SDS Tuscaloosa Against FBI Raids!

On September 24, seven homes and the office of an antiwar group were raided by FBI agents. 14 antiwar and Columbia and Palestine solidarity activists were served with subpoenas to appear before a grand jury. Since then, there have been protests all over the country, in over 30 cities, and groups from all across the political spectrum have issued statements condemning these raids and supporting the right to free speech of these activists.

On October 5th, the day that those subpoenaed were scheduled to appear before a grand jury, SDS Tuscaloosa held a demo in front of the Federal Building to show solidarity and support for those being repressed by this desperate attempt to quiet dissent. For an article on our demo click here

Those summoned to appear have decided to invoke their 5th Amendment rights and refuse to speak before the grand jury. However, they will remain vocal outside of the courtroom, releasing statements and videos.

For more information: http://stopfbi.net/

First Transit, Stop Stalling!

Justice for Southern workers! Support University of Alabama bus drivers fighting for a living wage!

Call to action from the Network to Fight for Economic Justice

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, bus drivers are in the midst of a struggle for a living wage. Fed up with earning poverty wages, the bus drivers are demanding their first union contract. Nearly a year ago, the Crimson Ride bus drivers voted unanimously to join Amalgamate Transit Union (ATU) Local 1208.

The University of Alabama contracts out to First Transit, a division of the massive British multinational FirstGroup PLC, which runs the Crimson Ride bus service on campus. The university pays the company $55.50 an hour, and in turn, the company pays the drivers a paltry $9.50 an hour - poverty wages. The union drivers are demanding $14 per hour and benefits comparable to university bus drivers in other states.

First Transit employs more than 60 drivers. Most are African-American and many are women. They face intimidation and harassment on the job from the boss. They receive none of the benefits that employees of the University of Alabama get. There is no pay on university holidays or during school breaks. Most cannot afford the expensive health care coverage that First Transit offers. Many work two jobs to make ends meet.

The South is not a friendly place for workers - ‘right to work’ laws make forming a union a nearly impossible task. Wages are lower and poverty is higher in the South due to racism against African-Americans and the lack of unions. Despite these obstacles, the Crimson Ride drivers are demanding the wages and benefits they deserve. The union drivers are launching a campaign to ask University of Alabama President Dr. Robert Witt to tell First Transit to meet the demands of the union. Supporting the union drivers, the Tuscaloosa chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is boarding buses to gather petition signatures.

During the 1950s and ‘60s in Alabama, courageous men, women and children fought for justice and civil rights. Rosa Parks refused to budge from her seat at the front of the bus. Today, the Crimson Ride bus drivers are standing up and fighting back for equal treatment, fair pay, and workers’ rights.

“First Transit, Stop Stalling!”

The Network to Fight for Economic Justice (NFEJ) is calling on trade unionists, housing activists, civil and equal rights groups, community organizations and students from across the country to stand in solidarity with the Crimson Ride drivers. Statements of solidarity can be sent to Union Steward Tia Brown at tb3341@yahoo.com.

The NFEJ is organizing a National Call In Day on February 17th:

Call Dr. Witt, President of the University of Alabama at 205-348-5103 and tell him “Stop stalling! We want a contract! Justice for the bus drivers now!”

SDS Tuscaloosa at SOA Watch 2009

This past November we traveled to Fort Benning, Georgia for SOA Watch 2009.

To build interest leading up to the protest, we invited James Jordan, National Coordinator for Campaign for Labor Rights (CLR) to speak on our campus. During his talk, titled "Why the U.S. Government Sponsors War and Repression in Columbia," James discussed the destructive and dominating nature of Plan Columbia, the U.S.-funded Colombian paramilitaries who terrorize labor unions and human rights activists in Columbia and the inhuman conditions of Colombian prisons such as La Tramacua Penitentiary, which are run under the consultation of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. James' visit was written about in the Crimson White, our campus Student Newspaper.

That weekend we headed to the rally outside the gates of the School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia.

After the rally we met up with students from other national chapters of SDS for a workshop on organizing and working together to fight back against U.S. tactics that exploit and repress people around the world.

SDS Tuscaloosa supports SOA Watch 2009 in their goal of shutting down the SOA under whatever name it may take and to change the U.S. foreign policy in Columbia.

For more info on U.S. involvement in Columbia:

http://www.fightbacknews.org/2009/11/20/no-us-intervention-colombia

http://www.clrlabor.org/wordpress/?cat=16

http://www.soaw.org/index.php

SDS-Tuscaloosa Signs on to National Day of Action

U.S. Out of Afghanistan! End the War Now!

Protest 8 years of war with Afghanistan

We are calling for students across the country to protest the 8th anniversary of war with Afghanistan by taking action and demanding that the U.S. get out of Afghanistan now!October 7th will mark the eighth year that the U.S. has been at war with Afghanistan, under the auspice of fighting "the war on terror." In eight years under occupation, tens of thousands of Afghans have been killed by U.S. air strikes, bombs, and bullets, and the Afghani infrastructure has been devastated.In just one day of this war, May 4, 2009, U.S. air strikes killed over 150 Afghan children, women, men in a village in Farah province.

