Labor Notes conference was big and diverse

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Though official statistics were not yet available at this paper’s deadline, there were clearly at least a couple of thousand participants at the April 1-3 Labor Notes Conference in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont.

This was the 17th of these biennial gatherings spon­ sored by the monthly Labor Notes magazine. No votes are taken; they are strictly educational—or promo­ tion of solidarity with ongoing class battles. There are plenaries where everyone gathers, topical concurrent workshops to choose from, and interest groups for those organized in particular unions or industries.

An off-shoot of the latter is Railroad Workers United (railroadworkersunited.org), an independent rank-and-file group promoting unity in action among the 20 or so different craft unions in the USA and Canada. They have taken to holding their conventions just pri­ or to Labor Notes in the same venue.

Most attending are involved in unions or allied groups such as Fight for 15 or worker centers. They are mostly rank and filers or stewards, organizers, or local officers, but there were at least two international union presidents there as well. And the only socialist holding elected office in the United States—Kshama Sawant of Socialist Alternative, serving a second term on the Seattle city council—was present.

An effort is always made to bring international guests. This year at least 20 other countries from ev­ ery inhabited continent were represented. The trend of recent conferences being more and more diverse in color, gender, and age continued. Young people were in the majority.

There was a major “disruption” in the long-planned conference schedule on Friday, April 1—the Chicago Teachers Union strike. There is an article elsewhere in this paper about the mobilization of tens of thou­ 10 SOCIALIST ACTION APRIL 2016 sands of workers in solidarity with the CTU and pro­ moting other Chicago labor issues. While I am sure some committed to leading workshops that day were disappointed that hundreds of conference partici­ pants chose the CTU actions over workshops, none had hard feelings—they would have preferred to be in the streets too.

Labor Notes has never formally endorsed a candi­ date in elections and cannot do so while maintaining its non-profit status. However, Labor for Bernie had both a strategy session for those who support the “democratic socialist” seeking the Democrat presi­ dential nomination and a workshop where various views could be expressed.

As usual, this conference was worthwhile for those just entering the workers movement as well as for seasoned veterans. For this, the organizers are to be commended. But due diligence requires noting a rep­ etition of a very serious weakness in these gather­ (Above) Panel sponsored by Labor for Palestine at the Labor Notes conference. Speaking is Manawel Abdel-Al, of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.

ings—the failure to seriously address the overarching crisis of climate change.

To be sure, there was a workshop on Labor Con­ fronts Climate Change. It featured a well-qualified panel of unionists working to build a labor climate justice movement. The facilitator, Sean Sweeney, has connected climate scientists with unions and is play­ ing a leading role in the global Trade Unionists for Energy Democracy. But their powerful message—that should have been delivered to one of the plenaries— was relegated to the smallest room available in the vast Conference Center.

The complete schedule and other information about the conference is available online at: http://labor­ notes.org/conference. n

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... Teachers (continued from page 1: “Chicago teachers rally against cutbacks”) children of Chicago. We’re here for the young adults of Chicago, we’re here for people that deserve and are entitled to a real future.

“We’re going to fight for $15, so that all our parents can have a living wage. We are fighting for our sisters and brothers that drive the buses and operate the “El” [public transit trains]; for our sisters and brothers in SEIU health care that take care of the most vulnerable people in this state; for the university professors; for the City College professors; for every single working person in this entire state. Somebody’s got to lead the way, it happened to fall to CTU.”

During the morning picketing, crowds gathered around many schools where rallies were also held. Two such schools were Harlan Community Academy High School on the city’s South Side and Roosevelt High School in the North Side Albany Park neighbor­ hood. At both schools hundreds of teachers, students, and supporters gathered, including striking McDon­ alds workers demanding a $15 minimum wage.

Later, feeder marches of students and picketers from other nearby schools joined together and extended the protest to nearby McDonald’s restaurants; then, they marched on to attend major rallies at two statefunded universities hard hit by Rauner’s budget black­ mail—Chicago State University on the South Side and Northeastern Illinois University on the North Side.

About 1000 people attended a rally and teach-in at Chicago State University organized by student, fac­ ulty, and BYP 100, where CTU President Karen Lewis, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and others spoke. The situation is most dire at Chicago State, where about 30% of uni­ versity funding (approximately $36 million per year) comes from the state.

“They plan to lock up and not to lift up, because somebody knows that strong minds break strong chains,” Jesse Jackson told the rally. “We will not let them break our spirits. This school will not be closed. The governor may go, but Chicago State will stay.”

The only overwhelmingly Black university in Illinois, Chicago State has not received funds from the state for nearly 10 months and is now falling behind meeting payroll costs. In late February the university sent po­ tential layoff notices to all 900 of its employees. More recently, university officials instructed employees and students to turn in keys to campus buildings and of­ fices, since planning is underway for widespread lay­ offs as early as April 30. Chicago State has cut back in many areas, and is now struggling to finish the semes­ ter without the cash necessary to meet the needs of its 4500 mostly low-income students.

A broad campus coalition including students, fac­ ulty, and staff organized the Northeastern Illinois University April 1 Day of Action. An outdoor rally of over 3000 on the University Commons heard a list of speakers including American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and representatives of AFSCME District 31 and University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100. It was preceded by a student the­ atrical dramatization of the “death of education” and the “rising of the phoenix,” symbolizing the fightback required for its survival.

