The struggle of the Gulf Coast Indian guest workers against Signal International and the exploitative H2B guest worker program entered a new stage this week, with the launching of a hunger strike by five of the workers on Wednesday. These workers have demonstrated great creativity and courage in their struggle. On March 27th, one hundred of these workers arrived in Washington D.C. after completing a 1,500 mile march, much of it on foot, from New Orleans. The march or “satyagraha” was organized to highlight the shocking story of what these workers have endured, and the flaws inherent in the U.S. guest worker program. The Indian guest workers are requesting that the U.S. government investigate abuses of migrant workers rights in the U.S., for reforms of the H2B system, and for the right to remain safely in the US during an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into their case. Last night’s episode of Labor Express Radio featured the Indian workers session at the 2008 Labor Notes co...

By any objective measure, Mayday 2008 was an historic event. Not only did tens of thousands of immigrant rights activists take to the streets from Detroit to Chicago to LA, to demand legalization for all, but 25,000 dock workers on West Coast shut down West Coast ports for an entire day, to protest the ongoing war in Iraq! Rare are the moments in our nation’s history when so many working people take simultaneous actions demanding justice. And how does the mainstream media respond? With silence and lies. Since I began hosting Labor Express Radio four years ago, I have become increasingly aware of the importance of alternative news sources. But few incidents in the past four years have demonstrated more blatantly the bankruptcy of our corporate media. Go to the Google News search page, where you can search all the news articles from all the mainstream print news sources in one place. You can find it here… http://news.google.com/ Type in any of the following searches - ILWU, Dock Workers,...

The members of the ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union) are my heroes. These guys have shown us repeatedly what real trade unionism is all about. Not only does their union stand up against the bosses when it comes to protecting their own jobs and livelihoods, but the union has proven repeatedly that it will use its considerable muscle to fight for justice for working people world wide. In the 1980’s longshore workers refused to handle the cargo of South African ships as a protest against apartheid and refused to load ships sending weapons to the repressive, blood thirsty government of El Salvador. This Mayday, the ILWU once again proved they are the vanguard of organized labor in the United States. Here is the announcement of their planned action from their website… “The ILWU west coast longshore workers have voted to stop work to protest the US war and occupation on Iraq and Afghanistan on May Day 2008. They have also called on the AFL-CIO, Change To Win (CTW) and other ...

Well, Mayday 2008 has come and gone. Here are some photos from today's Mayday march in Chicago... http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb5/kronstadt2/Mayday%202008/ http://s207.photobucket.com/albums/bb5/kronstadt2/Mayday%202008/?albumview=slideshow Feel free to use these but please credit the source. Here is some interviews and speeches I recorded throughout the day... Speeches at Haymarket Memorial Monument, Mayday morning: Noel Beasley, International Vice President of UNITE-HERE… http://www.laborexpress.org/Storage/NoahBeasely.WAV Katie Jordan, President of CLUW (Coalition of Labor Union Women)… http://www.laborexpress.org/Storage/KatieJordanHaymarket08.mp3 James Thindwa, Executive Director of Chicago Jobs With Justice… http://www.laborexpress.org/Storage/JamesThindwaHaymarket08.wav Interviews during march: Larry Davis, Vice-President of Teamsters Local 743… http://www.laborexpress.org/Storage/LarryDavisVP743Mayday08.WAV Christine Roycester, Member of Teamsters Local 743… http://...