GREEN PARTY PLATFORM
Proposed Key Area Revisions and Amendments
Part II, PKA/RA 5 to 9
3) ECONOMIC JUSTICE / LABOR RIGHTS -- A Blue-Green Agenda,
"The Battle after Seattle - Beyond the WTO," and The Growing Inequities of Wealth
PKA/RA-5 RE Social Justice and Equal Opportunity
C. Welfare/Workfare section to be re-named "Economic Justice"
[recommend] [not recommend] [return]
PKA/RA-6 Economic Justice - Welfare
Replace the Welfare section with the following:
[Economic Justice] Welfare: A Commitment to Ending Poverty
The health of the planet is inseparably bound to the health of our human
communities. Greens understand that an unjust society is an unsustainable
society. When communities are stressed by poverty, violence and despair,
our ability to meet the challenges of the post-industrial age are
critically impaired. A wholistic, future-focused perspective on how we
distribute resources in this country will consider the effects of such
distribution not just on our present needs, but on the seventh generation
to come.
The ones who suffer most from economic injustice are children - those who
will inherit the social and environmental problems of the 20th century, and
who will carry the responsibility of sustaining our society into the next
millennium. Ensuring that children and their caregivers have access to an
adequate, secure standard of living should form the cornerstone of our
economic priorities.
It is time for a radical paradigm shift in our attitude toward support for
families, children, the poor and the disabled. Such support must not be
given grudgingly; it is the right of those in present need and an
investment in our future. We must take an uncompromising position that the
care and nurture of children, elders and the disabled are essential to a
healthy, peaceful and sustainable society. We should recognize that the
work of their caregivers is of social and economic value, and reward it
accordingly. Only then can we hope to build our future on a foundation of
healthy, educated children who are raised in an atmosphere of love and
security.
We believe that all people have a right to food, housing, medical care, a
living wage job, education, and support in times of hardship.
We believe that work performed outside the monetary system has inherent
social and economic value, and is essential to a healthy, sustainable
economy and peaceful communities. Such work includes, but is not limited
to: child and elder care; homemaking; voluntary community service;
continuing education; participating in government; and the arts.
We call for restoration of a federally-funded entitlement program to
support children, families, the unemployed, elderly and disabled, with no
time limit on benefits. This program should be funded through the existing
welfare budget, reductions in military spending and corporate subsidies,
and a fair progressive income tax.
We call for a graduated supplemental income, or negative income tax, that
would maintain all individual adult incomes above the poverty level,
regardless of employment or marital status.
We advocate reinvesting a significant portion of the military budget in
family support, living wage job development, and work training programs.
Publicly-funded work training and education programs should have a goal of
increasing people's employment options at living wage jobs.
We support public funding for the development of living wage jobs in
community and environmental service, for example, environmental clean-up,
recycling, sustainable agriculture and food production, sustainable forest
management, repair and maintenance of public facilities, neighborhood-based
public safety, aids in schools, libraries and childcare centers, and
construction and renovation of energy-efficient housing.
The accumulation of individual wealth in the U.S. has reached grossly
unbalanced proportions. It is clear that we cannot rely on the rich to
regulate their profit-making excesses for the good of society through
"trickle-down economics". We must take aggressive steps to restore a fair
distribution of income. We support tax incentives for businesses that apply
fair employee wage distributions standards, and income tax policies that
restrict the accumulation of excessive individual wealth.
Livable Income
Forcing welfare recipients to accept jobs that pay wages below a livable
income drives wages down and exploits workers for private profit at public
expense. We reject "workfare" as a form a slave labor.
Corporations receiving public subsidies must provide livable wage jobs,
observe basic workers rights, and agree to affirmative action policies.
[recommend] [not recommend] [return]
Resolution 1
"A Call for Economic Justice"
(Proposed Resolution to endorse the Labor Party's "Call for Economic
Justice")
The Green Party in principle endorses the Labor Party "Call for Economic
Justice" and supports the creation of a new worker-oriented environmental
movement - a 'Just Transition Movement' - that puts forth a fair and just
transition program to protect both jobs and the environment.
Included in the "Call for Economic Justice" --
- All workers with jobs endangered by steps taken to protect the
environment are to be made whole and to receive full income and benefits as
they make the difficult transition to alternative work.
- The cost of this Just Transition Income Support program will be paid for
by taxes on corporate polluters.
