'Stop the War Week' hits streets & malls
PHILADELPHIA, DEC. 10
Chanting "SEPTA, PGW, City Hall--Stop the war and fund them
all," protesters marched through rainy rush-hour streets,
receiving cheers from workers and shoppers. Organized by the
Philadelphia Million Worker March Committee, the International
Human Rights Day protest emphasized how the war in Iraq also
impacts communities in the U.S.
The demonstration started at Phila delphia Gas Works (PGW),
where heating bills have increased 75 percent over the last
four years. Families who cannot pay are in danger of freezing
to death. The state will now allow utility companies to shut
off services, no matter how cold it gets. The MWM Committee
announced that an Emergency Shutoff Prevention Team is being
formed, and a number of people signed up as volunteers.
"All the resources of the country are being put into this
war and are not being put into our cities. It's the poor people
who are suffering," said Michael Berg, whose son Nicholas was
killed in Iraq last May.
Protesters then marched to SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania
Transpor t ation Authority). Philadelphia's bus, trolley and
train services are being drastically curtailed, resulting in
1,400 layoffs plus a 50-percent increase in fares to $3, the
highest in the country. Officials blame inadequate federal and
state subsidies.
SEIU Local 668 President Ray Martinez explained, "Most of
the people using SEPTA are working-class people; people who
earn very little; people who are unemployed, employed or are
students. Phila delphia even charges students to get to
school." Speakers pointed out that minimum-wage workers will
need to work almost two hours just to pay for getting to work
and back home. Several speakers called for some form of fare
strike, drawing much applause.
The last stop was City Hall, where the city administration
plans to eliminate up to 2,600 jobs, impacting services from
snow removal, healthcare and libraries to garbage collection
and fire fighting. Marchers arrived at City Hall as a
snowboarding exhibition was taking place, featuring a U.S. Army
recruiting tent. Demonstrators chanted, "Money for jobs and
education, not war and occupation!"
--Joe Piette
NEW YORK, DEC. 11
On Saturdays in December, Rockefeller Center in midtown
Manhattan is packed with shoppers and tourists. That's why the
International Action Center held a picket-line and speak-out
just down 5th Avenue from that citadel of U.S. capitalism.
Anti-war activists picketed, demanding "Bring the troops
home now!" The most common chant was "End the war, end the
occupation, money for jobs and education."
Some passersby were heartened to see antiwar demonstrators
after Bush's electoral victory. They signed up for more
information and made donations for upcoming demonstrations.
After the picket line ended, many mar ched over to a
demonstration at the United Nations called by the Jericho
Movement demanding the liberation of all political
prisoners.
--G. Dunkel
CLEVELAND, DEC. 11
Despite wind, cold and snow, anti-war activists protested in
Cleveland. The Northeast Ohio Antiwar Coalition called the
march and rally.
The rally featured a moving talk by Chad Saloman, who just
returned from Iraq and is already a member of Iraq Veterans
Against the War.
After the march, demonstrators moved inside the downtown
Tower City shopping mall. They wore large anti-war stickers on
their clothing to counter the "no signs" rule. They reached
hundreds of shoppers with messages like "No war for empire!"
before being escorted out of the premises.
--Martha Grevatt
Reprinted from the Dec. 23, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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