https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWSpKJYTjpU
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Every Boss Has A Weak Spot – Find And Use It
https://popularresistance.org/every-boss-has-a-weak-spot-find-and-use-it/
By Alexandra Bradbury, Jane Slaughter, and Mark Brennerenlarge, Labor Notes. July 29, 2022
Steel production in the late 1800s used to require one crucial step: a 20-minute process called the “blow” that removed impurities, strengthening the metal. It was not unheard of for union members to go to the supervisor at the start of the blow and demand that some important grievance be resolved.
According to old-timers, it was amazing what the company could accomplish in those 20 minutes. These workers had found their employer’s vulnerability— and they used it to make the workplace safer and more humane.
Think about where your employer is vulnerable. For some companies it might be their logo or their image, which they have spent millions of dollars cultivating. For others it might be a bottleneck in the production process, or a weakness in their just-in-time inventory system.
Whistle While You Work
At a Fortune 500 truck factory, supervisors were ruthless and degrading. Discipline was arbitrary and unjust. At the monthly union meeting one worker noted that they were all being “railroaded.”
A few weeks later, 2,000 plastic whistles shaped like locomotives arrived at the local. The instructions were simple: whenever you can see a supervisor on the shop floor, blow your whistle.
At first, whistles were going off all over. But by the morning break the plant floor was quiet. Not a single supervisor dared to show his face.
The next day in contract bargaining, the employer refused to bargain until the whistles were removed. The bargaining team noted the company’s statements on refusing to bargain, and asked for a break to go call the Labor Board.
Bargaining resumed immediately, with positive results.
Lunch To Rule
On a military base, aircraft maintenance workers would happily interrupt their lunch in order to deal with urgent problems. But in return they had an understanding that, once the problem was solved, they would go back to their sandwiches even though the lunch period had ended.
The situation was mutually acceptable for several years—until a new supervisor came along. We all know how that is. Had to prove himself. Show who’s boss. Etc.
Steve Eames, an international rep for the Boilermakers union, explained that the new supervisor insisted that workers take their lunch between 12:00 and 12:30, period.
“So the steward said, ‘Okay, we’ll play by the rules,’” Eames remembers. The maintenance workers had previously eaten at a lunch table in the work area. But now, when 12 o’clock came, they left and went to a fast-food restaurant on the base. For three or four days they all went as a group, leaving the shop unattended.
One day a plane came in during the half-hour lunch period. No one was there to help bring the plane in, or to check it out. The supervisor had to park the plane by himself.
“The boss went and talked to the steward, and the steward said, ‘That’s our time, we’re at lunch,’” said Eames. “‘You got what you wanted.’”
The workers went out for lunch for a couple more days, and then they ended what we might call “lunch to rule.” “They didn’t want to file a grievance,” says Eames, “because the company would have won on the basis of contract language.
“Without anything in writing, it went back to the way it had been before. It empowered the guys. It told the supervisor, we’ll be a little flexible if you’ll be flexible.”
Keep The Boss Off Balance
Managers like routine. They like to know that what happened yesterday will happen today and that no one is thinking too hard about it. You can make them nervous simply by doing something different, even something normal that would be unthreatening to the non-managerial mind. When they have to keep guessing where the next shot is coming from, you have the upper hand.
“The corporate culture is not a creative culture,” says Joe Fahey, a former Teamster leader, “and we need to look at that as an opportunity.
“I used to bargain with Smuckers,” Fahey recalls. “We decided to do things that would freak them out. Factory life is very predictable. The workers decided to take their breaks at the railroad tracks, instead of at the same table and the same bench that they did every day. It was easy for the workers to do, but it was scary for management. They are more easily scared than we realize.”
15-Minute Strike
Pennsylvania social workers figured out how to catch management off guard. During negotiations with the state, spokesman Ray Martinez said, “we wanted an activity that would irritate the boss, educate the public, and at the same time get the members psyched up. We decided that we would all take our 15-minute breaks at the same time.”
