Date: 28 Feb 97 02:29:58 EST
From: neil <74742.1651-AT-CompuServe.COM>
Subject: M-I: AFLs "organizing" workfare 


dear friends,

Max B. Sawicky takes umbrage over the
exposure of the AFL leaders phony attempt 
to posture as defenders of the interests 
of workers on welfare.

Max BS, whose  pro-Democratic Party 
liberal think tank at 1660 L. St in Washington DC
 is almost  close enough to grab a nap at
the  Lincoln Room in the Clinton Hilton
is good on one liners. But  when it comes to 
 serious material  analysis, you'd be better off
with Mother  Teresa.

Let us begin to expose more the TRUE
AFL/CIO  policy on  slave labor 'welfare 
reform". The AFL is a  big time  backer 
of Clintonism, the  forward guard  in our rulers
neo liberal attacks devastating workers,
union, non union ,employed and unemployed.
The Clintonites and the GOP have been working 
hand in glove , playing their good cop-bad cop
flim flam on the workers for much of this decade.
Welfare/SSI/social security  slashings are a key
part of a muti front blitz to help the rich restore
profits to higher rates and to keep US corps/banks
in the saddle  of capitals  jungle law competition.
Max BS has no serious ooposition to this and this 
comes out clearly when he bemoan s the LA AFLs
endorsement of  capitalist Republican Mayor 
Riordan but has no criticism of support fro
Democrats.

Max BS in his Institution  is not far from NY City
so i am sure he knows how in NY, the AFL
unions have made a trade off with the
Republican mayor and the Democrats
in Albany NOT to organize  serious resistance
meetings, mass actions, demonstarations ,
to oppose the savage Welfare cuts and
the huge army (40,000 now) being rounded 
up for workfare.
In the NY  Transport workers union, TWU#100
 the AFL let hundreds of its members get fired
 without any  serious fight and drailing militants at the base
 who wanted mass action  and let their own "duespayers"
 get repalced with 'workfare workers". 
Now the TWU and other service unions in NY 
are demanding that the membership dues 
losses could possibly be made up by 'organizing'
 those on workfare.
When  Giuliani and co. reach a deal with the AFL in NY,
 unfortunately it will not be to organize workers to
fight wage slavery , it  will be to better control the
mounting anger of the workers. 


Think about all the support the AFL/CIO has given
to the rich (Democrats especially) in making sure
that Clinton's ass was covered in the last election.
Is is not amazing that in no major city did any AFL
affiliates launch even one serious mass action
to oppose the Welfare slashing and 'workfare"?

In fact , in those locals where activists at the base
tried to push forward for some motion, the AFL
leaders were downright hostile to any of that 
kind of real organizing which would connect workers
that are union and non-union in mass events. 

If the TWU #100 , etc in NY is not proof enough
that the AFL aparatus and Max BS are just trying
to pull a fast one on workers , there is the history of state budget 
cutting in California  from 1991 to the present.

Having worked in a rank and file Bus Drivers
and Teachers, and Teachers Aides  joint 
caucus here in LA . It became more thru debate/confrontation
thorugh the agitation of activists that AFL unions
have been  "lobbying" (successfully) the state legislature  for 
 broader welfare cuts in this state for years to shift the
burden of  job, benefit and  other worksite cuts away from the
 state and county unions money coffers and onto those
sectors that have no real 'lobby' at all in Sacramento,e.g.
Welfare , SSI, GR recipients  who all have taken huge 
hits over the last 5 years or so.

In this way it is true , a "victory" was won so that 
not as many state and county union workers would be savaged.
In fact whn i was agitating at a union meeting a few years back ,
 a steward level hack told me "What the fuck are you doing inciting 
these welfare  bums  and janitors for , its our damn union  lobby
work that  saved most of  you assholes  jobs- just remember that"


Welfare recipients and those on Food Stamps 
have taken four or five successive hits of  5%
to 9% cuts each year her for the last five years
and the army of homeless and unemployed 
semi-employed is mounting.
GR has been cut 50% and more cuts are planned.

Now I ask Mr. Mouth, Max BS,  where has the AFL /CIO
done anything positive to build any serious struggle
to unite the beleagured workers with the rest 
of the working class. Oh of course, they have thousands
out ringing doorbells for Clintonites and even 
Republican mayors  and even many tens of millions
in COPE funds for them  , but for  welfare recipients,  opposing workfare 
 they like the capitalists they serve , have nothing but contempt .

Max BS may well try to cover for the craft union hacks
as is his profession but he won't get away with it 
as now the cat is out of the bag. 
With the AFL craft unions here, contracts are comng up 
soon again fro SEIU 660, SEIU 99 and UTLA, SEIU 535,
etc. 
With the corporate/state bi-partisan asaults mounting,
no doubt the the bosses their media and the "labor'
lieutenants  will be pushing for more union cannibalism
to divide workers. If they can't  chew up people on welfare/SSI,
they will go after each other. It is the rank and filers
who end up getting hurt.

In 'my' union the hacks sometimes slip with OPEN 
attacks on people on welfare, workfare SSI. This
is because they want the ranks to get behind their "lobbying' 
to 'save our own asses".  But these divisions and
the lack of building and organizing classwide 
resistance means the rulers and their cuts 
will slice thru us rank and filers  like knife thru butter.

Part of building for a future  new labor movement of 
struggle is exposing the treachery of this decayed  
labor movement , past and present and their 
apologists like Max BS and their  Maginot  
political and economic Line.


Neil










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