Anti-Wall Street Protesters’ Co-Dependent Love Affair With Wall Street

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

Hundreds of San Franciscans joined the growing “occupy” movement on Thursday, marching through downtown to support the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations going on in New York. The Bay Citizen interviewed several of them. They all expressed anger at the greed of Wall Street bankers, yet none seemed to have any problem with Wall Street itself or the socioeconomic relations responsible for its profitability and Americans’ growing poverty.

Charlene Woodcock, retired book editor, expressed concern that the wealthy were robbing the middle class (but said nothing about the effects on the poor and working class, who have been screwed even more than the middle class by the recession). Her goal for the movement was to create a state bank, which of course would leave Wall Street intact, as well as all the other large banks and corporations, so they can continue to rob us. 

Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons

Chris Tully, unemployed, expressed the common demand that banks should be made to pay because they’re the ones that benefited from the bailouts. Pay what: higher taxes, reparations, punitive damages? Even if Congress could make this happen (which it is unlikely to even attempt), the bankers would continue to amass great quantities of wealth by redlining, blacklisting, speculating, taking advantage of laws written in their favor and breaking other laws that don’t serve their interests. The majority of their employees would continue to make very low wages compared to their executives. People will continue to lose their homes and jobs. Wild fluctuations in the markets and continuing cycles of boom and bust would continue. Unemployment and low wages would persist for millions, as would hunger, homelessness, and poverty.

Larry Yee, service technician, said he was there in support of “our brothers and sisters asking for fair jobs and making sure the banks don’t just walk away after the disaster they caused in the financial market.” However, even before the crisis, unemployment for African Americans was close to 9%. This does not take into account all the people who have worked most of their lives at jobs that pay poverty wages, or those working 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet. And it certainly doesn’t take into account the fact that the bosses make their profits and wealth by paying us far less than the value of the goods we produce for them or that they increase this wealth by investing on Wall Street, something that most of us cannot afford to do. These facts ought to suggest to people that the problem is not a recent or temporary blip on the screen caused by poorly regulated speculators, but a chronic and normal consequence of capitalism.

One might also ask what is meant by a “fair” job—one that allows the boss to make 5,000 times what his employees earn and one in which the employees have no control over the conditions of their jobs?

Before we start demanding jobs, whether “fair” ones or not, perhaps people ought to first ask what they need to live healthy, fulfilling lives. A job is but one means to this end, and should not be seen as the end itself. For example, the best solution to poor individual or public health is not a low-paying, back breaking job with nominal health coverage, but universal coverage for all residents, regardless of their employment and immigration status. Likewise, a job at a nuclear power, coal, or petroleum plant, or in the military, even if it offered wonderful wages, would still not be a “fair” or “good” job because of the devastation it brings to the environment, communities and human lives.

Evelyn Sanchez, community organizer, said she was happy to see so many people who were “sick and tired of the agenda of our politicians and that's doing what’s best for corporations and the financial sector. It’s about time they pay attention to the needs of the people.” Yet the agenda of the politicians has always been about what’s best for corporations and the financial sector. I do not remember a golden age when the state provided housing, food and healthcare to those in need or when it forced banks to forgive loans to homeowners who were down on their luck. Even if they started now, it would be charity, a pittance, just the bare bones necessary to keep people sufficiently healthy and nourished to do the jobs that need doing. It is absurd to think of the corporations and bosses as equivalent to the “people.” The state cannot serve their interests and our interests equally. Our low wages, long hours, and oftentimes dangerous working conditions are the preconditions for their profits, the maximization of which is the primary interest of the ruling elite and the primary function of government.

While higher taxes on the wealthy and a transaction tax for Wall Street might bring in more tax revenue for public education and other social programs, it won’t stop hedge fund managers from financing for-profit charter schools that sap local revenues, provide lousy educational services, union-bust and pay low wages to employees. The problem is not that Wall Street is too greedy or corrupt. The problem is that 1% of society owns and controls the vast majority of the wealth and the entire means of producing more of it, while the rest of us are forced to work for them, under their conditions, no matter how austere, just to make sure we have some regular income to feed ourselves and our children.

