Jones Day, which has been hired to oversee Detroit’s bankruptcy, is an international law firm representing some of the most rapacious elements in big business and finance throughout the world. The firm has played a direct role in attacking some of the most important struggles waged by the American working class over the past few years. It is precisely this resume that makes Orr’s history with the firm so attractive for business. During last year’s strike by 26,000 public school teachers in Chicago, Jones Day filed the motion on behalf of the Chicago Board of Education seeking a restraining order against the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and asking that the strike be declared illegal. The day after the filing, the CTU shut down the strike, granting Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel all his major demands. The betrayal of the 26,000 Chicago public school teachers dealt a major blow to the struggle to defend public education against the assault being spearheaded by the Obama administration under the guise of reform. Since the strike’s betrayal, thousands of Chicago teachers and support staff have lost their jobs as the Emanuel administration moves ahead with plans to close 50 of the city’s public schools—the largest school closures in US history. Jones Day was also lead legal counsel for Hostess Brands in their bankruptcy last year. Under the guidance of the law firm, Hostess liquidated the company in the face of oppositional strikes by the company’s bakers, eliminating some 15,000 jobs and closing dozens of bakeries and distribution centers. According to Jones Day’s web site, the firm also advised telecommunications giant Verizon in its contract negotiations throughout the 2000s during which time tens of thousands of jobs were eliminated at the company. Most recently, the firm represented Verizon during its 2011 contract negotiations, which ended in a two-week strike by 45,000 workers against the company’s attempt to wrench $1 billion in concessions by attacking employee health care, pensions, and job security. wsws.org/en/articles/2013/08/02/jday-a02.html
Posted on: Fri, 02 Aug 2013 22:46:12 +0000
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