CLASS CONFLICT IN S.F. - Revision history

Ccarlsson: added abstract

2019-03-27T22:50:21Z

added abstract

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:50, 27 March 2019
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	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

			{\| style="color: black; background-color: #F5DA81;"
			\| colspan="2" \|'''Throughout the history of San Francisco, successful worker organizing has corresponded to economic expansion and a limited labor pool. Responding to capital's boom and bust cycles, and the development of new technologies, unions were either strong or weak in their ability to advocate for workers, and emerged as a major force in pre-WWII San Francisco. Restructured and mobile capital through globalization began to undercut local labor, and pre-trade unionist organizing is becoming part of the new class struggle. '''
			\|}

	Everywhere in the world, the schemes and dreams of ordinary working men and women have been caught in an elaborate dance with Capital's drive for profit and expansion. The particulars of San Francisco's class struggle during its century and a half of development are in many ways a quintessential example of the larger dynamics rapidly reshaping the world.		Everywhere in the world, the schemes and dreams of ordinary working men and women have been caught in an elaborate dance with Capital's drive for profit and expansion. The particulars of San Francisco's class struggle during its century and a half of development are in many ways a quintessential example of the larger dynamics rapidly reshaping the world.

Lisaruth at 23:44, 14 July 2016

2016-07-14T23:44:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:44, 14 July 2016
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	As social movements evolved through the upheavals of the 1960s and against the background of the permanent ("cold") war, organized labor became an aggressive agent of the capitalist order. Unions supported anything that seemed to "create jobs," leading the charge for San Francisco's absurd and finally truncated [[The Freeway Revolt\|freeway plan]], as well as uncritically supporting Manhattanization and "redevelopment" of its own residential neighborhoods. Ultimately this short-sighted economism led to the rapid decline of trade unionism as a political and economic force. The transmission belts of working class culture and memory were broken and the occasional attempts by workers to resist were forced out of the union structure (see[[NO PAID OFFICIALS \| "No Paid Officials"]]). Decades passed before labor activists began to see how post-WWII mid-century prosperity was not permanent, and that resistance would have to face the global reach of the modern economy. But union power is so weak now that a new strategy of working class resistance is required, one that in turn outflanks capitalism's globalism with goals and tactics completely outside the logic of capitalism's occasionally stubborn partner, trade unionism.		As social movements evolved through the upheavals of the 1960s and against the background of the permanent ("cold") war, organized labor became an aggressive agent of the capitalist order. Unions supported anything that seemed to "create jobs," leading the charge for San Francisco's absurd and finally truncated [[The Freeway Revolt\|freeway plan]], as well as uncritically supporting Manhattanization and "redevelopment" of its own residential neighborhoods. Ultimately this short-sighted economism led to the rapid decline of trade unionism as a political and economic force. The transmission belts of working class culture and memory were broken and the occasional attempts by workers to resist were forced out of the union structure (see[[NO PAID OFFICIALS \| "No Paid Officials"]]). Decades passed before labor activists began to see how post-WWII mid-century prosperity was not permanent, and that resistance would have to face the global reach of the modern economy. But union power is so weak now that a new strategy of working class resistance is required, one that in turn outflanks capitalism's globalism with goals and tactics completely outside the logic of capitalism's occasionally stubborn partner, trade unionism.

	In 1980 the Office Professional Employee International Union, Local 3, sent [[Office Workers on Strike: San Francisco 1981 \|1,~~500~~ Blue Shield data processing workers out on strike]] that ultimately lost badly with only 150 returning to work. The infamous Air Traffic PATCO strike in which President Reagan fired them all was not long after. The Greyhound Strike in 1991 was a dismal defeat. The two-month newspaper strike in late 1994 ended in something of a draw, but ultimately is a win for management's efforts to reduce employment. San Francisco trade unions were buoyed by the convincing victory of the Mark Hopkins workers in their 1994 strike. [[Local 2 and the Alliance of Rank and File\|Local 2]] of the Hotel and Culinary Workers Union continues to maintain union shops in most of the large hotels and restaurants in town. But the gourmet ghettoes and restaurant rows in the neighborhoods remain alien territory as far as Local 2 is concerned. SEIU is the largest union in San Francisco in 1995. It represents city workers in dozens of jobs as well as some private sector janitors, hospital workers, and other white collar workers.		In 1980 the Office Professional Employee International Union, Local 3, sent [[Office Workers on Strike: San Francisco 1981 \|1,100 Blue Shield data processing workers out on strike]] that ultimately lost badly with only 150 returning to work. The infamous Air Traffic PATCO strike in which President Reagan fired them all was not long after. The Greyhound Strike in 1991 was a dismal defeat. The two-month newspaper strike in late 1994 ended in something of a draw, but ultimately is a win for management's efforts to reduce employment. San Francisco trade unions were buoyed by the convincing victory of the Mark Hopkins workers in their 1994 strike. [[Local 2 and the Alliance of Rank and File\|Local 2]] of the Hotel and Culinary Workers Union continues to maintain union shops in most of the large hotels and restaurants in town. But the gourmet ghettoes and restaurant rows in the neighborhoods remain alien territory as far as Local 2 is concerned. SEIU is the largest union in San Francisco in 1995. It represents city workers in dozens of jobs as well as some private sector janitors, hospital workers, and other white collar workers.

