[olympiaworkers] Pro union busters to rally this saturday in Olympia

Please post widely

 

Greetings All,

 

  I just read an e-mail from the Washington State Labor Council that the pro-union busters plan a support rally for Wisconsin Governor Walker at.:

"Saturday, February 26th at 11am at the north steps of the Capitol building in Olympia.Saturday, "

  It would be very good if pro-union rights and human rights people held a counter protest. Please pass this information on to friends, groups and web sites. STAND UP FOR THE RIGHT OF WORKERS TO ORGANIZE UNIONS!!!

See you there.

Arthur J. Miller

Union pipefitter 

[olympiaworkers] How Things Could Work

HOW THINGS COULD WORK

By Arthur J. Miller

The working class has long suffered oppression and exploitation at the hands of capitalism. Through those long years working people have struggled to improve their conditions and some have even struggled to change that social arrangement. In order to change the system working people must be able to develop the means to do that. Those means includes two important elements. The means to remove the power that oppresses and exploits us and the means to create a new society. The basic idea of the IWW for this is rather simply. The working class is organized into an organization of industrial unions that covers all industries and all of those industrial unions are joined together within the 'One Big Union'. Those industrial unions are built through day-to-day union organizing to improve conditions now. As the industrial unions grow, that is creating an organization of the organized power of production and services of the working class. At which time the organized power of the working class is greater than the organize power of the capitalist class, the working class stops its production and services for the benefit of the capitalist class and uses it for the benefit of all. By organizing in the day-to-day struggles, the IWW is thus, striving for better conditions now, organizing the power to end capitalism and the creation of a new society based upon the self-management of the working class.

Many people have asked, "How would that new society work?" It is impossible to say for sure how things would work because we cannot foresee all of the problems working people may face at that time. No manual or blueprint could be written and if any were to try it, following such a plan would place an unneeded burden on working people to try make that work, while at the same time dealing with other more immediate problems and needs. Having said that, I can write about how it could work from the viewpoint of one Wobbly worker.

It is important to point out that the IWW's organizing a new society within the shell of the old, is just a starting point for a new society. The very nature of worker's self-management will necessitate change based upon needs and desires.

First, we must be realized that working people have all the skills needed to create a new society. We know how to produce, we know how to inventory goods, we know how to take orders of needed goods, we know how to transport goods, we know how to distribute goods and we know how to provide services, and as we organize our labor, we also create the means to keep industry functioning. In fact, without the interference of the bosses, working people can do their jobs even better. There is no doubt that we have the ability to create a new society.

The IWW has what I like to call progressive organizing. What this means is that we have created our organizational plan while at the same time creating the means to organize that plan. In other words, we progress or grow into our structure using the orgnizational means needed at any given point. As we organize our structure can be modified based upon direct needs. This allows us to carry on organizing in any situation we find ourselves in, while at the same time having the united vision of the organization we seek to build. This is essential in order to organize the power of the working class to gain greater power than the capitalist class and to have the means to create a new society and make it function.

The IWW organizes horizontally which starts off with organization on the shop floor, which is called an Job Branch. The Job Branch is a branch of the local Industrial Union Branch of the industry that the Job Branch works in. The Industrial Union Branch is a branch of the Industrial Union. Workers, in a local area, who do not yet have enough members for an Industrial Union Branch, belong to a local General Membership Branch. Within a local area, when there are two or more local branches an Industrial District Council can be organized which is organized to meet the needs of the local industrial union organizations. On a regional level there are Regional Organizing Committees and then Regional Administrations that deal with regional needs. Then you have the International Industrial Union Administrations and a General Administration to deal with international needs. Related Industrial Unions are organized into Industrial Departments. So without creating a centralized hierarchy the IWW has industrial organization for all workers and their needs.

There are times when workers need organization that goes beyond their Industrial Unions and Industrial Departments. For example, Maritime Port workers. At most Maritime Ports you have many different types of work going on that would include different Industrial Unions, like those that sail the ships, those that load and unload the ships, those that service the ships, those that repair the ships, trucker drivers, railroad workers, and tug boat workers. In order to run a Maritime Port efficiently and to deal with all the needs and concerns of Maritime Port workers, there needs to be an organization for that purpose. That would be an amalgamation of Industrial Unions that work at the Maritime Port. Another example could be workers who all work in a business district. Those workers could belong to different industrial unions, but they have common needs and could join together as an amalgamation of industrial unions of that district. All these workers would still have their industrial unions, but they would also have additional organization for their common needs.

There are those that advocate things like People's Assemblies or other mass organizational forms. These organizational forms seek to be involved in every concern or need. However, there are a number of problems with such forms:

1 You have people deciding things who may not have a direct interest in them.

2. You have people deciding how things are done who do not do the work themselves and thus you create new bosses.

3. Such mass organizations create majorities and minorities and minorities are most often people who have been historically oppressed as minorities and thus their second class status could continue..

4 In such mass organizations even when they seek to attend to the needs and concerns of all, due

to the sher number of such needs and concerns, some people are forced to wait, or do not have

their needs and concerns dealt with. This will often be the problem with single organizational

forms that seek to be all things to all people.

The IWW does not organize such mass organizations. Rather the IWW organizes according to direct interests. The Job Branch is the organized form of the direct interests of those workers at any given shop. The Industrial Union Branch is the organized form of the local workers in a single industry. Agricultural workers do not tell shipyard workers how to build a ship and shipyard workers don't tell agricultural workers how to grow food. But when needs and concerns overlap between workers of different industries these are handle within the union by the general organization and its conventions.

All needs and concerns do not exist within industry alone and the means to create social change and build a new society will necessitate other forms of organization than just industrial organization. There are three basic types of these organizations:

One important element not necessary organized by the IWW, would be the need of community organization. By community I mean the area in which we live. In small towns one community could be all there is, in larger towns there would be a number of communities. Community organization would be the organization of the needs, desires, culture and other such things that a community would need. Community organization could include organizations of direct needs, like the IWW organizes, like housing, safety, the Elderly, and so on, with the whole community organized together in a general community organization. Then like the industrial organizations, organize regional and international community organizations. Again like industrial organizing, community organizing starts off with the day-to-day needs of the community and in that process it builds organized community power in order to make social change and the means to create a new society within the shell of the old. Part of that has to do with removing the dependence of the communities upon the capitalist system and its state for needs and services. That would happen by cooperation with the industrial organizations, and organizing fulfillment of community needs by the community itself.

The next element I believe would be necessary is self-determination organizations. The old system that we seek to change not only oppresses people by class but also by other things like race, sex, culture, and so on. Just because we changed the economic and community systems does not mean we have eliminated all oppression of the old system out of the new system. That will be a continuing struggle. Because people have been oppressed by groupings of people, they need to organize not only to resist that oppression but to also give voice to the oppressed. This is the same as workers do since they also are a oppressed grouping and organize worker's organizations, which are also self-determination organizations. Thus as a part of the social change and the new society, oppressed people would create their own form of organization. Women may want to organize and build a women's center, or Native people may want to organize and build a Native cultural center. This could even be a part of other types of organization. For example women organizing to end sexual harassment in the workplace or women organizing within community organizations, as part of a community effort to end sexual violence. Or Native people organized to end the bigoted exploitation of their culture. Or oppressed groupings organizing to create learning centers for their history.

