Guerra arancelaria; Fórmula capitalista mata bebés 12

Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 60, No. 29 July 19, 2018 $1 Wales, England, Huge protests slam U.S. prez

By Kathy Durkin

A massive crowd of 250,000 people protested Presi- dent Donald Trump’s visit to Britain on July 13 in Lon- FIRE vs. U.S. border policies don, says the Stop Trump Coalition. The group was a main organizer of Together Against Trump demonstra- tions. Though dubbed “the Carnival of Resistance,” the is- sues raised were serious: opposition to Trump’s racism, Islamophobia, misogyny, and immigration and envi- ronmental policies, including U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate control accord. Signs also slammed Brit- ain’s policy for its xenophobia. Owen Jones, a coalition leader, explained: “We need to show that we abhor everything that Trump represents: bigotry, racism, anti-Muslim prejudice and misogyny.” (New York Times, July 13) The Women’s March London kicked off the protests prior to the main demonstration. With the theme of “Bring the Noise” — drums, whistles, pots and pans — women said loudly and clearly that “this misogynist is not welcome here.” Stonewall, the LGBTQ rights charity, had a large contingent and denounced Trump’s attacks on their rights in the U.S. Later in the day, demonstra- tors, including many Muslims, marched across London. Huge banners were held aloft that read, “Trump not welcome here!” while sign and chant slogans said, “Ref- WW PHOTO: BRENDA RYAN ugees are welcome here!” The new organization, FIRE, demonstrates at Rockefeller Center to protest DHS and ICE dinner in New York City, July 11. A 20-foot-tall blimp, representing Trump, hovered (see page 2.) over both Houses of Parliament, the sites chosen be- cause “there are a lot of parallels between Trump’s politics and the UK government, such as indefinite de- tention of migrants, and having environmentally un- friendly policies,” explained organizer Nona Hurkman. (USA Today, July 13) Jeremy Corbyn, Labor Party leader, told the crowd at Trafalgar Square: “We’re asserting our rights to demon- strate and live in a world that’s not divided by misogyny, racism and hate. I want to live in a world where refu- London gees are not blamed for the wars they are victims of.” Dividing ourselves by xenophobia means we all lose, he CLASS STRUGGLE IN USA stressed, and “when we unite around common objec- tives, we can all win.” (socialistworker.co.uk, July 13) EDITORIAL: The future is now 6 Protesters strongly defended London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, who has been the 6 target of racist attacks by the U.S. xenophobe in chief 1997 UPS strike and the ultraright in England for his statements sym- pathetic to migrants. Khan opposes the U.S. travel ban On the picket line 3 on immigrants from majority-Muslim countries and has called Trump “a menace to democracy.” When asked about Trump’s visit by the media, Khan championed the unity and diversity of his city’s population. Raising children from jail 3 While in Britain, Trump publicly slandered immi- grants and pushed Prime Minister Theresa May to has- ten Britain’s exit from the European Union. In 2016, the Continued on page 4 No NATO, No Trump! 5

Subscribe to Workers World Ireland-Palestine 4 4 weeks trial $4 1 year subscription $30 Women’s March Sign me up for the WWP Supporter Program: workers.org/donate

Name ______

Email ______Phone ______

Street ______City / State / Zip ______Workers World Weekly Newspaper workers.org 7 7 5 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl, NY, NY 10011 212.627.2994 FRANCE HAITI AMAZON STRIKE Page 2 July 19, 2018 workers.org

Utah Protest hits MTC and ICE Eight people were arrested July 12 during a nonvio- lent direct action targeting the national headquarters of MTC — Management Training Corporation — lo- cated in Centerville, Utah. MTC is the third largest  In the U.S. builder of internment camps housing undocumented migrants. The eight were part of a coalition formed to Utah: Protest hits MTC and ICE ...... 2 combat attacks on migrants. They joined other groups New York City: ‘No more kids in cages’ ...... 2 around the country by focusing on the company that is building for-profit prisons and detention centers. South Carolina prisons: Raising children from jail . . . . 3 The group called for abolishing ICE — U.S. Immigra- On the picket line ...... 3 tion and Customs Enforcement — and for the end of for-profit prisons. UPS Teamsters 1997 strike: Rank-and-file fight-back . . 6 — Report and photo by Summer Smith,  Around the world who was one of those arrested Britain: Huge protests slam U.S. prez ...... 1 PHOTO: DARIN MANN Irish Senate passes bill: Solidarity with Palestine . . . . 4 A short history of NATO — a bosses’ alliance ...... 5 New York City Prime Day strike in Spain, Germany ...... 5 ‘No more kids in cages’ France: And if this is just the beginning? ...... 7 Haitians demand jobs, rollback of prices ...... 7 Chanting “No more kids in cages! Stop the deportations!” and “No ban on sto-  Editorial len land!” protesters marched around The future is now ...... 6 the plaza at Rockefeller Center in New York. At one point, they pushed through  Noticias en Español a police barricade, took the bleachers Guerra arancelaria ...... 8 and hung a banner over the wall which Fórmula capitalista mata bebés ...... 8 declared: “Close the Detention Centers Now. Open the Borders. Asylum for Ref- ugees.” They were protesting there July 11 be- cause the National Homeland Security Conference, an annual event aimed at creating propaganda to promote the De- partment of Homeland Security and pri- vate security contractors who are respon- sible for the detention and deportation of millions of immigrants, was holding a Enforcement, dismantle concentration camps holding dinner inside Rockefeller Center. As conference attend- immigrants and tear down any racist border wall that ees gathered in the sunken area at the center of the plaza, Trump tries to build. Many people passing by showed Workers World where the ice rink is in the winter, protesters sent them a their support for the protest, which was taking place as 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. loud message. children snatched from their parents at the border re- New York, NY 10011 The newly formed group FIRE (Fight for Im/migrants main locked up in detention centers, terrified because of Phone: 212.627.2994 and Refugees Everywhere) called the demonstration. the violent separation. E-mail: [email protected] FIRE’s goal is to get rid of Immigration and Customs — Report and photo by Brenda Ryan Web: www.workers.org Vol. 60, No. 29 • July 19, 2018 Closing date: July 17, 2018 Join us in the fight Editor: Deirdre Griswold Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, LeiLani Dowell, for ! Monica Moorehead, Minnie Bruce Pratt; Web Editor Gary Wilson Workers World Party is a revolutionary Marxist-­ Wages are lower than ever, and youth are saddled with Leninist party inside the belly of the imperialist beast. seemingly insurmountable student debt, if they even make Production & Design Editors: Coordinator Lal Roohk; We are a multinational, multigenerational and multigen- it to college. Black and Brown youth and trans people are Andy Katz, Cheryl LaBash dered organization that not only aims to abolish capital- gunned down by cops and bigots on a regular basis. Copyediting and Proofreading: Sue Davis, ism, but to build a socialist society because it’s the only WWP fights for socialism because the working class Bob McCubbin, Jeff Sorel way forward! produces all wealth in society, and this wealth should re- Contributing Editors: Greg Butterfield, G. Dunkel, Capitalism and imperialism threaten the peoples of main in their hands, not be stolen in the form of capital- K. Durkin, Fred Goldstein, Martha Grevatt, the world and the planet itself in the never-ending quest ist profits. The wealth workers create should be socially Teresa Gutierrez, Berta Joubert-Ceci, Terri Kay, for ever-greater profits. Capitalism means war and aus- owned and its distribution planned to satisfy and guar- Cheryl LaBash, John Parker, Betsey Piette, terity, racism and repression, joblessness and lack of antee basic human needs. Gloria Rubac hope for the future. No social problems can be solved Since 1959, Workers World Party has been out in the under capitalism. streets defending the workers and oppressed here and Mundo Obero: Redactora Berta Joubert-Ceci; The U.S. is the richest country in the world, yet no one worldwide. If you’re interested in Marxism, socialism Andrea Bañuelos, Alberto García, Teresa Gutierrez, has a guaranteed right to shelter, food, water, health care, and fighting for a socialist future, please contact a WWP Carlos Vargas education or anything else — unless they can pay for it. branch near you. Supporter Program: Coordinator Sue Davis Copyright © 2018 Workers World. Verbatim copying Contact a Workers World Party branch near you: workers.org/wwp and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. National Office Boston Denver Los Angeles Rockford, Ill. Workers World (ISSN-1070-4205) is published weekly 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. 284 Amory St. [email protected] 5278 W Pico Blvd. [email protected] New York, NY 10011 except the first week of January by WW Publishers, Boston, MA 02130 Detroit Los Angeles, CA 90019 Salt Lake City 212.627.2994 617.286.6574 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10011. Phone: [email protected] [email protected] 801.750.0248 [email protected] [email protected] 323.306.6240 [email protected] 212.627.2994. Subscriptions: One year: $30; institu- Durham, N.C. tions: $35. Letters to the editor may be condensed and Atlanta Buffalo, N.Y. Milwaukee San Antonio, Texas 804 Old Fayetteville St. PO Box 18123 335 Richmond Ave. [email protected] SanAntonioWWP@ edited. Articles can be freely reprinted, with credit to Atlanta, GA 30316 Durham, NC 27701 Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl., New York, NY Buffalo, NY 14222 Philadelphia workers.org 404.627.0185 716.883.2534 919.322.9970 10011. Back issues and individual articles are available [email protected] P.O. Box 34249 San Diego [email protected] [email protected] P.O. Box 33447 on microfilm and/or photocopy from NA Publishing, Baltimore Philadelphia, PA 19101 Chicago Houston San Diego, CA 92163 Inc, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998. A c/o Solidarity Center 610.931.2615 1105 N. Ashland Ave., P.O. Box 3454 [email protected] searchable archive is ­available on the Web at 2011 N. Charles St. [email protected] Chicago, IL 60622 Houston, TX 77253-3454 Baltimore, MD 21218 Pittsburgh Tucson, Ariz. www.workers.org. 312.630.2305 713.503.2633 [email protected] 443.221.3775 [email protected] A headline digest is available via e-mail subscription. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Virginia Subscription information is at workers.org/email.php. Cleveland Portland, Ore. [email protected] Bay Area Indiana [email protected] Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y. 1305 Franklin St. #411 P.O. Box 5963 [email protected] Washington, D.C. Oakland, CA 94612 Cleveland, OH 44101 Rochester, N.Y. P.O. Box 57300 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Madison 510.600.5800 216.738.0320 585.436.6458 Washington, DC 20037 Workers World, 147 W. 24th St. 2nd Fl. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] New York, N.Y. 10011. workers.org July 19, 2018 Page 3

