Today in Labor History—January 12

Jack London, 1903

January 12, 1876 -  Novelist Jack London was born on this date. London once wrote that a scab was "After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a cork-screw soul, a water-logged brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles." (From Workday Minnesota)

January 12, 1928 – Police raided the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Hall, in Walsenburg, Colorado. (From the Daily Bleed)

Cox's Army (From ExplorePAHistory.com)

 January 12, 1932 – 12,000 marchers from Father Cox's Shantytown in Pittsburg arrived in Washington, D.C. The shantytown, near St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, lasted from 1929 to 1932, and was the staging base for the Reverend James Cox's unemployed army. On December 1931, 60,000 unemployed workers had rallied at Pitt Stadium in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1933 – The anarchist uprisings which began on January 8 in Spain were brutally suppressed. In Andalusia, police and army buildings were attacked and the anarcho-trade unionists seized public buildings, proclaiming Libertarian Communism there. However, in the governmental repression that followed, villagers in Casas Viejas were burned alive and assassinated. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1962 – President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988, guaranteeing federal workers the right to join unions & bargain collectively. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History--November 1

African Free School, New York, Lithograph by student Patrick Reason

November 1, 1797 – The First African Free School was established in New York. (From the Daily Bleed)


November 1, 1835 – The first U.S. General Strike for the 10 hour working day occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (From the Daily Bleed)

Osceola

November 1, 1836 – Seminole Indian resistance led by Osceola began their resistance to forced removal from their land by the U.S., leading to war with the U.S.  The war ended in August 1842, with the Indians being forced to march to Oklahoma. 1,500 U.S. soldiers died in the 8-year war. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1910 – The "L'Ecole Ferrer" Modern School was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland by the anarchiste pediatrist Jean Wintsch & Emile Durand. The school taught roughly 30 boys and girls and was supported by about 15 trade unions. (From the Daily Bleed)

The Malbone wreck still sit in the tunnel

 November 1, 1918 - A scab driver crashed a New York City subway train in the Malbone Tunnel during a labor dispute. 97 died and 255 were injured in the tragedy. New York changed the name of the tunnel to erase the memory of the horrible accident and the infamous trial that followed. It is now called Prospect Park and Malbone St. (From Workday Minnesota)

November 1, 1919 – Over 400,000 miners across the country went on strike. Insurgent miners took over the United Mine Workers (UMW) convention in Cleveland — even though union officials tried to exclude rebellious locals. The union was so concerned with suppressing wildcat strikes and dissension among their ranks that they supplied scabs to help mine owners put down the wildcat strikes! The coal miners ignored their union’s orders to cancel the strike for nearly a month. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1950 – Two Puerto Rican Nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman. In 1954 other Nationalists opened fire in the House of Representatives, wounding five Congressmen. They were sentenced to 50 years imprisonment, but were later pardoned. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1954 – Algerians revolted against French colonial rule, beginning a bloody 7½ year war which ultimately resulted in Algerian independence. (From the Daily Bleed)

NFL Fans and Players are a Bunch of Crybabies

By now everyone who follows football has heard about the terrible call that gave Seattle an undeserved victory over Green Bay on Monday. Some are calling it the worst call ever, which it wasn’t. But it was made by a scab referee who is part of the army of scab referees that have been hired by the NFL owners to ensure that the games go on in spite of the referees’ strike and that they can continue to bring in billions of dollars in profits.

Yes, the strike is terrible for the players, whose credibility, salability and post-season bonuses depend on their won-lost record, which could be undermined by the plethora of bad calls that have been made this season by the scab refs. Several of them have been complaining publicly in interviews and tweets. Sure, it is frustrating for fans, who depend on their team’s victories (or noble struggles and defeats) to provide excitement and entertainment to their otherwise stressed our lives. And it is expensive for the gamblers who are losing millions because of the bad calls. (The Seattle-Green Bay call is said to have altered $150-$250 million in bets).

Yet the players are union members. By continuing to play during a referees’ strike they are crossing a theoretical picket line. If they don’t like the bad calls and the amateurish refs, they can (and should) walk off and refuse to play. Without the stars, there would be fewer viewers, thus weakening the owners’ bottom line and their resolve to quash the referees’ strike.

