Oct 11, 2003

QUEENS, N.Y. – Over 100,000 people greeted the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride (IWFR) here Oct. 4, celebrating the birth of a new movement with its sights set on making the 2004 elections a battle for immigrant rights.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Frustrated Californians voted to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis Oct. 7 and replace him with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

OAKLAND, Calif. – Struggles for democracy, civil and workers’ rights, equality and peace will be celebrated at this year’s Northern California People’s Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo banquet on Sunday, Nov. 9.

The Bush administration’s effort to get international cover for its Iraq occupation suffered a serious setback at the United Nations last week when Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the UN must be given a leading role in restoring Iraqi sovereignty or it would not be involved in Iraq at all.

RTI steelworkers won a major victory when Judge Peter Economus ruled Sept. 30 that the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency set up to protect worker’s pensions, illegally refused to pay pensions when RTI shut down.

The House of Representatives dealt the Bush administration a stinging rebuke Oct. 2 by approving a measure that could lead to the reversal of the president’s move to strip overtime pay protections from as many as eight million workers.

HARTFORD, Conn. – A fighting spirit filled the hall last week as the Connecticut AFL-CIO convention mapped out plans for the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, support for striking machinists and university workers, and turnout for the 2004 elections.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.: Labor/community coalition wins living wage / LAPEER, Mich.:Get the gov’t out of the bedroom / WASHINGTON: It’s October. They’re back. / KNOXVILLE, Tenn.: We the People say ‘Stop the reactor’ / LUBBOCK, Texas: Don’t drink the milk

CHICAGO – The Chicago City Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution Oct. 1 denouncing the USA Patriot Act and calling for the repeal of those parts of it that violate the U.S. Constitution. Chicago thus becomes the 179th city or county in the United States to pass such an ordinance, and the largest city to do so. Three states – Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont – have passed similar measures.

The Republican majority in the Pennsylvania State Senate has refused to pass Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s education budget even though the state’s schools have been in session for nearly a month. Inquiries from angry citizens receive the same reply, “We are trying to work something out.”