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Submitted on Sun, 05/21/2006 - 12:42pm
Hundreds of thousands of workers yesterday (Thursday 18th) supported trade union giant Cosatu’s one-day general strike in protest against job losses. Huge marches brought the central business districts of Johannesburg and Durban to a standstill as police sealed roads and businesses closed shop. The strike also crippled some gold mines and shut numerous schools, but other sectors of the economy were largely unaffected.
Authorities in Cape Town banned a march planned as part of the stoppage after striking security workers rampaged through the city smashing shops and cars two days earlier. At the time of going to press there were no reports of violence during yesterday’s marches. But two Golden Arrow buses were torched before dawn in Khayelitsha by what the bus company claimed were people wearing Cosatu sweaters.
Submitted on Wed, 05/17/2006 - 10:47am
It's time to line up for the Midwest Wobfest, which will be hosted by the Twin Cities General Membership Branch between July 14 -16, 2006. IWWs from around the country will converge on Minneapolis and St. Paul for a weekend of music, history, and discussion around how we build community and solidarity in our union.
The festival schedule begins with a bonfire of discontent on Friday, July 14th with food, song, and soapboxing.
On Saturday the 15th, there will be discussion forums throughout the day on - Wobbly communication structure, industrial classification, regional organizing, dual card direct action, Solidarity Brigade or One Big Union? - to name a few. We're honored to have Brother Staughton Lynd with us for the keynote afternoon address on Saturday. A large revue will close out Saturday, with several musical acts, one comedian, and a slide presentation showcasing photographs and art of the IWW.
Submitted on Fri, 05/12/2006 - 9:54pm
By Dean Dempsey - Industrial Worker, June 2006
International Workers Day, 2006, was undoubtedly one of the largest May Day celebrations in U.S. history, as upward of 1.5 million people participated in day long walk-outs, strikes, and protests all across the nation. Chicago estimated 700,000 took part in their May Day action, with one-third of the city’s students refusing to attend school. Denver received at least 75,000 people, or one-sixth of the city’s population, in a rally outside the state capitol. Los Angles organizers say about one in every four of students were absent as more than one-million people who took part in May Day marches and boycotts.
Submitted on Mon, 05/08/2006 - 2:25pm
Note: This is an official Pittsburgh GMB posting. The Branch only authorizes officially recognized news and articles to be posted under the Pittsburgh GMB banner.
Homestead, PA, -- More than one hundred members of the Industrial Workers of the World, friends of Labor, local activists, and community members celebrated International Workers’ Day in Pittsburgh, PA. The Pittsburgh IWW’s second annual celebration of workers worldwide was held on April 29th at the Bulgarian-Macedonian National Education and Cultural Center and included a midnight march to the historic Homestead Strikers’ Monument.
Members of the Pittsburgh IWW, which was also celebrating the fourth anniversary of its chartering on May Day 2002, coordinated the evening’s events which included various musical acts, labor skits, poetry and spoken word performances, and speak outs by local union members and activists. In addition to the IWW, members belonging of the Teamsters, Steelworkers, and Writers Guild were present, as were representatives of local activist groups such as the Thomas Merton Center, the anti-war Pittsburgh Organizing Group, Pittsburgh Friends of Immigrants, and the Big Idea Bookstore. Members of the of the Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance, including IWW member and PASCA co-founder Ken Miller, were also on hand and spoke of this summer’s activities around the 2006 All-Star Game to raise awareness of major league baseball’s connection to global apparel sweatshops.
Submitted on Tue, 04/25/2006 - 8:39pm
Building off the massive turnout at the April 10th immigrant rights rally in Madison, the Madison General Membership Branch of the IWW will be supporting the call for a General Strike call by the Latino/a community.
Madison IWW members will be working towards turning out as many folks as they can for the convergence on the State Capitol, to be held at 12:00 noon, May 1st. To facilitate this, the branch will be encouraging all local IWW jobshops to close their doors on that day. Two collectivly owned businesses with IWW members, the Madison Infoshop and Two Degrees Coffeshop, have already indicated their support.
The Madison IWW will be urging other workers to call in sick, take a personal day, or whatever, so that "business/terrorism as usual" does not continue. They are hoping to have a visable presence in the May 1st march and rally and have already printed General Strike posters, as well as a flyer with the May Day resolution of the IWW General Executive Board in Spanish and English. Their overaching theme will be: "No Borders, No States."
