Portside

It was clear from the beginning national IAM officials were upset with the Nov 13 overwhelming rejection of their deal with Boeing and they seemed to be making the point more emphatically by ordering a new vote. Obviously disappointed with the national leadership, a longtime IAM member told me “this rushed vote is not right,” and pointed out “35% of our members are on vacation during this period,” unable to get the information and participate in a democratic discussion

The area has seen dramatic actions by and on behalf of workers in the past few months. Activists are hoping what’s happened here has implications far beyond the Puget Sound.

By rejecting a contract that amounted to corporate extortion, employees have taken a stand for the middle class. In making their case, the members who organized against the contract focused on the fact that they would be giving up "hard fought contract negotiations and strikes by generations of Fighting Machinists that came before us. " They warned, "Boeing is hoping you will deny the next generation many of the benefits we have today."

Reader Comments: Capitalism and Unemployment; New York and Seattle elections; more. Announcements: Human Rights Film Screenings New York City -Nov 20 26; Breaking the Silence-Oakland-Nov 23: Fighting Back Against Wall Street -NYC-Nov 25; Chanukah Message from Jewish Voice for Peace; The National Labor College; New Day New York Dec 5 Day of Action; 50% Off PM Press for the Holidays; Pvt Chelsea Manning-4th birthday in prison-Dec 17; Faith Petric Memorial -Berkeley-Jan 15

Seattle pauses surveillance plans; Journalists on the move; Google wins book-scanning decision; Supercomputer Watson for all; Writers persecuted for digital media use; Google bigger than print industries.

Boeing's fight against its machinists raises a terrifying possibility about U.S. capitalism. It appears that instead of industrial growth translating into national prosperity, the United States is beginning to conform to what economists call the Iron Law of Wages, which says the natural price of labor is subsistence. The only reasonable pay for workers, the theory goes, is enough to sustain them to live and work to produce value for their bosses and nothing more.

Reader Comments - More on the AFL-CIO; NFL Bullying; Vets and Peace; Seattle Socialists Win; Obamacare; Babies; Announcements - Organizing Walmart & Fast Food Industry - New York - Nov 19; Fighting Back Against Wall St. - NYC - Nov 25; Mark Rogovin To Be Inducted Into the Illinois Labor History Society's Labor Hall of Honor; 'Spies Of Mississippi' preview - NYC - Dec 15; Audio available -The Hidden History of Workplace Resistance: U.S. Autoworkers Speak Out;

Tuesday's election showed gains for progressives and labor-backed candidates, and also for socialists. In Seattle, Kshama Sawant received 46.1% of the total vote for City Council. However, the count of the most recently counted votes gives her 49.69%. Even if her opponent holds on, he has announced that he will not run again - against her or anyone else.