Today in Labor History—October 4

October 4, 1887 – Louisiana sugar workers went on strike, during which 37 unarmed black workers were murdered by Louisiana Militia, aided by bands of vigilantes. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 4, 1910 – 20 year old King Manuel II of Portugal was overthrown in a revolution. On October 7, the anti-church provisional government ordered all nuns and monks to leave the country. A republic was declared and the King fled to England. In 1908, the previous king had been assassinated.

October 4, 1946 – The U.S. Navy took over oil refineries to break a 20-state post-war wildcat strike.

October 4, 1989 - The United Mine Workers of America re-affiliated with the AFL-CIO, after decades of conflict with the organization. The UMWA had left the AFL in the 1930s when they refused to organize the auto and steel industries and played a pivotal role in the formation of the CIO. However, they withdrew from the CIO in 1942 in a dispute over labor-management relations during World War II. They were readmitted to the AFL in 1946, but left after a year when their president, John L. Lewis refused to sign the non-Communist affidavit required by the Taft-Hartley Labor Act. (From Workday Minnesota)

Teacher Punished For Banning Disruptive Behavior

The Los Angeles Times said that a teacher punished students for saying ‘Bless You’ in class. In reality, Vacaville, California high school teacher Steve Cuckovich disciplined students by deducting points for disrupting class. The disruption would occur whenever someone sneezed, prompting numerous students to say “Bless you,” and the sneezer thanking each one of them individually, taking considerable class time away from learning.

Students complained about the points, as if they were being punished for being polite. Parents complained about the infringement on religious freedom. According to the Times, one parent said, “First the Pledge of Allegiance, now preventing a kid from saying 'Bless you?'" Fox News complained and made a spectacle of Cuckovich.

Fortunately, he was not really punished for his actions, which were an appropriate response to disruptive behavior. But he was “punished” in the sense that he was forced to justify his actions and be subjected to harassment and ridicule.

Parents, Christians, Fox News, Everyone, take a step back!

First, a single “Bless You,” “Gesundheit,” or “Salud” would be sufficient.

More importantly, this is not about religious freedom in the first place and it is pathetic that parents would try to make it so. Several students in Cuckovich’s class said that the “bless yous” were a deliberate and provocative disruption by students. Many had been playing the same game since middle school, getting the same laughs and the same teacher frustration.

However, let’s assume that it was about religious freedom, that Cuckovich was suppressing students’ “right” to bless their peers. Could his banning of the practice really be seen as an infringement on students’ rights?

As soon as “bless you” is reclaimed as a religious statement (which etymologically it is), instead of retaining its common use as the figurative equivalent of “Gesundheit,” or “Salud,” then it truly would have no place in the public schools, and those who said “bless you” could be seen as violating the rights of non-Christians and atheists, who might be offended by the term.

Frankly, as a scientist, I find the all the above terms troublesome. Sneezes do not necessarily have anything to do with demons, heart stoppage or impending infection. People sneeze for numerous reasons, most of which are connected to the need to rid the nose of bothersome substances. These substances could be germs, dust, toxins, pollen, or even aromas. However, there is nothing anyone can say that will make the sneezing stop or make the sneezer healthier or holier.

Nevertheless, trying to teach people to unlearn a habit like saying “bless you” is not a fight I’m interested in fighting as a teacher. To most people, it is just a polite thing to say and they say it without thinking and without religious intent, in much the same way they say “Adios” without considering its religious implications.

However, people need to let teachers do their jobs, including holding children accountable for disruptive behavior. (And it wouldn’t hurt if some parents learned to do this, too).

