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New Ground 102September - October, 2005Contents
What Does Peace Look Like?by Tom Broderick It's a vision that many are working to make real, in different ways, but not without common hunger. The Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice (OPCTJ) proposed a Peace Fair and Town Hall Meeting where an interactive public space would allow groups and individuals to share visions of peace. Groups were invited to offer their thoughts on what makes a just and peaceful world. Musicians, spoken word artists and dancers were invited to showcase their talents. On Saturday, September 10th, respondents answered at Scoville Park in Oak Park, Illinois. They were disparate in background but unified in outlook: Justice is key for peace to be manifest. After several passes through the Fair, I looked up at the bright sky and thought I glimpsed the rallying cry "No Justice, No Peace" flashing along the sides of one of those blimps that fly overhead at sporting events. With its "something for everyone" appeal, this Fair brought to mind Jim Hightower's Rolling Thunder tour that stopped at Union Park in Chicago a few years back. More than fifty groups tabled at the event and estimates on the visitors ranged from two to three thousand. Given that this was the First Annual Peace Fair and Town Hall Meeting, that's a success. Nearly everyone I spoke with expressed a sense of "good energy" or "good networking" or "satisfying a need to connect with others" at the Fair. And that is success. Others called it fun, which is still success. DuPage Against War Now (DAWN) showed spirit with a booth that featured anti-war art, music, voter registration and a game of chance, where everyone who took a chance won. The prizes were all peace focused, reinforcing the theme of the Fair. Kathy Slovick of DAWN said "the peace movement isn't restricted to liberal communities. We hope that this openness about peace will encourage people to speak out for peace and justice." Ms. Slovick said that they have had many people who call themselves conservative attend their meetings because they are concerned about this war. DAWN's web site is http://www.d-a-w-n.org. Other peace groups at the Fair were Chicago Area Code Pink, Chicagoans Against War and Injustice (CAWI), DuPage Peace Through Justice Coalition, Lincoln Park Neighbors for Peace, North Suburban Peace Initiative and West Suburban Faith-Based Peace Coalition. This last group was one of several groups signing up Fair visitors to travel to Washington, DC, to protest this war on September 24th. The flamboyant Chicago Area Code Pink sported a brilliant pink tent and bright articles of PinkWear clothing. They were selling their new book Stop the Next War Now. They were also signing people up to travel to the anti-war march in Washington. When you march against this war, why not march with style? Code Pink has plenty of this. The Oak Park River Forest Students for Peace & Justice (SPJ) is a high school student group that sponsored the Fair. Rachel Baiman of SPJ told me "As long as war is considered as a way to solve conflict, there cannot be peace. Beyond that, peace means everybody is well taken care of, fed, clothed and able to live in safe, healthy conditions." They offered information about V-Day, a movement to stop violence against women, as well as alternatives to military service and ways to fight world hunger. They also painted the peace symbol on the face of every agreeable Fair visitor who passed their booth. Other groups dealing with American youth as cannon fodder included American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the Chicagoland Coalition Opposed to the Militarization of Youth and the Militarism Education Project (MEP). West Suburban Faith-Based Peace Coalition is involved with this last project. These groups had literature dealing with the pressure and marketing by military recruiters, and they provided options to military service for our youth. Web sites for the AFSC "Do You Know Enough To Enlist" program are www.afsc.org/youthmil or www.youth4peace.org. MEP material can be located at http://www.forusa.org and at http://www.faithpeace.org. The AFSC set up (down?) a version of their Eyes Wide Open Exhibit at the Fair. Eyes Wide Open features military boots placed on the ground. The boots have ID tags showing the rank, name, city and state of U.S. military personnel who have been killed in Iraq. Walking among the boots is an emotional experience. This version of featured 72 pairs of boots, one for each of the 72 young men and women from Illinois who have been killed as a result of our unprovoked aggression in Iraq. They have been killed in a war engineered by the lying and illegitimate administration of George W. Bush. These deaths and those of Iraqi civilians should be treated as war crimes. The deaths of Iraqi civilians, since we started of our war, are difficult to quantify. Estimates range from 26,000 to 100,000. AFSC suggests that the dollars spent on this war could be better used. For