by Yasemin Zahra
Did you see Boeing’s recent statement asking the Trump administration for “a minimum of $60 billion in access to public and private liquidity, including loan guarantees?” How much ownership should $60 billion of our tax dollars buy the American workers for a company that’s valued at $70 billion? We know that Boeing, the second-largest military defense contractor in the world, has already shifted its jobs to non-union states to cut costs. And let’s not forget their poor plane safety standards have killed hundreds of working people.
The irony here is so rich it just got a massive tax cut. We need to be taking money out of the bloated military industrial complex and giving it to American workers.
The working class should be the ones getting the bailouts! This $60 billion bailout of Boeing would be enough to end homelessness, provide insulin for every diabetic, start a nationwide Pre-K system, and help those with crumpling student debt. Bailing out Boeing, Delta, Marriott and others does little to help union members and working families who are taking the biggest hit in this time of uncertainty.
This crisis requires swift action, but the Trump administration and the two sold-out political parties have so far failed to reorganize our economy based on human need, not profit motive, because it’s wholly run by big businesses and corporations. A worker run economy would immediately adapt to jobs required to contain COVIDー19 and keep money in the hands of workers, not corporations so that workers can spend to keep our economy afloat.
Instead, big business media is feeding us disgusting Chinese racism and fear (as if bacteria and viruses aren’t reoccurring phenomena) while our politicians tighten sanctions on the global working community in dire need of medical tools and treatment.
Our economy is global and that’s why we need you and your union on our team. As our ecosystems are continued to be disrupted by these greed-driven corporations, we need powerful working class organizations that can fight back. Only an economy based on international worker solidarity can bail out the working class, keep us safe and effectively contain COVIDー19.
Photos of Cuban and Chinese medical delegations arriving in Italy and Venezuela as part of the international effort to bring supplies and experience to combat COVID-19.