	Exploratory attempts to organize bank workers were made by a group calling itself "Bankworkers United" in the early 1980s, but by 1986 they had vanished in the shake-up that preceded Crocker Bank's merger with Wells Fargo Bank. A different approach was pursued by a group of radicals around [[Processed World \|Processed World]] magazine. Union campaigns have succeeded mostly in hospitals and universities. San Francisco is no longer a union town, though some lip service is still paid to the idea occasionally.		Exploratory attempts to organize bank workers were made by a group calling itself "Bankworkers United" in the early 1980s, but by 1986 they had vanished in the shake-up that preceded Crocker Bank's merger with Wells Fargo Bank. A different approach was pursued by a group of radicals around [[Processed World \|Processed World]] magazine. Union campaigns have succeeded mostly in hospitals and universities. San Francisco is no longer a union town, though some lip service is still paid to the idea occasionally.

Ccarlsson: specified butchers march date to 1934 thanks to FB comment pointing out the film playing at the Pompei Theater!

2014-09-05T05:12:54Z

specified butchers march date to 1934 thanks to FB comment pointing out the film playing at the Pompei Theater!

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:12, 4 September 2014
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	[[Image:Butchers-march-on-Market-Street-in-1930s-Labor-Day.jpg\|730px]]		[[Image:Butchers-march-on-Market-Street-in-1930s-Labor-Day.jpg\|730px]]

	'''Butchers march on Market Street during Labor Day march, ~~1930s~~.'''		'''Butchers march on Market Street during Labor Day march, 1934.'''

	''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''		''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

Ccarlsson: added images and credits

2011-11-28T00:44:25Z

added images and credits

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:44, 27 November 2011
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	''by Chris Carlsson''		''by Chris Carlsson''

	[[Image:~~labor1$34~~-~~labor~~-~~day~~.jpg]]		[[Image:1936-Labor-Day-march-looking-down-Market-Street.jpg]]

	'''Labor Day ~~1934~~: Workers fill Market Street, reflecting their new power.'''		'''Labor Day 1936: Workers fill Market Street, reflecting their new power.'''

			''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

	Everywhere in the world, the schemes and dreams of ordinary working men and women have been caught in an elaborate dance with Capital's drive for profit and expansion. The particulars of San Francisco's class struggle during its century and a half of development are in many ways a quintessential example of the larger dynamics rapidly reshaping the world.		Everywhere in the world, the schemes and dreams of ordinary working men and women have been caught in an elaborate dance with Capital's drive for profit and expansion. The particulars of San Francisco's class struggle during its century and a half of development are in many ways a quintessential example of the larger dynamics rapidly reshaping the world.
Line 30:		Line 32:

	Ruling class planning in San Francisco faced an entrenched, self-confident, smart, historically savvy working class in pre-WWII San Francisco. The massive expansion of industrial production for the war began a process which local planners endorsed and extended in the post-war era. Ultimately they succeeded in regionalizing the Bay Area economy, moving shipping to Oakland, heavy industry to the north and east bay, spawning hi-tech industries around university enclaves, and so on. And that regionalization process undercut the strength of unionized workers as the accompanying modernization and mechanization helped restructure entire industries.		Ruling class planning in San Francisco faced an entrenched, self-confident, smart, historically savvy working class in pre-WWII San Francisco. The massive expansion of industrial production for the war began a process which local planners endorsed and extended in the post-war era. Ultimately they succeeded in regionalizing the Bay Area economy, moving shipping to Oakland, heavy industry to the north and east bay, spawning hi-tech industries around university enclaves, and so on. And that regionalization process undercut the strength of unionized workers as the accompanying modernization and mechanization helped restructure entire industries.

