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Manuel Zelaya, the legitimate president of Honduras, has made a specific request to the Obama administration to increase pressure on the illegal regime of Roberto Micheletti, which was installed after a coup d’etat on the morning of June 28 of this year. Zelaya has asked the Obama administration to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the illegitimate regime by taking actions targeting the main culprits. This happens at a critical moment when the talks mediated by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias have not progressed due to the intransigence of the coup regime, and when mass protest in Honduras has reached a peak with a general strike and with a growing mass movement in the streets to restore Mr. Zelaya, who is encamped on the Honduras-Nicaragua border, to the presidency.

The coup regime is isolated worldwide, but hangs on because it expects to be able to draw on material resources from the US, in spite of President Obama’s strong statement against the coup. The US ultra-right, led by figures such as Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL), and supported by strong business, political media and military networks in the United States, are doing all they can to throw a lifeline to the illegal Micheletti regime. Their hope seems to be to keep the regime in power long enough that the scheduled November elections in Honduras (which Micheletti may move up) can take place under repressive conditions in which supporters of Zelaya’s program of progressive social and labor reforms can not openly campaign without risking jail or violence, and thus can not possibly win. Meanwhile, Micheletti’s de-facto government is increasing repression against labor, peasant, student and other opponents, with reports of several new deaths in the last two days.

The CPUSA agrees that it is necessary to ratchet up the pressure on the de-facto regime, and calls for the following actions:

We should contact the White House and the State Department to demand that the US government respond to President Zelaya’s request by taking the following immediate steps:

*Cancel US visas for the top military and political leaders of the coup.

*Freeze bank accounts in the US belonging to coup leaders as requested by Zelaya.

*Remove US personnel from the military base at Soto Cano, cease all coordination with the coup government’s armed forces, and expel Honduran officers currently being trained at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning Georgia.

*We should demand an end to the activities in support of the coup government by the International Republican Institute and other governmental and non-governmental organizations in the United States who have a heavy responsibility for the current situation.

Further, we should be contacting our members of Congress to ask that they sign on as co sponsors and work for the passage of House Resolution 630, which denounces the coup d’etat and asks the government to take measures to restore the constitutional order in Honduras. This resolution, introduced by Congressman Bill DeLaHunt (D-MA) has 40 cosponsors; this number has to be greatly increased.

Finally, the AFL-CIO, US Steelworkers and Local 10 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have led the way in calling for the restoral of Zelaya and the constitutional order in Honduras. We should build on these initiatives by getting statements and actions in support from other unions, faith based organizations, and civic and community organizations of every description so as to build a massive solidarity movement with the Honduran people here in the United States.


Here is the contact information:

Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

White House: 202-456-1111

State Department: 202-647-4000

To follow the progress of HR 630, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and type “HR630” in the webpage search engine. Choose "Bill Number" as the search option.

APPENDED:

La Jornada coverage of letter from Zelaya to Obama (translation into English)

ZELAYA ASKS THE UNTIED STATES [TO TAKE] CONCRETE MEASURES TO RE-ESTABLISH ORDER IN HONDURAS (La Jornada online, July 26 2009, translation by Emile Schepers)

Rights violations and killings, reasons to increase pressure, says the head of state.

FROM THE EDITORIAL [BOARD]

The President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, today asked the US head of state, Barack Obama, to adopt concrete measures to restore the constitutional order in the Central American country. The leader, who was expelled by a coup d’etat, asked that the United States prohibit bank transactions and cancel US visas of those “directly responsible for my kidnapping and the interruption of the legal order in my country”.

On Friday, the US State Department criticized the brief return of Zelaya to Honduras by calling it “reckless and premature”.

Zelaya sent Obama a list of names of individuals to whom he asked the United States to apply such restrictions. They are: General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, head of the armed forces; Miguel Angel Garcia Padget, commander in chief of the army, and Juan Pablo Rodriguez, commander of the navy. Also included are the de facto president and former president of the Congress, Roberto Micheletti, the attorney general Luis Alberto Rubi and the chief prosecutor Rosa America Miranda.

Zelaya claims that those persons had key roles in planning and execution of the coup d’etat of June 28 and later ignored the calls of the international community for the constitutional head of state to be restored to office.

The letter to Obama indicates that the deterioration of human rights in Honduras, which has resulted in the extrajudicial murder of several leaders of people’s movements who were opposed to the coup, is a reason for the United States and other countries to increase pressure on the de-facto regime.

“We believe that the measures we are asking for from the US administration will exercise direct pressure on the executors of the coup without having a negative impact on the people of Honduras” said Enrique Reina, Minister of Communications in Zelaya’s government and the new ambassador to the United States designated by the constitutional president.


Statement by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on the Coup in Honduras

June 30, 2009

The AFL-CIO stands in solidarity with our sister organizations of Honduras, the national trade union centrals -- the Unitary Central of Honduran Workers (CUTH), the Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH) and the General Workers Central (CGT) -- as well as with the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA), representing over 45 million workers of this hemisphere, in condemning the military coup that resulted in the illegal ouster of democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya.

The AFL-CIO denounces this unconscionable attack on the fundamental rights and liberties of the Honduran people. The recent internal conflict relating to the proposed constitutional referendum cannot in any way justify the extra-constitutional measures undertaken by the armed forces, which were later ratified by the Honduran congress when it voted to depose President Zelaya and install Congressman Roberto Micheletti immediately following the coup. These measures are a flagrant violation of the most basic democratic principles and of the rule of law.

