance.
ACLU Conference Mobilizes for Bill of Rights
David Elsila
More than 150 people -- including several DSA members -- participated in the Metro Detroit ACLU�s conference, "Reclaiming Our Rights," January 26th at the Arab-American
National Museum in Dearborn.
Representative John Conyers, Jr., State Senator Gilda Jacobs, State Representative Steve Tobocman, attorney Bill Goodman,
and others spoke on the threats to civil liberties both nationally, under the Bush Administration, and here in Michigan.
Jacobs and Tobocman called particular attention to the recent ruling by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to stop issuing
drivers� licenses to undocumented residents. The ruling is so broad that even legal temporary residents could not get a
driver�s license. As Tobocman pointed out, this would prohibit immigrants such as a foreign player for the Detroit Tigers or a
foreign businessperson doing temporary work in Michigan from being able to drive.
ACLU Legal Director Mike Steinberg described several recent civil liberties cases, including the story of a Michigan citizen sent
by a court to a drug rehabilitation center run by a religious group. The group running the center denied the man access to his own
clergyman (who was from another faith), and took away his faith-based literature.
At a panel on youth and student rights, a suburban Detroit student described how he was sent home from school for wearing
an anti-Bush t-shirt. On the same panel, a local attorney described how he had successfully defended another high school student
whose article for the school paper had been censored.
"Recent revelations about wiretapping, Internet spying, torture cover-ups, and library censorship show us that the need to protect
our rights has never been greater," said Heather Bendure, chair of the ACLU�s Metro Detroit BRANCH. Information on the
ACLU is available by writing ACLU, 60 W. Hancock, Detroit, Michigan 48201, or by going to its website: www.aclumich.org/
metrodetroit.
CongratulationsHuntingtonWoods
Helen Samberg
This is the gratifying story of a political organization's effort to make a difference. It is the story of how a one square mile
community -- Huntington Woods -- created the Huntington Woods Peace, Citizenship, and Education Project by knocking
on doors, rousing neighbors, producing lawn signs, and holding meetings. This culminated in a program on January 26thwhich two experts on peace, Scott Ritter and Jeff Cohen, spoke
toan audienceof 600people eagertolearn more aboutAmerica's complicated relationship with Iran. Scott Ritter was a United
Nations weapons inspector and Marine intelligence officer. Jeff Cohen founded Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). He
is a co-host of CNN�s Crossfire and was a senior producer of Donohue. Ritter and Cohen were here following a visit to Iran.
Their message is clear. Iran faces a possible invasion by the U.S. before George W. Bush leaves office. Their specific message:
Get active now!
DSA congratulates the Huntington Woods Peace, Citizenship, and Education Project and is proud to have been a co-sponsor of
such a significant event.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
David Elsila
I was sixteen years old when I first heard Pete Seeger at a concert in Detroit. His message of peace, freedom, and human
rights seemed to pierce the clouds that hung over our country in those dark days of McCarthyism. I was so taken with Pete and
his music that I successfully lobbied my Redford Union High School student council to invite him to sing at one of our monthly
assemblies.
He came for an hour and led 600 students through "Winoweh," "This Land Is Your Land," "So Long, It's Been Good To Know
You," and other songs. They loved him.
The next day, two FBI agents showed up at the school. A friendly teacher told me that they had interviewed our principal,
wanting to know the "words to the songs that Mr. Seeger had sung."
That story came back to me while watching the new movie Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, which played in Detroit last
fall and which will air on PBS-TV's "American Masters" on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 (check local listings). For ninety
minutes, the film glides through Pete�s life, from his childhood to his days as a union singer with Woody Guthrie, from the music
he brought to the civil rights movement to his vision for cleaning up the Hudson River. His words comforted and energized many,
but their message of peace and justice also alarmed others. In the 1950s, right-wingers picketed his concerts, and the House
Un-American Activities Committee charged him with contempt of Congress because they did not like how he answered their
questions. As a result, Pete and his top-of-the-charts group, The Weavers, were blacklisted. Pete was barred from commercial TV
for seventeen years. He made a living by giving banjo lessons and singing before students like those at my high school (which
paid him all of $60 for his performance).
Pete always knew he would overcome those dark times. Today, he is acclaimed as one of America�s heroes. Near the end of the
movie, we see President Bill Clinton bestowing the Kennedy Center Award on him, as Roger McGuinn leads the audience in
one of Pete's songs, "Turn, Turn, Turn," reminding us that "to everything there is a season." Even former New York Governor
George Pataki is shown acknowledging Pete�s success in cleaning up the Hudson.
Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and many others pay tribute
in The Power of Song to Pete's influence on music and society. (Indeed, at my 50th high school reunion last year, a classmate
whom I had not seen since graduation stopped to thank me for introducing him to Pete�s music back at that school assembly.)
But the highlight of the movie is watching Pete himself sing through the years on picket lines, in concert halls, in classrooms,
and elsewhere -- never giving up on his core belief that the power of song can help us feel better about ourselves and our planet.
When even members of a movie audience start to sing along, you know he is right.
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (directed by Jim Brown; 93 minutes) will be broadcast on PBS-TV at 9 PM on Wednesday,
February 27. Check your local public television station's listings for date and time in your community.
David Elsila serves on the Executive Board of Detroit DSA, His review originally appeared in Allegro, the publication of the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 in New York (Pete Seeger's home local union).
MSU YDS honors Martin Luther King, Jr.
This month MSU YDS participated in several events regarding Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, attended a mortgage foreclosure moratorium event held at the state capital, participated in community service, and worked on many projects to come later in the semester.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., YDS members attended a MSU-MLK Student Leadership Conference held on campus January 15. Following the conference, several members participated in a march on campus. In addition, YDS co-sponsored a talk-in with campus group W.E.B. DuBois Society discussing MLK as a Democratic Socialist and the transformation of his thoughts throughout his life -- focusing on his later years when he pushed for structural changes to bring upon real change.
On January 29, YDS went to the capital building in solidarity with the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice (MECAWI) to demand Governor Granholm declare a state of emergency and place a moratorium on foreclosures and utility shutoffs, similar to the demand made in 1933. Also, several YDS members participated in community service on February 3 at the Rescue CityMission 's women and children's shelter in Lansing, preparing food and spending time with children. As for committees, many projects are in the works. Speakers Committee is getting geared up for a student debt talk-in scheduled for the end of March, solidifying a date to bring Bobby Seale to MSU, and looking into bringing other speakers to campus such as Michael Parenti. MSU YDS jump-started its finance committee this semester, which is getting funds for speakers and MSU YDS in general.
The Ministry of Information continues its work with the group's blog "The Revolutionary Times" and forming various pamphlets promoting YDS events. Community Service Committee will hold a second volunteering event at Rescue City Mission in March, will donate 75 children's books to Eve, Inc. this week, and will help host a Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender Prom in April. Education Committee has been working on internal education with presentations on the Communist Manifesto and will soon start readings on racial issues, including works from Alex Taylor and Manning Marable.
Other future events MSU YDS will be involved in include a talk-in this month on the connections between racism, capitalism, and militarism for Black History Month. Also, several members will attend the upcoming national YDS Convention in New York.
And Now, Obama?
Bill Fletcher, Jr.
Reprinted from The Black Commentator
The withdrawal of the candidacy of former Senator John Edwards, coupled with the outcome of the Super Tuesday primaries, established that within the Democratic Party, there is a two person race for the nomination. The Super Tuesday results, more than anything, demonstrated that Senator Obama was clearly competitive with Senator Clinton. While Senator Clinton won the states she was expected to win, Senator Obama captured thirteen states, including
locations where one would never have expected a victory, e.g., North Dakota.
So, let's look at the scorecard and see where we are. No, not the delegate count, but the political scorecard. On the major issues, there is no significant difference between Obama and Clinton. Yes, there is some nuance, and, yes, Obama opposed the Iraq war. But as readers of my commentaries know, I have not discovered particularly fundamental differences.
Despite this, there is a clear Obama-mania underway and there are two aspects to this that we must address head-on. On the one hand, Obama is inspiring millions with the notion of �change.� Now, the �change� that is mentioned in speech after speech is very vague. When Obama speaks in concretes, e.g., attacking Al Qaeda bases in Pakistan unilaterally, there is nothing new and different about that approach. Yet what seems to be happening is that the disgust
with the Bush years, combined with a reassessment of the Clinton years, is leading many people to look for something very different. This is in part generational, but actually much deeper than that. I emphasize this point because it is easy to write off the excitement as being naivet�. There is an unfocused desire to break with what the USA has been experiencing, both domestically and internationally, and it has come to be personified in Senator Obama, almost despite
himself.
