Vol. 73/No. 9      March 9, 2009

The two-part ruling allows a company to void a contract immediately upon filing under the bankruptcy code without even waiting for a bankruptcy court to hear the case and rule on its merits.

The court further ruled that a company may void a union contract without producing much actual evidence of financial hardship.

This was a closely watched case. Other corporations have since used bankruptcy filings to get out from union contracts. Others have threatened the use of bankruptcy as a means to pressure unions to grant concessions.  
 
March 9, 1959
MARCH 4—The African struggle for freedom from imperialist rule reached a new high last week in Nyasaland [today’s Malawi] when demonstrators faced British planes, guns and tear gas. The crowds shouting for the independence of Nyasaland responded with sticks, stones and whatever else they could lay hands on. Yesterday at least 23 were killed by British forces and scores wounded.

Nyasaland and Southern and Northern Rhodesia comprise a federation from which Nyasaland is demanding independence. Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia are British protectorates.

The British imperialists are worried that the Nyasaland revolt will spread into the Rhodesias. They are especially concerned with their precarious positions in Northern Rhodesia, where they have been exploiting rich copper deposits for 68 years.  
 
March 17, 1934
In an effort to break the spirit of the unemployed, the Roosevelt administration through the local offices of the CWA [Civil Works Administration] is forcing a Pauper’s Oath on all CWA workers under the threat of immediate discharge. A questionnaire which must be sworn to before a notary public asks information on relatives, past employers, others living in the household, union affiliations, etc.

An army of snoopers from the City Welfare Dept. is also being mobilized to follow up the questionnaire by delving their snouts into the intimate affairs of all CWA workers, wives and families, other relatives, fellow roomers and friends. The form drawn up by the masters of snooping, the City Welfare Dept, as an application for relief, has been “improved” upon by these supporters of the “New Deal.”  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home