unions

21st Century Wire says…

The 2016 presidential election presents the American working class with a historic moment.  No, I am not talking about the possibility of the first rich, neoliberal woman president.  Nor am I talking about the social democrat masquerading as a socialist.  Nor am I talking about the arrogant, racist, borderline fascist Donald Trump.

In 2004 I wrote Brazil and Lula: Year Zero (Edifurb: Blumenau, Sao Paolo 2005), in which I presented my analysis of the Lula-Workers Party (PT) regime in Brazil undergoing a Grand Transformation with the first stage represented by the PT’s incorporation into a government apparatus led by of bankers and exporters (the agro-mineral elite).

A labor lawyer for the last 12 years, law was Chris Williams’ third career.  He taught school in Chicago for a decade.  For another decade he was a union organizer.  Only then did he become a social justice lawyer specializing in advocating for and with low-wage workers.   “Even though my route to law school was somewhat circuitous, I think my two prior careers help define who I am as a lawyer,” he says.
Beginnings

What is it with union and political ‘leaders’ who treat their members as if they were children not old enough to deal with reality?

New Yorkers elected Hillary to the U.S. Senate twice. Before they vote Tuesday they should ask themselves what she accomplished to make their lives better while they were providing her with that stepping stone to great wealth and career advancement. And unless said voter was a political insider or a Wall Street bankster, the answer would be nothing. She didn't do a damn thing for New Yorkers.

We all feel the seemingly oppressive impact of the conservative force that has taken over the United States, but feel hard-pressed to identify where it started and the specific entities responsible. Most of us suspect that it was no accident. We can be most certain that it isn’t.

I was in a state of shock this week. I met with some Democratic insiders and the most insider of all-- after repeating word-for-word the Wall Street/Schumer line of why Alan Grayson must be destroyed-- agreed with my assessment of Debbie Wasserman Schultz... perhaps not the specifics of the case against her, but totally with the conclusion: for the sake of the Democratic Party and for the sake of the country, she must be defeated in the late August primary. Wow! Everyone who voiced an opinion inside this relatively establishment group agreed.

Where do we go from here?

The presidential elections of 2016 have several unique characteristics that defy common wisdom about political practices in 21st century America.
Clearly the established political machinery — party elites and their corporate backers — have (in part) lost control of the nomination process and confront ‘unwanted’ candidates who are campaigning with programs and pronouncements that polarize the electorate.