The AFL-CIO calls on the United States government and the international community, particularly the Organization of American States and the United Nations, not only to condemn the coup and withhold recognition of the current government, but to make every effort to help achieve the restitution of constitutional order and the reinstatement of the democratically elected president.

We have already received eyewitness reports that the thousands of people from civil society organizations, including trade unions, who assembled to demand that democratic order be restored and the president returned, have been tear-gassed by the armed forces. Several have been injured and dozens have been arrested. We call on the United States Government to also take all measures within its diplomatic powers to ensure that all Honduran civilians, and particularly trade unionists and social activists denouncing the coup, are safe and secure and will not be victimized by violence and repression.


Statement of WORKERS UNITING on Honduras

Workers Uniting Statement Condemning Coup in Honduras

Workers Uniting, representing 3.5 million workers in North America, the UK and Ireland, unequivocally condemns the military coup and kidnapping of the democratically elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. President Zelaya was working to free his country from decades of hunger and poverty until he was abruptly thwarted in these efforts by the Honduran military.
This military coup is an illegal attempt to use armed force to overturn the course of democracy and social progress chosen by the Honduran people at the polls, and we call upon the nations of the world, and especially the U.S., UK and Canada, to officially declare the seizure of power by the military in Honduras a “military coup” and to act accordingly. In the case of the U.S., this means withholding all military assistance unless and until President Zelaya is returned to power.

Meanwhile, the military and coup conspirators are trying to suppress popular demonstrations by unions and other social groups by violence and arrests; are illegally shutting down critical news outlets; establishing a blanket military presence and setting illegal curfews. We condemn these acts as well, and call upon the Honduran military to respect the human rights of all, including those demonstrating for a peaceful return to civilian and constitutional rule.
We join the OAS and UN in condemning the military seizure of power in Honduras as a giant step backward for the Western Hemisphere, and an act which simply cannot be tolerated. We therefore call upon our respective governments to take all peaceful, diplomatic measures to ensure the return of President Zelaya to his rightful place as President of Honduras. We further support the efforts of the OAS, UN and other Latin American leaders to accompany President Zelaya back to Honduras on Thursday, July 2, 2009, and call upon others to join them in this effort.

Leo W. Gerard, USW International President
Ken Neumann, USW Canadian National Director
Derek Simpson, Unite the Union Joint General Secretary
Tony Woodley, United the Union Joint General Secretary


Statements of Latin American Working Group, Washington Office on Latin America and School of the Americas Watch on Honduras can be found at their websites at:

Lawg.org
Wola.org
Soaw.org

Statement in Spanish

Dear Friends,
 
The ultra-right on Capitol Hill, hand-in-hand with members of the Honduran oligarchy and military, have been besieging Congress with demands that the U.S. back off its stated support for the restoration of Manuel Zelaya to the presidency of Honduras. This needs to be aggressively countered.

Congressmen Bill DeLaHunt (D-MA) and James McGovern (D-MA) have taken the initiative with a resolution described below in a message from the Alliance for Global Justice.

Please follow up the DeLaHunt-McGovern initiative with your letters, faxes, phone calls, e-mails and visits to your own congressperson.

Also contact your senators to ask them to pass a similar resolution. Finally, ask your union, church or community organization to mobilize support for this effort.

Below is an action alert from the Alliance for Global Justice with the text of the resolution and other details:

___________________________

Support House Resolution on Honduras!
Urge your Representative to become an original co-sponsor of House Resolution demanding reinstatement of President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras!

[This action alert comes to you from the Alliance for Global Justice and its member projects, the Nicaragua Network, the Campaign for Labor Rights, the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, and the Respect for Democracy Campaign.]

Representatives James McGovern (D-MA) and Bill Delahunt (D-MA) have sent out a Dear Colleague letter to the other members of the House of Representatives asking them to sign on as original co- sponsors to a House resolution calling for the reinstatement of Manuel Zelaya as president of Honduras. See text of the letter and of the House resolution below.

Call your Representative and ask him or her to sign on! The Capitol Switchboard number is: 202-224- 3121. All original co-sponsors need to be added before 5pm today. Here is some suggested language for your call:

"Please tell Representative _________________ that I urge him to be an original co-sponsor of the McGovern/Delahunt resolution to oppose the military led coup in Honduras. The resolution calls for the reinstatement of democracy in that country. Please contact Cliff Stammerman or Ben Dailey in Delahunt's office before close of business today as that will be the closing of original cosponsors."

******************

Become an original co-sponsor of a resolution opposing the coup d'état in Honduras
Deadline is close of business Thursday, July 9, 2009

Dear Colleague:

We ask you to join us in co-sponsoring the resolution below condemning the coup d'état in Honduras, demanding that Honduran President Manuel Zelaya be returned to office, and welcoming the mediation efforts of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.

As you are no doubt aware, an internal political dispute in Honduras degenerated into a coup d'état on June 28, 2009, in which the democratically-elected President of Honduras was seized by the Honduran military and sent into exile. This move was swiftly condemned by the United States, the Organization of American States, the European Union, and the United Nations, all of whom have demanded that President Zelaya be reinstated to office.

It is critical that Congress be crystal clear that coups are unacceptable. This is particularly important in Latin America, a region which has suffered greatly in the past from military interference in politics but over the last 30 years has generally moved towards democracy. To accept the overthrow of a democratically-elected government is to wipe away the progress that has been made - progress that has been supported by both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Congresses.