One more form of organization is issue based organization. These issues would be what ever

concerns, needs or desires people wanted to get together and organize around, and could be the environment, education, culture and so on.

One of the goals should be regional self-sufficiency. In some things this may not be possible, but it is a needed direction where it can be applied. In some places some types of foods cannot be grown without diverting large amounts of water and that is something we may not want to do. But every area can provide for some of its own needs and where it can this should take place. The capitalist system has sought to produce a lot of our food outside of the regions we live in. Much of that food is produced in lands where the people are very oppressed and poor and while they produced food for others, often they themselves went without. We cannot expect those workers to continue to feed us and do without mnny of their basic needs. This will necessitate a radical transformation of industry in the direction of regional self-sufficiency.

In a new society there needs to be an organizational form to deal with direct needs and concerns, between industrial organizations, community organizations, issue based organizations and self-determination organizations. For the lack of a better term, I will call this a Council Of Direct Interests. When a Council Of Direct Interests is convened, it is made up of those that have a need, those that would work to meet the need, and those that have direct concerns about the need, for example environmental concerns or cultural concerns..

How could this work in a new society? I'll again use the industry I work in, shipyards, as an example. First you start off with a determination of needs by industrial organizations and community organizations. That could be international transportation of goods and people, or local needs like tug boats and ferry boats. Then a Council of Direct Interests is convened. This could include members of the crews that who sail the ships or boats, longshore workers who load and unload the ships, those that service the ships or boats, and those that build the ships and boats and do maintenance on them. Each have interests in how the ships or boats are designed. And communitiy organizations maybe included for their need of goods coming into a port. Then the industrial union, based upon work loads and other factors, would assign the work of building a ship or boat to the Ship Builders Industrial Union Job Branch of a shipyard. That job branch would be divided into the different trades it takes to build a ship. Each trade department would review the plans for the ship and then come together to plan out the process in which the ship would be built and the needs for the construction of the ship. The needs would be divided into immediate needs to get started and long term needs, and a schedule would be made to get the various jobs done in the order in which they are needed be done. This information would be given to the local Industrial Union Branch which would coordinate the needs of all the local Job Branches. It could be that one Job Branch has more material than it needs and it could be moved to another Job Branch. Or one Job Branch does not have a lot of work and they could prefab some of the needed parts of the ship in their shops. The local Ship Builders Industrial Union Branch would also contact the local Industrial Union Branch that distributes the materials they need. There maybe other local needs for that material and thus another Council of Direct Interests may have to be convened. Maybe there is a hospital being built that needs to be finished before a ship. The local Industrial Union Branch for distribution may not have all the material needed so they contact the regional organization of their industrial union that runs a regional distribution center. It maybe that the regional distribution center does not have enough material so they would contact the International Industrial Union.

Once the ship is built it is turned over to the Industrial Union that will sail the ship and a regular maintenance schedule would be set up. If the ship ran into problems and needed to be repaired the Job Branch of that ship would contact their Industrial Union Branch that would arrange with the Ship Builders Industrial Union a near by Industrial Union Branch that would assign that work to one of their Job Branches.

In any type of great social change the first job is to provide for people's basic needs. If people can't eat they are not going to support a revolution for very long. The first step would be to identify people's basic needs and how to fulfill those needs. This should be done before the revolution so that it is in place and functioning at the time we take over industry. How this could take plave is to conven local, regional and international Councils of Direct Interests made up of community organizations, that would include special needs organizations, Industrial Unions that produce needs, distribute needs, transport needs, maintain the means of transportation and others. Together they would determine what the needs are and how best to provide for people's basic needs.

Would we fulfill the needs of everyone, or only those of everyone who contributes to the well-being of all? Yes, there are those that due to illness or some physical disabilities, who could not directly contribute and their needs should be met with dignity. This could be determined by medical workers and their interests looked after by a community special needs organization. Others have limitations but still can contribute based upon what they can do. Folks in wheelchairs may not be able to climb buildings to repair them, but they could maintain a phone bank at an information center. Even kids can contribute. As part of their school day they could plant trees and other such things to improve the community. The system as it functions now keeps students isolated from industry. It was just dumb luck that I found work as a marine pipefitter which I could do well and liked. In a new society a part of being a student could be to send some time in different industries in manners that would contribute, allow them to learn about industry directly and learn what industry they may like and are best suited for. Thus within our organized industrial system there is the means for everyone who wants to contribute and is able, to contribute to the well-being of all.

As for those that don't want to contribute, we workers have no responsibility for those that want to just live off our labor! If they want to benefit from the labor of all, then they must contribute to the well-being of all. There are so many working people that do not have their basic needs fulfilled, that we should not waste our labor and resources on lazy slackers. This includes all the former bosses and politicians, if they want to eat then to work they must go!

We must realized that there is an inter-dependance of industries. I work in the maritime industry, and one of its important functions it to transport goods including those needed to fulfill basic needs. As I said before, in the maritime industry you have those who build and repair the ships. You have those that sail the ships. You have those that load and unload the ships. You have those that provide the needed servicing of the ships. You also have those that provide the needed material. I am a pipefitter but I can't fit any pipes on a ship if I don't have any pipes to fit. So those that are involved in the production of pipes, all the way back to those that gather the raw martial, are a part of the necessities of the maritime industry. In mapping out industry so that we are able to fulfill basic needs we must include those industries that provide needed material and support that makes it possible for workers in other industries to do their work so that we are able to achieve our goals.

We need to analyze how much labor it takes to provide for the basic needs and based upon that, general work hours would set. I know there are those that dream of such things as the 4 hour day, but if we are to meet the basic needs of the people, that will take a lot of hard work. For one thing there are millions of people now who do not have their basic needs met in the old world. Look at all the homeless, the hungry, the slums and so on. Should we just meet the basic needs of some of the people then go on vacation? The general organization of the industrial organizations would set the basic working hours based upon needs. Everyone who works those hours will have their basic needs met. The job branch would issue exemptions on hours for such things as illness, having and carry for babies, visiting the ill, personal hardship, attending important events like industrial union conventions, holidays, vacations and other such things. As we are better ably to provide for the basic needs of the people our work hours should go down.

One of the most important jobs of a new society, will be the cleaning up the mess that capitalism left us. The capitalists abused our environment. Ending that by learning to live in balance with our world needs to be one of the founding principles of our new society. That means transforming industry and cleaning up what was left behind. This is not something that can be put off because many things in industry, if left unattended, can increase in its danger to us and the environment. We need to map out the problems in industry and change the way many things are done and we need to map out the clean-up and begin work on that immediately.

We do not live by bread alone. Quality of life goes beyond just basic needs. I will call these things quality of life items. At the community market they would include things beyond just the basic needs and first come first served unless there are wait lists and the community market would order based upon those lists. I could see three types of lists.

1. A wait list for everyone who worked the minimum number of hours.

2. A wait list of worked credits. You really want something so you work extra hours, if there is work to do, or volunteer work for the industrial organizations or the community. Each credit could equal one hour worked. Those with the most credits would be first to receive the item.

3. The question that always comes up is who will do the jobs that no one else wants to do? While it maybe true that some may do those jobs out of idealism, most people do not live that way in their daily lives. Those that do the undesirable work would receive additional work credits for that work, as set by the industrial conventions.

