Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 22:01:35 -0500
Subject: M-G: [Fwd: [Fwd: ACTION: Strikers' Appeal for National March on Detroit]]


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>From: Harel Barzilai <harelb-AT-polygon.math.cornell.edu>
Subject: ACTION: Strikers' Appeal for National March on Detroit
Organization: ?
Article: 2677
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*****************************************************************
	"leaders of the business community ... have chosen to wage a
	one sided class war today in this country - a war against
	working people, the unemployed, the poor, the minorities, the
	very young and the very old ....
*****************************************************************

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
To:            GCIGALE-AT-SHAREGRP (George Cigale)
>From:          Daymon2001-AT-aol.com (Daymon2001)

Brothers and Sisters:

Would you be able to help a neophyte to the www get out the attached appeal
and/or tell us how to get the maximum exposure?/

--------------------------------------------------
In Solidarity'
daymon j. hartley
Striking Free Press Photographer
--------------------------------------------------
Newspaper Guild of Detroit
Local 22 of The Newspaper Guild-AFL/CIO
--------------------------------------------------
3300 Book Building
Detroit, Michigan 48226
Telephone: 313-963-4254
Fax: 313-963-6944

                 Newspaper Strikers' Appeal for a
                 National Labor March on Detroit

We are newspaper workers who have been on strike since July 13, 1995
against the Detroit News, owned by Gannett, and the Detroit Free
Press, owned by Knight-Ridder. We were . forced to strike by these
greedy billionaire newspaper chains who are out to bust our unions and
deny us and our families a decent livelihood.

Gannett and Knight-Ridder are demanding the elimination of hundreds of
our jobs as well as takeaways that would gut our contracts. In a
public statement made a month after the strike began, Robert Giles,
Editor and Publisher of the Detroit News, said: "We're going to hire a
whole new workforce and go on without unions, or they can surrender
unconditionally and salvage what they can. "

That has been the publishers' position from the beginning and it has
not chanaed in all these months. They are taking heavy financial
losses in Detroit as a result of the strike but they are prepared to
absorb such losses to achieve their main objective: bust the unions.

We believe the labor movement can stop them, that the Detroit
newspaper strike can be won through labor solidarity and strength
demonstrated in a massive national mobilization of the entire labor
movement.  At its August 1996 meeting, the AFL-CIO Executive Council
considered a proposal for a National Labor March on Detroit. Although
the proposal was endorsed by the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO and the
Metropolitan Council of Newspaper Unions (made up of all striking
Detroit newspaper unions), the An-CIO Executive Council did not issue
a call.  Now that the national election campaigns are over, we are
appealing to unions around the country and supporters of our strike to
join us in urging AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and the Executive
Council to reconsider. A national labor march on Detroit will show
Gannett and Knight-Ridder that all of labor supports this struggle --
physically as well as financially. And it can help spur united labor
actions in cities around the country directed against Gannett and
Knight-Ridder facilities, including USA Today.  We believe we rr-AT-.ust
act now because the future of the labor movement will be critically
affected by the outcome of this strike. A ' fterall, if corporations
like Gannett and Knight- Ridder can break unions in a labor stronghold
like Detroit, what union anywhere is safe from similar union-busting?

It's time for Solidarity Day 111, this time in Detroit. Please send a message
to AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., urging a national labor march on
Detroit in support of striking newspaper workers. And please send a copy to
us. We deeply appreciate your
continuing support.

Write, fax, call or E-mail:
John Sweeney
President, AFL-CIO
815 16th St. NW
Washington D.C. 20006
Fax: 202-508-6946
Phone:202-637-5000
E-mail:71112.53-AT-compuserve.com
Internet:http://www.aficio.org

Copy to:
Dia Pearce
Newspaper Guild of Detroit 3300 Book Bldg.
Detroit, Mi 48226

E-Mail to:
Daymon2001-AT-AOL.COM

    Union Busting in the 1990's -
       What We Can Learn From the Past to Fight It.

