[p2p-research] [Commoning] Information sector: a qualitative different mode of production?

Mon Jan 3 16:35:13 CET 2011

Sam,

perhaps sympathetic city governments could use the doctrine of eminent
domain?

see:

*= "Eminent domain" is a doctrine under which private property may be taken,
with compensation, by governmental units for a compelling public purpose.*

 Case study

A report on interesting forms of municipal and worker’s resistance in the
U.S., using the legal doctrine of Eminent Domain:

By Roger Bybee:

” Workers in places like Taunton, Mass. are continuing their struggles at
the grass-roots level against the destruction of America’s productive base
and its dwindling supply of good jobs.

In Taunton, members of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Local
204 have been taking on Esterline Technologies, a Bellevue, Washington
aerospace firm, which plans to move about 100 jobs to a non-union plant in
California and an even lower-wage plant in Tijuana, Mexico. The Taunton
plant, which makes silicone gaskets for aircraft, has been consistently
profitable and productive, yet Esterline is in a rush to sell off the
plant’s equipment and get production rolling in the other facilities.

Esterline had originally promised the workers that it would give them the
right of first refusal on the plant’s equipment, as the UE sought to pursue
either running the operation on their own or as a subsidiary of another
firm. But Esterline reneged when the union demanded that the company adhere
to the UE-Esterline contract and Massachusetts law on closing the plant.

So despite $119.8 million profits last year, Esterline announced that it
needed to sell off the machinery to cover the cost of severance payments. It
quickly announced plans for a Dec. 12 auction to dispose of the equipment.

But Local 204 responded on two fronts. First, the UE took action to halt the
auction. It persuaded elected officials like US Rep. Barney Frank, state
legislators and the City Council to request that Esterline delay the auction
until at least Feb. 15.

The union also alerted unionists throughout New England about Esterline’s
plans to destroy the workers’ dreams of saving their jobs and to head for
the repressive low-wage paradise of Mexico as rapidly as possible. Facing
both the pressure from the elected officials and the prospect of a large
rally of militant unionists furious about more jobs going off to Mexico, the
company announced a delay in the auction until Jan. 19.

Second, the city of Taunton is moving ahead—with unanimous support from the
City Council and mayor—to pursue the use of “eminent domain” to seize the
machinery of Esterline Technologies’ local plant if necessary. The city will
also need the support of the Democratically-controlled Maassachusetts
Legislautre, which reconvenes in January.

“Eminent domain” is a doctrine under which private property may be taken,
with compensation, by governmental units for a compelling public purpose.
While often used by huge corporations to raze neighborhoods for new
factories that could be located elsewhere, this time the UE and the Taunton
City Council are preparing to use eminent domain against Esterline.

In the scope of things, the fight in Taunton is one small battle at a time
when at least 15 million are unemployed. But the fierce determination of the
UE Local 204 members represents a total rejection of all the messages from
corporate, political and media elites that working people must simply “get
used to it” when CEOs decide to send their jobs off to Mexico or China in
search of even greater profits.” (
http://www.solidarityeconomy.net/2010/12/16/tauton-mass-worker-and-local-government-alliance-vs-low-road-capital/)

On Mon, Jan 3, 2011 at 10:16 PM, Samuel Rose <samuel.rose at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Sun, Jan 2, 2011 at 11:59 PM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Hi Martin,
> >
> > I think the commonality between land and digital commoners is an
> interesting
> > path to argue for and pursue, though in a western context, I don't see
> much
> > wiggle room for land commons, as I wonder which social forces would stand
> > behind it in current circumstances ... I know of no farmers who would
> > support the recommonalizing of land, and even workers in large
> > agribusinesses have not expressed this demand for ages. Or is that a
> wrong
> > perception? Of course in the south the situation is quite different. Of
> > course, that there is a weak social basis for it, is no reason not to
> > support it, just pointing the difficulty of going in the direction of its
> > realization.
> >
>
>
> A phenomenon that could be related to this discussion centers around
> the amount of foreclosures happening in industrial midwestern cities
> in the US.
>
> These foreclosed city properties are usually going either to banks or
> local governments. In the cases where they are going to local
> governments, there is an opportunity to invest in creating new land
> commons by way of groups of people purchasing the land from local
> government land banks, and placing the property in the ownership of
> the group (such as a cooperative). It is in the interest of the local
> governments to see people residing and working within the city, over
> and above seeing banks or real estate investment companies simply
> buying up the land, bulldozing the buildings, sitting on the land and
> waiting for better real estate market times.
>
>
> So, there is an opportunity in cities for co-operatives based around
> food, energy, technological production, access, social welfare support
> (alliances with not-for profit groups) etc.
>
>
> There is a similar case in rural areas of the industrial midwest,
> where people are joining community supported agriculture cooperatives.
> The primary driver here is that their areas are othewise "food
> deserts". As regional economies collapse, and fuel costs increase,
> distribution to more sparsely populated rural areas dries up. Joining
> one or more CSA's gets you access to the produce, meat and other items
> that it might otherwise be nearly impossible to find.
>
> --
> --
> Sam Rose
> Future Forward Institute and Forward Foundation
> Tel:+1(517) 639-1552
> Cel: +1-(517)-974-6451
> skype: samuelrose
> email: samuel.rose at gmail.com
> http://forwardfound.org
> http://futureforwardinstitute.org
> http://hollymeadcapital.com
> http://p2pfoundation.net
> http://socialmediaclassroom.com
>
> "The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human
> ambition." - Carl Sagan
> _______________________________________________
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> Commoning at lists.wissensallmende.de
> http://lists.wissensallmende.de/mailman/listinfo/commoning
>

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