Renewing old Friendships

UAW chief Ron Gettelfinger spoke yesterday at the national NAACP conference, and two important things came out of it.

First, the fact that the leader of perhaps the most prominent single union was featured so prominently and spoke so forcefully at the NAACP conference is, in itself, a big deal. Historically, labor and civil rights activists have worked together for equality and social justice, and in many ways, that bond has stayed intact.

But now, with a President and unchecked corporate powers conspiring to keep down anyone that tries to earn an honest living without sitting in a boardroom or $1000 a plate fundraisers, it is more important than ever that coalitions of people who seek to even the playing field and restore fairness to our society band together. Here's the gist:

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger used the solidarity between labor and civil rights groups to urge NAACP delegates Wednesday to fight against labor practices at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and for universal health care.

Gettelfinger said the union and the civil rights organization should use their long history of pursuing common interests to help workers...

... He urged delegates to the National Association of Colored People's 98th annual convention to help expose what he said were unfair labor conditions at Wal-Mart and to promote a single-payer health care system.

More and more, with a government embracing class warfare and the corporate-sponsored legislation that: under the guise of providing affordable healthcare, lines the pockets of private insurers; under the guise of "growing the economy", sends good American jobs to pennies on the dollar exploited employees abroad; under the guise of "welfare reform", pulls the ladder rungs out from beneath people just starting their climb back; more and more, under these conditions, labor and its allies will be fighting not just to keep wages and benefits for employees, but to stop and then reverse this fuck-the-bottom-99% of citizens path the American public has been forced to ride shotgun on.

This is where the NAACP and other social justice groups come in. As unions adjust and broaden their horizons, they will continue to fight more and more for all workers, union or not. And unlike the media and a few conscientious politicians, I don't think most people needed Hurricane Katrina to realize that among the inequalities in this country, the stratification of wealth between races is amongst the most egregious. Fighting that injustice is no doubt a shared value.

The other significant thing to take away from Gettelfinger's speech was the continuance of fighting words in advance of big three negotiations next week. I'll blog more about this tomorrow, but basically, the UAW chief made it clear his team was not in a conciliatory mood.