5,000 march in downtown Detroit, urge rebuilding nation

BY NAOMI R. PATTON, Detroit Free Press, Aug. 29, 2010

Thousands of people in downtown Detroit made their way from Jefferson Avenue to Grand Circus Park in what was billed as a march to rebuild America for jobs, justice and peace.

On the 47th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington, the event brought out many of state's Democratic politicians -- many of whom were attending the party's convention at Cobo Center. The march and rally were organized by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the UAW.

Along the way, the march grew as convention goers and others joined in. Among the marchers were the Rev. Jesse Jackson; Bob King, UAW president; Detroit Mayor Dave Bing; U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D- Mich.; U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; state Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and his running mate, Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence.

Workers from the UAW, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Michigan Council 25, American Federation of Teachers and Detroit Public Schools filled Washington Boulevard and Grand Circus Park, advocating for jobs.

"We're not here to tear anybody down ... to divide anybody. ... We care about all the unemployed in America," King said.

He also asked the crowd to return for the city's annual Labor Day march next week and to vote in the November elections.

"We have to put Americans to work," he said.

"I care about jobs," said Tanya Ball, 44, who works at the Ford Wayne Assembly Plant. She attended the march with her sister, Betty Ball, 55. Both are Inkster residents.

"I just came in the spirit of what was happening to our people 47 years ago. ... There's hardly any change," Betty Ball said.

Tom Hopp, 52, of Lake Orion said he has always been a fan of Jackson and came to the march to support the call for jobs. He has worked for General Motors Lake Orion for 32 years.

"It's never a waste of a day coming out to an event like this," he said.

Though political speeches and slogans nearly dominated the day's event, it was Conyers who reminded the crowd of about 5,000 of the historic significance of the day. It was Martin Luther King's march down Woodward Avenue with then-UAW President Walter Reuther that served as the precursor to the March on Washington, during which King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

"We're celebrating jobs, foreclosure moratoriums, universal health care -- cheer for that," Conyers said.

"Today's march commemorates one of the most important days in our history," Bing said after the march. "Our greatest challenge is creating jobs, and that's something I will continue to fight to bring to Detroit."

Contact NAOMI R. PATTON: 313-223-4485 or npatton@freepress.com

UAW and Rainbow Push Announce Aug. 28th Detroit March

Talking Union, Aug. 5, 2010

United Auto Workers President Bob King and Rev. Jesse Jackson announced an August 28th march to mark the beginning of a new campaign that will call on our leaders to Rebuild America by enacting policy that will unleash the skills and talent of the American workforce. Here is the statement at a July 12th press conference in Detroit announcing the march.

No group has suffered more from America’s economic meltdown than working men and women. The auto industry was decimated and workers paid the price. Urban America is in crisis and teachers, transportation workers, and all who do the hands-on work that make our cities run are the first to feel the effects of budget cuts. Unemployment continues at around 9.8%. Detroit is ground zero of this national crisis with an unemployment rate that is far higher. From December 2007 to June 2009, auto assembly and parts production accounted for 325,000 lost jobs. The auto industry has gone from a high of 1.5 million workers to 400,000 today.

In Appalachia and the Gulf, years of unenforced regulation, driven by corporate greed and government complicity, have led to needless deaths and destruction in the coal and oil fields. Our national infrastructure is crumbling–industry, education, transportation, environment–while millions of talented workers stand by, ready to stem the tide.

Poverty is on the rise. Home and church foreclosures continue to mount and student loan defaults are increasing. Our cities are under siege. Public transportation services are cut, workers laid off, but fares go up. Teachers are laid off and programs are cut as education budgets are slashed. Public housing faces cuts and we experience reverse redlining in our neighborhoods. We bailed out the predators–banks got money at 0%–while we made loans to the auto industry.

We need a plan for recovery. We need economic reconstruction. We need urban policy geared toward reindustrialization. We need fair trade policies that will even the playing field for American companies and workers and, as more and more people face greater economic need, it’s time to revive the War on Poverty.

On August 28th in Detroit, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and UAW, along with our friends and allies, will march to mark the beginning of a new campaign that will call on our leaders to Rebuild America by enacting policy that will unleash the skills and talent of the American workforce. We will march for Jobs, Justice and Peace on the anniversary of that day in 1963 when Walter Reuther, president of UAW, Martin Luther King, Jr., president of SCLC, and other civil rights leaders joined with hundreds of thousands of Americans for the March on Washington.

Leading up to that day, marches were held around the country, building momentum for what was to be the largest civil rights rally in history. In Detroit, prior to the March on Washington, 125,000 marchers participated in the Freedom Walk led by Dr. King. At the march, King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech for the first time before sharing it with the world in Washington. This year, a massive march has been called for October 2 in Washington.

We will begin to build momentum again right here in Detroit on August 28th.