the state of Illinois, they propose that: These are not the priorities of this or any recent administration. Tax cuts that benefit the well to do, bankruptcy reform laws to increase credit card company profits and the sucking up to global corporations are the struggles that our elected officials have chosen to engage in. The permanent repeal of the Estate Tax was supposed to be an agenda item for our federal legislators during their first week back in Washington. This tax repeal would let the wealthiest 2% of our citizens avoid taxes on increased wealth. If Hurricane Katrina has any silver linings, one is that these snake oil tax repeal peddlers have to postpone their boo-hoo claims that we are unjustly savaging the lives of the richest Americans. We need to make sure that this is not just a delay. The Estate Tax is a progressive tax that must be fully re-implemented, not repealed. The west suburban branch of Amnesty International, Chicagoland Coalition for Civil Liberties & Rights (CCCLR) and Muslim Civil Rights Center were among the groups at the Fair with an emphasis on human rights. CCCLR circulated petitions for a State resolution to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act. They have support for this from State Representative Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25), but apparently need to find others. Representative Currie wants at least one Republican to sign on as a sponsor. The Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ICADP) and its local chapter, West Suburban Committee Against Capital Punishment (WSCACP) had a booth displaying photographs of seven men currently condemned to death in Illinois. They also had a bowl of Lifesaver candies for the taking, a nice touch. Some Fair visitors were surprised that we still condemn people to death in Illinois. Illinois State Senator Don Harmon (D-39), whose district includes part of Oak Park, addressed the Fair. Senator Harmon has spoken against this war at other OPCTJ events. When I talked with him, he told me he "is in opposition to this recreational war." Responding to a question about what impact the Illinois State Legislature could have on the war, Senator Harmon answered "the administration in office does not feel impacted by state legislatures." Stating that he is not a foreign policy expert, he wondered if it would be possible to recall the Illinois National Guard. He feels the deployment to Iraq of the Illinois National Guard "poses needless risk to fellow citizens. The events in Louisiana and Mississippi show the vulnerability we all face." Justice for the rights of workers and communities was in evidence. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was a Fair participant. Officially they sponsored as AFSCME Friends of Heart. HEART is Healthcare Employees Acting at Resurrection Together. Working with the South Austin Coalition, they have formed the Oak Park/Austin Health Alliance (OPAHA) to improve the healthcare delivery system for patients, workers and the community. West Suburban Hospital was once an independent hospital that has been purchased by Resurrection Health Care. OPAHA has put together a "Community Benefits Agreement" that wants to: ensure access to health care for residents in need; provide community benefit programs; recognize employees' right to organize; and create community outreach/input programs. Wal-Mart Watch sent organizer Tim Sheehan from Washington, DC. Wal-Mart Watch unearths the real costs of the low prices at Wal-Mart. In their annual report, Wal-Mart Watch shows how the bargains we find at Wal-Mart actually rip us off. Wal-Mart pays many of its employees a wage that keeps them poor. They also offer health benefits that employees can't afford. This one-two punch means that we have to kick in $1.5 billion in annual federal taxes to cover Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance. This allows Wal-Mart to show a healthy balance sheet to their investors. Committee for New Priorities/Chicago Jobs With Justice (CNP) and Chicago Labor for Peace, Prosperity & Justice (CLPPJ) were joint sponsors of the Fair. They want "to connect the dots between the war and its domestic social cost and point to a better way." Their vision of a peaceful society is one that "makes human needs the first priority and protects the rights of all people." They wonder what happened to the "peace dividend" that should have come with the end of the Cold War. "Without the huge military expenditures for nuclear weapons and wars of conquest, we could easily provide for jobs, health care and education for all." This last line may well be the link for all participants of the Fair. Pat Vogel, of Military Families Speak Out, was a featured speaker. She went to Camp Casey in Crawford Texas last month to support Cindy Sheehan's attempt to engage George W. Bush in discussion. Ms. Vogel and her husband began speaking out against this war when soldiers in her son's unit were killed in Iraq. Her son, Aaron, joined Iraq Vets Against the War after finishing his time in Iraq. DSA