YCL Weekly Update

I. In the News: In America, Labor has an Unusually Long Fuse

II. Tell Rite Aid: Stop the union busting and sign a first contract

III. NC Registration Deadline: Friday April 10th

I. In the News: In American, Labor has an Unusually Long Fuse

by Steven Greenhouse

"When General Moters recently announced huge job cuts worldwide, 15,000 workers demonstrated at the company's German headquarters.

But in the United States, where G.M. plans its biggest layoffs, union members have seemed passive in comparison. They may yell at the television news, but that's about all. Unlike their European counterparts, American workers have largely stayed off the streets, even as unemployment soars and companies cut wages and benefits."

For the whole article, go to the NY Times Website.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What do you think of the different reasons the article uses to explain why the working class in the U.S. seems to have a "long fuse"?

2. Why do you think that trade unionists and workers in the U.S. have not taken to the streets in the same way that trade unionists in Europe have?

3. Do you think the tactics used by workers in France and elsewhere are appropriate for the political situation here? Do you think the French and German demonstrations have stopped companies from firing workers?

4. What do you think of the quote from Professor Kennedy at the end of the article saying, "This generation, he said, has "found more effective ways to change the world. It's signed up for political campaigns, and it's not waiting for things to get so desperate that they feel forced to take the streets"?

II. Tell Rite Aid: Stop union busting and sign a first contract

Companies aren't supposed to attack workers who want a union, but Rite Aid and other employers are doing it every day. When 650 workers at Rite Aid's distribution center in Lancaster, CA wanted to join a union to address problems like sweltering heat in the warehouse, the company threatened and fired them.

Sign the petition from Jobs with Justice (JwJ) and tell Rite Aid stop the union busting now!

III. National Council Registration Ends on April 10th!

Make sure that you sign up for the YCL's NC meeting by extended deadline April 10th! At the meeting April 25th and 26th in Chicago we will be assessing our role in the fight back over the economic crisis, building the YCL and making plans for our Convention in 2010. Sign the online registration form and make sure you are part of this important event!