4. Bartering with the shops that produce those items. Lets say you want a new guitar and you went

to the shop that makes them and offered to paint the shop for them or something else that they

would exchange their labor producing that guitar for.

In all of this, there must be a change in how we conduct ourselves. We need to change the culture of winners and losers to a culture of common ground, understanding, respect and cooperation. The old system is based upon winners and losers, with the ruling class controling the game. In our new system, no workers should be losers. The problem with the winners and losers culture is that it creates majorities and minorities and majorities could get most of what they want and minorities could get little of what they want. Part of this is realizing the difference between disagreeing with something and opposing something. For an example within a community people could disagree over the site of a new women's center because that site has features that would make it a great park. Though the women's group may disagree with changing the location of their center, what they would oppose would be not building a women's center at all. So the common ground is providing the needs of the community and compromising is the means to reach that common ground. The women want the site to have some open space around it for outside activities, so another site is found to provide that need.

In the production of many goods, the industrial organizations would produce for local needs, regional needs and international needs. In this way we would be able to deal with places that have greater needs because of their exploitation and neglect in the old system, or in the case of natural disasters. Also, some natural resources do not exist everywhere and some production maybe small and thus not needed to have that production everywhere. By local and regional production being used to help others then local and regional production from other places would be used to help local and regional needs everywhere.

Now lets put all this to work. As stated the first thing is to provide for basic needs. People's needs are not all the same in the specific requirements. Some people eat more rice than wheat, for example. The community organization could access the basic needs within the community and then meet the local industrial organizations of food, medical and other distribution of needs to make an accounting of needs. The distribution industrial organization would contact its sources which could be the local agriculture workers industrial organization and the regional distribution workers organization that could run a regional distribution center. Then the transport workers industrial organization would be contacted to transport the goods.

Each industrial organization would convey its needs directly to the industrial organizations that provides for them. For example the Trucker's industrial organization needs to deliver food to food distribution centers and it needs fuel for 12 trucks to do that. Some times it maybe that the industrial organization needs to contact a community organization. Maybe the food distribution industrial organization needs more room and it contacts the community organization on housing to get that room. Or maybe there is a group of retired workers within the communitiy and they need a food distribution center in their area, so they contact both the food distribution industrial organization to provide workers for it, contact the housing community organization for space for it. And then the retired workers knowing their needs, and the food distribution workers, knowing their needs in the workplace, get together with the construction workers industrial organization to get the new food center created.

The community housing organization would work with the local construction industrial organization, to do a survey of housing and buildings in that community. There maybe some homes and buildings that need little work to get up to safety, liveable, and workplace standards. Others may take more work. Though reusing is an important environmental and resources issue, some homes, buildings and other structures are too dangerous and must be torn down. What cannot be reused should be recycled and what cannot be recycled needs to be disposed of safely. After the survey is done and it is determined what needs to be done with each site the industrial organization of environmental technicians would come in and do a site assessment of each site as to environmental, health and safety factors. Then the community housing organization would issue a work request to the construction industrial organization prioritized based upon needs and possible dangers.

Let us look at a more complex situation to show how it could work. A larger town and the trucker industrial organization wants a new road built to a town that has a regional distribution center. A council of direct interests could be called. That could include everyone that could have a direct interest in this road. That could include the community and industrial organizations that have the need. The community where the road would lead to. Along the route there could be other communities that have an interest in the road, maybe a community does not want such a road close to them or maybe a community does want the road close to them. Maybe there is a Native spiritual site in the area. Maybe there are environmental concerns like nesting sites. Maybe there are other communities that want connecting roads to that major road. And then there is the industrial organization that would build the road. All these organizations have an interest in the road so they attend the council of direct interest set up to meet and make decisions on the road based upon the needs and concerns of all.

These are just simple ideas as to how things could work. More than likely there will be some differences for one person cannot and should not do all the industrial and community planning for new society. But what this shows is that the IWW process of creating a new society can work and that we are creating that new society with every bit of organizing we do. And such a logical process will not leave working people wondering what to do next when our revolution takes place, nor will it need new bosses to tell us what to do. The new society is in our hands everyday we work and all we need is to have the great desire to make it come about.

[olympiaworkers] Demonstrations continue against attack on Wisconsin public workers

Libcom.org Feb 19 2011

Update on the protests against wage cuts and the removal of collective
bargaining for state workers in Wisconsin, with words of warning about the
Democrats and unions from a local worker.

So far, thousands of schoolkids walked out of class in solidarity with the
teachers, and school districts have warned parents of possible sick out by
educators.

Meanwhile, thousands of workers and supporters of blockaded the Capitol
building in a "people's filibuster" to prevent the bill from passing.

The following comment was posted to libcom.org by a local resident:

On 18 February, Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO came to speak. The
liberal-posturing bourgeoisie have all come out endorsing the protests
and the right to collective bargaining. The unions of course want to
maintain the dues checkoffs for all workers covered by a union
contract, but all this is secondary to their desire to maintain a seat
at the table. If the bill is modified allowing for continued
collective bargaining in the state sector the unions would be likely
to accept most of the other concessions. The governor wants $158
million in cuts, compared to the unions' initial offer this Fall of
$100 million in cuts to pension and benefit payments alongside a 3%
pay cut.

This bill was shot down by two Democrats during the last session and
shelved for the Republicans to work over when then assumed power in
the state. It was the outgoing Democrats who killed the agreement, It
allowed the Democrats to blame the Republicans for something they
would've done themselves. The legislature then gave itself a 4% pay
increase and a subsequent tax break for the wealthy biznesmenii, a tax
break roughly equivalent to the amount that they wish workers to pay.

Meanwhile, as the result of the protests, the state's bond ratings are
dropping regardless of the state's actual ability to repay its debts.
The bond ratings hinge on the state authority's willingness to force
concessions on workers. The actual ability of the state to pay off the
debts by collecting revenue, from those who have the revenue to
collect, is secondary.

The protests are set to continue through the weekend and are set for
coming Monday as well. During the weekend the union locals will be
meeting to decide their next step. Until the actual expiration date of
the contract in March, the unions are legally bound by their 1971 no
strike agreement that was a part of the legislation that allow the
unions collective bargaining. It is not clear what the next move would
be aside from more protests and attempts to block the bill from
passing.

In fear that the passing of the bill would cause an explosion of anger
among the assembled workers, and hurt their chances of reelection,
fourteen members of the Democratic Party made their escape to Rockford
Illinois to avoid being brought back by the State Patrol. Of course
the passing of the bill at this point will cause a good deal of anger
among workers either way.

Now Obama, the Archbishop of Milwaukee, and many other bastions of the
owning class have come forward supporting collective bargaining for
the state sector unions. Trumka, pres of the AFL-CIO, an excellent
speechmaker will have to assure the crowds that the union is behind
them and will fight this, while at the same time they fight primarily
to maintain that important seat at the bargaining table. Trumka is the
perfect choice for speaking to the crowds will carrying out measures
that diametrically oppose what workers want. His role in the coal
strike in 91 where miners were hung out to dry for having fought
company thugs after a miner, Joe McCoy, was shot and killed on a
picket line. The fact that the big dogs have had to stand up and take
notice of these protests at all, show that the bourgeoisie is
concerned about the effects of austerity on their stable social order
and is interested in heading off resistance, before it spreads
further.

