Today in Labor History—June 10

Burning of the frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, by Edward Moran

June 10, 1801 – Tripoli declared war on the U.S., for refusing to pay tribute to their pirates, and the U.S. attacked, in the “First Libyan War.” U.S. forces attacked by land and sea, forcing Tripoli to accept peace in June, 1805. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1892 – A massive strike by miners occurred in Coeur d'Alenes, Idaho. In order to prevent scabs from working the mines while they were on strike, workers destroyed & seized mines. The strike was broken after the state declared martial law. (From the Daily Bleed)

King Alexander and Queen Dragia

 June 10, 1903 – King Alexander I and Queen Dragia of Serbia were assassinated. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1904 – 79 striking Colorado miners were "deported" to Kansas, following a battle between the Colorado Militia and striking miners at Dunnville. The battle ended with six union members dead and 15 taken prisoner. Dozens were arrested without warrants and held without formal charges. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1917 –A massive citywide textile strike for better wages and working conditions began in Sao Paulo, lasting over a month. Workers tried to appeal to the sympathies of police and soldiers, but when this failed openly confronted them. By July they were joined by striking cab drivers, utility workers and craft workers, totaling over 20,000 on strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1928 – Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, was born, Brooklyn, New York. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1940 – African liberationist Marcus Garvey died in London. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1960 – Thousands of council workers and revolutionary students surrounded the entourage of U.S. Presidential Press Secretary Hagerty at Haneda airport in Tokyo. Hagerty had to be rescued by a US marine helicopter, while the pro-imperialist government of Japan collapsed in embarrassment. President Eisenhower, fearing for his life, cancelled his July visit. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1963 - The Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy. The law prohibits employers from paying men and women different wages for the same job. (From Workday Minnesota)

June 10, 1971 – Police and death squads killed 43 student protesters in México City. (again). In 1968, the government massacred hundreds of students and bystanders in the Tlatelolco massacre (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 10

Burning of the frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, by Edward Moran

June 10, 1801 – Tripoli declared war on the U.S., for refusing to pay tribute to their pirates, and the U.S. attacked, in the “First Libyan War.” U.S. forces attacked by land and sea, forcing Tripoli to accept peace in June, 1805. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1892 – A massive strike by miners occurred in Coeur d'Alenes, Idaho. In order to prevent scabs from working the mines while they were on strike, workers destroyed & seized mines. The strike was broken after the state declared martial law. (From the Daily Bleed)

King Alexander and Queen Dragia

 June 10, 1903 – King Alexander I and Queen Dragia of Serbia were assassinated. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1904 – 79 striking Colorado miners were "deported" to Kansas, following a battle between the Colorado Militia and striking miners at Dunnville. The battle ended with six union members dead and 15 taken prisoner. Dozens were arrested without warrants and held without formal charges. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1917 –A massive citywide textile strike for better wages and working conditions began in Sao Paulo, lasting over a month. Workers tried to appeal to the sympathies of police and soldiers, but when this failed openly confronted them. By July they were joined by striking cab drivers, utility workers and craft workers, totaling over 20,000 on strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1928 – Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, was born, Brooklyn, New York. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1940 – African liberationist Marcus Garvey died in London. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1960 – Thousands of council workers and revolutionary students surrounded the entourage of U.S. Presidential Press Secretary Hagerty at Haneda airport in Tokyo. Hagerty had to be rescued by a US marine helicopter, while the pro-imperialist government of Japan collapsed in embarrassment. President Eisenhower, fearing for his life, cancelled his July visit. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1963 - The Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy. The law prohibits employers from paying men and women different wages for the same job. (From Workday Minnesota)

June 10, 1971 – Police and death squads killed 43 student protesters in México City. (again). In 1968, the government massacred hundreds of students and bystanders in the Tlatelolco massacre (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—June 10

Burning of the frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, by Edward Moran

June 10, 1801 – Tripoli declared war on the U.S., for refusing to pay tribute to their pirates, and the U.S. attacked, in the “First Libyan War.” U.S. forces attacked by land and sea, forcing Tripoli to accept peace in June, 1805. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1892 – A massive strike by miners occurred in Coeur d'Alenes, Idaho. In order to prevent scabs from working the mines while they were on strike, workers destroyed & seized mines. The strike was broken after the state declared martial law. (From the Daily Bleed)

King Alexander and Queen Dragia

 June 10, 1903 – King Alexander I and Queen Dragia of Serbia were assassinated. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1904 – 79 striking Colorado miners were "deported" to Kansas, following a battle between the Colorado Militia and striking miners at Dunnville. The battle ended with six union members dead and 15 taken prisoner. Dozens were arrested without warrants and held without formal charges. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1917 –A massive citywide textile strike for better wages and working conditions began in Sao Paulo, lasting over a month. Workers tried to appeal to the sympathies of police and soldiers, but when this failed openly confronted them. By July they were joined by striking cab drivers, utility workers and craft workers, totaling over 20,000 on strike. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1928 – Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, was born, Brooklyn, New York. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1940 – African liberationist Marcus Garvey died in London. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1960 – Thousands of council workers and revolutionary students surrounded the entourage of U.S. Presidential Press Secretary Hagerty at Haneda airport in Tokyo. Hagerty had to be rescued by a US marine helicopter, while the pro-imperialist government of Japan collapsed in embarrassment. President Eisenhower, fearing for his life, cancelled his July visit. (From the Daily Bleed)

June 10, 1963 - The Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy. The law prohibits employers from paying men and women different wages for the same job. (From Workday Minnesota)

June 10, 1971 – Police and death squads killed 43 student protesters in México City. (again). In 1968, the government massacred hundreds of students and bystanders in the Tlatelolco massacre (From the Daily Bleed)

Permanent War, Permanent Recession

The British economy grew by only 0.5% in the first quarter of 2011 and contracted by 0.5% the quarter prior, the WSWS reported today, causing many to concede that Britain is teetering on the edge of a “double dip recession.” The situation in the U.S. was not much better, with anemic first quarter growth of only 1.8%, following a decline of 3.1% the previous quarter.

