Against the Current No. 226, September/October 2023
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Palestine and Empire
— The Editors -
Supreme Court Outlaws Affirmative Action
— Malik Miah -
Supreme Court Denies Black Voting in Mississippi
— Malik Miah -
Chile 1973 -- The Original 9/11
— Oscar Mendoza -
Oppenheimer: The Man, the Book, the Movie
— Cliff Conner -
"Imperial Decline" in the Ukraine War
— David Finkel -
Free Boris Kagarlitsky!
— Russian Socialist Movement -
Banking for the Billions
— Luke Pretz -
AMLO's Mexico: Fourth Transformation?
— Dan La Botz - A World on Fire
- Hot Labor Summer
- Introduction to Two Articles on Teamster-UPS Contract
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The UPS Contract in Context
— Barry Eidlin -
Why the Rush to Settle?
— Kim Moody -
GEO vs. the University of Michigan
— Kathleen Brown -
UAW Strike Continues to Expand
— Dianne Feeley - Reviews
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Revolution in Retrospect & Prospect
— Michael Principe -
The Red and the Queer
— Alan Wald -
The Novel as Biography
— Ted McTaggart -
Anarcho-Marxism, Anyone?
— Paul Buhle -
The Myth of California Exposed
— Dianne Feeley
These two articles — by Barry Eidlin and Kim Moody — evaluate the decision of the IBT General President O’Brien to accept the UPS offer. They summarize the importance of the campaign for a good contract and the willingness to strike if necessary. Both see the year-long campaign key to winning a number of the union’s demands. Could they have gone out on strike and ended two-tier wages? Or at least narrowed the gap?
The agreement was passed so part-timers — who represent the majority of the UPS work force — got a raise, but continue to be stuck in a lower tier, as they have been for more than 40 years.
Having formed an alliance with the top leadership, how far can a rank-and-file caucus push its program for transparency and equality in one contract cycle? What was the balance of forces that could have resulted in a breakthrough had UPS workers gone on strike at this moment? What impact could it have had on other struggles?
In the end, the contract was approved by 86.3% with a record 58% of members voting.
An earlier version of “The UPS Contract in Context” appeared in Jacobin.
September-October 2023, ATC 226