Largely the result of anarchist/autonomist influences, the Occupy movement failed to take the next logical step after the last public square had been cleared of protesters, namely to organize a national conference that would have led to the formation of a political party committed to the rights of the 99 percent. You can get an idea of what a difference that would have made from this article on Seattle's struggle for a $15 minimum wage and the role played by Kshama Sawant, the city councilperson who ran as socialist but not the typical dogmatic "Leninist", even though she belongs to a sect. Her campaign and her role in local politics, if replicated across the country, gives you an idea of the transformations that are possible today in a period of deepening class antagonisms.
NY Times, April 25 2014 Seattle Mayor Says Effort to Build Agreement on $15 Minimum Wage Has Faltered By KIRK JOHNSON SEATTLE — Mayor Ed Murray of Seattle said Thursday that his effort to build consensus behind raising the city’s minimum wage to $15, more than twice the federal rate, had faltered amid continuing differences between business leaders and labor unions that had been advising him on the issue. “We’re stuck at the moment,” Mr. Murray said in a news conference where he had been expected to present a proposal for raising the wage to one of the highest in the country. Instead, Mr. Murray, a Democrat and former state senator who was elected last year on a promise to fight economic inequality, said the negotiations were continuing on a committee of elected officials and business and labor interests that he had appointed to develop a wage plan. The mayor said that he was as committed as ever to a $15 minimum wage, with a cost of living adjustment mechanism that would push the wage to $17 over time — and that the committee had agreed in principle on that much as well. But after the committee could not reach agreement by a deadline this week, he said that he had decided to let it continue its deliberations to avoid having the issue placed before voters this fall as a ballot initiative, a move threatened by some labor advocates. A protracted fight over such an initiative might lead to “class warfare,” the mayor warned. “I’m probably less optimistic than I was this morning, but I still remain optimistic. If this fails, we’ll try something else until we get to $15.” Many owners of restaurants and other small businesses have said in recent days that a $15 minimum wage, especially if tips could not be counted toward that total, would lead to staffing cuts. Meanwhile, a socialist council member, Kshama Sawant — elected last fall on a specific plank to push a $15 wage and appointed by Mr. Murray to his committee — has kept up a constant drumbeat of pressure on the issue, saying she would oppose a gradual increase in the wage or any exemptions that would diminish its impact. Washington already has the highest statewide minimum wage in the nation, at $9.32. In his news conference, Mr. Murray said he would not discuss sticking points in the negotiations, notably the deeply divisive issue of tips, or which committee members were holding out or digging in. He said that organizations on the committee, which he declined to name — labor unions, business owners and local chambers of commerce are all represented — were reaching out to their members, seeking consensus that could be brought back to the negotiating table. Mr. Murray said he would ultimately present a package to the City Council this spring for a $15 wage — perhaps his own plan — even if things could not be fixed on the committee. “We’re in an incredible crisis, and I want to address this crisis,” Mr. Murray said, talking about what he said was a shrinking middle class in America and a poor population that is worse off than the poor in some other countries. “I want to get to $15.” But the task, he added, was delicate and exacting. “I’d rather be late and get it right than rush it and get it wrong,” he said. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
