Submitted on Wed, 03/24/2010 - 12:54pm
The International Solidarity Commission (ISC) of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) supports the workers in struggle in Greece and their strike actions in opposition to the threat of "austerity measures" by the Greek government, who claim those measures are needed to stop the country from bankruptcy. We are encouraged to see workers across Greece take a stand against the government's gamble with their livelihoods and exploitation of their labour. They have taken to the streets, and stopped working in a visible and powerful refusal to pay for the mess of the banks and financial speculators.
Rather then acquiesce to the official lie of a nation united in necessary sacrifice for the common good, they have exposed that the working class are not the cause of the crisis. We will not suffer for it. As the slogan goes, in Greece and elsewhere, we won't pay for their crisis! As one of the first countries threatening such wide-sweeping cuts, and in turn verging on bankruptcy in this crisis, the protests of workers in Greece are for us all.
As governments across the world respond to the current recession, a fruit of the unfettered gambling by capitalists with the wealth of the earth and the labour of workers everywhere, by further cutting into the subsistence and rights of the working class, we are glad to express our solidarity with the workers of Greece.
We are grateful to them for refusing to comply with the lie of "austerity" measures, which amount to the demand of a sacrifice by the poor for the benefit of the rich and for continuing to take a brave stand in the face of police repression.
In the hope that their struggle, which is also a struggle for workers everywhere, may continue and succeed, the IWW aim to lend our support, by action in solidarity, where it is within our grasp to do so, in our firm knowledge that 'an injury to one is an injury to all'.
In Solidarity,
The ISC of the IWW
Submitted on Mon, 03/01/2010 - 3:57pm
Greetings from the International Solidarity Commission (ISC) of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and welcome to the first of our irregularly published international news letter.
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep our allies around the world informed of our activities, solidarity campaigns, and relevant international labor struggles. It is our hope that this newsletter will contribute to building worker-to-worker solidarity through strengthened communications and exchanges of information.
If you would like to contribute story ideas or news for the bulletin, or wish to contact the ISC, you can email solidarity [at] iww.org.
Saludos de la Comisión de Solidaridad Internacional (ISC) de los Trabajadores Industriales del Mundo (IWW) y dar la bienvenida a la primera de la carta publicada irregularmente noticias internacionales.
El propósito de este boletín es mantener a nuestros aliados alrededor del mundo informados de nuestras actividades, campañas de solidaridad, y luchas obreras relevantes. Esperamos que este boletín contribuya a construir solidaridad entre trabajadores reforzando las comunicaciones e intercambios de información.
Para contribuir con ideas o noticias al boletín, o para contactar a la ISC por favor escribir a solidarity [a] iww.org. Para la versión en español, hacer clic aquí.
Submitted on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 11:14am
Submitted on Mon, 01/18/2010 - 7:55pm
Disclaimer: the following is the opinion of the author and not the official position of the IWW.
When the earthquake leveled much of Haiti, including the
Presidential Palace, it destroyed the capitalist state apparatus as well as
buildings and lives. In a country whose history includes bloody repression and
paramilitary death squads, all reports were that both the police and the
military had disappeared from the streets.
For several days, the US administration dithered,
uncertain of what to do. Then Obama announced the sending of troops to Haiti along
with the commitment of the miserly sum of $100 million in aid (one third less
than was spent on his inaugural ball). What is the purpose of those troops
there?
“Restoring Order”
The conservative Heritage Fund spelled it out: “We should rapidly
deploy sufficient US
military and civilian forces to help Haitians restore order in the capital of Port-au-Prince and in
surrounding areas,” they write on their
web site. They also clearly see the necessity of using the troops to
prevent the Cuban and Venezuelan regimes from increasing their influence in Haiti.
Nobody should be surprised if conflicts develop along these lines in Haiti.
Obama also carried out the Heritage Fund’s recommendation of
appointing Bill Clinton and George Bush to head up US initiatives in Haiti.
Clinton has a long
history of helping foster neo liberal policies there (low wages and
privatization) as well as having supported the coup against Aristide. Bush is
famed for his administration’s “relief” effort in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The
failure to provide timely aid in Haiti
shows that the direction of efforts in New Orleans
was no mere accident, nor the product of the incompetence of one particularly
stupid US
president; it was the result of the policy of massive privatization. The fact
that these two are in their present position regarding Haiti shows
that nothing has changed.
Submitted on Sun, 01/17/2010 - 8:12am
IWW Fundraising for Haiti Earthquake Relief
Haiti's Tourniquet (Part 1 of 2)
Haiti's Tourniquet (Part 2 of 2)
A devastating 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti Tuesday January 12th. Thousands have been killed, and much Port au Prince leveled. This follows a series of deadly hurricanes in late 2008, and decades of foreign-influenced economic terrorism, culminating in a US-led coup in 2004, and continuing UN occupation. Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, is the only country to successfully liberate itself from slavery and the former colonial masters have not let them forget. Most people live on less than $2 a day, and many on less than $1. In April 2008 representatives of the ISC participated in an IWW delegation to Haiti where they met with workers and peasants struggling against neo-liberal slavery. We pledged our continued support to their struggle, and FW's donated generously to support their organizing, and again for aid following the hurricanes. Currently communications with Haiti are nearly impossible, but no doubt they will need our help again.
