Unions discussing general strike if Trump refuses to

Unions discussing general strike if Trump refuses to accept Biden victory

Union federations in Rochester, Seattle and Massachusetts approved resolutions should Trump seek to subvert outcome

US unions have begun discussing the idea of a general strike if President Donald Trump refuses to accept an election result showing a Joe Biden victory. Such a move would be unprecedented in the modern era. There has not been a general strike in the United States since 1946 and that was restricted to Oakland, California. The local labor federation in Rochester, New York, was the first union group to officially support the idea. Union federations in Seattle and in western Massachusetts have followed suit, approving resolutions saying a general strike should be considered if Trump seeks to subvert the election outcome. Dan Maloney, president of the Rochester-Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, said his 100,000-member group adopted the resolution to get people discussing the idea – from local unions to the AFL-CIO, the nation’s main labor federation which represents more than 12.5 million people. On 8 October, the Rochester federation voted to support preparing for and holding “a general strike of all working people, if necessary, to ensure a constitutionally mandated peaceful transition of power as a result of the 2020 presidential elections.” The union leaders voted to stand “firmly in opposition to any effort to subvert, distort, misrepresent or disregard the final outcome” of the election. The Rochester move spurred discussion and debate of a possible general strike in union after union, even though some labor leaders see it as a drastic, hard-to-pull-off action. “The idea has gotten a lot more legs than I ever thought it would,” Maloney told the Guardian. “Our democracy is in jeopardy of a wannabe dictator. It’s time to be counted and do whatever it takes to remove him from office if he attempts to retain power against the will of the American people.”

Maloney acknowledged that a general strike would be an extraordinary measure. “In drastic times, you need drastic measures,” he said. The Rochester federation’s resolution states: “The extreme

risk currently posed to the historic institutions of democracy in our nation may require more widespread and vigorous resistance than at any time in recent history.” Maloney said that in a 22 October call with labor leaders, Richard Trumka, the AFL-CIO’s president, stressed that until 3 November, unions should overwhelmingly focus on maximizing voter turnout for Biden. After that, Trumka said, unions can focus on what to do if Trump resists a peaceful transition. The AFL-CIO’s executive council, approved a resolution on October 19 saying: “Democracies are not, in the last analysis, protected by judges or lawyers, reporters or publishers. The survival of democracy depends on the determination of working people to defend it. And America’s labor movement is indeed determined to defend our democratic republic.”

Buhari not moved by restructuring agitation – Presidency

The presidency says it will not take any decision out of fear or threats, especially in this period of a health crisis. A presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, says President Muhammadu Buhari is not moved by ‘unpatriotic’ calls for the restructuring of the nation. a prophet to know that. That is certain – restructure or we break up,” the cleric was quoted by various newspapers.

But in reaction to this, the presidency said the latest calls for restructuring are “recurring threats to the corporate existence of the country with factions giving specific

Where is President Buhari ?

Mr Shehu in a statement on Sunday said the president is at the moment concerned with the wellbeing of the nation and its people. The statement was a reaction to the call by some high profile Nigerians including the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, who on Saturday said only an urgent restructuring would save Nigeria from breaking up. Mr Adeboye echoed the calls of others like the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi; former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; and a former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili; at the 60th Independence Day Celebration Symposium organised by RCCG and the Nehemiah Leadership Institute. “Why can’t we have a system of government that will create what I will call the United States of Nigeria? Let me explain. We all know that we must restructure. It is either we restructure or we break up. You don’t have to be timelines for the President to do one thing or another or else, in their language, ‘the nation will break up.” He warned against such “unpatriotic outbursts,” saying Mr Buhari’s administration “will not succumb to threats and take any decision out of pressure at a time when the nation’s full attention is needed to deal with the security challenges facing it at a time of the COVID-19 health crisis. “This administration will not take any decision against the interests of 200 million Nigerians, who are the President’s first responsibility under the constitution, out of fear or threats especially in this hour of a health crisis. “The President as an elected leader under this constitution will continue to work with patriotic Nigerians, through and in line with the parliamentary processes to finding solutions to structural and other impediments to the growth and wellbeing of the nation and its people”, the statement read.

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