The war affects us here at home as well. The number of U.S. troop casualties increases more and more each year that the war continues. By next year the cost of the Afghanistan war will be more than the cost of the Iraq war, with the U.S. government requesting $65 billion dollars for the war in 2010. So far the government has spent almost a trillion dollars in the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq. With that money, we could have paid for 35,068,800 four year university scholarships.

We, as students, have a responsibility to the people of Afghanistan to stand up, speak out, and take action against the war! We are calling on all students to sign-on and pledge to take action on October 7th to mark the 8th anniversary of the U.S. invasion. That action could be walking out of classes, occupying buildings, hosting a teach-in or film-showing – any form of protest to show opposition to the Afghanistan war!

The Obama administration is sending a "surge" of 21,000 U.S. troops to fight the insurgency. We know this is not a so-called "just war," but a war for regional domination and control of natural gas reserves in the region. The Afghan people have a right to self-determination, to choose their own leaders and governments and to take care of their own affairs. It is not the place of the U.S. to bomb Afghanistan into submission and to choose its political leaders. The only real way for Afghanistan to be free is for the bombings to halt, and for all U.S. and NATO troops to leave the country immediately.

Help us get the word out - We want money to go to our education, not war and occupation! We want the U.S. out of Afghanistan NOW!

Let us know if your chapter or organization will take action! Contact sdsantiwar@gmail.com or visit or blog at http://www.newsds.org/?q=antiwar

Solidarity with Quad City Die Casting Workers!

The Tuscaloosa chapter endorsed the resolution calling for solidarity for the Quad City Die Casting workers. This resolution was also passed by the participants of the 2009 SDS National Convention.

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The students and youth of SDS stand in solidarity with the union workers of UE Local 1174 in their fight to keep Quad City Die Casting open. We condemn the Wells Fargo bank for refusing to finance the factory in Moline, Illinois. This outrage comes after Wells Fargo received $25 billion dollars of taxpayer’s money in a bailout earlier this year. Wells Fargo is sitting on the money. So now a locally owned factory employing over a hundred workers is being forced to shut their doors. However, the union workers are fighting to save their jobs! SDS is joining with the demand of the UE workers that Wells Fargo finance the company so they keep their jobs. Like the Republic Window and Door workers in Chicago this past December, it is unacceptable that a huge bank receives billions in bailout funds yet hangs the workers out to dry. Wells Fargo received $25 billion dollars from the recent bailout.

We are calling on all students and youth to hold protests at their local Wells Fargo banks and to express solidarity with the workers in Moline. Support the Quad City workers and their jobs! Pressure Wells Fargo to extend a line of credit to the Quad City Die Casting factory. Further, we are asking students to go to the factory in Moline, Illinois and stand with the workers while they are fighting for their jobs.

Make the rich pay! Keep Quad City Die Casting open!

SDS NATIONAL CONVENTION

"Join students and youth from across the United States for Students for a Democratic Society's 4th National Convention. This year's convention will be in the lovely town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee (nearest airport is Nashville), on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.

It's just six weeks away on the weekend of July 10 - 12, so make your travel plans now! The convention will begin Friday during the day and run through Sunday, so try to arrive Thursday night and plan on leaving Sunday afternoon/evening.

Please register using this form: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cm84c0dGU29va1JFb1p4dnZremJ0VkE6MA..

In addition to discussing SDS work over the past year, we'll have lots of exciting workshops, anti-oppression and collective liberation work, trainings, and discussions of campaign strategy for the future. You don't want to miss it!!

We'll send out more information in the next two weeks with information about how to submit workshop, discussion and campaign proposals. In the meantime, if you'd like to get involved in the nuts and bolts of planning the convention, click on this link to get connected with the national convention planning group: http://groups.google.com/group/sds-national-convention

Don't forget to check out our website for updates:
http://www.newsds.org

And follow us on Twitter!:
http://twitter.com/newsds

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Submit ur proposals for the convention!

Campaign proposals: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cmgwRjNmMzRsVzdQZ1VTcTlaOUhqdEE6MA..

Workshops/Plenaries: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cjRnd1UxU2ZTblFWaS1jS2xWdlcyR2c6MA

Structure proposals: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=cmJMc0o1OEtqYTRKcXc1NDB2MWEySlE6MA..

Caucuses: If you are a member of a caucus in SDS and would like to claim time for your caucus to meet, please contact (theanarchon@gmail.com)

The deadline for submitting proposals is June 19 at midnight."

Tariq Ali: Afghanistan to Pakistan--on the flightpath of american power

British-Pakistani scholar and activist Tariq Ali talks about NATO's stated role in Afghanistan, the economic devastation of Pakistan, the transformation of the Taliban, and other issues related to the US war in the region. This is seriously one of the most useful analyses of the war I've heard. A must-listen. Audio here.