Street Dogs with Wayne Kramer visit AFL-CIO

Posted by aubin on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 5:00 PM (EST)

Street Dogs and the MC5's Wayne Kramer dropped by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations on Monday. The largest union in the United States is currently in a campaign to involve more young people. The organization assembled a clip which features union-positive music as well as commentary from Street Dogs frontman Mike McColgan and members of the group.

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Street Dogs

MC5

Hellcat Records (33 comments)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

david5345 (December 15, 2010)

Lisa needs braces!

daved4 (December 15, 2010)

i came to comment just to say that. also "DENTAL PLAN"

regulartrite (December 15, 2010)

I'll just leave this here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o4kA5dswts

milesqtoast (December 15, 2010)

one day will come when the stars in the sky

dethrock (December 15, 2010)

Will align, to show that I

hashbrowns (December 15, 2010)

can make something of these notes i've been hearing in my sleep

misterspike (December 15, 2010)

I've hassled Mike and Tobe about pics/video from this. How Awesome. BROTHER WAYNE!

24hourpriapism (December 15, 2010)

will there be a 100+ comment spirited discussion about the pros and cons of unionized labor and its effect on job outsourcing, health care in the US and the need for higher standard of living wages? ehh, probably not.

Cos (December 15, 2010)

boobs.

Tudor (December 15, 2010)

Haha...boobs.

froggerwithmylife (December 15, 2010)

Hey fuck you, boobs

returnofdebs (December 15, 2010)

i'll start.

unions good.

corporations bad.

fresnoska (December 15, 2010)

I'll finish. Unions bad.

publichousing (December 15, 2010)

not sure if scab

preston (December 15, 2010)

I'd bet more on a back-and-forth comment session of "Lisa Needs Braces." "Dental Plan!"

NefariousFIG (December 15, 2010)

There's hardly a debate to be had. While organized labour certainly needs to significantly evolve and adopt new strategies in the massively destructive wake of globalization and world capitalism, (proper) unionism is as relevant now as it ever was. Unions do need, however, to move away from their comfortable compromise with business and instead educate people on their relevance to workers suffering the effects of austerity and neoliberalism (i.e., nearly everyone).

Taargus (December 16, 2010)

Union workers are way too fuckin lazy and inefficient. you go along to get along. Eight guys bullshitting, leaning on shovels getting paid $28 an hour, while the new guy, sorry appretice, has to do all the work and gets paid half of that. If said new guy works hard or tries to make an impression, he (almost always he) gets shit from the other guys" are you trying to make us look bad" or "whoa, slow down Charlie. Save some for after break. Job security!" (laughs, high fives all around). I see this everytime I see someone working on a road, which probably isn't as sweet as your super important cubicle job. Unions had their place...in the 1830's. And you wonder why factory bosses and corporate bigwigs want to relocate their businesses elsewhere...

nickvicious (December 16, 2010)

Unions are a lot like fucking magnets. How do they work?

publichousing (December 15, 2010)

I have yet to watch the video seeing as I am currently at work (of all places) so I have a few questions. How far did their critiques go? How scathing were they? Did they say anything about capitalism and/or every damned aspect of our system, or did their arguments once again get reduced to "realist" critiques directed at the bad apples within the system and rogue corporations within the system?

I'm not trying to attack the AFL-CIO. We always need people/movements that keep the systematic madness at bay before revolution and they will more than likely progress into a harder revolutionary front for workers, but unfortunately we need to take harder stances now, not in 25 years time.

Tudor (December 15, 2010)

Boobs.

NefariousFIG (December 15, 2010)

The AFL-CIO is actually probably one of the more innovative major unions in the Global North, incorporating a more community- and social-movement-oriented type of unionism. This means that they extend beyond 'workplace' issues to form a broader social justice focus, linking up with poverty organizations, women's groups, environmental groups, etc. It's probably asking a bit much for a major union to adopt a full-on revolutionary stance, but for such a large organization, the AFL-CIO is certainly one of the more broadly anti-capitalist. Organized labour in the North has a lot to learn from the Global South in terms of militancy and state resistance, but the AFL-CIO is on the fore of Western unions moving away from business/corporate unionism.