The other aspect, however, is more complicated and a bit unsettling. There has been a tendency, including among some progressives, to attempt to fashion Senator Obama as something other than what he is. Over the months, I have heard progressive commentators describe Senator Obama as if he were the second coming of the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his '88 campaign. Surprisingly, Senator Obama is rarely challenged by credible progressives for the weakness of his
platform and the lack of depth of his call for "change." It's as if we close our eyes, click our heels together, and repeat something to the effect of, the "change" will be progressive ... the "change" will be progressive ....
So, we are faced with this enigma. Some people, including some writers for The Black Commentator, are adamant that Senator Obama should not be supported and that he is a fraud. Others, including some writers for The Black Commentator, argue exactly the opposite. I am not going to argue the position of Solomon and suggest splitting the
baby, but I will argue that critical support of the Obama campaign is an appropriate approach to take. Let me suggest why.
First, and not in order of importance, the reality of the US electoral system and the state of progressive movements, is that we are a ways off from having a candidacy that is anti-racist, anti-sexist and anti-empire - at least a candidacy who can win. Unfortunately, we are in a period where we are compelled to address the lesser of two evils. In that sense, while I do believe that we could have had a winning candidate who was better on the issues than is Senator Obama, no such candidate prevailed in the primaries.
Second, there is little question but that Senator Obama has helped to ignite excitement and an electoral upsurge, though I would not describe it as a movement, at least not at the moment. This becomes a space in which progressive-minded people can and should be pushing the content of progressive change, rather than relying on mere rhetoric.
Third, the color line. While I adamantly object to those who yell -- in support of Senator Obama -- that "raace does not matter," the reality is that a successful Black nominee, not to mention an elected Black president of the United States, lays the foundation for a different discussion on matters including, but not limited to, race. This does not mean that a Black person automatically makes the environment more progressive (does anyone remember the name Clarence Thomas?) but it does mean that an individual who is liberal-to-progressive can open a door for discussion. We should not expect that he will walk through that door, but others of us may very well be able to.
My conclusion, and I offer this with great caution, is that critical support for Obama is the correct approach to take. Yet this really does mean critical support. It means, among other things, that Senator Obama needs to be challenged on his views regarding the Middle East; he must be pushed beyond his relatively pale position on Cuba to denounce the blockade; he must be pushed to advance a genuinely progressive view on the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast and the right of return for the Katrina evacuees; and he must be pushed to support single payer healthcare.
As I emphasized in an earlier commentary, it is up to the grassroots to keep the candidates honest. Silence, in the name of unity, is a recipe for betrayal. What we have to keep in mind is something very simple: the other side, i.e., the political Right, always keeps the pressure on. If we do not pressure, in fact, if we do not demand, the reality is that the Right will come out on top.
To do the right thing, we must assess and appreciate Senator Obama for who he is and what he is -- politically -- rather than engage in wishful thinking. To do anything else is to be disingenuous to our friends and our base. Senator Obama, if elected President, will be unlikely to reveal himself to have been a closeted progressive. Yet, with pressure from the base, he may be compelled to do some of what is needed, despite himself and despite pressures to the contrary.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is Executive Editor of The Black Commentator. He is also a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies and the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum.
Calendar of Events
February 28 -- Michigan Coalition for Human Rights presents "Speak for Peace Tour" featuring Iraq War veteran Patricia McCann and Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar on Thursday, February 28 at 7:30 PM at University of Detroit Mercy -- McNichols Campus, 4001 W. McNichols Rd., Life Sciences 115, Detroit. For more information, call Jessica Flores at (312) 427-2533.
March 1 -- Detroit DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, March 1 from 10 AM until noon at the Royal Oak
Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue, Royal Oak.
April 6 -- Detroit DSA Executive Committee meeting on Sunday, from 10 AM until noon at the home of Helen Samberg, 30785 Hunters Drive, Apt. 23, Farmington HillsApril 6�Michigan Coalition for Human Rights Awards Dinner with keynote speaker Representative Keith Ellison at 5 PM at Fellowship Chapel Banquet Hall, 7707 W. Outer Drive, Detroit. For more information, contact the MCHR office at (313) 579-9071.
May 3 -- Detroit DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, May 3 from 10 AM until noon at the Royal Oak Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue, Royal Oak
February 28 -- Michigan Coalition for Human Rights presents "Speak for Peace Tour" featuring Iraq War veteran Patricia McCann and Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar on Thursday, February 28 at 7:30 PM at University of Detroit Mercy -- McNichols Campus, 4001 W. McNichols Rd., Life Sciences 115, Detroit. For more information, call Jessica Flores at (312) 427-2533.
March 1 -- Detroit DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, March 1 from 10 AM until noon at the Royal Oak
Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue, Royal Oak.
April 6 -- Detroit DSA Executive Committee meeting on Sunday, from 10 AM until noon at the home of Helen Samberg, 30785 Hunters Drive, Apt. 23, Farmington HillsApril 6�Michigan Coalition for Human Rights Awards Dinner with keynote speaker Representative Keith Ellison at 5 PM at Fellowship Chapel Banquet Hall, 7707 W. Outer Drive, Detroit. For more information, contact the MCHR office at (313) 579-9071.
May 3 -- Detroit DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, May 3 from 10 AM until noon at the Royal Oak Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue, Royal Oak
Jan. 2008
Vote
‘uncommitted’ in Michigan Democratic presidential primary
David Green
Given the state of affairs in Michigan
politics, how should DSA members (and fellow progressives) vote in the
upcoming Michigan Democratic presidential?
As Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark
Brewer discussed at a recent general membership meeting, the Democratic
National Committee unseated Michigan’s delegation to the Democratic
Party National Convention in response to Michigan’s decision to move
its primary to January 15.
Brewer added that he expects the DNC to
reverse its decision and reinstate our delegation sometime prior to the
convention. However, in response to pressure from Iowa, several
Democratic candidates withdrew their names from the Michigan ballot.
The ballot will offer voters the choice of
Hillary Clinton, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Christopher Dodd (who
now has withdrawn), uncommitted, or write-in.
So how is a progressive (let alone a
socialist) supposed to vote?
We considered candidates both for their
positions and their effectiveness in mounting a campaign capable of
bringing about the changes we want.
Dennis Kucinich has taken a principled stand
in favor of single payer health insurance and voted against authorizing
the war in Iraq. But after much discussion, the majority of the Detroit
DSA at its January meeting did not vote to support his candidacy.
Barack Obama eloquently opposed the war in
Iraq from the beginning, but he won’t be on the ballot.
John Edwards, who has offered creative
programs for working-class Americans, likewise will not be on the
ballot.
Because of Michigan election laws, a
write-in vote will not be counted unless the candidate files papers
that he is a write-in candidate. Thus write-in votes will be wasted.
Therefore, we urge people to vote
“uncommitted.”
If the “uncommitted” line on the ballot
achieves a 15-percent threshold, then it is entitled to a share of
Michigan’s delegates.
So our advice is to vote “uncommitted.”
Sanders
wows DSA convention
Marvin Williams, Central Indiana DSA
Marvin Williams, Central Indiana DSA
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
delegates at the biennial convention in Atlanta, Georgia, November
9-11, 2007 heard Senator Bernie Sanders speak, adopted a challenging
Economic Justice Agenda, and attended workshops on health care, labor
law reform and developing DSA locals.
In his keynote address to the convention,
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont (officially registered as an
Independent member of Congress yet describing himself as a Democratic
Socialist) asserted that “We’re not radical. You know who’s radical?
George W. Bush.”
While the richest one percent are doing very
well, the rest of America is not. “The top one percent earn more than
the bottom 50 percent. That means the top three million people earn
more than the bottom 150 million people [and] that gap is growing
wider.”
“There is a war going on,” Sanders
continued, “a war that doesn’t get discussed in the corporate media.
That is, a war against the middle class and working families. It’s time
we raise
this [issue] to the level it deserves…Greed should not be the dominant factor in our society today. People can come together to create a different world. We have a moral obligation to pass this vision on to our kids.”
last thirty years.
this [issue] to the level it deserves…Greed should not be the dominant factor in our society today. People can come together to create a different world. We have a moral obligation to pass this vision on to our kids.”
Sanders delivered his comments at the first
Atlanta DSA Frederick Douglass-Eugene V. Debs Dinner honoring Charlie
Flemming of the North Georgia Labor Council and AliceLovelace,
organizer of the U.S. Social Forum.
Economic
justice agenda
If the appearance by Sanders was the drawing
card to attract delegates to the convention, the economic justice
agenda was the message the delegates were to carry away and put into
action.
The main resolution, contained in the
document
“Toward an Economic Justice Agenda,” was offered as a perspective piece
in the hope that it “will lead to a consensual legislative and
political program around which a broad coalition of progressive
groupscan coalesce.”
Over the last three decades, there has been a
“one-sided class war, a war against working people, the unemployed, the
poor, minorities, the very young and the very old, and even many in the
middle class of our society” waged by the leaders of corporate America
and the American Right with the collusion of the Republican Party and
neoliberal Democrats (i.e., “centrist” Democrats).The latter evince their illiberality by
favoring
cuts in social spending, advocating deregulation and privatization,
rejecting accommodations with unions, and supporting trade
agreementsthat hurt American workers.
As a result, the concept that “democratic forces
in
advanced industrial democracies traditionally use their political
power” to achieve social goods has been replaced by the conceit that
government is the source of societal problems.The agenda identifies “four pillars on which
any just economic policy agenda must be built:
1) Progressive taxation and prudent military
spending cuts to provide necessary public revenue;
2) Universal social insurance programs and
high quality public goods;
3) Powerful, democratic labor and social
movements capable of achieving equity in the labor market; and
4) Global institutions that advance labor
and human rights and provide for a sustainable environment.”
The document goes on to discuss agenda items
based on each of these four pillars that DSA hopes will begin a broad
discussion in Congress and within the broader progressive community.
The last morning of the convention included
a
plenary session on how to do concrete national and local DSA work
around our priorities. There was a great deal of discussion on how to
bring the economic justice agenda into the 2008 Congressionalelections.
Other
important business
At a Saturday evening rally for economic and
social
justice, delegates and attendees from the community heard about the
effort to secure a living wage for employees of Agnes Scott College.
They heard about efforts to prevent the threatened privatization of
Grady Memorial Hospital, the public hospital for Atlanta/Fulton County.
They listened to Bill Fletcher, Jr. cofounder of the Center for Labor
Renewal, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, and former
president of TransAfrica Forum. Fletcher described, in a rousing yet
reasoned manner, the damage done to working people by our economic
policies of the last thirty years.
The delegates received reports from the
National
Political Committee (NPC), the national director, and the Budget and
Finance Committee. The report from the youth organizer was particularly
encouraging as was the strong representation byYoung Democratic
Socialists (YDS) among the delegates.
One special concern raised by various people
and
more than once was the lack of diversity among DSA delegates. DSA seems
to have done a good job opening up to most groups but needs towork much
harder on “communities of color.”
Almost seventy delegates registered for the
convention which was held in the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers Union Hall. Perhaps the “electricity” of the venue
added a fewsparks to the proceedings.
DSA
joins rally for DMC nurses
David Green
<>On December 10 DSA members joined community,
religious, and labor leaders in observing International Human Rights
Day. <>This day commemorates the
adoption by the
United Nations General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights in 1948. Among the rights codified in
this document is the right
of workers to form unions and bargain
collectively.
<>It was altogether fitting, therefore, for DSA
members Mo Geary, Garie Bass, Paul Bass, Selma Goode, Steve Babson, Al Benchich, Bill Hellwig, Dan McCarthy, David Green, Charlie Rooney, and Jean Rooney to commemorate this date by participating in a demonstration in front of
Harper-Hutzel Hospital in support of the nurses
of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) who are
trying to form a union under the auspices of the <>Michigan Nurses Association. Approximately 100
people braved the cold to show their support for the nurses organizing
effort and to call on DMC CEO Mike Duggan to
sign a fair election agreement to allow the
nurses to vote without coercion on how, and by
whom, they would like their interests represented.<>ACLU mobilization to defend Bill of Rights
David Elsila
The Metro Detroit ACLU is convening a
conference and mobilization on “Reclaiming Our Rights: Standing Up for
Our Liberties and the Bill of Rights” on Saturday, January 26 at the
Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan (corner of Schaefer) in
Dearborn.
Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Chair of the
House Judiciary Committee, will update the conference on the latest
efforts by Congress to challenge the Bush Administration’s domestic
spying program. Other speakers and panelists will include State Senator
Gilda Jacobs, Arab American News Editor Osama Siblani, NAACP Executive
Director Heaster Wheeler, and Wayne State University Professor Robert
Sedler. William Goodman, former director of the Center for
Constitutional Rights, ACLU of Michigan attorney Mark Fancher, civil
liberties attorney William Swor, and human rights activist Reverend
Harry Cook will be
among the other speakers.
<>The conference will begin at noon, but the
museum will open for self-guided tours at 10:30 a.m. The cost for the
conference, which includes lunch and a reception, is $15 (or $25 for a
sponsorship, which will provide scholarships for students). To
register, visit http://www.aclumich.org,
or send a check for the registration fee to Metro Detroit ACLU, 60 West
Hancock Street, Detroit, Michigan 48201. For further information, call
DSA Executive Committee member David Elsila at (313) 882-2032.among the other speakers.
Check out
these websites
http://kincaidsite.com/dsa
Greater Detroit DSA
http://www.dsausa.org Democratic Socialists of America
http://www.therevolutionarytimes.blogspot.com MSU Young Democratic Socialists
http://www.michsocialsecurity.org Michigan Alliance to Strengthen Social Security and Medicare
http://www.DMCnursesforchange.org DMC Organizing Committee for Change
http://www.aclumich.org Michigan ACLU
http://www.dsausa.org Democratic Socialists of America
http://www.therevolutionarytimes.blogspot.com MSU Young Democratic Socialists
http://www.michsocialsecurity.org Michigan Alliance to Strengthen Social Security and Medicare
http://www.DMCnursesforchange.org DMC Organizing Committee for Change
http://www.aclumich.org Michigan ACLU
Douglass-Debs dinner a success
Over 250 people attended the 2007 Frederick Douglass-Eugene V. Debs Dinner held at UAW Local 600 in Dearborn on Saturday, November 17. The dinner honored State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith and American Federation of Teachers-Michigan President David Hecker. Michigan State AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney delivered the keynote address—a PowerPoint presentation on the threat of Right-to-Work (for less) legislation in Michigan.<> The dinner co-chairs were Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO President Saundra Williams and retired UAW Vice-President Richard Shoemaker. The Bill Meyer Group provided entertainment.
<>David Hecker captured the mood of the evening in his acceptance speech:
<>“Alice and I are proud lifetime members of DSA and have been so for about the past twenty years.We both go back to the days of the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC). I realize merger with the New American Movement (NAM) some twenty-five years ago demanded a name change, but I much prefer the name DSOC. Why? Because it says ‘Organizing Committee.’ Our ability tobe effective is based on our power. We build power through organizing. You all know that. You do it every day. In fact,if Ethel Schwartz, Selma Goode, and Helen Samberg haven’t
talked with you tonight and persuaded twenty
of you to attend yet
another event, I would be disappointed.
another event, I would be disappointed.
Organizing is more essential today than
ever. We are in trouble. We have people elected as Democrats whose
adherence to the Democratic Party platform is tenuous at best. We have
a labor movement that is divided.
But while we are in trouble, there is also
hope. Not just blind, baseless hope, but hope based on concrete actions
and events. For example, we have Mark Gaffney organizing all unions
(both AFL-CIO and Change to Win) in opposition to Right-to-Work efforts
in Michigan—turning lemons into lemonade. On September 8, 415
progressives from Michigan gathered in Lansing for the Michigan First
Policy Summit to advance the
progressive agenda. The 415 registered participants was more than double the original expectation. Summit II is scheduled for May 10, 2008. This summit is just one piece of a movement, a movement DSA of which DSA is a vital part. It is one piece of a movement that is visionary, exciting, and most importantly, real.
progressive agenda. The 415 registered participants was more than double the original expectation. Summit II is scheduled for May 10, 2008. This summit is just one piece of a movement, a movement DSA of which DSA is a vital part. It is one piece of a movement that is visionary, exciting, and most importantly, real.
Not just pie in the sky dreams, but
committed people piecing together all of the components needed to have
an effective progressive movement. A progressive movement advancing an
agenda with which we are all on the same page moving in the same
direction—labor, civil rights groups, women’s rights groups,
environmentalists, gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender organizations,
peace groups, senior groups, health care advocates, public education
advocates, and many more. What a powerful force we will be!
<>For some organizations, including some of
labor, this involves change—doing things differently—and change is
hard. Alice gave me a t-shirt years ago when I was considering a big
change. She got me a t-shirt with a message she made sure was in terms
even I could understand—baseball terminology—“You can’t steal second if you don’t take a lead off first.”We will steal second, and soon come around and score when we have a united labor movement whose foundation and strength is an informed, active, and involved membership.
We will steal second and come around to score when we have accountability of elected officials and demand, ‘Run as a Democrat, act like a Democrat.’
<>
We will steal second and come around to score when through grassroots organizing, issue development and media outreach, we are able to change the debate so that it isn’t ‘School employees should not have their retirement benefits because most others don’t ‘to ‘Let’s enhance these benefits and bring everyone up to the retirement benefits school employees have.’
Let’s change the debate from ‘the Prevailing Wage costs too much’ to ‘let’s bring everyone up to the Prevailing Wage for construction workers.’
Let’s change the debate from ‘I don’t like you because of your race, religion, or that you make love to someone of your own gender’ to ‘let’s makesure all people, couples, all singles, and all children have quality health care.’
Let’s change the debate from ‘You make too
much for working on the auto assembly line’ to no one having to tell
his or her children that they don’t earn enough to buy new clothes,
have new toys, go to Disney World, or the far more basic, be able to
provide a nourishing meal three times a day and have just one job
each so that both parents can be home for their kids.
each so that both parents can be home for their kids.
In The Other America, Michael Harrington
took a big lead off first, seriously changed the debate, and he didn’t
just steal second. I would call the War on Poverty, Medicare, Medicaid,
and food stamps hitting a walk off grand slam home run in the bottom of
the ninth in the seventh game of the World Series. Those programs would
not have happened without The Other America.
Change the debate from ‘Democratic
Socialists of America— you’re one of them’ to ‘we have living wage,
elected officials like Alma Wheeler Smith, a fighting chance to get
single-payer universal health care, and the ability to wage the
necessary good fight to stop Right-to-Work because there are people
unafraid of being in an organization with the word socialist in its
name.’
Change the debate from attacking Social
Security and making prescription drugs unaffordable for seniors so the
pharmaceutical industry can make huge profits to ‘Why doesn’t every
senior have the benefits of Josephine Hecker.’ I was in New York the
last few days visiting my mom and dad. I went to Rite-Aid to
fill a prescription for my mom. Know what I paid? Nothing. Nada. Why? She is retired from a union shop. All of these bottles of pills next to her bed—and there are a lot of them—are free. That’s the debate we should be having. My mom is pretty special, but so is everyone else’s mom.
fill a prescription for my mom. Know what I paid? Nothing. Nada. Why? She is retired from a union shop. All of these bottles of pills next to her bed—and there are a lot of them—are free. That’s the debate we should be having. My mom is pretty special, but so is everyone else’s mom.
It is a privilege to be honored by an
organization with such a rich history, with such a commitment to
building a better world, and with an outstanding record of hitting the
streets and getting it done. We have a great deal to do. Thanks to all
of you and organizations like DSA, we will get it done.
<>Effort underway to turn Michigan into a right-to-work state
David Green
There is a strong effort under way to make
Michigan a Right-to-Work state. Anti-union members of the state house
and state senate have introduced legislation (HB 4454-4455 and SB
607-608) which would allow Michigan to join the twenty-two other states
which have already passed Right-to-Work (RTW)
legislation. There is even discussion of a state RTW ballot initiative.
legislation. There is even discussion of a state RTW ballot initiative.
Contrary to the name, RTW does not guarantee
employment for workers. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said,
“Right-to-Work…provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’…Its purpose is to
destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining.” RTW
laws arose from the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 which amended the National
Labor Relations Act to allow states to prohibit union security
agreements. Union security
agreements (i.e., the closed union shop) ensure that all workers who receive economic benefits from union representation share the costs of maintaining the union. RTW laws require unions to represent any eligible employee, whether or not he or she pays union dues. This forces unions to use their time and members’ dues money to provide union benefits for “free riders” who are not willing to pay their fair share.
agreements (i.e., the closed union shop) ensure that all workers who receive economic benefits from union representation share the costs of maintaining the union. RTW laws require unions to represent any eligible employee, whether or not he or she pays union dues. This forces unions to use their time and members’ dues money to provide union benefits for “free riders” who are not willing to pay their fair share.
Interestingly, federal law already protects
workers who do not wish to join a union. They simply pay an agency fee
to the union for representation but are remitted that portion of union
membership which is used for political activity.
Because non-union members in RTW states can
obtain the benefits of union membership without paying agency fees,
workers in these states have a reduced incentive to join unions. The
result is that RTW laws depress union membership. With fewer unionized
workers in a RTW state, the ability of workers to bargain effectively
over wages and working conditions is eroded. This leads to lower wages,
fewer benefits, and poorer working conditions in RTW states compared to
free bargaining states.
The statistics speak for themselves. The
Economic Policy Institute has calculated that living in a RTW state
reduces the average workers’ wages by six to eight per cent. According
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median household income in RTW
states in 2005 was $5900 less than in free bargaining states. According
to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2001, RTW states had a mean poverty rate
of 12.5 % compared to 10.2 % in free bargaining states. Also according
to the Census Bureau, infant mortality was 17% higher, and the
percentage of the population without health insurance was 20% higher,
in RTW states than in free bargaining states. According to the
AFL-CIO’s study of workplace safety entitled Death on the Job: The Toll
of Neglect (2006), the rate of workplace fatalities is 41% higher in
RTW states than in free bargaining states.
<>Who is behind RTW legislation? RTW is supported
by a nationwide coalition of conservative organizations, including: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wal-Mart, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Taxpayer Reform and Alliance for Worker Freedom, former House Majority Leader Tom Delay, and Holland Coors (Coors Beer). In Michigan, RTW legislation is being promoted by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and the Mackinac Center. The Mackinac Center is the largest
conservative state-level policy think tank in the nation. It promotes right wing, ultra free market policies on a wide range of issues. DSA members will remember the Mackinac Center for its virulent opposition to local living wage ordinances.
In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly
approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Among the rights
recognized in this document, to which the U.S. was a signatory, is the
right of workers to form free trade unions and to bargain collectively.
Any law which impedes the ability of workers to form a union (such as
RTW laws) is therefore a human rights violation. We must not only
oppose RTW legislation
in Michigan. We must also work to repeal that portion of the Taft-Hartley Act which allows states to prohibit union security agreements.
<>Michigan
State University YDS Update MSU chapter of YDS keeps growingin Michigan. We must also work to repeal that portion of the Taft-Hartley Act which allows states to prohibit union security agreements.
Christina Field
This semester, the MSU YDS chapter has seen
membership growth, created a blog, held a talk-in, attended the Detroit
DSA Douglass-Debs Dinner, and attended the National DSA Convention in
Atlanta, Georgia.
An increase in membership was seen with
attendance at general meetings of approximately 20 to 25 students, with
70 Facebook group members, and over 140 people on the YDS listserve.
These numbers worked to expand membership and activity of the six
committees. The MSU YDS Ministry of Information created a blog (www.therevolutionarytimes.blogspot.com)
to create an avenue for internal and external education and to deliver
news of YDS events.
<>On Nov. 20, YDS held a talk-in featuring racial
justice staff attorney Mark Fancher of the Michigan ACLU. It was our
first major event and proved to be a large success. Fancher discussed
racial justice in the 21st Century and the Jena 6 case and its social
implications. Thirty students attended. Following his talk, we held an engaging question and answer session. Fancher and students discussed the progression of the Jena 6 case, white activists’ role in the Black Liberation Struggle, structural racism, the Prison Industrial Complex, Pan-Africanism, and Michigan ACLU activity (particularly with the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative which was passed by the Michigan electorate in 2006).
