On Labor

by Steve Zeltzer

At its State Central Committee meeting in Los Angeles on March 30, 2008, the Peace and Freedom Party took a strong stand for union democracy and for the embattled teachers of Puerto Rico.

A resolution opposed the threat of SEIU President Andy Stern to impose a trusteeship on the 150,000-member United Healthcare Workers in California. UHW leaders oppose the worsening corporate unionism of the Stern administration. Hundreds of thousands of members have been merged into huge "locals," and proposed national template agreements would lower conditions and wages in California in exchange for SEIU recognition by firms in other states.

Another resolution expressed support for Puerto Rican teachers in their fight against privatization and for better wages and conditions, and opposed a raid on the teachers' union being supported by SEIU, in collaboration with the Puerto Rican government.

The full texts of the resolutions may be found on page 8.