The Unemployed are ORGANIZING! (yay)

[annabanana]

http://www.alternet.org/story/145797/the_unemployed_now_have_their_own_union%2C_and_it%27s_catching_on_quickly

The Unemployed Now Have Their Own Union, and It's Catching on Quickly
An ingenious grassroots union for the unemployed is only a month old -- and its numbers are growing.



It's been only a month that a union for the unemployed has come into existence through an ingenious grassroots organizing campaign. In case you haven't heard about it, the union's name is "UR Union of the Unemployed" or its nickname, "UCubed," because of its unique method of organizing.

The idea is that if millions of jobless join together and act as an organization, they are more likely to get Congress and the White House to provide the jobs that are urgently needed. They can also apply pressure for health insurance coverage, unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits and food stamps. An unemployed worker is virtually helpless if he or she has to act alone.

Joining a Cube is as simple as it is important. (Please check the union web site: www.unionofunemployed.com). Six people who live in the same zip code address can form a Ucube. Nine such UCubes make a neighborhood. Three neighborhood UCubes form a power block that contains 162 activists. Politicians cannot easily ignore a multitude of power blocks, nor can merchants avoid them.

Guts. That's all I can say.

[zeemike]

1. Now you are talking.

Someone out there is thinking.

[olegramps]

54. I have consistently supported the concept of a party based solely of the working class.

I can only hope that they will be joined by every working class person and strive to obtain worker's protection from the immoral corporate bastards and their henchmen in congress. Do you want health care, job protection from outsourcing and pension protection then you are going to have to fight for it and regain the fair share that the FDR New Deal fought and won for the working class? Stop being a patsy for the Republicans, Democrats or a disenfranchised Independent and realize that these parties don't give damn about you and your family's welfare.

[zeemike]

73. Let me bring you down a little.

It will be very difficult to do.
The corporatist have had years of experience with busting unions and any attempt to create a national one, whether you call it a party or a union will be met with billions spent to divide us even more...

What we need is a saviour.....someone who will stand up and say no more and will be seen by the people as sinceer....like a Gandhi of MLK...A leader can counter the effects of propaganda.

But here too there is danger for that leader if he gets to close to threatening that power.

[olegramps]

75. Let see if I understand you:

People shouldn't organize to demand their rights because it could offend those in power and they might retaliate.

Are you kidding? Have you ever read the history of our nation? You could not have challenged a more powerful figure at that time than the King who had divine powers granted to him by God Himself and which many if not most people believed. Not to mention that his powers were ordained by the Church. The challenge was to the two most powerful institutions of the time, the Church and Nobility, that conspired to enslave the common man and was dedicated to the concept that ALL MEN ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.

[zeemike]

77. Nope you do not understand me.

I am pointing out the obstacles to that organization.....And those obstacles are real and potent, but they can be overcome if we recognize them.
there have been many such organizations in the past that have failed because they failed to realize that they can be manipulated from within...it is now known that the FBI and CIA infiltrated many peace organizations in the past and did disrupt many.

[Echo In Light]

2. Good

[The2ndWheel]

3. So a special interest group

Just need some lobbyists. It's a job creator.

[G_j]

4. this is great

power to the people

[xchrom]

5. Recommend

[Starry Messenger]

6. k & r

[leftstreet]

7. Excellent!

K&R

[marions ghost]

8. This is a great idea.

I'd support it even tho I'm not looking for a job. We all know people who are.

[Doremus]

9. What a great idea! Can underemployed people join? nt

[leftstreet]

16. Yes

If you browse through the cubes (ex. in your state) you can read comments from members - many are part/under employed.

[fascisthunter]

10. send them all to the addresses of all the executives

who are being rewarded with bonuses for firing people all while outsourcing jobs to take advantage of slave labor.

All joking aside, this is the backlash I was envisioning. Now it has come to fruition, and nobody else is to blame but the sellouts in government and the rich.

[SammyWinstonJack]

60. +1 nt

[mdmc]

11. thanks for the info..

[Occulus]

12. I predict this will grow and the Owners will NOT be happy about it. n/t

[Better Believe It]

13. Good. This is a start toward building a mass movement demanding "Jobs for All"

At some point, very soon I hope, trade unions and progressive organizations will need to join in.