The union used its phone trees to call members at home. “At the agreed date and time,” Martinez says, “all of our members would get up and walk out of the office. This meant that clients in the office, phone calls, and so on would be placed on hold. In other words, all activity ceased.
“This served a couple of purposes. First, management and clients would get a feel for what it would be like without our services if we were to go on strike. Secondly, we, the members, would be outside of the worksite having outdoor shop meetings and updating the workers on the latest on the negotiations.
“While this was going on, we had picket signs asking drivers to honk their horns to show us their support. The beauty of it all was that this was perfectly legal, so there was nothing management could do.”
At the end of the 15-minute break, everybody went back inside and went back to work.
Price Gouging at the Pump Results in 235% Profit Jump for Big Oil: Analysis
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/07/29/price-gouging-pump-results-235-profit-jump-big-oil-analysis
"Make no mistake; these profits mark a large transfer of wealth from working- and middle-class people to wealthy oil executives and shareholders," said Jordan Schreiber of Accountable.US.
Jessica Corbett July 29, 2022
As fossil fuel giants this week reported record profits for the second quarter, an analysis out Friday highlighted how eight oil companies have raked in nearly $52 billion over the past three months "while Americans continue to struggle at the pump."
The review by the watchdog group Accountable.US revealed that from April through June, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Hess Corp, Phillips 66, Shell, and TechnipFMC "saw their profits skyrocket from the same time period last year, with income shooting up 235%."
The analysis also pointed out that leaders at Equinor, Halliburton, Hess Corp, and TechnipFMC have boasted "about excellent quarters while dismissing high prices for consumers."
Jordan Schreiber of Accountable.US called the companies' collective profit boost "eye-popping" but also unsurprising "after spending the past three months price gouging consumers by raising gas prices to unprecedentedly high levels."
"Make no mistake; these profits mark a large transfer of wealth from working- and middle-class people to wealthy oil executives and shareholders," she said. "While many consumers were feeling the heavy burden of a life necessity suddenly doubling in price, oil executives were keeping prices high to maximize their profits."
The Q2 profits of U.S. energy giants Chevron and Exxon—$11.62 billion and $17.85 billion, respectively—along with that of Europe's largest oil company, Shell—$11.47 billion—drew widespread criticism along with calls for action by lawmakers and President Joe Biden.
"Big Oil companies are making a killing and pouring fuel on the climate fire while communities pay for more and deadlier climate disasters. It's outrageous," said Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, in a statement Friday.
"Exxon and other oil and gas corporations lobbied and lied for decades to keep the world addicted to fossil fuels, making billions while hardworking families pay for higher gas prices and costlier heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and floods," he continued. "Now Exxon is once again using its record profits to line the pockets of executives and shareholders."
Wiles asserted that "elected officials cannot remain silent in the face of this injustice. Whether it's taxing these companies' record profits, or taking them to court to make polluters pay for climate damages they knowingly caused, it's time to stand up to Big Oil."
Public Citizen president Robert Weissman declared that "Big Oil is laughing all the way to the bank—and the joke's on us."
"We don't have to be suckers," he argued. "A windfall profits tax with rebates to taxpayers would offset the pain at the pump and end Big Oil's profiteering. Banning U.S. oil exports would actually lower prices for American consumers."
According to Weissman, "It's time for Congress and the Biden administration to stop complaining about Big Oil's rip-off and start doing something about it."
Some lawmakers agree. While Republicans "will continue to play politics and blame Biden for gas prices," Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said of the fossil fuel giants' quarterly profits, "we need to crack down on Big Oil."
Sen. Bernie Sanders concurred, tweeting that "it's time for a windfall profits tax."
While some of his colleagues have introduced legislation focused on Big Oil, Sanders has put forth a broader tax proposal that would target price gouging by a range of companies.
Amid rising fears of recession in recent weeks, calls have been mounting for federal lawmakers to more forcefully take on corporate greed. The Inflation Reduction Act unveiled Wednesday features some related policies, but climate activists have also sounded the alarm about its energy provisions. The bill—negotiated with fossil fuel ally Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)—contains major handouts that are reportedly "delighting" the oil and gas industry.