     It is an often repeated statement in the labor movement that
strike-breaking and union busting began with PATCO and the Reagan
	presidency in 1980. This is not really correct. Resigning from
the top-level Labor-Management Group in 1978, UAW International
President Douglas
	Fraser issued a remarkable statement giving his reasons for
refusing to sit
	across from the CEOs of the biggest corporations. Before
PATCO; before
	Phelps-Dodge; before Hormel, Caterpillar or the Detroit
Newspaper Strike, Fraser
	wrote: "leaders of the business community ... have chosen to
wage a one sided
	class war today in this country - a war against working
people, the
	unemployed, the poor, the minorities, the very young and the
very old .... The leaders
	of industry, commerce and finance ... have broken and
discarded the
	fragile, unwritten compact previously existing during a past
period of growth
	and progress .... Where industry once yearned for subservient
unions, it
	now wants no unions at all .... I cannot sit there seeking
unity with the
	leaders of American industry, while they try to destroy us and
rain the lives
	of the people I represent .... We ... intend to reforge the
links with those
	who believe in struggle: the kind of people who sat down in
the factories
	in the 1930's and who marched in Selma in the 1960's....

     Already by 1978 it was becoming quite clear that there was a
	change occurring among the corporate bosses, so much so that
for the first
	time in a long time a top labor leader was talking about class
war! What is it
	about the 1930's that attracts so much attention? There have
been many big
	strikes both before and after.

     From the growth of industry after the Civil War until the 1930's
American workers made heroic efforts to organize into unions. There
	were some successes, but most of those decades were strewn
with the blood and
	bodies of labor's martyrs.

     In 1877 a nationwide railroad strike turned into a mass labor
	uprising that was crushed by the National Guard in many
states. Remember the
	Homestead Steel strike, the Pullman railroad strike and the
hanging of four
	leaders who fought for the 8 hour day. The great Industrial
Workers of the World,
	the IWW, had a militant 15 year history of strikes in mass
industries. It
	ended in jailings and mass deportations. Racism, lynchings and
segregation
	kept the labor movement divided along racial lines for
generations. And the
	tremendous 1919 steel strike ended in defeat.

     The 1929 crash of the stock market and the Depression drove the
	living standards of all workers down. Millions of unemployed,
desperate for
	work, were used by the bosses as a threat against those still
working.

     Yet the driving force behind the great struggles of the 1930's
	was not the leadership of the established unions. The old AF
of L was very conservative, based on the skilled trades. The battles
that we all
	remember today were organized and led by militant rank and
file workers along
	with radicals, socialists and communists. This came together
in a new
	formation the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the CIO,
that succeeded in
	building the industrial unions we know today.

     The Toledo Auto-Lite strike of 1934 was a milestone in the
	organizing of auto workers. Confronted with scabs, police and
injunctions, the
	picket line was saved when thousands of unemployed workers,
organized into the
	Lucas County Unemployed League joined the strikers. Together
they defied injunctions and battled cops and national guard, until
victory was
	won.

     The Minneapolis Teamster strike of 1934 saw the workers, at
	times, virtually in control of the city. They had a daily
strike newspaper,
	food kitchens, unemployed committees. When police violence
threatened the
	strike, the Teamsters organized a workers' militia that
battled hand to hand
	with the cops, guarded strike headquarters and protected union
leaders.  The dock workers in San Francisco in 1935 saw two of their
members
	shot dead on the picket line by the police. The entire labor
movement of San
	Francisco rose up in rebellion by holding a two day general
strike, almost unprecedented in U.S. labor history.

The greatest battle of all, the Flint sit-down strike of 1937, again,
	was one that came from below. The top leadership of the UAW
and the CIO did
	not make the plans. If anything, they were fearful of so great
a challenge to
	the bosses and the government. But the seizure and occupation
of the GM
	plant electrified workers across the country. They Came from
everywhere to
	help out. Women organized their Emergency Brigade which
started with
	cooking meals and ended with women carrying two by fours
battling the cops.  With the victory at GM there immediately followed
hundreds and
	hundreds of sit-downs in factories and offices. The tide had
turned. When the
	Steel Workers Organizing Committee threatened to lead a
national strike, the
	steel bosses, undefeated in union busting for 60 years, gave
up without a
	fight and recognized the union!

The workers of the 30's knew that the laws had all been written by the
bosses. They knew the cops, the judges, the politicians and the
	military were all working for the bosses. To win a measure of
justice they said to
	hell with the cops! To hell with the judges and injunctions!
To hell with
	the national guard! And to hell with unjust laws! Many went to
jail; many
	were beaten and gassed; many were injured; and many workers
were
	killed. But their iron determination, their unity and their
creative energy created a
	political crisis for the entire ruling class of this
country. In the end the
	bosses decided they would rather live with unions then face a
full scale
	civil war, a class war.

