Global Unionism at Convention
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Gov. ut toKilEgtHuUlay, Gov. Pete Wilsonfs newest attack Wilson, back in, Sacramento after tees-to abolish the requirement for worker protection thought by the day. He said employers would gain upon the eight-hour work day is be- another cross-country campaign~ overtime pay after eight hours in a Governor. It is a shameless appeal. "flexibilit' if they didn't have to ing blasted as a cynical attempt to trip, made the proposal last Friday day that, was won by California to the radical right,' his party. What pay workers time'and a half after boost his presidential prospects during a speech before the Califor- workers 84 years ago. next?" eight hours. There was talk about with the rabidly anti-worker right nia Chamber of Commerce. He said Jack Henning, ex-ecutive secre- Wilson trotted out the spurious ".changing lifestyles." wing of the Republican Paty and to he would ask the state Industrial tary-treasurer of the California La- right-wing argument that workers Outraged Democratic legislators elicit more campaign contributions Welfare Commission- consisting bor Federation said Wilsonfs action themselves want to be freed from and labor spokespersons imme- from employer organizations. of a 3 to 2 majority of his appoin- "Arepresents an incredible reversal of the restrictions of the eight-hour (ConfinuedI on Page 4) La.,,lbor s Foes Fail. To.Grab Vol 38-No. 18 O Septembr1,19 Gavel Hard-line, anti-labor Republicans failed to seize the Assembly speaker's gavel for the third time yesterday. Doris Allen, the Orange County Republican who GOP ultra conser- vatives are trying to recall, resigned the speakership and was succeeded This was Labor Day 1995 in by Brian Setencich, a Republican California: freshman from Fresno who actually At Pleasanton, the biggest picnic has' presided over the lower house of crowd ever assembled- in this state the Legislature during much of Al- for the holiday roraring approval as len's 102 days in office as her President Bill Clinton blasted Re- speaker pro tem. publican attacks upon working fam- Thirty-nine Republicans voted ilies and promised to fight for an for Curt Pringle, the new Assembly increase in the minimum wage. majority leader who temporarily At Los Angeles, Thai workers took over a spot 'on the Labor and freed from virtual slavery in an ille- Employment Committee early this gal sewing factory cheering and be- month and immediately voted ing cheered by US. trade unionists. against an employer-endorsed bill At Sacramento, union members that happened to have labor ap- spotlighting the inequities of mod- proval as well. ern America by cooking and serv- The thirty-nine Assembly Demo- ing meals to the homeless. crats voted for Setencich. So, for- At Wilmington, a miles-long pa- tunately for labor, did Allen and rade of union members and their Setencich himself families. There where howls of outrage At San Diego, brunch for hun- and frustration from ultra-right Re- dreds -of union families. public,ans who have been- trying to At Fortuna, nearly 900 miles to the north, union members converg- ing from across Del Norte and Humboldt counties to hear music, play games and share a barbecue cooked in time-honored fashion. And in communities in between nearly a score of additional events. The crowd at the 38th annual Al- ameda County Central Labor Coun- cil Labor Day Picnic in Pleasanton apparently exceeded 17,000. More than 13,000 persons eager The far-riht then moved to recall to see and hear the president 'were Allen and Democrat Mike Machado* counted going through electronic of Stockton who was targeted be- gates set up at a fenced-off meadow cause he voted for Brown. The Ma- in the county fairgrounds where chado recall was beaten back by a Clinton spoke, Secret Service per- two to one vote. sonnel told Council President Judy The hard-liners' prospects of re- Goff. Fair officials estimated that calling Setencich were unclear to- between four and five thousand day. The 6-foot 5-inch former pro- others remained outside the secu- fessional basketball player is rity area, listening to speeches over AiFL-CILO iresicient 'lInm Donahlue iroduces rresioern ISM Lilnton, wno coners at rigrnwitu JOck of the California Labor at popular enough in Fresno to'-have the public address system. Henning, executive secretary-treasurer Federation, during'Labor Day picnic been elected as a Republican in an cheered as Jack Hen- Pleasanton. Also pictured are Rep. Ron Deilums, right, and Owen Marron and Judy Goff, executive district They wildly and of Alameda Central Labor Council. overwhelmingly Democratic ning, executive secretary-treasurer secretary-treasurer president sponsoring County whose voters are not likely to be of the California Labor Federation, in plentiful supply. John Sweeney, Machinists, and Lenore Miller, elected officials including Rep. Ron impressed by right-wing rhetoric. introduced