			[[Image:Butchers-march-on-Market-Street-in-1930s-Labor-Day.jpg\|730px]]

			'''Butchers march on Market Street during Labor Day march, 1930s.'''

			''Photo: San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library''

	As the blue collar employment base of the city was systematically moved out, so too were the neighborhoods most connected to the living legacy of the [[The General Strike of 1934\|Big Strike]] "the South of Market (home to thousands of retired longshoremen) and the Fillmore (the African-American cultural center during the 40s and '50s). Economic planning led to globalization, assigning San Francisco to be a Headquarters Hive, home offices wired together, overseeing a far-flung network of production and distribution. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the municipal planning and building agency answerable only to itself (SFRDA), pursued a slum clearance approach to two venerable, lively and neighborly areas. The home of retired longshoremen (SOMA) and the great wave of southern blacks that came to build ships in WWII (the Fillmore), the reservoirs of local working class knowledge and history, were systematically razed, the inhabitants largely dispersed.		As the blue collar employment base of the city was systematically moved out, so too were the neighborhoods most connected to the living legacy of the [[The General Strike of 1934\|Big Strike]] "the South of Market (home to thousands of retired longshoremen) and the Fillmore (the African-American cultural center during the 40s and '50s). Economic planning led to globalization, assigning San Francisco to be a Headquarters Hive, home offices wired together, overseeing a far-flung network of production and distribution. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the municipal planning and building agency answerable only to itself (SFRDA), pursued a slum clearance approach to two venerable, lively and neighborly areas. The home of retired longshoremen (SOMA) and the great wave of southern blacks that came to build ships in WWII (the Fillmore), the reservoirs of local working class knowledge and history, were systematically razed, the inhabitants largely dispersed.
Line 41:		Line 49:
	In 1980 the Office Professional Employee International Union, Local 3, sent [[Office Workers on Strike: San Francisco 1981 \|1,500 Blue Shield data processing workers out on strike]] that ultimately lost badly with only 150 returning to work. The infamous Air Traffic PATCO strike in which President Reagan fired them all was not long after. The Greyhound Strike in 1991 was a dismal defeat. The two-month newspaper strike in late 1994 ended in something of a draw, but ultimately is a win for management's efforts to reduce employment. San Francisco trade unions were buoyed by the convincing victory of the Mark Hopkins workers in their 1994 strike. [[Local 2 and the Alliance of Rank and File\|Local 2]] of the Hotel and Culinary Workers Union continues to maintain union shops in most of the large hotels and restaurants in town. But the gourmet ghettoes and restaurant rows in the neighborhoods remain alien territory as far as Local 2 is concerned. SEIU is the largest union in San Francisco in 1995. It represents city workers in dozens of jobs as well as some private sector janitors, hospital workers, and other white collar workers.		In 1980 the Office Professional Employee International Union, Local 3, sent [[Office Workers on Strike: San Francisco 1981 \|1,500 Blue Shield data processing workers out on strike]] that ultimately lost badly with only 150 returning to work. The infamous Air Traffic PATCO strike in which President Reagan fired them all was not long after. The Greyhound Strike in 1991 was a dismal defeat. The two-month newspaper strike in late 1994 ended in something of a draw, but ultimately is a win for management's efforts to reduce employment. San Francisco trade unions were buoyed by the convincing victory of the Mark Hopkins workers in their 1994 strike. [[Local 2 and the Alliance of Rank and File\|Local 2]] of the Hotel and Culinary Workers Union continues to maintain union shops in most of the large hotels and restaurants in town. But the gourmet ghettoes and restaurant rows in the neighborhoods remain alien territory as far as Local 2 is concerned. SEIU is the largest union in San Francisco in 1995. It represents city workers in dozens of jobs as well as some private sector janitors, hospital workers, and other white collar workers.

	Exploratory attempts to organize bank workers were made by a group calling itself "Bankworkers United" in the early 1980s, but by 1986 they had vanished in the shake-up that preceded Crocker Bank's merger with Wells Fargo Bank. A different approach was pursued by a group of radicals around [[~~Unions_itm~~ \|Processed World]] magazine. Union campaigns have succeeded mostly in hospitals and universities. San Francisco is no longer a union town, though some lip service is still paid to the idea occasionally.		Exploratory attempts to organize bank workers were made by a group calling itself "Bankworkers United" in the early 1980s, but by 1986 they had vanished in the shake-up that preceded Crocker Bank's merger with Wells Fargo Bank. A different approach was pursued by a group of radicals around [[Processed World \|Processed World]] magazine. Union campaigns have succeeded mostly in hospitals and universities. San Francisco is no longer a union town, though some lip service is still paid to the idea occasionally.

