By Pat Fry

CCDS Co-Chair 

The National Coordinating Committee met at its quarterly meeting September 28th and took stock of the current worldwide crises brought on by U.S. imperialism and the growing repression and protests at home.    

Opening with a presentation on the "Political Time of Day - At Home and Abroad," Carl Davidson discussed the new round of U.S. "crusader" wars on Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Referring to Tom Hayden's writings on what he calls "The Long War," Davidson said it is part of a wider framework - "a war that will go on for decades and involve more than the Middle East but also Yemen and other areas of Africa."

Davidson also noted that the "Occupy Central" uprisings in Hong Kong were, in part, aimed at breaking it away from China. "While many protesters have legitimate concerns, we should be very wary about being sucked into any attempts to break up China," said Davidson.  

Zach Robinson (NC) drew attention to the Ebola crisis used to extend the U.S. global war in Africa. He also noted a poll showing that satisfaction with U.S. governance has reached the same low level as during the Watergate crisis.

Randy Shannon (PA) said that much of the continuing financial crisis that began in 2008 is being ignored. Long-term unemployment continues and the global crisis of capital is intensifying, reminiscent of the situation before WW I and II, said Shannon. The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries are developing an alternative economic structure not based on U.S. dollars which is bad for U.S. finance and in the past has led to wars, he said.

Local Area Developments

Brief highlights of developments locally were presented by Tina Shannon (PA), Harry Targ (IN), and Kathy Sykes (MS). Shannon spoke about working in Western PA on issues of Climate Change and the fight against fracking with the Marsellus Shale Coalition. Members are using the recently issued CCDS pamphlet, "System Change, Not Climate Change" in local coalition work.(click title for more)

Climate March, NYC  

 By Ted Reich

As many as 400,000 people turned out in New York City on Sunday, September 21 for the People's Climate March voicing the loudest, clearest call for action on climate change. The streets of midtown Manhattan were filled with environmentalists, politicians, musicians, students, farmers, celebrities, nurses, doctors, veterans and labor and community activists demanding urgent action. What really stood out was the huge participation of young people.

There were also more than 2600 events around the world in over 150 countries. The events were timed to coincide with the United Nations climate summit attended by more than 100 heads of state held during the week following.

As the organizers of the march wrote in an October 3 email, "What we accomplished on September 21st was incredible. It was a historic day demanding action on climate change larger than the world has ever seen - and now it's time to talk about what comes next. The March was always more than just one day - it was about building a movement and creating a turning point in the fight against climate change. So even though the march is over, the work being done in our communities isn't ..."

They go on to highlight three ways people around the country can continue carrying out important parts of the People's Climate March:

1. Join a People's Climate hub;

2. Join one of the People's Climate partner organizations;

3. Get involved with a local group near you.

For details about these points go to: peoplesclimate.org

As one of the People's Climate Partner Organizations, CCDS members participated in the NYC March with our banner as well as the S.F. Bay area mobilization. In NYC over 500 copies of our new pamphlet "Change the System, Not the Climate" were distributed. We must now more specifically discuss our involvement and wider use of our pamphlet.

  Oakland, CA  

By Steve Willett

In conjunction with the New York march, there were thousands of other demonstrations around the globe.  In Oakland, California, CCDS activists were very involved in planning a People's Climate Rally, which drew 3-4,000 folks to the shores of Oakland's Lake Merritt.  The rally was initiated by a left group that CCDS is active in, the Bay Area System Change not Climate Change.  It was endorsed by more than 160 local organizations, including the major labor councils in the Bay Area, a number of faith organizations, and numerous community, peace and justice and, of course, environmental organizations.    

Anthony Sul, Ohlone Nation (by KJ)

By Paul Krehbiel

Workers in Southern California and across the nation are fighting to defend their wages, standard of living and rights against the three-decades long corporate assault on working people and our unions. The giant corporations are unrelenting, but we're fighting back, and winning some important victories.

Technical and professional workers at Boeing in southern California have just won a 14-year fight to recover lost wages and benefits, totaling $47 million. They are members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, Local 2001.