was among the groups sponsoring the fair, and several DSA members worked to organize it. Well over a hundred people stopped at our table for literature, exhausting our entire supply of "No War" buttons. Nearly everyone else stopped and grinned at our effigy of Dubya with pants afire. One of the things that made this Fair more appealing was its activities for children and musicians, dancers and poets for the not-as-young. Children were treated to storytelling and encouraged to sing and engage in crafts. A peace fair in Oak Park would not forget about children. The music covered a wide spectrum. The Michael Levin / Donald Neale Ensemble started us out with jazz. Laura Good and Friends was certainly aiming at my (over 50) memories with their renditions of CSNY songs like "Chicago" and "Ohio". Whether they were pandering or not, I enjoyed their song set. The Wandering Endorphin (Jim Green) played (?) guitar, alternating between a traditional style and one that had him slapping the strings, body and neck. His performance was fun to hear as well as wild to watch. It was unfortunate that the musicians had to play through a problematic sound system, but perform they did. Nahui Ollin Quetzalyolotl was a group that performed dances based on Azteca-Mexican traditions. This was a fascinating plus, that involved sound, movement and costumes. During their performance, one of the performers announced that they came to this Peace Fair, because they knew about invasion and occupation. They dance as a prayer for peace and justice. Poets made their words felt throughout the day. AvantRetro, which is a poetry duo made up of Charlie Rossiter and Al DeGenova started it up with energy. Mr. Rossiter is the force behind the Oak Park Unity Temple performance nights. Several of the wordsmiths at this Fair have previously performed there. One of them was Quraysh Ali Lasana, who has a great book of poems based on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, They Shall Run: Harriet Tubman Poems. We were also able to hear some of the best of Oak Park River Forest High School's Spoken Word Club. These wordsmiths spoke their thoughts and feelings speaking openly as an example of what peace must look like. Economic Development or Robbery?by Stan Rosen The Great American Jobs Scam: Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation by Greg LeRoy. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler 2005; 290 pp; $24.95 This is a well documented study, typified by incisive analysis, numerous dramatic specific examples of developer scams, and proposals for action. This comprehensive presentation was researched and prepared by former Chicago activist, Greg LeRoy, who is now the Director of the national organization, Good Jobs First. It is must reading for any activist who wishes to play a progressive role in understanding and shaping economic development at the national, state, and local levels. In the introduction, LeRoy sets the challenge. The competition for employment among cities, counties, and states is so intense, the companies (who often have already decided on a site) arrange an auction among them to see which will pay the greatest bribe. The result is bidding up the prices that the taxpayers must pay. This book should broaden the ranks of Americans who are actively involved in stopping these crimes and restore meaning to the processes of economic development. Economic development should be devoted to public purposes, ideally to long term improvements that can be expected to benefit everyone, including future generations. At the core of this scam are corrupted definitions of competition that obscure cause and effect. The book makes it clear that economic development as practiced in the United States destroys communities and jobs and serves instead mainly selfish and profit oriented objectives. Each of the nine chapters discuss, in detail and through examples, the problems to be faced. Each provides a primer for progressive action. The topics covered include: tax dodges, job blackmail, site location (expansion or relocation), the rising economic war among the states, the corporate assault on the income tax, property tax abatement, subsidizing sprawl, looting and the economics of sports stadiums, and shifting the tax burden. Each chapter is readable and provides the information and tools to fight back. The most powerful tool for activists is the final chapter, "Building a Consensus for Reform". This chapter suggests ways to encourage a serious involvement in the process. Democratic socialists and coalition friends need to better master the issues, and give full time and continuing attention to the task. Reacting campaigns, which often influence but not prevent the various scams, are too little too late. Proaction is required if we are to insure that economic development is for the benefit of the citizens and not for narrow special interests. The twelve suggestions in this chapter and allied materials are an important start. I was particularly excited by Reform 12: Community Benefits Agreements.