If the union can retain the collective bargaining agreement they can
declare victory and tell everyone to go home but the governor says
there is nothing to negotiate and he doesn't look likely to budge at
all.

Slightly edited from a comment on libcom.org here.

[olympiaworkers] Egyptian labor unrest grows after uprising

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY and BEN HUBBARD, Associated Press Feb 14, 2011

CAIRO – Egypt's military rulers called for an end to strikes and protests
Monday as thousands of state employees, from ambulance drivers to police
and transport workers, demonstrated to demand better pay in a growing wave
of labor unrest unleashed by the democracy uprising that ousted Hosni
Mubarak's regime.

The statement by the ruling military council that took power from Mubarak
appeared to be a final warning to protest organizers in labor and
professional unions before the army intervenes and imposes an outright ban
on gatherings, strikes and sit-ins.

Soldiers cleared out almost all the remaining demonstrators from Cairo's
Tahrir Square, the giant traffic circle that was turned into a protest
camp headquarters for the 18-day revolt. During more than two weeks of
round-the-clock demonstrations at the square, protesters set up tents,
brought in blankets, operated medical clinics and festooned the entire
plaza with giant banners demanding removal of the regime.

At the height of the uprising, hundreds of thousands packed the downtown
crossroads.

Several huge trucks piled high with protesters' blankets left the square
Tuesday. All the tents were gone, as were other signs of permanent camps.
By early afternoon, a few dozen stalwarts remained, standing in one corner
of the square and yelling for the release of political prisoners.

The remaining protesters say they won't leave until all those detained
during the revolt are released.

Egypt's ambassador to the United States, Sameh Shoukry, said Mubarak, 82,
was "possibly in somewhat of bad health," providing the first word about
him since being ousted Friday.

Speaking Monday on NBC's "Today" show, the envoy said he had received the
information about Mubarak but could not be more specific. Two Cairo
newspapers said Mubarak was refusing to take medication, depressed and
repeatedly passing out at his residence in the Red Sea resort of Sharm
el-Sheikh. There was no immediate confirmation of the reports.

Click image to see photos of celebrations in Egypt

Reuters/Dylan Martinez

Mubarak had surgery in Germany last year to remove his gallbladder.

The latest communique by the ruling military council was read on state
television by a military spokesman. It said Egypt needed a quieter climate
so the military can run the nation's affairs at this "critical stage" and
eventually hand over the reins of power to an elected and civilian
administration.

The statement also warned that strikes and protests hurt the country's
security and economy and gave a chance to what it called "irresponsible
parties" to commit "illegal acts." It did not elaborate.

Amid the efforts to build a new system, Egypt's upheaval has splintered
into a host of smaller grievances, the inevitable outcome of emboldened
citizens feeling free to speak up, most of them for the first time.

Outside the Nile-side TV and state radio building, hundreds of public
transportation workers demonstrated to demand better pay. Several hundred
protesters from the state Youth and Sports Organization also protested
Monday with similar demands in Tahrir after the military had moved the
long-term protesters out.

Across the Nile River in the Giza district, hundreds of ambulance drivers
demonstrated, also to demand better pay and permanent jobs. They parked at
least 70 ambulances on a roadside along the river, but did not block the
main road.

In downtown Cairo, hundreds of police demonstrated for a second day for
better pay. They also want to clear their reputation, further tarnished by
the deadly clashes between protesters and security forces. Some carried
portraits of policemen killed in the clashes.

"These are victims of the regime too," declared one placard.

"It's hard for us to go back to work because people hate us," said one
protester, a captain who was among the demonstrators. "An official funeral
must be held for our martyrs."

Several hundred unemployed archaeology graduates demonstrated outside the
Supreme Council for Antiquities in the upscale district of Zamalek,
demanding jobs.

Alaa Ashour, head of the country's national carrier, EgyptAir, was removed
by the civil aviation minister after workers went on strike at Cairo
International Airport. Ashour, also described by airport officials as
Mubarak's pilot on international trips, was removed late Sunday after
workers called for more perks and pay.

Even so, the protests continued Monday in other subsidiaries of EgyptAir's
parent company, as well as workers at companies that provide support
services to the airline.

Reflecting the continuing downturn in travel from Egypt, EgyptAir said it
had organized only 31 international flights and 12 domestic flights for
Monday. The carrier generally has about 145 scheduled flights per day.

The Central Bank of Egypt ordered banks across the country closed
following a strike by employees of the National Bank, the largest state
bank, and several other financial institutions. Tuesday is a national
holiday in Egypt to mark the birth of Islam's 7th century Prophet
Muhammad. The banks are scheduled to reopen Wednesday.

The stock market, however, will stay closed Wednesday and Thursday, the
final weekday in Egypt. A previous announcement had said it would reopen
Wednesday, ending a three-week closure that began after the market lost
almost 17 percent of its value in two days of trading in late January.

The ruling military council that took over power from Mubarak on Friday
has said that security and a return to normal are among its top
priorities. It has urged Egyptians to return to work to save the economy
after the 18 days of protests sent hundreds of thousands of foreign
tourists fleeing in hurried evacuation flights — a major blow to the
country's biggest economic sector.

Monday's protests came a day after the ruling military rulers took
sweeping action to dismantle Mubarak's autocratic legacy, dissolving
parliament, suspending the constitution and promising elections.

The generals also met Sunday with representatives of the broad-based youth
movement that brought down the government. Prominent activist Wael Ghonim
posted on a Facebook page he manages notes from the meeting between
members of the military council and youth representatives, which he
described as encouraging.

The military defended the caretaker government led by Prime Minister Ahmed
Shafiq and stocked with Mubarak loyalists as necessary for now in the
interests of stability but pledged to change it soon, according to Ghonim
and another protester, Amr Salama.

"They said they will go after corrupt people no matter what their position
current or previous," the posted statement added. Amendments to the
much-reviled constitution will be prepared by an independent committee in
the next 10 days and then presented for approval in a popular referendum
in two months, they said.

The military also encouraged the youth to consider forming political
parties — something very difficult to do under the old system — and
pledged to meet with them regularly.

"We felt a sincere desire to protect the gains of the revolution and an
unprecedented respect for the right of young Egyptians to express their
opinions," Ghonim said.

On Monday, representatives of the youth groups that organized the protests
said they wanted Shafiq's government replaced by a cabinet of technocrats
and that Mubarak's National Democratic Party be dissolved.

The party has dominated political life in Egypt for three decades and is
widely thought to have been behind much of the corruption that protesters
have complained about. The party won all but a small fraction of
parliament's 518-seat chamber in elections held in November and December
that were marred by widespread fraud blamed on the party and its allies in
the police and civil service.

The wave of post-Mubarak strikes and protests spread to the community of
refugees too.

Several thousand refugees from East African countries, including Ethiopia,
Sudan and Somalia, gathered outside the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, on the
outskirts of Cairo, demanding to be allowed to leave Egypt to resettle
elsewhere. Several helmeted riot police officers blocked the entrance, as
many in the crowd tried to get into the building. They banged on the gates
and threatened to storm the building before they calmed down and
representatives went inside to meet with UNHCR officials, who gave them
assistance with their daily hardships. There were no clashes and the
numbers dwindled to a few hundred by evening.

