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Hurricane Katrina Reveals the true
Race & Class Divide in U.S. society:
Many of us watched in horror last week as the federal, state and local governments abandon the people of New Orleans to the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina. The stories from the flood zone demonstrated the deep racism that continues to afflict our society and the marginalization of the poor. On the other hand the crisis also proved that working people must rely on their own collective power and mutual aid in order to ensure their survival. The disaster demonstrated the weakness of our public institution but also gave witness to tremendous worker solidarity. The need for continued solidarity is great. Here are some links to ways you can help…
AFL-CIO Katrina Victim's Assistance Web Page
SEIU Hurricane Relief Fund
New Orleans Community Labor United
People's Hurricane Fund
USLAW Page on Hurricane Katrina (good source of info & links)
ACORN Community Organization with local in New Orleans
MoveOn.org has an online petition and is organizing housing for victims
DePaul Students Against the War has two Katrina Benefits in October
Click Here to read a disturbing account of the experiences of hurricane victims in the days following the disaster by two union paramedics.
Episodes of Labor Express dealing with the race & class dimensions of the Hurricane Katrina disaster:
(To save server space and decrease download time, all MP3s available here are LoFi quality. If you need higher quality audio please contact us at... redjerry2@yahoo.com)
Labor Express for 10-23-05: Paramedic and SEIU member Larry Bradshaw describes police abuse of victims of Hurricane Katrina, revealing the underlying racism behind much of the disaster. Speech of Teamsters president James Hoffa at the Change to Win Federation founding convention (courtesy of our friends at WIN).
Labor Express for 10-30-05: Interview with Malcolm Suber of Community Labor United (CLU) in New Orleans on how race and class oppression set the stage for the Hurricane Katrina disaster and how CLU is organizing victims to demand justice. Terry O'Sullivan of the Laborer's International Union speaks at the Change to Win Federation founding convention (courtesy of our friends at WIN).
Labor Express for 11-13-05: Our final episode focusing on the Katrina disaster and the Change to Win Federation founding convention. Includes and interview with Sybil Holt, President of the Louisiana AFL-CIO and speeches by Clayola Brown of UNITE-HERE and Doug McCarron of the Carpenters (courtesy of our friends at WIN).
Labor Express for 1-8-06: The bulk of the program consisted of the following interviews conducted on my recent trip to New Orleans…
Robert Caldwell and Joanna Dubinsky of the People's Hurricane Relief Fund (PHRF) discuss the efforts of PHRF to organize New Orleans residents in a fight to ensure the city is rebuilt with the interests of the working class and the poor in mind.
Bryce White with the Environment Justice Working Group of PHRF discusses the toxic dangers facing returning New Orleans residents and the responsibility of local and national government to ensure resident's safety.
Labor Express for 2-5-06: Second program focusing on the interviews I collected during my visit to New Orleans over the holiday's. Re-broadcast of my interview with Robert Caldwell of the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund (PHRF). Interview with Robert "Tiger" Hammond, President of the Greater New Orleans Central Labor Council on the increased exploitation of working people in New Orleans since the hurricane. Interview with Lucile Redneck of the White Mountain Apache tribe who was tricked into coming to work in post-Katrina New Orleans only to find herself and the rest of her clan living in tents in a city park.
Labor Express for 2-12-06: Third and final program focusing on audio collected during my visit to New Orleans over the holidays. Interviews with Willie Simms, President of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1560 on public sector workers, Bryce White of PHRF on environmental issues post-Katrina, and Seattle longshoreman Brian Wiles who is working on a ILWU sponsored program to get rebuilding supplies to New Orleans.
Audio Collected on the Topic by Labor Express But Not Aired on a Labor Express Radio Program:
Interview with Al Stein: Al Stein, librarian, labor historian, and regular contributor to Labor Beat TV is also a Hurricane Katrina refugee. In this hour and 13 minute interview, Al talks about his experiences in the wake of the disaster and the situation facing current and former public employees of the City of New Orleans.
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