David Bacon on Federal Immigration Raids

by: Wednesday 29 December 2010

tags: ,

Reactions to David Bacon's post on Federal Immigration Raids: http://lists.portside.org/cgi-bin/listserv/wa?A2=PORTSIDE;45f7a8b6.1012d

 

 

I confess I have had a long-time allergy to David's writing on globalization and immigration, for which no doubt I should be criticized. He always makes many true, well researched and worthy points, especially with respect to the very difficult -- intolerable -- conditions undocumented workers confront.


But I do not understand his remedies -- which sound like little more than slogans to me: viz a viz: "Can all workers unite and defeat division: YES WE CAN!"

With 10% official unemployment, what SHOULD the border policy really be? Open? Is that a serious proposal? Could anyone win working class unity -- and elections -- on that?  IN addition, how do we define an INTERNATIONALIST position on this question -- not just in abstractions -- but based on the real positions and interests of working class forces on BOTH sides of the border? Don't these forces have to have MEETINGS in order to find both practical and principled common ground? And where is the assessment of what the majorities of workers on both sides of the border think about these problems -- and thus the tactics of moving forward? David's article begs answers to these questions, but they are not, IMHO, forthcoming. 

OK -- let David's article(s) be an unmet challenge for the Left: It is relatively easy to know that the corruption and racism of the Arizona right-wing governor and legislature is wrong. But the left cannot run for and win governorships of border states on that alone. It is an ideological and political failure of great magnitude not to have a more fully developed understanding and position on this. But -- maybe I have just not read the right things!

Comment!!!

jcase

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  • Brother John,the work of journalist,David Bacon is far too educationally and organizationally useful to us to be dismissed as work"...the left cannot run for and win governorships of border states on..."(one guesses the left can win governorships with jcase's magnificent gleanings-not to be insulting,but what kind of standard is this for a journalist,jcase?)
    Our chairperson,Sam Webb,lauds David Bacon's work.
    Is it not up to individuals,in AND of the collective,to both formulate questions AND solutions?
    Maybe (we hope not) David's work exposes the failed immigration policies of our sitting president Obama too clearly for all who count the immigration struggle for a just,worker friendly policy which is in line with the United Nation's basic human rights regulations,and the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights,to name a few standards which might give clues to a positive border policy,and those which may engender working class unity,and possibly winning governorships(but we would not want to insult jcase).
    "Federal immigration authorities have pressured one of San Francisco's major building service companies,ABM,into firing hunderds of its own workers",David Bacon writes in the 21 May 2010 peoplesworld. David goes on in the same article-'"They've been working in the buildings downtown for 15,20,some as many as 27 years,"said Olga Miranda,president of Service Emplyees Local 87.'
    Further-"Nevertheless,the Immigration and Customs Enforcment(ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security has told ABM that they have flagged the personnel records of those workers(EEWC- for firing)."
    David was in St. Louis,in 2007,(from another article in peoplesworld,9 Nov.2007)with a packed room of unionists and community leaders stating,"Trade agreements like NAFTA displaced workers,turned them into indentured servants..."later,"And the media calls this democracy."
    Maybe,jcase,you have not read what peoplesworld has had to say about democracy and Bacon-David.

    Posted by E.E.W. Clay, 01/04/2011 3:22pm (14 years ago)

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