The refugees complained they have been stuck in Egypt for several years,
some as long as a decade. They said the U.N. has made no effort to move
them elsewhere, and that they live in difficult conditions in Egypt. The
refugees said that with the country in turmoil, there is even greater
urgency to move them.

___

Associated Press correspondents Karin Laub and Sarah El Deeb contributed
to this report.

Re: [olympiaworkers] Working, thinking, fighting, bleeding in Tahrir Square

The people run the world and now they know it

On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 3:02 PM, <olympiaworkers@riseup.net> wrote:

Libcom.org Feb 11 2011

Nigel Gibson reflects on the Egyptian Revolution.

What makes the lid blow off? Fanon asks in The Wretched of the Earth
reflecting on the revolution against French colonialism in Algeria
fifty years ago as he thought about the future "African revolution."
In Egypt, a country where 50% of the population is under 30 and has
known no other regime than Mubarak's state of emergency, with its
torture and surveillance, it was the reaction to the murder of Khaled
Said, a young blogger beaten to death by the police, that was a
turning point. It began with a protest of 1000 people in Alexandria
during Said's funeral and then went "underground" onto the internet.
Pictures of his crushed face are still on his facebook page. The next
spark in the North African revolution was in Sidi Bouzid Tunisia,
ignited by the self immolation of the Mohamed Bouazazi, a vegetable
peddler whose cart and produce was confiscated by the police. Over the
next month despite increased repression protests grew across Tunisia
and on January 14th President Ben Ali was pushed out of the country.

The Egyptian revolt can be dated to January 25th, the first day of the
revolution, a revolution against the odds, despite repression and
torture and violence, despite the closing down of the internet which
seemed so important, international media pundits' exhaustion and the
unsurprising desire for order (essentially the status quo of
repression and torture) by the world powers, has grown in size,
developed in sophistication and in articulation—expressed so
brilliantly in the endless debates and platforms and self-organization
(the provision of security, food, blankets and so on is a story to be
told) around and in Tahrir square, where a once cowed and silenced
people of one of the world's great cities can now speak and debate in
endless and open sessions. It is a people's revolution. There have
been discussions of the revolution's similarity with the velvet
revolutions of 1989, Tiananmen Square in 1989, people power against
Marcos in the Philippines and Duvalier in Haiti in 1986. It is akin to
Paris 1968 and its decentralized working and bottom up democracy
reflects the new beginning which began with the Hungarian revolution
of 1956. The Egyptian revolution is like a Rorschach, everyone can see
something in it; and while these insights are all true, it is also a
revolution of the 21st century, not simply because of the technology
and its advertisers and corporations (twitter and facebook and google
and Aljeezera). In this age of gated cities, of ordered cities,
surveilled and policed—what have been called "global cities"—the
Egyptian people have opened up political space, as an ongoing public
debate in the squares, outside the parliament, in the streets. It has
become a global space. They have shown the world how social media
relates to social transformation and the taking back of public space.

They have implicitly brought into focus the idea of the right to the
city as a project of social transformation. They have not been stopped
by fears for the economy, or tourism, or by the police and the state's
paid murderers by threats of by threats of a coup. They have organized
a continuous occupation of a city's centre by tens and hundreds of
thousands of people; defending it, feeding it, nurturing it,
articulating it, developing it as its daily work. Cairo was the
center, but from the beginning, in other towns, like Alexandria,
smaller groups—perhaps under the threat of more violence—have
continually gathered. The hegemony of the state seems to be cracking.
Certainly its ability to unleash violence still exists—and many have
been killed and are continually imprisoned—but its iron fist hold over
the media seems to be slipping and more people, including public
figures are joining in as the revolution has spread and continues to
spread across the country. The port towns where Suez workers are on
strike, workers across many industries are joining protest and
beginning to give a class character that the political elites thought
earlier could be bought off. There is also news of revolts in smaller
town in rural areas under where people have been suffering for
generations and are now making themselves heard. It is only a small
beginning. Will it be allowed to develop? At the moment the workers'
demands are around wages and conditions. But as these strikes develop
the important question is whether the self-organization learnt from
Tahrir square will also take on a class character.

For Fanon, the timing of the revolution is a moment when the militants
make contact with the poor from the rural areas and realize that they
have always thought in terms of a revolutionary transformation. In
Egypt this is only beginning to happen but it is absolutely crucial.

Before the January 28th demonstration, according to the New York Times
(Feb 10, 2010) a group of organizers "conducted … a 'field test'"
walking along the narrow alleys of a working class neighborhood to
measure the level of participation: "when we finished up the people
refused to leave. They were 7000 and they burned two police cars."
Clearly things had changed from just a few days before. The speed of
change, of development, of solidarity and fearless—of a new humanity
experiencing freedom—is truly inspiring. Steve Biko, the South Africa
Black Consciousness leader argued that the most potent weapon in the
oppressor's arsenal was the mind of the oppressed. Once that mind has
experienced freedom—not as an abstraction but in and through the
actions of the people it becomes a force of revolution. The liberation
of the mind that Biko and Fanon spoke about is wonderfully expressed
in a quote from Ahmad Mahmoud, reported in The Guardian (and quoted at
the end of Peter Hallward's article):

"People have changed. They were scared. They are no longer scared …
When we stopped being afraid we knew we would win. We will not again
allow ourselves to be scared of a government. This is the revolution
in our country, the revolution in our minds. Mubarak can stay for days
or weeks but he cannot change that."

And while there are calls to the Egyptian army to support the
revolution, and there is applause toward those military officers who
appear to support the revolution, the people are not naïve. They
understand that the tanks are also a threat to them. They sleep in the
tank's tracks not only to stop them from moving but to make they know
if they move; they march around the tanks by candlelight at night to
keep them in their place; and they continue to embrace the soldiers as
their "brothers". But it is the revolution happening in the minds of
the people that is really significant. It is ongoing. Nasser
understood its importance, calling his book on the liberation of
Egypt, a "philosophy of revolution". Today that philosophy lives in
movement at Tahrir square. I want to conclude with Sinan Antoon, the
Iraqi born poet, novelist and film maker who marvelously explicated my
earlier "Cairo Commune" post to this listserve on the website libcom:

'What distinguishes this revolution is the wonderful and sublime
example it sets in terms of solidarity among protesters and citizens
at large. The spontaneity and cooperation in managing their daily
affairs without a hierarchy is what the state didn't expect as it
deprived the people of basic services and tried to spread fear and
chaos to terrorize the citizenry.

The sight of barricades around al-Tahrir and the moving stories about
steadfastness and solidarity among those who volunteered, guarded,
protected, fed, detained the thugs, and tended to the wounds of
comrades defending al-Tahrir reminded me of the Paris Commune (1871).
I know the historical context and the dynamics are quite different
(but I have poetic license). The Paris Commune lasted for 71 days and
didn't end in victory, but it became a potent symbol and produced a
new political form. Al-Tahrir, too, was "working, thinking, fighting,
bleeding — almost forgetful, in its incubation of a new society, of
the cannibals at its gates — radiant in the enthusiasm of its
historical initiative." Those heroes in Cairo "were ready to storm the
heavens."'