Part 2 South Carolina prisons: Raising children from jail

By Alex Bolchi and Sue Davis This interview was conducted after an April 15 rebellion at Lee Correctional Institution, a South Carolina maximum security prison. It was the deadliest prison uprising since the Lucasville Uprising on April 11-21, 1993. (Workers World, tinyurl.com/y9grqhd7) Jared Ware spoke with individuals inside Baltimore Target workers demand: Lee, one of whom identified as a member of Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, a group of imprisoned human rights advocates who have called for a National Prison Strike from Aug. 21 to Sept. 9. ‘No More Racist Bosses’ The demands and support actions are at incarceratedworkers.org. The following is Part 2 of the Under a red “No More Racist Bosses” banner, workers at a interview. Part 1 is available at tinyurl.com/y8r9dd85. Target store in suburban Baltimore gathered inside the entrance on July 3 and then led a walkout and picket. The Target workers By Jared Ware leading the struggle, Erica Feldenzer and Sarah Shifflet, laid out Bishopville, S.C. their demands to In These Times on July 6: firing the two manag- ers “on the grounds of unprofessionalism and making racist and The individuals, identified ableist comments about team members repeatedly and talking here as D and S to protect their down to them,” and that “workers receive fair hours each week identities and prevent retalia- so that they are not chronically scheduled outside of their avail- tion by prison officials, point to the dehumanization of prisoners ability.” Members of the Baltimore Teachers Union, Democratic A South Carolina ‘dehumanizing’ prison. Socialists of America and the community joined in the struggle. and challenge our conception of This protest echoes last year’s action in late August when a “gangs” — which do not take into tional Institute], their water sys- makes it easier for them to abuse group of Target workers struck in Christiansburg, Va., to oust a account the ways in which incar- tem has been messed up forever. us, and this abuse a lot of times manager who made racist remarks and sexually harassed Latinx cerated people are forced to cre- When you flush the toilet or pour takes place as physical abuse. workers. This strike turned into a victory two days later when ate their own collective means your water, it smells like rotten We had in the super max units Target removed the manager from the shop floor and placed him for safety, survival and camara- eggs. They say it has sulfur in it out in Columbia, S.C., maybe on leave pending investigation. (ITT, Sept. 1, 2017) derie in a situation where hope or whatever, but it eats up the ac- about a year or two ago, guards In response to the Baltimore struggle, Target issued a statement is the scarcest commodity. They tual metal and causes mold and bumrush a prisoner inside his that management has been working to “take any allegations of urge the public to reconsider the stuff to be all over the prison. cell, stab him up. We’ve always workplace misconduct seriously” and “to address issues ... and has nature and source of violence If they were to go do a tour had a number of incidents with already taken actions to address them.” (corporate.target.com) in prisons and the absence of through that prison right now, regards to them cuffing prison- Though the number of workers in the Baltimore fight is mod- human dignity and a rehabilita- and they go all the way from the ers, then cutting prisoners up, est, the fact that Target employs over 350,000 workers worldwide, tive environment. They present lock-up to the yard, the ceiling is slamming prisoners on their who obviously need union representation, makes this struggle actionable solutions to mitigate falling in, metal hanging down. heads. In some cases we’ve had significant. some of the harm caused by pris- [Water is] dripping all over the mysterious deaths in these max- ons on our ultimate path toward place. Mold is all over the place. imum security prisons, some Help FLOC fight unjust firings shedding carceral responses to People who are in prison for 15 hangings that prisoners are societal needs. to 20 years are dying from can- clearly not comfortable with la- When two Latinx tobacco workers spoke out recently about Jared Ware: Can you talk me cer. But they don’t have no ciga- belling as [suicide] hangings. their harsh living and working conditions on Randy Blalock’s through some of what happened rettes inside, you feel me? We’ve also had incidents tobacco farm in Roxboro, N.C., the bosses harassed, abused and in South Carolina prisons over We’re confined to a cell a lot. where prisoners are no longer ultimately fired them. Now the Farm Labor Organizing Commit- the years [since Bill Clinton’s They do a lot of counts and the getting [recreation] at all. It’s tee is sponsoring a petition to help fight their boss, his anti-union 1996 Prison Litigation Reform counts always last for a long like every blue moon before we lawyer and tobacco buyers Reynolds as well as Alliance 1. FLOC is Act and Antiterrorism Act]? period of time. The purpose of even see any sunlight or daylight asking the grower to pay thousands of dollars in stolen wages and S: Prisoners got a lot of time to counting is to make sure that to be able to get rec. That itself to compensate workers for their unjust and retaliatory termina- serve, but actually with nothing we’re here. In all reality, they is causing a lot of attitude prob- tion. (floc.com, July 4) to do. When [prisons] took away should just count us and then lems. A lot of aggressiveness. This story reflects the experiences of many other tobacco work- all the privileges, they took away let us back out for recreation. If When we talk about the food, ers who endure the risk of nicotine poisoning and dehydration, no a lot of the programs. Stuff like you [are on] count from the time we don’t get any fruit, no real freedom of association and no union, and an opaque supply chain. that. It leads to just standing you eat dinner on a Friday night fruit anyway. At one time they (IUF, July 6) Help FLOC win justice for these workers by signing around with nothing to do, ex- to your next meal on a Saturday, actually had salad bars. They the petition at tinyurl.com/flocblalock. cept to indulge in negative be- it’s 17 or 18 hours before you get removed all of that over two de- havior and reactionary behavior, your next meal. And on the daily cades ago. Now you get nothing. ‘Panic buttons’ in all Chicago hotels and just all different forms of es- basis, you’re talking about 12 to Some of the food is labeled “not Starting July 1, licensed hotels in Chicago are required to capism — whatever [prisoners] 13 hours from when you get your for human consumption.” So provide panic buttons for designated female hotel workers, often can do to pass the time. first meal to your next meal. these are normal things that we women of color and im/migrants. Spokeswoman Sarah Lyons, [Prisons] drug test you so they That’s almost like a half a day. are actually dealing with inside speaking for UNITE HERE Local 1, which championed the can take away your privileges. That’s a long time. the prison system. “Hands Off, Pants On” ordinance and national campaign repre- Why do they need drug testing So you eat up all your [food For visitation, there’s no con- senting about 15,000 hospitality workers, said the button is “not inside the prisons? People are purchased from the] canteen, tact with your visitor, with your just a physical device, but a symbol” of city support and the fight already in here doing time. It’s which forces you to go the can- loved ones. One kiss in, one kiss against sexual harassment. irrelevant. I can see if some- teen and spend a lot of money on out. Rather than a hug, sit down, Celebrating what representatives from Local 1, the Chicago body’s getting ready to go home a bunch of junk that they price embrace each other. Be in the Federation of Labor and city officials called a “cultural shift” for for parole or something like that gouge. But this money is coming comfort of each other’s company. women worker’s rights, workers who “clean, inventory, inspect or and you’re going to test them. from family members who are We’re finding that is moving fur- re-stock supplies” alone in guest rooms or restrooms now have But just to constantly test them, out there working hard to help ther and further away, and I’m portable panic buttons so they can send out alerts if they feel that’s kind of like a waste of support you as well. very fearful that we’re moving threatened. Noting that this day marks “a culmination of a lot money. They always waste their D: One of the things that has to the stage of video visits very of hard work,” hotel worker Roushaunda said, “Today’s the day funds on things they don’t need not fully been addressed in soon, in the very near future. we say no more. Today’s the day we claim our space. We will feel to waste their funds on. South Carolina is the nature and Ware: Talk a bit about technol- protected.” (Chicago Sun-Times, July 2) We have no means of support- culture of disrespect from the ogy. Bryan Stirling [director of This is a decisive step in ending sexual harassment of working ing ourselves because there’s no officers inside the South Caroli- the South Carolina Department women. It should be implemented in all hotels and motels nation- state pay. Because we have no na Department of Corrections, of Corrections] has, for at least ally as a vital part of the #MeToo movement. state pay [now], we have no way as well. They have completely, a year now, been on this kick to eat. Even though [state pay] in my eyes, mastered the art of about getting cell phones out. Fight for $15 sets up was just a little bit of money, it dehumanizing prisoners. They There was this fairly high pro- still was something. You could intentionally went into an over- file escape less than a year ago, sexual harassment hotline buy some hygiene [products]. drive of taking the prisoners’ and they blamed cell phones for In an email appeal signed by the Women of McDonald’s, Fight When they do lockdown, clothes. Not only taking the pris- that. And they’re also blaming for $15 invites all fast-food workers who have experienced sexual they’re supposed to give you oners’ clothes, cutting the pris- this riot on cell phones. They’re harassment on the job to get help via their new hotline: 844-384- showers Mondays, Wednesdays oners’ hair the same way, had talking about phone jammers. 4495. The email notes that Fight for $15 stands with “the brave and Fridays, whatever the lock- it to where you can’t have your Talk a little bit about cell phones workers who have filed suit against McDonald’s for letting sexu- down be for. But they don’t ever money in your pocket. in relation to the prisons and al harassment go unchecked in many of its stores.” Its message honor it. They want to do one Just a number of things to take what they mean or provide to stresses: “You deserve to be heard. And you are not alone.” And cell at a time, and it’ll take you away your individuality. And in prisoners and how realistic some the message adds: “No company should ever ignore — or worse, a whole week before you get a the process of taking away your of these narratives or fears being retaliate against — employees who speak up about harassment shower. individuality, they begin to treat stated by SCDC are. on the job. Period. When corporations shirk their responsibility You have some prisons where you as if you were garbage. What S: SCDC’s main reason for not to provide safe and fair workplaces, we stand up.” (fightfor15.org, the water system is messed up. I mean by treat you as garbage, wanting the [cell] phones inside July 13) Particularly at Lieber [Correc- just by dehumanizing us, it Continued on page 4 Page 4 July 19, 2018 workers.org Irish Senate passes bill Solidarity with Palestine

