Town Crier of Galt's page

Sisters and Brothers,

History is calling on us.

To answer that call, we must make sure tomorrow’s protest marks a turning point.

A decisive turn towards collective action demanding the fundamental structural changes that are necessary to address climate change.

Tomorrow’s protest will bring together tens of thousands of environmental activists, students, workers and their unions. We are building on thousands who have been heroically fighting the Keystone XL pipeline. In Seattle, other activists and I have been involved in civil disobedience against oil and coal trains – this growing threat of climate disaster on wheels.

But whether on rail or through pipelines, Big Oil is hell bent on trafficking its profits. They have the leadership of both political parties in their back pockets. It will be no small matter to stop them.

Our message on Sunday needs to be clear: If you are not yet organized, there is an urgent need to get involved and stay engaged:

join an environmental group, join a labor union, join the socialists, become a part of this struggle.

Our demands to the so-called “world leaders” also need to be clear.

Capitalism & Socialism

We need massive public projects to put an end to fossil fuel as part of a rapid transformation to clean energy along with a dramatic expansion of mass transit, all of which would create millions of living-wage, unionized jobs.

The people controlling these climate summits are utterly beholden to the fossil fuel industry and the financial aristocracy that dominates the world economy. The richest five corporations in the world are all fossil fuel companies.

These corporations have all the resources, all the technology, necessary to end the fossil fuel economy and power our global society on clean energy.

So why haven’t they done it?

The truth is, no amount of scientific evidence, no voice of reason, will talk them out of drilling every last barrel of oil out of the ground.

Take Exxon Mobil, for example, which spends millions promoting its green credentials – yet in a recent letter they assured their shareholders they will sell all of the oil and gas they have found – and all that they will find in the foreseeable future.

This is the reality of international capitalism. This is the product of the gigantic casino of speculation created by the highway robbers on Wall Street and the rapacious oil vultures. In this system the market is God, and everything is sacrificed on the altar of profit.

We must face up to the fact that the so called free market will not be able to end its addiction to fossil fuels, certainly not at the speed that is required. Nor is it capable of the kind of coordinated, democratic international planning that will be necessary.

A lot of people are prepared to change their personal lifestyles, and that’s important. However, I’m focusing here on the big corporations. Why?

It is estimated that almost two thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions since the dawning of the industrial age came from 90 corporations. Only 90 companies! Exxon, Shell, BP, Chevron – you know their names.

To address the climate crisis we must be able to democratically and rationally decide how these resources – which are currently concentrated in the hands of a small cabal of oligarchs and speculators – can be directed.

So that society as a whole can use these resources in the interests of people and the planet.

But how else can this be done except by bringing the giant energy companies into public ownership?

It’s straightforward. You cannot control what you do not own.

Strategy to Win

In the course of our struggle we will of course need to deploy many different strategies and tactics depending on the concrete circumstances. But one thing should be crystal clear – we cannot be bound by what is acceptable to establishment politicians and the big corporations they serve.

Our movement must instead be guided by the needs of working people and the environment.

There are experiences from other social movements. Recently in Seattle, my organization, Socialist Alternative, helped put forward a demand for a $15/hour minimum wage for all workers. Some at first dismissed this as unrealistic, but it was a demand that corresponded to the real needs of working people. We worked with others to mobilize a strong grassroots movement to win it. Corporations were always against it, but they had to concede in the face of growing mass support.

It is true we did not win everything, and the political servants of big business – by the way all Democrats in Seattle – carved out loopholes.

But we won the highest minimum wage in the country by demanding it – far more than we would have won if we had started out only asking for what we were told was acceptable to big business!

In fighting climate change, we need the same approach,

boldly demanding a massive program of public investment in renewable energy and mass transit. Let’s link this with a fundamental challenge to the broken system of capitalism.

This is the way to win the most, starting here and now, while at the same time offering a lasting solution. A vision of a just and sustainable society – a socialist world that can deliver a sustainable and high standard of living to all.

Democratic Party

I think there is broad agreement in this room on the need for collective struggle, the need to get organized independently of big business. In my opinion, however, this will not be achievable unless we also confront the reality that is corporate politics.

Nobody here would disagree that we cannot rely on the right wing, climate change denying Republicans. But neither can we rely on the big business Democrats.

Under Obama there has been a massive expansion, not of clean energy, but of fossil fuels, of oil drilling in the arctic, of fracking – it is an expansion that hasn’t been seen in more than a generation. And it’s not just about Obama, the Democratic Party establishment is awash with oil money.

If we tone down our demands to appease the Democratic Party elite, they will simply use our generosity to further appease their corporate donors.

Only an independent force of the 99%, a new party based on workers, young people, environmentalists, and labor, will be able to fight Wall Street and big business. A party that will struggle and will boldly advocate for alternatives to this crisis-ridden system.

Bernie Sanders

It was great to hear Bernie Sanders tonight. There has been some talk about Bernie running for President in 2016, to provide an alternative to Hillary Clinton.