The demand that Mubarak goes is only a beginning; can only be a
beginning. And this is really what is disturbing to the elites. One
can point to the external but also potential internal threats to the
revolution but is the power of the idea of freedom that has grabbed
the imagination. As an old friend wrote me yesterday, "it is an idea
that would turn the world upside down so no wonder it has enemies."
I finished this before getting up to date with today's news. The
question now, of course, as it looks like Mubarak is going is what
happens after? One important contradiction is between the military
(however) popular vying to put a cap on the protests and develop a
"new normality" of order and the popular movement which is the new
normality of self-organization.

Feb 10, 2011 2:06 p.m.
Boston

[olympiaworkers] Working, thinking, fighting, bleeding in Tahrir Square

Libcom.org Feb 11 2011

Nigel Gibson reflects on the Egyptian Revolution.

What makes the lid blow off? Fanon asks in The Wretched of the Earth
reflecting on the revolution against French colonialism in Algeria
fifty years ago as he thought about the future "African revolution."
In Egypt, a country where 50% of the population is under 30 and has
known no other regime than Mubarak's state of emergency, with its
torture and surveillance, it was the reaction to the murder of Khaled
Said, a young blogger beaten to death by the police, that was a
turning point. It began with a protest of 1000 people in Alexandria
during Said's funeral and then went "underground" onto the internet.
Pictures of his crushed face are still on his facebook page. The next
spark in the North African revolution was in Sidi Bouzid Tunisia,
ignited by the self immolation of the Mohamed Bouazazi, a vegetable
peddler whose cart and produce was confiscated by the police. Over the
next month despite increased repression protests grew across Tunisia
and on January 14th President Ben Ali was pushed out of the country.

The Egyptian revolt can be dated to January 25th, the first day of the
revolution, a revolution against the odds, despite repression and
torture and violence, despite the closing down of the internet which
seemed so important, international media pundits' exhaustion and the
unsurprising desire for order (essentially the status quo of
repression and torture) by the world powers, has grown in size,
developed in sophistication and in articulation—expressed so
brilliantly in the endless debates and platforms and self-organization
(the provision of security, food, blankets and so on is a story to be
told) around and in Tahrir square, where a once cowed and silenced
people of one of the world's great cities can now speak and debate in
endless and open sessions. It is a people's revolution. There have
been discussions of the revolution's similarity with the velvet
revolutions of 1989, Tiananmen Square in 1989, people power against
Marcos in the Philippines and Duvalier in Haiti in 1986. It is akin to
Paris 1968 and its decentralized working and bottom up democracy
reflects the new beginning which began with the Hungarian revolution
of 1956. The Egyptian revolution is like a Rorschach, everyone can see
something in it; and while these insights are all true, it is also a
revolution of the 21st century, not simply because of the technology
and its advertisers and corporations (twitter and facebook and google
and Aljeezera). In this age of gated cities, of ordered cities,
surveilled and policed—what have been called "global cities"—the
Egyptian people have opened up political space, as an ongoing public
debate in the squares, outside the parliament, in the streets. It has
become a global space. They have shown the world how social media
relates to social transformation and the taking back of public space.

They have implicitly brought into focus the idea of the right to the
city as a project of social transformation. They have not been stopped
by fears for the economy, or tourism, or by the police and the state's
paid murderers by threats of by threats of a coup. They have organized
a continuous occupation of a city's centre by tens and hundreds of
thousands of people; defending it, feeding it, nurturing it,
articulating it, developing it as its daily work. Cairo was the
center, but from the beginning, in other towns, like Alexandria,
smaller groups—perhaps under the threat of more violence—have
continually gathered. The hegemony of the state seems to be cracking.
Certainly its ability to unleash violence still exists—and many have
been killed and are continually imprisoned—but its iron fist hold over
the media seems to be slipping and more people, including public
figures are joining in as the revolution has spread and continues to
spread across the country. The port towns where Suez workers are on
strike, workers across many industries are joining protest and
beginning to give a class character that the political elites thought
earlier could be bought off. There is also news of revolts in smaller
town in rural areas under where people have been suffering for
generations and are now making themselves heard. It is only a small
beginning. Will it be allowed to develop? At the moment the workers'
demands are around wages and conditions. But as these strikes develop
the important question is whether the self-organization learnt from
Tahrir square will also take on a class character.

For Fanon, the timing of the revolution is a moment when the militants
make contact with the poor from the rural areas and realize that they
have always thought in terms of a revolutionary transformation. In
Egypt this is only beginning to happen but it is absolutely crucial.

Before the January 28th demonstration, according to the New York Times
(Feb 10, 2010) a group of organizers "conducted … a 'field test'"
walking along the narrow alleys of a working class neighborhood to
measure the level of participation: "when we finished up the people
refused to leave. They were 7000 and they burned two police cars."
Clearly things had changed from just a few days before. The speed of
change, of development, of solidarity and fearless—of a new humanity
experiencing freedom—is truly inspiring. Steve Biko, the South Africa
Black Consciousness leader argued that the most potent weapon in the
oppressor's arsenal was the mind of the oppressed. Once that mind has
experienced freedom—not as an abstraction but in and through the
actions of the people it becomes a force of revolution. The liberation
of the mind that Biko and Fanon spoke about is wonderfully expressed
in a quote from Ahmad Mahmoud, reported in The Guardian (and quoted at
the end of Peter Hallward's article):

"People have changed. They were scared. They are no longer scared …
When we stopped being afraid we knew we would win. We will not again
allow ourselves to be scared of a government. This is the revolution
in our country, the revolution in our minds. Mubarak can stay for days
or weeks but he cannot change that."

And while there are calls to the Egyptian army to support the
revolution, and there is applause toward those military officers who
appear to support the revolution, the people are not naïve. They
understand that the tanks are also a threat to them. They sleep in the
tank's tracks not only to stop them from moving but to make they know
if they move; they march around the tanks by candlelight at night to
keep them in their place; and they continue to embrace the soldiers as
their "brothers". But it is the revolution happening in the minds of
the people that is really significant. It is ongoing. Nasser
understood its importance, calling his book on the liberation of
Egypt, a "philosophy of revolution". Today that philosophy lives in
movement at Tahrir square. I want to conclude with Sinan Antoon, the
Iraqi born poet, novelist and film maker who marvelously explicated my
earlier "Cairo Commune" post to this listserve on the website libcom:

'What distinguishes this revolution is the wonderful and sublime
example it sets in terms of solidarity among protesters and citizens
at large. The spontaneity and cooperation in managing their daily
affairs without a hierarchy is what the state didn't expect as it
deprived the people of basic services and tried to spread fear and
chaos to terrorize the citizenry.

The sight of barricades around al-Tahrir and the moving stories about
steadfastness and solidarity among those who volunteered, guarded,
protected, fed, detained the thugs, and tended to the wounds of
comrades defending al-Tahrir reminded me of the Paris Commune (1871).
I know the historical context and the dynamics are quite different
(but I have poetic license). The Paris Commune lasted for 71 days and
didn't end in victory, but it became a potent symbol and produced a
new political form. Al-Tahrir, too, was "working, thinking, fighting,
bleeding — almost forgetful, in its incubation of a new society, of
the cannibals at its gates — radiant in the enthusiasm of its
historical initiative." Those heroes in Cairo "were ready to storm the
heavens."'