By Christian Noakes the British ruling class playing a repres- cently attacked the nationalist communi- in Dublin. Defense ministry spokesper- sive role in both Ireland and Palestine. ty of Short Strand in — including son Emmanuel Nahshon also said the Seanad Éireann, the Senate of Ireland, Arthur Balfour served as chief secretary throwing a pipe bomb in an area where Irish Senate’s act of solidarity was play- passed the Control of Economic Activity of Ireland, where he earned the nickname children had been playing moments be- ing into a “dangerous and extreme anti- (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 on July “Bloody Balfour” after ordering police to fore. (tinyurl.com/y6u3hrkc) Israel boycott initiative.” 11, which, if enacted, would make the fire on a protest in Mitchelstown, County In the Royal Constabu- The bill, however, would only outlaw purchase of goods and services from the Cork, which killed three participants. He lary/Police Service of , goods produced in territories that are Palestinian territories occupied by Israel would go on to become the foreign sec- an imperialist police force that has a long internationally recognized under the illegal in the — the 26 retary and author of the Balfour Decla- history of terrorizing the Irish communi- Fourth Geneva Convention as being ille- counties where struggle ended centuries ration — a letter that established British ty, have also attacked youth with poten- gally occupied. Under the two-state con- of British rule. intentions to prop up Zionist colonization tially lethal plastic bullets — hitting one sensus, the bill would not entail a boycott To become law the bill must also be of Palestine. (“Balfour’s Shadow: A Cen- teenager in the throat. of all goods and services produced by passed by the Dáil, the lower house of tury of British Support for Zionism and It is in the material reality of this con- Israel; it only bans imports produced in the Irish parliament. Nonetheless, the Israel” by David Cronin, University of tinued struggle and the history from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. passage by the Seanad is, in addition to Chicago Press, 2017) which it emerges that the Irish and Pal- Israel’s mischaracterization of the bill being a significant step toward imple- estinian causes are bound. as a boycott of Israel is completely in menting the law, a symbolic victory and a British stronghold in Middle East In response to the Seanad’s support character with a state that also lies by testament to Irish-Palestinian solidarity. The parallels of ethnic/religious in- for the Occupied Territories Bill, Israeli accusing those who speak out against its It also sets a precedent for transforming equality, colonial expansion, partition, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has continued campaign of ethnic cleansing international consensus of the illegality internment and violent repression were, called for closure of the Israeli embassy of being anti-Semitic. of Israeli settlements into action. in part, a result of conscious and con- While the right-wing govern­ certed efforts by the British. As a strong- ment, currently in power, is opposed to hold of British imperialism in the Middle South Carolina prisons: PART 2 the bill, it has otherwise enjoyed wide East, Israel was regarded, in the words of support. Along with Independent senators, a British governor of Jerusalem before it like bill-sponsor Frances Black, the legis­ was established, as a “Little Loyal Jewish Raising children from jail lation was endorsed by members of Sinn Ulster.” Féin, Fianna Fáil and the . Ulster is the part of Ireland still oc- Continued from page 3 The widespread support for the bill cupied by Britain, also known as the Six the prison system is because the phones reflects the pervasiveness of Irish-Pales- Counties. It was a stronghold for British got camera access, video access, and the tinian solidarity that stems in part from imperialism, Loyalist colonization and phones can expose the things that they shared history and the material reality occupation of Ireland. The settler colo- do when they’re using extreme force. The of settler colonialism. The causes of both nial system of appropriation and dispos- same way people are using cell phones out Irish and Palestinian liberation are firm- session was replicated and in some cases on the street when they’re catching certain ly rooted in the struggle against British transplanted from Ireland to Palestine. things that cops aren’t supposed to be do- Lee Correctional Institution, a South Carolina imperialism. Although many in the U.S. see the ing. They can be exposed. They can’t hide maximum security prison. Winston Churchill, who was Brit- struggle for Irish freedom as having been when we’ve got the phones. So SCDC just wants the phones out of ish prime minister during World War resolved, the conflict is far from over. The prisoners utilize the [cell] phones the prisons because they don’t want to be II and then 1951-55, was central in the The British ruling class and its bigoted to communicate with their family mem- exposed. They don’t want the videos of the formation of the Black and Tans and the colonizers exercise direct rule over many bers. Because of the phone system that fights and stabbings to be shown. There’s Auxiliaries earlier in his political career. Irish people in the north of the island. [SCDC has], the phone prices are entirely other things prisoners are shooting videos These are two British police forces used With “marching season” — an annual too high. Nobody would use that. They get of. They’re showing videos of the brown to terrorize and subject the Irish people show of Loyalist, anti-Irish aggression money off it, too, and everybody knows water. They show videos of the mold in- to colonial rule. He also sent members of from April to August — underway in the that. Prisoners use the phone as a means side the buildings. They show videos of these state terrorist organizations to Pal- occupied Six Counties, located in the of staying connected to their families, fa- the prisoner who’s been dead in the bed estine, where they treated Palestinians province of Ulster, the reality of settler thers staying connected to their children. for two hours and the guard ain’t come with similar brutality. colonialism and imperialism is again laid Some fathers back here are raising their and check on the man yet. So it’s a fly on There are other cases of members of bare for all of Ireland. Loyalists have re- children from prison by staying in contact the wall [watching] them. That’s why they with them. don’t want the [phones] in here.

