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State Worker Inter-Union Organizing Committee declares class struggle against austerity

by Public worker
Public Workers have been under attack by Democrats and Republicans. Our union leaders told us we should share the pain but and while we did the number of billionaires in CA increased from 84-100 in 2 years. We say make the capitalists pay for their austerity. We need class struggle rank and file leadership of our unions and the Inter-Union organizing committee is working toward that end. We will take action on June 5th outside California Department of Public Health at 850 Marina Bay Parkway in Richmond in solidarity with all public workers who need a fair contract
Declaration of the Inter-Union Organizing Committee

The CDPH Inter-Union Organizing Committee announces its intention to unite California State workers (in particular), public workers in general and all workers in action to form fighting rank and file class struggle caucuses to take our unions back from the sell-outs who have proven to be incapable of defending our wages, benefits, and working conditions. Those who tell us to sign concessionary contracts, who told us to, “share the pain” are the transmission belt of the bosses ideology in the workers’ organizations. The fighting rank and file Caucuses declare for the historic interest of the entire working class and against the labor tops who play footsie with management and chain labor to the bosses political parties!

Those who tell us, “our union” only represents the current dues-payers have abandoned the Knights of Labor’s clarion call: “An injury to one is the concern of all!” We ask: When did the rank and file vote to abandon the pensioners, the unorganized, our future co-workers, the marginalized, and the oppressed? Our wages and working conditions can only be defended if we unite all workers to fight for the interests of entire working class! Today’s professional labor misleaders narrow business unionism do the bosses bidding in our organizations. The bosses assisted by these misleaders keep workers separated by trade, by bargaining unit and by union, by race, gender and condition of employ. We need to unite all our unions to take joint action for all the contracts that are coming due around the State. To win we must exert labors full muscle! That starts with joint action at the front gate!

We reject the failed leaderships strategy that ties unions to the corporate rulers’ political machines-the Democratic and the Republican parties. We demand an end to union funding of their campaigns and instead demand: build strike funds and run our own labor candidates! We reject the failed strategy of putting labors’ faith in the courts and lobbyists while abandoning workers’ strongest weapons: the indefinite strike, the general strike, the worksite occupation and unity in action of the entire working class. Today’s misleaders isolate labor, they run from the fact that union’s have real power only when we organize rank and file class wide and with a class struggle program. Thus they divide the 9% of the organized working class from the 91% of unorganized workers. Notice how quickly they accepted the furloughs and gave back gains in the last contract.. They have no plan to win what was lost. They refuse to unite all public workers let along the entire working class thus leaving us disarmed.

Our task is not to admonish or convince the failed labor “leaders”, rather our task is to drive them from office and rise up a new generation of committed class struggle worker militants to take back our unions, establish the political independence of labor, defeat the anti-labor laws and fight for the historic interests of the entire working class. Fight for a workers’ economy!
What the California State Workers Class Struggle Caucus stands for:

1. For full union democracy. For regular meetings under rank and file control with the right to the immediate recall of officers. For elected business agents. For all positions to be elected not appointed. No officer (not even the international president) shall be paid no more than the highest base wage of the workers they represent. Establish a strong stewards’ movement to organize, activate and defend each worker in each unit. Accept no contract without annual COLA to keep pace with inflation! For retroactive COLA for the last 10 yrs. No to two-tier wage and benefit systems or second-class workers! No concessions, no givebacks and no “shared sacrifice”! Organize the contract workers! Make the bosses pay!

2. No Secret negotiations. No back room deals! No lawsuits against the unions. Keep the bosses courts out of the unions. Labor must clean its own house! No to binding arbitration!

3. For united inter-union organizing and job actions by AFSCME, SEIU Local 1000,IUOE 39,CDF, CAPS, PECGS,CAPT,CAPD, For united negotiations, one master contract, and a united expiration date. For workers control over pension funds. Organize contract workers at full union wages and benefits. End outsourcing and privatization hire existing contract workers to the public institution! Build strike funds!

4. For picket lines that no one crosses! Arm the unions with the strike weapon! Revive the class struggle tactics that built the unions: mass picket lines, sit-down strikes, flying picket squads, hot-cargoing and defiance of the bosses’ courts/laws. Defy the injunctions! Smash Taft-Hartley and all other anti-labor laws through militant labor struggle! “The only illegal strike is the one that loses!”

5. Organize the unorganized “wall-to-wall”! Bring the unemployed into the union! Mobilize unemployed leagues within the unions to fight for relief for the unemployed and full employment! Provide union training for the unemployed, direct the newly trained to worker controlled public works programs!

6. Organize undocumented and documented immigrant workers. For immediate full citizenship rights for all immigrants! Down with I.C.E./employer IMAGE program! No deportations! Down with English-only bigotry! The bosses super exploit undocumented labor and use them to drive down wages, labor must embrace and organize the undocumented. Across borders we demand same work same contract! Make the bosses pay immigrant workers the same benefits, the same employment taxes and workers compensation!

7. The right to a job is the right of every worker. Fight for full employment. For a 30 hour workweek at 40 hours pay to share existing work! No time limit on unemployment benefits! Provide safe, creative, honest productive work for all!

8. Defend Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and welfare programs. Not “tax the rich” welfare state schemes but open the books of finance capital, nationalize banks and major industry without compensation and run them under workers’ control. For a system of public works to rebuild the decaying infrastructure of America.

9. For racially integrated quality public education. Free public higher education with a student stipend. Labor ally with students to defend public education! For teachers, staff, student control of education.

10. Housing is a right! Mobilize labor to stop evictions and foreclosures through rent strikes and blockades! Seize foreclosed housing and abandoned building for the homeless and displaced.

11. Eliminate profiteering off of illness. Free quality healthcare for all! Socialize the medical industry Free reproductive services to include free abortion on demand! For free 24-hour childcare. Full democratic rights for gays/lesbians/transgender including the right to marriage.

12. End discrimination in housing and employment. Down with racist cop harassment and brutality! For labor, Black and Brown self defense guards to stop the KKK/Nazis and racist police terror! Unite community and labor in joint defense.

13. An injury to one is an injury to all! Mobilize labor to defend whistleblowers! Free Bradley Manning!

14. For international labor solidarity! For joint Canadian, American, Mexican and Central American labor struggle! Down with “Buy American” anti-Chinese campaigns and other chauvinist protectionism. Unite all workers internationally against to imperialist wars! Defeat U.S. imperialism! Imperialism Hands off Syria! US out of Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen. Soldiers end the illegal wars and come home. The real fight is against the 0.1% not the poor victims of drones and night raids abroad.

15. For a workers’ party to fight for a workers’ government! Break with the Democrats/Republicans! Run labor candidates now! Only a workers government can mobilize the productive forces to combat climate change and environmental destruction.
Class Struggle Caucus composed of members of SEIU Local 1000, AFSCME & CAPS.
June, 5th, 2013 Labor Donated
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