Welfare Warriors

Summer 2008

MW Voice FEATURE

Letters to the  Editor

War

Editor's Tidbits

Mothers news from around the world

Victories

  Summer 2008

Resistance in the War on the Poor

Tax Day Protest Demands: “Stop Stealing from Poor!”

 The Twin Cities-based Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) are holding state politicians accountable when they try to raid federal TANF funds to balance the budget. On April 16, they held a big action at the Minnesota State Capitol building,

First they held a press conference on the Capitol Steps. Then WRC members wound through the capitol complex holding a gigantic banner. It read “Tax the rich! Stop balancing the budget on the backs of the poor!”

They delivered piggy banks to the offices of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, House Speaker Margaret Kelliher and Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller. The banks showed the disparity between what the rich are getting and what the poor are losing.

Deb Konechne of WRC said, “It is a crime to take poor children’s money and dump it into the state’s general fund.”

            Republican Gov. Pawlenty and the Democrats agreed on May 18 to steal TANF funds. The Welfare Rights Committee will continue to fight this attack on the poor.

 

200,000 Mexicans Defend Nationalized Oil

 The Calderon government is a result of presidential electoral fraud that took place in July 2006. In April of this year it tried to pass a law to privatize Pemex. Pemex is Mexico's Oil company. It has been a national company since 1938.

The opposition organized by the National Movement for the Defense of Oil (MNDP), managed to cripple the reform. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the candidate who actually won the election, if not for the fraud, heads (MNDP.)

On June 29, over 200,000 activists rallied in the Zocalo, the central square of Mexico City. They were there to STOP the privatization of Pemex.

Calderon was forced to accept a debate in the Senate of the Republic.

The government is campaigning to have the ultimate decision made by the Congress of Deputies. But the Congress is also the product of fraud.

On Sunday, July 27, more than 2 million people in Mexico City and nine states in Mexico's central region cast their votes in a nationwide referendum. It was organized by Andrés Obrador, and the Movement in Defense of Mexico's Oil Resources (MNDP).

 This was the first stage of a three-stage referendum in which voters were asked two

questions: (1) Did they support having private companies participate in the exploitation,

distribution, storage and refining of Mexico's oil production, and (2) did they support the

energy reform proposals submitted by Felipe Calderón to the Mexican Congress on April 6, 2008.

            The preliminary results of the vote gave a resounding "NO" to both questions, with 84.7% of the voters saying "NO" to question no. 1 and 82.9% saying "NO" to question no. 2. The second stage of the referendum, in the southern states of Mexico, will be held August 10. The third  stage, in the north, will be held August 24.

            Lopez Obrador said, “We oppose privatization because it would open the door to foreign oil companies. This would be at the expense of our sovereignty and national heritage.

“Oil is the property of the nation. We Mexicans keep the hope of transforming it into a pillar of national development to industrialize the country, create jobs, strengthen the internal market, reduce prices of gas and ensure the welfare of the people.

“We will not accept any legal changes that violate the Constitution, privatize oil and undermine national sovereignty. The oil is ours, all of us. It cannot be turned into the property of a few, whether they are Mexicans or a few foreigners."

Honoring Our Sacred Sites --500 years of Indigenous People’s Resistance

 The Peace and Dignity Journey 2008 is an intercontinental spiritual run. It began in Alaska and Tierra del Fuego (the tip of S. America) in May.  It is passing through hundreds of indigenous communities. The runners will meet at the Panama Canal in November.

The goals of the journey include strengthening and sharing indigenous culture.  Another goal is to unite indigenous peoples and unite all peoples. And thereby it will fulfill the prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor.

Each journey honors a particular theme. This year the journey honors sacred sites

Domestic Workers Organize for Workplace Rights

 Last June, immigrant household workers at the US Social Forum in Atlanta formed the National Domestic Worker Alliance. It will campaign for state and federal laws guaranteeing basic labor rights.

       The alliance is made up of over 20 organizations. They held their first national convention for domestic workers June 5-8 in New York City. Domestic Workers United, the host organization is pushing lawmakers to sign a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.