To sign on, please contact Cliff Stammerman or Ben Dailey in Congressman Delahunt's office at (202) 226- 6434 or at cliff.stammerman@mail.house.gov or ben.dailey@mail.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Bill Delahunt
James P. McGovern

The Resolution:

Condemning the June 28, 2009 coup d'état in Honduras, calling for the reinstatement of President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, and for other purposes.

Whereas Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales was elected President of Honduras in November 2005 in elections that were deemed free and fair by international observers;

Whereas President Zelaya and other political actors in Honduras became embroiled in a political dispute over whether to hold a non-binding referendum asking Honduran voters whether they wanted a constituent assembly to be established to amend the Constitution;

Whereas on June 28, 2009, the day that the non- binding referendum was to take place, Honduran military forces stormed President Zelaya's residence, apprehended him, sent him out of the country, and seized the materials for the referendum;

Whereas the Honduran Congress named Roberto Micheletti, the head of the Congress, as President and subsequently suspended a number of constitutional rights, including the freedom of association and of movement;

Whereas the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has expressed its concerns regarding human rights abuses by the de facto Micheletti government, including the arbitrary detention of Zelaya supporters;

Whereas the Organization of American States, the United Nations, and the European Union - representing governments from across the political spectrum - have condemned the coup d'état, refused to recognize the de facto Micheletti government, and demanded the unconditional return of President Zelaya to office;

Whereas on July 1, 2009, the Organization of American States voted unanimously to suspend Honduras from participation in the OAS unless President Zelaya was returned to office within three days;

Whereas, on July 4, 2009, the OAS unanimously voted to suspend Honduras;

Whereas the Administration of President Barack Obama has condemned President Zelaya's removal, supported the OAS resolutions regarding Honduras, and demanded that he be returned to office;

Whereas the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank have suspended aid and loans to Honduras;

Whereas national elections are scheduled in Honduras for November 29, 2009;

Whereas President Zelaya has said that he will only serve until his term ends in January 2010;

Whereas it is critical for the stability of Honduras that the November 2009 elections be free, fair, and transparent; and

Whereas U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced on July 7, 2009, that Costa Rican President Oscar Arias would seek to negotiate a solution to the crisis, and President Zelaya and the de facto Micheletti government have agreed to the mediation of President Arias.

Therefore, the House of Representatives:

1) Condemns the June 28, 2009 coup d'état in Honduras and refuses to recognize the de facto Micheletti government installed by that coup d'état;

2) Calls on the Obama Administration to continue to refuse to recognize the de facto Micheletti government;

3) Calls for the reinstatement of President Zelaya as President of Honduras;

4) Urges the Obama Administration to suspend non-humanitarian assistance to the de facto Micheletti government as required by U.S. law and as it deems necessary to compel the return of President Zelaya to office;

5) Calls for extensive international observation of the November 2009 elections once President Zelaya is returned to office to ensure that his successor is elected freely, fairly, and transparently; and

6) Welcomes the mediation of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and encourages the Obama Administration to provide any assistance President Arias requests in his efforts.

(Remarks to National Committee Meeting June 20, 2009)

I make no attempt to be comprehensive in these remarks. My aim is much more modest, as you will see.

Let me begin with a simple observation: If the last 30 years were an era of reaction, then the coming decade could turn into an era of reform, even radical reform. Six months into the Obama presidency, I would say without hesitation that the landscape, atmosphere, conversation, and agenda have strikingly changed compared to the previous eight years.

In this legislative session, we can envision winning a Medicare-like public option and then going further in the years ahead.

We can visualize passing tough regulatory reforms on the financial industry, which brought the economy to ruin.

We can imagine the troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan while U.S. representatives participate in a regional process that brings peace and stability to the entire region.

In the current political climate, the expansion of union rights becomes a real possibility.

Much the same can be said about winning a second stimulus bill, and we sure need one, given the still-rising rate, and likely long term persistence, of unemployment.

Isn’t it possible in the Obama era to create millions of green jobs in manufacturing and other sectors of the economy in tandem with an attack on global warming?

Can’t we envision taking new strides in the long journey for racial and gender equality in this new era, marked at its beginning by the election of the first African American to the presidency?

And isn’t the overhaul of the criminal justice and prison system – a system steeped in racism – no longer pie-in-the sky, but something that can be done in the foreseeable future?

All these things are within reach now!

(Continued)

The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) joins with the world in denouncing the coup d’etat this morning against the legally elected president of the Republic of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, by the Honduran military, in which, according to a statement by the president’s wife, Mr. Zelaya was threatened and beaten before being sent into exile in Costa Rica.

• The CPUSA denounces alarming reports of physical attacks by troops against the ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Tegucigalpa, and calls for protection of all diplomatic personal; and, if the reports of the attacks are confirmed, punishment of all the responsible parties for this gross violation of Honduran and international law.

The CPUSA further:

• Demands that president Zelaya and other members of his government be returned to power immediately, and that the troops return to their barracks.

• Demands the immediate release of all labor, community and student leaders who have reportedly been rounded up by the army, and the restoration of freedom of the press.

• Recognizes that the Obama administration has repudiated the coup, and insists that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton hold firm to this position, refusing diplomatic recognition and any military aid to Honduras until President Zelaya is restored to power.

• Calls upon unions and other people’s organizations in the United States to actively support our brothers and sisters in Honduras in resisting this brutal military coup d’etat.