Anti-Trump protests sweep Britain WW SUPPORTER PROGRAM

Continued from page 1 Trump regime because his actions have far right in Britain pushed a racist an- “global impact.” Continue defense of Cuban Revolution ti-migrant campaign as the driving force Jonathon Shafi, of Scotland Against of the referendum to leave the EU, which Trump, expressed solidarity with people On July 26, 1953, Cuban revolution- more respected as it sends life-saving passed narrowly. Implementing Brexit in the U.S. and said: “It’s not acceptable aries stormed the Moncada Barracks in medical teams all over the world. As the will restrict immigration to Britain from that a president talks about grabbing Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Less than six Trump administration increases its hos- EU countries and harm migrants and women, separates children from their years later, Fidel and his guerrillas oust- tility to the socialist country, Workers refugees. families and gives encouragement to ed the U.S.-backed dictatorship, march- World remains dedicated to defending fascist, racists, misogynists and homo- ing into Havana in early January 1959. revolutionary Cuba. Donations from WW Sheffield mayor bans Trump phobes. We are against Trump and his That same year, Workers World news- supporters have helped get our pro-Cuba In another sign of resistance, the may- divisive regime.” (cbsnews.com, July 14) paper began to publish. After more than a writings in print, distributed and posted or of Sheffield, Magid Magid, a Somali And in Wales, hundreds protested in decade of anti-communist reaction in the at workers.org. immigrant, banned Trump from the city Swansea, Cardiff city center and outside U.S., the Cuban Revolution helped revive We invite you to join the 41-year-old and named July 13 “Mexico Solidarity the , the National Assembly build- interest in revolutionary socialism. The WW Supporter Program to help us con- Day.” ing in Cardiff Bay. Catherine Fookes, di- more outrageous the anti-Cuba propa- tinue to publish articles in solidarity with Some 4,000 marched against Trump rector of Wales Women’s Equality Net- ganda in the corporate press, the hard- workers and oppressed peoples world- that day in Sheffield and in Manchester, work, said the protests showed “Wales is er Workers World has worked to tell the wide and in opposition to U.S. wars. The while 1,500 came out in Leeds and 1,000 against the casual racism and sexism of truth about this great victory over U.S. newspaper is a source of anti-racist, an- in Birmingham. Trump.” (bbc.com, July 12) imperialism. ti-sexist, pro-LGBTQ news and work- The Scottish Labor Party and Scottish Outside Belfast City Hall in the north In 1961, when the U.S. announced that ing-class truth, while it supports immi- Green Party said Trump was not welcome of Ireland, several hundred rallied. it was breaking diplomatic relations with grants, opposes Islamophobia and helps in their country because of the horrific There, councilor Cuba, WW’s first editor, Vince Copeland, build pro-socialist campaigns. mistreatment of migrant children, locked said thousands would turn led a protest inside the United Nations, To join, write checks to Workers World in cages at the U.S./Mexico border. out if Trump visited Belfast, as residents his booming voice proclaiming the U.S. and mail them, with your name and ­address, In Scotland, 10,000 people gathered deplore everything he represents. “speaks for the bankers, not the people.” to 147 W. 24th St., 2nd floor, New York, NY in Glasgow and also in , the The size, militancy and determina- In the early 1990s, Cuba endured 10011. Or donate at workers.org/donate/. country’s capital, on July 14, calling tion of the anti-Trump demonstrations great economic hardships after the So- Supporters who contribute $75 a year re- Trump a “racist” and a “liar.” The U.S. will buoy people’s movements fighting viet Union fell and the U.S. tightened its ceive a year’s subscription, a monthly let- president was even dogged as he played against all forms of bigotry, xenophobia, blockade. Workers World helped build ter and five free subscriptions. Sponsors golf at one of his luxury resorts in Turn- sexism, environmental destruction, aus- the Peace for Cuba International Appeal who contribute $100 also get a book pub- berry. Protesters there could be heard terity and war. These large, spirited pro- to end the blockade, the travel ban and all lished by World View Forum. Sustainers chanting, “No Trump! No KKK! No rac- tests show that the potential exists for a intervention against Cuba. who contribute $300 or more receive five ist U.S.A.!” Activists in Scotland are en- strong united fightback against the forces Despite the choking blockade, the Cu- books. Thanks for your help in building couraging people in the U.S. to fight the of reaction in Britain. ban Revolution only grows stronger and the revolutionary press in the U.S. workers.org July 19, 2018 Page 5 A short history of NATO — a bosses’ alliance

By John Catalinotto area. In his book, “Waging Modern War- fare,” 1999 NATO commander Gen. Wes- Because a misogynist, xenophobic and ley Clark admitted that the Kosovo war openly racist enemy of humanity like the was “coercive diplomacy ... much more U.S. president criticized NATO (North like the interventions of an earlier era” Atlantic Treaty Organization) at the July — that is, before World War II, at a time 11-12 Brussels Summit, someone might when imperialist powers openly occupied get the false impression that NATO is colonies and protectorates. (p. 418) worth defending. Far from it. The former Yugoslavia — once a state Whatever Donald Trump’s long-term representing about 20 million Balkan goal regarding NATO, assuming he peoples — was broken into seven mini- has one, the alliance is an enemy of the states that are easy picking for West Eu- world’s people and always has been. ropean and U.S. imperialism. A look at its members and its history Other U.S.-led NATO military inter- shows why. ventions followed. The U.S. invaded Af- ghanistan in Central Asia starting in NATO consists of … 2001, using the pretext of the 9/11 attack For most of its history, NATO has in- military power, is the most dangerous to Italy, when clandestine rightist groupings and invoking Article 5 of the NATO char- cluded all the major imperialist powers humanity. in the Italian ruling class and state carried ter calling for collective defense. The oc- except Japan and Australia. Members out terrorist attacks. In 1975, NATO sent NATO’s role 1949-89 cupation continues with NATO aid. have been the United States, France, Brit- warships to intervene in Portugal to pre- In 2011, with the flimsiest of pretexts, ain, Italy and Canada from 1949 on, and During the first half of the 20th centu- vent the working class there from opening NATO attacked and destroyed Libya. Germany since 1955, when it was West ry, these predatory states battled for mar- a struggle for socialism, after a revolution That same year NATO countries also sab- Germany. These six plus Japan make up kets, colonies and raw materials. In their ousted the fascist regime. otaged and subverted the Damascus gov- the G7 countries that currently set eco- rivalry, they launched two world wars The U.S. president always chooses ernment in Syria. nomic rules for the world. that together killed 100 to 200 million the NATO commander, and the general The destruction that these interventions NATO also includes smaller countries people — mostly workers, peasants and in charge is always from the Pentagon. brought about have horribly exacerbated that are long-standing members of the other toilers. Therefore, NATO has always been a tool the refugee crisis that continues today. imperialist world — like Spain, Portugal, After World War II ended, the class of U.S. imperialist policy. It remains such, France and Germany balked at joining Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, of plunderers and robbers ruling those despite Trump’s complaints. the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq in 2003 Norway, Denmark and tiny Iceland. countries saw that, while they had been New NATO role: World capitalist cop because their governments believed it a Greece and Turkey are also in NATO. fighting each other, a third of humanity dangerous and foolish endeavor. For that The major NATO powers are imperial- had liberated itself from their grip. In 1990, during negotiations between reason, NATO didn’t begin that disaster. ist countries because their corporate and The Russian Revolution, which ended the U.S. and Soviet leaders to end the Later, however, many NATO states aid- financial ruling classes, mainly through World War I, also survived the onslaught of Cold War, Washington promised not to ed the occupation of Iraq, even though it their banks, control the bulk of the world's Nazi Germany. World War II ended in Eu- move NATO eastward. NATO’s declared was an open secret that the U.S. pretext rope with the Yugoslav and Albanian rev- purpose up to that time was to “defend Lee Correctional Institution, a South Carolina wealth. The capital under their control is for war — the claim of Iraqi “weapons of maximum security prison. used to exploit labor and extract resourc- olutions and the Soviet Red Army's march member nations from threats by com- mass destruction” — was a lie. es throughout the world. to Berlin. By 1949, all of China was liber- munist countries.” This purpose was NATO’s latest expansion Until World War II, Britain and France ated and half of Korea. The Vietnamese seemingly ending with the Soviet Union's directly ruled vast parts of Africa and people were winning against the French. impending disintegration in 1991 and the Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Asia in the form of colonies. Germany There was revolutionary civil war in dissolution of the Warsaw Pact. Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia were held colonies too, but fewer than those Greece. Colonial regimes were beginning But since 1991, far from dissolving admitted to NATO in 2004. Albania and two powers. The Netherlands, Belgium to crumble around the world. The work- NATO, Washington has insisted that the Croatia acceded to the alliance in 2009. and even tiny Denmark held colonies ing class in France and Italy seemed on military pact expand, while remaining There are now 29 members, plus other larger than the home countries. the edge of taking power in these coun- under U.S. command. countries like Sweden that have a special The major NATO countries are now in tries where the communist parties had U.S. policy turned NATO into a type relation with NATO. possession of cutting-edge technologies, organized the workers' armed resistance of imperialist police force. No longer NATO apologists claim the alliance de- control mass media, manufacture pow- to fascism. confined to Europe, NATO has become a fends freedom and human rights. On the erful weapons and are the most heavily So in 1949, Washington, by far the worldwide intervention force at the ser- contrary, NATO’s role is now to reconquer armed. They sell weapons to the world, dominant imperialist power then, found- vice of the transnational monopolies that those areas of the world that had gained but keep the most advanced weapons for ed NATO to prevent workers' revolutions exploit global labor and resources. some independence from imperialism themselves. in war-ravaged Western Europe and to Poland, Hungary and the Czech Re- during the existence of the Soviet Union. Through their control of the world confront the Soviet Union and its allies public joined NATO in April 1999. This To confront the onslaught of U.S. impe- market, currency exchanges and bank- in Eastern Europe. Only in 1955 did the expansion coincided with the U.S.-NATO rialism, it is necessary to say both “Down ing, and with their technological advan- Soviet Union establish the Warsaw Pact air war in the Balkans that destroyed the with Trump!” and, equally, “No to NATO!” tages, these seven countries now directly with its allies in Eastern Europe. sovereign and multinational country of Catalinotto, a managing editor of and indirectly oppress most of the world. NATO’s reactionary role included plan- Yugoslavia. Workers World newspaper, co-edited Of the G7 countries, the imperialist ning a military coup in Greece in 1967 that The imperialists still lie about the rea- the book “Hidden Agenda: U.S./NATO United States, with the largest single na- lasted until 1974. It is suspected of partici- sons for the war on Yugoslavia, claiming it Takeover of Yugoslavia,” New York: tional economy and by far the greatest pating in a 1968-82 “strategy of tension” in was to defend Kosovo, a majority-Muslim International Action Center, 2001. Prime Day strike in Spain, Germany