Three MSU YDS members attended the DSA 2007
National Convention in Atlanta, serving as delegates of the Detroit
DSA. They discussed with fellow members the social and economic
disparities in America, ways to combat those gaps, voted on several DSA
written materials, and provided updates of their chapters. Also, 11 YDS
members attended the Detroit DSA Douglass-Debs Dinner where awards were
presented to State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith and AFT-Michigan
President David Hecker. At the dinner, the students listened to an
informative speech on the issue of Michigan becoming a Right-To-Work
state.
MSU YDS has many plans for the upcoming
semester. The group plans to host a student debt talk-in with the help
of the Detroit DSA, to attend the national YDS conference in New York,
and to assist the DSA in circulating petitions (beginning January 15)
for putting a health care initiative on the ballot for November
Also, YDS plans to launch a campaign to draw progressive groups at MSU in an alliance to diversify faculty and staff on campus.
Also, YDS plans to launch a campaign to draw progressive groups at MSU in an alliance to diversify faculty and staff on campus.
Michigan
voters cheated by gerrymandering
Dick Olson
In 2006 Michiganians cast 54% of their votes
for Democratic candidates for state senate closely paralleling the vote
for governor. However, because of the partisan gerrymandering that took
place in 2001, the Republicans claimed 21 of 38 seats, and Mike Bishop
gained the power to cripple state government.
Republican control of the state senate
famously led to the recent budget impasse but it affects everything in
Lansing from efforts to pass an anti-bullying law to reforming health
care.
Many DSA members look forward to electing a
Democrat to the U.S. Congressional seat currently held by Joe
Knollenberg. But it’s going to be tough because Knollenberg’s seat like
nine others in Michigan was set up to all but ensure Republican control.
In 2006 Michiganians cast almost 53% of
their votes for Democratic candidates for Congress. Yet our
Congressional delegation has nine Republicans to only six Democrats.
Thus in a fundamental way, the current delegation is misrepresenting
the wishes of most state voters on Iraq, tax policy, everything.
If Mike Bloomberg gets in the race for
president and captures a few electoral votes which throws the choice
into the House, each state will have one vote. So Michigan voters could
vote clearly for a Democrat for president in 2008, and yet the
Republican-dominated Michigan delegation could cast Michigan’s sole
vote for Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee.
When rules are producing absurd results, the
rules need to be changed.
So what could be done?
<>Voters in Germany and other places use a system
called mixed-member proportional representation. Most seats are
districts, but some are at-large seats and are assigned to make sure
that overall division of seats in parliament reflects the overall
division of voters.However, this is a complicated concept that
reformers in Ontario including the NDP were unable to sell to voters a
few months ago.
Larry Sabato, founder of the Center for
Politics at the University of Virginia, wants to reform the U.S.
Constitution to call for universal, non-partisan redistricting. And he
is calling for a second constitutional convention to make a series of
more changes including reforming the Electoral College concept and
adding senators to the larger states to weaken the absurdity of Wyoming
having equal representation to Michigan.
While we wait for Sabato’s movement to
flower, the Michigan state legislature or the majority of Michigan
voters through referendum could institute non-partisan redistricting
which would be better than the anti-democratic system in place right
now.Nov. 2007
Mark Gaffney to
lay out fight against right-to-work in Michigan at upcoming
Douglass-Debs dinner
<>Michigan AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney’ keynote address at DSA’s 2007 Douglass-Debs dinner will take on the growing threat of a right-to-work movement in this state.
The dinner will be held Saturday November 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. at UAW Local 600, 10550 Dix Avenue, Dearborn. <>
This year’s honorees will be Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith and David Hecker, president of the American Federation of Teachers-Michigan. Tickets are $35. Call 248-539-3019 or 248-761-4203 to buy tickets or buy ads.
Honorary co-chairs are Richard Shoemaker, retired UAW VP, and Saundra Williams, president of the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO.
Music will be provided by the Bill Meyers Group and Lynn Marie Smith, the Motown Diva. <>
“The Douglass-Debs dinner is our annual fundraiser and is very important to the work we do in our community in supporting progressive politics, labor struggles, and other issues,” says David Green, president of the Michigan chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, founded by Michael Harrington.
Michigan DSA has been a leader in the fight for living wage campaigns, worked to elect progressive candidates to the state legislature, and is active in the movements against the war in Iraq, for universal health insurance, and to protect Social Security and Medicare.
<>Mark Brewer at November DSA meeting
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer will address our next DSA general membership meeting Saturday November 3 at 10 a.m. at the Royal Oak Senior Center, 3500 Marais Ave. in Royal Oak. Brewer will discuss the prospects for the 2008 elections in Michigan as well as the upcoming presidential caucuses. Brewer, who has led the Michigan Democratic party since 1995, received his start in politics as a summer intern for Congressman David Bonior in 1977 and was involved in every reelection campaign of Congressman Bonior until 2000. He graduated from Harvard in 1977, received his law degree from Stanford University in 1981, and was formerly with the Sachs law firm. As chair Brewer has used ballot questions as part of a winning campaign strategy in several elections and developed innovative programs to turn out absentee and young voters.
Bagels and coffee will be provided. The phone for the center is 248-246-3900. The center is located north of 13 Mile Road, east of Woodward and west of Crooks.
<>Living wage ordinances under attack in Michigan <>
John Philo, legal director, Maurice & Jane Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice.
<>A recent ruling in a lawsuit before the Wayne County Circuit Court threatens the viability of living wage ordinances passed by Michigan’s cities, towns, and other municipalities. In the case of Rudolph et. al. v. Guardian Protective Services, et. al., the defendants contracted with the City of Detroit to provide security services at Cobo Hall. The plaintiffs were employed by the defendants as security guards working at that facility. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants failed to pay the guards a living wage as required by Detroit’s living wage ordinance.
In late 2006, the defendants brought a motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ case. After receiving briefs and hearing arguments on the motion, the Circuit Court entered an order finding that that the Detroit ordinance violated Michigan’s state constitution and was beyond the power of Michigan municipalities to enact. The court’s order became final this past summer. Relying on a case decided in early part of the 20th century and before the advent of modern notions of regulatory legislation and before the passage of the current state Constitution, the court analogized living wage ordinances to minimum wage legislation and found that only the state legislature had the power to enact such legislation. <>
If upheld on appeal, the decision threatens the viability of living wage legislation and prevailing wage legislation enacted at local levels of government throughout the state and invites attacks on local civil and human rights ordinances. The decision ultimately carries the potential to undermine the power of citizens and elected officials to enact local legislation on economic and social justice matters of concern within their cities and towns.
The Sugar Law Center and Living Wage advocates recognize the decision as deeply flawed and an appeal has been filed by Reosti, James & Sirlin, the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. The Sugar Law Center and other advocates for social justice will be seeking to file briefs in support of the plaintiffs’ appeal. Living wage advocates and others interested in social justice for workers are encouraged to contact the Sugar Law Center at info@sugarlaw.org to discuss strategies for success on appeal and to begin networking to ensure that Living Wage legislation remain legal in our state, whatever the outcome at this stage of court proceedings.
Michigan groups gear up for fight against right-to-work
<>
A new effort is underway to make Michigan a right-to-work state, a change that would undermine Michigan unions and the wages and living standards of Michigan workers. Already two bills have been introduced in the Michigan House, but Macomb County Democrat Fred Miller, who was elected with DSA support, has pledged that RTW legislation will not pass the Michigan House as long as he is chairman of the House Labor Committee. Miller’s position, however, could be undermined by a rightwing effort to recall state legislators who voted for tax hikes as part of a plan to produce a new state budget and end the gridlock in Lansing that threatened to throw the state into turmoil. With a few successful recalls, the Democrats might revert back to minority status and Miller would lose his key role.
RTW is connected to the recall effort in a very personal way: Leon Drolet, the former state representative who is spearheading the recall movement, was a leader of the RTW movement while he was in the House. Mike Bishop, Republican majority leader of the Michigan Senate, has called for “someone” to put a right to work question on the ballot in November 2008. RTW forces are looking gor deep-pocketed donors who could contribute $1.2 million needed to hire petition circulators to collect 475,000 signatures.