Statement in Spanish

El Partido Comunista de los Estados Unidos (CPUSA) se une con el mundo entero en denunciar al golpe de estado militar que se llevó a cabo esta mañana en contra del presidente legitimo de la Republica de Honduras, Manuel Zelaya por militares hondureños, en que, según dice la Sra. de Zelaya, el presidente fue golpeado y amenazado físicamente, antes de ser exiliado a Costa Rica.

• El Partido Comunista de los Estados expresa su coraje e indignación por las versiones según las cuales tropas hondureñas agredieron a los embajadores de Cuba, Venezuela y Nicaragua en Tegucigalpa, e insiste que, al confirmarse tales reportes, los agresores sean castigados por esta grave infracción de las leyes internacionales y de la Republica de Honduras.

Además, el Partido Comunista de los Estados Unidos:

• Exige de que el presidente Zelaya y otros integrantes de su gobierno sean devuelto a poder en forma inmediatamente, y que todas las tropas regresen a sus cuarteles.

• Exige que todos los dirigentes laborales, comunales y estudiantiles que, según reportes, han sido detenidos por las fuerzas armadas sean puestos en libertad, y que la libertad de la prensa sea restaurada en forma inmediata.

• Reconoce que la administración del presidente estadounidense Barack Obama ha repudiado el golpe de estado, y exige que tanto Obama como la secretaria de asuntos exteriores Hillary Clinton se mantengan firmes en esta actitud, negando el reconocimiento diplomático y cualquier ayuda material hasta que se restaure al Presidente Zelaya a su puesto.

• Hace un llamado a los sindicatos y otras organizaciones populares en nuestro país, a que apoyen en forma activa a nuestras hermanas y hermanos en Honduras que ya están organizando una valiente resistencia en contra del golpe.

Declaración en íngles

Reprinted form the People's Weekly World

LANSING, Mich. — The General Motors bankruptcy, announced Monday, was expected, having been predicted for weeks if not months. But the enormity of how far this once mighty giant of U.S. monopoly capitalism has fallen is shocking nevertheless. For many it seems like not so long ago when GM was not only the leader of all auto producers with a commanding 54 percent of the U.S. market, it was also the undisputed dominant corporation in the country’s economy.

In filing for bankruptcy yesterday, GM said it will close 14 plants in the U.S., half of them here in Michigan. It will leave less than 40,000 GM autoworkers nationwide, a tiny fraction of the 395,000 employed by the company in its heyday in the 1970s.

Nowhere is the shock greater than Michigan, GM’s birthplace. Today, the state has an official unemployment rate of almost 13 percent, and because it has seven times the auto jobs of the next highest state, Ohio, people here fear things will only get worse as the job loss in auto ripples through the economy.

At a “Keep the Dream Alive — Reinvest in America” rally that drew several thousand here yesterday, Jim Chapman a steelworker at Great Lakes Works in Ecorse, Mich., which makes steel for auto bodies, said he is a victim of that rippling effect. This father of five has been laid off for six months. “If you’re not selling cars, you’re not making steel,” he said. “It trickles down.”
Lansing, Mich., rally demands, "Keep the Dream Alive — Reinvest in America."

Under a plan announced by President Obama on Monday, the federal government will provide up to another $30 billion to keep GM afloat while it emerges, restructured, out of bankruptcy. That is on top of $19 billion in federal money the company received earlier. The Canadian government will chip in another $9 billion as part of the deal. The downsized company will have 60 percent U.S. government ownership, with smaller portions of its stock held by the United Auto Workers union, bondholders and the Canadian government.

Ron Bloom, who heads Obama’s auto task force, told reporters the government will be a “reluctant shareholder” and will not get involved in day-to-day management. But, he said, with taxpayer money now keeping GM afloat, the government “has to demand something in return for this capital."

In exchange for the new government aid, GM agreed to go through bankruptcy to eliminate more than $27 billion in debt held by bondholders. It also agreed to build a new small car in idled UAW factories and to increase the share of U.S.-based production from 66 percent to 70 percent, the White House said. The union has agreed to a no-strike pledge until 2015.

The White House noted that "the UAW has made important concessions on compensation and retiree health care that, while difficult, will help save jobs for active employees, pensions and health care for retirees."

UAW leaders pointed out in a press statement that "the biggest sacrifices will be made by the tens of thousands of workers who will lose their jobs as a result of the numerous plant closings that GM is announcing in its restructuring plan."

Addressing yesterday’s rally here, Lansing Mayor Verg Bernero said, “D-Day for GM is a sad day.” He said he was “grateful for an administration that is grappling with a problem it did not create, but certainly inherited.”

Many at the rally were angry that GM, while receiving bailout money which may total $50 billion or more, is shutting down 14 plants at home while it increases production outside the country.

“When you offshore jobs, you export the American Dream,” said Bernero.

Bill Parker, president of UAW Local 1700 at Chrysler’s Sterling Heights, Mich., Assembly plant, which is also scheduled to close, said workers are outraged that Chrysler wants to close an additional five plants. His plant employs about 1,400 workers and produces the Sebring sedan and convertible, along with the Dodge Avenger. He asked the crowd of several thousand to join him in calling on the Obama administration to demand that Chrysler reverse its decision.

“Chrysler got the money but they did not get the message,” said Parker, referring to the more than $7 billion in federal bailout money the company has received. The intent of that government assistance was to help people, Parker said. Now, he declared, “our sons and daughters face the prospect of doing worse than we are.”

