Re: trade unions and the left

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

At 4:04 PM 1/14/96, Robert Perrone wrote:

>   Doug Henwood, in a 12:28p 1/14/96 post suggests that perhaps the
>positive picture I painted of the struggle of L.A. County employees
>fighting layoffs was not all it appeared to be.
>   Let's, for the sake of this discussion, in which I originally
>posited that the trade union movement was not so lifeless and
>backwards, agree that the events in L.A. support Doug's contentions.
>So what? How does that undermine my contention that the union
>movement has the potential, and is indeed, in certain instances,
>demonstrating a tendency to take militant action in standing up to
>the employers, to turn away from class collaborationist policies and
>actions. What happened in L.A., happened in spite of the mere
>lip service given by the International in support. The leadership of
>the largest local came from the ranks of the local itself and is
>comprised mainly of women, blacks and Latinos. The local leadership
>mobilized professionals, clericals, skilled and unskilled workers.

1) While it may be good for propaganda purposes to claim a victory where
there was none (i.e., the announced hospital closing wasn't for real, so
keeping the hospital open wasn't a victory), it's not a good way to
evaluate the politcal balance of forces.

2) There are many fine people in union local leadership & in the rank and
file. It's illusions about the Sweeney leadership at the AFL-CIO I want to
dispel.

Doug

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Doug Henwood
Left Business Observer
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