The tens of thousands who filled the streets Jan. 20 to challenge Bush, his administration, and the system that he stands at the head of are a sign of things to come. That Bush felt the need to attack the right to protest, while surrounding himself with an army of cops that day, speaks volumes.

The wealthy elite that runs this country put Bush in office. They swarmed the capital for his inauguration. The rich and arrogant filled every D.C. hotel, with their furs, chauffeurs, and three-piece suits, clinking their champagne glasses to country western music. They had something to celebrate – another of their own moving in the White House, a drunken frat boy makes good. They had taken a man whose name is synonymous with ignorance, whose claim to fame is 135 executions in Texas, whose sole qualification for office was a deep and abiding interest in serving corporate America and made him President.

For the next four years, Bush will march along the path of Clinton and Gore, but with fewer attempts to hide his agenda. Bush is a yes-man for big banks, big oil and big money – a small-minded person whose idea of a joke is to mock a religious woman on death row in Texas, “Pleasssse don't kill me,” said Bush to his pals.

Bush is proposing gigantic tax cuts for the rich, even though more taxes are imposed on working people.

Bush will try to privatize what the Democrats could not. Expect more sky-high electricity and gas bills for your homes. The Federal Government will be busy spending your tax dollars on what the Military-Industrial Complex wants-a first strike nuclear attack system. The so-called “Missile Defense Shield”, aimed mainly at China, will spark a new arms race. Bush's war spending is sure to be above the $305 billion that Clinton and Gore raised it to last year.

Bush will talk about “compassionate conservatism” while the poor and the elderly, especially oppressed nationalities and immigrants fall through the holes cut in the social safety net. Those holes were cut by Clinton and Gore. As the economy goes sour, more families, especially women and children, will find themselves homeless. Members of Bush's cabinet want to fund religious groups who will “help” the homeless. Many of these groups are poverty pimps and will impose their will on poor people and keep people poor so they can stay in business. Bush will also try to privatize the Social Security system, making retirement uncertain for some and impossible for others.

The Bush presidency will shore up North American Free Trade Agreement and try to consolidate a Latin American economic bloc, making workers everywhere poorer, lowering health standards, and destroying more of the environment. At the same time, Bush will try extend the U.S. domination and control over Asia, Africa, the former USSR, and the Middle East.

Bush's father, the former President, was the “Butcher of Baghdad” – he rained down death and destruction on the people of Iraq. Clinton managed to kill more than Bush Sr. with the sanctions and his air war. We can expect more of the same from the new administration.

At home, workers and oppressed nationalities can expect attacks on their jobs and unions, on welfare rights, and on affirmative action. We can expect more executions and higher imprisonment rates because of the phony “War On Drugs.” The police will continue to target Black, Chicano/Latino, Asian and Native communities. Bush will try to roll back the gains made by women – he will do everything in his power to attack reproductive rights.

All the attacks under Clinton will continue to under Bush. One way of looking at is this: Clinton and Gore were enemies of the American people. Bush is Clinton-plus.

So, what is the battle plan? We must take to the streets like the protesters at the Bush inauguration! We must encourage workers to support union organizing and picket lines, do our part in getting working people together in our communities to stop racist police brutality, especially against Blacks and Latinos; protest until Congress stops funding U.S. War in Colombia; and rally to stop the execution of Mumia Abu Jamal! We must do the hard work of building movements for basic social change.

Bush is in the White House, we are in the streets!

#UnitedStates #Editorial #Editorials #PeoplesStruggles #electionFraud #electoralCollege #SupremeCourt

Members of Local 743 remember the stolen 2004 elections very well. They might recall a flier distributed with statements by one of his supporters. It read, “I am for Mr. Walston because as a true union leader, he puts the union and the members first.”

The 2004 flier went on, “I support and endorse Local President Robert Walston and am confident in Mr. Walston and the entire 743 Unity Slate. I believe that their honesty, fairness, experience and toughness will best serve this local and our membership.”

Putting the interests of the members above his own; an honest man; a fair man; a tough union leader with experience; Walston sounded great, didn’t he?

The Real Bob Walston – A Gangster

In his March 23 plea, Walston admits that in 2004 he and his co-conspirators, including Richard Lopez, the recording secretary on the 743 Unity Slate, knowingly conspired to use the United States mails to steal and convert to their own use property and other assets of Local 743.

In the plea agreement, Walston explains exactly how his gang stole ballots from hundreds of members of the local, in two consecutive elections, to ‘vote’ them for his Unity Slate. In the plea, he names the others who were involved – Cassandra Mosley, Ted Bania, David Rodriquez and Mark Jones – his loyal supporters.

Walston admits that the cost to the members in salaries and benefits for their slate was $2.2 million over the three-year terms of office.

And he admits to having set out in May 2007 with a cousin of staff member Rodriquez to purchase five kilos of coke for $150,000.