If these numbers don’t sound worrisome enough, consider that the average time an American worker stays unemployed is now 39 weeks—the longest period on record. This has been especially hard on youth (ages 16-24), whose jobless rate was 18.4% last year—also a record high. Or consider this: Real earnings in the UK have contracted in each of the past four years, something the British haven’t seen since the 1870s, with household incomes predicted to decline another 2% this year.

Despite record corporate profits, U.S. business has refused to increase hiring. Business investment last year was 15% lower than before the financial crisis began, according to the WSWS. The profits have come from downsizing, speed-ups and wage cuts, not from expanding markets. The Fed’s solution has been to keep interests rates close to zero and loan billions of dollars to U.S. businesses, creating turmoil in international financial markets. The WSWS says that this turmoil has led to warnings by international finance capitalists that there is no prospect of pre-crisis conditions returning, and has increased their demands for further austerity for the working class. In other words, the current financial “crisis” is not just a cyclical downturn, but the beginning of a deliberate large-scale restructuring of socioeconomic relations set at returning working and middle class living standards to pre-Great Depression levels.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and its allies are engaged in numerous wars that may truly be endless. While these wars are costing the U.S. trillions of dollars (Joseph Stiglitz believes the Iraq war, alone, will cost the U.S. over $3 trillion by 2017) at a time when the government is crying poverty and threatening to slash social spending, the true costs of these wars in terms of civilian injuries and deaths, environmental contamination, loss of income, stress, PTSD and overall human suffering are immeasurable (and seemingly unimportant to most Americans). Immediately ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (not to mention those in Pakistan, Libya and elsewhere) is the necessary first step toward alleviating all of this misery (and the U.S. federal deficit). However, this is unlikely to ever occur, as there is no President who wants to be known as the quitter who “lost” Suchandsuchastan. News footage of angry mobs torching the U.S. embassy, as U.S. troops flee into waiting helicopters to be airlifted to safety, is sure to turn voters against the president who gives those orders, as well as his entire party.

This is good news for business as it means continued taxpayer subsidies for private military contractors and arms dealers and protection for petroleum producers. It also means the government can continue crying poverty, making it much easier to justify austerity for working people and to transfer wealth to the rich.

America’s Love Affair with Tyrants

Haiti

Obama has told Aristide not to return to Haiti, at least not until after elections. Apparently, his mere presence could destabilize the elections (which is to say, the people might change their minds and NOT vote for either of the corporatist/coupist candidates and support him, instead). Michel Martelly, one of the run-off candidates, is a pop star, Duvalierist, and a supporter of the disbanded military and the death squads known as FRAPH. He supported the coup that ousted Aristide. Mirlande Manigat, the other runoff candidate, is a former first lady whose husband won the presidency with less than 10% of the vote in an election held by the military in 1988. Her husband is said to have advised Duvalier to form the dreaded tonton macoutes, while her opponent, Martelly, actually served in them. The Duvaliers, of course, were brutal dictators supported by the U.S., while Aristide was a popularly elected president who was ousted in a U.S. supported coup.

So Haiti will get another brutal tyrant, or perhaps a slightly brutal one, dressed up in the garb of democracy, and the U.S. can continue its unsavory relations with the nation, unencumbered by allegations that it is supporting a dictator. Meanwhile, the U.S. will continue to do virtually nothing to help house the thousands still homeless from the earthquake, except saddle the nation with debt to pay off U.S. construction companies, or to quell the still growing cholera epidemic, with total cases expected to approach 800,000 this year.

Egypt

We loved Mubarak so much that we gave him $1.3 billion a year until he was forced by his own people to flee. We loved him because his did our bidding, supported our policies in the Middle East, including supporting Israeli and helping them to repress the Palestinians. Therefore, we did nothing to aid his ouster, even when it became inevitable. In fact, we continued to support him until the day he fled, in hopes of maintaining some semblance of control over this invaluable region. (We wouldn’t want a popular government to arise or another Nassir).

Libya

On the other hand, we hate Gaddafi because he has always gone it alone and refused to do our bidding. However, he hadn’t really gotten in our way much lately, and he was a strong dictator who kept the fundamentalists, communists and unionists all completely suppressed. Therefore, we saw fit to let him run amok until now, when it looks like his ouster may come about despite our inaction, possibly to be replaced with a popular government, or at least one that is antagonistic to the U.S.

Now the U.S. and its allies have insisted on using “any means necessary” in order to Libya’s civilians. Yet, in order to enforce a no fly zone, they will have to bomb the country in much the same way they bombed Iraq, which will no doubt result in far more civilian casualties than Gaddafi has so far caused.

The Arabian Peninsula

Then there are Yemen and Bahrain, where the local governments are slaughtering protesters, sometimes with the aid of the Saudi military and mercenaries from Pakistan. Do we care about these civilians or despise their dictators? Not if it might piss off the Saudis, whose oil and allegiance is far more valuable than the lives and safety of their civilians. So we’ll stand back and allow the local despots quash the uprisings and hope that our shock and awe in Libya will dissuade any would be rebels in other Middle Eastern or North African countries.