French Strikes Disrupt Travel - Democratic Underground

harvey007

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Tue Oct-12-10 12:24 PM
Original message

French Strikes Disrupt Travel

Source: NY Times

PARIS — The confrontation between the French government and unions over plans to reform the pension system intensified on Tuesday as transport and energy workers, teachers and civil servants went on strike across the country. Unions in some sectors — including transport, ports and power — have toughened their stance, threatening to prolong the strikes. They have given local chapters the authority to decide on a daily basis whether to renew the action. Unions have also called another day of demonstrations on Saturday.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/world/europe/13france.html?hp

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xchrom

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Tue Oct-12-10 01:06 PM
Response to Original message

1. Recommend

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47of74

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Tue Oct-12-10 02:02 PM
Response to Original message

2. Wish we could do that here.

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jtrockville

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Tue Oct-12-10 02:39 PM
Response to Reply #2

4. What's stopping us?

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LisaM

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Tue Oct-12-10 02:52 PM
Response to Reply #4

5. Are you serious?

Whenever teachers, for example, threaten to go on strike here, there's instantly an avalanche of negative coverage, pathetic pictures of little children holding posters, and the school boards threaten to fire them all.

Other than that, nothing I guess.

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jtrockville

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Tue Oct-12-10 03:09 PM
Response to Reply #5

6. That's a big part of the problem.

In France, it's not JUST teachers... or JUST energy workers... or JUST any single group.
Workers of ALL stripes unite.

Why don't we?

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RaleighNCDUer

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Tue Oct-12-10 03:54 PM
Response to Reply #6

8. This is why -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft%E2%80%93Hartley_Act

Congress made it ILLEGAL to strike in support of a union not your own.

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jtrockville

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Tue Oct-12-10 04:07 PM
Response to Reply #8

9. I had no idea. Thanks for enlightening me, RaleighNCDUer.

I'd never heard of the Taft Hartley Act before.

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defendandprotect

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Tue Oct-12-10 02:21 PM
Response to Original message

3. There was a Yahoo article on STUDENTS joining in the demonstrations ...

but missed picking it up -- still looking for it!

Look at the threats to Social Security here and everyone seems to be asleep!!

Teachers and their union under attack -- more sleeping!!

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reggie the dog

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Tue Oct-12-10 03:27 PM
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7. the oil ships have been stuck off of marseille for 15 days

over 4000 people demonstrated today in the town where i live which has 35000 residents, there were public and private sector workers, local supermarket workers were on strike, cargill corp, workers from exxon mobil, lots of retired people, plus lots of high school kids, jr high school kids and young adults from the universities..... i went with my friend and his family, their littlest girl was with them in the crowd and the two oldest, as he proudly told me, were on the front line!

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hedgehog

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Tue Oct-12-10 04:55 PM
Response to Original message

10. Can you imagine the frustration of an Al-quada cell trying to

plan to bomb a train or plane, only to be faced with a series of transit strikes?

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