February 24, 2011 - IN SUPPORT OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS OF WORKERS
Approved by the National Committee of the Social Democrats USA on 02-24-2011
The National Committee of the Social Democrats USA views with abhorrence the right wing, tea party inspired efforts to roll back the collective bargaining rights of public employees i.e. firemen, teachers, police, human service workers, etc in states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and others. What is clear to us is that these political forces whose spokesmen ironically regularly describe groups or individuals advocating even minimal rights for the poor and working people as proponents of class warfare, are themselves conducting a brutal class war against working class and poor Americans. Their plan is obviously to use the current budget crisis of states, a crisis caused primarily by the great recession of 2008 as an excuse to conduct brutal class war against working class people and their unions.
The fulfillment of this plan in addition to the total subjection of workers will also have the additional benefit from the perspective of the Republican Right of radically reducing the ability of unions to support the Democratic Party in future election campaigns. Given the new political environment caused by the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision last year to allow unlimited campaign spending by corporations it is vitally important that the American Labor movement retain its ability to balance this influence with its own.
Advocates for ending most of the rights of public workers to collectively bargain with state and local governments argue that real sacrifices must be made to balance state budgets. This is true. However why we ask is it that the workers who provide for the education, safety, and general needs of the public and the safety net for the poor must make the lion share of the sacrifices? These individuals will respond that ordinary non public workers have it very bad and that public workers should have it equally as bad. They also attempt to portray public employees as living off the public trough and as having plush undeserving comfortable lives, thus attempting to excite envy and rage of the non unionized work force. What public employee unions have done under collective bargaining laws has been to provide their members with decent income, pension, and health insurance benefits.
The arguments for ending the collective bargaining rights of public employees of Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker, Ohio's Governor John Kasich, and Co. are based on lies. The first lie is that public employee are over paid. Based on their age and educational levels - about half of public employees are university graduates - public workers make some what less in total benefits i.e. wages, pensions, and health benefits than workers in the private sector in the same age and educational categories. Thus public employees are not over compensated. The second lie is that the collective bargaining rights of public employees need to be gutted in order to balance state and local government budgets. The fact is that the recent budget deficits in states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were caused by the Wall Street induced recession of 2008. We have to wonder why the Wall Street bankers and investment firms which in fact did cause the recession are not being required by the Teapartyers and Right wing Republicans to make any sacrifices? Why are only public employees being scapegoated? The hypocrisy of Walker, Kasich and their like minded compatriots is obvious. The other major cause of the current crisis in state budgets has been the systematic gutting of state systems of taxation by Republican Party dominated governments. In both Ohio and Wisconsin the taxes of corporations and the very rich has in recent years been radically reduced by right wing governments. For example in Ohio about $2 billion dollars, a quarter of the state's $8 billion dollar two year deficit, has been caused by the Republican inspired cuts in both income and corporate taxes in 2005.
A final point which shows up the lies of the enemies of labor is that over the past years public employees in states such as Wisconsin and Ohio have been taking significant cuts in their total wage retirement and benefit packages. During the recent crisis in Wisconsin, public employee unions have already conceded that they will accept most of Governor Walker's proposed cuts to their livelihoods. What they will not accept is the complete abrogation of their human right to bargain collectively and thus to be co-decision makers regarding their own economic futures. What they will not accept is a future in which management makes all of the decisions regarding their future work lifes and economic livelihoods.
Collective Bargaining is a relatively abstract phrase. It is easy for people to misunderstand its meaning. What it means is that workers have a right to bargain with management regarding the basic issues of their lifes at the workplace. It allows them to have some degree of power over their future incomes, health benefits and working conditions. Collective bargaining ends the complete dictatorship that management generally has over workers. What the attempt to end collective bargaining by right wing governments in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and other states means is that workers are going to be led back to a full condition of wage slavery. Workers in these states will not accept this reintroduction of servitude without a furious struggle. The Social Democrats USA intends to be with the unions and workers in this struggle.
