Where is labor in Ferguson?

[TexasTowelie]

THE WEAKNESS of organized labor is often attributed to its low numbers, and they are low for sure. For example, AFL-CIO membership remained stagnant this year at 12.5 million, even with the whopping addition last year of 1.3 million United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union food and commercial workers.

Nonetheless, I believe the falling numbers are more a reflection than an explanation of labor's decline. Therefore, I do not agree with the prevailing opinion that spending more money on organizing will turn everything around. Our biggest problems are political, not organizational.

Put another way, corporate power looms large because unions are seriously disconnected from the social aspirations of the majority of working-class women and people of color who strive for equality, justice and fair play that cannot be measured or satisfied solely by the size of a paycheck.

It's been this way for some time, but nowhere is this wide gulf more vivid and more tragic than in the AFL-CIO's spineless reaction to the police murder of yet another young, unarmed African American.

Read more: http://socialistworker.org/2014/08/21/where-is-labor-in-ferguson

[jeff47]

1. They're the ones wearing badges.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Anne-Arundel-County-Police-Union-Donates-to-Darren-Wilsons-Online-Defense-Fund-272297081.html

http://www.quintonreport.com/2014/08/21/police-union-steering-donations-to-darren-wilson-legal-defense-fund-ferguson/

http://wlrn.org/post/miami-police-union-supports-officer-ferguson-shooting

[socialist_n_TN]

2. We in Workers' Power have been discussing this very thing since.....

the murder of Michael Brown. There have been some labor statements of support, but there needs to be much more.

Part of the problems of course is that the AFL-CIO is a "business union" organization and they're deathly afraid of getting into the wider political issues of the day, even though those issues directly affect their members and member organizations. This has to change, but that change will only come when the membership forces the labor bureaucracy to do so.

[Starry Messenger]

3. Labor joins community at Ferguson march

http://peoplesworld.org/labor-joins-community-at-ferguson-march/

"I began to notice the purple shirts donned by my union members, before and behind me. SEIU banners were being carried, and purple bracelets were everywhere I looked. Other members that had not "purpled up" were scattered throughout, shouting their heads off. I could not have been prouder. As the mile-long column marched down the main street of Florissant, whole families poured from their doors and joined the procession. Ice cream trucks parked in the suicide lanes handed out rocket pops to kids marching. The opposing lane was loaded with cars honking in solidarity and raised open hands protruding from every window.

What does this have to do with unions, you ask?

Unions are made up of workers. Workers pay dues to hire support staff and representation. SEIU members live in north St. Louis County and north St. Louis City, so we are proud to support our workers in any capacity that we can. There should be no divide between labor and community. If it is the peoples' struggle, then it is the workers' struggle...and that is the struggle for all of us.

No justice? No peace."


UFCW President Hansen Statement on the Mother of Michael Brown

http://www.ufcw.org/2014/08/22/ufcw-president-hansen-statement-on-mother-of-michael-brown/

"WASHINGTON, D.C. — Joe Hansen, International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), today released the following statement regarding UFCW member Lesley McSpadden whose son Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri.

“At the UFCW, we are a family. When tragedy strikes one of us, it is felt by all of us.

Our sister Lesley McSpadden, a member of UFCW Local 88, is dealing with the loss of her son Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

We have watched the unfolding events in Ferguson—from Michael Brown’s death to the police response that has targeted peaceful protestors and journalists for exercising their first amendment rights. This entire episode highlights systemic problems that still plague our nation—abject poverty, the lack of good jobs, an absence of racial diversity in the halls of power.

We need to address these challenges head on—and labor has a role to play by offering workers the opportunity for a better life. In the meantime, we stand in solidarity with our sister Lesley McSpadden and join her calls for a fair investigation and justice under the law.”