Once the community coalition and the developer agree on the Community Benefits Agreement, the coalition supports the developer's application to the city for subsidies and the agreement is attached to the redevelopment agreement between the city and the developer, making it legally enforceable. Such a process, similar to collective bargaining, makes the citizens full partners in the process. In Sweden, economic policy goals are established by the national government and provide comprehensive and coordinated support to local governments. We need to support the development of economic development policies that encourage and permit our government leaders to administer such programs in the public interest. Like Michael Harrington's book The Other America, this book lays down in dramatic and easily understood language, a challenge in terms of economic development. Hopefully, democratic socialists will spearhead this campaign. Editor's Note: Stanley "Rosebud" Rosen is a founding member of Chicago DSA, Professor Emeritus University of Illinois at Chicago, presently retired in Santa Fe, New Mexico. See "Resurrecting West Suburban Hospital" below for a local example of a "Community Benefits Agreement". Resurrecting West Suburban Hospital's Commitment to the Oak Park / Austin Communityby Bill Barclay In 2004, Resurrection Health Care acquired West Suburban Hospital, a long time independent hospital on the east side of Oak Park. "West Sub", as the hospital was (and still is) known, served both Oak Park and Austin residents as a primary source of health care. Over the years, West Sub had grown into one of the largest employers in the two communities. The acquisition continued Resurrection Health Care's rapid growth into the second largest provider of health largest providers of health care in the Chicago metropolitan area. It also accelerated a shift already underway, moving West Sub further away from being an institution with important ties to the local community to that of a business with greater focus on the bottom line. At the time of the acquisition, there was significant community concern about the impact of the deal on the quality and availability of health care for Oak Park and Austin residents, particularly the provision of charity care for the growing number of uninsured. The concern drew the attention of Attorney General Lisa Madigan who intervened by requiring Resurrection to agree that the level of charity care provided and its availability would not be lower under the new ownership than it had been prior to the acquisition. By late spring of this year, the experience of residents in Oak Park and Austin with the new entity, Resurrection West Suburban (RWS), was sufficient to raise questions about the adherence of RWS to the terms of the Madigan agreement. In response to this growing concern, four organizations came together to form the Oak Park / Austin Health Alliance (OPAHA): the South Austin Community Coalition, Oak Park Coalition for Truth and Justice, GOP DSA, and AFSCME Council 31. Research undertaken by AFSCME staff provided empirical support for what community members had experienced: WRS's level of charity care had declined 23% on a dollar-measured basis when the first 6 months following acquisition were compared to the 6 months prior to acquisition. The first action of OPAHA was to develop a proposed Community Benefits Agreement. The agreement proposed:
During early August, OPAHA members went door to door in both Austin and Oak Park, educating the communities about the issue and collecting more than 10,000 signatures on a petition to the Attorney General's office. The petition asked the Attorney General to investigate RWS's performance to date vs. the terms of the agreement. In mid August, a community meeting was held that drew more than 200 people to discuss RWS and the health care situation in the area. This event was followed up by a visit to the Attorney General's office in September where the petition was presented and community concerns with RWS's performance were discussed with senior members of the Attorney General's staff. At this writing, OPAHA is still awaiting a response from Madigan's office but believes that the issue has been taken very seriously by staff. OPAHA is not, however, simply waiting for Madigan's office to respond but is continuing to apply pressure to RWS: there is another community meeting scheduled for October 25th at which senior executives of RWS will be invited to respond to the issues and concerns of Oak Park and Austin residents. For more information, contact the Oak Park / Austin Health Alliance at 773.287.4570. Introducing New YDS Organizer: Elizabeth RothschildHey YDSers! I'm the new National Organizer! I just settled into NYC from the Northern Virginia/DC area in June. I'm a little bit of an artist and a hip hop dancer and I love all kinds of music. I'm a tad bit silly and extremely passionate and I can't wait to begin working with all of you. Now let me tell you a little bit about my background in politics. My last two summers were spent teaching in a program called Freedom Schools in NYC, which is run by the Children's Defense Fund and modeled after the Freedom Schools from the Civil Rights Movement Freedom Summer of 1964. The program integrates reading, conflict resolution and social action in an activity-based curriculum that promotes social, cultural, and historical awareness. Working with the Freedom Schools has helped me develop ways to connect large macro-level ideologies informed by my socialist vision, to a micro-level (classroom) experience. But the Freedom Schools were more than a classroom experience, they were about building a movement: linking schools across the nation together, creating an alternative educational institution, and engaging in political struggles for progressive change. (We participated in voter registration in the community last