(sorry, I'm currently writing my MA thesis on social movement unionism, so I've read a lot about the AFL-CIO)

publichousing (December 15, 2010)

Don't say sorry man when you've got nothing to be sorry about. That was a pretty good run down of the AFL-CIO's stances and such. I'm skimming through their website as we speak and I am pretty impressed. They seem very VERY organised and determined to create a better world for workers by workers (and everyone else). I've even seen some anti-capitalist paragraphs/rhetoric, and references to past socialists (Marx and Lenin of course).

3Fast3Furious (December 15, 2010)

As much as I might disagree majorly, this is probably one of the most intelligent posts on Punknews.

I've been a part of an independent student-labor solidarity group that worked with some local unions, been a member of a Change To Win-affiliated union while I worked at a supermarket, and have done some minor work with various Jobs with Justice chapters, and pretty much no one I've ever met in my labor movement experience, activist or rank-and-filer, was satisfied with the leadership of the AFL-CIO or Change to Win. The AFL-CIO has the potential to transform American unionism and there a lot of good tendencies within the AFL-CIO, but such tendencies are often opposed not only by corporate America, but often by others within the union movement.

I'd argue major blunders include--
--Tepid efforts to organize new workers, especially in the South (independent unions like UE and Change to Win unions like SEIU and UFCW (disclosure: union to which I belonged) have been far more aggressive and have had far better results in many instances).
--Lack of follow-through with the Union Cities campaign started under Sweeney. Central Labor Councils allow for region-wide and city-wide organizing and are probably the most effective base for true social justice unionism from the AFL-CIO because they can most easily serve as a springboard for anti-racist, anti-homophobic, and anti-capitalist action that individual national and international unions and their locals might not individually take on. CLCs have the potential to raise the profile of the union movement within the broader social justice movement, making unions relevant again to a new generation, and creating solidarity not just from unions, but FOR unions from other sectors of the social justice movement.
--Despite noble organizing against neo-liberalism, unions have not been effective at educating the general public, including and especially non-members, about neoliberalism's dangers to the middle- and working-classes worldwide. That's not to say that AFL-CIO has done nothing, but simply that it hasn't done enough and often struggles at messaging.
--A mostly one-way relationship with the Democratic Party. The Dems are better than the Republicans on labor issues, but not by much. Politicians who don't deliver results should no longer expect the support of the AFL-CIO,

Organized labor has been in a sharp decline for the past few decades, but unions have never been more relevant in America. The last time our distribution of wealth was the Gilded Age; the only reason why the middle class was able to so prominently emerge was because of organized labor, and the social programs (ie, the New Deal) forced by the labor movement. Despite all its problems, I do have faith in the ability of the AFL-CIO (and Change to Win, and independent unions) to reform themselves and start a massive labor revival. Workers like myself could sure use it.

NefariousFIG (December 15, 2010)

That's really interesting, thanks for the info. Most of my AFL-CIO knowledge comes through literature and academic journals, and I suppose there's a tendency within it to gloss over the critiques and focus on the innovative stuff that's going on. Especially for a subject like unionism, where supportive writers are so desperate to focus on the positives in a time when public opinion and neoliberalism are increasingly working against it.

I was pretty active in CUPE while I was a member, which is a fairly large and progressive Canadian union that aims for a more social unionism approach, but I experienced similar issues to what you describe. CUPE has done a lot of really admirable stuff, and there are some super progressive factions and tendencies within, but the follow-through with a good portion of the broader social justice campaigns and issues have been poor. And for the usual reasons.

It's such a struggle to get the bulk of membership and leadership to actually back the more innovative and 'different' ways of doing things. It takes a lot of resources to broaden campaigns, and the fact that they're often long-term projects with little 'direct' impact on particular locals very much hinders it. Since organized labour is having a hard enough time just fighting off brutal concessions right now, a lot of the broader campaigns just fizzle out. Even when members realize the dire need to show how unionism is still relevant to large groups of people, there remains a tendency to just focus on the 'here and now' of their particular jobs when the chips are down.

