> WW News Service Digest #167 > > 1) Boston Mumia Supporters Disrupt Gore > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 2) Buffalo, N.Y., Teachers vs. Anti-Union Law > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3) IAC Leaders Stand Trial > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 4) Iraq Threatened: Behind Washington's 2-Faced Policy > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 5) Yugoslavia Poll: U.S. EU wield Carrot & Stick > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 6) Wide Support for Los Angeles Strikers > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >PROTEST "DEATH DEBATE" OCT. 3/ BOSTON MUMIA >SUPPORTERS DISRUPT GORE > > >By Steven Gillis >Boston > >On Sept. 12--the same day the Clinton administration's >Justice Department released its own study proving that the >death penalty is racist to the core in its application >throughout the U.S. criminal "injustice" system--activists >from Workers World Party's presidential campaign and the >Boston Coalition for Mumia Abu-Jamal gave the Gore/Lieberman >campaign "No peace" during its tour of this Democratic Party >stronghold. > >At an outdoor rally, and later inside a $1,000-per-plate >fundraiser at the posh Park Plaza Hotel, Vice President Al >Gore's speeches were stopped short by activists demanding a >new trial for political prisoner Abu-Jamal and an end to the >racist death penalty. > >While Gore attempted to make light of the disruptions, his >support for legal lynching, and that of Republican candidate >George W. Bush, received wide exposure in the New England >media. > >The Boston Coalition for Mumia Abu-Jamal is organizing a >mass rally and march at what the group terms the Gore-Bush >"Death Debate" Oct. 3 at the University of Massachusetts- >Boston Harbor. > >The Coalition calls on New England-area activists to >converge in Boston for the first presidential debate. It >comes at a crucial time in the struggle to win a new trial >for Mumia Abu-Jamal and stop the growing prison-industrial >complex. > >Perhaps with this in mind, Boston Police and Secret Service >made a violent and unconstitutional pre-emptive strike >against peaceful picketers outside the Park Plaza Hotel. As >Gore's motorcade headed across town, police busted up the >picket line, yelling, them all!" as they plowed into the >crowd. > >Ironically, among those arrested in the illegal sweep was a >union painter who was there to support Gore. Now this worker >is among the growing ranks of those who see the two >capitalist parties as two faces of the killing machine. > >For information on the Oct. 3 Boston actions, visit the Web >sites www.mumia2000.org and www.vote4workers.org. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 22:14:42 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] Buffalo, N.Y., Teachers vs. Anti-Union Law >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >AFTER UNION CHALLENGES ANTI-LABOR LAW, AUTHORITIES >PUT BUFFALO, N.Y. TEACHERS UNDER THE GUN > >By Beverly Hiestand >Buffalo, N.Y. > >Nearly 3,800 Buffalo, N.Y., city teachers walked out of >their classrooms and onto picket lines on Sept. 7 and again >on Sept. 14. Their seriousness was measured by their >knowledge that under the union-busting New York State Taylor >Law each of them can be jailed and fined two days pay for >every day they are not in school. Under this same repressive >law the entire Buffalo Teachers Federation could also be >fined. > >Despite attempts by the Board of Education and media to >drive a wedge between teachers and school communities, polls >reveal that support for teachers is strong. > >After one day out on the picket lines, the teachers had >agreed to go back to work on Sept. 8 to show their >willingness to continue negotiating and their desire to >provide education for their students. Schools reopened Sept. >11 after marathon bargaining and a request from the Public >Employees Relations Board. > >On Sept. 12, in a State Supreme Court hearing, Judge Kevin >Dillon upgraded a temporary order barring a strike to a >preliminary injunction. This injunction prohibits teachers >from striking. > >However, on Sept. 14 the teachers again marched on picket >lines after the Board of Education reportedly placed >proposals on the table and then withdrew them. Again the >union responded to a request by PERB to return to work while >the two sides awaited a proposal by PERB mediators on Sept. >19. > >But on Sept. 18, BTF President Phil Rumore and three other >union officers were forced to appear in State Supreme Court >before Judge Dillon. They were arraigned on contempt of >court charges. > >Dillon told the union leaders that he would only grant >adjournment of the contempt charge if they would agree to >abide by his injunction. After consultation with the >executive board and attorneys, Rumore turned down the >judge's