February 24, 2011 - ON THE DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS OF NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Resolution approved by the Social Democrats USA National Committee on 02-24-2011
Members of the Social Democrats USA have celebrated the fall of Hosni Mubarak and rejoice that the democratic revolution in Egypt is continuing forward. However our concern for what is happening in the Middle East and North Africa does not end in Egypt. The Social Democrats USA support fully the democratic aspirations and actions of the peoples of Libya, Bahrain. Yemen, Algeria, and other nations in which people are rebelling against repressive regimes to gain democratic and human rights.
Beyond wanting to go on record in support the struggles of the peoples of these nations, we also want to call upon the Obama administration to do what it effectively can to support the process of liberation. The SDUSA is well aware that the United States has real vital interests in the Middle East and North Africa that need to be pursued. Many right wing propagandists such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have used the existence of these arguments to argue that the United State must support the dictators in their struggles to repress their own peoples. To support this argument they argue that Moslems are in some way intrinsically unfit for democratic governments, thus fit only to be slaves. The Social Democrats USA reject such an idea completely.
The SDUSA recognizes that all currently practiced religions are a complex mix of traditions which have elements that can be used to repress or liberate people. We believe that those same elements of both repression and liberation are just as present within Islam as in Judaism and Christianity. Therefore we believe that the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa will be able to develop democratic societies in which the better elements of Islam may be able to play a significant and positive role.
Again we are aware that the development of democratic republics in the Middle East and North Africa will make the process of American diplomacy in the region more complex and difficult than is presently the case. However we believe that in the long run democracy will stabilize these societies and strengthen peace between nations in this part of the world.
February 4, 2011 - STATEMENT ON EGYPTIAN POLITICAL CRISIS
Approved by the National Committee of the Social Democrats USA on 02-04-2011
The National Committee of the Social Democrats USA with great interest has been observing the current struggle of the Egyptian people against the dictatorial government of Hosni Mubarak. While is it true that the Mubarak government has cooperated with the United States in its opposition to terrorism and in maintaining peace in the Middle East, it has done so to a significant degree by suppressing the liberties and democratic rights of the Egyptian people for three decades. To maintain its control the Mubarak government has courted US support by playing on US fears that the end of the dictatorial Mubarak regime will bring in a period of instability to Egypt followed by an Islamic fundamentalist regime hostile to the state of Israel. The Mubarak regime has systematically made this a more likely outcome by rigorously suppressing not only the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood but also the more secular liberal democratic forces of Egyptian society.
The current uprising of the Egyptian people is the sign that the continuing repressive and anti democratic status quo in Egypt can no longer be permitted to continue. We strongly encourage the Obama Administration to recognize this reality and work to support a political transition in Egypt from the repressive Mubarak regime to one more in the line with the democratic demands of the Egyptian people. While such a transition is perilous, in the long run the development of a more democratic and liberal regime in Egypt could bring greater stability to Egypt and also to other nations in the region. This will be for the good of the people of Egypt but also for Israel and our traditional allies in the Mideast.
As we anticipate a new government in Egypt in the very near future, we ask that this new government fully support the development of free and democratic trade unions. Further we encourage this government to honor the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.
November 18, 2010 - SEVEN POINT DOMESTIC AGENDA
Approved by the National Committee of the Social Democrats USA on 11-18-2010
Introduction
During the past year the Social Democrats USA has been at work rebuilding mediums of communication as a result of its 2009 internal political crisis. Thus a new official web site called "Social Democracy for the 21st Century" was developed. New and improved discussion groups and the Socialist Currents blog also had to be developed. Work with the medium of Face Book has also commenced. A National Convention was held on September 1 and several important revisions to the SD Constitution have been made to make the constitution a more effective and democratic document more in line with organizational realities of the SD.
Other important work has also been proceeding . Leaders such as Chairman Rick D'Loss have been reaching out to important members of the old pre-reformed organization. Members have participated in important events such as the One Nation United rally in Washington DC.
Finally it must not be ignored that the two Co Chairs of the Social Democrats USA Rabbi Craig Miller and Rick D'loss both hold elected local offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania respectively. The Social Democrats USA is one of the very few socialist organizations in the nation with members who now hold elected political positions. Thus this has been a busy and productive year for the Social Democrats USA.
