Submitted on Tue, 08/14/2007 - 1:49pm
Disclaimer - The image pictured to the right did not appear in the original article, we have added it here to provide a visual perspective.
By Brandie Jefferson - Providence Journal, August 14, 2007
The father of a 22-year-old who was injured Saturday during a labor union protest in North Providence has flown in from Nebraska and says his daughter is doing “as well as can be expected.”
Alexandra Svoboda suffered serious injuries after an encounter with the North Providence police during the protest outside a restaurant.
Scott Svoboda said he will not be outside during a planned vigil this afternoon at Rhode Island Hospital, where his daughter is listed as in “good” condition in the Intensive Care Unit.
Submitted on Sat, 08/11/2007 - 8:39pm
Today at 12pm EST the Providence wobblies organized a march on Jackies Galaxy, which is a restaurant chain that is being supplied by HWH in New York City, a supplier who is notorious for its slave labor conditions of up to 110 hours per week without basic labor rights (minimum wage and overtime).
Roughly 30-40 wobblies and supporters were marching towards a restaurant in North Providence when the police began following them en mass. They told the marches to move to the sidewalk, while this was initially ignored, the marchers listened to the police and began slowly moving to the sidewalk.
The police then surrounded the marchers in their squad cars and began getting out. With the police in full force, they began attacking the marchers, one fellow worker, Alex Svoboda, was pinned down by the police during her arrest and suffered a dislocated leg. Jason, another wob, was also arrested in during the police' attack.
Submitted on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 12:31pm
For two years workers in New York food industry have been organizing with the IWW for higher wages, better conditions and respect on the job. The IWW IU 460's organizing drive has involved the participation of hundreds of workers and has significantly improved, directly and indirectly, wages and working conditions across the industry. Yet there is still a great deal of organizing left to do: in many sectors, sub-minimum wages and slave-like conditions still exist and the bosses have not been dealt a decisive blow. Today we urge you to pledge $5 per week to support this important campaign that has the capacity to build the IWW into a powerful force in the food industry, not just in New York, but also across the country.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
So far we have talked to our Fellow Workers in over locations in dozens of companies. As many as a thousand workers in the industry have heard about the campaign and over 70 have joined the IWW. In response to the campaign and numerous direct actions at these shops the bosses have given up the following wage gains (the NY minimum wage went up to $7.15 this January): Handyfat Trading from $4.50 to $8.00, EZ-Supply/Sunrise Plus Corp from $5.00 to $6.75, Amersino Marketing $5.00 to $7.15, and Top City Produce from $6.00 to $7.15. All of these shops now comply with overtime laws. And at Top City, a contract is waiting to be signed which stipulates that workers will make $8.50. Over the last two years bosses in the industry, who had grown accustomed to taking advantage of the workers, got a rude shock.
In response, the bosses have tried to bust the Union. 20 workers were fired from EZ-Supply and Handyfat in late December of 2006 and 5 temporarily suspended from Top City for a month at around the same time, for a total of around $10,000-11,500 in lost wages per week. Many of these workers have been able to find work in other shops, but some workers have been blacklisted in the industry and are having trouble keeping jobs.
In the NLRB supervised elections at Handyfat, three workers were bribed to vote against the union and at Amersino, a shift of non-workers were brought in by the boss to rig the vote. Countless other threats and intimidation have ensued including vandalism to workers property such as a car engine that was destroyed.
The workers and supporters have directly responded to the union busting with 10 strikes, dozens of pickets and demonstrations, and several marches, one with 125 and another with 200 participants. The longest picket was maintained for a full week, stopping several trailers worth of deliveries.
Now is your chance to join directly in this fight. The bosses have been stuffing their pockets with profits while the workers take home less than minimum wage and hours exceeding 60 hours per week. The bosses' parade must stop. We have a vision for this campaign to stretch across the industry and continue the gains of this movement to improve conditions everywhere. It will be a serious undertaking, but one that we believe the Union is ready to make.
Here is a run down of some critical details of the legal actions of this
campaign:
--Two workers were reinstated at Amersino (one with back wages) and a
third is waiting the appeal
--NLRB decision on the unfair Handyfat firings charges is expected in
late August
--NLRB hearing on unfair EZ-Supply firings charges is in July
--There are seven class action lawsuits filed against companies under the Fair Labor Standards Act and NY labor law:
Submitted on Wed, 08/08/2007 - 12:17pm
Disclaimer - the following editorial is not by a member of the IWW, nor do they necessarily agree with or endorse our organization. The editorial is posted here because it closely matches the perspective of many IWW members and the Preamble to the IWW Constitution. It also affects IWW members in Industrial Union 670 directly.
By Richard Mellor - AFSCME Local 444 Retired, Oakland CA, August 2, 2007.
San Leandro CA - After absorbing the severe financial stress of being locked out for a month, members of Teamsters Local 870 suffered further setbacks in the contract deal brought to them by Teamster officials. The employers, Waste Management Co, imported scabs from other parts of the U.S. during the lockout and brought in their other allies, a mediator and Oakland mayor, Ron Dellums. The liberal community and the heads of the labor movement in this area have revered Dellums, a former congressman and mentor of another popular liberal Democrat, Barbara Lee.
When asked by the press if the lockout “was a test of his leadership” Dellums replied, "I don't take it to have anything to do with me. It has to do with a company in a dispute with a labor union. It would be a gigantic mistake for me to personalize this. That's a journey I choose not to go on." (1)
With friends like these, it should come as no surprise that Waste Management got what they wanted. According to press reports, management got a five-year contract while workers got a 5% raise which with inflation will most likely be a wage reduction
Submitted on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 2:57am
By DANIEL GROSS - Counterpunch, August 4 / 5, 2007
A multi-billion dollar corporation facing extensive allegations of illegal and relentless union-busting. Eight outspoken union employees fired on pretexts ranging from the absurd to the offensive. Human and video surveillance tracking the every move of union members or those suspected of union sympathies. Non-stop anti-union propaganda. Threats, bribes, interrogations, and discriminatory disciplinary actions.
Workers complaining about a wage leaving them in poverty and fluctuating work schedules interfering with family obligations. Employees relying on Medicaid for health care or just doing without insurance. Workers afflicted by repetitive stress injuries driven by understaffing and ergonomic neglect.
In some ways, you wish the multinational corporation described was Wal-Mart. At least with Wal-Mart, you know what you’re dealing with. A cold heartless corporation running roughshod over the workers it employs and the communities in which it operates. Wal-Mart succeeded in squeezing more profits out of its employees and suppliers than anyone else but it failed in creating a socially responsible brand.
Those who believed corporate social responsibility (CSR) represented an important and positive change within capitalism will be disappointed that the corporation described is Starbucks. Because Starbucks, unlike Wal-Mart, has succeeded in the social responsibility game. In fact, no corporation plays the game better than Starbucks.