The fossil fuel industry has not only used its record profits to enrich shareholders; it's also dumped money into influencing officials on Capitol Hill. As Common Dreams reported exclusively on Thursday, an analysis from Climate Power shows that since last year, the sector has poured over $200 million into sabotaging climate action.
¡Viva La Solidaridad! Latin America’s Left Leads The Way
https://popularresistance.org/viva-la-solidaridad-latin-americas-left-leads-the-way/
By Ben Hayes, Islington North CLP, and Arise Festival Volunteer, Labour Outlook.
July 29, 2022
Resistance Report
Hundreds joined international guests, solidarity campaigners and elected representatives for ¡Viva la solidaridad! Latin America’s Left Leads the Way: a session organised by Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America as part of this year’s Arise Festival.
Read the report back-or watch the meeting in full below:
Chairing the event, Arise’s Sam Browse went through examples of electoral successes and resilience in the face of aggression by the region’s left, and emphasised the importance of international co-operation amongst progressive forces: “those winning gains in the fight for a better future are an inspiration to us all”.
Secretary of the Presidency in Honduras Rodolfo Pastor outlined how the country faced “a dark period of history” following the coup against elected President Manuel Zelaya in 2009, with those who took power implementing “repression to benefit a small elite at the expense of our natural resources and the rights of the majority”.
Emphasising that last November’s electoral victory was “a product of those who resisted throughout those years”, he thanked those who offered international solidarity despite much of the media’s “deceptive” coverage of events and the stance of some governments: “the coup regime gained and held to power with brutal force and the support of the empire”. Pastor highlighted the situation faced by new President Xiomara Castro upon taking office: with debt at 50% of GDP, education, health and infrastructure having “collapsed” and in no position to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, and weakened democratic structures (also calling for former President Juan Orlando Hernández to face justice in Honduras in addition to his recent extradition to the US over drug trafficking and firearms charges).
Concluding by appealing for the continued support of those who have stood in solidarity with Honduran progressives over recent years, he called for movements to “stay connected across the world wherever struggles take place: the right are well organised and connected and we need to make sure we do the same”.
Rafaela Molina of Wiphalas Across the World began by reflecting on events in Bolivia during the coup of 2019: “what we thought was a thing of the past happened again”. Describing an alliance of right-wing governments, paramilitaries and international bodies as “committed to neoliberal restoration”, she discussed the repression that followed: with 37 people killed, thousands of activists jailed and violence against indigenous protestors – “racism was a key part of their project”.
Noting that the Wiphala flag became rallying banner for those resisting this agenda, she explained that this inspired the Wiphalas Across the World organisation formed by members of the Bolivian diaspora to help build international solidarity – with an alliance of social movements and unions helping to achieve “an unprecedented success” by forcing elections and the restoration of democracy.
Molina outlined how, since the victory of MAS candidate Luis Arce in the 2020 Presidential election, Bolivia now has the lowest inflation rates in the region and an economic model “that puts people before profit”. Whilst warning that destabilisation attempts continue and “vigilance is needed”, she described the current period as “representing the possibility of a golden age for Latin American integration” – as well as emphasising that “international solidarity has been indispensable for Bolivia and will continue to be in the coming years”.
MP for Newry and Armagh Mickey Brady discussed his experiences as an election observer in Venezuela, visiting six polling stations – contrasting the messages he was receiving from friends at home concerned for his safety with his experience in working class neighbourhoods. Stating that “as an Irish republican, I know the damage that outside interference can cause”, he argued that “only the people of Venezuela should determine their future”.
Brady cited former US National Security Advisor John Bolton’s recent open admission that he had “helped plan coups d’état (…) in other places” as evidence that “whilst the techniques may evolve, the same thing that happened to Salvador Allende in Chile during the 1970s still goes on”. Criticising the Irish government for a “lack of confidence to stand up the world’s powerful”, he called on them do more to stand up for sovereignty: “Ireland should be a voice for the oppressed, poor and marginalised of the world- not those who are stripping natural resources for the benefit of the few”.