For forty years there was, as Doug Fraser called it, "a fragile,
	unwritten compact." Sure, there were still strikes, sometimes
long ones. There
	were still struggles and contention. But outright union
busting, with
	scabs, injunctions and mass police attacks, were rare.

Starting with the 1971 Nixon wage-freeze has come the steady decline
	in the living standard for the average American. It has taken
various forms.  Contract concessions was one. Inflation,
another. Co-pays and benefit reductions. Unfortunately, even though
Doug Fraser saw it coming in
	1978, the unions soon caved in to the pressure and bought into
concessions,
	labor- management cooperation and supporting the Big Three's
downsizing
	plans. This led to the disaster of the loss of half a million
auto workers'jobs
	over the past 15 years.

But this is a different era than the 1930's when mass industries were
expanding. We are in the era of the scientific-technological
	revolution. We are witnessing the restructuring and downsizing
of American
	industry. Profits rise to record levels while wages decline
and millions of union jobs
	have been lost. Work can be shifted from one plant to
another. Entire
	factories can be shipped overseas. American labor cannot
simply look to the past
	to reclaim its power. We must come to grips with the issues of
	international competition, multi-national corporations and
restructuring.

Are we, the hundred million workers of America any less capable or
intelligent than the workers of the 1930's? Do we lack their resolve?
	Their determination? Their courage or inventiveness?

No. If anything, we, the workers of today, are more numerous, more
	educated, more organized than those of generations
past. African American,
	Latino, other nationalities and women constitute a great and
progressive force
	in today's labor movement.

Yes, there are millions of unemployed, desperate for work especially
	with the latest round of welfare cuts approved by both the
Democrats and
	Republicans.  Sure, we face hostile judges, injunctions and
bought off cops. And,
	yes, we have too many labor leaders who are timid and fearful
of any great confrontation.

But we have no choice. We cannot, and we will not, surrender all that
	has been gained in the past sixty years. The solution is
simple and
	terrifying.  Instead of one-sided class war, where we get
beaten up and crushed
	down, labor must be willing to fight a TWO-SIDED CLASS WAR,
where the labor movement unleashes the entire strength of our forces
into the
	battle. This means a broad program to Organize the
unorganized, including work-fare workers and even prison labor, into
unions. This means fighting all
	forms of racism, bigotry and anti-immigrant hysteria. This
means real
	international solidarity among workers of all countries.

Just as in the 1930's, not every strike today can become an historic
	test of wills, a critical political confrontation. But the
Detroit Newspaper
	Strike can. We are in tabor's stronghold with 350,000 union
members in the
	southeast Michigan area. The unions here have enormous
resources of personnel,
	funds, equipment, lawyers, media. Iast year, in the week
following Labor Day,
	the newspaper strike stood at the edge of such a great
confrontation. All
	eyes were on the struggle. Thousands of strikers and
supporters stood
	shoulder to shoulder, unafraid of hundreds of riot cops,
spitting in the face of injunctions, ready to do whatever it took to
win the strike. Behind
	these thousands stood tens of thousands more workers ready to
come
	forward. Ten union locals, some of the biggest in the UAW, as
well as locals on
	strike, even voted to support the call for a general strike to
back the
	newspaper strike. A real workers' militia was forming in
combat operations every Saturday night.

Labor was in a position to declare that union busting was going to be
	stopped here and now. Does anyone really think that the banks,
the corporate
	bosses or the politicians would have allowed this strike to
escalate any
	further? Do you think they could afford to let things in
Detroit get out of hand,
	setting an example for the many millions of frustrated workers
and unemployed
	around the country? It isn't likely. And if things had
escalated it would
	have meant the re-emergence of a real fighting labor movement.

Labor is not best prepared for long, drawn out strikes. Trying to
	out-wait the bosses "one day longer" ignores the multi-billion
dollar nature of today's corporate giants. That's not a winning
strategy that can
	reverse labor's decline.

Today's leaders were not brought up in the fire of the 1930's. Most
	had no part in the civil rights battles of the 50's or 60's or
in the
	militant anti-war movement of the 60's and 70's. They are
holding back from the
	edge of the great unknown of class war. But the militant
spirit of the rank
	and file is being felt at the highest levels of organized
labor. Just last
	year the old Kirkland-Donahue leadership of the AFL-CIO was
voted out and
	Sweeney, Trumka and Chavez-Thompson were put in office.

This is only a reflection of what is happening below. It will not be
	leaders who show the way, just as in the 1930's it wasn't the
leaders. It is
	the mass of rank and file, in alliance with community
organizations who can and
	must break through all the barriers that stand in our way.

