May Day greetings from the Boston Labor Solidarity Committee

Happy May Day Friends and Fellow Workers!

May Day is the international day of labor celebrated around the world and it had its origin here in the United States as I will discuss shortly.

May Day, unlike US Labor Day, which is observed at the end of the summer, has always been an anti-capitalist celebration. Capitalism is the prevailing system in this country as well as, with variations, all the other countries around the globe, including the 2nd world so-called Communist states.

The system has several characteristics:

1. Every workplace is an absolute dictatorship. The boss tells us what we are to do, how we are to do it, and how fast. We give up our volition when we enter the workplace.

2. Everything we produce and every service we provide is owned by the boss. We get back a fraction of the wealth we create as pay. The remainder, after allowing for overhead and other expenses, remains with the boss as profit. Every employer I ever had was a millionaire.

3. Life for a worker under capitalism is marked by precariousness. The moment the boss stops making a profit off us we are thrown out the door. I can’t tell you how many times I was layed off, a common experience for working people.

4. Capitalism imposes on our class the wage system–the system under which we are paid the going rate for our labor. Our labor is, like the products or services we create, a commodity. Alienation from our product and the alienated social relationship working like this produces is the reason Karl Marx, a century and a half ago, called for the abolition of the wage system.

Railroad workers rally – Tuesday, noon, Worcester MA

PROTEST STRIKEBREAKER-IN-CHIEF BIDEN IN BOSTON THIS FRIDAY!

Railroad Workers and Friends:
Please come on out for an open air demonstration to protest the latest anti-union and anti-worker antics of the White House and Congress. Rail workers have been fighting for a decent contract that includes scheduled time off and sick leave provisions. The majority have rejected a contract, and now the government is attempting to mandate it through legislation. This is not acceptable!
President Biden is visiting JFK Library in Boston Friday for an event. A number of local groups are coming together to show him that we are not happy with this behavior!!

Day & Time: Friday 12/2 Picket starting 11:30am, Rally starting 12pm. Estimated end is 1:30pm.

Location: Biden will be visiting JFK Library for an event. The picket and rally will be held at the corner of University Drive North and Colombia Point, on the parking lot side. https://goo.gl/maps/PCPbhvtL6nWf1ZX4A 

Transit:  Take the Red Line to the JFK/UMASS stop and follow signage to the ground level bus shelters. Catch the Paul Revere Route 1 shuttle bus, provided by the University of Massachusetts Boston free of charge. Exit the bus at the Kennedy/Archives stop located at the end of the JFK Library and Museum’s parking lot. Visitors can track shuttle buses at https://umb.transloc.com/. 

Parking: May be limited or blocked off for security purposes. 

Hope to see you all there!!

Railroad Workers United

Solidarity — Unity — Democracy

Action Alert

Sign the Open Letter to Congress and the President

Action Alert: Sign the Open Letter to Congress and the President View this Email as a Webpage Calling All Working Railroaders and Their Allies: Sign the Open Letter to Congress and the President Today! Railroad Workers United invites all working railroaders and their supporters to sign the following Open Letter to Congress and the President urging them to rescind and reject President Biden’s proposal for Congress to force rail carriers and rail workers to accept a tentative contract agreement that has been rejected by four out of the twelve railroad unions. These four unions represent the majority of workers on the nation’s freight railroads, and by pushing through a tentative agreement that a majority of rank-and-file union members have declared completely unsatisfactory, President Biden and Congress would be overriding the democratically expressed will of railroad workers. While the tentative agreement provides significant wage increases, workers on the railroads have stated clearly and repeatedly that their fight is not just about money. Railroad workers are fighting for the right to live—and have a life—outside of work.Read and sign the full letter at the link below. This is one additional and important way to raise your voice in support of the dignity and humanity of railroad workers and all workers, everywhere. Sign the Open Letter and Submit Your Signature by Clicking Here Railroad Workers UnitedSolidarity — Unity — Democracy ‌ Visit our Website ‌ Subscribe to the RWU News and Information Service Quick Renew Your Membership Here Join RWU

Railroad Workers United | P.O. Box 221191, Chicago, IL 60622 202-798-3327

The Teamsters-UPS Contract Campaign: A rank and file strategy — with Joe Allen and Howie Hawkins

The Teamsters-UPS Contract Campaign: A rank and file strategy — with Joe Allen and Howie Hawkins

November 5, 2022, Saturday — 6:30 pm ET; 3:30 pm PT — A Zoom webinar

Join us in a webinar discussion regarding the struggle for a new contract between the Teamsters and UPS (United Parcel Service).

The Teamster-United Parcel Service contract ends July 31, 2023, and the Teamsters union under a new administration of Sean O’Brien (President) and Fred Zuckerman (GST) are mobilizing for a renewed and greatly improved contract. UPS has made billions during the Covid epidemic. The current, five-year agreement is a national contract covering more than 350,000 Teamsters —the largest private collective bargaining agreement in the country.
How can the left work in support of the Teamsters in a rank and file approach? What is the rank and file strategy going forward in 2022-2023?

Speakers:
Joe Allen: a former Teamster, UPS and logistics industry worker, socialist, author, having worked in the Watertown, Mass. and Chicago, IL UPS shops, as well as Yellow Freight and others. He offers deep insight in the rank and file working conditions at UPS and of the logistics industry.
Read his book: The Package King: A Rank and File History of UPS https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1441-the-package-king

Howie Hawkins: is also a former UPS worker; a Green Party (U.S.) founder, activist, socialist and Green Party candidate. A member of the Socialist Party USA, TDU and the Green Party. Hawkins supports independent political action, and a rank and file organizing strategy in labor.

For further information, and to preregister, contact: Bill Shakalis, Labor Work Group Chair, Socialist Party USA

wshakalis@gmail.com