Organizations across the country will be demonstrating in National Days of Action Feb 21 and March 28-29 To Stop the War at home, to protest the assault on civil rights. They are demanding: Free All the Detainees! End Registrations for Immigrants! End the Repressive Laws--Patriot Act, Home Security Act, 1996 Anti-Terrorism Act!
Writers, Activists Defend Civil Rights at NJ Conference
By Greg Pason,
Co-Chair, NJ Local, NWU
At a January 25-26 conference in Newark NJ, a hundred writers and activists debated the assault on rights and agreed to form a new nationwide network in defense of civil rights. The conference, "Writing for Our Rights!: Writers and Activists in Support of Civil Rights" brought together Muslim, Middle Eastern and South Asian writers with students, anti-war activists and trade unionists from thirteen states.
Hunger Strike Wins Partial Victory
A seven-day hunger strike by six detainees at Passaic County Jail in Paterson NJ won a partial victory in January, as the INS yielded to the demands of five of the detainees and moved them to Hudson County jail, where they will be able to visit with their families and where conditions overall are considerably better than at Paterson. Unfortunately, the sixth striker, Farouk Abdel-Muhti, who was demanding his release, has not won that yet. He remains at Passaic.
Unions Unite Against War
On January 11 about 100 union antiwar activists from across the country, gathered in Chicago to initiate a national labor organization against
war, US Labor Against War. The new organization reflect the rapid growth of anti-war actions and resolutions among labor unions. By Mid-February, organizations representing 4.5 million workers, a quarter of the union movement, have passed anti-war resolutions, including nine national unions, two state labor federations, twenty central labor councils and hundreds of union locals.
After lively debate, the group decided to omit all mention of the UN from a strong founding statement denouncing the drive to war. The new
group will focus on mobilizing labor participation in mass anti-war demonstrations and getting more unions to pass anti-war resolutions. To
contact: http://uslaboragainstwar.org/
The view from Cesar Chavez Street
Terrorist: a label that allows the system to carry out ethnic persecution
by Joaquin Gutierrez
The attacks on civil rights have affected not only immigrants from Muslim countries, but all immigrants. We, the day laborers of Cesar Chavez street in San Francisco the majority of us without residency papers, are on the street corner every day, waiting. If the legal documents for residency permission for Latinos were difficult to obtain before September 11, 2001, they are even more difficult now to obtain. Due to this state of "war against terrorism", many of the legal processes required to obtain legal residence are now frozen. When we exercise our struggle to obtain work which will guarantee our right to a life that is dignified and just, we are not exempt from being pointed out as enemies of the system, directly or indirectly.
Class warfare in Venezuela
By Walt Weber
The political situation in Venezuela has recently developed into a hot bed of action, where multiple groups are currently engaged in an intense fight for power. The opposition to the government, masquerading as a labor struggle, is an organization calling itself the Democratic Coordinator.
The Democratic Coordinator called a “general strike” in protest of the Chavez government, with the hope that their unified action would bring down his presidency. A closer look at this so-called strike however, demonstrates the true class politics involved in the Venezuelan people’s struggle for democracy and social reform.
How Workers Have Fought For Their Rights
By Jeannette Gabriel
NJWDN
Even though we live in a society that claims to be very democratic there has never been any question that workers do not have democracy in the workplace. The very basis of American law rests on property rights and employer rights. Employers have the right to set the terms and conditions of employment and employees are “at-will” which means we are voluntarily accepting the employers rules.
Privatization, Fraud and War:
Far Easier without Workers' Rights
By Patricia Hilliard
Co_chair, NJ local
National Writers Union
As you know, George Bush is putting every effort into the war drive. He is looking to reduce the Social Security and Medicaid benefits and other social service programs so that he can use the money to finance the war. But war is industry for a capitalist economy like ours. Bush wants to privatize all government jobs here in the U.S. and he wants to use military tactics to privatize Iraq and merge it into the big oil companies.lick here to add text.
The political situation in Venezuela has recently developed into a hot bed of action, where multiple groups are currently engaged in an intense fight for power. The opposition to the government, masquerading as a labor struggle, is an organization calling itself the Democratic Coordinator.