The demand that Mubarak goes is only a beginning; can only be a
beginning. And this is really what is disturbing to the elites. One
can point to the external but also potential internal threats to the
revolution but is the power of the idea of freedom that has grabbed
the imagination. As an old friend wrote me yesterday, "it is an idea
that would turn the world upside down so no wonder it has enemies."
I finished this before getting up to date with today's news. The
question now, of course, as it looks like Mubarak is going is what
happens after? One important contradiction is between the military
(however) popular vying to put a cap on the protests and develop a
"new normality" of order and the popular movement which is the new
normality of self-organization.

Feb 10, 2011 2:06 p.m.
Boston

[olympiaworkers] Egypt: Labor and professional syndicates join popular uprising

Feb. 10, 2011 Libcom.org

Egypt is currently witnessing unprecedented labor and professional unrest
in parallel to the popular uprising which has swept through the country
since 25 January.

These protests are said to be linked to the broader uprising against
President Hosni Mubarak's regime which has concentrated in Cairo's Tahrir
Square.

Protests re-deployed around the nation at a time when proponents of the
uprising spoke of the importance of spreading it beyond the square's
territorial limits.

One face of protests on Tuesday was state media organization protests.
Around a kilometer away from Tahrir Square, some 500 employees protested
outside the headquarters of the state-owned Rose al-Youssef newspaper and
magazine. Protesters denounced the operational and editorial policies of
their editor-in-chief Abdallah Kamal and administrative chief Karam Gaber,
both of whom have waged pro-regime and anti-uprising coverage.

Another protest involving around 200 journalists was staged outside the
Journalists' Syndicate in downtown Cairo, where protesters demanded the
recall of the syndicate's president Makram Mohamed Ahmed, a member of the
ruling National Democratic Party and vehement advocate of Mubarak.

Meanwhile at the headquarters of state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, Egypt's
largest daily, around 500 print-shop employees protested demanding
full-time contracts, benefits and bonuses. They continued their protest on
Wednesday.

Employee protests also spread around the country. An estimated 5000
employees of the state-owned telecommunications giant, Telecom Egypt,
staged protest stands in three different locations across the city--the
Smart Village, Ramses Square, and Opera Square. Shady Malek, an engineer
with the company said, "We protested today for the establishment of an
adequate minimum wage and maximum wage for our company's employees and
administrators."

Having concluded his protest stand in Ramses Square, Malek headed out to
Tahrir Square to join the mass rally there. "Corruption is part and parcel
of our company's administration," he said. "We have not raised any
political demands at our workplaces, but the popular uprising has assisted
many employees to overcome our fears."

"The employees at Telecom Egypt have also decided to protest in light of
the [new' prime minister's announcement about the 15 percent pay raises.
At this same time our administration has ordered that our bonuses and
incentive pay be slashed. This is what angered us the most," he added.

Meanwhile, more than 6000 protesters belonging to the Suez Canal Authority
also staged sit-ins on Tuesday in the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and
suez, demanding salary adjustments. Suez Canal revenues are considered one
of the top sources of income in the country.

Besides employees, laborers also pursued protests today. Over 100 workers
at the state-owned Kafr al-Dawwar Silk Company and over 500 at the
state-owned Kafr al-Dawwar Textile Company protested, before and after
their work shifts, to demand overdue bonuses and food compensation
payments.

Approximately 4000 workers from the Coke Coal and Basic Chemicals company
in Helwan--home to several Egyptian industries-- announced a strike today,
said sources from trade unions and syndicates.

The protesters called for higher salaries, permanent contracts for
temporary workers, the payment of the export bonus and an end to
corruption. They also expressed solidarity with protesters in downtown
Cairo.

Around 2000 workers from Helwan Silk Factory also staged a protest at the
company headquarters to call for the removal of the board of directors.

In the Nile Delta City of Mahalla, some 1500 workers at the private-sector
Abul Sebae Textile Company protested to demand their overdue wages and
bonuses on Tuesday morning. These workers are also said to have
blocked-off a highway. While in the Nile Delta Town of Quesna, some 2000
workers and employees of the Sigma Pharmaceuticals company went on strike
Tuesday morning, and the strike there continued Wednesday. These
pharmaceutical workers are demanding improved wages, promotions, and the
recall of a number of their company's administrative chiefs.

Also in Mahalla, Gharbiya, hundreds of workers from the Mahalla spinning
company organized an open-ended sit-in in front of the company's
administrative office to call for the delivery of overdue promotions.

The workers said all the company workers joined in the protest after the
end of their shift to call for the dismissal of the board after the
company suffered heavy losses since that board took charge even though the
state has paid the company's debts.

More than 1500 workers at Kafr al-Zayyat hospital, also in Gharbiya,
staged a sit-in inside their hospital to call for the payment of their
overdue bonuses. The nursing staff started the sit-in and were joined by
the physicians and the rest of the workers at the hospital.

Around 350 workers from the Egyptian Cement Company--whose factory is
located along the Qattamiya-Ain al-Sokhna Highway--staged protest stands
at their factory and outside their company's headquarters in Qattamiya on
Tuesday.

According to Ibrahim Abdel Latif, they were "demanding the establishment
of a trade union committee at our factory, a right which the company's
administration has been denying us." He added, "I was sacked from the
company one year ago while serving in the capacity of president of the
workers' administrative committee. All 1200 workers at this factory have
been demanding the establishment of a union committee, and my
reinstatement. Yet not all the workers could join in these protests
because of their daytime work shifts."

In Suez, more than 400 workers from the Misr National Steel company began
a strike to call for pay raises, saying they have not received any bonuses
for years and that the average salary at the company does not exceed
LE600.

By Jano Charbel for Al-Masry Al-Youm.

[olympiaworkers] Strikes erupt as Egypt protesters defy VP warnings

By MAGGIE MICHAEL and TAREK EL-TABLAWY, Associated Press Feb. 9, 2011

CAIRO – Thousands of state workers and impoverished Egyptians launched
strikes and protests around the country on Wednesday over their economic
woes as anti-government activists sought to expand their campaign to oust
President Hosni Mubarak despite warnings from the vice president that
protests won't be tolerated much longer.

Some 8,000 protesters, mainly farmers, set barricades of flaming palm
trees in the southern province of Assiut, blocking the main highway and
railway to Cairo to complain of bread shortages. They then drove off the
governor by pelting his van with stones. Hundreds of slum dwellers in the
Suez Canal city of Port Said set fire to part of the governor's
headquarters in anger over lack of housing.

Efforts by Vice President Omar Suleiman to open a dialogue with protesters
over reforms have broken down since the weekend, with youth organizers of
the movement deeply suspicious that he plans only superficial changes far
short of real democracy. They refuse any talks unless Mubarak steps down
first.

Showing growing impatience with the rejection, Suleiman issued a sharp
warning that raised the prospect of a renewed crackdown. He told Egyptian
newspaper editors late Tuesday that there could be a "coup" unless
demonstrators agree to enter negotiations. Further deepening skepticism of
his intentions, he suggested Egypt was not ready for democracy and said a
government-formed panel of judges, dominated by Mubarak loyalists, would
push ahead with recommending its own constitutional amendments to be put
to a referendum.

"He is threatening to impose martial law, which means everybody in the
square will be smashed," said Abdul-Rahman Samir, a spokesman for a
coalition of the five main youth groups behind protests in Cairo's Tahrir
Square. "But what would he do with the rest of the 70 million Egyptians
who will follow us afterward."