[support] [do not support]
Resolution 2
(Proposed Resolution - "A Blue-Green Agenda")
An emerging coalition of blue-collar labor and greens reached a new degree
of solidarity last year during the WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle.
Progressives of all stripes formed a powerful new fusion and left Seattle
determined to forge an ongoing "blue-green agenda".
In Seattle, in response to the blue-green alliance, the President made a
series of concessions. But these were not enough. In the upcoming national
elections, a blue-green agenda will keep the heat on. In opposition to the
two major parties, the 2000 Green presidential campaign will link labor
rights and environmentalism to the critical debate on the global economy.
The alliance that came together so effectively in Seattle was not
altogether new. Since the early 90's, labor and environmental groups have
found themselves united in opposition to the North American Free Trade
Agreement and GATT, which seemed to both groups to ignore the public
interest. By 1997, this coalition had gained enough clout to defeat the
President's bid for a "fast-track" ticket for negotiating future trade
agreements.
An ongoing blue-green agenda will forge an even more powerful coalition.
Recent AFL-CIO blue-green talks have involved non-profit, community, and
environmental groups. Focusing originally on "climate change" and related
issues stemming from the Kyoto Summit in 1997, an expanded
labor-green-progressive effort has been set in motion. A statement of
principles proposes blue-green advances on the policy level, through
educational outreach and initiatives to bring labor and greens together in
common ground actions. Ralph Nader and organizations such as Global
TradeWatch and Public Citizen have continued to spearhead organizing
efforts and are looking "Beyond the WTO" to the larger issue of
globalization, corporate malfeasance, insider trading and power brokering.
"The Battle After Seattle" has catapulted the blue-green agenda to the main
arena. The year 2000 will be pivotal for those who see a different vision
of the future than the one promoted via the WTO by corporate lobbyists.
Green 2000 Campaign Talking Points for "The Battle after Seattle: Beyond
the WTO"
WTO - Free trade versus fair trade
Globalization vs cooperative globalism
Privatization vs a balance of public and private responsibilities
Economic Justice
Core Labor Standards
Workers Rights / Workplace Safety
"Just Transitions" to sustainable jobs in a sustainable environment
Lifelong education and training
Public Disclosure/Democracy
Transparent, open trade decision-making
Democratic process and protections
"Declaration of Human Rights"
Third World Issues
Debt relief/Economic development
No coercion
Sovereignty Over Basic Economic Policy
Sweatshop and child labor reform
Next Stop: China
Vote on Permanent Normal Trading Relations
The Corporate Welfare state
Corporate Accountability
Campaign Finance Reform
Corporate lobbyists' influence on Congress
The Media/Press and corporate control
Corporate convergence (mergers and acquisitions)
****
In 2000, the Green Party is campaigning to literally change the world. Each
of our candidates holds out a Green vision and a courageous message. When
Ralph Nader states that "Concentrated corporate power is on a collision
course with democracy", he is speaking 'truth to power'. The Green Party is
a party of democracy, not a tool of the monied interests. The Green
Platform is founded on core principles and our key positions are those of
the land and the people. The defining principles and rules of a global
economy must be geared to human needs, not corporate demands. The formation
of a blue-green alliance stands in the way of corporate dominance of civil
society.
[support] [do not support]
PKA/RA-7 RE Corporate Accountability
1. Amendment # 1: Change the Title from "Corporate Accountability" to
"Re-asserting Local Citizen Control Over Corporations."
2. Revise paragraph # 1 as follows:
Currently, corporations possess more rights and freedoms than natural human
persons. Through a series of judicial rulings, and by virtue of their
ability to control governments and economies by virtue of wealth,
corporations have judicially rewritten our Constitution and have emerged as
unaccountable, unelected governments. The Greens, therefore, support all
reforms that seek to supplant governmental regulation of corporations with
communities that seek to define corporations. In the interim, Greens
support measures that hold executives and officers of corporations directly
liable for the harm that results from their decisions.
3. Revise paragraph #7 as follows:
Legal doctrines must be continually revised in recognition of the changing
needs of an active, democratic citizenry. Huge multi-national corporations
are artificial creations, not natural persons uniquely sheltered under
constitutional protections. It is time to support local government and
state government attempts to DEFINE CORPORATIONS and to prevent these
entities from exercising democratic rights which are uniquely possessed by
the citizens of the United States.