Members of the local who supported the reformers in the 743 New Leadership Slate have known for years that the old guard in the local were gangsters. Richard Berg was elected in 2007 after Walston and his gang were indicted – and prevented from stealing another election. With that, a degree of justice came to the union members. This guilty plea and resulting jail time for Walston is a little more.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #electionFraud #gangsters #cocaine

When the Local 743 officials realized they had no chance to win a fair election against the 743 New Leadership Slate, they pulled every trick in the book to steal the election and ensure that they held on to their cushy jobs.

The incumbents hired James Dehann to be a ‘ghost election officer.’ They then ordered him to stay in Michigan and not answer any phone calls or mail from rank-and-file Local 743 members during the course of the election, which he was supposedly conducting.

Union officials proceeded to blatantly violate election rules set in Local 743’s bylaws, the International union’s constitution and even rules that they themselves had set. When all else failed, they issued themselves a key to the election ballot box and stole hundreds of ballots. Unfortunately for them, they got caught.

The opposition, the 743 New Leadership Slate, went through the channels of official protest. First they filed charges with Teamster Local 743, then with the Teamsters Joint Council 25, then with International President Jimmy Hoffa and, finally, with the Teamsters International Executive Board. In each case, union officials refused to give serious consideration to the overwhelming evidence, even the blatant theft of ballots.

Teamsters Local 743 President Robert Walston thought he could do as he pleased because Jimmy Hoffa and his allies tolerate multiple levels of corruption by their supporters. They are opposed to the 743 New Leadership Slate because it has campaigned on getting rid of Jimmy Hoffa and organized crime. There is a pattern of sell-out union officials linked with organized crime dominating Local 743.

The 743 New Leadership Slate has vowed to turn the union back to the rank and file, to stop ‘sweetheart’ agreements and to mobilize the workers.

“We are sick and tired of union officials making deals with management,” said Richard Berg, the 743 New Leadership Slate’s candidate for president of Local 743, “We will not rest until every member of this local union has affordable health insurance for their families, decent wages and a good pension. This will never happen until the workers take back this union.”

The 743 New Leadership State is confident that if they get a new election that they can beat the Walston-Hoffa old guard officials. “No reputable Teamster supports them,” said Tony Caldera, 743 New Leadership candidate for vice president. “When we get a fair election, it will not even be close. They are discredited among the workers.”

Judge Gettleman’s ruling is a huge victory for the reform movement. After the election theft, the 743 New Leadership Slate pursued every means open to them. They continue to organize and mobilize workers while pursuing legal avenues. The 743 New Leadership Slate has been working with Chicago National Lawyers Guild attorneys Jeff Naffziger and James Fennerty, as well as renowned Teamster reform attorney Thomas Geoghegan.

“The New Leadership Slate understands that the courts can help get a fairer election, but that they have to win it. This huge legal victory we hope gives the workers of Local 743 a chance to take back their union,” said the Chicago chapter president of the National Lawyers Guild, James Fennerty.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #electionFraud

Chicago, IL – They tried to steal the Teamsters Local 743 election and they were caught red handed. Bob Walston, Diane Strickland and the rest of the 743 old guard officers could not win an election on their own, so they resorted to cheating. The election race pitted the rank-and-file New Leadership Slate against the corrupt, mob-tied, old guard.

“Thieves steal, this is a fact of life,” said Richard Berg, the reform candidate for President on the 743 New Leadership Slate, “but the working members of Local 743 will not and cannot let these thieves steal our union from us. Local 743 is our union; it does not belong to the boss, or the mafia, but only to the workers. We will not allow justice, democracy or our dignity to be stolen. We will fight this until the end.”

Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., who heads the International Teamsters, backed the Walston slate and is known as a sell-out.

Robbery!

The stealing of the election was not particularly clever. They hired their own guy, James Dehann, to run the election. Instead of Dehann renting the post office boxes used in the election, he allowed Hoffa slate member Diane Strickland to do it. This gave her 24-hour access to members' ballots.

When 743 New Leadership Slate members surprised Dehann and Hoffa slate members by showing up in big numbers to observe each part of the process, they could not hide their theft. “We found that over 300 returned ballots had disappeared under their watch. Hundreds of extra printed ballots showed up out of nowhere,” said Richard Berg.

On the day of the count, Dehann needed to resort to extraordinary measures to prevent the 743 New Leadership Slate from taking office. For example, he would not allow anyone except himself to challenge questionable votes. The Walston-appointed election officer, in clear violation of the Teamsters constitution, threw out the standard practice of allowing all parties involved to challenge the ballots. When Richard Berg pointed out their misdeeds, Dehann threatened to have him arrested and thrown off union property.

This theft is one a series of thefts committed by the current officers. These same people drove the Local 743 Credit Union to bankruptcy after many questionable loans to