Date: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 21:26:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Carl Davidson <cdavidson-AT-igc.apc.org>
Subject: Re: A Changing Labor Movement  and the condescending saviours


At 10:29 PM 8/18/96 +0100, hariette spierings wrote:
I think Henwood is right and Adolpho, et al, are caught
in a time warp somewhere in the last century.  Or they have no
idea of the actual conditions and situation of the church
and the labor movement in the US today. First, the church
is not monolithic, the most obvious split between the proto-
fascist Christian right on one hand, and the liberal and 
Black church on the others. Moreover, it's just weird to
see the conditions in the U.S. with a working class on the
verge of radical upheaval with a church hierarchy ordering
in minions to enter the fray with waterbuckets to put
out the fires. If anything, the masses of religious people
on the progressive side of the spectrum in recent decades
have probably been more active and more advanced in their
thinking than the labor movement.  This priest in my hometown,
Aliquippa, Pa. who was active in the fight to save the pensions
of steelworkers from the shutdown plants, usually had his 
political views and tactics rendered more moderate by the
influence of the workers involved. It's equally off base
to see this motion as something instigated by the church
hierarchy. In most cases I know of, the local clergy active
in the struggle are going against the tide and are viewed
quite cautiously, if not with disfavor, by the higher ups.
Carl Davidson, Chicago

   
Keep On Keepin' On



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