If they don't, they will be bypassed and if they won't help organize and support the unemployed they deserve to be bypassed.

[Cetacea]

27. Jobs for all and Living Wages ! eom

[bread_and_roses]

50. This was started by the Machinists - and the AFL-CIO has "Working America" for the non-unionized

I joined Working America before I was a union member - somehow I heard about it not long after it was launched - at least four years ago:

http://www.workingamerica.org/

Working America is the nation’s fastest growing organization for working families. Over 3 million members fight for good jobs and a just economy.

There are offices in nine states, and the organization worked to very good effect in both the '06 and '08 elections.

Working America also has an "Unemployment Lifeline" section - which links to U-cubed - helping direct people to resources:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/jobsformainstreet

These are fledgling efforts, but a good beginning and a good sign - I hope everyone will help them "go viral" - there is no money for publicizing them.

edit: sp

[Larkspur]

14. I joined it about a month ago

I am currently employed but am on a contract basis, so I could be unemployed at any time.

[RainDog]

15. kick ass!

[bvar22]

17. They can always threaten to Go on Strike.

I know...I Know...not funny.

.
.
I fully support this.
Collectives, speaking in one voice for Common Cause, are more powerful than the sum of the individual components. That was the original purpose of "Political Parties" before they were bought out by The RICH.

The Democratic Party may be beyond redemption due to internal corruption.
Maybe the Unemployed and the Working Class can form our own Political Party since we current have none.


K&R

[backscatter712]

29. The point of a strike is to disrupt. There are other ways to disrupt.

Just because an organization is of the unemployed doesn't mean that strikes are meaningless.

I'm all for tactics like blocking access to buildings, blocking roads, forcing businesses to stop regular business.

The point is to make them bleed money.

A strike forces a stop to production, directly hitting a business in the pocketbook.

If you ask me, we need to be escalating our protests beyond just standing on street corners holding signs - that tactic's ignored by the powers that be.

The point is to give them something they cannot ignore.

[EFerrari]

18. Brilliant.

[DisgustedInMN]

19. Thank you so much.

Perhaps they will listen when there are millions of us organized, pissed off, and ready to do whatever is necessary, regardless of their attempts to stifle us.

[annabanana]

20. It helped get things moving in the 1930's

Cox's Army

[earth mom]

21. Hell Yes! Power to the People! nt

[Usrename]

22. this is an illuminating post

people want to organize right now - it's obvious

[drm604]

23. Interesting.

It's a community service project of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

I'm finally working, but it's contract work with no benefits. Maybe I should get involved with this.

[Hannah Bell]

31. That's a good sign -- maybe. It either means there's some moxie behind this

or it means it's another front group to siphon off people's energy.

Never can tell til the bread's made.

[proudohioan]

48. Yes, I think you should.

As far as I'm concerned, contract work is underemployed.

[amborin]

24. K and R

[KharmaTrain]

25. Great Concept...They Need To Go Further...

Set up a union for the underemployed. Also a union for those who can't join a union. It's long over due to organize, unionize and have our voice heard. This is a very good step in that direction.

:kick:

[rosesaylavee]

35. The under-employed are covered by this as well...

I too have union-envy... tho not sure that our union brethren are weathering this economy any better but this is step in the right direction.

[Liberal_in_LA]

26. Excellent

[patrice]

28. Good News! May the Light of Free Minds & Hearts be with them in this work as they learn how

to work together.

[annabanana]

30. +1 for staring into the face of the beast.

They will be subjected to vicious blow-back the minute they show effectiveness (if TPTB wait that long.)

[patrice]

33. I have seen a little of what goes on . . .

around Quaker peace-workers mostly, who attract all kinds of people, including those who do not wish the Peace Movement well.

Organizing is Hard Work.

[lonestarnot]

32. Wooodamnwhooooo!

:applause: excellent!

[WillyT]

34. Great Idea !!! - K & R !!!

:woohoo:

:kick:

[704wipes]

36. I suggested this before here !! Let's do some SIT INs next

It is an idea from the 30's we can recycle and keep this time.
I like the idea of jobs for all/living wage for all/healthcare for all.

Sure there is no chance to strike, BUT a lot of unemployed people showing up at your
anti-trust exempt, foreign head-quartered tax dodging corporation for a SIT-IN would work just as well.