Since much of the ground work for the SD to again become an effective political organization has been laid, it is now time for the Social Democrats to begin to develop a more unified program to in order to focus the political work of its membership more effectively. It is also a necessity for the SD to communicate the practicable direction of its politics more effectively during this post 2010 election period to potential new members and to the nation in general. Therefore the National Committee is starting this process with the formulation of a much more concrete domestic policy agenda than has existed in the immediate past. This Seven Point Agenda while immediately pointing to the practical direction of SD political work in the foreseeable future, should not be viewed as necessarily definitive all of the political work or issues in which SD members are involved. But what it does do is show the political priorities of the Social Democrats USA. Enclosed is the SD's Seven Point Common program.
The SD Seven Point Agenda for 2011 and 2012
The Social Democrats USA have a pragmatic and progressive domestic agenda of seven primary goals. These are:
1) The SDUSA supports and defends the integrity of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other effective social democratic programs which historically has made life much better for the majority of Americans. We will vigorously oppose all efforts to disband or weaken these programs by stealth or out right by the forces of the radical right. We instead seek to protect and strengthen these programs.
2) The SDUSA supports financial and regulatory reforms of Wall Street, the stock market, and other financial markets and institutions. We reject attempts to allow the big banks to return to the recklessness that cost eight million Americans their jobs. While we praise the Obama administration for being the first American president in decade who has pushed through any level of positive financial reform, we believe that the Obama reforms did not go far enough. We support further reforms which will stabilize and subordinate Wall Street and the financial markets to the real financial needs of the American people.
3) The SDUSA, while recognizing its limitations, supports the Obama health care plan which we believe represents a strong movement forward toward the goal of providing effective universal health care for the American people. Therefore we will fight to prevent the Republican Party and Tea Party movement from repealing that legislation. We will also support legislation which will strengthen that bill.
4) The SDUSA supports strong public investment in good public schools, public infrastructure, energy independence through renewable energy technology, and spending by the government that creates new jobs.
5) The SDUSA opposes extending the Bush Era's $700 billion worth of tax cuts for the upper one or two percent of America's richest people. We believe a great deal of hypocrisy exists in the Republican mantra that the US deficits can only be ended by making gigantic budgetary slashes which will only hurt poor, middle, and working class citizens. Contrary to Republican dogma taxes are needed to make government work. It is no original sin for government to raise moderate amounts of tax revenue to balance governmental budgets or to increase governmental spending to deal with economic meltdowns such as the Obama administration faced at the beginning of its term.
6) The SDUSA supports the abolishment of the Senate filibuster and of all other legislation and rules which political reaction uses to undemocratically block progressive change. Some other changes which we support would be the elimination of laws which make it virtually impossible for third parties of have ongoing ballot access in the states. The SD also supports progressive electoral reforms.
7) In spite of the fact that the performance of the Obama administration has disappointed some in the SD, the SDUSA believes that if the Obama administration fails then the cause of much that the SD supports will be set back for perhaps a generation. Therefore the SDUSA will continue to give its support to the administration based its historic support of the broad Democratic Party coalition of organized labor, the African American community, and liberalism. The support that the SDUSA gives to the Obama administration is not uncritical. The SD will continue to criticize the administration when such criticisms are needed and will oppose those policies which it believes are wrong.
The SDUSA does not believe that any minority left insurgency in the democratic primaries in 2012 is likely to succeed. What we do believe is that such an insurgency is likely to seriously weaken the Obama administration in its battles against a tea party inspired Republican Party later that year. Should a historically unprecedented and unlikely situation occur in which the main institutions of organized labor and the African American community break from the Obama administration then the SD would have to reconsider its position of support. However in spite of its lack of a miraculous ability to predict the future the SD does not for see such historically unprecedented events as probable.
10-14-10 CONSTITUTION FINALIZED
On October 14 the SD constitution was finally rewritten and approved by the National Committee in agreement with the decisions that were made at the September 30 National Convention. Click here to see the full 2010 Constitution.
