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As
part of his plan announced March 30 to "save" GM and
Chrysler, President Barack Obama demanded that autoworkers give back even more
of the wages and benefits they had won from the corporations in years
past.
As
we go to press, details of what these latest givebacks will consist of
are not yet available—except for the continued demand that the United
Auto Workers allow GM to bankrupt its already shaky health plan by
filling it with $10 billion in worthless stock instead of cash. But the
general outline of the plan is clearly in keeping with Obama’s pro-capitalist policies and statements
since his inauguration and even more in evidence in March.
For
instance, after fending off populist outrage against the $135 million
in bonuses granted to AIG executives, Obama
didn’t blink an eye, when forcing GM CEO Rick Waggoner to retire, in
letting him keep $23 million in pension and other benefits.
The
same day as Obama’s announcement, dissident
autoworkers who have been opposing further concessions participated in
a rally for green jobs in Detroit, demanding government funds
go not to bailing out banks but to conversion of their plants into
producing mass transit, light rail, and alternative energy equipment.
Obama has made clear time and again that if he has his
way the crisis will be solved on the backs of workers. The first step
in countering this should be to channel the anger displayed by American
workers at the AIG bonuses (see story on page 8) into a defense of autoworkers
against Obama’s demands while backing the
alternative vision put forward by the most militant autoworkers.
Meanwhile,
the toll of the crisis on workers continues to deepen. The official
rate of unemployment reached 8.5 percent in March—the highest rate in a
quarter-century. Over 5 million jobs have been lost since the recession
began. The loss of jobs has led to modern-day "Hoovervilles,"
as tent cities have spread to cities such as Nashville, Olympia, St. Petersburg, Fresno, and many others.
Also
in March the Federal Reserve reported that in 2008 Americans saw 18
percent of their wealth vanish, representing a loss of $11 trillion.
Yet consumers suffering this loss still owe $13 trillion in mortgages
and credit-card debt. And assets have taken further hits in the first
two months of 2009, a period not covered in the quarterly report.
Facing
similar conditions, workers outside the United States have begun to respond
(though the American press has largely ignored their struggles.) On
April 1, trade unionists in Greece carried out a 24-hour
strike and mass march to protest the government’s austerity measures in
response to the economic crisis. The strike closed down public
transportation and services, airlines, shipping, schools, banks,
newspapers, and many other businesses.
The
Greek strike action was timed to coincide with the Group of 20 summit in London. British trade unions
joined mass protests in London during the G-20 meeting to
demand that the authorities "Put People First," when planning
their “bail-outs” to recover from the crisis.
Close
to 2.5 million people marched in Rome, April 4, to protest
austerity measures in Italy. On March 19, three million
people struck and rallied in France, a figure a least double that of
the general strike held earlier in the year.
On
April 1, workers at the auto-parts manufacturer Visteon
in Northern Ireland occupied their plant. They
demanded a better severance package after the company had announced
extensive lay-offs. Workers at the Waterford glass-making factory in Ireland recently ended their
two-month factory occupation with the announcement that 176 jobs had
been saved for at least six months.
Workers
who took over a recently closed auto-parts supply company in Windsor, Ontario, which makes parts for
Chrysler, likewise ended their siege March 18 after reaching a deal
that gives laid-off employees severance and back pay. The workers had
welded the doors shut from the inside, and said they would not leave
until they got what they were owed. Chrysler had been trying to go in
and collect parts and tools it said belonged to the company, but
workers physically stopped the removal, fearing the loss of negotiating
power.
Workers
at Prisme, a box manufacturer in Dundee, Scotland, have occupied their plant
since late February. They are reportedly considering re-opening the
business as a worker-run cooperative.
Striking
workers held their boss hostage at a 3M plant south of Paris after the corporation
announced layoffs and job transfers at 13 French sites. Shop owners in
the town shut down to support the factory workers. Workers want better
severance packages for those being laid off and better conditions for
those keeping their jobs. Similar "bossnappings"
occurred earlier in March at Sony's French facilities, and the end of
the month at a French Caterpillar factory.
In Egypt a new wave of strikes has
begun, this time at smaller workplaces, not just the huge textile
plants that had experienced shutdowns in the last two years. In
mid-February, thousands of truck and bus drivers struck in Mexico over rising fuel prices,
erecting road blocks, seizing toll booths, and holding large rallies.
In Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas, 1000 Nokia workers
picketed a labor board office to demand severance pay owed them. Thousands
of workers and retirees rallied in front of Mexico’s Congress in late February
to demand re-nationalizing the social security funds (which cover both
pensions and health care).
The
militant struggles that have begun to erupt worldwide—and the victories
that we have seen to date—show clearly that working people have the
power in their hands to counter the attempts of the employers and their
governments to make them pay for the crisis.
In
order to maximize that power, in the United States, workers need to rebuild
the unions into a strong, united, and democratic movement.
Furthermore,
an effective working-class response to the economic crisis requires a
clear program of demands. In regard to the U.S. financial system, for
example, such a program should call for the following first steps:
Genuine and permanent nationalization of the banks, which would be
placed under the control of the workers; a public inquiry to unveil
bank and corporate account books and secret dealings; wiping out phony
debts and toxic assets; and directing funds to green public works jobs.
In
order to put such measures into effect, U.S. workers need a party of
their own—a labor party based on a fighting trade-union movement.
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