Referring to GM’s export of jobs to low-wage countries, Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow told the crowd that she is “tired of talking about the race to the bottom. I have been doing it for 10 years. We have to raise others up, and not keep pushing us down.”

The Rev. Jesse Jackson emphasized the effect the bankruptcy and closing of GM plants will have on communities. When you close 14 plants and hundreds of dealers, you also close auto suppliers; you cut off a town’s tax base, you close their schools, and cause their teachers, police and fire departments to also shut down, he said.

As details of the GM bankruptcy plan emerged, some 3,000 labor and progressive activists were meeting at the America’s Future Now conference in Washington.

“Loss of jobs and the economic devastation that has spread across this country results from corporate greed,” Change to Win labor federation chair Anna Burger said there. Economic recovery means “more than just companies making a profit,” she said. Echoing Lansing Mayor Bernero, Burger said, “It means good secure jobs, decent incomes and the prospect of a secure retirement — in short, the American Dream.”

Another labor leader, speaking informally, noted that the auto union was caught “between a rock and a hard place” and was able to come out of the bankruptcy negotiations with a few things including a little less pain for some active workers and retirees. But, he said, “Once again, we have workers making the sacrifices while companies close plants and ship operations overseas. Once again we are doing what the finance industry says we should be doing to make a company 'viable' even if that means more massive job loss and continued de-industrialization.” This is a continuation of an approach that “just doesn't cut it,” he said.

“The problem with doing business this way is that it leads to disaster for workers and in the end it doesn't do much for GM either — by doing it their way they ended up deep in debt,” the labor leader said.

“What we really need,” he said, “is a bold new approach that retools our old plants to build mass transit, light rail, green cars and all the things we need for the future. Globalization is here to stay. We need to make it work for the majority, not just for the few, by creating a real plan to keep good paying manufacturing jobs and green jobs here in America. Let’s use our leverage to fight for this approach.”

John Rummel is the Chair of the Michigan District of the CPUSA. jrummel @ pww.org. Joel Wendland and John Wojcik contributed to this story.

The Communist Party USA is shocked and appalled at North Korea's recent nuclear test, as well as its subsequent test firing of at least two missiles.

We see these acts as incredibly provocative. Even North Korea's most important ally, China, was horrified by, and condemned, the tests.

Of course, North Korea is right to say that it has been, and still is, the victim of imperialist aggression, specifically from the U.S. It is true that the United States has never made reparations for the destruction of the Korean War, has repeatedly threatened North Korea, and encroached upon its right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to peacefully use nuclear power. In addition, the United States has helped to isolate North Korea from the rest of the world, encroaching upon its sovereign rights and hindering its economic development, and therefore providing the basis for the problems afflicting the region. It was the United States that fought the Korean War, and partitioned the nation into two separate states. The line of demarcation between north and south is one of the most militarized in the world. Currently, tens of thousands of U.S. troops remain in South Korea, and the U.S. routinely practices joint military drills with south Korea, simulating a ground invasion of the North.

Nonetheless, we are resolutely opposed to the use or development of any nuclear weapons by any nation.

Nuclear weapons threaten the very existence of humanity itself. The unintended effects of the tests have been to heighten tensions in the region: The sections of Japan's leadership that want to see Japan change its “peace constitution” so that Japan can maintain a standing army have seized upon these provocative tests to push forward the changes they want.

Further, the results of the tests are in direct contradiction to our common aim of battling imperialism. The general direction of the Obama administration's nuclear policy is at odds with that of any administration in the past 30 years, if not longer. While Obama has to navigate the political realities of the U.S., his administration has sought to reduce the nuclear threat, as well as the threat that the U.S. poses to other, oppressed nations. Consequently, powerful sections of the U.S. ruling class have made their aim to derail the Obama administration altogether.

The fight for progressive forces is to make sure that Obama, and the social strata that are part of the Obama movement—the working class, women and the racially and nationally oppressed especially—meets success.

The ultra-right has already seized upon North Korea's nuclear tests to attack Obama, Obama has been forced to respond sharply, and the movement for peace and against imperialism is that much more difficult. We believe peace is possible in today’s world, but this nuclear test, on the contrary, strengthens the ultra-right and imperialism, not the cause of peace.

The Communist Party USA, along with North Korea's neighbors, including socialist China and Vietnam, and many other progressive forces around the world, condemn these tests and urge the North Korean leadership to abandon its policy of brinkmanship.

Further, we urge all parties, including the United States and Japan, to exercise restraint in response. As we have always said, the main way to solve the nuclear issue, as well as the problems of Northeast Asia more generally, is through good-faith dialogue, through the six-party talks or some other mechanism, and not through military saber-rattling and brinkmanship from any quarters.

This is the Communist Party's Ninetieth Anniversary year. Founded in 1919, the Communist Party has had an unparalleled history of struggle for jobs, justice, peace and socialism in this country.

In 2006 the Communist Party donated its archives and the Library of the Reference Center for Marxist Studies to the Tamiment Library in order to preserve our unique history and make the collection available to researchers, students and the public.

Below is slide show of just a small set of images from the collection that was featured in an exhibit in 2007 at the library. Visit our website regularly this year for more photos, images, articles and information about the 90th Anniversary of the Communist Party USA.


Created with flickr slideshow.

