National Workers Conference to Organize the Fightback and Build a Solidarity Network Mission Statement

October 6 – October 8
Oct 6 at 10 AM to Oct 8 at 5 PM CDT
UAW Local 551 Union Hall
13550 S. Torrence Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60633
The new corporatist government is increasing attacks against workers and our communities. It is time to organize a national fight and mobilization to defend immigrants, people of color, workers rights, and our civil rights. We urgently need to establish a strong solidarity communication network and unite our struggles against the continuing economic robbery of working people. To do this we must take a strong stance against racism and sexism. It is time to organize a national and international fight using the full power of the labor movement!
In Chicago and the State of Illinois, concerned sectors of the labor movement and the community, are resisting these unjust attacks: ATU transit workers are still out of a contract. CTU teachers are still fighting against school closures and furloughs of teachers. UAW workers fought contracts that abuse temporary workers, incentivize outsourcing and scheduling that ignores our humanity. A Tea party governor is attacking AFSCME and AFT workers jobs and pensions which remain under constant government threat.
There’s a brutal attack on public services, public education, particularly in communities of color, at the city, state and federal levels of government. These attacks are a direct threat to workers and our families. The new administration has announced cuts to public education and public services while devising plans for outsourcing and privatization. This has been combined with attacks on workers rights and our pensions. Workers are being disrespected and overworked, and real wages cannot support our real lives. We need to unite all workers and join with our communities to defend union jobs, public services and the democratic rights of working people.
Workers who are forced to go on strike have been allowed to be isolated and coerced into concession contracts to give up more on wages, healthcare and pensions. This is a result of union leaders who’ve been unwilling to wage the kind of fight that will challenge the bosses. Workers have been locked out by profitable companies craving higher profits at our expense. They’re using NAFTA and other corporate trade agreements to weaken and destroy organized labor and our communities. We can no longer allow our struggles to be isolated. We must unite nationally and internationally because that is how we can win.
We also need to oppose the growing danger of world war. The trillions that have been spent on over 700 bases overseas is not to protect the working people of this country but the interests of the militarists, corporations and the billionaires that run the US and the world. The attacks on Mexican workers and other workers around the world must be met with organizing unity with our brothers and sisters against the same corporations that they are fighting. Our fight is with the bosses that carry out these attacks and not our brothers and sisters around the world.
The goal of this Workers Conference is to bring together fighting sectors of the workers movement from around the U.S. On March 25, 2017 trade unionists, workers and students as well as international delegates met at an Illinois workers conference. We voted to build a National/International Labor Solidarity network and meet in Chicago this autumn. On April 15, the Emergency Education Conference in California endorsed this Chicago gathering.
This conference will build a communication network that will link up the struggles of workers, support workers going on strike, coordinate joint participation in important national days of mobilization to bring workers and unions out, and begin a national political education campaign. It will also develop a national and international network to directly link up all our struggles, and build a united front of all working people that can build the power to win.