WISCONSIN UPRISING
Labor Fights Back
Edited by Michael Yates
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Walker is still governor; the union busting legislation passed; the 2011 Left Forum project of national teachi-ins didn't fly; this list ignored the project and focused on the personal "authenticity" of one speaker at one plenary. Other indications that Wisconsin flopped have been posted to this list over the past year. A union member, speaking of the attraction of a possible General Strike, noted, "And then I think of my car and my boat." (I am NOT criticizing that union member; given the need for complex bathroom arrangements generated by interactions triggered by a swollen prostate I _really_ don't want to get arrested, & that will influence how I personally relate to this spring's demos in Chicago.) And yet MR Press, a year later, in the context in which this lack of positive data is the main social fact, does not publish a book with (say) the title: "The Potential of Wisconsin," or with a sub-title such as (say) "Can Labor Fight Back?" (I invite others to invent some better hedges.) No: Wisconsin UPRISING. That's a strong word: won't Michael look pretty foolish two years from now it all the activists in Wisconsin have retreated into the DP; if the Walker legislation has spread to 10 other states without even a small demo objecting? Some Uprising. If Caterpillar has moved its main Peoria plant to London, Ontario, where a chastened labor force flocks to jobs at only one-third of their former pay, and the Union leader praises Caterpillar's generosity. Where's all that labor fight-back now? That was certainly a foolish title. I'd hate to have egg on my face like that.
Lbo 8325 quotes a hypothetical committee member: ""I *so* want to do this, but I'm scared shitless." I admire that (hypothetical) woman. I hope her comrades come up with a good (and non-sneering) response. We really can't predict the future. But I don't think that (hypothetical) woman's position should be associated with the possible hedging titles Michael might have given his book. Nor do I think it should be associated with those who note that there are all kinds of things wrong & lacking in the OWS movement: who point out so sharply how OWS differs from a really organized and neat political movement.
Wisconsin Uprising! Yes One of those rare moments of a chink in the armor of capitalism is before us. How can we get the local teachers' union to come out with formal support for LUC's demand that the Sheriff _not_ detain the undocumented driver who just got picked up for running a stop sign. Could X form a "No Human is Illegal" caucus in the union?
Carrol