4. Also:
The corporations section of the Green Party platform should be introduced
in the "A Call to Action" and the "Platform Preamble" section of the
platform, as a set of ideas/values that sets the Greens apart from the
corporatized government and economy that currently permeates the U.S. system.
[recommend] [not recommend] [return]
4) A Human Rights Agenda -- An Unequivocal Defense of the Rights of
Minorities and the Oppressed
Resolution 3 (Proposed Resolution - "A Human Rights Agenda")
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SEXUALITY
It is the position of the Green Party that sexual activity conducted among
consenting adults in private shall not be the basis for any form of
criminal prosecution, discrimination, or other negative treatment by any
state, local, or federal government.
It is the position of the Green Party that all people are entitled to equal
rights under law, regardless of sexual orientation, preference, or
identity. By sexual orientation and preference, we mean one's real or
perceived sexual emotion, desire, attraction, relationship(s),
friendship(s), whether by psychological predisposition or chosen sexual
behavior. By sexual identity we mean one's biological, psychological,
chosen, or perceived sex or gender, including decisions to change one's sex
("transgender" identity).
The Green Party calls for national legal protection (whether through new
legislation or amendment to prior legislation) against discrimination of
the basis of sexual orientation, preference, or identity in housing, public
accommodations, medical treatment, and employment in both the public and
private sector. It must outlaw all discrimination in all branches of the
United States Armed Forces.
We do not consider same-sex desire in any way pathological, and we oppose
involuntary and nonconsensual treatment for to change one's sexual
orientation, preference, or identity. We oppose imposed, obligatory, and
nonconsensual gender-reassignment surgery for infants and children. We
support the right of individuals to be treated as a member of one's chosen
sex.
We respect personal privacy and freedom of association, and therefore
support the exemption of housing in shared living quarters, i.e., roommate
and housemate situations, from nondiscrimination statutes.
The Green Party supports giving same-sex couples in committed relationships
(whether these are called "partnership" or "marriage") the same
recognition, rights, privileges, protections, and benefits under the law as
different-sex couples. The right to adopt or raise children must not be
limited or determined by the current or prospective parent's sexual,
orientation, preference, or identity. All laws affecting inheritance,
adoption, custody, benefits, insurance, and family visitation rights must
treat same-sex and different-sex unions equally.
The Green Party supports the inclusion of progressive education about sex
and sexuality at all level ages in the public school curriculum, and always
appropriate to the age of the children being taught. The Green Party
supports the unlimited and free availability of condoms, information about
AIDS and other sexuality transmitted diseases, and referrals to counseling
on matters of sex and sexuality, at public schools and clinics. We support
a 10 percent or reasonably comparable goal of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender teachers in public education.
Sex workers: We support the right of sex workers to be free of
exploitation, coerced and involuntary labor, and harassment. Sex workers
must enjoy all the rights that other workers enjoy, including medical
coverage, security and safety, benefits, collective bargaining rights,
reasonable hours, and a democratic workplace.
ABORTION RIGHTS
Abortion rights: The Green Party fully supports the right of all women to
abortion on demand. The Green Party believes that all questions of
whether, why, when, and how to terminate a pregnancy are private and should
be considered by a women and her physician and anyone else the woman
herself chooses to involve, regardless of her age, without outside
interference. The abortion itself must be treated as any other standard
medical procedure in regard to public funding.
UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE
Health Care: The Green Party considers health care a human right, and
therefore supports a single-payer national insurance program ("Just Health
Care") for the US. [see following Proposed Key Area/Revision Amendment
(PKA/RA-8) to the Green Party Platform]
DRUGS AND PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES
The Green Party fully supports publicly funded needle exchange programs,
both mobile and stationary, as a public health measure against the spread
of HIV infection.
It is the position of the Green Party that no person should be prosecuted,
harassed, arrested, or otherwise harmed for involvement in the use of
marijuana for medical purposes. The Green Party supports the use of
marijuana for medical purposes, under a physician's supervision, and the
recognition of not-for-profit buyers' clubs.
The Green Party supports decriminalization of marijuana and its possession,
use, transportation, and cultivation. The only restrictions on marijuana
should be those needed to protect public safety, such as the prohibition on
driving under the influence and distribution to minors.*
The Green Party supports drug abuse counseling and treatment on demand.