ultimatum. > >The anger and determination of the teachers is also fueled >by the fact that 10 years ago the BTF signed an agreement >with the Board of Education that included a substantial wage >increase. Later, after the teachers ratified the agreement, >the Board of Education withdrew the proposal. > >The teachers union won decisions from the highest courts in >the state ordering the board to give teachers their back >pay. They even agreed to a smaller sum of money. But the >board didn't meet its obligation to pay them by the >beginning of this school year. > >Rumore, measuring the anger and frustration of his members >towards the Board of Education, said in an article in the >Sept. 10 Buffalo News, "I think most of us believe they are >trying to break the union." > >WHY THEY WALKED > >The teachers voted to strike shortly before the school year >began. The vote was held at a mass meeting of BTF members >held at Kleinhan's Music Hall within days of the opening of >school. At that meeting over 90 percent of the teachers >voted to authorize a strike. > >The immediate cause of their job action was the fact that >the teachers have been working without a contract for over >14 months. > >In addition, an unresolved issue at the bargaining table has >reportedly been job security and benefits for active >teachers and retirees. And the union is demanding the >restoration of some of the educational programs for students >that have been cut and the improvement of existing programs. > >In particular, the union is trying to restore art, music and >physical education to the lower grades. These programs were >cut years ago. > >Most importantly, the union is fighting to prevent the >privatization of some of the student and family services >currently provided by its members. It is negotiating >professional training days for its teachers. > >Of great significance to the communities, the union is >calling for reducing the size of classes that include >children with special education needs so that teachers can >enhance the quality of education for all the students in >those classrooms. > >But the last straw that forced the teachers to walk out was >the proposal by the Board of Education that teachers receive >no pay increase for the first two years of a four-year >contract and a 1 percent increase for each of the next two >years. The Board of Education also proposed a cutback in >healthcare payments for retirees and the newly hired. > >Administrators, along with teachers' aides, had already >received a three-and-a-half-percent raise for three of the >next four years. Teachers on the picket lines carried signs >reading: "New multi-year contracts for all--but not for >teachers. Why?" > >In an attempt to undermine the union, the Board of Education >falsely claimed that city teachers are already overpaid >compared to their peers throughout the region. In fact, >studies reveal that the top pay scale in Erie County's >larger suburbs is higher and teachers can reach it more >quickly. > >SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS GROWS > >The teachers have remained unified and strong. > >Teacher Len Noworyta compared this strike to one by city >teachers in 1974. In a Sept. 11 Buffalo News article >Noworyta commented, "Our support is stronger this time. >People are angry and they're sticking together." > >The same article pointed out that only 29 teachers crossed >the picket line. > >The Board of Education and the Buffalo News tried to pit >teachers and parents against each other. > >Unfortunately both walkouts were announced after many >children were already on the bus to school. Rumore explained >that negotiations had gone on all night long and the >teachers had tried not to go out on strike if progress could >be made at the bargaining table. > >And teachers on the picket lines blamed this situation on >the Board of Education's refusal to bargain in good faith. > >Every one of the 16 teachers interviewed by the Sept. 11 >Buffalo News expressed regret about having to walk out >because of the impact on their students. And teachers on the >picket lines explained that it is very common for them to >spend significant amounts of their own money and time to >help their students in this under-funded district. > >"I love these kids like I love my own," said Cynthia >Cercone, a science teacher at Lafayette High School. "But I >also feel undervalued and unappreciated." > >Yet in spite of all the bad-mouthing by the bosses and the >media, polls reveal that the attempts to prevent community >support for the teachers have not been successful. > >On the basis of years of experience parents have learned >that the teachers--in spite of all the difficulties imposed >on them by the Board of Education and the city and state-- >have tried to do right by the children by winning smaller >class sizes, better conditions, and