An idea has been circulating for many months now. The idea for a
	massive, national labor solidarity march to be held in Detroit
to support the newspaper workers and say NO! to union busting. 850
strikers began a
	new appeal for this march. The Metropolitan Council of
Newspaper Unions
	has now put its support behind it. Workers around the country
are always
	asking - "When will the call go out for us to come to
Detroit?" Now we can say
	the campaign is on to get that call issued soon.

We must all get behind this effort and build it from below. But we
	need to let our leaders know that we cannot continue as
before, that masses of Detroit newspaper strikers ought to be listened
to and they are
	demanding action NOW!

And who is to say what could happen if hundreds of thousands of
	workers start out in a march? Who is to say what inventive new
or OLD tactics
	wouldn't arise from such a massive mobilization?

The newspaper strike is not dead. The strikers continue to show that
	they will not disappear. Support continues to pour in from
around the
	nation. What is needed is a clarion call for ACTION that
unties labors hands to
	give the enemies of labor a taste of our own brand of class
warfare.

(Remarks by David Sole, President of UAW Local 2334, opening the
	Dec. 7, 1996 Conference supporting the Detroit newspaper
strikers at Wayne State University, Detroit)

**********************************************************************

BY MARGARET TRIMER-HARTLEY AND DAYMON J. HARTLEY Nikolas Daymon
Hartley, one of the first babies born during the
	Detroit newspaper strike celebrated his first birthday Oct 5.
His mom now
	works for the Michigan Education Association; his dad is a
full time striker.

     Happy first birthday Nikolas Daymon Hartley!
     You've spent your entire life on the picket line.  And we feel
	like we have, too.
     Some people called us reckless when we walked out on strike
	against the Detroit newspapers just three months before you
were to be born.  They
	warned us that a picket line was no place for a baby.
     Responsible parents, they said, don't turn their backs on good
	jobs.
     Looking back on the past 15 months, we know we made the right
	choice.
 It was a choice between fighting for your future or explaining to you
	one day why we didn't.
      We decided we'd rather explain the lessons of solidarity we've
	all learned along this journey.  And we'd rather introduce you
to the
	brothers and sisters in the labor movement who came to love
and care for you
	than the greedy corporate bosses who don't give a damn about
your generation.
       You remind many of us why we have to keep standing for what is
	right.
 Indeed, often you were the only reason for your mom and dad to get
	out of bed.
       Many times we asked ourselves where we would be today if our
	parents and grandparents hadn't sacrificed for us.  How many
other battles
	would we have to fight if they hadn't tried to make the world
a better place
	for us.
       We knew we had to keep that tradition for you.
      Fortunately, we've met thousands of people from teachers to
	Teamsters who also are committed to improving life for your
generation.
       This newspaper strike in Detroit has shown more clearly than
	anything most of us have ever seen that unchecked capitalist
greed is wrong.
	If we could thank Gannett and Knight-Ridder, owners of The
Detroit News and
	Free Press, for anything we would thank them for helping us
mobilize the
	working class.
      Through their economic violence against 2,000 working families,
	they've brought more unity to our class than it's had in
decades.
     And win or lose the strike, that unity is a part of us now and it
	will take us through many battles to come.  Corporate America
cannot
	trample on us when we are together.
     We forged our unbreakable solidarity when dozens of retirees
	blocked entrances to The Detroit News on behalf of the
hundreds of children of strikers.
     When veterans, union leaders and religious leaders did civil
disobedience to bring attention to our struggle.
     When a special photographer at the Baltimore Sun sent you her
	son's like new, hand-me-down clothes and baby toys.
     And when Pauline Wohlford, whose brother is on strike, declared
	herself your honorary aunt and showered you with books and
clothes.
     You may be only a year old.  But we know that you understand the
	love behind such actions.  And we know you understand that the
heartbreak,
	grief and endless tears we endured this year were a price we
were willing to
	pay for you.
      We never expected you would give us such a quick return on our
investment. You've enabled us to survive by helping us leave
	bitterness behind and feel joy we never thought we would
experience again,
      We were so worried when you were born. "How will we manage?" we
	asked over and over.
      Now, little man,we wonder how we would have made it this far
	without you.

--------------------------------------
George Cigale
ShareWorld, General Manager
58 Day St.Somerville, MA 02144
Phone: 617/629-4581 Fax: 617/629-4510
gcigale-AT-sharegroup.com
--------------------------------------







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