Brady reflected on the boost that the emergence of 21st century socialism has given the left regionally and across the world, and described himself as “a proud internationalist” – describing internationalism as “a core part of republicanism”. Calling on attendees to build solidarity and challenge false narratives on Latin America, he argued that “the full potential of what the region can achieve is only just emerging”.
Teri Mattson of US-based peace campaign CODEPINK – Women for Peace listed examples of just how many significant election results had taken place in the region over the last two years- and noted that Brazil was scheduled to follow in October of this year. She argued that, whatever the exact political tradition represented by different progressive candidates who have recently achieved electoral success in various Latin American countries, they are all reflective of “a popular mood in favour of sovereignty and an economic model that works in the interests of ordinary citizens”.
Outlining how US aggression towards Nicaragua has been ramping up since 2018 and the passing of the NICA Act, she highlighted the material impact of sanctions on the country – including increasing tariffs on Nicaraguan sugar, hitting tourism, and isolation from international financial institutions as part of an “economic war”. Noting that numerous countries were currently in a similar position as they faced in 2007 of having to “deconstruct neoliberalism”, Mattson emphasised the importance of respecting the processes democratically chosen by their people and understanding the scale of the tasks they face – and called for progressives globally to focus their efforts on solidarity work by opposing any attempts from their own governments to undermine these attempts to help build a better world.
Colombian journalist Victor De Currea Lugo described neoliberalism as impacting “not just how we run the economy, but how we see the world- depriving the human being of their dignity”. This, he argued, made last month’s election triumph for progressive candidate Gustavo Petro all the more impressive – noting that Colombia was set to have its first government of the left in 212 years after declaring independence.
He also highlighted the record of newly announced cabinet appointments such as incoming Defence Minister Ivan Velasquez, who had previously been targeted for criticising military impunity, and soon to be Culture Minister Patricia Ariza, a member of the Patriotic Union Party in a period where over 5,000 of its members were assassinated. Noting Petro’s commitment to achieving “a social peace”, De Currea Lugo emphasised the importance of a peace process that, as well as securing disarmament, addresses the causes of conflict in Colombia by taking measures to ensure political inclusion, land reform, and address historical injustices: “peace means work, education, health and dignity”. Calling for campaigners to push their governments to “respect our decision” and provide support for the process being undertaken by the Colombian people, rather than going along with any attempts to undermine it.
Nathália Urban of the Brasilwire website provided an update on the current situation in Brazil – highlighting that polls have consistently shown a consistent lead for Workers Party (PT) Presidential candidate Lula da Silva whilst warning that there was “no room for complacency”, with far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly threatening to undermine the electoral process or even attempt to cancel elections scheduled for later this year. She pointed to the recent assassination of PT official and trade unionist Marcelo Arruda at his birthday party as an example of the brutal reality on where attacks on democracy can lead.
Describing the “climate of fear” created by Bolsonaro, Urban summarised his Presidency as having “stripped away the dignity of Brazil and its people” – with 33 million Brazilians living with food insecurity, record levels of deforestation and ongoing threats to the Amazon rainforest, numerous killings of Afro-Brazilians by police forces, and over 677,000 COVID deaths. However, she also stated that huge numbers “continue to dream of a better future”, and pointed to Lula’s record of implementing ground-breaking anti-poverty programmes during his previous spell as President between 2003-10.
Acknowledging that she “will never forgive” the role played by governments who helped Bolsonaro come to power by backing the elected President Dilma Rousseff in 2016 and (now discredited and annulled) ‘corruption’ charges against Lula to prevent him running as a candidate in elections two years later, she encouraged those attending to ask their MP to speak up in defence of democracy in Brazil.
Closing the session, Browse thanked all panelists, volunteers and attendees- and encouraged continued support for the work of the Arise Festival.
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