Michael Moore: "This is a Class War"

"This is a Class War": Michael Moore Calls for Renewed Pro-Democracy Movement as Anti-Union Bills Approved in Wisconsin and Michigan.

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Workers Struggle Continues in Egypt

Reports on labor protests from everywhere!

Protests among workers of the Egyptian postal, subway and mining services continued on Monday.

In the cities of Kafr al-Sheikh and Fayoum, Egyptian Post workers staged protests, demanding better salaries and bonuses.

Workers of the Subway Authority staged protests in Helwan. They wanted to substitute their temporary contracts with permanent ones. “The authority’s president had on 17 January ordered permanent contracts for us,” said Islam Ahmed. “But his orders were not carried out even though we have been working here for 15 years.”

Miners in the Baharia Oasis also staged protests. They demanded higher wages and better working conditions

In Minya, Coptic Christians on Sunday protested before the city’s security headquarters. They claimed they were denied elections cards and thus would not be able to cast their votes in the upcoming referendum on constitutional amendments.

In Ismailia, workers of the Suez Canal Authority staged protests for better salaries and bonuses.

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Revolution spirit everywhere: A general strike considered in Wisconsin

(Photo from Mark Danielson/flickr)

Democracy Now! reports Wisconsin workers protests:

Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker is expected to propose deep cuts to the state’s health programs for the poor and aid to local governments. Walker has also threatened to start the process of laying off 1,500 state workers unless 14 Democratic senators return to the state and vote to refinance millions in debt. The Walker administration is coming under intense criticism for largely shutting off the State Capitol to protesters ahead of his speech..

Here is a live Twitter timeline to follow workers fight there!

Solidarity from Egypt, dear comrades!

Union solidarity with Egypt: UTLA

A statement of solidarity from the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) with the Egyptian revolution and the ongoing workers' strikes and protests:

Support democracy and workers' rights in Egypt! End U.S. aid to the military regime!

MOVED THAT UTLA express our support for the struggle for workers' rights in Egypt following the heroic protests that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak, and for the recent formation of the Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions as an alternative to the state-controlled Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions.

Further moved that UTLA express our support for the immediate transition to free and fair democratic elections, and demand that President Obama and the U.S. Congress immediately halt all financial support for Egypt's military regime--which has ruled the country and thwarted democracy for six decades.

Rationale: The U.S. government gives Egypt's military regime approximately $1.3 billion per year. This "foreign aid" does not help the 40 percent of Egyptian people who survive on less than $2 per day, but instead helps the military purchase the tear gas, guns and other weapons that were used by Mubarak's police and supporters to attack the peaceful democracy protesters in Tahrir Square.

It is unconscionable that our tax dollars are being used to help foreign governments repress their own populations while education, health care and other public services face budget cuts and layoffs across the U.S.

A rising wave of workers' struggles, strikes and union organizing played a critical role in Mubarak's ouster. Now for the first time many Egyptian workers are creating their own independent unions not controlled by the government. The right to independent unions is a cornerstone of democracy and civil liberties. Our sisters and brothers in the Teachers Independent Union are among the founders of the Egyptian Federation for Independent Unions.

Time Sensitive: Protests and strikes continue as we speak in Egypt, with the future of the country in the balance every day. Messages of support from unions like ours will make a huge difference by giving confidence to the Egyptian workers' movement. Moreover, President Obama just announced his budget proposal, which cuts dozens of crucial public services at a time when they're needed the most.

Thus the federal government is now deciding on budgetary expenditures, including aid to Egypt and other undemocratic regimes. Now is the perfect time to demand "money for educators, not for dictators!"

UTLA House of Representatives, Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Workers protests are still challenging the military orders

Only 24 hours after t military junta's decision about banning strikes, a wave of workers protests and strikes swept different locations in Egypt. Omar Effendi's workers, Egypt Postal workers, local council's employees, Swiss Co. workers, Basyoun Brothers Co. workers, Ezz Dkhayla workers and peasants in different locations painted a brilliant portrait of how to continue the revolution.

Egyptian military kills a woman and arrests workers in Suez

The Egyptian military is now proving their real attitude towards our revolution. A military truck just killed a woman in Suez during moving to transport some of drivers military arrested after breaking down drivers sit-in. In Cairo also, the military police has allegedly arrested 5 workers from the Egyptian Railways workshops after they staged a sit-in. I think it's becoming very clear to all people now. If we do wanna make a COMPLETE change, then back to supporting strikes and back to Tahrir square...

Strikes And Our Permanent Revolution in Egypt

I couldn't have imagined that in the middle of our revolution, I might find someone to say that the revolutionaries shouldn't call for any strikes! I thought it was an ABC in the handbooks of the revolutions(!) that after toppling the police and the dictator and intervention of the military, the only weapon to use is the strikes. The military can kill people protesting but CAN NOT deal with striking workers sitting at their home! So, again, to remind: the strikes are the only way to continue our revolution for these reasons:
1- Before anything, the demands of all strikes and protests now are very legit! They need to have a good life with average standards and actually the participated in the revolution for that very reason.(This is especially true if we put in mind that there is already a verdict of the minimum wage setting it to 1200 LE)
2- The strikes are the main tool people can use to exert more and more pressure on the military to meet ALL the demands of the revolutionaries as the huge businesses worldwide won't stand anymore losses.
3- The revolution was calling for toppling and destroying the whole regime not Mubarak only. Mubarak has gone but there is a lot and a lot of corruption soldiers in every sector of the state. The strikes are the main tool to expose those corrupted officials and remove them. Egypt is like a big ship now, the captain has been killed but we still need to shake this ship well to force all the rats to leave that ship and run away! Strike is the way to make that shaking!
4- If we are looking for a good political environment in Egypt in the future, we need to start building it's core now; and that's the unions. Workers have to start building independent unions everywhere and rebuild new forms to communicate. This needs to be done ASAP as the strikes waves are already there, people are still in the euphoria of the victory and there won't be any police harassment anytime soon!