United Steelworkers District 2 Director Jon Geenen told a recent rally in Lansing what’s wrong with RTW: “In RTW states, unions must represent all works in bargaining, grievances, safety issues, legal matters, and all other unin business even thugh workers don’t have to pay union dues or a fee in lieu of dues. This costly policy is designed to kill unions.” In states with RTW laws, the average pay for workers is 15 percent less than in states where workers have rights to collectively bargain contracts. Workers in RTW states are less likely to have health insurance or pensions but are more likely to be killed on the job. Amy Hagerstrom, Michigan director of a group called Americans for Prosperity, argues that if a right-to-work initiative in Michigan were successful, it would deal unions nationwide an enormous setback. On the other hand, a RTW initiative would lead to an all-out election effort by the Michigan labor movement which could boomerang on the Republicans and their rightwing allies.
In either case the stakes are
high.
Calendar of Events
November
November
3—Detroit DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, November 3rd from
10 AM until noon at the Royal Oak Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais
Avenue, Royal Oak
November
9-11—2007 DSA National Convention—November 9-11 at the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Hall in Atlanta, Georgia
November 11—Peace
Action Dinner on Saturday, November 11th at the Westin Southfield, 1500
Town Center, Southfield—For further information, call Al Fishman at
313-861-6247.
November
17th—2007
Frederick Douglass-Eugene V. Debs Dinner on Saturday, November 17th
at UAW Local 600, 10550 Dix Avenue in Dearborn at 6 PM—For further
information, call David Green (248-761-4203) or Helen Samberg
(248-539-3019).
November
18th—Cranbrook
Peace Foundation Annual Peace Lecture on Sunday, November 18th at 6 PM
at the Cobo Hall Riverview Ballroom—Speaker: Cindy Sheehan
December
December 1st—ACLU
Dinner on Saturday, December 1st at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency Hotel,
featuring actor and activist Martin Sheen. Tickets are available from
the ACLU website: www.aclumich.org
December
2nd—Detroit
DSA Executive Committee meeting on Sunday, December 2nd at the home of
Helen Samberg, 30785 Hunters Drive, Apt. 23, Farmington Hills
December 2nd—Central United
Methodist Church Annual Peace with Justice Banquet on Sunday, December
2nd
at 6 PM at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The honorees
are Representatives Barbara Lee and John Conyers, Jr.
<>Petition drive begins January 15 for Health
Care Security AmendmentGary Benjamin, MichUHCAN <>
Imagine a health care system where you didn’t have to worry about losing your health care because you lost your job; or got divorced; or lost your spouse; or had a pre-existing condition; or had your employer decide it was too expensive. Imagine a system where you could count on health care always being there! That is the goal behind the ballot initiative campaign for the “Health Care Security Amendment.” The drive is to amend the State Constitution’s Article 4, Section 51 to add this language:
The
State Legislature shall pass laws to make sure that every Michigan
resident has affordable and comprehensive health care coverage through
a fair and cost-effective financing system. The Legislature is required
to pass a plan that, through public or private measures, controls
health care costs and provides for medically necessary preventive,
primary, acute and chronic health care needs.
<>We do not propose any particular solution. With the passage of this amendment health care will be a right in Michigan. The legislators will be forced to consider the health care finance system and how to reform it to make it fair for all of us. During the campaign a large ‘health care constituency’ will be identified and mobilized so that in the campaign in November 2008 when this amendment is on the ballot, an open discussion will occur and the political will to act will be developed. If there is no plan developed either at the State or National level between November 2008 and November 2010 we will make Health Care the key issue in campaigns for State Senate. In 2010, because of term limits, only 6 incumbent Senators are eligible for reelection. We intend to elect a Health Care Security Senate in 2010, if there is no acceptable change before then.
The petition drive will begin on January 15. We must collect 475,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer will address our next DSA general membership meeting. He will discuss the prospects for the 2008 elections in Michigan as well as the upcoming presidential caucuses.
Event: Detroit DSA General
Membership Meeting
Date: Saturday, November 3, 2007, 10
a.m.- noon
Location: Royal Oak
Senior/Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue
Directions: Take
I-75 to the Fourteen Mile Road exit. Travel west on Fourteen Mile Road
to Crooks Road. Turn left (south) onto Crooks Road and drive to
Thirteen Mile Road. Turn left (east) onto Thirteen Mile Road and drive
1/4 mile to Marais Avenue. Turn left (north) onto Marais Avenue. The
Royal Oak Senior/Community Center will be on your right hand side 1/3
of a mile from this intersection.
Bagels
and coffee will be provided.
Phone
for center: (248) 246-3900
Agenda
for meeting
1) Treasury Report
2) Report on Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network--Selma Goode
3) Report on Jobs with Justice Coalition--Adam Sokol, David Elsila
4) Report on Alliance to Strengthen Social Security and Medicare--Mo
Geary
5) Renewal of membership in Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice
6) Report on Detroit Area Peace with Justice Network--Helen Samberg
7) Reports on Projects for 2006
--Pontiac Living Wage
--DMC Nurses Organizing Campaign
8) Preparations for Douglass-Debs Dinner
9) Speaker: Mark Brewer on “The 2008 Elections in Michigan”
September 2007
Detroit allotted 11 delegates to national DSA convention in Atlanta November 9-11
The Detroit chapter of DSA has been allotted 11delegates to the DSA 2007 convention which will be held November 9-11 inAtlanta, Georgia.As with past conventions the local will subsidize ousing and registration fees for any member interested in
attending.The keynote speaker for this convention is Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont—the first socialist elected to the
United States Senate addressing the American affiliate of the Socialist International.
The convention will be held at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Hall located at 501 Pulliam Street.
Housing for the convention can be found through the DSA website (www.dsausa.org). The theme of this year’s convention is
DSA’s Economic Justice Agenda. In addition, we will be discussing DSA’s role in the 2008 elections. The convention will also
feature a walking tour of civil rights sites in Atlanta.
The 2007 DSA convention takes place at a moment when great political change is possible if not likely. The right-wing’s 30
year domination of American politics is breaking down, held up only by the power of an imperial presidency in defiance of the
will of the people. For three decades corporate domination has intensified at the expense of ordinary Americans. Living
standards for most Americans declined while the wealth and power of those at the top expanded exponentially. Millions of
well-paying manufacturing and industrial jobs were wiped out in pursuit of a global capitalist economy that benefited only
corporate elites and their political operatives. Racial disparities have intensified and increasing inequality is no longer
debated.
Our social movements, particularly the labor movement, were weakened as government—in theory a key catalyst for progressive
change—was so hollowed out that people now doubt even the capability of government to improve their lives. The election of
2006 was a setback for the right wing ideologues, yet the occupation of Iraq, and the imperial presidency that supports it,
continues. The common wisdom of the pundits is that the election of 2008 is about “change,” but what kind of change is
unclear. We are heartened by the emergence of new mass movements supporting fundamental social change and new formations such as the recently held United States Social Forum, which brought together a range of progressive groups around core principles of popular democracy and anti-corporate hegemony. And we are heartened by our own organization’s continued growth in membership: DSA grew some 28 percent since our 2005 convention two years ago and 40 percent since 2003.
These are all good signs, and well worth applauding, even as we know that sustained grassroots pressure from below and social
movements organized around a progressive agenda are the only reliable forces that can win the kind of far-reaching change
that not just Americans but all humanity needs.The questions that we posed to ourselves two years ago are still relevant: Can
we revitalize a mass movement in favor of a truly universal publicly financed health care system in the United States? Can we
help develop a robust wing of the Democratic Party on the national, state, and local levels that can propose real solutions
to growing inequality and economic insecurity and speak to the progressive values of equity, equality of opportunity, and fairness?
Can we turn our membership growth into increased organizational activism, strategic interventions and public socialist education? Our upcoming convention will explore ways to build on our grassroots work of the last two years in order to solidify and strengthen the progressive movements and develop support for an agenda for real change—a program and a perspective that advances a bold alternative not just to right-wing Republicans and centrist Democrats but also to the neo-liberal “free-market” ideology and policies that form the core of mainstream political discourse.
