Across the country, people took to the street on May Day for jobs, justice and peace. The 99% Spring has made a great start – let’s keep the momentum going throughout the year, at the polls in November and beyond. Here are a few things to inspire our work.
Austerity: Is it Working for Europe?
A Boston Globe article summarizes a report from the International Labor Organization, which concludes, “Austerity has not produced more economic growth.” On MSNBC, talking about May Day, austerity and what the Occupy Movement can do to improve things, Chris Hayes’ latest weekend panel featured labor leaders, an Occupy Wall Street activist and Rep. Nadler (D-NY).
Revitalizing Our Economy
We know that the GOP is busy blocking any real job creation legislation from being passed, such as blocking construction jobs. Do these Republicans realize how blocking jobs creation is hurting workers, like veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan? An excellent article on the need for infrastructure and the jobs that would be created is at the Campaign for America’s Future website. Something else that would help is to bring call centers back to the U.S. Take Action: Tell Congress to support The United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Bill.
Recap on May Day
Two great articles in the People’s World from May Day 2012: In Chicago, the home of May Day, thousands marched peacefully. And in New York City, tens of thousands rallied at the Union Square May Day celebration. You can find many more articles at the Huffington Post’s Occupy webpage. As one New york participant stated, “It’s definitely a restart for Occupy Wall Street.”
Please make sure to visit the People’s World online for the best in worker’s news!
Other resources to check out:
WeNeedJobsNotCuts.com – UnemployedWorkers.org – Unemployed Nation – JobsNotCuts.org
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Scott Marshall is a vice chair of the Communist Party and chair of its Labor Commission. Scott grew up in Virginia where he first became active in the civil rights movement in high school, working on voter registration and anti-Klan projects in rural Southern Virginia and Tennessee. He was also active against the war in Vietnam.
Scott has been a life long trade unionist and was active in rank and file reform movements in the Teamsters, Machinists and Steelworkers unions in the 1970s and '80s. He was co-chair of the Save Our Jobs committee of USWA local 1834 at Pullman Standard in Chicago and active in nationwide organizing against plant shutdowns and layoffs. He was a founder of the unemployed organization Jobs or Income Now (Join), in Chicago, and the National Congress of Unemployed Organizations in the 1980s.
Scott has worked for the Communist Party since 1987 when he became the district organizer for the party in Illinois, a post he held until he was elected chair of the National Labor Commission in 1997. Scott remains active in SOAR (Steelworkers Active Organized Retirees). He lives in Chicago.
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