1996 Labor Party Convention – Video from Labor Beat

by , posted on Saturday, January 5th, 2013 at 10:40 pm

As the Democratic Party is back to pushing anti-union austerity proposals in Springfield this veto session, I find this video to be relevant. It also provides some important lessons.

The text below the fold was written by Larry Duncan (Labor Beat). Their work is important and deserves your financial support.

From Larry Duncan

“The 1996 Cleveland, Ohio founding convention of the national Labor Party included union locals and 9 Internationals, representing nearly two million union members. But due to the untimely death of its leader, Tony Mazzocchi, and the fact that it postponed running candidates, after two years the Labor Party failed to take root and faded from the scene. However, today trade unionists are again talking about this significant event in the mid-1990s, and are considering its relevance in light of present attacks on working people from Republicans and Democrats. With that in mind, we present this exclusive documentary from our archives of “Labor Party Convention ’96,” presented for the first time on the Internet. (Also available on dvd — see below.)

Includes interviews and speeches by: Luisa Gratz, President, Local 26 ILWU; Paul Swanson, Dir. of Organizing, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees; Baldemar Velasquez, Pres. Farm Labor Organizing Ctte. (AFL-CIO); Ashaki Binta, Black Workers for Justice, Int’l. Field Rep. SEIU Southern Region; Margaret Trimer-Hartley, Detroit Newspaper Striker; Mike Griffin, Staley “Road Warrior”; Carl Finamore, IAM 1781 member; Mary Larsen, Pres., UE Local 1111, Milwaukee, WI; Gerald Zero, Sec. Treas., IBT Local 705, Chicago; Jerry Gordon, Workers Unity Network; Tony Mazzocchi, Founder of Labor Party Advocates; Robert Wages, Pres., Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers; Ed Rosario, GCIU 4-N member, San Francisco. Also, excerpts from the floor debate on whether and when to run candidates, more.”

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