If fans want the strike to end they can refuse to watch the games and refuse to buy tickets. Season ticket owners could demand a refund. This would also weaken the owners’ bottom line and willingness to ignore the referees’ demands.

As for the gamblers, perhaps they should just put more money on the underdogs and pray for bad calls in their favor.

Chicago Teachers Strike Update

• Support by parents is still fairly strong. A Chicago Sun Times opinion poll on Monday found that nearly half of parents support the teachers, while only 39% oppose the strike. This could change, of course, particularly if the strike drags on and parents are forced to hire babysitters or stay home from work to care for children.
• Custodians plan on joining the strike this week, KOAM TV reported. The more classified (non-credentialed staff) that join the strike, the greater the pressure on the board and CPS and the more likely they are to cave.
• CPS is planning on extending the length of time the 147 scab “Drop off” centers will be open from 4 hours to six starting on Thursday. These schools are being kept open ostensibly to provide lunch and other services for low income students. However, they are staffed with uncredentialed district staff and volunteers from religious organizations who have little or no training in education or childcare. The scabs have been told by CPS (See Fred Klonsky’s Scab Toolkit) to bring pencils, stickers, puzzles, games and magazines (so the kids have something “productive” to do during the day), be firm and respectful to students and don’t yell at them, as well as other useful tidbits of guidance. They have also been told to be prepared for classrooms without A/C or functioning clocks, which ought to make the scabs want to join the strike if only to help teachers fight for safe and functional classrooms for the children.
• Though Illinois law currently prohibits teachers from striking over the recall of laid-off teachers and compensation for a longer school year, CTU does not intend to sign an agreement until these matters are addressed, according to union president, Karen Lewis.
• Jesse Jackson tried to mediate today, but gave up, claiming both sides were too "dug in" to even "hear each other," which is to say he expects the teachers to compromise and believes that CPS has valid or reasonable expectations (which they do not).

Chicago Teacher Strike Deadline Set

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

Last Wednesday, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) House of Delegates gave President Karen Lewis authority to issue a 10-day strike notice. 90% of all CTU teachers (and 98% of those who voted) approved a strike back in June. According to Illinois state law, the union must also give the school board a 10 day notice before walking out.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has been trying to lengthen the school day from 5 hours and 45 minutes to seven and a half hours, while also trying to close a $655 million budget deficit that is expected to reach $1 billion by next year, according to the New York Times. Initially, CPS tried to impose the longer workday on teachers without compensation, a ridiculous demand that has since been toned down. CPS agreed in July to fill the void created by the longer school day by rehiring laid off teachers, instead of making existing teachers work longer without pay. However, the union is still concerned about wages, job security, evaluations and other issues like smaller class sizes and increasing the number of social workers, counselors and nurses, reports Labor Notes. Much of this seems unlikely with the district slashing programs in hopes of closing their budget deficit.

CPS has also been bargaining in bad faith by violating the existing contract while new contract negotiations continue. For example, they have forced some teachers to take on extra duties during their prep periods, according to Labor Notes, which is a violation of their contract.

A CTU strike would be the city’s first teacher strike in 25 years. A strike date has not yet been set, but the soonest they could legally call for a strike would be September 10. Some teachers, whose school year had not yet started, have already been out on the picket line engaging in informational picketing in front of their schools. The school board, for its part, has taken the typical tact of bosses by approving $25 million for “alternative” arrangements, should a strike occur. Ironically, this $25 million, which will likely go to scabs, could have gone a long way toward closing the gap between teachers’ demands and those of the district.

