Harry Bridges and the WTO
by Del Castle
In 1986 Harry Bridges spoke before the Southern California Library for Social
Studies and Research. That was 13 years before the Battle of Seattle. It was
totally prophetic. We quote:
"Right now it looks like the labor movement is in real trouble. It is. The
real trouble is the employers, with plenty of backing from the present
administration of Ronald Reagan; they have been making things tough for unions.
Some people in the unions, some leaders, are kind of misled. What they're doing
is, they're thinking, 'What can we do about all this?"
They're going to find out what can be done.
In spite of the fact that unions have been going through a rough time for a
couple of years, now they're getting back together again. Now they're uniting
and fighting back. Before this period is over, these attacks by the government,
by the courts and by employers on the labor unions, which try to disorganize
them, block them from making any gains - these efforts will fail.
I'm not dreaming. I'm speaking from experience - what I've gone through. What
I've seen happen is going to happen again. The labor movement is going to come
back. It's going to fight like hell.
Anybody wants to know what the future is going to bring, anybody wants to know
where to put your faith for the future, for a good country and a good living?
Put it with the labor movement, because there ain't no other place to put it.
That's not a dream. That's based on practical experience. There's no doubt
about it: the labor movement has some weaknesses. It's got some inexperienced
leaders in places. It makes mistakes. What the hell, it's human! That's the big
thing about it. But when a situation comes along on some issue, and I don't know
what it will be, but the issue will come along and the labor movement will unite
over night, just as we did in the 1934 maritime strike in San Francisco.
The "issue came along" all right - in the Battle of Seattle
November, 1999 in the anti-W.T.O. movement. It is true that Bridges did not
"know what it will be." He could not have foreseen that movements such
as environmental, civil rights, church, feminist and many others would join with
labor making it a totally new anti-corporate movement the likes of which has
been seen few times in history.
We are in a new historical period.
PERIOD!
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