Submitted on Mon, 12/18/2006 - 3:12pm
By Nacho, November 14, 2006 - Originally posted at chiapaspeacehouse.org
SEPTEMBER 26, 2006
Firefight at the Camino Real
Well, they had guns at least, and fired around 40 shots at us (a group of about 100, mostly Oaxacans) who had just taken, occupied, and searched a fancy hotel in central Oaxaca City. There may have been some shots from our side, but most of us -- unprepared for the news that the hated governor might actually be inside Oaxaca City, and inside this hotel -- had only thick sticks, expropriated police billy clubs, or just a little solidarity in our hearts.
The result: two wounded (on our side), several beaten (on our side), and two kidnapped (first quickly beaten, then shoved into cars). The battle took maybe 1 minute.
Submitted on Mon, 12/18/2006 - 2:20pm
As of this afternoon workers at top city are going back to work. The boss agreed to pay min wage and overtime and open to further discussions.
Thanks to everyone for the support; we know that a lot of people called and that scared the s@$+! out of the boss. The workers at Top City want to send a strong message of solidarity back to everyone who took action.
More to come - no picket tomorrow morning!
Original Alert
At 5:00 AM Monday December 18, 2006 IWW members from Top produce, Handy Fat, Ez-Supply and Starbucks along with members of SDS marched on Top City Produce to demand justice.
Workers at Top City refused to go to work until the boss agreed to obey the law. For too long workers have been working 72 hour weeks with no overtime, wages less than minimum wage, no benefits and no respect.
Submitted on Thu, 12/14/2006 - 9:00pm
Andrew Serwer
Managing Editor
Fortune Magazine
1 Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019
December 12, 2006
Dear Mr. Serwer,
We write to call your attention to what we believe is a false disclosure by Starbucks in connection with previous "Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For" features. With the 2007 Best Companies list set for publication next month, we ask for your prompt attention to this matter.
For each firm in the Best Companies feature, Fortune lists the average annual compensation for the largest classification of hourly employees. For the 2006 list, Starbucks submitted a position labeled "Coordinator II" as its largest classification of hourly employees with a yearly income of $35,067. However, the largest hourly job classification at Starbucks is Barista, not the putative "Coordinator II", and an accurate annual income is probably less than one third of $35,067.
Starbucks has never released the average annual compensation of a Barista. However, based on reports from Starbucks employees around the country, the IWW Starbucks Workers Union [www.StarbucksUnion.org] has determined that the starting wage of Baristas hovers around $6-8.75 per hour depending on location.
Workers report infrequent and small raises or in some cases no raise at all.
Further, each and every Barista in the United States is a part-time employee with no guaranteed work hours. Baristas frequently complain about getting nowhere close to 40 hours a week- approximately 15-30 hours of work each week seems to be the norm.
Accordingly, the average Barista makes closer to $10,000 per year than the $35,067 per year for a "Coordinator II". The 2006 federal poverty line for a family of two is an annual income of $12,334. Perhaps, Starbucks refuses to release the average annual compensation of a Barista because it pays poverty wages.
Because in our view Starbucks has lied to gain inclusion on the "Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For", we feel that including the company in the 2007 list would be inappropriate. Starbucks is deceiving not only Fortune readers, but also the American people by constantly highlighting its apparently fraudulent inclusion on the Best Companies list. Please set the record straight. Thank you very much.
Respectfully submitted,
Members of the IWW Starbucks Workers Union
Submitted on Mon, 12/11/2006 - 3:52am
IWW Staff Report - Industrial Worker, January 2007
As Christmas approaches, 11 workers at the Scottish Parliament face broken contracts and unemployment in the new year, courtesy of the self-proclaimed champions of the Scottish working class, MSPs Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne.
They are both Members of Scottish Parliament, Sheridan being the only candidate for the Scottish Socialist Party elected when the parliament was founded in 1999, and Byrne one of five more who joined him after the second election in 2003.
Their party has been torn by a bitter dispute, centred around Sheridan's leadership, and a legal action he took against the News of the World when the paper made allegations about his private life. The rancour ended in Sheridan and Byrne's resignation from the SSP to found a new party called Solidarity.
Submitted on Sat, 12/09/2006 - 4:22pm
By Jill Dunn - etrucker.com, December 9, 2006.
The Industrial Workers of the World organized an owner-operator protest Dec. 7 over traffic tickets issued by the BNSF Railway at its Los Angeles-area facility.
More than 30 owner-operators held signs outside the Hobart, Calif., site, one of the busiest intermodal facilities in North America.
Ernie Nevarez, a protest spokesman, said truck traffic had been slowed by 90 percent. BNSF spokeswoman Lena Kent differed, saying the event did not slow business and the Sheriff’s Department was directing traffic.
The company is, however, evaluating its ticketing policy, Kent said.
Truckers object to unjust tickets issued for violations such as running stop signs and speeding, Nevarez said. “If you talk back, you get kicked out for life,” he said.
Truckers can be barred from the facility for no more than one calendar year, and that only after the third ticket, Kent said. “You are not banned for life,” she said. Violators must attend a class after the first ticket, and the second ticket bars them from the facility for 30 days, Kent said.
BNSF Railway, a subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America. In March, BNSF announced a $26 million expansion of parking and stacking at the Hobart facility.