SIT INs are next on my agenda. Sitting around at home in front of a pc doesn't do shit.

We need public sit-ins, die-ins. If everybody who was sick with no insurance/no job/ job without coverage all showed up at the same insurance company or hospital in a city on the same day at the same time and just sat down and said we aren't leaving until there is a real solution addressed. Like a public option.

hell, just 4 guys got the ball rolling at a lunch counter in the south in the 60's. So can millions of us.

I am underemployed at a 35 hr a week job with no insurance coverage provided by it, and it is important work too, so I will be joining this. Kudos to the Machinists Unions if they are the impetus. This is not bogus if they are working on it.

[RainDog]

37. another kick

[gtar100]

38. Solidarity in cause is our greatest strength. Will take down any giant.

That's why the rich hate unions so much. They are a *real* threat to their monopoly and selfish hoarding of wealth on earth.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

39. Distress over economy rules N.C. voters' mood

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/02/21/350109/distress-over-economy-rules-nc.html

Three Cubes in my state...

[supernova]

40. I may join the one in Hillsborough

[RainDog]

41. what's the unemployment rate among black males now?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_oUc6WpOAwto/SO7VbgDdhrI/AAAAAAAAA5w/I165qMIC38c/s400/great+depression+soup+line.jpg

[20score]

42. Very cool!

[adamuu]

43. Website is clobbered.

2:21am ET

[lib_wit_it]

44. K&R! Seems like an idea that should have always been. Genius.

[Jkid]

45. The idea of an union of unemployed workers is not new.

I actually read in a book about a idea of a union of unemployed workers. Anyone who does not have a job and that includes college students can join. It's about damn time someone implemented the concept.

K and R

[Christa]

46. K& R nt

[proudohioan]

47. Thank you!!!

I went on the website and signed up. There weren't any cubes real close, so I'm going to create a cube for my area. Euclid, OH anyone????

Again, thanks for the OP, I feel less helpless when I can get up off of my ass and do something!

t.

[sendero]

49. Excellent..

.... I know some folks that might want to join.

[pleah]

51. K AND R!

[HughMoran]

52. Good!

I hope they succeed and become a long-term support group for the unemployed (when the rate becomes more 'reasonable' again.)

[Overseas]

53. K&R . //nt

[lib2DaBone]

55. I just joined Working America for $5...

I am unemployed.. but I figure it is well worth the $5.

Nothing has changed in this coutry over the years... we still have to fight for every sliver of progress from the corrupt Banksters.

The whole idea of a "Democracy" supported by representative government is pure folly..always has been. Every last one of the thieves in CONgress need to go!

[ProgressOnTheMove]

56. Hope they organize against obstructionists the most, let's get this show rolling.

This is a group to support whether in or out of work they have the time to change face of politics forever. Constitutional amendment here we come. If they can work to get a few celebs names behind them too al the better if environment is a celebs cause this is the group with the time to make it happen. If the right goget a job, they can go damn right that's why we're here.

[midnight]

57. K&R. We are the ones we have been waiting for.....

You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you
must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are
things to be considered. . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a
good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and
swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on
to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer
greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let
go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes
open, and our heads above the water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in
history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For
the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.

The time of the one wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary. All
that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.
http://www.matrixmasters.com/takecharge/hopi-prophecy.html

[midnight]

58. K&R. We are the ones we have been waiting for.....

You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you
must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are
things to be considered. . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?

Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader.

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a
good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and
swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on
to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer
greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let
go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes
open, and our heads above the water.

And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in
history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For
the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.

The time of the one wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary. All
that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

http://www.matrixmasters.com/takecharge/hopi-prophecy.html

[wial]

59. this could be the start of something truly great

what are they going to do, fly us out over the ocean and drop us like they did to a generation of college graduates in neoliberal Argentina ... waitaminute ... truly, the powers that be are going to regret laying off so many highly educated, industrious people in the name of short term profit. They are going to resist this. We must be prepared.

Now we come to the pivot point of history. We are free of the bonds of one way broadcast communication. We can break free of the indentured servitude of corporate sponsored healthcare. We can vote en masse. We can act en masse. We don't need money to overthrow their illegitimate power. We have the truth and basic human decency on our side, and time to work on the problem, and high technology, and strength in numbers.