I don’t always agree with Bernie, especially his recent positions on US foreign policy. But just for a moment, let us imagine the impact of a well-known and credible independent left challenger to the two parties of big business in the 2016 presidential elections.

A campaign that refused any corporate cash and called for taxing corporations and the super-wealthy to fund a massive green jobs program, an end to corporate welfare, a $15 minimum wage, single payer healthcare, and a cancellation of student debt.

I would appeal to Bernie to run as an independent candidate for president in 2016, not tied to the Democrats and their big business agenda.

The ecological clock is ticking too fast for us to let the 2016 political arena be dominated by climate change denying Republicans and pro­-fracking Democrats. We need a voice for environmental sanity, an alternative to this dysfunctional two party system.

An independent left campaign would appeal to the millions of Americans who are disgusted with the shameless pandering to Wall Street that is carried out in the name of “political realism.” In fact, a recent poll showed that sixty percent of Americans want a third party.

It can act as lightening rod for hundreds of thousands of workers and young people who want to fight back, laying the basis for a movement that can win real gains, regardless of who happens to occupy the White House in 2017.

Conclusion

The great working class fighter, Rosa Luxemburg, said a century ago, that the future will either be one of socialism or barbarism. It’s up to us to ensure that our future is not one of the disasters of climate change and capitalism, but instead one of cooperation, humanity, beauty, and sustainability.

But nothing is decided yet: “Our work is far from done,” says Kshama Sawant.

Under intense pressure from the movement for a $15/hour minimum wage, Seattle’s establishment was forced to come forward with a proposal to significantly increase the wages for 102,000 low-paid workers. The proposal is less than workers are demanding, and it is still not in any way a done deal. Nevertheless, this shows the power of working people to stand up, raise their expectations, and push back against the big-business agenda dominating the U.S.

A year ago the proposed increase would have been difficult to imagine. The Mayor of Seattle, Ed Murray, is proposing a raise of the minimum wage of 50 percent, compared to Washington State, over 10 years. With a yearly inflation adjustment this would lift minimum wages in the Emerald City to more than $18/hour in 2025, which would make it the strongest minimum wage legislation in the US. The effects nationally will be huge. Already it is clear that it will encourage workers all across the US and beyond to step up the fight for $15 and more.

The strikes of fast food workers, the huge sympathy they received, the electoral success of Kshama Sawant in becoming the first socialist city councilor in Seattle in decades, and the impressive 15 Now campaign she and Socialist Alternative have launched – all together redefined what is achievable. It has empowered workers, disproportionately people of color, women and immigrants, to stand up and demand a life with dignity. It shows we can achieve a significant increase in living conditions, wages and working conditions, if we get organized and use our collective strength.

However, the deal is not yet sealed – and it has some severe flaws, that Kshama Sawant, Socialist Alternative and 15 Now are fighting to overcome. It was our grassroots movement that brought us this far – now we need to increase the pressure in the coming weeks on the city council to correct the weaknesses in the Mayor’s proposal. If the council fails to correct the proposal, there is still the option of putting a Charter Amendment to voters in November.
15 Now is preparing the signature gathering for this backup plan: “Signature gathering is a very, very important piece of action that needs to be continued in the next several weeks, so that the city council, which is going to have McDonald’s lobbyists whispering in one ear and Starbucks lobbyists whispering in another ear, to make sure that the voices of workers aren’t forgotten,” Kshama Sawant told the media.

Murray’s Proposal

On May Day the Mayor’s “Income Inequality Advisory Committee” finally delivered its plan. It’s a complicated plan because it aims to give the appearance of $15 to satisfy the demands of the public, while giving business loopholes to pay as little as possible in practice.

The president of the Seattle chapter of the National Restaurant Association, Bob Donegan, explained how the dominant section of Seattle business views the proposal when he told the City Council that he is supporting the Mayor’s proposal because it is the “least offensive of the imperfect solutions.” The Seattle Times, a fierce opponent of a $15 minimum wage in SeaTac and Seattle echoed similar sentiments in an editorial: “If Seattle must go to $15 — and that appears a political reality — there are elements to like in this deal” (5/3/2014).

The Mayor’s proposal allows big business a three year phase-in from $11 to $15 in 2018 or even 2019 if they offer health care. Only in 2018 does the cost of living adjustment start. A $15 in 2018 terms is in 2014 dollars around $14.30. For small business, defined as up to 500 (!) employees, the phase-in is much longer and tipped workers only reach the full amount in 2025. The wage increases for businesses under 500 which offer health care, or where workers are tipped, are extremely slow in the first few years, rising to $10, $10.50, $11 then $11.50 in the first four years.

The proposal reflects what business has been forced to accept so far. It also points to the danger of the proposal being undermined further as soon as business feels in a strong enough position to do so. The long-term phase-in runs the risk that future city councils could alter the plan before it fully kicks in. There should be no doubt that they will take advantage of the proposed “temporary” tip penalty to make every effort to turn it into a permanent feature and to spread it throughout Washington state (which is one of only seven states which does not currently have a tip penalty).