By Minnie Bruce Pratt after the U.S. (tinyurl.com/y9y3tv82) The strikers are mostly warehouse Amazon’s biggest sales day of the year workers, who fulfill internet orders un- is now Prime Day, a two-day online shop- der oppressive time limits, dangerous ping spree that this year falls on July 16 working conditions and almost-too-low- and 17. Begun four years ago, the sale is to-live-on wages. expected to haul in $3.4 billion for the Amazon’s service workers are represent- company in 2018, up from an estimat- ed by Comisiones Obreras in Spain and ed $2.4 billion a year ago. (Washington Verdi in Germany. European labor unions Post, July 16) have been aggressive in demanding work- But on this Prime Day, Amazon work- ers’ right at Amazon’s warehouses. ers represented by unions in Spain and Usually, European warehouse workers Germany slashed Amazon profits by go- strike Amazon during the winter holiday Posted by Spanish union members ing on strike. As the workers withheld season. According to the Washington at an Amazon fulfillment center near Madrid, this sign calls for their labor — and the company site got hit Post, hundreds went on strike in Italy #HuelgaAmazon/#Amazon Strike. with an unexpected computer glitch — fi- and Germany in November 2017, saying PHOTO: CCOO nancial analysts lamented the negative they were under “high pressure to create impact on Amazon’s business. more and more, in less time.” the Economy. They appealed to workers Confederate and white supremacist items Nearly 1,800 Amazon workers in Spain Reinforcing the European unions’ call and consumers to boycott Amazon on the through third-party sellers. struck for three days beginning July 16, to boycott Amazon on Prime Day, in- #PrimeDayofAction and to refuse to shop For conditions of Amazon workers in and thousands more in six German facil- ternational worker solidarity was put in at Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market. the U.S., see Workers World’s interview ities for one day on July 17. Germany is motion by several U.S. advocacy groups, The groups are also calling for a boycott with an Indiana worker at an Amazon Amazon’s second largest national market including the Action Center on Race and of Amazon because of its sale of Nazi, warehouse: tinyurl.com/y7pg9hx9/. Page 6 July 19, 2018 workers.org Rank-and-file fight-back United Parcel Service workers, represented by the Teamsters, are currently in con- tract negotiations with the company. On June 5, union members voted by a 93 percent margin to strike if an agreement could not be reached. Members could also strike if an agreement between the union negotiating committees and management is voted The future is now down. Existing contracts expire on July 31. On July 10 and 12, the Teamsters negotiating committees announced agreements in principle with UPS and UPS Freight on new contracts. Now that the union negotiat- Not so very long ago, the political pun- what about the workers? ing team has reached a “handshake deal” with management, the contract offers must dits and economic gurus whose analyses As the title of Marcy’s book suggests, be sent to UPS Teamster-represented members for approval, which can take several are given plenty of space in the corporate high tech has actually deskilled or elim- weeks. Fifty percent plus one of the votes cast must be “yes” to obtain ratification. media were predicting that the high-tech inated altogether millions of jobs. The A “Vote No” momentum has emerged, and is being promoted by the Teamsters Unit- revolution then beginning to accelerate result is lower wages and a precarious ed caucus and some union locals because of concessions obtained by management in would elevate industrial workers in this existence for more and more workers. the announced agreements. The concessions include a 70-hour workweek, poverty country into the “middle class,” able to Along with the view that everyone wages for part-timers and unlimited subcontracting of work. UPS, now making $6 earn more money while leaving behind was becoming middle class was the idea billion a year in profits, is at present the largest union employer in North America, the dirty, dangerous jobs replaced by peddled to the labor movement that with about 260,000 Teamster-represented drivers, loaders, unloaders, sorters, clerks automation. workers and bosses need each other and and others. This rosy view of the future for the should collaborate for a brighter future. The following excerpt, titled “Decades of rank-and-file fight-back,” about the mili- working class was debunked by Sam Bosses certainly do need workers — tant UPS strike of 1997 is from Chapter 11 of “Low-Wage Capitalism” by Fred Goldstein Marcy, the then chairperson of Workers until they’re ready to replace them with (World View Forum, 2008). World Party, in his 1986 book, “High a new machine or better computer pro- See more at lowwagecapitalism.com. Tech, Low Pay: A Marxist Analysis of gram. There would be no profits without — WW Staff the Changing Character of the Work- workers, because profits come from the ing Class.” Marcy’s analysis was later value workers produce above what they updated by Fred Goldstein in two more are paid in compensation for their labor. UPS Teamsters 1997 strike books, “Low-Wage Capitalism” (2008) (Another Marxist concept that bosses and “Capitalism at a Dead End” (2012). deny.) The slide in union membership, the The struggle was popular in the union (For more info on books see workers.org But do workers need bosses? decline of wages, and the general deteri- movement and among the working class and lowwagecapitalism.com.) More and more young workers are oration of living conditions for the work- as a whole because it was projected as a The economic facts and figures that saying no. They are starting to envision ing class, as well as the increase in rac- struggle against part-time and low-wage now have bourgeois economists scratch- a socialist world where it is bosses, not ism and national oppression, the wave of work — not just for UPS workers, but for ing their heads completely confirm what workers, who will be obsolete. ­anti-immigrant attacks, and all the other the working class as a whole. Sixty per- these Marxist revolutionaries explained In the meantime, the conditions for setbacks during the last three decades cent of the 185,000 UPS workers were beginning more than three decades workers become ever more desperate as and more, were not inevitable. They were part-time workers who earned only $9 ago. The high-tech revolution raises part-time, low-wage, no-benefits jobs avoidable. per hour, as opposed to $19.95 an hour, the promise of a future world of abun- replace full-time, permanent jobs at The underlying relationship of class plus benefits, for full-time workers. dance and ease — but such a life can be union wages. forces in U.S. capitalist society was not The UPS Teamster leadership pre- achieved by the masses of people only if The bosses are our enemies, not our objectively so unfavorable to the work- pared for the strike for over a year. In capitalism is abolished. partners. Trump is the epitome of the ing class that it had no way to overcome formulating their bargaining position, Look at what has really happened. “benevolent” billionaire who promises the anti-labor offensive. Nor is further the leadership of the UPS division sent Yes, many, many jobs that used to exist the moon while robbing the shirts off decline inevitable, even in the face of a questionnaire to all 185,000 workers in manufacturing, mining, retail sales, our backs. ­capitalist crisis. asking for their views on the most im- communications, office work, trans- There’s only one answer to this, and What has contributed to the feeling of portant issues. Full-time jobs were the portation, agriculture and more are it’s not class collaboration. It’s class inevitability about the retreat of the labor overwhelming priority for the workers. now obsolete. The owners of the means struggle. Not a new idea, but one that movement and the workers in general has In addition, 10,000 of these workers were of production have shed human labor has stood the test of time and is what is been the steadfast refusal by the AFL- receiving part-time pay but were working at a prodigious rate in the pursuit of needed now. Let the stirring teachers’ CIO leadership, including the Change to 35 hours or more a week. ever greater profits. Millionaires have strikes of this spring set the example for Win leadership that set up a parallel fed- The union collected 100,000 signa- become billionaires in the process. But what is necessary and possible. eration in 2005, to muster the latent pow- tures on a petition supporting its de- er of the workers and the oppressed in a mands. It distributed the union’s position true test of strength with the ruling class. at workplaces, sports events, and other To be sure, there are undoubtedly sites long in advance. It prepared a strong thousands of local union leaders, dele- strike apparatus. gates, shop stewards, labor council mem- Once the negotiations were underway, bers, as well as rank-and-file militants the union sent a video to all UPS shop throughout the labor movement, in ev- stewards to keep them up to date. During ery part of the country, who have been the strike, the union updated its web site straining at the bit to launch a fight-back. every few hours, faxed bulletins to Team- Such militancy has manifested itself over ster locals, and set up a toll-free hotline and over again in struggles during the for strikers. 1980s up until the present day. What will The negotiations were to begin in July revive the labor movement is when these of 1997 but rallies were organized around forces are able to multiply, organize, and the country beginning in March and gain the upper hand. continued to multiply up until the strike deadline. Carey had even gone to Germa- 1997: UPS teamsters strike ny and France and worked with the UPS The strike against United Parcel Ser- unions there to support the strike. vice was a powerful one that fought to reverse concessions, which had begun in The battle-ready rank-and-file wins 1982. The company had won the right to When the UPS rank-and-file marched create a two-tier, part-time system of em- into battle they were thoroughly unified, ployment. highly organized, and prepared for strug- In August of 1997 the 185,000 mem- gle against a ruthless corporate giant bers of the UPS division of the Teamsters with a world empire. union waged a 15-day strike that electri- The strike was won through a major fied the labor movement and the working test of strength between labor and cap- class as a whole. Despite compromises ital. The AFL-CIO leadership supported made in the final settlement, it was un- the strike, and John Sweeney promised derstood, rightly so, as the first major vic- to back the Teamsters’ strike benefit fund tory for a significant section of the work- with $10 million a week. ing class after two decades of defeat and During the strike President Bill Clin- retreat. ton was under pressure — from not only The strike was led by Teamsters Pres- UPS but also Wall Street — to invoke the ident Ron Carey, who had democratized Taft-Hartley Act. The strength and broad the union during his tenure. It was won popularity of the UPS workers pushed the by meticulous planning for a genuine Clinton administration back, even though class struggle, bringing in the rank-and- Clinton finally pressured a settlement and file at every stage. Continued on page 7 workers.org July 19, 2018 Page 7