Reproducido de:People's Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo

Comentario

No es una cosa estática. El movimiento sindical no “llega” a un lugar especifico que se llama “unidad”. La unidad sindical, como la lucha más amplia para la unidad de la clase trabajadora, es un trayecto constante, que no “termina” en un punto final. Es una marcha continua superando barreras y obstáculos. A veces el camino los lleva por terreno difícil, por lluvia, nieve y otros obstáculos, y en contra de poderosos vientos contrarios. Hablando de tiempos malos, pensemos de los ocho años de George y 30 años de ataques implacables al movimiento sindical.

Tampoco es la unidad sindical una tremenda abstracción. Unidad laboral es moción. Es acción con rumbo y meta. Surge del trabajo duro enfocado en temas y programas. La verdadera unidad sindical surge de las experiencias y estimaciones compartidas.

Lo que estoy tratando de decir es que la actual desunión en el sector laboral estadounidense es más una cuestión de forma que contenido. Sí, todavía existe una división formal entre las dos federaciones, AFL-CIO y Change to Win. Pero al nivel de acción, hay una unidad muy fuerte en las funciones prácticas. A pesar de que no se ha formulado ninguna declaración formal de un programa sindical unido, tal unidad programática surge claramente al nivel de la acción práctica. Todo el movimiento sindical se encuentra unido detrás de un programa que incluye:

• Aprobación del proyecto de ley de libertad de optar por sindicalización (EFCA).

• Una recuperación sustentable que produce empleos e ingresos.

• Una resolución de la crisis de viviendas que mantenga a los trabajadores en sus hogares y provee viviendas a bajo costo para las familias de la clase trabajadora.

• Una reforma autentica, integral y universal de los servicios de salud.

• Desarrollo económico sostenible que produce empleos en la manufactura y otros que sean “verdes” y que protegen y restauran al medio ambiente.

Y apenas la semana pasada vino el anuncio, tremendamente importante de una propuesta conjunta de la AFL-CIO, Change to Win y la Asociación Nacional de Educadores (NEA) al problema de la reforma migratoria. Esto fue más allá de un anuncio de un pacto. También señaló la unidad sindicall y el apoyo al llamado por parte de la administración de Obama para que el Congreso actúe. Aun más, señala la decisión del movimiento labor de trabajar activamente para influenciar al debate y legislación en una manera que no solo protege a los derechos de los obreros inmigrantes, sino que también fomenta una unidad sindical mas amplia.

La experiencia en las elecciones de 2008 ha sido un factor crítico en el camino a la unidad. Nadie cuestiona seriamente que los sindicatos desempeñaron un papel clave en eligir al presidente Obama, en cambiar al balance de fuerza en el Congreso y en dar fin al control férreo de los republicanos sobre el poder. Pero mientras que celebramos al papel increíble desempeñado por los sindicatos en las elecciones, también debemos hacer constar la poderosa influencia que el movimiento pro Obama tuvo con los sindicatos. Trabajando en el contexto de la coalición más amplia que apoyaba a Obama no solo ilustró el poder de la unidad, sino que también ayudó a perfeccionar la sofisticación de la acción laboral independiente, mientras que proporcionó entrenamiento político a miles de activistas nuevos surgidos de la base. La histeria reaccionaria de las corporaciones en contra del EFCA ha sido causada en gran medida por este despertar político en el movimiento laboral.

La unidad laboral surge de todos aspectos de la misma lucha de clases. No es simplemente una cuestión de voluntad fuerte o de pensamiento correcto. La unidad aumenta por razón de la crisis económica. Los ataques a los trabajadores del sector automotriz la fortalecen. La unidad laboral aumenta a causa de las pérdidas de empleos, las luchas de los desocupados, la pérdida de hogares y leyes antisindicales a nivel estatal. Se aumenta a causa de los ataques en contra de los trabajadores inmigrante y sus derechos, por ataques racistas y por ataques y discriminación en contra de las mujeres. Se fortalece por medio de la lucha en contra de deficiencias en el cuidado de salud y en los fondos disponibles para las escuelas. De hecho todos los ataques antidemocráticas promueve como resultado más unidad laboral. Como se va intensificando la lucha de clases, aumenta la presión a favor de la unidad. Es la urgencia de las reivindicaciones inmediatas que actualmente fortalece a la unidad laboral.

Por supuesto existen verdaderos problemas. No podemos hacer caso omiso a los actuales brotes de divisionismos y conflictos dentro del sector sindical. Pero dentro de cada uno de estos conflictos, existe una lucha al nivel de base a favor de la unidad, la democracia sindical y los derechos de las bases. Estos son asuntos que se van a arreglar adentro del movimiento sindical. La tendencia grande hacia la unidad laboral tendrá una influenza poderosa a favor de calmar estos divisionismos.

Tampoco podemos ignorar las cuestiones difíciles de estructura y liderato que todavía impiden la creación de una sola “casa sindical”. Pero podemos estar seguros que las presiones grandes a favor de la unidad también están detrás de las actuales charlas entre la AFL-CIO, Change to Win y la mayoría de los sindicatos independientes.

Como celebramos este Primero de Mayo, debemos y podemos aumentar nuestros esfuerzos de promover la más amplia unidad laboral que sea posible. Esto se va a lograr no por medio de una agitación abstracta, sino por participación seria en la acción en cuanto a los asuntos que mas movilizan al sector sindical y al pueblo. ¡Hay tantas cosas que suceden a nivel de base! Cada manifestación de parte de un concilio central sindical a favor de la EFCA, cada acción conjunta para cualquiera de las luchas laborales, conduce poderosamente hacia la unidad. Cada acción de solidaridad, cada piquete, cada convención o conferencia laboral, cada lazo que construimos entre el movimiento sindical y sus aliados naturales, cada coalición sindical-comunitaria, fortalece y construye la unidad laboral.