It is the position of the Green Party that regulations concerning
"controlled substances" must be made in a coherent, rational, science-based
and nondiscriminatory manner. The legality of controlled substances should
be analyzed based on their actual and specific harm and impact. Any
substance that is found to have less of a harmful impact than alcohol shall
not be subject to any greater restrictions or criminal sanctions than those
imposed on the use, sale, and possession of alcohol. Restrictions on the
use of controlled substances shall not be imposed in such a manner as would
have a discriminatorily disproportionate impact on the poor or on
communities of color or other minorities. [OR: We support
decriminalization of the personal use of any amount of any controlled
substance.]
[support] [do not support]
5) Health Care - Universal Health Care; The Right to Health Insurance; The
Moral Bankruptcy of the D's and R's on the Health Care Issue
PKA/RA-8 UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE (A "JUST HEALTH CARE" PROGRAM)
Health Care: The Green Party considers health care a human right, and
therefore supports a single-payer national insurance program ("Just Health
Care") for the US. Just Health Care would be publicly financed at the
national level, administered locally, and privately delivered, i.e.,
private physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers would remain
private and competitive, and consumers given full choice of provider.
Just Health Care would cover all standard medical procedures, treatment,
diagnosis, etc., as well as drug treatment, dental care, medication,
chronic and terminal illness, and abortion. Just Health Care must include
equal coverage for treatment of mental illness. All Americans must be
covered under Just Health Care, regardless of employment, income, housing,
age, or prior medical condition.
The Green Party believes, based on comparison with other nations that have
enacted similar programs, that Just Health Care is more economical and
would save money in many areas. In order to enact Just Health Care, we
must dismantle the current managed care system and enact federal control of
drug pricing.
The prices of all kinds of medication must be publicly supervised and be
set with respect to the needs of patients and consumers, instead of demands
for commercial profit.
In matters of international trade, the United States must respect the
measures other nations take to ensure public health, and must not use
medication, medical equipment, and other medical necessities -- and threats
of withholding them -- as leverage for political reasons or as extortion
for the sake of commercial profit. We oppose any embargo or economic
sanction that would cause the suffering of innocent civilians.
[recommend] [not recommend] [return]
6) Environmental Sustainability -- Quality of Life Issues; Core Green
Environmental Positions in the New Millenium
PKA/RA-9 RE Agriculture/Biological Diversity
The Green Party opposes the 'biodevastation' that Monsanto and related
'biotech' companies are engaged in. The actions of Monsanto in trying to
subvert labeling of RBGH need to be exposed. Monsanto and other biotech,
'frankenfood' companies need to be brought into the light and their actions
made public. For example, over half the soy bean production in the US (for
example, "Roundup Ready soya") is the result of genetically modified seeds.
Genetically modified organisms (GMO's) are the new stealth product of the
US transnational corporations. The acquiescence of the US government to
biotech friendly capitalism, despite the loud protests of governments and
peoples around the world, is a scandal. It is unacceptable that consumers
purchasing soy products, for example, do not know whether they are eating
or drinking genetically modified organisms. If a fish gene has been
transferred to a crop to make it more tolerant of cold, consumers should
know that they're ingesting a hybrid "frankenfood". If a gene has been
added to seed stock to make that crop more capable of being heavily doused
with pesticides like 'RoundUp', consumers should be warned. Genetically
modified 'Terminator' seeds that are more about "intellectual property
rights" and corporate profit than they are about sustainable agricultural
practices, third-world economic independence, and health, should be banned.
Labeling should fully disclose where genetically engineered (and/or
irradiated) food is being supplied. Consumer choice needs to be based on
full and complete disclosure. Whether it is Bt corn, genetically modified
maize, or GM oilseed that finds its way into a menu of other products, the
consumer needs to know and choose. Ralph Nader has called for consumer
revolts. The time has come. The Green Parties and the Green Platforms
around the world are united in opposition to genetically engineered 'vat
food' that is being shoved down our throats. The arrogance of US biotech
firms needs to be shown for what it is - food production for profit, not
health. Food will be a key part of the next millenium's struggle for
democracy. The Green Party stands in opposition to the 'frankenfood' future
of the mega-transnational corporation.
[recommend] [not recommend] [return]
Consensus Areas [common ground positions]
Proposal C-1
RE Foreign Policy
The US Green Party, with Green parties around the world, demand that the US
support the international anti-personnel mine treaty.
[recommend] [not recommend] [return]
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