This call is issued in the spirit of optimism and solidarity. Favorable political winds are moving in, but the absence of a
coherent ideological and political critique of market mania remains a severe constraint upon the possibility of constructing
a more just America. Only vibrant social movements and a clear-headed democratic socialist organization and direction can
mount such a political critique and demonstrate that there is indeed an alternative. Only a self-confident and self-aware
socialist grouping can both initiate and follow through on campaigns that defend and expand democratic public programs at
home and just trade and diplomatic policies abroad.
Please join us at a working convention where the membership will chart DSA’s future. We welcome all DSA members to attend as delegates or observers. We also welcome the attendance of our friends and allies throughout the progressive movement. The
world needs democratic socialism. DSA needs you.
DSA ‘fax blasts’ hospital honchos
At our last general membership meeting, Detroit DSA endorsed the organizing campaign of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) nurses. The nurses are attempting to organize a bargaining unit under the Michigan Nurses Association. Their fight is our fight--not just because as socialists, we believe in the right of all workers to form a union; but because the nurses are fighting for better patient care. By negotiating nurses’ hours and patient ratios, the nurses are ultimately advocating for higher quality care for their patients.
As part of our endorsement of this campaign, Detroit DSA particpated in a “Fax Blast” on August 9 in which we faxed letters to Mike Duggan (CEO of DMC), to each of the presidents of the various DMC hospitals, and to other DMC administrators urging them to remain neutral in the organizing campaign. We will also be sending representatives as part of a community delegation to meet with Mike Duggan in the near future.
DMC nurses proud to provide quality care
By Carol Harrington, RN DMC Organizing Committee for Change Member Harper HospitalAs nurses at Detroit Medical Center, we are proud to provide quality care for all. We work at DMC because we believe it is one of the best hospitals in Michigan to serve our community, and we remain committed to providing the very best patient care possible. Yet, at DMC – much like elsewhere – nurse to patient ratios, high acuity levels and an insufficient number of
registered nurses stand as obstacles to providing the very best care possible, as this imposes much stress and challenges upon our profession Many of us have voiced our concerns and suggestions with hospital administration. Some have seen improvement based upon our suggestions, but often our voices go unheard, while our concerns go unmet. In either case, we are subjected to an arbitrary decision-making process, and changes are made with little or no input from those of us on the front line of care.
We have decided the best way to address these issues was to organize and unite our voices and form a union in order to develop a mutually respectful and collaborative relationship with administration. Thereby, ensuring thehighest quality care at the DMC and safe staffing to protect our patients and ourselves. During this difficult period for nursing in health care, the majority of nurses at DMC believe this is the time to stand together and join with the Michigan Nurses Association, (MNA) and finally – as professionals – have a unified voice at our hospitals. The Michigan Nurses Association and the United American Nurses (UAN), a national staff nurse union – run by nurses for nurses. As such, we will be able to address the many challenges facing our profession in the years to come. We believe nursing standards, should be set by nurses, not administration. We believe it is time to become the leaders of our profession.
At this stage of the campaign, DMC’s administration continues to fight fiercely to stop our organizing campaign. Your participation in the Blast Fax Action brought attention to the fact that there is a community awareness of our campaign. As a result, Duggan, CEO of the DMC, agreed to meet with MNA representatives to discuss a fair election process. Unfortunately, no agreement was reached, and subsequent to that meeting administration has stepped up their anti-union campaign. Our struggle continues and we hope for your continued support for the opportunity to have a free and fair election where every staff Registered Nurse has the right to choose on whether they want to be union.
Average income down, war spending up: What to do? ‘Steal more
from children’s programs,’ administration says.
By Frank Llewellyn
DSA National Director
Reports released over the last few days showing a decline in average annual income document not only the economic insecurity with which most of us now live, but the utter failure and hypocrisy of the economic theories and practices favored by George W and his gnomic advisors. To top it off, this was the week the president threatened the health of millions by issuing new rules reducing the number of children that states could insure through federally funded child health programs.
The Internal Revenue Service’s report shows average annual income declining for the fifth year in a row. Adjusted for inflation, the average wage dropped by more than 1 percent. While the average figure—$55,238—may look good on paper, it’s inflated because of the incomes of all those multimillionaires and billionaires about whose success Bush and company so fondly brag. The point is: it documents why even the middle class is feeling the pinch of stagnant wages and economic insecurity.
Our friends at Citizens for Tax Justice gave the IRS numbers a close read, and they report that in the year 2005 (the most recent year for which data is available), tax cuts on capital gains and dividends that Bush and the Republican Congress passed reduced federal tax payments by $91.7 billion. As much as 73.4 percent of the tax savings, an average of $81,204 per tax filer, went to the top .06%, or those reporting income above $500,000. The 67 million taxpayers (just about half) who reported taxable income under $30,000 got virtually no tax savings. And the lucky 13,776 tax filers (.01 percent) with incomes above $10 million received an average tax savings of just under $1.9 million (or 28 percent of all the benefits).
Now, those of us at the bottom or even in the middle are suppose to tolerate these tax breaks for the rich because those at the top ostensibly spend all their money generating jobs for the rest of us. Not so! As our friends at the Economic Policy Institute reported this week, economic growth as measured by employment growth and investment growth was superior in the 1990s, when federal revenues were increased during an economic recovery.
So what does our president do when he discovers that federal revenue is declining even as much of it is siphoned off to fund the occupation of Iraq? He decides to steal dollars from children. Issuing new administrative rules to limit the number of children that states could insure under the federally funded child health programs is an attack on a program that has become popular even among Republicans in state government. These programs allow states to use federal funds to provide coverage to children without health insurance; some state programs even fund children from families whose incomes are at double or triple the poverty level. For a family of four that makes an income of around $50,000 eligible. The new, punitive rules would require individuals to be without health insurance for a year before children could become eligible (This is for families with incomes above 250 percent of the poverty line—definitely not enough to be able to afford to buy private health insurance.)—and even then, they could only get the insurance if the number of children in the state covered by private health insurance has not dropped by more than 2 percent over the last five years.
So Bush gets a twofer. He saves money on a domestic program so he can spend it on his war, while he gives his buddies in the insurance industry protection for their premiums so that parents won’t opt into a public health program. Now what is ironic is that in many cases there is no public health program to opt into because states like New York use private insurers to provide child health coverage! So our children are denied health coverage in deference to private insurers who in many cases are not even losing money because of the public funding source. And these are the clowns who run our government.
DSA backs AFL-CIO’s ‘health care for all’ rally on September 30
By David IversDetroit DSA has endorsed the Metropolitan Detroit AFL-CIO’s “Health Care for All” rally on September 30 and has agreed to be a cosponsor. The rally will begin at 3 p.m. at Greater Grace Temple, 23500 W. Seven Mile Rd. between Telegraph and Lahser in Detroit. U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. will discuss his single-payer national health insurance bill (HR 676). Len
Wallace, a Canadian trade unionist, will talk about his experience with the Canadian health care system. Please plan to attend, and bring a friend who is skeptical about single-payer health care to learn about one of the critical issues of our time.
On Labor Day Detroit DSA marched with the “Health Care for All” contingent in the annual parade in downtown Detroit. We also marched to support the theme of this year’s parade—“Unions Benefit All Workers.” This theme responds to the right wing’s
attempt to make Michigan a Right to Work (for less) state. After the parade many marchers stopped to hear Bill Meyer and the Jazz Loves Labor Group at the Campus Martius Stage. Bill and his group are proud members of Musicians Local 5.
We work with Progressives of Ann Arbor on city council election
At our July general membership meeting, Detroit DSA endorsed LuAnne Bullington, a candidate for Ann Arbor city council on the Progressives of Washtenaw slate. Bullington had made affordable housing the central issue of her campaign. She had agreed to introduce a resolution on behalf of the Employee Free Choice Act if elected to the council. On Saturday, August 4, DSAers
Doug Schraufnagle, Eric Ebel, Lydia Fisher,Dave Devarti, Bergitta Vance, Catherine Hoffman, David Green, Al Williams, and
Isaac Robinson canvassed and phone banked on behalf of Bullington and distributed literature on behalf of Progressives of
Washtenaw.
Despite our efforts, Bullington lost her race to an incumbent council member. Nevertheless, two other members of the Progressives of Washtenaw were elected to the Ann Arbor city council. Detroit DSA demonstrated that it could extend its reach
into Washtenaw County. We established a relationship with the Progressives of Washtenaw which should bear fruit in the future.