year, protested at City Hall against Bush's tax cuts, and worked with an ex-felon rehabilitation program learning about the cradle-to-prison pipeline.) I have also worked with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and I did extensive Affirmative Action organizing around the Michigan case several years ago. I recently graduated from the University of Virginia where I majored in African American Studies and Sociology with a minor in Politics and was involved in anti-racist organizing through both leadership in groups such as the NAACP and Sustained Dialogue. I worked as a liaison between many different groups and coalitions on campus as we tried to bring structural changes to the rather minority-unfriendly university. I believe deeply in the importance of political education, self-criticism and constant re-evaluation to the movement for social justice. There is a lot of work to be done to build a stronger Left in this country, especially towards connecting anti-racist, feminist, labor, queer rights, environmental, community and electoral activism in a much more meaningful and effective way. I'm definitely looking forward to working with many of you, traveling to campuses and communities around the country, and working to strengthen YDS and the democratic socialist movement. Onward! Editor's Note: This first appeard in the email YDS Update. Elizabeth Rothschild can be reached at: elizabeth@dsausa.org or 212-727-8610 ext. 24. She will be working with YDS' outgoing organizer, Lucas Shapiro, through the fall. YDS Summer Retreat a Memorable Successby Ben Hyink This summer's YDS retreat in Ossing, New York, was well worth the travel costs. The location, a small castle once owned by Corliss Lamont, was near the city but still rural (and quiet) enough to feel like a true "retreat." A section of the building is open to the elements because a fire destroyed the roof long ago, but it was redesigned to serve as a patio instead; I heard that it might be repaired with the help of some trade unions in the future. Foam and "regular" mattresses were available for approximately fifty participants over the weekend, and there was a surplus of extra blankets, bug spray and other materials for forgetful attendees (myself included). The hot weather was the only subject of common complaint. After helping to set up the area or collecting groceries, we heard Joseph Schwartz (DSA National Political Committee and past YDS organizer) speak on, "The State of the American Left/Socialism." Two points I recall Schwartz making were that we happen to live in "the most anti-socialist nation in the world" (not hard to accept if one is paying attention to media ideology and "mainstream" political rhetoric) and that if we want to not only slow right-wing erosion of the what remains of the welfare state but actually reverse course by changing hearts and minds, "some people have to be the ["out"] socialists." A lively Q & A session set a precedent that was continued throughout the retreat. Conversations on political theory, activist experiences and future organizational strategies continued late into the night both Friday and Saturday. On Saturday I attended a fascinating led by former YDS National Organizer Eliyanna Kaiser on the historical relationship of feminist and socialist theory. At the end she spoke briefly about her new role as the Senior Editor and Ad Director of Spread magazine, a publication by and for the sex worker community. She felt that offering people a means to express their own voice is critical to empowering them, and that as a group sex workers (broadly defined) remain one of the populations most vulnerable discrimination, exploitation, violence, and suppression of basic human rights, including police abuse. The second session I attended was "Learning About and From the Christian Right," led by Amanda Singer and (YDS co-President) Maria Svart. In analyzing the activities of the Christian Right base, we agreed that valuable activities such as the provision of community service were often used as leverage for political gains, while the political privatization of social service in turn helped such charity organizations to gain influence. Much of the discussion focused on ideological trends in the Religious Right. Christian Parenti's account of his experiences in Iraq and Venezuela, and his analysis of the historical context, current conditions and possible futures were engrossing and highly informative. He provided first-hand accounts along with historical context that rarely, if ever, appears in print or on television in America, as well as independent assessments of questions frequently debated in the media. When we were asked at the end of the conference for recommendations to improve future events, my only one was to invest in a good camcorder to preserve the wonderful talks. On Sunday, the conference concluded with Bob Lidel's speech on the "Politics of Prisons." While I knew we had a major problem, I did not realize its extent before his talk. While crime rates have not changed dramatically since 1970, the U.S. prison population has risen from 300,000 to over 2 million. Of this population, 1.2 million are locked up for non-violent offenses and the majority of drug offenses are marijuana-related. The U.S. system accounts for one quarter of the imprisoned population worldwide! A key factor in this unprecedented rise in incarceration is the privatization of U.S. prisons; after the prisons are built, there is political pressure to fill them by criminalizing more people and mandating longer sentences. The towns that welcome prisons for economic reasons ultimately lose as well, since the institutions soak up public utilities, scare off other investors, and the prison population cannot spend money in the town. Much more was covered, including the high incarceration rates of racial minority populations. While there I also