France And if this is just the beginning?

By Rémy Herrera For that task, they appointed a “high 2008 crisis by close to zero interest rates vice to the financiers. It is this pension Paris, France commissioner,” Jean-Paul Delevoye. He — are rubbing their hands like flies on system that workers in France will soon is a right-winger, a former minister un- a piece of sugar! After all, isn’t that why have to defend, to make it stronger and July 12 — The arrival of summer, syn- der Jacques Chirac with more than 80 they choose Macron? universal. Pensions do not present a de- onymous with vacations, is eagerly await- years of cumulative mandates in politics. mographic issue, based simply on the age A fair system? ed by all workers. Those eager include He recently joined the current president’s distribution of the population, but rather workers fighting for justice, who know party, La République en marche! Del- A fair system would guarantee ev- a social justice issue. Society has a funda- their struggles will be placed on hold for evoye is charged with preparing a draft eryone continuity of their best career mental choice: either solidarity for all or two months until the start of the school pension law that the government will standard of living when they move from each one for themself. year in September. This time, however, present to Parliament in 2019 as part of work to retirement. The European Com- The ruling elites, arrogant and sus- due to the social turmoil that has shak- the Action Plan for Company Growth and mission, the International Monetary tained by a balance of power historical- en the country since the beginning of the Transformation, called the PACTE. Fund and the Organisation for Economic ly favorable to capital, must nonethe- year, it is mainly the government that Under the pretext of “harmonizing” Co-operation and Development recom- less remember that, in 1995, the largest found time passing too slowly before the pension plans by “aligning” public sec- mend capitalization, that is, the kinds of popular mobilizations since the general summer holidays. tor plans with those in the private sector, steps in Macron’s “reform.” strike of 10 million workers in May 1968 In the halls of power, some are certain- the aim is to promote retirement savings Despite this recommendation, the were launched precisely to defend pen- ly convinced they have won the war. They markets as called for by the banks and in- French system still operates largely — sions. Powerful strikes paralyzed the mean the social war launched against the surance companies. The proposal would and fortunately — on a pay-as-you-go country for more than a month (Novem- people by the capitalists — who on July 3 freeze contributions, thus condemning basis. Current contributions finance cur- ber-December) that year and, under the selected a pure descendant of the French pension balances to fall as the number of rent pensions and these contributions pressure of two million demonstrators, nobility, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, to be pensioners and life expectancy increase. constitute future pension rights, thanks forced the government (then of Alain the head of their employers’ organization There will be no guaranteed pension to intergenerational solidarity and the Juppé, Jacques Chirac’s prime minister) (MEDEF) — and their devoted president levels for savers. These instead would be obligation for all who work to contribute. to abandon its “reform.” and “monarch” Emmanuel Macron. De- entrusted to the vagaries of stock market This pay-as-you-go regime, with guar- But in 2010, under Nicolas Sarkozy, spite their convictions, everything indi- returns. Nor would savers be guaranteed anteed benefits, is secure because it is three million more demonstrators were cates that the main confrontation is still recovery of their savings! It is indeed a financed by contributions from wages not enough to stop the infernal neoliberal ahead. Things are just beginning to get hidden privatization of the pension sys- throughout the country. This takes place machine. How many millions will have to serious. tem that is envisioned [something like a without recourse to financial markets, be in struggle in 2019 to force Macron to Neoliberal forces — those wanting to 401k in the United States]. and thus without the risk of a stock mar- order a retreat? privatize everything and cut jobs — are In addition to capturing part of these ket catastrophe. Herrera is a Marxist economist, a re- already in battle order. They are ready pension savings, the proposal jeopar- It is this solidarity that years of neo- searcher at the Centre national de la Re- for the next offensive, which will attempt dizes the financing of Social Security in liberalism have weakened but failed to cherche scientifique (CNRS), who works pension “reform,” a new stage in the France. Globalized finance — and pen- dismantle. It is this regime that Presi- at the Centre d’Économie de la Sorbonne, demolition of workers’ social protection. sion fund managers, frustrated since the dent Macron wants to destroy as a ser- Paris. WW staff translated this article.