Este Primero de Mayo el pronóstico de tiempo es muy positivo. No importa cuan difícil es la lucha por la unidad, por primera vez en muchos años los vientos soplan en nuestro favor.

The new documentary by filmmaker Michal Goldman, "At Home in Utopia" is a great tribute to the Communist Party, though is not directly about the Communist Party nor is the assessment of the Party always favorable.

The film, part of PBS's "Independent Lens series, documents the history and legacy of the Bronx's United Workers Cooperative Colony, "the coops." The coops was a collectively owned housing cooperative developed by Jewish immigrants 80 years ago.

The New York Times wrote that the documentary captured the coops' "daring social experiment," which was rooted in social justice, racial integration and international solidarity.

But most of the founders of the coops and many of its residents for much of the development's history were members of the Communist Party. "At Home in Utopia" shows a unique glimpse into the lives of communist activists and members during the Depression, World War II and through the McCarthy "Red Scare." It documents their ideals, dreams, squabbles, mistakes and successes. In many ways the trajectory of the coops mirrored that of the Communist Party itself in that period.

While the documentary ultimately and hastily concludes that adherence to communism was the the downfall of the coops—which was sold into private hands after World War II—it reflects a deeper truth: that membership in the Communist Party never meant unanimity or oppression. This film helps expose the all-too-common lie that communists were automatons, unthinking tools who mindlessly carried out Moscow's orders. In fact, the motivations and actions of the radicals captured in the film are local and personal.

"At Home in Utopia" shows that communists differ and debate and are deeply independent and opinionated. Perhaps no better tribute could be made.

You can find local listing of broadcast times of the documentary on your local public television station.

There are also great photos and some clips from the film at the documentary's website.

April 28 is International Workers Memorial Day. This is a day for honoring the loss of workers worldwide who are injured and killed on the job as well as those who suffer injury or sickness due to unsafe working conditions, industrial accidents and abusive management practices.

It is also a time to rededicate ourselves to the struggles for workplace safety and health, for environmental protection, for just compensation, medical coverage for all and protection for immigrant workers who often receive the most dangerous and deadly jobs or are forced to work without even basic safety tools, equipment, and training.

The International Labour Organization, the international body of the United Nations that addresses issues of work and workers rights released a report yesterday that reveals key facts about workers safety and health worldwide:

• The ILO estimates that each year about 2.3 million men and women die from work-related accidents and diseases including close to 360,000 fatal accidents and an estimated 1.95 million fatal work-related diseases.

• This means that by the end of this day nearly 1 million workers will suffer a workplace accident, and around 5,500 workers will die due to an accident or disease from their work.

• In economic terms it is estimated that roughly four per cent of the annual global Gross Domestic Product, or US$1.25 trillion, is siphoned off by direct and indirect costs of occupational accidents and diseases such as lost working time, workers’ compensation, the interruption of production and medical expenses.

• Hazardous substances cause an estimated 651,000 deaths, mostly in the developing world. These numbers may be greatly under-estimated due to inadequate reporting and notification systems in many countries.

• Data from a number of industrialized countries show that construction workers are three to four times more likely than other workers to die from accidents at work.

• Occupational lung disease in mining and related industries arising from asbestos, coal and silica exposure is still a concern in developed and developing countries. Asbestos alone claims about 100,000 deaths every year and the figure is rising annually.

The picture is often grim for workers around the world as well as hear in the United States. This Workers Memorial Day, we take a moment to remember those who have passed and encourage everyone to fight to make work safe—for you, for your families, your neighbors and the environment.

For more on Workers Memorial Day, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or read the annual "Death on the Job" report  prepared by the AFL-CIO.

Photo: billjacobus1 under Creative Commons Attribution license

Reprinted from the People's Weekly World

Earth Day, April 22, is sandwiched between Tax Day, April 15, and Workers Memorial Day, April 28. Just around the corner is May Day, May 1, the international workers day and a day for flower baskets and maypoles. What do they all have in common?

An economy powered by two toxic pollutants: oil and corporate greed. Misplaced priorities that send more than half of our tax dollars to military spending that kills people, ruins lives, pollutes the planet and wrecks our economy. Damaging foreign policy driven by a quest to secure oil. Workers’ lives lost and health destroyed because of corporate greed. A system that puts profit before people and ravages the earth along the way. And the need for workers and people of the world to unite, to love and preserve our planet and to build a better world.

It’s clearer than ever that the present system can’t continue. It’s not sustainable, either economically or environmentally. Vast parts of our country are industrial wastelands —empty factories, mills, warehouses and storefronts testify to jobs gone forever. In too many places, military bases and industries, or prisons, are the best or only jobs around. Toxic “brownfields” and Superfund sites dot urban and rural landscapes. Open green space, family farms, woods and wetlands have been plowed under for wasteful exurban sprawl and industrial “parks” — many now sporting “for lease” and “foreclosure” signs. Industrial agriculture has brought degraded and tainted food, pollution and toxic working conditions.

Turning this around means getting our economic system in sync with Mother Nature — greening our economy. It means a massive national undertaking to invest in sustainable, non-polluting energy, industry and transportation systems; in well-planned, vibrant and sustainable “green” cities, towns and rural communities; in education, health care and culture to produce an informed and involved citizenry. Of course, that means putting people, and nature, before profits. This won’t happen without a fight.