shared booklets explaining the "democratic transhumanist" movement to people who asked about it. James Hughes, PhD, a longtime DSA member and founder of the YDS club at the University of Chicago, the Executive Director of two transhumanist organizations and the recent author of, Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future, is the one person most responsible for my conversion to democratic socialism through arguments in his online articles. Two weeks after the retreat he did an interview with then-YDS National Organizer Lucas Shapiro on his left-futurist program "Changesurfer Radio" (the recording is available online, see http://www.changesurfer.com). Many hands made light work of the castle clean-up. After staying overnight at Lucas Shapiro's apartment, I continued visiting friends and family on my way home. While gas prices are making travel prohibitive, it would be great if a group of Chicago YDS members could travel to the retreat as a group next year, perhaps by train. Please join the yahoo group "YDSChicago" (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YDSChicago) to strengthen our local network and make coordination and local announcements possible such as the dates when YDS leaders Lucas Shapiro and Maria Svart will be in town this October. So They'll Have No Karl Rove, Then(with apologies to Lord Byron) So they'll have no Karl Rove, then To paint the night more black. Though the war's still going badly, And the White House still needs its flack. For the facts outwore the lies, And the feds wised to his schemes, And we all must pause to wonder If anything's as it seems. Though the news was made for spinning, And the polls are looking poor, Yet they'll have no Karl Rove, then, To justify their war.by Hugh Iglarsh Other Newscompiled by Bob Roman New Ground Email EditionFor the past month, as an experiment, Chicago DSA has been publishing an email edition of New Ground, more or less weekly. Email newsletters are becoming increasingly common, and the format for our experiment is pretty typical: mostly teasers and links, very few articles. Unlike most organizational email newsletters, most of the links in our publication do not point to our own web site. With the entire World Wide Web available, why should it? Like the print edition, the email edition does cover news about DSA, local and national. And likewise, we do cover the politics of issues we're involved in. With many email lists, blogs and email newsletters, those links or articles tend to be affirmations, tending to confirm to the reader that we are right and they are wrong. We've tried to our material more informational. Finally, we've been doing something we have not had the resources to do in print: include an ongoing discussion of democratic socialism, both as an ideology and as history. The web enables us to draw upon the work of others without having to deal with "intellectual property" issues. Nor do we have to worry about the constraints of space; the print edition increases in increments of 4 pages and it gets expensive quickly. For several years now, we've been posting the contents of the print edition on our web site. The contents of the email edition are also posted to our web site. Eventually we may post to the web articles written especially for New Ground that are too long for the print edition. Here is what you can do to help. First, if you are not yet on our email distribution list, add yourself by sending an email to ng@chicagodsa.org with "add" in the subject line. Second, forward some or all of the email newsletters to people and email lists that you think would find the newsletter interesting or useful. "Viral marketing" has always been a feature of human affairs, but the internet offers expanded opportunities! Third, if you run across articles that you think appropriate, please forward the links to us. Links to articles about democratic socialism and its history, particularly with respect to Chicago and Illinois, would be especially welcome.
Contribute to Katrina Relief Through the DSA FundIn response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the DSA Fund has established a special fund to accept tax-deductible donations from DSA members and friends. This fund will be used primarily to provide help to community-based and other social change organizations in the affected area recover from the storm and its aftermath. It will bring palpable aid to those who continue to defend the interests of poor and working people in the devastated states along the Gulf Coast. We are currently attempting to assess whether the DSA members residing in the affected area have unmet needs resulting from the storm; this fund will also be used to provide humanitarian aid to such individuals. This fund will also provide a vehicle for people who do not wish to give to established charities or who want to be sure that the gift will reach grassroots organizers and organizations in need of support, precisely those often ignored by mainstream foundations and charities. The DSA Fund has already designated an initial beneficiary of this fund: ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) saw its national headquarters in New Orleans destroyed. ACORN has a long history of defending the interest of the poor and working people of New Orleans. The group is attempting to re-establish its headquarters in Baton Rouge so that it will be able to continue to address the needs of the displaced population of the region. Other organizations will be added to the list as they are identified and approved by the Fund. A report on the distributions that are made will be made available to donors and posted on the web site. To contribute, go to http://www.dsausa.org/LatestNews/2005/Relief.html or send a check or money order payable to DSA FUND, 198 Broadway, Suite 700 New York, NY 10038. Indicate that it is for the Katrina Relief Fund.