	Curiously, a return to the pre-trade unionist radicalism of the post-Civil War era may be more promising than any attempt to achieve a balanced "bargaining power" with international business. In the political effort to reclaim and redefine "place," defend local ecology and economies, the old class struggle is taking its new shape. When we begin to fight for work worth doing and local cultural diversity, against multinational creeping monoculture, we escape the narrow logic of capitulation and austerity which logically proceeds from the way things are in the global capitalist order.		Curiously, a return to the pre-trade unionist radicalism of the post-Civil War era may be more promising than any attempt to achieve a balanced "bargaining power" with international business. In the political effort to reclaim and redefine "place," defend local ecology and economies, the old class struggle is taking its new shape. When we begin to fight for work worth doing and local cultural diversity, against multinational creeping monoculture, we escape the narrow logic of capitulation and austerity which logically proceeds from the way things are in the global capitalist order.

Texteradmin at 06:02, 21 August 2009

2009-08-21T06:02:48Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:02, 20 August 2009
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	<hr>		<hr>

	[[Image:Tours-labor.gif]] [[NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY\| Continue Labor History Tour]]		[[Image:Tours-labor.gif\|link=NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY]] [[NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY\| Continue Labor History Tour]]

	[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[Marine Cooks and Stewards Union \|Next Document]]		[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[Marine Cooks and Stewards Union \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]		[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]

Texteradmin at 14:19, 20 August 2009

2009-08-20T14:19:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:19, 20 August 2009
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	Curiously, a return to the pre-trade unionist radicalism of the post-Civil War era may be more promising than any attempt to achieve a balanced "bargaining power" with international business. In the political effort to reclaim and redefine "place," defend local ecology and economies, the old class struggle is taking its new shape. When we begin to fight for work worth doing and local cultural diversity, against multinational creeping monoculture, we escape the narrow logic of capitulation and austerity which logically proceeds from the way things are in the global capitalist order.		Curiously, a return to the pre-trade unionist radicalism of the post-Civil War era may be more promising than any attempt to achieve a balanced "bargaining power" with international business. In the political effort to reclaim and redefine "place," defend local ecology and economies, the old class struggle is taking its new shape. When we begin to fight for work worth doing and local cultural diversity, against multinational creeping monoculture, we escape the narrow logic of capitulation and austerity which logically proceeds from the way things are in the global capitalist order.

	[[Image:~~Labor-history~~-~~button~~.~~jpg~~]] [[NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY\|~~-->~~Labor History Tour ~~next stop~~]]		<hr>

			[[Image:Tours-labor.gif]] [[NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY\| Continue Labor History Tour]]

	[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[Marine Cooks and Stewards Union \|Next Document]]		[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[Marine Cooks and Stewards Union \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]		[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]

Ccarlsson at 05:50, 11 May 2009

2009-05-11T05:50:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:50, 10 May 2009
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	As the blue collar employment base of the city was systematically moved out, so too were the neighborhoods most connected to the living legacy of the [[The General Strike of 1934\|Big Strike]] "the South of Market (home to thousands of retired longshoremen) and the Fillmore (the African-American cultural center during the 40s and '50s). Economic planning led to globalization, assigning San Francisco to be a Headquarters Hive, home offices wired together, overseeing a far-flung network of production and distribution. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the municipal planning and building agency answerable only to itself (SFRDA), pursued a slum clearance approach to two venerable, lively and neighborly areas. The home of retired longshoremen (SOMA) and the great wave of southern blacks that came to build ships in WWII (the Fillmore), the reservoirs of local working class knowledge and history, were systematically razed, the inhabitants largely dispersed.		As the blue collar employment base of the city was systematically moved out, so too were the neighborhoods most connected to the living legacy of the [[The General Strike of 1934\|Big Strike]] "the South of Market (home to thousands of retired longshoremen) and the Fillmore (the African-American cultural center during the 40s and '50s). Economic planning led to globalization, assigning San Francisco to be a Headquarters Hive, home offices wired together, overseeing a far-flung network of production and distribution. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the municipal planning and building agency answerable only to itself (SFRDA), pursued a slum clearance approach to two venerable, lively and neighborly areas. The home of retired longshoremen (SOMA) and the great wave of southern blacks that came to build ships in WWII (the Fillmore), the reservoirs of local working class knowledge and history, were systematically razed, the inhabitants largely dispersed.