[astroBspacedog]

61. YES -- That's me

LET"S ROLL !!!

Wait a minute, why did my stomach churn when I typed that phrase?

Hows bout ------- LET"S ROCK !!!!!!!

I certainly qualify for this group, I've been looking (for work)for over a year now.

[Uncle Joe]

62. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, annabanana.:thumbsup:

[Lucky Luciano]

63. Very clever idea. nt

[ooglymoogly]

64. Excellent. This is the way we get these dino's in congress off the dole.

now if the progressives hop on this bandwagon, something will get done, or congress and whitehouse really will see some changes.

[nemo137]

65. Has this happened since the depression?

I know that there was Unemployed Unions during the depression (organized by - shhhhhh - the CPUSA), but have there been any between then and now?

[DemoTex]

66. But isn't that socialistic?

:sarcasm:

[LLStarks]

67. Jobless of the world, unite? Awesome. nt

[Eyerish]

68. This is EXCELLENT!!

I proudly K&R this! Ideas like this need to spread through the populace like wildfire... :applause:

[agent46]

69. People have been plugging in and getting networked

I belong to a network of unemployed Silicon Valley professionals in the East Bay called Pronet. The members are marketers, managers, engineers, programmers, trainers, teachers, care givers, custodians, truck drivers, artists and a few V.P.s. all professional, all unemployed. They're talking to each other. They're making friends and sharing critical expertise while supporting each other's job hunt. Pronet has close to 150 members at any given time, People who get employed stay connected. Pronet is just one network of many like it in the Bay Area that I've heard of.

I think networks of unemployed professional workers like this must be cropping up all over the country. These people are smart enough to be figuring out what's up with the so-called economy right about now, and why. So, I wonder if organizing politically active networks like UCubed isn't inevitable at this point.

Then this. Tonight I caught a TV news story about how city councils from all over surrounding counties pulled together to stop the encroachment of yet more corporate development in their region - this time into a pristine coastal habitat. They weren't going to let the bullshit continue and they stopped them. The reporter commented that this was unprecedented.

After watching the report, I looked over the UCubed site again and thought about how networks tend to, well, network.

Could networks with political clout be the next logical upgrade?

[Dan]

70. Yes, guts...

especially given how tolerance the government has been when dealing with the masses that are promoting change or demanding recognition. Might want to get some advice from any remaining members of the 'Veterans' that protested after WWI in Washington D.C.

[704wipes]

71. no, guts has nothing to do with it

It's called having nothing left to lose.
TPTB had better wake up and realize many now have "nothing left to lose",
and many others are close, and many others are MUCH closer than they think.

[Dan]

72. friend, you always have something to lose

your life...

[4 t 4]

74. Great site! n/t

[olegramps]

76. Cox's Army

The protest was led by a Catholic priest during Hoover's administration:

After the Capitol review, Father Cox hurried to an appointment with President Hoover, to whom he read in a shrill voice (his throat is sensitive) the same appeal he made to Congress, apparently with the tacit consent of his superior, Bishop Hugh C. Boyle. Demands: a five-billion-dollar public works program to provide jobs; direct Federal appropriation for unemployment relief; "loans to re-establish the farmer"; gift taxation and inheritance tax increased to 70%. The President listened patiently, replied: "We are giving this question our undivided attention."



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742927,00.html#ixzz0geztJsfF

[annabanana]

79. Yes!... That's what the picture I posted upthread is of. Thanks

for the link!

[librechik]

78. I would like to see a nationwide march, gathering more and more people

starting in California and ending in Washington, demanding a social safety net, since the one we have is shredded, along with our constitutional rights.

[Catshrink]

80. How about unemployed in each state gathering at the state legislature?

Maybe the sight of thousands of unemployed at every capitol would show the magnitude of the problem. Maybe, just maybe, the news media would let go of its fascination with the tea party to cover these.

[wellst0nev0ter]

81. Recc'd, Bookmarking, Getting Off Ass, Etc

This is simply the greatest idea I heard in a long time, and I want to be part of it.

[Cetacea]

82. Brilliant! Thank you for posting this.

Hope returns.