tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post3313840930018049972..comments2023-12-29T18:13:21.495-06:00Comments on pink scare: G.E. and Ruling Class TacticsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-57360480063437136662011-03-29T16:58:09.787-05:002011-03-29T16:58:09.787-05:00another issue that I forgot to mention in my earli...another issue that I forgot to mention in my earlier comment is that a lot of the people that I addressed in my post over at American Leftist should be in unions, but aren't (or, actually were in unions 30 or 40 years ago), either because unions are incapable or uninterested in organizing them, hence my interest in alternatives like SEWARichardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09164564889343805575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-88706109146601116112011-03-29T14:14:49.963-05:002011-03-29T14:14:49.963-05:00I completely agree with you, and I think your exam...I completely agree with you, and I think your example is poignant. I too wonder what the health care debate would've looked like if the "let's endorse whatever the dems put forward" approach of the leadership had been challenged from within the labor movement. I think encouraging unionized workers to participate in these kinds of efforts is a key task of the US Left at the moment.thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268192967377248928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-44080534032742128992011-03-29T13:54:26.974-05:002011-03-29T13:54:26.974-05:00Your response raises something that I considered i...Your response raises something that I considered including in my post, but didn't, namely that the left among the rank and file of various unions in the US should consider organizing more militantly across the boundaries of their union affiliation. For example, imagine how the health care reform debate might have been affected by a substantial left group of members from diverse unions, challenging the position of the AFL-CIO and Change to Win. My sense is that left leaning union members may need to break free of the organizational structures of their unions more than they have done to date, although they may have tried this already and encountered some difficulty. It is an approach that will invariably generate conflict, because there are few institutions that are as hierarchically based than US labor unions.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09164564889343805575noreply@blogger.com