Today in Labor History—January 12

Jack London, 1903

January 12, 1876 -  Novelist Jack London was born on this date. London once wrote that a scab was "After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a cork-screw soul, a water-logged brain, a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles." (From Workday Minnesota)

January 12, 1928 – Police raided the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) Hall, in Walsenburg, Colorado. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1932 – 12,000 marchers from Father Cox's Shantytown in Pittsburg arrived in Washington, D.C. The shantytown, near St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, lasted from 1929 to 1932, and was the staging base for the Reverend James Cox's unemployed army. On December 1931, 60,000 unemployed workers had rallied at Pitt Stadium in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1933 – The anarchist uprisings which began on January 8 in Spain were brutally suppressed. In Andalusia, police and army buildings were attacked and the anarcho-trade unionists seized public buildings, proclaiming Libertarian Communism there. However, in the governmental repression that followed, villagers in Casas Viejas were burned alive and assassinated. (From the Daily Bleed)

January 12, 1962 – President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988, guaranteeing federal workers the right to join unions & bargain collectively. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—November 1

African Free School, New York, Lithograph by student Patrick Reason

November 1, 1797 – The First African Free School was established in New York. (From the Daily Bleed)


November 1, 1835 – The first U.S. General Strike for the 10 hour working day occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (From the Daily Bleed)

Osceola

November 1, 1836 – Seminole Indian resistance led by Osceola began their resistance to forced removal from their land by the U.S., leading to war with the U.S.  The war ended in August 1842, with the Indians being forced to march to Oklahoma. 1,500 U.S. soldiers died in the 8-year war. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1910 – The "L'Ecole Ferrer" Modern School was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland by the anarchiste pediatrist Jean Wintsch & Emile Durand. The school taught roughly 30 boys and girls and was supported by about 15 trade unions. (From the Daily Bleed)

The Malbone wreck still sit in the tunnel

 November 1, 1918 - A scab driver crashed a New York City subway train in the Malbone Tunnel during a labor dispute. 97 died and 255 were injured in the tragedy. New York changed the name of the tunnel to erase the memory of the horrible accident and the infamous trial that followed. It is now called Prospect Park and Malbone St. (From Workday Minnesota)

November 1, 1919 – Over 400,000 miners across the country went on strike. Insurgent miners took over the United Mine Workers (UMW) convention in Cleveland — even though union officials tried to exclude rebellious locals. The union was so concerned with suppressing wildcat strikes and dissension among their ranks that they supplied scabs to help mine owners put down the wildcat strikes! The coal miners ignored their union’s orders to cancel the strike for nearly a month. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1950 – Two Puerto Rican Nationalists attempted to assassinate President Truman. In 1954 other Nationalists opened fire in the House of Representatives, wounding five Congressmen. They were sentenced to 50 years imprisonment, but were later pardoned. (From the Daily Bleed)

November 1, 1954 – Algerians revolted against French colonial rule, beginning a bloody 7½ year war which ultimately resulted in Algerian independence. (From the Daily Bleed)

Unions Standing With (And On) Wall Street Protesters

Today, hundreds of union members plan to march with Wall Street protesters. At least 4 major New York unions have officially thrown their support behind the movement, in addition to some national unions and Richard Trumka.

One of the New York unions that proclaimed its support of the movement is the TWU (Transport Workers Union) Local 100, whose members work for the Metropolitan Transit Association (MTA).

However, MTA busses and drivers were commandeered by the NYPD to help transport the 700 demonstrators who were arrested for marching across the Brooklyn Bridge last week. While it was reported in the Gothamist.com that one driver told the passengers to get out and wait for the next bus, it appears that all or most of the other drivers dutifully collaborated with their bosses and the police to help suppress protesters.

It seems rather hypocritical and wimpy to proclaim support for a movement and at the same time collaborate to suppress it.

In what some might call a better-late-than-never move, the union will ask the New York State Supreme Court for a restraining order against the city to prevent the NYPD from any more "forced use" of Local 100's bus drivers. "

Yet, it is entirely possible that they will lose in court and continue to be compelled to collaborate with the police. Then what? Will they withdraw their support from the movement, so as to be logically consistent, or will they continue to “support” the movement in words, while suppressing the movement in action?

A fighting union and real solidarity both require personal sacrifice, including the risk of jail and job loss. If TWU workers really care about the success of the movement, they will refuse to drive protesters to jail, regardless of the courts and the threats of their employers and they would have done this from the start.

And if they are subjected to retaliation by their bosses, they should immediately stop working entirely, which would paralyze the city and create a virtual general strike, as workers and shoppers would be severely hampered in the ability to get to work and shopping. Furthermore, other unions should also strike in solidarity if this happens, increasing the TWU members’ strength and sending a strong message to the bosses.