FALL 2006 A B FALL 2006 LABOR DONATED 50 CENTS ($1 SOLIDARITY) As we go to press... The End of an Era: Ford to Slash 44,000 Jobs! Page 3 Michigan’s Minimum wage Increase Solidarity with the Cuban People The Poverty of Michigan and it’s Unions Standing With our Compañer@s Say No to the New Jim Crow Detroit Teachers Carry Out Militant Strike ! Fuel Crisis or Monopoly Manipulation? Socialist Party of Michigan Candidates on Ballot! 1 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST FALL 2006 Michigan's minimum wage increase: Editorial Collective: Matt Erard, SPMI Chairperson Ben Clark, SPMI Treasurer A paltry placation Mike Treacy, SPMI Secretary The Michigan Socialist is the By MATT ERARD Chairperson, SPMI publication of the Socialist Party of Michigan (SPMI), affiliate of the On March 28th Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm signed Socialist Party USA. P.O. Box 3285 legislation that will increase Michigan's minimum wage from 5.15 to Kalamzoo, MI 49003; email: 6.95 per hour- the first increase in Michigan's minimum wage since [email protected]; WWW: 1997. The increase is expected to impact 30% of all Michigan http://www.spmichigan.org households. The legislation followed a largely union-based petitioning effort by the Michigan Needs a Raise Coalition (MNRC) to place a referendum All submissions to the Michigan to increase the minimum wage on the state ballot in the November Socialist can be sent by email or snail elections. It was not until the MNRC was projected to obtain a mail. Submissions sent by email sufficient number of signatures to ensure that the proposal would should be sent to: appear on the ballot that the state legislature decided to enact the [email protected]. Hardcopy legislation. submissions should be sent to: SPMI The raise passed by the state legislature and Governor Granholm P.O. Box 3285 Kalamazoo, MI 49003. lacked a number of critical aspects of MNRC's proposed ballot initiative. Although the legislation increased the minimum wage a Signed articles do not necessarily meager ten cents beyond what the initiative proposed, the state reflect the viewpoint of the Socialist legislature's increase did not lock the increase into the state's Party of Michigan, which are constitution nor mandate an annual minimum wage increase as the expressed in editorial statements, or of ballot proposal would have done. The political implication of raising the Socialist Party USA. The Editorial the minimum wage ten cents beyond what the petition drive proposed Collective of the Michigan Socialist was far more significant than that of the measly extra dime. By reserves the right to edit all articles for continuing the petition drive, petitioners would be forced to collect typography, spelling, and grammar signatures for decreasing the minimum wage. According to the pro- without consultation. On all author capitalist National Federation of Independent Businesses, whose stated matters of editing, the Editorial objective is to fight "big labor," the action by the legislature resulted in Collective with attempt to collaborate the "lesser of two evils." with authors as much as possible. The state legislature's intentions in finally passing the increase could not have been clearer. For nine years the Michigan legislature has overwhelmingly blocked any attempt to increase the state minimum wage beyond the $5.15 an hour mandated by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The recent legislation was a decisive attempt to bring an end to the coalition of workers organized around the petition drive. Republicans particularly feared the ballot proposal's potential to bring large numbers of low-wage workers to the polls on Election Day. Democrats had the benefit of courting already mobilized union workers. Had these workers not already proven successful in getting the proposal slated for the November ballot, however, neither party continued on page 11 2 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST FALL 2006 As We Go to Press... The end of an era: Ford to slash 44,000 jobs! By MATT ERARD ranging from $65-$140,000, one is the “end of an era:” the end of the Chairperson, SPMI pressed to find a single instance in time in history when a blue collar the corporate press where this has worker had a chance at what is so On September 15th the Ford been contrasted with the $10-20 often referred to as ‘the American Motor Company announced that it million salaries of its top dream.’ Ford’s recent move, has revised its “New Way executives who directly benefit however, also marks the end of Forward” plan to slash 44,000 from this cut. The argument that another era: the post-Depression union jobs and close sixteen North the company lacks the money to economic era where Keynesian American auto plants by the end of maintain these jobs is an utter reforms still had the potential to 2008. Ford’s announcement has deception. The “New Way setback the economic degeneration come on the eve of widespread Forward” is in reality the way to of the capitalist system. The layoffs and pay cuts that have keep Ford executives’ extreme economic decline of the American permeated throughout the concentration of wealth going auto industry in the current period automotive industry in the past few forward as the lives and is the product of escalating years, particularly affecting communities of thousands of economic crises endemic to the workers in Michigan. While the workers who created this wealth capitalist system. The widespread company has attempted to soften are shattered. moves toward increased its public image from this attack by Many writers and historians automation within the auto offering workers buyout packages have referred to Ford’s decision as continued on page 12 Detroit teachers carry out militant strike – Massive pressures against them: Socialist Party of Michigan statement on the Detroit teachers’ strike The Detroit Federation of was then ratified by the Teachers, influenced by membership. And so, even after a deteriorating conditions and a long court injunction against them from term educational effort by militant supposedly "liberal" judge Susan rank and file teachers, recently Borman to return to the classrooms took an heroic stance in their two during negotiations (an age old week long strike against the ploy to weaken strike struggles and Striking Detroit teachers picket outside Detroit Public Schools district disunify strikers), the teachers held Cass Technical High School. management, a gang of liars and strong and remained on the picket manipulators and wasters of lines. Many rank and file teacher 1930's, and the American money. The teachers said very spokespersons are comparing their Revolution itself. They are saying clearly that, regardless of any court struggle to the US civil rights clearly that unjust and oppressive orders and injunctions, they movement, the fight for Indian laws must be broken, violated, WOULD NOT go back into the independence led by Mahatma disobeyed. That this is a well schools until there was an Gandhi, the Underground established American tradition; acceptable contract agreement that Railroad, the union struggles of the continued on page 12 3 The MICHIGAN SOCIALIST FALL 2006 The Poverty of Michigan and its Unions By JOE DENEEN to a measly $6.95, a boost from use this time to bully the teachers The Michigan Socialist $5.20, but a far cry from a living to accept a lesser concession, wage projected to be at least $12 perhaps $60 million. If the strike Michigan has undergone an hour. continues once the school year some serious transformations in the Throughout all this decay, begins, one may see the union past few decades. It was once the you have multi-billionaire bureaucracy break from the rank- beacon of industrialization and the corporations like GM looking for and-file and attempt to unilaterally auto industry in general where all sorts of concessions each time a break the strike on behalf of the folks with nothing more than a union contract comes up. My school board. high school diploma (or none at all mother has worked for GM as a In a Detroit News survey, like my maternal grandfather) temp worker via Kelly's Services approximately 60% oppose the could get work with good wages for the past twelve years and has strike, though how many of those and retire with comfortable witnessed GM's restructuring, polled actually live within the pensions, like my maternal particularly the laying off of GM Detroit school district is grandparents. Today much of this unknowable. The media tends to has been severely crippled and echo this view by stressing that such jobs no longer exist as college “Workers should work to striking is illegal in Michigan, and degrees are required and knowing organize themselves I've read comments suggesting the a current employee is really the independently of the teachers should be rounded up and only sure way to get hired. Union jailed accordingly. membership among Michigan established corporate Indeed, there is tension, if workers has declined from 26% to unions; after all, unions not resentment and reaction 20.5% in just the past fifteen years are the people in them, towards unions. Much of it centers and most of union workers in not the AFL-CIO label.” on the perception that union Michigan are employed by the workers are overpaid and lazy; state, leaving the vast majority of really, union workers, at least state us out in the cold on our own. workers and their replacement with ones, are paid a living wage that Based on absurd poverty temp workers who are non-union every worker should receive. It is standards ($19,971 for a family of and aren't considered GM workers, upsetting to hear people taking the four is the cut-off?!), the poverty per se, and can be sent packing for opposite position that instead of levels have been increasing across any reason at any moment.