[lbo-talk] UAW/GM/worker militance

[MICHAEL YATES]

Doug asks if ther is a lot of worker militancy out there.  I think it would 
be fasle to say that there is, at least from our experience of traveling 
around the country for the last six years.  There are, of course, many 
organizations in lots of palces, doing good work: workers' centers, 
immigrant rights groups, sweatshop and antiwar activists and groups, 
solidarity schools, labor studies orograms, some unions too.  But most is 
very localized, involves a small minority of the working class, and has done 
little to develop wroking class consciousness.  And even less in terms of 
uniting into a larger political force.

A concrete example: On our book tour we swept through Texas with the CA. 
Nurses Association, which has begun an organziing campaign across the state. 

  We stopped in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas.  The only really 
good meeting we had was in San Antonio: good staff, committed nurses (many 
Hispanic), developed consciousness.  Not a bad meeting in Austin though lots 
smaller.  Poor meetings in the biggest cities-Houston and Dallas.  Not much 
consciuosness there and very small attendances, less savvy staff.  It was 
dissappointing given the amount of time in advance to prepare that there 
was.  And this is in a job where nurses work 12 hour days, for days on end, 
sometimes 16 hours, where patient care is getting worse, where nurses are 
treated like shit, but where demand is high.  The union really has its work 
cut out for it.  When a nurse asks after over 30 years on the job and now 
one of hte local leaders, why poeple hate unions so much, and then extols 
the book Rich Dad Poor Dad (is that the correct title), some ridiculous 
self-help type of book, you have to wonder.

I find it hard to be optimistic.

Michael Yates