improved cultural and >athletic programs. > >This is revealed by the results of a poll conducted by Zogby >International reported in the Sept. 17 Buffalo News. It >revealed that 59 percent of Erie County respondents--from >the city and the suburbs--thought that the teachers had >legitimate complaints. > >In a smaller poll within the city, support for the teachers >was even greater: 76 percent of the respondents said the >teachers have legitimate complaints and 50 percent supported >the strike. > >Some parents of students at School 39 have joined the picket >lines in front of the school. A resident watching teachers >picket across the street from her house told the News >reporter, "I think they should be out striking. I think I >should be here with them." > >TAYLOR LAW A FORMIDABLE OBSTACLE > >As positive as the public support is, teachers still face >many obstacles. They are up against the fines and threats of >jail from a union-busting judge. They have to build bridges >to the children and parents of the large oppressed >communities in Buffalo. It's a wake up call for the union to >reorganize and reflect a more multinational leadership. > >Probably the most formidable obstacle the teachers face, >however, is the New York State Taylor Law. This law violates >the most basic right won and exercised by all non-public >sector unions and by public sector unions in other states-- >the right to withhold labor. > >This is a right that historically enabled the working class >to win the eight-hour work day, an end to child labor, safer >working places, a living wage and benefits too numerous to >mention. > >Certainly, there are many allies--especially other public >sector workers and the communities who use the services that >these workers provide--who can be mobilized to overturn this >repressive law once and for all. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 22:14:43 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII >Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT >Subject: [WW] IAC Leaders Stand Trial >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >COP SPYING ON MOVEMENT EXPOSED/ INT'L ACTION CENTER >LEADERS STAND TRIAL > >Special to Workers World > >The trial of two key International Action Center organizers >is scheduled for a Washington courtroom Sept. 25. The two >were illegally arrested in a massive police sweep in >Washington April 15. > >The defendants, IAC Co-Director Brian Becker and organizer >George Vavatsikos, face up to 90 days in jail and a fine if >convicted of disorderly conduct. > >More than 650 people were arrested April 15 at a >demonstration to protest police repression and the prison- >industrial complex, as well as to support a new trial for >death-row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. > >The demonstration was held one day before mass actions >protesting a meeting of the International Monetary Fund and >World Bank. > >Protesters were not engaged in civil disobedience or any >other illegal acts. > >Demonstrators were trapped by the cops in the middle of a >block of 20th Street NW in downtown Washington as they >marched along a route that had police approval. Everyone on >the block was confined there for two hours before being >arrested, put in handcuffs and penned in school buses and ad- >hoc jails for up to 36 hours. > >Police never ordered the demonstrators to disperse. Club- >wielding police blocked those who tried to leave. > >Those arrested in the sweep included shoppers and tourists >who had the misfortune of being on the block. Among them >were a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer on assignment for >the Washington Post and a visiting North Carolina Forest >Ranger. > >"We were arrested in a planned act of preventive detention >by the police," Becker told Workers World. > >"They wanted to put us in jail not because we were breaking >a law but because they wanted to clear the streets prior to >the scheduled April 16-17 meeting of that vultures' club >that goes by the name of the IMF." > >CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT VS. GOV'T > >Becker and Larry Holmes, another IAC leader, are among the >named plaintiffs in a large class-action lawsuit filed by >the Partnership for Civil Justice, American Civil Liberties >Union and National Lawyers Guild. The civil action >represents more than 1,200 people who were arrested in >Washington during that weekend of protests last April. > >The lawsuit charges that police engaged in a massive >conspiracy to preemptively arrest IMF opponents, break into >organizers' offices, and confiscate literature, signs, >puppets and other property. It also contends that various >police agencies carried out illegal surveillance, spying, >intimidation and beatings of demonstrators. > >"We believe that the police and the federal government >carried out a coordinated