Suleiman is creating "a disastrous scenario," Samir said. "We are striking
and we will protest and we will not negotiate until Mubarak steps down.
Whoever wants to threaten us, then let them do so," he added.

Nearly 10,000 massed in Tahrir on Wednesday in the 16th day of protests.
Nearby, 2,000 more blocked off parliament, several blocks away, chanting
slogans for it to be dissolved. Army troops deployed in the parliament
grounds.

For the first time, protesters were calling forcefully Wednesday for labor
strikes, despite a warning by Suleiman that calls for civil disobedience
are "very dangerous for society and we can't put up with this at all."

Click image to see photos of protests, clashes in Egypt

AP/Paul Schemm

Strikes broke out across Egypt as many companies reopened for the first
time after closing for much of the turmoil because of curfews. Not all the
strikers were responding directly to the protesters' calls — but the
movement's success and its denunciations of the increasing poverty under
nearly 30 years of Mubarak's rule clearly reignited labor discontent that
has broken out frequently in recent years.

The farmers in Assiut voiced their support of the Tahrir movement,
witnesses said, as did the Port Said protesters, who set up a tent camp in
the city's main Martyrs Square similar to the Cairo camp.

In Cairo, hundreds of state electricity workers stood in front of the
South Cairo Electricity company, demanding the ouster of its director.
Public transport workers at five of the city's roughly 17 garages also
called strikes, calling for Mubarak's overthrow, and vowed that buses
would be halted Thursday, though it was not clear if they represented the
entire bus system.

Also, dozens of state museum workers demanding higher wages staged a
protest in front of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, crowding around
antiquities chief Zahi Hawass when he came to talk to them.

Several hundred workers also demonstrated at a silk factory and a fuel
coke plant in Cairo's industrial suburb of Helwan, demanding better pay
and work conditions.

Two protesters were killed Tuesday when police opened fire on hundreds who
set a courthouse on fire and attacked a police station in the desert oasis
town of Kharga, southwest of Cairo, in two days of rioting, security
officials said Wednesday. The protesters are demanding the removal of a
senior local police commander accused of abuse. The army was forced to
secure a number of government buildings including prisons. The officials
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk
to the press.

Strikes entered a second day in the city of Suez on Wednesday. Some 5,000
workers at various state companies — including a textile workers, medicine
bottle manufacturers, sanitation workers and a firm involved in repairs
for ships on the Suez Canal — held separate strikes and protests at their
factories. Traffic at the Suez Canal, a vital international waterway that
is a top revenue earner for Egypt, was not affected.

"We're not getting our rights," said Ahmed Tantawi, a Public Works
employee in Suez. He said workers provide 24-hour service and are exposed
to health risks but get only an extra $1.50 a month in hardship
compensation. He said there are employees who have worked their entire
lives in the department and will retire with a salary equivalent to $200 a
month.

In Tahrir, organizers of the central anti-Mubarak demonstrations called
for a new "protest of millions" for Friday similar to those that have
drawn the largest crowds so far. But in a change of tactic, they want to
spread the protests out around different parts of Cairo instead of only in
downtown Tahrir Square where a permanent sit-in is now in its second week,
said Khaled Abdel-Hamid, one of the youth organizers.

A previous "protest of millions" last week drew at least a quarter-million
people to Tahrir — their biggest yet, along with crowds of tens of
thousands in other cities. A Tahrir rally on Tuesday rivaled that one in
size, fueled by a renewed enthusiasm after the release of Wael Ghonim, a
Google marketing manager who helped spark the unprecedented protest
movement.

Still, authorities were projecting an image of normalcy. Egypt's most
famous tourist attraction, the Pyramids of Giza, reopened to tourists on
Wednesday. Tens of thousands of foreigners have fled Egypt amid the chaos,
raising concerns about the economic impact of the protests. Mubarak met
Wednesday with a Russian envoy.

Suleiman's interview Tuesday evening was a tough warning to protesters
that their continued demonstrations would not be tolerated for a long time
and that they must get behind his program for reform. The U.S. has given a
strong endorsement to Suleiman's efforts but insists it want to see real
changes. Vice President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Suleiman on Tuesday,
saying Washington wants Egypt to immediately rescind emergency laws that
give broad powers to security forces — a key demand of the protesters.

Officials have made a series of pledges not to attack, harass or arrest
the activists in recent days. But Suleiman's comments suggested that won't
last forever.

"We can't bear this for a long time," he said of the Tahrir protests.
"There must be an end to this crisis as soon as possible." He said the
regime wants to resolve the crisis through dialogue, warning: "We don't
want to deal with Egyptian society with police tools."

He also warned of chaos if the situation continued, speaking of "the dark
bats of the night emerging to terrorize the people." If dialogue is not
successful, the alternative is "that a coup happens, which would mean
uncalculated and hasty steps, including lots of irrationalities," he told
state and independent newspaper editors in the round-table briefing
Tuesday.

Although it was not completely clear what the vice president intended in
his "coup" comment, the protesters heard it as a veiled threat to impose
martial law — which would be a dramatic escalation in the standoff.

Suleiman, a military man who was intelligence chief before being elevated
to vice president amid the crisis, tried to explain the remark by saying:

"I mean a coup of the regime against itself, or a military coup or an
absence of the system. Some force, whether its the army or police or the
intelligence agency or the (opposition Muslim) Brotherhood or the youth
themselves could carry out 'creative chaos' to end the regime and take
power," he said.

Suleiman, a close confident of the president, rejected any "end to the
regime" including an immediate departure for Mubarak, who says he will
serve out the rest of his term until September elections. Suleiman
reiterated his view that Egypt is not ready for democracy.

"The culture of democracy is still far away," he said.

Over the weekend, Suleiman held a widely publicized round of talks with
the opposition — including representatives from among the protest
activists, the Muslim Brotherhood and official, government-sanctioned
opposition parties, which have taken no role in the protests.

But the youth activists who participated say the session appeared to be an
attempt to divide their ranks and they have said they don't trust
Suleiman's promises that the regime will carry out constitutional reforms
to bring greater democracy in a country Mubarak has ruled for nearly 30
years with an authoritarian hand.

A committee of the various youth groups behind the protests say they will
hold no talks, and the Brotherhood underlined that they too have cut off
contacts for now.

"Since our last meeting with Soleiman we have not met with him or anyone
else from the government in either an official or nonofficial manner,"
said Mohammed Mursi, a Brotherhood leader.

Suleiman indicated the government plans to push ahead with its own reform
program even without negotiations, a move likely to do nothing to ease
protests. On Tuesday, Suleiman announced a panel of top judges and legal
experts would recommend amendments to the constitution by the end of the
month, which would then be put to a referendum.

But the panel is dominated by Mubarak loyalists, and previous referendums
on amendments drawn up by the regime have been marred by vote rigging to
push them through.

The head of the panel, Serry Siam, top judge on the country's highest
appellate court, "represents the old regime along with its ideology and
legislation which restrict rights and freedom," said Nasser Amin, director
of the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal
Profession, an independent organization that works for judicial
neutrality.

In one concession made in the newspaper interview, Suleiman said Mubarak
was willing to have international supervision of September elections, a
longtime demand by reformers that officials have long rejected.

___

Associated Press writers Hadeel al-Shalchi, Hamza Hendawi, Paul Schemm,
Maggie Hyde and Maamoun Youssef contributed to this report.