Rank-and-file fight-back Demanding jobs, rollback of prices UPS Teamsters 1997 strike Continued from page 6 Outraged Haitians shut down leaned on the union to compromise. Nevertheless, the UPS workers forced the company to agree to turn 10,000 streets for days part-time workers into full-time employ- ees, won raises for the lower-paid work- ers, and warded off an attack on pension By G. Dunkel Because of the popular funding. anger running through the Politicians in Haiti thought they had streets, the barricades and The ruling-class counterattacks a bright idea. Since people were follow- the attacks on cars and offic- The forward momentum of the workers’ ing the World Cup soccer match between es, a number of airlines can- struggle arising out of the UPS strike was Brazil and Belgium on July 6, rooting celed flights to Haiti. The U.S. soon undermined, however. Immediately deeply for Brazil, they would choose that Embassy ordered its staff to after the strike, the government framed time to obey the International Monetary shelter in place and sent for a up Carey on charges of illegally funnel- Fund and raise the price of fuel by 38 special squad of Marine secu- ing funds to his union election campaign percent for gasoline, 47 percent for diesel rity. The Canadian Embassy fund. A federal court cleared him of all and 51 percent for kerosene. also stepped up security. the charges, but a so-called Independent This attack on the living standards of Al Jazeera on July 14 re- Review Board got Carey barred for life the masses, they thought, would be ig- ported that seven people had from running for Teamster office. nored in the jubilation and joy over Bra- lost their lives in the struggle, This board had been set up by the Jus- zil’s victory. while other news sources, like Haïti-Lib- definite political impact. Prime Minister tice Department in 1989 to oversee the But Brazil lost. Within minutes the erté of July 11, reported just a few dead, Jack Guy Lafontant resigned on July 14 Teamsters. It was headed by William masses were in the streets, erecting and one a cop attempting to clear a barricade. after it became clear that merely with- Webster, a former director of both the burning barricades of tires, car bodies, According to the Miami Herald of drawing the fuel price increases wasn’t CIA and the FBI. The Democratic Nation- debris and garbage to block traffic of cars July 7, damage to fiber optic lines caused going to tamp down popular discontent. al Committee cooperated with the frame- and motorcycles. Whole neighborhoods many cell phone and internet users in This effectively leaves Haiti without a up, despite the fact that the AFL-CIO in Port-au-Prince — Pétionville, Delmas, Port-au-Prince to lose service. A call for functioning government, although soon leadership, including Carey, had poured Lalue, Nazon, Champs-de-mars, Cana- a general strike on July 7-9 was widely an interim prime minister is expected. hundreds of millions of dollars into get- pé-vert — were made inaccessible. Pro- followed, even though it was not clear if a Underlying this popular uprising is ting Clinton elected. testers also took to the streets in such particular union was involved or just an the extreme poverty of Haiti, which is by Fearing a government attack, the AFL- cities as Cap Haïtien, Petit Goâve, Cayes, ad hoc committee trying give some lead- far the poorest country in the Western CIO leadership left Carey to face the Jérémie, Jacmel and l’Artibonite. In Petit ership to the struggle. Hemisphere, and the rapacious greed of frame-up and ouster alone. Instead of Goâve the courthouse was burned and the Marie Laurette Numa writing in the its ruling class. standing up and challenging the govern- entryway to the tax office was set on fire. July 11 Haïti-Liberté made a very in- According to the World Bank, which is ment to indict the entire top leadership of In well-off neighborhoods of Port teresting point. Cops were so scarce in one of the most important tools of world the union movement, and preparing the au Prince and Pétionville, luxury cars Port-au-Prince that there weren’t enough imperialist rule, 24 percent of all Hai- rank-and-file to defend the leader who and apartment buildings were singled to protect all the goods of the bourgeoi- tians live under the extreme poverty line had launched the biggest union chal- out, as well as offices and supermarkets sie, which the masses were attacking. of $1.23 a day, while 59 percent live under lenge to big business in two decades, they constructed after the devastating 2010 She had a possible explanation: “Some the “regular” poverty line of $2.41 a day. abandoned the struggle. earthquake with money that had been cops coming from the exploited masses The wealthy Haitians who do the bidding The forward momentum gained by the designated to rebuild the country. A have solidarized themselves with a cause of the imperialists receive so large an in- militant mass struggle of 185,000 work- particular target was the splendid and linked to their class background, leaving come that Haiti is rated the most unequal ers, backed by workers everywhere, soon super-luxurious Royal Oasis Hotel in Pé- the masses to cope with the country’s ra- country in the world. died down. What the mass struggle had tionville, which got $2 million from Bill pacious vultures.” Haitians went into the streets because won was diminished by the craven re- Clinton out of funds supposedly for re- While this struggle doesn’t have a their conditions are intolerable and they treat of the leadership. construction. clear, established leadership, it has had a are fighting to survive. Correspondencia sobre artículos en Workers World/Mundo Obrero pueden ser enviadas a: [email protected]

¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 60 Núm. 29 19 de julio 2018 $1 MO/WW EDITORIAL 12 DE JULIO Guerra arancelaria de Trump Fórmula capitalista ataca trabajadoras/es mata bebés