effort in Washington, and later at >the Republican Convention in Philadelphia and the Democratic >Convention in Los Angeles, to disrupt the new protest >movement against capitalism that first burst forth in >Seattle at the World Trade Organization meeting last year," >Becker asserted. > >The class-action lawsuit's allegation that police are >engaged in a systematic, illegal effort to disrupt the >movement was confirmed by the recent unsealing of a legal >document in connection with the arrests at the Republican >Convention. > >The document shows that the Pennsylvania State Police spied >on activists, infiltrated organizations with undercover >agents, carried out disruptive activities, planned on >seizing the progressives' property and carried out other >acts that violate the First- and Fourth-Amendment rights of >political activists. > >The affidavit, submitted by the Pennsylvania State Police, >admits they decided on this course of action after observing >the effectiveness of police tactics in Washington. > >The police insisted that the affidavit be sealed since >"disclosure of this Affidavit could endanger the lives" of >undercover agents who infiltrated a number of the >progressive organizations. > >"The language of the court document is part of the effort to >criminalize those who oppose the domination of society by a >handful of capitalist billionaires and their two political >parties," Becker said. "It's the police who are criminally >engaged in the violation of our constitutionally-protected >right to demonstrate." > >The organizations listed in the affidavit include the >Philadelphia Direct Action Group, People's Global Action, >Direct Action Network, ACT UP Philadelphia, a generic >category called "Anarchist," the National People's Campaign, >the Ruckus Society, Workers World Party, International >Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal and the >International Action Center. > >'USE EVERY AVENUE TO DEFEND OUR RIGHTS' > >"The outcome of our Sept. 25 trial and the class-action >lawsuit will have great importance in the legal battle to >push back the forces of police repression," according to >Becker. "We must use every avenue to defend our rights--in >the courts and in the streets. > >"The limited democratic rights that exist in the United >States were not a gift given to the people by the rich and >powerful. These 'rights' were won through struggle and we >intend to keep struggling," he said. > >The IAC urges supporters of Becker and Vavatsikos to pack >Courtroom 116 in the Washington Court Building on Monday, >Sept. 25, at 9:00 a.m. The court is located at 5th St. and >Indiana Ave. NW, Washington. > >To support the IAC's Free Speech Legal Defense Fund, make >checks payable to People's Rights Fund/Free Speech, 39 W. >14th St., Suite 206, New York, New York 10011, or call (212) >633-6646. > >- END - > >(Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to >copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but >changing it is not allowed. For more information contact >Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) > > > > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 22:14:43 -0400 >Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >Content-transfer-encoding: Quoted-printable >Subject: [WW] Iraq Threatened: Behind Washington's 2-Faced Policy >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >------------------------- >Via Workers World News Service >Reprinted from the Sept. 28, 2000 >issue of Workers World newspaper >------------------------- > >IRAQ THREATENED AGAIN: BEHIND WASHINGTON'S TWO- >FACED POLICY > > >By Brian Becker and Sarah Sloan > >Speaking from his Pentagon post, U.S. Secretary of Defense >William Cohen took to the airwaves Sept. 18 to warn that the >Pentagon was preparing another massive three-day bombing >campaign against Iraq. > >Cohen's announcement came just six days after U.S. Secretary >of State Madeleine Albright assured the United Nations that >Washington would not use "military force" to try to make >Iraq allow a new team of weapons inspectors into the >country. > >What's going on here? Is the United States planning a new >war, as Cohen tells us? Or is Washington embarking on a >diplomatic offensive only, as Albright said? > >Or is there a policy struggle between the State Department >and the Pentagon? > >What caused the Pentagon to nix the diplomatic "peace >offensive" after exactly six days? > >MOUNTING PRESSURE TO END SANCTIONS > >Albright's Sept. 12 statement was designed to appease the >mounting pressure in the UN and around the world to end the >decade-long sanctions against Iraq. > >Her announcement that the United States would foreswear a >major military attack was only an attempt to buy time. > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. 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