The Labor Party
Organizing Notes
& Short Takes
ON THIS PAGE:
Interim National Council Convenes
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Top: LP
co-chairs Kit Costello, Baldemar Velasquez & Bob Clark.
Above: Adolph Reed, Jr. (left), and
Jed Dodd of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees
(right) listen to PACE’s Mark Dudzic report on state
charters. Photos ©Michael Kaufman, Impact
Visuals
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The Labor Party’s Interim National Council met
on June 11 in Washington, D.C., at the headquarters of the United
Mine Workers Union. The meeting was facilitated by LP co-chairs
Bob Clark, Kit Costello, and Baldemar Velasquez. At the meeting:
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LP co-chair Kit Costello gave the INC members
details of the Just Health Care campaign, including our
proposal for financing the new health care system.
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The INC heard a report on the Just Health Care
radio program and discussed the next phase in the Just Health
Care campaign.
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Mark Dudzic reported on state charter
applications. He recommended and the INC concurred that
Massachusetts’ application be accepted.
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Organizer Bob Brown reported on LP organizing
in New Jersey and the organizing trainings the LP has
conducted and plans to conduct for union activists.
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Tony Mazzocchi reported on progress in
building support for the LP in PACE, UNITE, and AFGE.
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The INC approved a report by LP trustee
Chris Townsend.
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Council members discussed the issue of
electoral campaigns.
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The INC heard about the upcoming Open World
Conference in San Francisco and asked Baldemar Velasquez to
attend as the LP’s representative.
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Council members discussed seating a
"youth representative" on the INC, and decided to
continue discussion at the INC’s next meeting.
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Chapter reps on the INC gave brief reports
on progress in their regions.
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The INC reiterated the Labor Party’s
constitutional obligation to adhere to the policies and
programs that convention delegates have adopted. A statement
on this issue will be sent soon to all local entities and
affiliates.
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LP organizer Ed Bruno reported on progress
in reorganizing the LP’s local organizations (see
following article).
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23 Chapters Reorganize
Since the Constitutional
Convention in November, the Labor Party’s Committee on
Organizing (composed of Ed Bruno, Lisa Frank, Gaylon Tyler, and
Gloria Mattera) has reviewed and approved organizing plans from
some 23 Labor Party chapters
nationwide. The plans are part of a reorganization process
approved at the convention. The committee recently completed a
six-month review of each chapter’s progress in meeting its
targeted goals.
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Still Need that 28th Amendment
The Labor Party’s signature campaign is our call
for a 28th Amendment guaranteeing the right to a decent job for
all.
At a time when unemployment is at a long-time low,
the need for the 28th Amendment is still as clear as ever. In the
midst of the so-called economic boom, job insecurity is rampant,
dampening workers’ urge to unionize and demand pay increases.
And every day, there are new reminders that many workers,
especially industrial workers, are in danger.
The Economic Policy Institute (www.epinet.org)
recently reported that we lost 35,000 manufacturing jobs in June
alone. Since March 1998, we’ve lost roughly 500,000
manufacturing jobs. EPI reports the biggest losses are in textile
and apparel (100,000), industrial machinery (100,000), and
electronics (70,000).
Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch (www.citizen.org)
notes that NAFTA-related job loss is escalating. New Labor
Department figures show that casualties of the North American Free
Trade Agreement have topped 200,000 — and that number only
includes jobs certified under one narrow government program. The
NAFTA Trade Adjustment Assistance data, says GTW, "reveals an
accelerating pace of U.S. job losses caused by NAFTA. While it
took 36 months to rack up the first 100,000 NAFTA job casualties,
the past 22 months have seen another 100,000 jobs exported or
eliminated." The biggest sufferers are workers in the auto
parts, electronics and apparel industries.
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Tabling for Social
Security in New York City
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| Photo ©Rob
Spencer |
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Through New York Metro
Chapter tabling, hundreds of New Yorkers have written to their
representatives demanding that they preserve and expand Social
Security.
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