And it's understandable, to an extent, but also wholly problematic. As you note, organized labour really is on the retreat, despite the fact that it's so incredibly necessary today. But it needs to change significantly now that the era of nation-state-centred capitalism is over, and members are reluctant to be shaken out of the comfortable compromises they've won from business. But the only way to maintain relevance in the face of austerity is the make the labour movement a key component of social justice in general, and educate the public/build broad support.

I'm optimistic too, and campaigns like this will hopefully help because a lot of this change is dependent on getting the youth involved. They're (we're) generally the most willing to try new approaches and fight for broader issues, and have really never known the 'standard' definition of work that a lot of the older members are trying to cling to. Here's hoping…

notfeelingcreative (December 15, 2010)

Nice. The great Joe Hll would be proud!

hooverstreet (December 15, 2010)

Because when I think of organized labor I think of a traveling punk rock band.

Cos (December 15, 2010)

Outside of the Senate, that had to be the whitest room in Washington.

punkcdsampler (December 15, 2010)

That's because selling drugs doesn't count as working class.

(THIS WAS SARCASM)

name (December 15, 2010)

best of 2010 lists go!

publichousing (December 15, 2010)

1) Taipan - Ten Day Dawn 7" EP
Taipan (the self-described Holy Warriors of Hardcore) blew my mind with this EP. Incorporating more powerviolence influences into their sound for a few tracks, and more early 80's hardcore influences into their sound for a few others, they literally crafted 6 tracks of superb "Holy Hardcore". Not forgetting their obvious love of Black Metal, the title track sounds exactly how I imagine a hardcore punk band fronted by Varg Vikernes would sound. Ten Day Dawn is my favourite release of 2010. Stitches is my favourite track.

2) The Rival Mob - Hardcore For Hardcore
Being hyped constantly throughout the hardcore punk "scene" and numerous internet blogs, Hardcore For Hardcore is straight to the point, old tyme hardcore (Slapshot reference, it is) and one of the best hardcore releases of recent years. Tough Love is my favourite track.

3) The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
I loved this album from the very first time I heard it. Smooth rock 'n' roll tunes with great guitar licks and even greater vocals. Whenever I listen to this album I always get the urge to head down to my local pub, buy some rounds and sing songs with my friends until the early morning. Stay Lucky is my favourite track (possibly of the year).

4) Rogue State/Dogs Of Ire Split
Technical, fast hardcore punk... how can you go wrong? A solid-as-the-WTC release by two ever so underrated bands.

5) Kno - Death Is Silent
Occasionally labelled as "emo-rap", Kno's debut solo full length is very impressive. If you're a fan of CunninLynguists you should know what to expect here, depressing/smooth rhymes over depressing/smooth beats. I Wish I Was Dead is my favourite track.

6) Trash Talk - Eyes & Nines
Fun, fast, angry hardcore punk on the border of powerviolence. Not quite as good as their previous self titled album but still awesome and, in my opinion, better than Ceremony's latest offering. I Do and Hash Wednesday are my favourite tracks.

7) Rolo Tomassi - Cosmology
Frantic, noisy, fucked up, beautiful. That pretty much sums up Cosmology. One of the most schizophrenic yet transcendent albums I've ever heard.

8) Throats - Self Titled 12" EP
A grindcore release that often gets compared to Converge, well, I had to check it out. I was impressed. Fast hardcore punk with hints of grindcore and, on one track, post-rock. Unoriginal but still awesome.

9) Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part II: Return of the Ankh
My favourite modern soul artist, Erykah Badu, released her best album yet, Return of the Ankh, this year. Perfect "sunday" music or relaxation music. Hell, it's even great for when you've got a long drive ahead of you. Window Seat is my favourite track.

10) Dangers - Messy, Isn't It? 12"
Very different from their first album, Anger. Slower, more melodic and much more "epic" (using the word lightly). Interesting words screamed by a great frontman and great guitar work by Graf Orlock's main man. Under The Affluence is my favourite track.

Honourable mentions...
The Roots - How I Got Over
United Nations - Never Mind the Bombings, Here's Your Six Figures 7" EP
Sacred Love - Dividing Lines 12" EP
Do Not Resuscitate - Self Titled 7"
Alexisonfire - Dog's Blood
Miles Away - Endless Roads
OFF! - First Four EPs
Ceremony - Rohnert Park