Today in Labor History—October 3

October 3, 1902 - President Theodore Roosevelt met with miners and coal field operators and tried to settle the 5-month long anthracite coal strike, the first time a president had personally intervened in a labor-management dispute. Three weeks later, the miners settled. (From Workday Minnesota)

October 3, 1915 – The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) was founded. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 3, 1920 – The Modern School at Clivio, Italy was reopened and then shut down again by the government. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 3, 1932 – All 164 students at Kincaid High School in Illinois walked out on strike to protest their school’s use of scab labor to provide heating coal. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 3, 1945 – A seven-state Greyhound bus strike took place. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 3, 1967 – Woody Guthrie died of Huntington's disease at the age of 52. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 3, 1970— Baseball umpires called their first strike (against employers instead of players). (From the Daily Bleed)

Mural dedicated to the Hunger Strikers, Derry, Northern Ireland

 October 3, 1981 -- A hunger strike by Irish nationalists at Maze Prison in Belfast, was called off after seven months and ten deaths. Striking prisoner Bobby Sands, who was elected to parliament from his jail cell during the hunger strike, eventually died from his protest. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—October 2

October 2 1800 -- Slave rebellion leader Nat Turner was born on this date in 1800. Turner led the only effective, sustained slave revolt in August, 1831, in U.S. history. His actions set off a new wave of oppressive legislation by whites prohibiting the education, movement and assembly of slaves. (From the Daily Bleed)

October 2, 1935 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt, addressed a crowd in right wing San Diego asserting the right of all workers to join unions. "It is now beyond partisan controversy that it is a fundamental individual right of a worker to associate himself with other workers and to bargain collectively with his employer." (From Workday Minnesota)

A Teacher Talks With Soldiers Outside High School #1 (Image by Cel-Li)

 October 2, 1968 – The Tlatelolco Massacre occurred in Mexico City. 15,000 students were demonstrating at the Plaza of Three Cultures against the army’s occupation of the University. The army ambushed the students, opened fire, and killed nearly 300. They also arrested thousands.  (From the Daily Bleed)

(From the IWW Website)

October 2, 2007 – The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) Starbucks Workers Union won their grievances against the Starbucks in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. Starbucks chose to settle after the NLRB busted them for anti-labor violations. (From the Daily Bleed)

Today in Labor History—October 1

Cherokee Chief John Ross

October 1, 1838 – The Cherokees began the “The Trail of Tears” forced march in which hundreds died of sickness, dehydration, and exposure. (From Workday Minnesota)

October 1, 1851 – 10,000 New Yorkers busted up a police station in Syracuse to free a recaptured escaped slave. William "Jerry" Henry, a runaway slave and craftsman in Syracuse, NY, was arrested by a US Marshall and was set to be returned to slavery. Citizens of the city stormed the sheriff's office, freed Henry and helped him escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad. (From the Daily Bleed)

Building the Suez Canal

 October 1, 1894 – Greek workers employed by the Suez Canal Company went on strike in Egypt. (From the Daily Bleed)

Rubble of the LA Times Building After the 1910 Bombing

 October 1, 1910 – Twenty-one people were killed when the Los Angeles Times building was dynamited during a labor strike. Anarchists were immediately blamed. The McNamara brothers were kidnapped and taken to the private home of a Chicago police sergeant, where many labor leaders believe they were tortured. They were convicted based on the testimony of a third individual who was also presumably tortured  (From the Daily Bleed)

October 1, 1918 -- Street fighting between workers and the authorities occurred in Berlin throughout October and November. By November, the country was in a full-scale revolution, with councils of workers, soldiers, intellectuals and artists replacing the government. (From the Daily Bleed)

October  1, 1928 – Joseph Stalin's first five-year plan was announced, calling for development of heavy industry, seizure of farms, and collectivization of all workers (unions, of course, are forbidden). (From the Daily Bleed)

October 1, 1949 – 500,000 U.S. steel workers went on strike. (From the Daily Bleed)