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Vol. 78/No. 14      April 14, 2014

 
Workers greet bosses’ bonus
with bag of peanuts
 
BY EMMA JOHNSON  
Three workers at United Airlines in San Francisco recently turned over a total of $189 to the Socialist Workers Party Capital Fund from a profit-sharing bonus. The check was accompanied by a note from the manager, saying, “Thank you for your support throughout the year making this check possible,” Eric Simpson, one of the three, wrote when he sent in the check Feb. 22.

“But I’m a member of the Machinists union and I don’t ‘support’ the United Airlines or the bosses,” Simpson wrote. “And I’m not the only one reacting this way. A fellow worker put a big bag of roasted peanuts on a counter at work the day we got the checks to express his contempt for United’s ‘profit-sharing’ payout. I’m so happy to have a way to put this check at the service of the international working class.”

From Greensboro, N.C., hospital worker Diane Shur contributed $25 to the fund from a company gift card.

Bribes and bonuses from bosses — blood money — are designed to make us accept wage cuts, dangerous working conditions, speedup and concession contracts. They take various forms: safety, attendance, production and “profit-sharing” bonuses; contract-signing incentives; and holiday gifts.

Donations of this blood money are a cornerstone of the SWP Capital Fund, which finances long-range work of the communist movement. To make a contribution, contact a distributor on page 8 or the Militant at (212) 244-4899.  
 
 
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