Por G. Dunkel Transporte Fronterizo muestra que Necesaria acción independiente En el transcurso de una semana en julio, los mo- 257.000 empleos en Michigan y $13 de trabajadoras/es nopolios de las fórmulas para bebés expusieron que La administración de Trump impu- mil millones en producción anual de- En Bretaña, que enfrenta un aran- el impulso para obtener ganancias capitalistas mata so aranceles a las 12:01 a.m. del 6 de ju- penden de los enlaces de producción cel del 25 por ciento sobre su acero, el infantes, y la pandilla de Trump mostró cómo un lio a productos chinos con un valor de entre Detroit y la ciudad fronteriza de sindicato de trabajadores siderúrgicos régimen imperialista sirve - o intenta hacerlo - a es- $34 mil millones. El gobierno chino re- Windsor en Ontario. - que se llama Community (Comuni- tos monopolios por cualquier medio despiadado que spondió de inmediato con sus propios La General Motors declaró el 28 de dad) - señaló que aunque estos arance- pueda. Bueno es que hayan fracasado. aranceles sobre la carne de cerdo, la junio que una nueva ola de aranceles les ofrecerán a las empresas siderúrgi- Los monopolios capitalistas luchan por ganancias soja y los automóviles de EUA. sobre sus productos podría conducir cas estadounidenses cierta protección por encima de todos los demás objetivos. La admin- “Las acciones equivocadas de EUA a “menos inversión, menos empleos en un momento en que hay una super- istración de Donald Trump no solo ayuda y fomenta han violado descaradamente las y salarios más bajos”. Las/os traba- producción del acero a nivel mundial, estos crímenes, sino que lo hace de una manera tan reglas de la Organización Mundial del jadores encontrarían que los precios pondrá en peligro los empleos de las/ evidente que es imposible ignorarlo. Comercio, atacaron la sostenibilidad de los automóviles aumentarían sus- os trabajadores. Un estudio de 2016 de The Lancet, una de las re- económica mundial y obstaculizaron tancialmente, y el costo de los au- Roy Rickhuss, el secretario gener- vistas médicas más prestigiosas del mundo, descu- la recuperación de la economía mun- tomóviles menos costosos sería el más al de Community, dijo: “Esta noticia brió que la lactancia podría evitar 80.000 muertes dial”, dijo Lu Kang, vocero del Min- elevado. Las/os trabajadores perderán es muy preocupante para la industria infantiles al año en todo el mundo. Eso significa que isterio de Relaciones Exteriores de puestos de trabajo ya que los precios siderúrgica del Reino Unido. Donald Nestlé, con sede en Suiza, y Abbott Laboratories, con China, en una conferencia de prensa. más altos conducen a una reducción Trump está poniendo en riesgo pues- sede en los Estados Unidos, entre otros, ya han con- “Será desastroso para las corpora- en las ventas. tos de trabajo en ambos lados del At- tribuido a millones de muertes de niñas/os a escala ciones multinacionales, las pequeñas y El Mercatus Center, un compañía lántico”. (Community-tu.org) mundial. Abbott fue un gran contribuyente a la cere- medianas empresas y las/os consumi- de investigación de mercados de la El sindicato United Steelworkers monia de inauguración de Donald Trump. dores corrientes en todo el mundo”. Universidad George Mason, señala: representa a trabajadoras/es tanto en Estas compañías han matado a millones de bebés El Ministerio de Comercio de China “Como resultado de los nuevos im- los Estados Unidos como en Canadá. Su durante décadas mediante la promoción agresiva afirmó que Estados Unidos “ha lan- puestos a la importación de acero, el presidente Leo Gerard generalmente de su fórmula para bebés. Aunque saben que es una zado la mayor guerra comercial en la fabricante de clavos más grande de los apoya las políticas comerciales de mentira, afirman que su producto es más saludable historia económica hasta ahora.” (New Estados Unidos está a punto de cerrar. Trump, pero quiere que Canadá quede que la leche materna. También implican en su pub- York Times, 6 de julio). La compañía Mid-Continent Nail, con exenta. En la actualidad, Trump se licidad que amamantar es lo que hacen las mujeres Trump está amenazando con im- sede en Missouri, ya ha despedido al opone a las exenciones, por lo que algu- pobres porque no saben nada. poner aranceles sobre bienes que ac- 12 por ciento de su fuerza de traba- nas/os miembros del USW, es decir, las/ Ninguna fórmula hasta la fecha es más nutritiva tualmente son importados cada año jo. “Mid-Continent representa una os trabajadores de los EUA dedicados a que la leche materna, pero esa no es la causa de las de China por un valor de $450 mil mil- pequeña parte de la economía de EUA, la producción de acero, se beneficiarían muertes. El principal problema es que en los países lones. También ha impuesto aranceles pero su dilema muestra cómo una de las políticas tarifarias, mientras que donde es difícil obtener agua potable, mezclar la fór- a los bienes importados de México y guerra arancelaria puede impactar a las/os trabajadores de Canadá no. mula seca con agua local puede provocar diarrea u Canadá, así como de la Unión Europea. las/os trabajadores aquí. El gobierno estadounidense está en otras enfermedades que matan a los bebés. La leche Un arancel es básicamente un impues- Históricamente, la tarifa de Smoot- proceso de renegociar el Tratado de Li- materna también proporciona inmunidad a las en- to a los bienes importados en un país. Hawley, que entró en vigor en 1930 y bre Comercio de América del Norte. El fermedades a través de los anticuerpos pasados ​​de Trump argumenta que los aranceles ciertamente contribuyó a la severidad TLCAN ha regulado el comercio entre madre a hija/o. sobre el acero y el aluminio son nece- de la Gran Depresión, redujo el comer- Canadá, México y los EUA desde el 1 de Incluso si el agua local es potable y la refrigeración sarios para reforzar la producción es- cio internacional en más del 60 por enero de 1994. Este comercio asciende está disponible, la fórmula puede costar más dinero tadounidense y “proteger la seguridad ciento. El economista Paul Krugman a $600 mil millones al año. El TL- que lo que disponen las personas. Para rendir la fór- nacional estadounidense”, ya que los estima que los nuevos aranceles de CAN le dio una apertura a la agricul- mula, la persona que cuida al bebé siente la tentación metales son necesarios en la produc- los Estados Unidos y las respuestas a tura estadounidense que le permitió de agregar más agua, y la fórmula diluida es inadec- ción de armas. También argumenta ellos podrían reducir el comercio in- aniquilar a millones de agricultoras/ uada para alimentar al bebé. Esto también ocurre en que los aranceles “protegerán” y gen- ternacional en un 70 por ciento. Eso es mexicanos, a la vez que le brindó a familias pobres en países más ricos. erarán empleos a las/os trabajadores significa que los 10 millones de traba- los fabricantes estadounidenses un ac- Consciente de estos problemas, la Organización en estas industrias. jadoras/es de Estados Unidos que par- ceso más fácil a las/os trabajadores de Mundial de la Salud ha tratado de limitar el uso de la Lo que es indiscutible es que los pre- ticipan en el comercio internacional bajos salarios. También intensificó la fórmula, especialmente en los países más pobres de cios subirán para las/os trabajadores. podrían enfrentar grandes pérdidas dominación estadounidense de la más todo el mundo. La Organización Mundial de la Salud El acero y el aluminio se utilizan para de empleos como resultado. (New York pequeña economía canadiense. promueve la lactancia materna como una medida de crear una gran cantidad de productos Times, 17 de junio) A pesar de las ventajas del flujo fácil salud para salvar las vidas de los bebés y mejorar su básicos, desde latas para alimentos Incluso si los aranceles aplicados a de bienes y servicios para los capital- nutrición. hasta edificios y puentes, y el acero y los competidores extranjeros aumen- istas en ambos lados de la frontera, Nestlé, Abbott Laboratories y otros, en su ince- el aluminio serán más caros con los tan las ganancias de las empresas de Trump ha amenazado con alejarse del sante búsqueda de ganancias, están tratando de ex- aranceles. La guerra arancelaria de acero y aluminio con sede en los EUA, TLC si no se reconfigura para favore- pandir el mercado mundial de $11,5 mil millones en Trump ha condenado a las/os traba- no hay evidencia de que estas empre- cer aún más a los EUA. fórmula para bebés. Están desesperados porque en jadores estadounidenses con precios sas contraten a más trabajadoras/es. En lugar de exigir exenciones de los países más ricos, especialmente en los Estados más altos, lo que afecta particular- Los avances tecnológicos en la fabri- los aranceles que afectan a algunos Unidos, más madres, por diversas razones, eligen mente a las/os jubilados y a quienes cación significa que menos trabajado- de sus miembros, los sindicatos de- amamantar y comprar menos fórmula. Esto lleva a tienen ingresos fijos, sin importar el ras/es pueden producir más bienes, y ben defender los intereses de todas/ la publicidad agresiva y falsa de las compañías. impacto en general a la economía. el uso de la tecnología continúa refor- os los trabajadores. Como escrib- Consciente de esta creciente agresividad, la OMS Pero una mirada más cercana a los zando esa tendencia. De acuerdo con ió el fundador del Partido Workers intentó llegar a un acuerdo sobre una resolución es- aranceles, así como a la tecnología de la Sociedad Americana de Ingeniería World-Mundo Obrero Sam Marcy en tándar para promover la lactancia materna en los fabricación, muestra cómo las/os traba- Mecánica (ASME por siglas en inglés): 1993 sobre el papel de los sindicatos: países miembros y continuar limitando la publicidad jadores estadounidenses también serán “En 2015, la producción manufactur- “Seguir (con la política comercial de falsa de los monopolios de fórmula. Ecuador estaba golpeadas/os por la pérdida de empleos. era por trabajador/a fue de $482.242; los EUA) es convertirse en un socio si- preparado para presentar la resolución. por el contrario, cada trabajador/a en lencioso del papel devastador del cap- Fue entonces cuando el imperialismo estadoun- Aranceles y tecnología 2000 produjo $336.847 en dólares de ital financiero de EUA en el exterior y idense intervino, amenazando a Ecuador con san- afectan trabajadoras/es 2015. En 1976, la producción ajustada en aquí en EUA. ... El objetivo real del ciones si presentaba la resolución. Cuando Ecuador Si bien los aranceles podrían ser un a la inflación fue de solo $276.525”. sindicalismo debería ser forjar un ac- retrocedió -después de todo, a ningún país pequeño impulso para los fabricantes de acero (Tinyurl.com/y9fy9f7r) uerdo de solidaridad entre los sindica- le gusta estar en las miras de Washington- Estados y aluminio, otras compañías que utili- ASME señala que, con el aumento tos” internacionalmente. (t­ inyurl.com/ Unidos amenazó a cualquier otro país que intentara zan estos metales - que eran más bara- de la automatización de las fábricas, y9jynjrh) presentarlo. tos cuando se importaban - perderán y entre 2000 y 2016, las/os trabajadores En las palabras del himno de las/os Eso significa que la administración Trump estaba tendrán que recortar empleos. estadounidenses perdieron 5 millones trabajadores “Solidaridad para siempre”: usando el peso económico y diplomático del imperi- La tarifa de Trump para el acero y de empleos, incluso cuando la produc- “Cuando la inspiración del sindicato a alismo estadounidense para promover políticas que el aluminio afectará con mayor fuer- ción manufacturera creció. través de la sangre de los obreros corra, matan a los bebés. za las importaciones procedentes de Entonces, si los aranceles pudieran No habrá ningún poder mayor en Rusia finalmente introdujo la medida. Y pasó. Canadá, principal proveedor de EUA eliminar todos los déficits comerciales ningún lugar bajo el sol; Después del alboroto en las agencias de salud a nivel en 2017, especialmente en la indu- de manufactura con otros países, eso Sin embargo, qué fuerza en la tierra mundial, EUA incluso se vio obligado a votar a favor stria automotriz estadounidense. Un aún no se acercaría a la pérdida de em- es más débil que la débil fuerza de uno, de la resolución. estudio del 2004 de la Asociación de pleos perdidos por la tecnología. Pero el sindicato nos hace fuertes”. Una pequeña victoria y una gran lección.