Liberalism implies something in common with the Democrat Party and the paid sell-outs who have run the labor movement into the ground through sweet heart contracts with the bosses and a refusal to fight the government in any meaningful way. As opposed to liberal attempts to beg the government for mercy Liberation News stands for a fighting trade union movement that can shut the bosses down to win demands and for the building of a revolutionary worker’s movement that will smash the power of the capitalist state to build an egalitarian socialist society.

In doing so we stand uncompromisingly against the Democrat and Republican Parties as the twin parties of the wealthy capitalist class representing exploitation, war, racism, sexism, homophobia, police brutality, political repression, and environmental degradation. These injustices are a result of the capitalist drive to divide the working class opposition and to profit off of human misery in any way possible.

Most of today's union "leaders" in America wouldn't know a true union of the working class if it bit them in the ass. And such a movement would bite, because it would strip these sell-outs of their power in order to actually fight the bosses.

Likewise these union "leaders" are forcing workers to pay money to the anti-worker Democrat Party through our union dues while undermining true political parties and candidates of the working class. Here is a union in New York that took this anti-worker policy one step further by forcing its staff to work for the Democrats without pay.

--Steve Argue (SEIU member)



from the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS :

Campaign role limits for union

By DAVID SALTONSTALL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

The city's doormen's union must adopt a new political code of conduct after a grand jury investigated claims that members were illegally forced to work for Democrat Mark Green in the last mayoral race, the Daily News has learned. As part of the deal with Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union also will have to hire an outside expert on election law to make sure the code is followed.

Many city unions deploy small armies of workers to make phone calls, hand out leaflets and otherwise hit the streets for candidates during election time.

But Local 32BJ - the city's largest private union, with some 75,000 members - allegedly went a step further, forcing its doormen and commercial building cleaners to give up vacation or sick time to campaign, which is illegal.

Documents presented to the grand jury and obtained by The News seemed to confirm that.

One memo copied to Local 32BJ Vice President Kevin Doyle, for instance, directed that "all staff should have completed a personal day off or vacation request form" for Oct. 11, when Green faced Democrat Fernando Ferrer in a party runoff for mayor.

731G tab for '01 races

Other documents show the union spent some $731,000 on the 2001 elections alone - including $126,000 in contributions, $59,982 on T-shirts and $35,976 on outside consultants.

The union and Morgenthau's office still were haggling over how to compensate workers who felt pressured into working, sources said.

"We have cooperated with the district attorney in the past, and we will continue to do so in the future," Local 32BJ spokeswoman Karen Crowe said.

The deal comes as President Michael Fishman tries to turn Local 32BJ into a political powerhouse after the ouster of legendary boss Gus Bevona, who left amid accusations of misspending $2.4 million in union funds.

The union's current politicking has continued to rankle reformists in the union.

"I believe in a political program," said Dominick Bentivegna, an assistant secretary in the union who testified before the grand jury and is running for president against Fishman. "But not one that is going to drain our treasury, and it should be voluntary."


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