Pressure on the City Council

In contrast, Kshama Sawant is pushing forward the original plan proposed by herself and labor to the Income Inequality Advisory Committee – $15 starting January 1, 2015 for all workers employed by big businesses. Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, Target can afford to pay $15 now – why should they get one more day to pay poverty wages? Sawant’s plan also includes a three-year phase-in for small businesses and non-profits. It rules out including a tip penalties and health care deductions, and the cost of living adjustments would start immediately.

The movement for $15 needs to increase the pressure on the council to:
- get rid of any phase-in for big business
- get rid of any tip penalty or health care deduction
- Reduce the decade long phase-in for small business

It’s unclear how quickly the city council will decide on the proposals. The coming days and weeks are decisive to keep up the pressure and win the strongest possible $15.

Last year an initiative in SeaTac won a $15 minimum wage. On Wednesday May 7, supporters of the SeaTac initiative will protest against business’s blocking its implementation through legal challenges. This is an important step to show the City Council and business that we will not allow them to claw back the gains we have won.

On Thursday May 15, fast food workers will be protesting and striking across the country and in Seattle for $15/hour minimum wage.

As well as these events, 15 Now is Seattle is preparing to mobilize low-wage workers and supporters of $15 to make sure our voices are heard throughout the City Council process. This includes mobilizing to collect signatures for a ballot initiative. If the City Council fails to deliver an adequate $15, activists of 15 Now, labor and communities can bring the demand for a living wage to a vote in the November election.
Click here to help the signature gathering or to be part of an Action Group in Seattle, or click here to donate to help 15 Now fight for a living wage for workers.

If you agree there is need to build an on-going movement against the interests of corporate America and the capitalist system, click here to join Socialist Alternative!

Labor and the Left’s Debate on Strategy

The Mayor’s proposal has sparked an important debate among Labor and the Left on how to best proceed. The leadership of the Seattle labor movement are mistakenly uncritically supporting the Mayor’s proposal and are unfortunately not looking to throw their weight fully into struggle to improve the proposal.

This is linked with the question of a ballot initiative. The New York Times (May 2, 2014) quotes David Rolf, president of SEIU 775 “I believe that if the Council passes this agreement within the next few weeks that the public won’t support a ballot measure fight,” Mr. Rolf said. “And certainly the labor movement is not going to support a ballot measure fight.”

While Rolf mentions, quoted by KPLU radio, that it was necessary to have a “left flank” and he had “nothing but respect for Sawant and her organization, 15 Now,” he then goes on to say: “But we don’t agree on the strategy.” Rolf continued, “for some period of time, we’ve made it clear we support the concept of a phase-in, we want to reach a compromise, and we believe the best compromise is one with labor and business at the same table joining their hands and advocating to the council.” (KPLU – Seattle Mayor Murray’s Minimum Wage Plan Reveals An Interesting Divide On The Left)

For Socialist Alternative and Kshama Sawant, there is nothing wrong with signing a deal that might not completely reflect our full demands, as long as Labor has used all its tools to push forward an agenda to defend working class families’ living and working conditions. It is Labor that is best positioned to change the balance of forces between the 1% and the rest of society by activating workers themselves.

The question is, has this been done yet?

In our view, the answer is no. The main labor leaders involved believe the Mayor’s proposal needs to be supported and not changed in order to avoid big business stepping in, using their financial power to manipulate public opinion to oppose an increase in the minimum wage – for example, on the ballot in November. But when did appeasement on our side ever stop big business from using all the tools at their disposal to strengthen their position and weaken ours?

We need to rely on our strength and use the debate in Seattle on $15 to help rebuild a fighting workers movement. The strikes of the fast food workers and the trade unions supporting them were absolutely crucial to turn the growing feelings of social injustice – revealed by the Occupy Movement – into action.
Trade unions like the SEIU, UFCW, Unite-Here and others were decisive in winning the SeaTac ballot for a $15 minimum wage.

However, labor did not, unfortunately, offer a tool to turn the huge sympathy for the demand for $15 into an organizational force for all workers and young people. Only the election campaign of Kshama Sawant last year and then the launch of 15 Now offered activists and newly-politicized people a way to get engaged and involved, take ownership of the movement and move forward.

Imagine what would be possible in the following months and years if the Labor leaders were to throw their full weight behind the fighting strategy 15 Now and Kshama Sawant have put forward. A national campaign promoted and financially supported by Labor, that workers could join and democratically participate in to fight for $15 all across the country would change the political landscape. Such a campaign could hold mass conferences, like the 15 Now Conference on April 26 in Seattle, mobilizing hundreds and thousands in city after city, discussing and then moving into action. What a powerful tool to rebuild Labor, give direction and hope to the aspirations of workers, and finally start to fight corporate America!

What a contrast to the strategy of too many Labor leaders over the last decades: They have tried to appease big business, tried to get agreements and compromises – in large part without mobilizing, without educating and without organizing working-class and young people.

Did this stop business from increasing their attacks? On the contrary, bosses were encouraged to demand more and more. The extreme accumulation of wealth in the hands of the 1% is the result of their unrelenting battle against the vast majority of people. It’s time to fight back!