AFL-CIO President Tom president of the Service Employees president of the Retail, Wholesale Delums,, Lieut. Gov. Gray Davis, Allen stepped down with a blast Donahue who, in mmr, introduced and candidate for the national AFL- and Department Store Employees. State Controller Kathleen Connell, at what she called "the fringe ele- CIO presidency, -was there. So were Senator Barbara Boxer spoke, 'Superintendent of Public Instruction ment of my party" as well as at George Kourpias, president of the heading a group of labor-supported (Continued on Page 3) (Continued (on Page 4) Global Unionism at Convention Support is growing for AFL-CIO by'delegates to the national Build- cluding Smith, presented arguments coalition of labor- organizations sponsorship of an international ing Trades convention. in favor of its resolution. from the many nations affected by meeting on global unionism, which It follows. Henning's call for "A4Multinational -corporations are multinational activity can defend first was proposed by Executive global unionism, which -brought too big, powerful and mobile to be the interests of the world's Secretary-Treasurer Jack Henning cheering state,AFL-CIO delegates effectively countered -by individual workers...."11: of the California Labor Federation. to their feet at last'year's California nation-based labor movements," .The resolution itself notes that The AFL-CIO Building and Con- convention and sparked nationwide the committee stated. "The four the North American Free Trade struction Tkades Department is urg- comment. largest of them possessed an unbe- Agreement (NAFITA) and the Gen- inp action by the national federa- The.Building Trades resolution lievable $28 trillion in assets in 1993 eral Agreement on Trade and Tariffs tion's biennial convention next "...joins calls upon the AFL-CIO to - more than four times the size of (GATT) not only will cost Ameri- month in New York City A resolu- convene a convention -of all unions the entire U.S. economy. can workers hundreds of thousands *rA tion submitted by Stan Smith, se- in the free world to "They employ more than of jobs, -but also will allow Corpo- 0 now-prevailing directly. creteary-treasurer of the San Fran- be held in Washington, D.C., in or- 73 million people - a labor force rate America open access to the cisco Building and Construction der to formulate a global union re- comparable to Japan's. They.pit cheap labor markets of other coun- Trades Council - closely parallel- sponse to the globalization of capi- worker against worker by roaming tries and exploitation of those ing one submitted earlier by the tal by multinational corporations."91 the world and continhuously seeking workers. California federation - was The BCTD Committee on Do- to pay the lowest possible wage. It calls exportation of American adopted unanimously on Aug. 29 mestic and International Affairs, in- The committee believes that only a (Continued on Page 4) Brige arc fofHath Car In a'powerful affirmation of care workers and consumer advo- health care as a human right, some cates to the Parc '55 Hotel in San 10,000 marchers crossed the Francisco. Golden Gate Bridge Aug. 20 to de- mand a national health care system Ralph Nader- was a principal. and protest dwindling patient ser- speaker vices,* downgrading of medical workers' jobs, burgeoning hospital "Patent safety standards are un- industry profits and cuts in public der the.greatest attack in our life- funding. times," said Rose Ann DeMoro, ex- Jesse Jackson, carrying a billow- ecutive director of the California ing American flag, led the way Nurses Association, which co-spon- along with Sal Roselli, president-of sored the conference along with the the sponsoring Health Care Workers National Federation. of Canadian Local 250 of the Service Em - Nurses -Unions. ployees, as the miles-long mobiliza- ""Hardly a day passes without tion filed across the famous span new reports .of patients who have from San Francisco to Marn had the wrong foot cut off, have County and back on a foggy Sunday been given the wrong medication, morning. or hae -been improperly- removed Thousands more waited at Fort from life-saving devices," Demoro Scott in the Presidio of San Fran- said. cisco where speakers commented on the nation's health care crisis and "T'his is happening while hospi- an all-star lineup of musicians and tals are eliminatig2o replacing reg- entertainers performed in free con- istered nurses and other skilled care cert into the early evening. providers and are finding ways to The speakers' message was clear: evade safety regulations. Yet -these Patients before profits. same hospitals. are making record Roselli pointed out that health profits." care is the most profitable industry in the United States for the sixth The Presidio concert treated SalRoeli,let,Jesse Jackson, Shirley Ware anmd Assembly Member Barbara Lee. lead bridge walkers to straight year. Moilization- marchers. across Golden Gate- Bridge.