French workers detain four Caterpillar executives – Europe, World – The Independent
OPS_admin | Mar 31, 2009 | Comments 0
French workers detain four Caterpillar executives
Dozens of French workers facing the sack at a factory run by US company Caterpillar detained four managers today and demanded further talks on the announced layoffs, a union official said.
The world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment plans to slash jobs in various countries and the union official said 733 workers were set to go at the site in south eastern France out of a total of 2,700 staff.
The plant’s director, the head of human resources and two other managers had been locked in an office since this morning “in a good-natured atmosphere”, said Alain Massy, a representative of the moderate CFDT trade union.
Locking up managers is becoming a common practice in France when mass lay offs are announced, with police apparently reluctant to intervene to avoid violence.
Managers at plants run by Sony and 3M have been effectively been held hostage this month in disputes over planned redundancies. On both occasions, unions said they managed to wring concessions from the executives.
A senior police officer today negotiated a resumption of talks between unions and management at Caterpillar, but it was not immediately clear if the bosses were free to leave.
via French workers detain four Caterpillar executives – Europe, World – The Independent.
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If we don't change our ways soon...
A new report by the Royal Society, chaired by Nobel prize-winning biologist Sir John Sulston warns that world population must be stabilized and consumption in wealthy nations must be reduced or the entire planet is in big trouble. As the report reads: "The number of people living on the planet has never been higher, their levels of consumption are unprecedented and vast changes are taking place in the environment. We can choose to rebalance the use of resources to a more egalitarian pattern of consumption... or we can choose to do nothing and to drift into a downward spiral of economic and environmental ills leading to a more unequal and inhospitable future."This is the same warning that President Jimmy Carter gave Americans back in the 1970's - but it was ignored when Ronald Reagan came to power with a "more positive" message basically telling Americans we can do whatever we want. And then after 9/11 - Bush told us all we should go shopping and consume ever more.And now with corporations calling the shots in Washington - long-term sustainability of the planet takes a back seat to short-term profits. If we don't change our ways soon - and embrace clean, alternative energy and educate women around the plant - then we all could be headed for a rough century.-Thom(Is there any chance we will learn in time? Tell us here.) -
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" We the corporations" On January 21, 2010, with its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, entitled by the U.S. Constitution to buy elections and run our government. __________
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The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. 
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