politics

  • Pakistan’s Union Activists Face Death Penalty

    Body:
    Thousands of Pakistani citizens have been arrested for joining widespread protests against the declaration of emergency rule in Pakistan. When President Pervez Musharraf suspended the constitution, fired supreme court judges, and enacted martial law in early November, crackdowns on labor ensued as well.

    Two days after the decree, outspoken union leader Rana Ayub Aki was arrested and jailed. Aki is the leader of the 130,000-strong union inside the Pakistani Water and Development Authority. In the wake of these crackdowns, many labor leaders are being forced into hiding.

    Union members and other activists organized a protest in early November at the Karachi Press Club, where police violently disrupted the gathering and arrested journalists, lawyers, and two labor leaders. One, Liaqat Ali Sahi, a leader at the State Bank of Pakistan and in the Hotel Workers Solidarity Committee, has been charged with treason for calling for the return of democracy at the November 5 rally. Musharraf’s emergency rule has given military courts the power to try civilians, and Sahi and three others face the death penalty.

    Expiration Date:
    Mon, 12/31/2007 - 11:59pm

  • Top 10 Things Heard in the White House after the November 5 elections

    Author(s):
    According to the AFL-CIO

    Excerpt:
    10. "Social Security to be replaced by giant Bingo game -- brought to you by Wall Street."

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • GOP Election Victory Opens Door for Intensified Anti-Worker Offensive

    Author(s):
    Justin Jackson and Chris Kutalik

    Excerpt:
    This fall the AFL-CIO kicked its election strategy into full gear. Promising “No More Business As Usual” for candidates who refused to embrace labor’s issues, the federation committed massive amounts of cash and manpower to mostly Democratic Party candidates.
    That support failed to push the Democrats to victory on Election Day. Reports from Washington indicate that GOP leaders are planning new attacks on unions and a revival of old anti-labor legislative assaults either delayed or partially implemented in the past decade.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • What If Citizens Got To Decide the City Budget? Brazil’s Workers Party Tries "Participatory Budgeting"

    Author(s):
    Micah Maidenberg

    Excerpt:
    Brazil will vote for a new president October 6. If the Workers Party (or PT, for Partido dos Trabahadores) wins, South America’s largest country will be governed by a party that was created by the labor movement and dedicated to building movements of workers and the poor...

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Politically-Connected Businessman Profits from ‘Guest Worker’ Program Braceros in Detroit?

    Author(s):
    Elena Herrada

    Excerpt:
    We should never be surprised by what campaign contributions and political connections can accomplish. In Detroit, they allowed a company to fire union workers and replace them with immigrants brought into this country under false pretenses-and then subject the new workers to horrible living conditions...

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • How Do We Talk about Terrorism and War?

    Author(s):
    by Cathy Austin

    Excerpt:
    In my workplace, discussions about the war in Afghanistan vary from comments that acknowledge the complexities and causes of this war to "bomb the shit out of them" to no opinion at all. Our members for the most part are reluctant to talk about sensitive issues at work because they want to protect the long-term relationships that we have with each other. The employer already divides us along many lines; care needs to be taken in discussing this issue, as we want to come together, not further divide ourselves.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • New York District Attorney Investigates SEIU Local 32B-J Staff "Volunteering" on Mark Green Campaign

    Author(s):
    by Freda Coodin

    Excerpt:
    On November 13 the Manhattan District Attorney subpoenaed the Service Employees International Union Local 32B-J to hand over documents, after the DA was notified of possible violations by a member and dissident leader, Paul Pamias.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Steward's Corner: How Our Local Bonded With The Community

    Author(s):
    by Ken Riley; President ILA Local 1422, Charleston, South Carolina

    Excerpt:
    For a long time our local union was a sleeping giant in the community. Other groups solicited us only for our funds and not for our involvement. We were also losing ground in contract negotiations: Charleston is a major port, and we weren't taking advantage of that fact to address issues that were particular to Charleston.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Employers Livid About Anti-Spying Law Passed by Republican Congress

    Author(s):
    by Robert M. Schwartz

    Excerpt:
    Irony of ironies: U.S. employers are raging apoplectic about a law enacted by a Republican Congress! Only recently publicized, an amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act prohibits employers from commissioning professional investigators to conduct secret investigations of employees.

    Available Online:
    Yes

  • Immigrants Find High-Tech Servitude in Silicon Valley

    Author(s):
    by David Bacon

    Excerpt:
    When Kim Singh left India to become a contract worker in Silicon Valley, he thought he would find a good job in the electronics industry. Instead, he found a high-tech sweatshop.

    Available Online:
    Yes