Strike 600 Train Runs To Protest War (2003 March)

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DC’ÊM

(24/03/2003)

Mail form Steve Zeltzer(26/03/2003)
Campaign Against Taft-Hartley, Repression & Privatization
LaborNet

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We join with you in solidarity and support for your 72 hour strike against the war and against union busting. Your action will give inspiration to workers in the US and around the world that they are not alone in challenging the warmongers and real terrorists of the world. The warm that the US and the UK have launched with the support of the governments of Spain, Bulgaria and Japan among others is an act of barbarism and as such is a war crime against humanity and the Iraqi people.

Despite mass opposition in the United States of millions, the Bush cabal with the support of the Democrats have launched this murderous attack on the people of Iraq. In San Francisco this past week over 2,000 people were arrested who were protesting the war. Hundreds of thousands have marched week after week to demand an end to this insanity.

This war is about stealing the oil from the Iraqi people and placing this resource under the control of the US robber barons. Already Bush connected companies such as Halliburton, Bechtel and anti-labor shipping companies Stevedore Services Inc. are getting US contracts to rebuild, take-over and run the oil, shipping and entire infrastructure. This is what the war is about. Privatizing the entire Iraqi economy to benefit US multi-nationals.

They are getting these contracts even before the war is over. Their main concern was protecting the oil wells for their voracious appetites.

This war also launches a new stage in the US class struggle. In the United States, the Bush administration is seeking to privatize all public jobs in the federal government. This would amount to 850,000 workers. Over 100,000 teachers in California alone have received layoff notices and the jobs of millions of workers are now threatened At the same time the economic crisis is being used as a pretext in the airline industry to declare bankruptcy and to use the bankruptcy laws to destroy all union contracts and labor conditions. The paralysis of the AFL-CIO and their support for the war on Iraq are very much connected. They fear to mobilize the working class by the millions because they realize this mobilization will sweep them away as well.

Along side these economic attacks is the effort to eliminate democratic rights with laws such as the Maritime Security Act, Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act. The US government is engaged in a racist round-up of hundreds of thousands of boys and men who are Muslim and from the Middle East.

What is critical in the battles ahead is that we educate and organize within the working class to fight these attacks.

The power to stop the war is by direct industrial action by millions of workers to stop the planes, trains and trucks. Workers in the United States are beginning to question the war and many unionists have joined the demonstrations as individuals but need to bring the organized labor movement into action as a collective fist.
We are also working to reclaim MayDay for the American working class.

The bosses and the Democrats and Republicans have sought to separate the world wide struggle of workers on May Day from any action by US workers. We will be fighting for a day of action of all workers to oppose the war, oppose the union busting, privatization and for the rebuilding of the labor movement on a democratic class struggle basis. Your action is taking this step forward for all working people.

Victory In Your Struggle, Long Live the Unity of Working People Throughout the World We have nothing to lose but our chains.

In Solidarity,
Steve Zeltzer
Campaign Against Taft-Hartley, Repression & Privatization
LaborNet

News. Labor NET (March/2003)

Japan Doro-Chiba Rail Workers Strike 600 Train Runs To Protest War, Privatization & Privatization
Special to www.labornet.org

In an important step of solidarity, the rail workers of Japanese DORO-CHIBA(The National Railway Motive Power Union of Chiba) have reported that they have struck 600 train runs to protest the war on Iraq, privatization and repression.

The union which is part of a national labor coalition fighting for union democracy has played a lead in fighting to defend the workers fired by JR duing the privatization of the railroads by the Nakasone administration. Growing anger against the LDP Koizumi administration for it's support for the US/UK war is building throughout Japan and this anger combined with the anger over the economic attacks Japanese workers face will bring growing militancy within the trade union movement.

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DC’ÊMDORO-CHIBA