July 30, 2005

TUCSON — Bosses driving home from work at Asarco, Inc.’s Silverbell copper mine north of here witnessed solidarity in action July 22, as some 20 Jobs with Justice members walked the picket line with striking miners. Most of the strikers are represented by the United Steelworkers.

Sixty years ago, on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, the world changed forever, with the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The big business media has gotten the story on the AFL-CIO’s convention all wrong. Yes, four unions, SEIU, the Teamsters, Unite Here and the UFCW, decided to boycott the convention. Yes then SEIU and the Teamsters left the federation, with the other two unions likely to follow. And yes, this is a serious blow to labor unity and to the working class.

On Aug. 6 we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the signing of a historic bill: the Voting Rights Act. It took years of struggle and sacrifice by the African American people, along with thousands of other democratic-minded people, many of them active in the labor and civil rights movements of that time.

Political smears by right-wingers are nothing new. In the election of 1800, John Adams had a surrogate newspaper publisher write an article about “Dusky Sally,” the half-sister of Thomas Jefferson’s deceased wife, who was also one of the Jefferson family slaves. Jefferson succeeded in avoiding the issue, and his friends pointed out that it was merely about his personal life, not national security.

Listening to the 28th National Convention of the Communist Party, USA, on the Internet inspired me to relive the rich and vibrant history of our party. Men and women such as Paul Robeson, Claudia Jones, W.E.B. DuBois, Benjamin Davis and Lucy Parsons have all had a great influence on me, as shining examples of political activism and revolutionary struggle. A comrade who has been a particular inspiration to me is Hosea Hudson. Although his legacy remains largely uncelebrated, his work as a Black union leader and Communist organizer was extremely important.

The customer service representative for my credit card company is pro-life, but believes that Bush’s pro-corporate tax laws and free trade policies are destroying the U.S., starting with her own family and town.

Wars are always easier to start than to finish, and Iraq-style wars in the name of fighting “international terrorism” have led to more terrorist attacks. The people of the United States and the world are less safe from both terrorists and the abuses of their own government, thanks to the Bush administration and its supporters.

Miami Herald columnist Jim DeFede recently pointed out the all too blatant hypocrisy that swirls around the Bush administration’s “war on terror” and how it is conveniently forgotten when it comes to Cuba.