“Our state employees are without a contract going on a year,” said Linda Loew of AFSCME Local 1989. “The governor walked away from the table. … [We] deserve (continued from page 7: “What is fascism?”) example, the introduction of modern labor-saving technology into the productive process inevitably re­ sults in massive layoffs for the working class as op­ posed to a massive increase in leisure time—time that in an egalitarian socialist society would be devoted to the advancement of education, broad cultural pur­ suits, and furthering humanity’s well-being. Contradictions of capitalism The capitalism system in all its fundamentals is based on the exploitation of human labor, that is, the stealing of a major portion of the value that labor produces. But the very substitution of machines to replace human labor eventually leads to a fall in the rate of profit for the broad capitalist class.

It is this “law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall,” as Marx explained, that compels capitalists to introduce a myriad of counter-measures, includ­ ing extension of the length of the work day, speed up at the workplace, attacks on wages, pensions and social benefits—and today, the outsourcing of basic a fair contract just as Chicago teachers deserve a fair contract. The same governor, and the same banks and corporations … are holding all of us hostage!”

Nearly all faculty and university staff at Northeast­ ern have had work hours cut. Most university employ­ ees have already seen reductions of 20% in their pay­ checks. In addition, the state stopped funding MAP fi­ nancial aid grants to students. Around 2000 students at NEIU alone must receive these funds in order to remain in school. Earlier this year the school’s presi­ dent, Sharon Hahs, said she anticipates completing the spring semester but there is a possibility that the university will be “shut down” later in the year if no funds are received.

Nabisco workers of Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco, and Grain Mill Workers Union Local 300 joined a CTU picket line at Tarkington Elementary School, and then marched with teachers to Nabisco’s Southwest Side factory for a rally and press conference. Nearly 200 people participated. Nabisco’s parent company, Mon­ delez International, announced earlier this year that 600 Nabisco workers at the Chicago plant are losing their jobs due to a company decision to open a new plant in Mexico.

Gov. Rauner has just launched a statewide, cam­ paign-style speaking tour throughout Illinois to promote his union-busting, service-slashing “Turn­ around Agenda,” important portions of which are sup­ ported by both Democratic and Republican politicians around the state.

Chicago Tribune reporter Kim Geiger reported on a meeting Rauner held with the Tribune editorial board: “‘Crisis creates opportunity. Crisis creates leverage to change … and we’ve got to use that leverage of the production to low-wage and increasingly near slavelabor countries.

These, and other elements of capitalism’s inher­ ent contradictions, lie at the center of any rational explanation of the imposition of massive austerity measures against workers in every nation. They have raised the consciousness of millions, if not billions of people, that there is something fundamentally flawed in the system itself.

In the U.S. this awareness is expressed in contra­ dictory ways, with the Trumps of the world blaming capitalism’s victims and appealing to base prejudice while the Sanders camp poses more palliative re­ sponses that point to remedies that in essence keep the system intact along with its leading party, the Democrats, who have proven to be the most mal­ leable, reliable, and skilled in channeling rising dis­ content back into the establishment’s political frame­ work.

Rhetoric aside, Sanders’ record of voting with the Democrats 98 percent of the time—including his support to nearly all U.S. imperialist wars and the annual trillion-dollar military budget—as well as his pledge to support Hillary Clinton should he lose the present primary contests is more than sufficient to justify his treatment in the corporate media as a “le­ Mark Ugolini / Socialist Action (Above) Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis addresses the April 1 rally.

crisis to force structural change,’ said Rauner, borrow­ ing from a political philosophy famously coined by his [Democratic Party] friend Rahm Emanuel that ‘you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.’”

“Opportunity” for big business means massive prof­ its for the tiny few on the backs of all working people throughout the state. Such “opportunities” are always the first priority of capitalist parties and politicians.

Since the Chicago Teachers Union strike of 2012, the union has broadened its base of support, winning al­ lies from others within the labor movement and com­ munities of the oppressed. The April 1 Day of Action shows the progress CTU has made in building the kind of coalition that is needed. Continuing down this path with a strategy of united labor and community ac­ tion, while remaining independent of the Democratic and Republican parties, can protect gains won in past struggles and win new victories.

It’s already clear that the big-business interests are united in a massive assault on the CTU and all unions throughout the state. It’s also clear that this fight can­ not be won by the CTU and its current supporters alone. A much broader struggle is needed.

This offensive can only be effectively challenged with a united counter-mobilization of working-class forces on a massive scale. This means that other pow­ erful Chicago unions need to join the fight and demon­ strate that they stand behind the CTU and are willing to take whatever action is necessary to turn back the employer’s offensive and protect the interests of all working people in Illinois. n gitimate” candidate.

Indeed, to the extent that Sanders travels the coun­ try to convince ever-increasing numbers of young activists that the Democratic Party can be effectively reformed, he is well suited to shepherding the disillu­ sioned back into the camp of the capitalist exploiters.

Sadly, those in the socialist movement who should know better, such as Socialist Alternative and its elected Seattle city-council member, Kshama Sawant, have opted to support Sanders and to organize rallies for his campaign—with Sawant serving as a keynote speaker at a late March Sanders rally in Seattle.

While Sanders has certainly brought new legitima­ cy and interest to socialist ideas, a development that began to be reflected in the polls a few years before his announced candidacy, he has also sought to ob­ scure socialism’s revolutionary content. As always, this task falls to those who clearly understand the class divide in capitalist societies.

The revolutionary socialist future will be a product of the conscious organization and mobilization of the broad working-class majority to end capitalist rule once and for all. The construction of a revolutionary socialist party to help in the leadership of this strug­ gle stands at the center of Socialist Action’s reason for being. Join us! n SOCIALIST ACTION APRIL 2016 11

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SOCIALIST ACTION