Submitted on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 6:02pm
From
The Providence Journal
By David Scharfenberg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — A year after a confrontation with police officers in North Providence left her with severe leg injuries, union organizer Alexandra Svoboda arrived at a rally yesterday with a cane, a knee brace and a message of defiance.
“This is the true spirit of resistance,” she said. “This is people saying, ‘no.’ ”
Svoboda, secretary of the Providence branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, was among a group of protesters who clashed with the police Aug. 11, 2007, while marching on Jacky’s Galaxie, a pan-Asian restaurant on Mineral Spring Avenue.
Union members were targeting Jacky’s because the eatery purchased rice and takeout containers from Dragon Land Trading, a restaurant supply company in Queens, N.Y., with a reputation for treating its employees poorly.
Submitted on Mon, 08/11/2008 - 6:27pm
For Immediate Release:
Brandworkers International
press (at) brandworkers.org
Tavern on the Green Stops Serving Wild Edibles Seafood Over Workers' Rights Concerns
Legendary Central Park restaurant is the latest to drop Wild Edibles until it settles a year-long dispute with workers
August 11, 2008
New York, NY- Tavern on the Green, one of the nation's highest-grossing restaurants, has stopped serving seafood from wholesaler and retailer, Wild Edibles, Inc. over concern for employee rights. Wild Edibles workers and their allies have been campaigning for almost a year to reclaim stolen overtime pay; to compel compliance with workplace laws including the right to support a labor union; and to win a more livable wage as well as a health care and retirement plan.
Submitted on Fri, 07/11/2008 - 3:23am
Immigrant Workers Seeking a Better Future for their Families Score Victory.
Submitted on Mon, 06/02/2008 - 10:57pm
From the Industrial Worker, June 2008
Since the IWW Industrial Union 460 began organizing in foodstuffs warehouses 3 years ago, we’ve organized in ten workplaces with varying degrees of success. One issue at every shop has been the employer’s failure to comply with wage and hour laws.
Many companies have retaliated by firing workers for their union activity. Workers have fought back through strikes, pickets, demonstrations, and selective legal action, among other tactics. We find legal action to be most effective when combined with these other methods, and when viewed as a means and not an end. This is a report on our legal status, but readers should understand that legal action is one of many tools workers are using to win their demands.
About a year and a half after we began utilizing legal action, several favorable rulings have recently come down and several settlements have been reached. Since the rulings have just came down, companies have not yet begun making payments.
Submitted on Fri, 05/30/2008 - 2:44pm
Flaum Appetizing, a kosher food distributor, terminated 20 IWW
members last week. The IWW had a strong presence at Flaum, with about two-thirds of the warehouse being union members. Workers had been struggling for respect from the boss for almost a year before the firings occurred.
The chain of events began last Thursday when the boss fired a woman known for being a strong union member. When her fellow workers
decided to confront the boss about her termination, they were all fired on
the spot.
The IWW is putting up daily picket lines this week and will fight the terminations through direct action, media pressure, and legal
action.
Supporters can write letters to management at:
Flaum Appetizing
288 Sholes Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206