	The longshoremen under [[Harry Bridges \| Harry Bridges]] stood at the radical edge of unionism in 1934, but after two decades, Bridges and his colleagues began to discuss the terms of capitalist modernization. By 1960 they signed the [[ Mechanization on the Waterfront \| Mechanization & Modernization Agreement]], which gave the union a lot of money, the workers good pensions and guaranteed hours, and the owners were allowed to begin containerization. The contract was renewed in 1965, the job security clause being dropped since the Vietnam War was keeping everyone on overtime anyway. By 1971, the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union [[~~Category:ILWU~~ \| (ILWU)]] voted 94% to strike against accepting "steady men," the owner's demand to directly employ the longshoremen operating their $2 million cranes. When they lost this strike after 106 days, the Port of San Francisco was doomed to a non-shipping future.		The longshoremen under [[Harry Bridges \| Harry Bridges]] stood at the radical edge of unionism in 1934, but after two decades, Bridges and his colleagues began to discuss the terms of capitalist modernization. By 1960 they signed the [[ Mechanization on the Waterfront \| Mechanization & Modernization Agreement]], which gave the union a lot of money, the workers good pensions and guaranteed hours, and the owners were allowed to begin containerization. The contract was renewed in 1965, the job security clause being dropped since the Vietnam War was keeping everyone on overtime anyway. By 1971, the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union [[50th Anniversary of 1934 General Strike \| (ILWU)]] voted 94% to strike against accepting "steady men," the owner's demand to directly employ the longshoremen operating their $2 million cranes. When they lost this strike after 106 days, the Port of San Francisco was doomed to a non-shipping future.

	This underlying pattern can be seen throughout the global economy. As workers become more solid and organized, capital either mechanizes and restructures, or moves (or both). Urban redevelopment can be placed firmly within the logic of class war, since the areas designed as "blighted" correspond to zones of heightened awareness, political skill and active resistance.		This underlying pattern can be seen throughout the global economy. As workers become more solid and organized, capital either mechanizes and restructures, or moves (or both). Urban redevelopment can be placed firmly within the logic of class war, since the areas designed as "blighted" correspond to zones of heightened awareness, political skill and active resistance.

Ccarlsson at 05:48, 11 May 2009

2009-05-11T05:48:17Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:48, 10 May 2009
Line 33:		Line 33:
	As the blue collar employment base of the city was systematically moved out, so too were the neighborhoods most connected to the living legacy of the [[The General Strike of 1934\|Big Strike]] "the South of Market (home to thousands of retired longshoremen) and the Fillmore (the African-American cultural center during the 40s and '50s). Economic planning led to globalization, assigning San Francisco to be a Headquarters Hive, home offices wired together, overseeing a far-flung network of production and distribution. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the municipal planning and building agency answerable only to itself (SFRDA), pursued a slum clearance approach to two venerable, lively and neighborly areas. The home of retired longshoremen (SOMA) and the great wave of southern blacks that came to build ships in WWII (the Fillmore), the reservoirs of local working class knowledge and history, were systematically razed, the inhabitants largely dispersed.		As the blue collar employment base of the city was systematically moved out, so too were the neighborhoods most connected to the living legacy of the [[The General Strike of 1934\|Big Strike]] "the South of Market (home to thousands of retired longshoremen) and the Fillmore (the African-American cultural center during the 40s and '50s). Economic planning led to globalization, assigning San Francisco to be a Headquarters Hive, home offices wired together, overseeing a far-flung network of production and distribution. The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, the municipal planning and building agency answerable only to itself (SFRDA), pursued a slum clearance approach to two venerable, lively and neighborly areas. The home of retired longshoremen (SOMA) and the great wave of southern blacks that came to build ships in WWII (the Fillmore), the reservoirs of local working class knowledge and history, were systematically razed, the inhabitants largely dispersed.