IUPSS Celebrates Social SecurityIllinois United to Protect Social Security celebrated the 70th anniversary of Social Security in mid-August with events in Chicago, Joliet, Bloomington, and Champaign. The events in Joliet and Champaign were particularly pointed, politically, with birthday cakes and cards being delivered to Representatives Weller and Johnson. In Bloomington and Chicago, there were educational and celebratory dimensions as well. Over a hundred people attended the Chicago celebration. It was a noon hour event held at Roosevelt University on Monday, August 15. Participants included William McNary (Co-Director, Citizen Action/Illinois), Charles Middleton (President, Roosevelt University), Professor Margaret Rung (Director, Center for New Deal Studies), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Tim Leahy (Secretary - Treasurer, Chicago Federation of Labor), and Hal Gullett (President, Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans). A very special guest was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as portrayed, convincingly, by actor and historian RJ Lindsey. Most of the speakers discussed Social Security in the context of present day politics. And they made an effective case for preserving Social Security and why they felt Republican proposals were essentially attempts to destroy Social Security. But Professor Rung's presentation was valuable for placing Social Security in the context of the politics of the 1930s. And RJ Lindsey portrayal of President Roosevelt relied heavily upon excerpting Roosevelt's speeches about Social Security, giving one a sense as to how the public and Congress were persuaded to support it and how opposition to the program has not significantly changed.
Illinois' Chance at Health Care JusticeThe "Adequate Health Care Task Force" mandated by the Health Care Justice Act (see New Ground 99, most recently) is beginning to organize hearings in Congressional districts around the state. At press time, the schedule for these hearings had not been released, but the first hearing is tentatively planned for somewhere in the 1st Congressional District on October 5. The tentative plans aspired to three hearings a month. From the testimony gathered and from studies commissioned by the Task Force, a set of recommendations toward resolving the health care crisis will be presented to the Illinois General Assembly. Why is this important? The project is a long shot. Unlike the originally proposed Health Care Justice Bill, the product will be only a recommendation not legislation the legislature is mandated to pass. The Task Force itself is genuinely a bipartisan. And while the health care crisis is huge, it looks rather different depending upon your position in the economy. These hearings should be an education for the Task Force. Your participation in these hearings, even if only as part of the audience, can make a difference in how the Task Force perceives the scale and nature of the problem and in how the Illinois legislature receives their recommendations. If the health care crisis has come home to you, whether it is as a consumer or as a service provider, your testimony could be crucial. The Campaign for Better Health Care's Health Care Justice Coalition is indeed working to collect and coordinate testimony for the hearings. They now have 27 different types of testimony from a wide range of groups and individuals. If you are going to give testimony, please let them know by contacting Megan Meagher at mmeagher@cbhconline.org or 312.913.9449. As the hearing dates and venues become available, they will be posted on the Illinois Department of Public Health (http://www.idph.state.il.us), the Campaign for Better Health Care (http://www.cbhconline.org), and the Chicago DSA (http://www.chicagodsa.org) web sites. The Campaign for Better Health Care is planning phone banks to encourage turn out, and Chicago DSA is planning targeted postcard mailings.
Chicago, Evanston, and Gary: Give Peace a ChanceAs New Ground went to press, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution demanding the removal of our troops from Iraq. Passing by a Council vote of 29 to 9, with 12 abstaining or not voting, the resolution urges "the United States government to immediately commence an orderly and rapid withdrawal" from Iraq. In addition to the death and suffering of the war, the resolution stressed that "Chicago residents' share of monies appropriated for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now exceeds $2.1 billion." Chicago is now the largest U.S. city to take this stand. The only other major U.S. city to pass a similar resolution is San Francisco. The Evanston City Council voted against the war earlier in the week, and Gary, Indiana, did so last month. The passage of this resolution represents as much an internal victory for the peace movement in Chicago because it brought together pretty much all its various wings. Getting them to agree on language is an accomplishment. But it's worth being skeptical as to its value in actually ending the war. On one hand, it increases the legitimacy of opposition to this war, and that is a good thing indeed. But the war will deescalate only to the degree that Republicans and Congressional incumbents generally begin to see it as an electoral liability. Which is to say, look for some high profile moves, genuine and otherwise, toward "Iraqification" in ten or eleven months, provided the civil war doesn't spiral out of control.
