[lbo-talk] Washington Hospital Center nurses launch24-hour labor strike

Mark Wain wtkh at comcast.net
Sat Mar 5 13:53:23 PST 2011


My point of view about each every work space is the employees working there should be made the owning and managing partners of that unit together with the society.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Carrol Cox" <cbcox at ilstu.edu> To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 5:51 PM Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Washington Hospital Center nurses launch24-hour labor strike


>I have noticed over the last year (not just on this list) a sort of
> 'stutter' in the voice of many leftists when the sector of the working
> class
> involved is (like nurses and teachers) 'really' important -- a _service_
> we
> need. The stutter involves flinching a bit on certain demands that make a
> workers' struggle a working-class struggle, a failure to take, as one's
> ground position, the proposition that the work place exists for the sake
> of
> the workers! What, from a political perspective, is THE purpose of
> schools:
> to give jobs to teachers. What, from a political perspective, is THE
> purpose
> of a hospital: to give jobs to nurses and janitors and technicians et al.
> We
> are not talking agitational material here: that is a totally separate
> topic.
> We are talking about what must be the mindset of those who hold those
> positions or who mobilize support for them. And I mean _all_ teachers; not
> just the competent ones. I mean ALL nurses; not just the competent ones.
>
> And what do workers need: they need freedom -- more specifically, in a
> capitalist world, they need freedom from the tyranny of the future.
>
> This means they must be confident that their jobs will not be take from
> them. They must be confident that they will be supported in retirement.
> And
> it means that their pay must be such that the future is no threat. It
> means
> that their working conditons and hours are not such as to damage their
> capacity to live as humans in their hours off work.
>
> This is how we (members of and supporters of the working class) must think
> as we work out specific positions and specific actions. This is the only
> way
> to keep the stutter out of our voices.
>
> We must not allow ourselves for one second to think an 'objective'
> observer
> from the sidelines, as mere cheerleaders, as mere fans enjoying the
> contest.
>
> (Just incidentally, this mindset is also best for the patients and the
> students. But putting students or patients first for one second of mental
> time is in fact contrary to the interests of students and patients as
> well.)
>
> Carrol
>
> I agree with Alan; I'm not criticizing his post but using it as a
> springboard to make further points.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
> On Behalf Of Adam Proctor
> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 3:28 PM
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Washington Hospital Center nurses launch 24-hour
> labor strike
>
> Just got home from walking the picket line all day. There were easily
> 300-400 people in attendence, mostly nurses represented by National
> Nurses United. Also in attendence were public transportation workers,
> teachers, firefighters, and other private sector union members.
>
> Trumka of AFL-CIO gave a rousing speech, as did Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
> Eh, their rhetoric was somewhat predictable, but it sure beats the
> alternative--that is, the suits ignoring the strike action.
>
> Management has shipped in scabs from out of state and locked out the
> 1650 striking nurses for an additional 4 days. So the pickets will
> continue. Here's to hoping this thing grows over the weekend.
>
> -Adam
>
>
>
> On Friday, March 4, 2011, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/04/AR2011030401
> 496.html
>>
>> Wojtek
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