	The longshoremen under [[Harry Bridges \| Harry Bridges]] stood at the radical edge of unionism in 1934, but after two decades, Bridges and his colleagues began to discuss the terms of capitalist modernization. By 1960 they signed the [[ Mechanization on the Waterfront \| Mechanization & Modernization Agreement]], which gave the union a lot of money, the workers good pensions and guaranteed hours, and the owners were allowed to begin containerization. The contract was renewed in 1965, the job security clause being dropped since the Vietnam War was keeping everyone on overtime anyway. By 1971, the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union [[ILWU ~~menu text~~ \| (ILWU)]] voted 94% to strike against accepting "steady men," the owner's demand to directly employ the longshoremen operating their $2 million cranes. When they lost this strike after 106 days, the Port of San Francisco was doomed to a non-shipping future.		The longshoremen under [[Harry Bridges \| Harry Bridges]] stood at the radical edge of unionism in 1934, but after two decades, Bridges and his colleagues began to discuss the terms of capitalist modernization. By 1960 they signed the [[ Mechanization on the Waterfront \| Mechanization & Modernization Agreement]], which gave the union a lot of money, the workers good pensions and guaranteed hours, and the owners were allowed to begin containerization. The contract was renewed in 1965, the job security clause being dropped since the Vietnam War was keeping everyone on overtime anyway. By 1971, the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union [[Category:ILWU \| (ILWU)]] voted 94% to strike against accepting "steady men," the owner's demand to directly employ the longshoremen operating their $2 million cranes. When they lost this strike after 106 days, the Port of San Francisco was doomed to a non-shipping future.

	This underlying pattern can be seen throughout the global economy. As workers become more solid and organized, capital either mechanizes and restructures, or moves (or both). Urban redevelopment can be placed firmly within the logic of class war, since the areas designed as "blighted" correspond to zones of heightened awareness, political skill and active resistance.		This underlying pattern can be seen throughout the global economy. As workers become more solid and organized, capital either mechanizes and restructures, or moves (or both). Urban redevelopment can be placed firmly within the logic of class war, since the areas designed as "blighted" correspond to zones of heightened awareness, political skill and active resistance.

Ccarlsson at 05:44, 11 May 2009

2009-05-11T05:44:25Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:44, 10 May 2009
Line 47:		Line 47:
	[[Image:Labor-history-button.jpg]] [[NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY\|-->Labor History Tour next stop]]		[[Image:Labor-history-button.jpg]] [[NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY\|-->Labor History Tour next stop]]

	[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[~~NO PAID OFFICIALS~~ \|Next Document]]		[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[Marine Cooks and Stewards Union \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]		[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]

Ccarlsson: added labor tour

2008-12-29T07:50:02Z

added labor tour

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:50, 29 December 2008
Line 45:		Line 45:
	Curiously, a return to the pre-trade unionist radicalism of the post-Civil War era may be more promising than any attempt to achieve a balanced "bargaining power" with international business. In the political effort to reclaim and redefine "place," defend local ecology and economies, the old class struggle is taking its new shape. When we begin to fight for work worth doing and local cultural diversity, against multinational creeping monoculture, we escape the narrow logic of capitulation and austerity which logically proceeds from the way things are in the global capitalist order.		Curiously, a return to the pre-trade unionist radicalism of the post-Civil War era may be more promising than any attempt to achieve a balanced "bargaining power" with international business. In the political effort to reclaim and redefine "place," defend local ecology and economies, the old class struggle is taking its new shape. When we begin to fight for work worth doing and local cultural diversity, against multinational creeping monoculture, we escape the narrow logic of capitulation and austerity which logically proceeds from the way things are in the global capitalist order.

			[[Image:Labor-history-button.jpg]] [[NATIVE AMERICANS in the MISSION ECONOMY\|-->Labor History Tour next stop]]

	[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[NO PAID OFFICIALS \|Next Document]]		[[The General Strike of 1934 \|Prev. Document]] [[NO PAID OFFICIALS \|Next Document]]