Ehrenreich scores with biting satire
In an article entitled “Smashing Capitalism” author and DSA member Barbara Ehrenreich, imagines how the working poor began to bring down the whole economic system by just stopping paying their mortgages. Then they stopped shopping. Soon the retailing behemoths Wal-Mart and Home Depot were in meltdown. Turning more serious, Ehrenreich opines that “Global capitalism will survive the current credit crisis,” but warns that “a system that depends on extracting every last cent from the poor cannot hope for a healthy prognosis.”
Check out the whole piece which appeared in the online Huffington Post at www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-ehrenreich
Remembering Nagasaki
By Helen SambergOn August 9, over 200 people from metropolitan Detroit gathered at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Oak Park to commemorate “Nagasaki Day”—the day of infamy in 1945 when the U.S. dropped its second atomic bomb on Japan. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima three days earlier. Both bombs killed or maimed thousands of women, children, and non-combatants, as well as leaving two cities in ashes. All this terror was intended to bring Japan to its knees, in the name of “peace and democracy.”
The program at Our Lady of Fatima opened with a film entitled “The Last Atomic Bomb”— a documentary on the destruction
wrought by the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. One could only weep and wonder at man’s cruelty as nations create weapons for
killing. The Reverend Harry Cook, well known for his peace activism, was the keynote speaker at the program. He emphasized
that this memorial was not a call to arms but rather a call to action against nuclear weapons and to practice our love for humanity. Annabel Dwyer, an attorney from northern Michigan recently returned from anti-nuclear hearings at the Hague, spoke eloquently on the issue of nuclear proliferation. The sponsors of this inspiring program included: Citizens for Peace, Michigan Stop the Bomb Campaign, Peace Action of Michigan, Veterans for Peace, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Detroit Area Peace with Justice Network (of which Detroit DSA is a member).
Mitchell addresses DSA
Marjorie Mitchell, the president of MichUHCAN, spoke to the September DSA meeting on the growing healthcare crisis. MichUHCAN is backing a resolution which recently passed the Michigan House calling on the legislature to create a plan to provide healthcare for all Michiganders. MichUHCAN is also gearing up for a petition drive to place on the 2008 ballot a proposed constitutional amendment which would require the state of Michigan to provide healthcare for all Michigan residents.
A report was given on the ongoing protests at the Royal Oak Ford Dealership, where management has reneged on promises made to workers who have organized with the UAW.
Our comrades from MSU-YDS discussed the possibility of holding a forum early next year on a socialist response to the rising
costs of higher education, which sparked a lively discussion about the problems students and their families face in trying to deal with the high costs of attending college.
Calendar of Events
September
Sept. 30. “Health Care for All” rally Sunday, September 30 at 3 p.m. at Greater Grace Temple, 23550 West Seven Mile Road in
Detroit—The featured speaker will be U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr., sponsor of HR 676, the U.S. National Health Insurance Act
October
Oct. 6. Gray Panthers of Metro Detroit Dinner on Saturday, October 6 at 5 p.m. at United Food and Commercial Workers
Union Local 876—The honorees include Saundra Williams, Elaine Crawford, Louis Green, Father John Nowlan, and the Raging
Grannies. Keynote speaker is U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr. For further information, call Ethel Schwartz at 248-669-6343.
Oct. 7. Detroit DSA Executive Committee meeting on Sunday, October 7 from 10 a.m.until noon at the home of Helen Samberg,
30785 Hunters Drive, Apt. 23 Farmington Hills
November
Nov. 3. Detroit DSA general membership meeting on Saturday, November 3 from 10 a.m. until noon at the Royal Oak Senior/
Community Center, 3500 Marais Avenue, Royal Oak
Nov. 9-11. 2007 DSA National Convention –November 9-11 at the IBEW Union Hall in Atlanta, Georgia
Nov. 11. Peace Action Dinner on Saturday, November 11 at the Westin Southfield, 1500 Town Center, Southfield—For further
information, call Al Fishman at 313-861-6247
Nov. 17. 2007 Frederick Douglass-Eugene V. Debs Dinner on Saturday, November 17 at UAW Local 600, 10550 Dix Avenue in Dearborn at 6 p.m.—For further information, call David Green (248-761-4203) or Helen Samberg (248-539-3019)
Nov. 18. Cranbrook Peace Foundation Annual Peace Lecture on Sunday, November 18 at 6 p.m. at the Cobo Hall Riverview
Ballroom—Speaker: Cindy Sheehan
December
Dec. 1. ACLU Dinner on Saturday, December 1 at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency Hotel, featuring actor and activist Martin Sheen.
Tickets available from ACLU website: www.aclumich.org
Dec. 2. Detroit DSA Executive Committee on Sunday, December 2 from 10 a.m. until noon at the home of Helen Samberg, 30785 Hunters Drive, Apt. 23, Farmington Hills
Dec. 2. Central United Methodist Church Annual Peace with Justice Banquet on Sunday, December 2 at 6 p.m. at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The honorees are Representatives John Conyers, Jr. and Barbara Lee
July 2007
DSA endorses DMC nursing organizing drive, backs effort to target Michigan reps on Iraq
Detroit DSA voted to endorse the organizing drive by the Michigan Nurses Association among the1500 nurses at the Detroit Medical Center’s (DMC’s) downtown hospitals.DSA also pledged to participate with other community groups to pressure the DMC administration to recognize the union.
At its July 7 meeting DSA heard Julie Barton, an organizer for the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) and longtime staff person for Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice, report on the drive.
She said this effort has as much to do with patient safety as with financial benefits for the nurses because one of the main issues behind this organizing effort is appropriate staffing levels at the hospitals.
At the July meeting DSA also decided to help Luann Bollington with canvassing and phone banking in her race for city council in Ann Arbor.
Eric Ebel described Bollington as a genuine progressive who is contesting a seat held by a moderate Democrat. The election is scheduled for August 7. The voter turnout is expected to be low. Eric stated that it is just such an election in which DSA participation through canvassing and phone banking can make a difference. Furthermore, Eric pointed out that DSA activity in Ann Arbor may motivate our “paper” members living in Ann Arbor to become more involved with DSA.
Ian Chinich, an organizer for Americans Against the Escalation in Iraq (a group funded in large part by MoveOn.org), presented a plan to target several members of Congress from Michigan including Mike Rogers, Thaddeus McCotter, and Joe Knollenberg over their support for President Bush’s strategy in Iraq.
The group plans to hold regular demonstrations outside of the district offices of these congressmen to pressure them into changing their support for the war or at least to make their support for the war a major issue in the 2008 elections. Detroit DSA voted to endorse this effort and participate in future demonstrations.
Nicole Iaquinto and Aaron Chester from Michigan State University’s Young Democratic Socialists chapter gave a powerpoint presentation on their recent trip to the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta.
Selma Goode gave a report on the Michigan Universal Health Care Access Network (MichUHCAN). MichUHCAN has been distributing literature at screenings of Michael Moore’s new movie on health care entitled “Sicko.”
Al Fishman gave an update on the Detroit Area Peace with Justice Network (DAPJN). A motion was made and passed to sponsor one rider ($65) on Peace Action/DAPJN’s annual Hiroshima Day bus ride to Oakridge, Tennesee on August 4 to protest the U.S.’s continued production of nuclear weapons.
Mo Geary gave an update on the Michigan Alliance to Strengthen Social Security and Medicare.
David Green presented a revised set of by-laws for Detroit DSA. The new by-laws were accepted unanimously.
DSA hosts Latin American forum
On Saturday, April 28th, Detroit DSA hosted a forum entitled
“Immigration, Globalization, and U.S.-Latin American Relations.” The
forum was held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in the Corktown
neighborhood in Detroit. Co-sponsors of the event included the
Chicano-Boricua Studies Program at Wayne State University, Freedom
House, Centro Obrero (Workers Center), ACLU of Michigan-Metro Detroit
Branch, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Jewish Labor Committee, Jobs
with Justice of Southeastern Michigan, the Michigan Coalition for Human
Rights, UAW Region 1A, and UNITE-HERE.The keynote speaker at the forum was Saul Escobar-Toledo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Executive Committee of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) IN Mexico. The PRD is the party of Manuel Lopez Obrador who narrowly lost the 2006 presidential election. Mr. Escobar-Toledo is an economist and labor historian who has served the PRD in various capacities, including coordinator of political economy and fiscal refor