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Two Unions Expected to Quit AFL-CIO in One of the Largest
Shakeups Ever in the American Labor Movement
Hate Crimes Soar in Britain as Police Defend "Shoot
to Kill" Policy
Bush Met With Judge Roberts One Day Before Crucial Ruling
on Guantanamo Military Tribunals
Father Jean-Juste Arrested in Port-au-Prince, Held Incommunicado
Two Unions Expected to Quit AFL-CIO in One of the
Largest Shakeups Ever in the American Labor Movement
Four of the nation's largest labor unions have announced
they will boycott the AFL-CIO convention this week to protest
the direction of the federation. Two of these unions - the
Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union -
are expected to announce they are leaving the federation altogether.
We go to Chicago to get a report from the convention. [includes
rush
transcript]
The future of organized labor is hanging in the balance.
Last night, four of the nation's largest labor unions announced
they are boycotting this week's AFL-CIO convention in Chicago.
The dissident unions represent about one-third of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s
13 million members - they include The Service Employees International
Union, the Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers and
UNITE HERE which represents textile and hotel workers.
The New York Times reports that two of the unions - the SEIU
and the Teamsters - are expected to announce today that they
are quitting the federation entirely.
The service employees - with 1.8 million members - and the
Teamsters - with 1.4 million - are two of the biggest unions
in the A.F.L.-C.I.O. They contribute $20 million dollars each
year, or about one-sixth of its budget. The Times calls the
split "the biggest rift in labor since the 1930's."
At the heart of the dispute is the decline of organized labor.
From a high point of 22.8 million union members in 1978, the
ranks of organized labor have dwindled to 15.5 million in
2004.
Dissenting unions have formed their own organization, the
Change to Win Coalition, which they hope will foster union
growth through organized campaigns against giant companies
like Wal-Mart.
The boycotting unions are especially dissatisfied with the
leadership of John Sweeney, who has served as AFL-CIO president
for the past decade and has been criticized for not investing
enough in grassroots organizing.
The A.F.L.-C.I.O. is the nation's main labor federation,
a grouping of 56 unions.
Sweeney told the Times, "Not to attend the convention,
especially when the differences that remain between our proposals
are so narrow, is an insult to their union brothers and sisters,
and to all working people"
- Jonathan Tasini, former President of the National Writers
Union and runs workinglife.org,
a blog of the AFL-CIO convention.
Hate Crimes Soar in Britain as Police Defend "Shoot
to Kill" Policy
A wave of anti-Muslim, Arab and South Asian hate crimes
are sweeping Britain in the wake of the July 7th Subway and
Bus bombings. Race and religion-based attacks are up 500%
and communities of color are concerned that law enforcement
authorities are also racially profiling targets in their anti-terrorism
campaign. We go to London to speak with the Islamic Society
of Britain. [includes rush transcript]
In London, civil rights groups are condemning racial profiling
and anti-Muslim hate crimes following the July 7 subway and
bus bombings.
The family of Jean Charles de Menezes, the 27-year-old Brazilian
man shot and killed Friday by London police investigating
the bombings, may sue over his death. Menezes was on his way
to his job as an electrician on Friday morning when plain-clothes
police officers in an anti-terrorism unit chased him into
a subway station and shot him five times at point blank range.
Immediately after the shooting, police announced Menezes
had ties to the July 7 subway and bus bombings. But a day
later they admitted they were wrong and Menezes had no connection
to the bombings. Police chief Sir Ian Blair apologized to
Menezes's family, but stood behind the new "shoot-to-kill"
policy.
Menezes's Cousin Maria do Socorro told BBC Radio "You
would think the British police would be prepared, but they
are panicking and seeing everyone as a suspect. If you are
going to have a war on terror, you have got to use brains
to fight it not just brute force."
Menezes had been living in London for more than three years
and was sending money home to pay for his father's cancer
treatments.
Meanwhile in England, hate crimes targeting Muslims, Arabs
and South Asians have risen by 500 (five hundred) percent
since the July 7 bombings. The Guardian of London reports
that more than 1,000 (one thousand) race and faith-based attacks
have been reported to police across the country since the
bombings, though community leaders believe the actual number
of incidents is at least four times higher.
Bush Met With Judge Roberts One Day Before Crucial
Ruling on Guantanamo Military Tribunals
As the Bush administration refuses to hand over documents
written by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, we talk to
Yale University professor Bruce Shapiro about Roberts' crucial
ruling on military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees, his
views on abortion and much more. [includes rush
transcript]
Last week President Bush announced his nomination of Judge
John Roberts to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O"
Connor on the U.S Supreme Court. Judge Roberts is a conservative
who has served on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit
since 2003 and also served in the administrations of George
HW Bush and Ronald Reagan. He is a longtime George W Bush
supporter who donated $1,000 dollars to his 2000 presidential
campaign.
Between 1989 and 1993, Roberts was principal deputy solicitor
general, the government's second highest lawyer, under Kenneth
Starr. Some Democratic senators have said they want to see
all the documents drafted by Roberts when he served in the
two previous Republican administrations in order to understand
Roberts" views on issues such as abortion, workers' rights,
women's rights, civil rights and the environment. Yesterday,
the Bush administration said there would not be a blanket
release of the documents and that they would instead would
look at the requests on a case-by-case basis.
However, Roberts has argued in a number of cases that give
clear indication of his stance on some of these issues. He
wrote the governments' brief in a 1991 case in which the Supreme
Court held that government could prohibit doctors and clinics
who receive federal funds from discussing abortion with their
patients. In his brief, Roberts wrote: "We continue to
believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be
overruled." In other cases, Roberts has argued that the
Supreme Court should invalidate a federal affirmative action
program; that the Constitution permits religious ceremonies
at public high school graduations; and that environmental
groups lacked the right to sue under the Endangered Species
Act.
Roberts was also part of a three-judge panel that handed
Bush an important victory the week before Bush announced Roberts
nomination to the bench. In fact, the day before the ruling
was issued, President Bush interviewed Roberts at the White
House. The next day, the court released their ruling that
the military tribunals of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, could proceed. The decision also found that Bush could
deny terrorism captives prisoner-of-war status as outlined
by the Geneva Conventions.
Father Jean-Juste Arrested in Port-au-Prince, Held
Incommunicado
Haitian Priest Gerard Jean-Juste, a leader in ousted president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas party, was arrested last
week and charged with the assassination of journalist Jaques
Roche even though he was in Miami at the time of the murder.
Father Jean-Juste is now being held incommunicado. We go to
his lawyer, Bill Quigley, who just returned to Louisiana from
Port-au-Prince. [includes rush
transcript]
Last week we spoke to Father Gerard Jean-Juste from Port-au-Prince,
Haiti. Father Jean-Juste is a prominent leader in ousted Haitian
president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas party. We spoke
to Father Jean-Juste as he was attending the funeral for Journalist
Jacques Roche, cultural editor with the daily Le Matin, who
was kidnapped and murdered earlier this month. Hours after
we spoke to him, Father Juste was arrested and charged with
being the assassination of Jaques Roche even though he was
in Miami at the time of the murder.
Father Jean-Juste's lawyer, Bill Quigley tried to visit him
twice but was not allowed to see his client. Father Jean-Juste's
other attorney, Mario Joseph will try to visit him this week.
Bill Quigley reported yesterday on the Haiti Action News
website that "Mario and other Haitian lawyers say there
is no basis at all in law for the charges against Father Jean-Juste.
All think the government will hold him in jail at least until
after the scheduled elections in the fall unless international
pressure forces them to act otherwise."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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