10-02-10 - ONE NATION MARCH EXPERIENCES
In the wee hours of Saturday morning I readied myself for the long day trip to Washington. I talked Debbie into giving me a ride downtown because I wasn’t sure if there would be a bus at 5:15 AM on a Saturday. Fortunately, because it was Saturday, that drive downtown was only 10 minutes. Close to 180 union members and supporters gathered at the United Steel Workers headquarters building on the Boulevard of the Allies in the chilly, 48° darkness. Our group was mainly comprised of USW and UWUA members, but there were some college kids there who, I believe, were members of ISO.
After a late start and our bus driver getting mixed up in Washington, we finally arrived at RFK stadium and the largest sea of busses that I’ve ever seen. Take the picture at the right and multiply it x10 to get a feel for the number of busses in the RFK parking lots. From Pittsburgh I believe there were 3 USW busses, 3 SEIU busses, and 2 NAACP busses. Glenn Beck has criticized the One Nation rally, stating that for his rally individuals came at their own expense in their own cars, while for our rally most people came at union expense in union busses. I didn’t see anything to contradict what he was saying, but isn’t this really the difference between us and the Tea Party? They believe it’s every man for himself and we believe we’re all in this together.
With a preponderance of people arriving at RFK, the Metro stop at RFK was a mass of humanity trying to get into the station. But it was an orderly mass. The city put extra cars on the Blue and Orange lines, so it didn’t take too long to get to the Mall. When I stepped outside the Smithsonian metro station into beautiful blue skies and 70°, I looked onto the Mall and wondered where all the people were. The last Washington rally I had been to was a Pro-Choice rally and the Mall was packed full from one end to the other. I recall there were a million people at that rally in 2004. Although I knew that the One Nation rally would not be as large, and that the speakers were at the Lincoln Memorial, I was at least expecting the crowd to spill over into the Mall; not so. Once I made my way to the reflecting pool I had a better sense of the size of the event.
It was inspiring to see all the various unions represented in force. Diverse groups had staked out spaces all around the reflecting pool. My ability to estimate crowds is weak, but I would say there were not more than 250,000 people. Some have estimated it to be much smaller. It was hard to judge because there were people coming and going all the time. While many people were settled in their spots to listen to the speakers, many others were wandering around visiting the tables that different groups had set up. The whole rally reminded me more of a giant union picnic than a protest rally. I guess there’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t have much political impact during a critical period running up to a critical election.
Because we arrived a little late, I missed some of the speakers, but did get to see Al Sharpton, Rich Trumka, Ed Schultz, Ben Jealous, and many others. There weren’t a lot of big names there, and a distinct absence of politicians. Also, an emphasis was placed on having average people speak, so many of the speakers were unknowns, but their message was just as important. Rich Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, is shown at right.
The crowd was typical working class. Most ranged in age from 30 to 60. But there were definitely more seniors there than I expected. Many were retired union members who came down to support the cause. There was great ethnic diversity in the crowd. It was more representative of America than a typical tea party rally. I spent most of my day mingling with union members around the reflecting pool, talking about the Social Democrats USA and other matters. I met people from many cities, although it appears to me that New York was the most heavily represented. I admit that I didn’t listen real closely to all the speakers, since I was mainly concerned with meeting people. But one speaker made a comment that really stuck in my head. And the topic wasn’t about jobs. She was addressing cutbacks in education spending. She said, “America spends 3 times as much money on a prisoner as it does on a student. Is that a plan to build America’s future?” It gets to the heart of what this rally was all about— the future of America. Are we going to slowly slide into the abyss, or are we going to build a future for our children and grandchildren?
09-01-10 - SOCIAL DEMOCRATS USA, BIANNUAL CONVENTION
In September 1, 2010 Social Democrats USA held its biennial convention. Because of the travel distances involved, the convention was held by “web-conference”. The convention was stimulating to say the least. Guests Herb Engstrom of the Santa Clara County Democratic Committee and Roger Clayman, Executive Director of the Long Island Federation of Labor, provided great insight into the SD past, and presented good reason for an SD future. We also celebrated the start of a new relationship with the USW. Fred Redmond, USW VP of Human Affairs and Chairman of the A. Philip Randolph Institute states loudly that workers are severely threatened today and we need help from all quarters. Please see a summary of the convention in the attached report