UMWA Community Organizing PositionCommunity organizing position available in Terre Haute, Indiana, on an organizing campaign with the United Mine Workers. Calls for a person with initiative and ability to build support among religious leaders, community and union leaders for coal miners and their right to form or choose a union. If interested send a resume to Robert Gaydos, Deputy Director of Organizing, United Mine Workers of America: bgaydos@umwa.org.
Labor Solidarity: KoreaThe Korean Federation of Service Workers' Unions (KFSU) is calling for international support for their struggle against an insidious form of union busting at the Hotel Riviera in Daejeon City. In the past, such support has been vital in getting governments and companies to obey the law and to accept the rights of workers to form unions. Union members at the Hotel Riviera have been struggling since August last year against the owners' contrived closure of the facility, which the union has proven was carried out on fraudulent grounds in order to close the facility long enough to break the union. Their struggle is now at a crucial turning point. And your help is needed-right now. The National Labour Relations Commission has ruled in favor of the union's contention that the closure was a fake designed to break the union. The owners should now reinstate all dismissed union members with full back pay and resume normal operations. But Korean law is full of loopholes. Please write now to the President and Labour Minister of Korea, demanding that they act to ensure the decision of the National Labour Relations Commission is quickly and effectively implemented. Go to: http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=57
IUF Protests Colombian Trade Union AssassinationsThe serial murder of Colombian trade unionists continues with no letup. Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, a former Nestlé employee and leader of the foodworkers' union SINALTRAINAL, has become the latest victim of Colombia's deadly anti-union violence and the judicial and political impunity which nourish it. He was murdered sometime between the evening of September 10 and the morning of September 11, when his dead body was discovered in the city of Valledupar bearing multiple knife wounds and signs of torture. The fact that Molina was living under the protective measures program of the Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States shows that the Uribe government continues to fail to implement the most basic measures needed to stop the war against Colombian union members and officers. The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) has protested this latest assassination to the Colombian government, demanding a full and open investigation of Molina's murder, prosecution of the perpetrators and an end to the reigning impunity. We urge you to send similar protests. To send a message to the government of Colombia go to http://www.iuf.org/Colombia. Letter from the EditorThis is our 10th annual Labor Day issue of New Ground. As Editor and as Treasurer of Chicago DSA, thank you. Your assistance, however great or small, is crucial to this project. This year's participation is about average. Considering that the summer is never a good time for fundraising, I'm not unhappy with whatever we get. Considering that the appeal to unions went out at a time when most its leadership were distracted by the looming split within the movement and generally dismal circumstances, I'm proud of what support we received. It's particularly difficult to be writing even small checks (and on the scale of political money, we're asking for small checks) when your colleagues are being laid off. Considering the destruction of the Gulf Coast, I'm touched by the support we've none-the-less received from individuals around the country. Thank you! It would probably be too much to give Dubya some of the credit. But when he said he's taking "personal responsibility" for the slow response to Hurricane Katrina disaster, I'm sure most of you feel as I do: well whooptydoo! Personal responsibility! What does that mean? Does it mean he's going to commit ritual suicide? Does it mean he's going to jail? Does it mean he's going to resign? Does it mean he's going to donate his personal fortune to those families who watched relations die while waiting for help? Fat chance. Every indication at present suggests that neither Dubya nor his cronies in Congress have abandoned their agenda of cutting benefits (Medicare and Food Stamps, most notably) and financing the war and reconstruction through borrowing and taxes on everyone but the rich. Maybe they think we won't notice. Or maybe they figure to get what they can, while they can. Then use the technique of requiring a supermajority for new or increased taxes to preserve their gains. But Dubya's not the first American politician to use the ploy of "personal responsibility" as another way to say "shut up". Our nation has a problem here, and it's bigger than any runty shrub. And I think that's one reason why so many people have contributed this effort even in the face of so much immediate human need. Events have a way of educating people, of creating "teachable moments". And if Katrina has done that, now is the time to make our voices heard. In solidarity, Robert Roman
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