Ending F-22, opportunity to turn swords into ploughshares

U.S. Senate Votes to End Production of F-22 Fighter

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=amCRjogZeQ4g

"The U.S. Senate voted to end production of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-22 fighter jets at the 187 now on order after President Barack Obama threatened to veto any measure containing money to build more. "

I think this is a good thing. There are so many military-industrial complex weapons' systems that need to be eliminated. I always liked the poster "It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the air force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber. "

But behind the cutting of unnecessary military weapons programs are tens of thousands of workers who will lose their jobs.

In the Bloomberg article it reads, "Three labor unions -- the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the United Steel Workers and the AFL-CIO -- pressed senators to extend production.

"The plane supports 25,000 direct jobs and 70,000 indirect jobs in 40 states, the unions said in letters to senators. 'Ending the F-22 will result in immediate layoffs,' R. Thomas Buffenbarger, president of the Machinists union, said in a July 9 letter."

What will happen to these workers? It seems they will join the lines of the millions of other unemployed -- especially from the manufacturing sector.

This cannot happen. It's bad for the economy and bad for our country. Not in the traditional "national security" sense, but anytime a whole sector loses jobs it is an injury to all workers. Look at the auto industry.

This is an opportunity to turn these sword into ploughshares. But the private sector, I believe, will not be the job-creation motor that is necessary. The maximum profit-motive isn't there. Investment will flow to where you can get a 30 percent return not a mere 5 or 10 percent return -- that's a basic to capitalism.

So who will invest in jobs and a new, green manufacturing base of this country? One that can help rebuild the infrastructure? This is where another "public option" is needed.

John Bachtell wrote in Time to build a new mass movement for a peace economy http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/14104/

that Military spending supports roughly 5 million jobs. Therefore well-planned conversion to non-military-related jobs will need to take place in areas that depend on military spending, as the fight on domestic base closings showed.

A 2007 study by Robert Pollin and Heidi Garrett-Peltier at the University of Massachusetts showed more jobs are created with $1 billion spent on health care , education, mass transit , construction and even tax cuts compared to the same $1 billion spent on the military.

To build such a movement, demanding jobs where the skills and talent of machinists, engineers, steelworkers, autoworkers can help build our communities is a first and necessary step.

Machinists union stands up to right-wing/media b-s

A major national political development took place on Monday in Florida. The 2,600 delegates to the International Association of Machinists convention enthusiastically voted to endorse Barack Obama for president of the United States. They set in motion a major on-the-ground election effort in key battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

This move by the nation’s second largest industrial union — those famous blue-collar voters the Republican right and the corporate media have been voicing oh so much concern about — came despite a week of assault by the very same Republican far-right embodied in the McCain/Palin campaign, with a cowed corporate media largely following their script.

The IAM had backed Hillary Clinton, and during the primaries IAM President Tom Buffenbarger made some over-the-top comments. Yet, this week, he and this 700,000-member blue collar union took their stand based on the nitty gritty of what is at stake for America’s working class in this election. It was a significant rejection of all the b-s the anti-worker, anti-family, anti-women, anti-democracy McCain-Palin campaign is spewing.

Yet a Google search today turned up barely a word about this in the corporate media.
Aside from our newspaper, you have to go to the Machinists web site to get any information about it.

Likewise, Hillary Clinton’s rousing speech to that convention, and her campaign tour of Florida, drew skimpy and tepid coverage in the corporate media.

The IAM notes that:

The packed convention hall rose to their feet repeatedly during Clinton's remarks and displayed unequivocal support for her request to back the candidacy of Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

"You were with me from the start, and I want you to know that I will stand with you as we try to change what's going on in this country," Clinton told the delegates. "I believe this country is worth fighting for, and that's why I am fighting to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States.

"I don't think there's ever been higher stakes in an election than what we're facing this November. Barack and I may have started on different paths, but we are on one journey now, and it's a journey to take back our country because Americans do better when we have a Democratic president," declared Clinton.

"I know Senator Obama. I've seen his passion and determination. He understands both the economic stresses here at home and the strategic challenges around the world," said Clinton. "We've got to start with a president who actually understands the changes we have to make. And no one has more at stake in this election than the American labor movement."

Immediately following her remarks, delegates unanimously passed a resolution endorsing Barack Obama for president. "This union is not half-hearted with its endorsements," said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger, who was an early and strong supporter of Sen. Clinton in the primary race. "We will have boots on the ground in every state to make sure our members understand that Barack Obama is the best chance in a generation to reclaim the American Dream for working families."

The endorsement of Obama will trigger a massive education campaign among IAM members and extensive publicity in union publications and worksites nationwide. The IAM is a significant political presence in the key industrial states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.