It would require that domestic workers receive overtime pay, a guaranteed day of rest each week, and advance notice of termination.

            Domestic workers are building support groups. One is La Raza Centro Legal in San Francisco. Workers registered there are sent to places where they receive hourly wages of $11 to $17 an hour. And they are guaranteed a three hour, $42 minimum. They also get legal support if the employer fails to treat them fairly.

The collective has about 75 members from Mexico, South and Central America. They organize marches and bring speakers who discuss their legal rights.

            In March, dozens of the women marched through the streets of Atherton. It is home to Silicon Valley billionaires. They were supporting Vilma Serralta. She is suing a couple who had employed her for four years.

Serralta charges her former employers with making her work 14 hours a day, six days a week. She was a nanny, cook and housekeeper for their $17.9 million, 9,300-square-foot-home.

The wealthy couple paid her less than minimum wage. She received no breaks or overtime. Advocates for domestic workers say cases like Serralta’s are common.

Help Stop San Francisco Public Library’s Unauthorized Fees and Fines

 San Francisco Public Library is charging over a dozen fines and fees. Yet the Supervisors as required by law never authorized them. The Library Commission never approved these fees either.

On May 1, the Library Commission voted to send legislation to the Board of Supervisors authorizing these fees retroactively.

            The proposed legislation is unjustifiable, unnecessary and regressive. It hurts the poorest people the most. It would authorize:

            • $115 for a lost or damaged book--if the person got it from another library. Traditional library loans can access thousands of libraries. The Library’s long-time policy for its own lost books is payment of replacement cost plus a $5 processing fee. This is typically true of books lost from other library systems.

            • $20 to scan a photo, $15 for a previously scanned photo.

            • New charges for use of equipment in a community meeting room. $30 per hour for a PowerPoint presentation and $30 to use a microphone.

            Write to the Board of Supervisors at Board of Supervisors, City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl. Rm 244, San Francisco, CA 94102.  Or e-mail them at Board.of.Supervisors@sfgov.org.

Ask them to stop the Library charging unauthorized fees. Ask them to oppose the Library Commission’s proposed legislation authorizing these fees.

 700,000 Koreans Demonstrate Against Free Trade Treaty

 700,000 Koreans demonstrated for 72 hours against the free trade treaty signed with the U.S. The Korean government is in negotiations for a free trade treaty with the European Union (EU). The EU Institutions have been based on free trade treaties for over 15 years.

EU has privatized health systems and public services. They have divided and dismantled retirement systems. Industry has collapsed and farmers and fishermen are driven to ruin. The very right of unions to negotiate freely and to strike is challenged. The European Union is an institution to serve the multinationals.

The European Union is now seeking to open the Korean market. This is part of the offensive to challenge the right to the sovereignty of nations and peoples. The European Union and its policy cannot be "humanized". The ongoing negotiations for treaties on free trade must be stopped.

An agreement was signed between Korea and Germany last May. Another agreement was signed with Finland on June 5. Korea and Finland "have agreed to develop specific exchanges and deepen cooperation to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade treaty between South Korea and the European Union."

The ILC is preparing an open world conference for the sovereignty of nations against the free trade treaties. The conference will deal with peace against war and defending the social achievements, organizations and workers their independence against global governance,

Down with the US-Korea free trade treaty!

Down with the EU-Korea free trade treaty!

One Million Czechs Strike Against Government Austerity Plans

 On June 24, one million Czechs held a strike against government austerity plans. The European Union dictated the plans. The Czech Republic has been a member of the European Union since 2004.

The protest paralyzed the railroad across the country. The Federation of Drivers joined the strike. They caused the stoppage of approximately 1,000 trains. In public hospitals, several thousand doctors and 30,000 other employees participated in the strike.

The Ministry of Health is to reform hospitals and health insurance funds into stock companies. The unions also criticized the planned reform of pensions, which gradually extend the retirement age to 65 years.

Sources: World Beat Cultural Center worldbeatcenter.org; Michigan Citizen, People’s Weekly World, Worker World, amnesty international, Fight Back! ILC Int’l Newsletter- ilcinfo@earthlink.net