Submitted on Sat, 08/05/2006 - 9:20pm
Hey everyone
IWW General Assembly is coming up. After two days of debating and a rally at the Shattuck Cinema, you can get a little bay area sun and exercise at the WobblyCat! This is going to be a great IWW themed bike race for local bike messengers and Wobblies coming from around the country.
The way it works is like this. We will all be meeting at a designated spot in San Francisco, where you will get a manifest listing all the stops you need to make around the city. (Out of towners won't have to make as many stops as locals, don't worry). We'll be visiting places like Dashiell Hammett's house (the Pinkertons tried to pay him $5000 to kill
Submitted on Sat, 08/05/2006 - 2:16pm
Workers at Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley and all Landmark Cinema employees nation wide are about to receive a pay increse. At Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley the starting wage goes up to $8 per hour from $7.25. That's if the workers choose to accept it. Landmark attorney Tom Pavone sent a letter announcing the pay raises to the IWW along with spread sheet data showing the increase for each worker.
The IWW-Shattuckunion considers this to be a clear demonstration of union power and will continue to press the company for gains in benefits and improvments in working conditions. The IWW in the Bay Area along with union workers at Kendall Square cinema in Cambridge Mass., are the first two Landmark Cinemas to go union. There are approximately 60 Landmark theaters in total.
Submitted on Thu, 08/03/2006 - 2:38am
Whereas Industrial Workers of the World member and Starbucks barista Daniel Gross took part in a protest to defend the job of a fellow worker in the spirit of mutual aid and solidarity; and
Whereas Starbucks is currently engaging in a sham investigation of Fellow Worker Gross because of his participation in said protest and engagement in concerted activity; and
Whereas Starbucks will decide whether or not to fire FW Gross at the conclusion of the "investigation"; and
Whereas the IWW Starbucks Workers Union has made important improvements in wages and working conditions at the world's largest coffee chain through direct action on and at the job and involving workers throughout the community in the process; and
Whereas Starbucks continues to wage a relentless anti-union campaign to break the IWW presence at the company; and
Whereas despite the disgraceful union-busting from Starbucks including the retaliatory terminations of IWW members Joe Agins Jr., Charles Fostrom, and Evan Winterscheidt, the Wobbly campaign continues to grow; and
Whereas the IWW refuses to be silenced or intimidated by Starbucks, and has always stood by its motto: "An Injury to One is An Injury to All";
Now, therefore, be it RESOLVED,
That the General Executive Board of the Industrial Workers of the World will, in the event that Starbucks terminates FW Gross, encourage international labor organizations and supporters to publicly condemn Starbucks' behavior and be prepared to take further action until such time that he is reinstated.
Submitted on Wed, 08/02/2006 - 3:45pm
On Saturday July 29th Starbucks workers, members of the NYC and NJ IWW branches as well as several coalition members from Make The Road By Walking, CODA and NMASS walked the picket in support fired workers Joe Agins Jr., Charles Fostrom, and Evan Winterscheidt. Starbucks unlawfully fired members of the union as a form of intimidation to frighten workers from organizing. Our union is outraged by the latest effort by the company to silence us. Regardless of workers being fired and continual threats of firings, we refuse to be intimidated and continue to stand up for better conditions on and off the job.
On the same Saturday of our picket, an organizing committee at 17th and Broadway Union Square West went public and several members started wearing union pins. Workers at 17th and Broadway have experienced some of the toughest intimidation and harassment as a result of being across the park from Union Square East where union members have been public for 1/2 a year. Union members at 17th and Broadway along with thier brothers and sisters at 14th and 4th ave demand consistent schedules, higher wages for all Union Square Starbucks workers, fair raises and an immediate investigation into Mr. Gomez's behavior and an end to management's disrespect, harassment and prejudice against all 17th and Broadway Starbucks union members.
Submitted on Wed, 08/02/2006 - 4:06am
On July 29th, the East End Food Co-op Workers Committee/IWW filed for a union recognition election with the National Labor Relations Board. We believe that involving the NLRB at this time will expedite the process towards an election and provide us with clear, legal guidance in determining certain legal issues, such as defining the bargaining unit and the conditions by which an election is valid.
Since July 12th we had tried to negotiate the terms of a non-NLRB election with management and UCW, but we found the process to be too complicated and impractical. In addition, certain issues such as ballot design were certain for impasse—a stalemate that would have eventually involved the NLRB. As there was no guarantee that a third-party election agreement would be reached by the end of July, it was in our best interest that we proceed with an NLRB election and let the Board resolve any issues upon which the parties have not reached agreement to date.
NLRB involvement addresses the concerns of both management and the union that employees participate in a democratic, fair, and legally valid election. With the NLRB’s guidance, we are assured that all of us can participate in a meaningful process towards union representation.