It’s time to enact real change for working families and all America. It’s time to reverse the policies that have resulted in jobs and investment flowing out, creating economic hardship for millions of Americans. It’s time to Rebuild America with Jobs, Justice and Peace. We are calling on our national leaders to Rebuild America by focusing on:

Jobs–economic reconstruction driven by targeted stimulus, reindustrialization and trade policy that will create jobs, support manufacturing in America, and put workers first.

Justice–enforcement of the law regarding workers rights, civil rights, industrial regulation, and creation of strong urban policy, and fair and just education, economic, and health policy.

Peace–ending the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, saving lives and redirecting the war budget to rebuilding America.

We invite all who share our commitment to march with us in Detroit on August 28th. Nothing is more important than strengthening our coalition of conscience and restoring the promise of democracy and economic justice for working families.

Protests denounce U.S. occupation of Iraq

By John Catalinotto, Workers World, March 24, 2010

The seventh anniversary of the criminal U.S.-British occupation of Iraq on March 20 gave impetus to demonstrations in cities around the world. Anti-war protesters could not forget the suffering this U.S.-led aggression has imposed on the Iraqis, killing over a million and driving 5 million people into exile.

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On top of the Iraq occupation, the Barack Obama administration has begun a serious escalation in Afghanistan, destined to inflict similar damage upon other peoples of that region; it has intensified pilotless bombing of areas of Pakistan; and it threatens to bomb Iran.

This situation aroused protests across the U.S. Regional actions attracting thousands took place in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco, initiated by the Answer Coalition and in which many anti-war forces participated.

In Washington, some 10,000 people joined the protest, according to organizers. Among the key speakers was Cindy Sheehan, who has been an active spokesperson against U.S. wars since her son, Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and anti-monopoly fighter Ralph Nader were also featured. Sheehan was arrested as part of a civil disobedience protest following the march.

Protest slogans included demands for jobs at home, not wars abroad, and pointed out how military spending drained wealth away from social benefits. The Bail Out the People Movement and the International Action Center had strong delegations from New York at the demonstration.

Workers World Party leader Larry Holmes was at the protest. “Considering all the activities going on this weekend,” Holmes told WW, “we were pleased to see so many people coming out. People came from around the country to show solidarity with the Palestinians, to tell the U.S. to get out of Afghanistan and Iraq, and to refrain from starting a new war against Iran. Young people were ready to march up to the Mortgage Bankers Association and make it a target of the protest. It’s a good sign for the future.”

In Los Angeles, thousands, including many youth of color, gathered at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine and marched down Hollywood Blvd. to the rally site at Highland Ave. There they listened to speakers prominent in left and progressive movements demand an end to U.S. militarism and money for human needs at home and abroad.

In San Francisco, 5,000 demonstrators gathered at City Hall Plaza, called by a broad coalition of anti-war, solidarity and social justice organizations.

Under the lead banner “Occupation is a crime — Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine! Fund people’s needs — not war and bank bailouts!” speaker after speaker demanded an end to all U.S.-backed military adventures abroad, including U.S. support for the continued occupation of Palestine, while at the same time demanding that funds be used for jobs, health care and education.

One of the most moving talks was given by Father Andres Tamayo, a priest and popular leader who was expelled by the Honduran junta. Tamayo brought solidarity greetings on behalf of the people of Honduras who are struggling against the U.S.-backed military government. Father Tamayo stated simply that the land and wealth of Honduras must be returned to its people.

Following the rally, a march moved through downtown San Francisco, passing two hotels, the Hilton and the Four Seasons, to express solidarity with striking hotel workers, members of UNITE HERE Local 2.

Anti-war protesters in Detroit, called out by the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice, on March 19 demanded that the U.S. immediately stop the wars against Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Somalia, Pakistan and other nations and that the Pentagon budget be used instead for people’s needs, including jobs, housing, health care and education.

According to the National Priorities Project, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone have cost Michigan taxpayers at least $25 billion. Protesters rallied at Detroit’s city hall and then marched behind a lead banner declaring “Michigan says no to war” to the Central United Methodist Church while chanting “Money for jobs, not for war!”

In Stockholm, Sweden, 300 people joined a cultural protest. Under banners reading, “Crimes against peace are the worst of all crimes — Nuremburg 1946” and “U.S. out of Iraq,” the Iraqi music group SUMER was joined by leading Swedish poets and actors who recited anti-war poetry. The former Swedish Foreign Minister and U.N. Ambassador Pierre Schori denounced the invasion and the fact that Swedish authorities did not charge former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for war crimes when she was in Stockholm for a conference to raise funds for the occupation regime.

An Iraqi guest speaker concentrated on the destruction of the Iraqi state and the horrendous situation for women and children. A speaker for Iraq Solidarity suggested that if Dante were writing today he would have to add another layer of hell to describe the present situation for Iraqis in their ravished homeland.

Expatriate U.S. citizens called a protest in Rome, Italy, and in Lisbon, Portugal, there was a public meeting denouncing the continued occupation of Iraq.

Judy Greenspan, Bob McCubbin, Bryan G. Pfeifer and Mike Powers contributed to this report.