Working on this new server in php7...
imc indymedia

Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

white themeblack themered themetheme help
About Us Contact Us Calendar Publish RSS
Features
latest news
best of news
syndication
commentary


KILLRADIO

VozMob

ABCF LA

A-Infos Radio

Indymedia On Air

Dope-X-Resistance-LA List

LAAMN List




IMC Network:

Original Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan korea manila qc europe: abruzzo alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol brussels bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary ireland istanbul italy la plana liege liguria lille linksunten lombardia london madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice northern england norway oost-vlaanderen paris/Île-de-france patras piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia chiapas chile chile sur cmi brasil colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hawaii houston hudson mohawk kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech

Surviving Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: canada: quebec east asia: japan europe: athens barcelona belgium bristol brussels cyprus germany grenoble ireland istanbul lille linksunten nantes netherlands norway portugal united kingdom latin america: argentina cmi brasil rosario oceania: aotearoa united states: austin big muddy binghamton boston chicago columbus la michigan nyc portland rochester saint louis san diego san francisco bay area santa cruz, ca tennessee urbana-champaign worcester west asia: palestine process: fbi/legal updates process & imc docs projects: radio satellite tv
printable version - js reader version - view hidden posts - tags and related articles


View article without comments

Organized labor unites in opposition to BDS

by PIBB Saturday, Dec. 20, 2014 at 10:49 PM

California Teamsters Issue scathing letter in opposition to BDS


In a letter directed to the executive Board of UAW Local 2865, the California Teamsters have reiterated their opposition to BDS, stating unequivocally that they “cannot conceive of an action more hostile to the interests of [Teamsters] members and more antithetical to the most basic principles of the union movement”

The letter is reproduced in its entirety at the website of Informed Grads, a group organized in opposition to the Dec. 4th BDS resolution at the University of California

Dear [Michelle] Glowa and Members of the Executive Board,

It has come to our attention that the Executive Board of UAW Local 2865 has endorsed the “Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction Movement” against companies that do business in Israel. In addition, we understand you have also endorsed the so-called “Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.” We further understand that you are putting the matter to a vote of your bargaining unit members on December 6 [sic], 2014.

Teamsters Joint Council 7 and 42 is comprised of our members in California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific. This includes Local 2010 that represents 14,000 employees throughout the University of California system.

As you are no doubt aware, the companies that are targeted by the BDS movement include numerous employers that are represented by organized labor, including many thousands who are represented by the Teamsters. Indeed, some of the companies you wish your union to boycott and divest from are represented by the United Auto Workers. In the case of the Teamsters, we represent tens of thousands of employees at the following companies that are listed as targets of the BDS campaign:
Boeing
Cemex
General Dynamics
General Electric
ITT
Lockheed-Martin
Northrup-Grumman
Whatever your motives, we cannot conceive of an action more hostile to the interests of our members and more antithetical to the most basic principles of the union movement than for a union to call for actions which are intended to do harm to the economic security of other union members. We would find it difficult to ask our members to support your union in a labor dispute with the University of California so long as you are engaged in activities that are fundamentally hostile to their interests.

Giving you the benefit of the doubt, we can only assume that you took your actions without consideration of the potential harm to hard working union members across California and the United States. We ask you to look at that issue now. Unlike the members of your union, who are graduate students and therefore union members for a short period of time, our members are working in jobs that must support them for a lifetime and it is our job to protect them for all of their working lives.

We would strongly request that you reconsider your actions.
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


The headline is a lie

by nobody Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014 at 11:28 AM

What's happening is a conflict between different unions - the UAW graduate student union, who support BDS, and the Teamsters, who oppose it.

From the press release, linked:
"UAW 2865, a labor union representing over 13,000 teaching assistants, tutors, and other student-workers at the University of California, has become the first major U.S. labor union to hold a membership vote responding to the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli occupation and in solidarity with Palestinian self-determination. The vote passed, with 65% (almost 2/3) of voting members in support. Over 2100 members voted, a testament to union democracy.

"The measure calls on
1) the University of California to divest from companies involved in Israeli occupation and apartheid;
2) the UAW International to divest from these same entities;
3) the US government to end military aid to Israel.
4) 53 % of voting members also pledged not to “take part in any research, conferences, events, exchange programs, or other activities that are sponsored by Israeli universities complicit in the occupation of Palestine and the settler-colonial policies of the state of Israel” until such time as these universities take steps to end complicity with dispossession, occupation, and apartheid.
- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2014/12/workers-becomes-endorse#sthash.ig3Fqcw6.dpuf";

Despite the Teamsters letter, the membership voted to support BDS.

Additional conflict is likely because organized labor has other unions that organize at military-industrial-congressional complex companies. This is not unusual - these memberships represent numerous jobs.

That said, it's not known if divestment in these companies would necessarily lead to job losses. These companies are primarily government contractors, and it's Congress that influences whether the number of jobs expands or contracts. For example, locally, the sunsetting of the C17 transport plane led to the contraction of the workforce at Boeing in Long Beach. When the government buys less, the production is cut, and people are laid off. Investor money probably helps more in funding expenses like R&D labor (scientists, engineers, etc.), which aren't as well represented by labor unions.

This type of intra-labor conflict is one of the reasons why boycotts focus on companies hostile to labor unions, or with low rates of union membership, like Caterpillar and Hewlett Packard. The fact that they achieved this general level of support is significant.

A group within labor likely to oppose this action are the Jewish Labor Committee. Another group within labor likely to support BDS include US Labor Against War.

http://www.jewishlaborcommittee.org/2014/12/on_the_vote_of_university_of_c.html

http://uslaboragainstwar.org/Articles/index?tag=BDS&tag_id=4646

At the SF ports, BDS stopped access to the ports, and the ILWU didn't cross the community picket. While this isn't an endorsement, and the statements around it have a negative cast because they refer to risks to safety, it's really a way to show solidarity by honoring the picket line.

There is a website of labor union folks who support Palestine:
http://laborforpalestine.net/

For the most part, the union locals don't take a position on BDS or Palestine. This is in line with the general trend of not taking positions on international issues, and generally aligning with whatever the state department, by default.
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


A majority of a minority voted for this

by Renaldi Friday, Jan. 09, 2015 at 8:33 PM

The voter turn-out was extremely low- only 2,000 of the eligible students (Over 50,000) voted for this, essentially hijacking the union.
Report this post as:
Share on: Twitter, Facebook, Google+

add your comments


© 2000-2018 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy