Submitted on Wed, 10/01/2008 - 2:17pm
by Kdog, x359209
During the first week of September 2008, Republican Party delegates
gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota for the Republican National
Convention
(RNC) - the media spectacle and corporate sleaze-fest that completes
their
nominating process. An army of armor-clad riot police, National Guard,
and
private security with their humvees, rubber bullets, and tear gas
protected them. FBI-assisted sheriff's raids at more than a
half-dozen
activist homes and organizing centers in Minneapolis-St. Paul sought
to
hinder opposition. But thousands of protestors still took to the
streets
to emphatically reject the Republicans' vicious policies of war,
discrimination, and attacks on the working-class and poor.
Among the more important mobilizing efforts against the RNC was the
Anti-Capitalist Bloc, an initiative of the Industrial Workers of the
World
(I.W.W.) union - Twin Cities General Membership Branch. The
Anti-Capitalist Bloc was conceived as an organizing front for the week
of
the RNC that would unite those anti-capitalist activists with an
orientation toward organizing. The Anti-Capitalist Bloc issued a
"Call"
and adopted a set of "Solidarity Principles" that made clear our
opposition to not only the Republican party but the whole system of
capitalism. Ten other groups signed on including three other I.W.W
branches. Approximately 1800 full-color posters with the
Anti-Capitalist
Bloc message were distributed over the course of the week.
But as Wobblies, we know that words are not enough, and so a series
of
events, actions, and contingents were organized by the
Anti-Capitalist
Bloc.
Submitted on Fri, 09/26/2008 - 1:31am
Dear friends and comrades,
For two weeks in late-April and early-May four members of the Industrial Workers of the World traveled to Haiti to meet with labor leaders and document the plight of the Haitian working class. During our trip we encountered a Haiti still reeling from food riots which had gripped it just weeks prior. We found the workers and organizers that we met with to be extremely competent and passionate, but almost completely immobilized by a severe lackof resources.
Now a new crisis grips the Haitian people in the form of over a thousand dead and one million out of a total population nine million people displaced as a result of the recent hurricanes
which have battered the island.
Submitted on Sun, 09/07/2008 - 1:55pm
Today 8/31/08 at 1pm the Twin Cities IWW held at the Lake and Hiawatha
Light Rail Station in solidarity with Starbucks workers and to celebrate
getting our comrade Erik Foreman?s job back. The rally was a great success
with about 100 people showing up. At about 1:45 we all legally boarded the
light rail (using rail passes) and headed down to the Mall of America in order
to escort our fellow worker back to his first shift.
Everyone was peaceful and orderly on the train as we headed south. At
the Bloomington Station we were met by police who asked to speak with us regarding our plans. We informed the police that we did not wish to
cause any trouble, to protest inside of the mall, or to unlawfully assemble in
any way inside the mall. The police told us we should be fine and that we
would not have any trouble. We were then allowed to proceed to the MOA stop.
At the MOA the train was surrounded by police in full riot gear. They threatened to arrest us if we left the train. We were trapped inside
the train for about 20 minutes. The police even prohibited a woman with a
child who needed insulin from leaving the train, endangering the child's
health. After about 10 minutes and only after repeatedly insisting that we had
a
medical emergency did the police permit the woman and child to exit
the train. When asked why we were being detained a policeman said: "the
mall doesn't want you here." The officers? badge numbers were mostly covered
by their gear.
Submitted on Fri, 09/05/2008 - 1:23pm
Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.
Pro-union Starbucks barista gets his job back
NEW YORK -- A barista who said he was fired from Starbucks Corp. for helping to organize fellow workers into a union has been given his job
back.
In a preliminary reinstatement agreement dated Aug. 14 obtained by The Associated Press, Starbucks said its firing of employee Erik Forman was "ill-considered and should be reversed."
Forman said he will start back at work on Sunday at the same Mall ofAmerica location in Minnesota that he was fired from in July.
When he worked there, Forman said he had been talking to employees at his own store and at other stores in the area about joining the Industrial Workers of the World union.
In an interview, Forman said although several other employees at the store were members of the union, "I was the most vocal and the most
active."
Starbucks spokeswoman Tara Darrow confirmed that Forman was being given his job back but said his firing and reinstatement had nothing to do with his support for the union.
Submitted on Fri, 09/05/2008 - 12:48pm
Please circulate widely.
On the 21st August Chris Lockwood, union organiser and member of the Industrial Workers of the World was fired from his bar job at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield (UK). This has been part of a long campaign by management of picking off and isolating workers who have voiced objections to recent changes that have worsened the conditions of all who work there.
The Showroom cinema is a registered charity and claims to be an "investor in people", yet has consistently attacked workers pay and conditions with the sole aim of greater profits. We believe that every worker (no matter what the industry) is entitled to respect and should be organised to defend themselves in the work place. Chris’ firing represents a direct and illegal attack against union organising.
