| July 29, 2005 Red Alert by Soren Wuerth Red Meat, Blue Berries and Yellow
Curds
My brother’s story went something like this: “On our way to Oregon (from Colorado), we had promised the girls a tour of the Tillamook Creamery plant. As we got closer to Tillamook, Kendra (11 years old) and Jordan (9) got more excited, and, when we approached the factory they began chanting, ‘cheese curds, cheese curds, cheese curds.’ “But as we neared the gate, I saw signs ahead and said, ‘Nope, we can’t go in.’ The girls were shocked and began crying, ‘why not? Daddy, daddy, please... cheese curds, cheese curds!’ I pulled over and we all got out to talk to a group of people holding picket signs. “Well, it turns out these workers were on strike because Tillamook cut their health care benefits. Meanwhile, the bosses were driving to work in brand new SUVs and getting pay raises. The company was making record profits. “I told the girls, we have to obey the strike, and, after they listened to some stories from strikers, they too were ready to leave. “Cheese curds will have to wait.” I later found out that the Tillamook workers settled with the company. The strike and boycott were a success. With only 7 percent of the private workforce represented by a union in America, times are tough for workers. Jobs are scarce and wages don’t keep up with the cost of rent, of gas, of food. Getting paid seven bucks an hour just makes life more difficult. It’s easier to steal, or sell crack. But now, the red meat system that keeps wages low for the poor is about to be pulverized. With labor’s outlook so desperate and facing an obdurate leadership, a group of dissident organizers and labor unions formed the Change to Win Coalition. The effort led to a recent coup in which three of the four largest member groups bagged out the national AFL-CIO labor organization. Democrats are understandably worried about the rift in the labor movement. That’s natural. They always worry, are always on the defensive and that’s why they almost always lose come election time. The push by CWC is proactive, a bit scary for the establishment blue-blooded “berries.” The focus of CWC is on grassroots organizing. Anna Burger, CWC’s chairwoman, told the New York Times the dissident group isn’t going to be another appendage of the Democratic Party (the losing strategy of the environmentalists). “We need to hold officials, Democrat and Republican, accountable on the issues that resonate with working people,” Burger said. I recommend that the new labor leaders, and everyone interested in social change for that matter, read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. If they haven’t started already, CWC should open academies based on the Alinsky model, then plant organizers into communities (particularly “red” communities) across America. We could set up our own organizer college here in Alaska. My brother’s kids didn’t learn about much about the labor movement through John Kerry commercials. They learned about it the way the rest of America will learn about it . . . on the streets. Soren Wuerth is perhaps Alaska's best known community activist. He resides in an undisclosed location in Southeast Alaska and can be reached at soren@insurgent49.com. |
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Columnists -
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www.unitetowin.org Change To Win Coalition website - column archive - July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 29, 2005 April 21, 2005 |
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2005
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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