[Peace-discuss] Fw: CLASSWAR: Green Party & SEIU trade unionists attacked byRightwingers in St.Louis @ Healthcare meeting

[unionyes]

Here is an article about a U.S. Congresman who held a healthcare meeting in 
St. Louis recently.

Of course, the Health Insurance industrial complex sent their paid thugs and 
FOX " News " encouraged many uninformed people to also attend, egged on by 
their LIES and scare tactics like " Death Panels " ( which already exist via 
the Health Insurance Companies denying people care ).

Anyway, some Union members turned out to ensure that EVERYONE had a right to 
speak and predictably the anti-public healthcare Nazi brownshirts tried to 
disrupt other people's rights to free speech by shouting them down and 
threats of physical violence. When the Union members confronted the 
brownshirts a small riot occured.

Of course, the U.S. Congressman who they went to defend didn't back up these 
Union members and condemned them as well for defending themselves and the 
meeting. Typical wishy washy coward Democratic politician !
>>
>>
>>
>> - ----- Forwarded message from Cort Greene <cort.greene at gmail.com> -----
>>
>> From: Cort Greene <cort.greene at gmail.com>
>> Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:21:47 -0500
>> Subject: [Working_Class_News] Green Party & SEIU trade unionists attacked 
>> by Rightwingers in
>> St.Louis @ Healthcare meeting
>> To: Working_Class_News <Working_Class_News at yahoogroups.com>
>> Sender: Working_Class_News at yahoogroups.com
>> Reply-To: Working_Class_News at yahoogroups.com
>> Message-ID: <3630bb730908140821o55d0f435p2a6e69d9c94027f5 at mail.gmail.com>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   WIL Statement in Response to Violence Incited by Right-Wingers Against
>> SEIU Members

>>
>>
>> On Thursday, August 6th, following a town hall meeting staged by
>> Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO) in St. Louis, MO to tout President
>> Obama's health reform plan, violence was instigated by right-wing
>> "protesters" against members of the Service Employees International 
>> Union.
>> The SEIU members, three organizers and a shop steward, had turned out to
>> demand health care for all. Among the SEIU members was recent St. Louis
>> Mayoral candidate Rev. Elston McCowan, who ran an independent campaign on
>> the Green Party ticket, fighting for single-payer health care and 
>> concrete
>> measures to create jobs and defend public education. McCowan was 
>> assaulted
>> by "tea party" protesters and his shoulder was dislocated.  He was also
>> arrested along with other SEIU members, for the "crime" of defending
>> themselves against the right-wingers. The town hall meeting itself was
>> disrupted inside by right-wing hecklers, who created a charged 
>> atmosphere.
>>
>>
>> This incident has been seized upon by right-wing media outlets such as 
>> Fox
>> News and the *O'Reilly Factor*, who are falsely laying blame on "SEIU 
>> thugs"
>> (according to the* O'Reilly Factor*) for the violence. In the days 
>> following
>> Thursday's town hall meeting, the "tea party" organizations staged a 
>> protest
>> outside the union's offices. To add insult to injury, Rep. Carnahan 
>> appeared
>> on television this past weekend to condemn the right-wingers *and* the 
>> SEIU!
>> Another town hall meeting on health care reform scheduled for Saturday,
>> August 8th was canceled due to fears of disruption and violence.
>>
>>
>> These "tea party" groups, funded by the Republican Party and the big 
>> health
>> insurance corporations, are shills for big business. Made up mostly of
>> middle class and wealthy people, these "grass roots organizations" are 
>> being
>> whipped into a frenzy of fear fed by misinformation and have been let 
>> loose
>> in order to disrupt public discussions on health care in St. Louis, MO,
>> Tampa, FL, and Orlando, FL so far, even meetings organized by the
>> big-business backed Democratic Party to discuss Obama's health plan.
>> Let's be clear: Obama's plan in no way represents a single-payer, 
>> socialized
>> health care system. Obama's plan in fact will continue to make room for 
>> the
>> multi-billion dollar HMO and pharmaceutical companies, who are literally
>> sucking the life blood of working people in the name of big profits for 
>> the
>> wealthy. The Democratic plan is more of the same. Republican news outlets
>> and commentators are attempting to confuse the public by making Obama's 
>> plan
>> synonymous with a single payer health system. This kind of misinformation 
>> is
>> feeding the "tea party" mobs. These people are encouraged to use goon
>> tactics to shut down, disrupt and even force the cancellation of meetings
>> and to intimidate and attack union members and who attend these public
>> meetings to discuss the all-important issue of health care. Enough is 
>> enough
>> - - the Labor Movement needs to mobilize its forces to defend democratic
>> rights and place genuine reform - single-payer health care - on the 
>> agenda!
>>
>>
>> The SEIU union has now committed itself to standing up to the "tea party"
>> groups. The union released a statement, saying:
>>
>>
>> "Let's be clear: These groups, backed by insurance companies and 
>> corporate
>> front groups, want nothing more than to preserve the status quo system of
>> rationing, where HMOs choose doctors, and insurance companies deny us the
>> care we need. Their dearest hope is that by resorting to outrageous 
>> charges
>> of Nazism and euthanasia, they can make the American public too afraid to
>> support real reform.
>>
>>
>> "But SEIU and hardworking women and men all over this country are 
>> standing
>> up to their bullying tactics. We deserve a national conversation about 
>> how
>> we will fix our failing healthcare system and help make this an economy 
>> that
>> works for everyone."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> This call to stand up to goon tactics and for a genuine national 
>> discussion
>> on health care reform should be supported by the whole Labor Movement and
>> all working people, students and activists.
>>
>> If the unions were to mobilize the membership and working people 
>> generally
>> to attend such public discussions, and to organize stewards and members 
>> to
>> protect such meetings from violence and disruption, this would be a big 
>> step
>> forward and ensure a place for working people to participate. The unions
>> should also reach out to the millions of unemployed workers, who are 
>> without
>> health care of any kind, and get them to join this fight. The right to
>> democratic expression must be defended and maintained absolutely. Beyond
>> that, if the unions were to mobilize nationally to demand single-payer
>> health care reform, in every town and city and in every state across the
>> nation, it would show the real balance of forces. Without the working 
>> class'
>> kind permission, not a wheel turns nor a lightbulb shines. Such
>> mobilizations would show the "tea party" protests for what they are: an
>> insignificant whimper of a marginal section of the population.
>>
>> The Workers International League extends its support and solidarity to 
>> the
>> SEIU membership and to the Rev. Elston McCowan, who have been made the
>> targets of the right-wingers. We also believe that the only fundamental
>> health care reform is one that takes the giant HMOs and pharmaceutical
>> companies out of the equation: a single-payer, socialized national health
>> care system which would guarantee full access for all to the latest
>> treatment, research and discoveries. Abolish the HMOs and nationalize the
>> pharmaceutical giants that squeeze their profits from the health of 
>> working
>> people! A lead towards mobilizing to fight for single-payer health care 
>> has
>> already been given by many unions across the U.S., organized through the
>> Labor Campaign for Single-Payer Health Care conference. We believe that 
>> if
>> this demand were to be taken up by and fought for by the whole of the 
>> Labor
>> Movement, it would be the best route towards real, fundamental reform of 
>> the
>> country's health care system and in the best interests of the vast 
>> majority
>> of the population - working people.
>>
>>
>> *Labor Mobilize to Defend Democratic Rights and Demand Single-Payer 
>> Health
>> Care*!
>>
>>
>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>>
>>
>>
>> - ------------------------------------
>>
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