In July, Los Angeles port truck drivers working with the Teamsters union staged a week-long strike for better pay, hours, benefits, working conditions, and a union. While employers threatened them with firings, the workers got the companies to accept all drivers back to work without retaliation. The union campaign is gaining momentum. Many drivers, mostly Mexican and Central American, work 10 or more hours a day, 6 days a week and make poverty level wages.

Car wash workers just unionized another car wash, this time in East Los Angeles, bringing to 26 the number of union car washes in southern California. They are being assisted by the United Steelworkers union.

Earlier this summer, 60,000 grocery workers, members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) in southern California stopped company take-away demands and negotiated a new contract. One company, Food 4 Less (which is owned by Kroger), refused to settle and continues pushing cuts in health and welfare contributions, and work hours. UFCW announced a boycott of Food 4 Less. As we went to press, the grocery workers won a no-takeaways contract after threatening to strike.

The Laborer's union, LIUNA, is pushing for the passage of HR 5021, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2014. That bill would fund repairs and building of roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Passage would ensure 2 million good construction jobs.

Social Justice Unionism

While most labor struggles and labor victories are measured in money, benefits, and job protection, some are measured by strengthening our labor movement. This is done by supporting just causes throughout society and internationally, and working with other labor and community organizations and social justice movements.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) workers refused to cross a community picket-line for four days in mid-August in front of an Israeli ship in the Port of Oakland to protest Israeli's slaughter of people in Gaza. No cargo was moved, and the Israeli shipping company lost millions of dollars. Actions like this put pressure on Israel to stop its war on Gaza.  

Many unions have joined with environmentalists and community groups to stage a giant demonstration in New York City on September 21 to demand action on climate change and to stop global warming. The "People's Climate March" will coincide with a United Nations summit that will bring together world leaders to deal with the growing problem. Many union members and leaders in New York remember the devastation Hurricane Sandy brought to New York and the east coast. Endorsers include Teamsters Joint Council 16, American Transit Union, Autoworkers Region 9A, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 3, and many more.  

The California Nurses Association and the National Nurses United are building their national campaign to put a small tax on all financial transactions that Wall Street financial institutions complete every second. Called the "Robin Hood Tax," it would generate billions of dollars for government to pay for education, health care and other social services.

Tax the Rich  

When the Occupy Wall Street movement took off a couple of years ago, many unions joined to help publicize the message that the top 1% are enriching themselves at the expense of the other 99%.

Several years ago, when the Iraq war was killing and wounding many Iraqi's and US soldiers, and costing us billions of dollars, the Los Angeles affiliate of the union-based US Labor Against the War noted that the cost of the war for one year could have paid the entire deficit of every state and saved the jobs of hundreds of thousands of public workers who lost them then.

Union members marching in the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Labor Day Parade in 2011 carried signs that read: "Tax the Rich and their Corporations." The following year, labor lead in proposing a tax increase on the very wealthy to fund public education. Working with Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, this proposal became Proposition 30, and it was passed by the voters after a massive labor-led education and get-out-the-vote campaign.

Proposition 30 was in response to years of assaults on the working-class by big corporations and banks and the politicians they've put into office, which has resulted in reducing the taxes that the very wealthy and their corporations pay to all levels of government. In 1945, 40% of all taxes collected by the federal government came from corporations. Today corporations pay less than $10. Corporations and the very wealthy get tax loopholes and tax rebates, while workers and the 99% are expected to fund the lion's share of our social programs, or do without.

Unions and our allies also defeated Proposition 32, which would have stopped unions from contributing to political campaigns while allowing corporations to continue to give unlimited amounts of money.  

Unions in Los Angeles have been organizing for years in Labor United for Universal Healthcare to bring a single-payer, improved Medicare-for-All type health care system to California and the nation. That system would cover everyone with comprehensive and affordable health care, and remove the for-profit insurance industry from ripping off $400 billion a year when they over-charge consumers for high-priced health insurance - money which could be put back into the system to ensure quality care for all. Labor United for Universal Healthcare participated in the national single-payer health care conference held in Oakland on August 22-24.

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Paul Krehbiel began as a factory worker in a union auto parts plant in 1968. In the 2000's, he was the chief negotiator for over 5,000 Registered Nurses in Los Angeles County, members of SEIU Local 660 (now 721). He is a member of Labor United for Universal Healthcare, and on the National Coordinating Committee of Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism.