Trumka to Call for Independent Labor Movement

From The Hill:

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will say Friday that workers want an “independent” labor movement designed to help the working class, not a specific party or candidate.

In a speech at the National Press Club, the head of the nation’s largest labor federation will say that unions intend to focus their 2012 political efforts not based on lawmakers’ party affiliation but rather their stance on issues near and dear to labor.

WI: Greens Stand with Public Workers

From the Green Party of WI:

The Wisconsin Green Party salutes the state’s public workers, and stands in solidarity with their fight to retain full collective bargaining rights with their employers.

The budget crisis facing the state was not brought on by public workers, and if there is to be a recovery, workers, public and private, must be the primary beneficiaries.

Scott Walker’s attempt to “repair the budget” on the backs of public workers is not about money, it’s about power. State workers earn less than their counterparts in the private sector, and often go years without a wage increase. Walker wants to permanently take away the ability of these workers to have a say in their health insurance and pensions.

While Walker attempts to divide workers into “haves” and “have-nots,” he continually pleads the case for the real “haves.” At a time when profit margins at the S&P 500 companies are at an all-time high, taxes for these corporations are approaching all-time lows . . .

Green Party Endorses Oct. 2 Labor Rally

From the Green Party:

The Green Party of the United States has endorsed the One Nation Working Together march and rally in Washington, DC on Saturday, October 2 for "Jobs, Justice and Education" (http://www.onenationworkingtogether.org/content/main).

Theresa El-Amin, national co-chair of the Green Party, will serve as the party's representative on the national steering committee of One Nation Working Together. The Green Party's liaison to the Peace Table will be George Martin, Wisconsin Green, member of the Green Party Black Caucus, and former national co-chair of United for Peace & Justice.

Unions and Labor Organizations Back Green Party Candidates

From a Green Party press release:

Green candidates for Congress and other public offices have drawn important endorsements from unions and labor organizations, as well as union leaders and rank and file members throughout the US.

"Unions and working people are waking up to the fact that they have a party willing to fight for them -- the Green Party," said Howie Hawkins, Green candidate for Governor of New York (http://howiehawkins.com/) and a member of Teamsters Local 317 (see below).

"While Democratic politicians take labor votes for granted, Greens are pushing for the creation of millions of Green jobs, public works programs, and the right to organize in the nation's workplaces. While Democrats cave in to wealthy corporate lobbies and campaign contributors, Greens are promoting Medicare For All and opposing plans by the White House's 'Catfood Commission' to cut Social Security. When Democrats and Republicans sent Wall Street billions in bailouts, Greens demanded help for working people suffering under the economic meltdown. The Green Party says: we don't have a shortage of work ethic in America, we have a shortage of work," said Mr. Hawkins.

Recent labor endorsements for Green candidates . . . 

TOM CLEMENTS, South Carolina Green candidate for the US Senate (http://clementsforsenate.com) . . .

BEN MANSKI, candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly in District 77 (http://votemanski.com)

LYNNE WILLIAMS, running for the Maine State Senate in Hancock County (http://www.lynnewilliams2010.org)

HUGH GIORDANO, running for State Representative in Pennsylvania's 194th district (http://www.hughgiordano.com)

MARK SWANEY, Green nominee for Arkansas state representative in the 90th district,

ROGER GAY, candidate for Maine State Representative in District 134 (http://rogerbgay.yolasite.com)

HOWIE HAWKINS, candidate for Governor of New York and member of Teamsters Local 317 

Labor Groups Back Green Party Candidates in NY and SC

From Green Party Watch:

Labor activists from throughout New York State have started a committee to support the gubernatorial campaign of Green Party nominee Howie Hawkins. Howie Hawkins is a member of Teamsters Local 317 and active in the national Teamster rank-and-file reform caucus, Teamsters for a Democratic Union. Howie presently works unloading trucks and rail cars at UPS. He is the former Director of CommonWorks, a federation of cooperatives working for an economy that is cooperatively owned, democratically controlled, and ecologically sustainable.

In related news, out of South Carolina, from SC Black News:

The CLC stated that they believe Tom Clements "will best represent the interests of the working people of South Carolina."The Greater Columbia Central Labor Council of the SC AFL-CIO has endorsed Green Party US Senate candidate Tom Clements in his bid against incumbent Republican Senator Jim DeMint and Democratic senatorial nominee Alvin Greene.