Earth Day and May Day remind us to breathe the beauty of the flowers of spring and the roses of summer and struggle. “Love your mother” — planet Earth, and, in the words of labor organizer Mother Jones, “fight like hell for the living.”

Reprinted form the People's Weekly World

BOULDER, Colorado -– Some may call it Conference-a-palooza. Film critic Roger Ebert calls it “The Conference on Everything Conceivable.” But its more conventional name is "The Conference on World Affairs" and it's hosted by The University of Colorado.

It's a cherished tradition in this Rocky Mountain town. Some 80,000 people are expected to attend 200 panels, plenary sessions, performances, a spectacular jazz concert and “Cinema Interruptus,” an annual event with Ebert.

But one thing this year that won't be traditional. Communist Party Chair Sam Webb is one among the 100-plus panelists. This will be the first time a Communist Party leader is participating in the grand Boulder 61-year tradition.

Webb will be part of nine panels, "ATTENTION: Deficit Disorder!"; "Family Values: Casualties of the Culture War"; "Ethics in Government: LOL"; "Political Candidates: No Room for Non-believers"; "Are We Stimulated Yet?"; "Libertarians, Progressives, Communists: Political Outliers"; "What Makes a Leader" and "We Are All Socialists Now."

Plus he will join other panelists on a live broadcast Wed., April 8 8:30-9:20 on KGNU 88.5 FM/1390 AM discussing "A Public Affair Is Obama's Bipartisanship Sustainable?"

Conference director Jim Palmer said the annual event can only happen because of those enthusiastic volunteers, who every year donate thousands of hours of their time. “There really is nothing like the Conference on World Affairs,” Palmer said. “The Conference on World Affairs is a million-dollar conference that is basically run on a shoestring.”

All events are free and open to the public.

"Every year, about 100 Boulder residents volunteer to open up their homes to panelists, agreeing to put up guests who could range from an Irish storyteller, the chairman of the Communist Party USA or a New York Times reporter," reports local newspaper The Daily Camera. http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/mar/29/boulders-conference-world-affairs-labor-love/>

Journalist Molly Ivins, who was a frequent participant, wrote that the event offers “astonishing, cross-disciplinary insights, whole new ways of looking at old questions and information that can transform the way you look at things.”

Palmer says he believes the increasing audiences are a reaction to today’s easy access to information. “In an age when facts and figures are available almost instantaneously via the Internet, people are craving context, background, experience; they want texture and substance, face-to-face encounters and exchanges, to help them interpret all the detailed information we now have so readily at hand. This is one of the things the conference does best. Also, it is moving, wild, unpredictable, and fun.”

The University of Colorado’s Conference on World Affairs was founded in 1948 as a forum on international affairs. It rapidly expanded to encompass a huge range of fields including but not limited to: music, literature, environment, science, journalism, visual arts, diplomacy, technology, spirituality, film politics, business, medicine, and human rights.

The list of 2009 participants (and bios, including Webb's) is at http://www.colorado.edu/cwa/participants.html?year=2009

Out of the Crisis: Building a new era of justice & peace

by Sam Webb, National Chair
Communist Party, USA

(Based on a speech delivered March 21, 2009, New York City.)

Video version of the speech
Audio version of the speech
PDF version

An excerpt for the speech published in the People's Weekly World


Introduction

Welcome to everyone in Winston Unity Center and to everybody on line.

We are living in very turbulent times. The world is in transition. An old era — an era of neoliberalism, financialization and rightwing extremism — is fading away and a new era is being born.

But no one is quite sure what the new era will look like. It resists easy prediction. It is safe to say that the future of both our country and the world is still to be written.

As bad as things have been over the last three decades, few thought they could get much worse. But they have. Depression economics has entered our vocabulary not simply as a historical event, but as a lived experience for millions.

Only a short time ago most economists said the economic cycle had been tamed. In 2004, in a speech titled “The Great Moderation,” Federal Reserve Board Chair Ben Bernanke said we live in an era in which macroeconomic instability has been eliminated.

Fast forward five years and the Great Moderation has turned into the Great Crisis. That which few thought would ever happen again has happened again, and without much warning.

The social fabric is rupturing. The terrain on which billions of people earn a living and raise their families feels foreign, even unrecognizable. Haven’t you heard more than one person say, “Is this the country I grew up in?”

Gabcast! Communist Party USA #17 - Out of the Crisis: A speech by Sam Webb

"Out of the Crisis: Building a new era of justice and peace" was a speech delivered by Sam Webb, National Chair of the Communist Party USA. The speech was the opening address to the organization’s National Committee, which includes leading communists from around the country. Video and text versions of the speech are available at http://www.cpusa.org/

Libero Della Piana and Diane Mohney debate local conservative politicians on Allentown's "Business Matters."

Check it out at WFMZ-TV

Out of the crisis
Building a new era of justice and peace

a speech by Sam Webb, National Chair of the Communist Party


Saturday, March 21
9:30 am Eastern


This Saturday, March 21, Sam Webb, the national chairperson of the Communist Party USA, delivered a speech titled, “Out of the crisis: Building a new era of justice and peace.” The speech was streamed live via the web right here on our website www.cpusa.org. You can watch it above.

The speech was the opening address to the organization’s National Committee, which includes leading communists from around the country.

For press inquiries email communications@cpusa.org or call 646-437-5338

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