[Peace-discuss] FORWARD THIS FAR AND WIDE- WE NEED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN !

[David Johnson]

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has proposed a march on Washington





Once again, in the immediate aftermath of the November 6 election, many of those politicians elected with labor support are turning on us with a vengeance.  In the Dec. 1-2 issue of the Wall Street Journal, Nancy Pelosi is quoted as saying, "Everybody knows that we have to have cuts, we have to have growth, we have to have revenue. So why are we stalling?"

 

Pelosi is expressing the dominant sentiment of Wall Street, certainly not the sentiments of the great majority of the population, who oppose cuts (according to the December 15, 2012 Gallup Poll, 74% of respondents oppose cuts to Medicare as a way of coping with the deficit/debt problem).

 

President Obama has several times made clear his readiness to support major cuts in the safety net so long as he gets increased revenue along with it.

 

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has proposed a march on Washington. The ELN supports this proposal, with the understanding that if it is called, it will not be just "another march," but will have as its goal to mobilize millions, with every effort made to reach out not only to our allies and partners but also to the 90 million Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid beneficiaries. 



Such a demonstration should be planned with a program of action that will demonstrate to ruling circles that cutting these cherished programs will not be permitted. We are the majority and there is no reason in the world why the bi-partisan politicians should be given license to cut our earned benefits. 

 

We also need to be out in the streets in cities and states throughout the country demanding:

 

NO TO UNION BUSTING AND RIGHT-TO-WORK! 

MEDICARE FOR ALL! 

EXPAND MEDICAID IN ALL STATES! 

PROTECT RETIREMENT SECURITY! 

REDIRECT WAR SPENDING TO FUND HUMAN NEEDS! 

 

 

Labor has made no headway in winning its top priorities under the Democratic administration. These include a jobs program that would put 25 million workers back to work; card check legislation; labor law reform; Medicare For All; trade agreements that guarantee enforceable workers' rights, especially the right to collective bargaining and the right for workers to form unions of their choice in all the signatory countries; etc.

 

This again underscores the need for a new kind of labor politics, one based on organizing as a class, not in coalition with the big business forces that control the Democratic Party. A first step is to run independent labor/community candidates for public office. 

 

 

Unity

 

 

Given the gravity of the situation, it would seem that at the very least the AFL-CIO, Change to Win, National Education Association and other independent unions could form a council to advance the cause of a united labor front around issues and campaigns that all would agree to. The best thing that such a Council could do would be to call an "Emergency Congress of the U.S. Labor Movement" to plan a program of action that would permit the full power of labor and its allies to be brought to bear.







Issued by the Emergency Labor Network (ELN)

For more information write emergencylabor at aol.com or P.O. Box 21004, Cleveland, OH 44121 or call 216-736-4715 or visit our website at www.laborfightback.org. Donations gratefully accepted. Please make checks payable to the ELN and mail to the above P.O. Box. 
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