	[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]		[[category:Labor]] [[category:1860s]] [[category:1880s]] [[category:1890s]][[category:1910s]] [[category:1920s]][[category:1980s]] [[category:1990s]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:44, 14 July 2016
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	As social movements evolved through the upheavals of the 1960s and against the background of the permanent ("cold") war, organized labor became an aggressive agent of the capitalist order. Unions supported anything that seemed to "create jobs," leading the charge for San Francisco's absurd and finally truncated [[The Freeway Revolt\|freeway plan]], as well as uncritically supporting Manhattanization and "redevelopment" of its own residential neighborhoods. Ultimately this short-sighted economism led to the rapid decline of trade unionism as a political and economic force. The transmission belts of working class culture and memory were broken and the occasional attempts by workers to resist were forced out of the union structure (see[[NO PAID OFFICIALS \| "No Paid Officials"]]). Decades passed before labor activists began to see how post-WWII mid-century prosperity was not permanent, and that resistance would have to face the global reach of the modern economy. But union power is so weak now that a new strategy of working class resistance is required, one that in turn outflanks capitalism's globalism with goals and tactics completely outside the logic of capitalism's occasionally stubborn partner, trade unionism.		As social movements evolved through the upheavals of the 1960s and against the background of the permanent ("cold") war, organized labor became an aggressive agent of the capitalist order. Unions supported anything that seemed to "create jobs," leading the charge for San Francisco's absurd and finally truncated [[The Freeway Revolt\|freeway plan]], as well as uncritically supporting Manhattanization and "redevelopment" of its own residential neighborhoods. Ultimately this short-sighted economism led to the rapid decline of trade unionism as a political and economic force. The transmission belts of working class culture and memory were broken and the occasional attempts by workers to resist were forced out of the union structure (see[[NO PAID OFFICIALS \| "No Paid Officials"]]). Decades passed before labor activists began to see how post-WWII mid-century prosperity was not permanent, and that resistance would have to face the global reach of the modern economy. But union power is so weak now that a new strategy of working class resistance is required, one that in turn outflanks capitalism's globalism with goals and tactics completely outside the logic of capitalism's occasionally stubborn partner, trade unionism.

	In 1980 the Office Professional Employee International Union, Local 3, sent [[Office Workers on Strike: San Francisco 1981 \|1,~~500~~ Blue Shield data processing workers out on strike]] that ultimately lost badly with only 150 returning to work. The infamous Air Traffic PATCO strike in which President Reagan fired them all was not long after. The Greyhound Strike in 1991 was a dismal defeat. The two-month newspaper strike in late 1994 ended in something of a draw, but ultimately is a win for management's efforts to reduce employment. San Francisco trade unions were buoyed by the convincing victory of the Mark Hopkins workers in their 1994 strike. [[Local 2 and the Alliance of Rank and File\|Local 2]] of the Hotel and Culinary Workers Union continues to maintain union shops in most of the large hotels and restaurants in town. But the gourmet ghettoes and restaurant rows in the neighborhoods remain alien territory as far as Local 2 is concerned. SEIU is the largest union in San Francisco in 1995. It represents city workers in dozens of jobs as well as some private sector janitors, hospital workers, and other white collar workers.		In 1980 the Office Professional Employee International Union, Local 3, sent [[Office Workers on Strike: San Francisco 1981 \|1,100 Blue Shield data processing workers out on strike]] that ultimately lost badly with only 150 returning to work. The infamous Air Traffic PATCO strike in which President Reagan fired them all was not long after. The Greyhound Strike in 1991 was a dismal defeat. The two-month newspaper strike in late 1994 ended in something of a draw, but ultimately is a win for management's efforts to reduce employment. San Francisco trade unions were buoyed by the convincing victory of the Mark Hopkins workers in their 1994 strike. [[Local 2 and the Alliance of Rank and File\|Local 2]] of the Hotel and Culinary Workers Union continues to maintain union shops in most of the large hotels and restaurants in town. But the gourmet ghettoes and restaurant rows in the neighborhoods remain alien territory as far as Local 2 is concerned. SEIU is the largest union in San Francisco in 1995. It represents city workers in dozens of jobs as well as some private sector janitors, hospital workers, and other white collar workers.

	Exploratory attempts to organize bank workers were made by a group calling itself "Bankworkers United" in the early 1980s, but by 1986 they had vanished in the shake-up that preceded Crocker Bank's merger with Wells Fargo Bank. A different approach was pursued by a group of radicals around [[Processed World \|Processed World]] magazine. Union campaigns have succeeded mostly in hospitals and universities. San Francisco is no longer a union town, though some lip service is still paid to the idea occasionally.		Exploratory attempts to organize bank workers were made by a group calling itself "Bankworkers United" in the early 1980s, but by 1986 they had vanished in the shake-up that preceded Crocker Bank's merger with Wells Fargo Bank. A different approach was pursued by a group of radicals around [[Processed World \|Processed World]] magazine. Union campaigns have succeeded mostly in hospitals and universities. San Francisco is no longer a union town, though some lip service is still paid to the idea occasionally.