Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Texas Longhorns with newborn calf in Bluebonnets

Please note I have a new phone number...

512-517-2708

Alan Maki

Alan Maki
Doing research at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

It's time to claim our Peace Dividend

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

We need to beat swords into plowshares.

A program for real change...

http://peaceandsocialjustice.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-progressive-program-for-real-change.html


What we need is a "21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity" which would make it a mandatory requirement that the president and Congress attain and maintain full employment.


"Voting is easy and marginally useful, but it is a poor substitute for democracy, which requires direct action by concerned citizens"

- Ben Franklin

Let's talk...

Let's talk...

Thursday, August 4, 2011

1,300 American Crystal Sugar workers are locked-out without pay or health insurance while AFL-CIO union official, Mark Froemke, who led these workers to doom continues to get paid with his health insurance

http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/11794/10-month_iowa_lockout_ends_with_new_contract_and_disappointment/


I guess this should tell us something about the quality of union leaders who led 1,300 American Crystal Sugar workers (same union) into a lock-out in the sugar beet industry in the Red River Valley just this past Monday.

Why would these union "leaders" not have provided these workers with the option of occupying these plants instead of voluntarily leaving the plant upon management's orders knowing that once they left the plants they would be locked-out?

We all know once these workers left these plants after management clearly declared--- over and over again--- that "replacement workers" (scabs)--- would be brought in if workers turned down management's "final offer" that this is now a "done deal."

Because these shortsighted and cowardly union leaders who spend all their time pushing down the throats of workers worthless Wall Street politicians like Barack Obama and this wimpy liberal Mark Dayton and Republicans like Collin Peterson posing as Democrats instead of teaching workers about the class struggle and real working class tactics and strategies like going on strike taking control of plants after managements openly state their intent to lock out workers and bring in scabs.

Another 1,300 workers and THEIR FAMILIES are now going to suffer because of the mis-leadership from the same union mentioned in this article.

I don't see Barack Obama putting on his "marching shoes" to join these workers who will now be forced into taking a worse deal--- in addition to wages lost not to mention going without health insurance--- than managements "final offer."

If these union leaders had any integrity at all they would now advise these 1,300 workers to accept the "final offer" and go back to work.

As they say, this is now a "done deal" unless the baseball bats are brought out to stop the scabs; but, I doubt union leaders who wouldn't consider the non-violent occupation of the plants will now take the only other option in stopping the scabs.

I bet Richard Trumka and other union "leaders" will show up to give their militant sounding speeches about how "all labor is with you in this struggle" as they give their worthless spiel never to be seen again.

And I notice not one single politician this union has supported has the courage to bring forward anti-scab legislation.

Talk about workers being doomed.

Thanks for the article that should serve as an alert for the 1,300 American Crystal Sugar workers now wasting their time carrying around picket signs saying, "No Lock-out" when the signs displayed should be saying, "On strike--- support our plant occupations."