100 MILLION Indians go on strike 2/28/12--How about a worldwide sympathy strike?

[Jackpine Radical]

The global labor force always wins when any of the constituent groups gets better conditions for themselves.

As wages rise and slave-labor conditions are ameliorated, the affected workers obviously benefit; but as their wages and conditions improve, the benefits to corporations of shifting jobs to low-wage places diminishes. It's a win for everyone but the 1%.

[Citizen Worker]

1. It is well past the time for international solidarity.

[Zalatix]

10. Absolutely! +1000! n/t

[malaise]

2. Solidarity

Go workers!

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Jackpine Radical.

[socialist_n_TN]

4. As a Trot, I'm always for international solidarity

Solidarity with all the oppressed worldwide!

[undeterred]

5. Are they American Indians?

Or Indians with jobs from Amerian companies?

[Jackpine Radical]

8. East Indians.

There aren't 100,000,000 American Indians in the world.

[undeterred]

11. Yeah, but millions of American technical jobs went to India.

And now they are complaining that they aren't paid enough? Somehow I don't feel a lot of sympathy. I don't even have a job.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. I truly understand your frustration--

but consider this: If Indian wages go up & the workweek shortens, they become more expensive in the international market. At the same time, since they are bringing home more money, their local economy flourishes & new markets for their goods spring up at home.

Meanwhile, as the Indians make goods to sell at home, they don't have as strong a need to participate in the flooding of our markets with their goods.

There are some tides that DO raise all boats, and rising conditions for all workers in the world is the pre-eminent example of such a tide. Both we & Europe proved that point conclusively in the economic boom years after WWII, when unions were strong, wages were rising, and the GI Bill provided access to higher education for masses of returning soldiers.

I do not mean to be overly laudatory about that era--it had many warts--but want to make the point of the association between rising wages and strong economies.

[undeterred]

13. Unless you've been unemployed for a year you truly do not understand my frustration.

And you truly do not understand the absurdity of expecting me to feel solidarity or sympathy with people who took jobs from our American employers and now want to be paid more for them. Its still going on and it still affects me and others at DU directly.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. I've been unemployed, I've lived for months in a car,

I've wintered-over a couple of winters in a cabin in the north woods with a wood stove for heat, no electricity and no running water.

The Indian workers, like the Chinese workers, did not take your job. They had and have no power to do that. They are made to work those jobs out of desperation. I know you have read about the conditions in many Asian factories, and deplore them as much as I do. Your suffering will not be alleviated by keeping the Asian factory slaves in continued bondage; quite the opposite. A good way to keep jobs in America is to pressure the foreign employers to raise the wages and living conditions of their workers, thus making them less attractive for exploitation.

[undeterred]

21. How does one distinguish between the American employers and the foreign employers in India?

I don't think the Indian workers are pressured to take American IT jobs from American employers - they are happy to take them. And Indian workers is the subject you brought up.

[socialist_n_TN]

24. Who offered those Indian workers those outsourced jobs?

Would you turn down a job from a foreign owned company that opened an IT job in this country? I daresay you wouldn't turn it down. You're blaming the wrong group for the outsourcing.

As long as the capitalists own the means of production in any field, THEY are the ones to blame for WHERE the jobs are. Not the poor schlubs (the rest of us) who just take what they can to survive. Capitalists move the jobs to where they can get the best deal for THEIR profits by screwing the working class.

If the working class WORLDWIDE realized they had more in common with each other than they have in common with the wealthy of the world, we'd ALL wind up better off. Well except for the capitalists of course.

[undeterred]

27. I don't think you're in a position to say what I would or wouldn't do.

I'm not finding this line of argument persuasive at all.

[lunatica]

6. Is this be the Indian Spring?

There sure have been an incredible number of massive protest uprising of the people in the last couple of years. This is part of it. People are tired of suffering deprivation and poverty and in this age of instant global connectivity one good uprising will quickly lead to more uprising in other places.

The 99% are uniting on a global scale.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. World spring, more like it,

with uprisings in China, Russia, the US, Canada, Australia…

[BrentWil]

19. The Worlds Largest democracy doesn't need a "Spring"..

It needs moderate reforms. A "spring" would most likely lead to the election of the BJP, and that isn't the best solutions for minorities in India.

[Zorra]

7. I'll be traveling but will boycott all things corporate on that day nt

[lunatica]

14. There are no military forces that can face 1 million, much less 100 million people

This must strike profound fear in some people.

[obliviously]

16. Please People!

We have an election coming up, we don't need more poop in the streets, rats, rapes and hygienic disease.
You can protest again after we win the election!

[socialist_n_TN]

17. Yeah, that's going to change things......

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Don't forget to add a comment about the violent protesters in Madison

under the palm trees last winter.



and the crazed union thugs.

[BrentWil]

20. Got a Link?

I follow India politics reasonable close. This interests me greatly.

[Jackpine Radical]

23. I got the information from another thread.

This is my source; the link in that thread doesn't seem to work.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002233309

[BrentWil]

25. Okay, read it... I would wait for more info before becoming gunho over this...

This seems to be a strike concerning governmental workers. The governmental bureaucracy in India is insanely corrupt and at a low level. The 2011 anti corruption movement ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Indian_anti-corruption_movement ) tried to deal with these concerns. These strikes could/may be a response to those reforms.

[sabrina 1]

22. Absolutely agree. This is a global problem, created by the Global Corps who have managed to

isolate countries from each other for so long. Boycotts worldwide of Corps who are abusing workers would be a start.

[lovuian]

26. They will win

and this is what America needs to do