Industrial Workers of the World - Department 600 - Public Service

I.W.W. Food & Retail Workers Union Founding Convention

IWW.org Editor — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:21:50 +0000

October 21, 22 & 23, 2011 : Portland, Oregon - Hosted by the Portland General Membership Branch of the I.W.W.

The I.W.W. Food and Retail Workers Union is an organization of workers at every link in the supply chain of food and retail products- from processing facilities to warehouses to restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, strip malls, big box stores, and other retail shops. We have come together to fight for fundamental change in our industries. In the short term, we seek to build power with our coworkers to win improved wages, guaranteed hours, healthcare, and other crucial improvements to our working conditions. In the long term, we aim to establish industrial democracy through worker self-management of production for human needs, rather than capitalist

Sweden: SAC helps immigrants win unpaid wages in Stockholm

x344543 — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:03:49 +0000

The syndicalist SAC union in Sweden has been campaigning for fair wages for illegal immigrants in the last few months, resulting in thousands of pounds in unpaid wages being paid to migrant workers.

The increasing organisation of illegal immigrants within the syndicalist union SAC have lead to more and more blockades to force the payment of unpaid wages, mainly from employment agencies in the restaurant, cleaning, hotel and building industry. Millions Kronor in unpaid wages have been have been won by the SAC. That these companies and their customers don't want to attract attention to their exploitation of illegal immigrants, in most cases the mere threat of a union blockade has been enough to get the wages paid.

[Monthly Review Online] - Talking Immigration with Mr. Block

x344543 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:13:17 +0000

Disclaimer - The opinions of the author do not necessarily match those of the IWW. This article is reposted in accordance to Fair Use guidelines.

By David L. Wilson - Monthly Review, March 6, 2008

Busy Weekend for the Bay Area IWW

x344543 — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 23:26:00 +0000

The weekend of March 16th was full of activity for the Bay Area IWW. On Friday there were two workplace intervention rallies, the first at 6:30 AM and the second twelve hours later.

It was still dark in the sky when FWs from the Bay Area GMB began gathering outside of the management office at Curbside Recycling. The reason for the visit was primarily to show visible support to the shop steward for repeated harassment (including unpaid suspension) on the part of management. Several of the shop workers were also there to show support, and the crowd was treated to invigorating speeches by several of the recyclers as well as other branch members.

The other reason for the rally was to demonstrate to management that the union can mobilize when it is needed to support the workers fighting for their interests. This is important because management is trying to drive out any workers who are accustomed to acting as a union, and because the workers may try to increase pressure for a good contract when the current one expires jointly with the the Buyback Recyclers, an IWW shop on the same lot. Management was clearly uncomfortable when around 20 wobblies entered the office to discuss the bullying of the shop steward...

Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Madison Branch Launches Campaign To Organize Downtown Workers!

x344543 — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 17:48:00 +0000

On April 22nd, Earth Day, Madison area union activists are launching a union organizing drive targeting restaurant and service workers employed on State Street and downtown Madison with the help of internationally acclaimed musicians, David Rovics and Alistair Hulett.

Officially titled, the Madison Downtown Workers Union (MDWU), the organizing drive is an effort to unite thousands of workers in hundreds of workplaces -- taverns, restaurants, cafes and retails shops -- across the city. IWW members believe that in building a union, workers will gain the power to improve their wages, benefits and working conditions. Unlike traditional unions, the IWW seeks to organize cooks, wait staff, dishwashers, bus persons, bartenders and baristas, shop clerks and others across multiple shops and job positions into One Big Union.

Union Targets Downtown Workers

x344543 — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 16:09:00 +0000

By Dana Hooker - Wisconsin State Journal, April 21, 2006

Bartenders, servers, baristas and others who work Downtown could soon be carrying more than your food or drinks. They may also be carrying union cards.

Local organizers for the Industrial Workers of the World union hope to sign up some of the over 4,000 Downtown Madison employees, many of them students who work part time in small businesses - a notoriously difficult group to unionize.

"(Downtown has) a very good concentration of similar kinds of workplaces and ones that are generally ignored by other unions because of the small size and the transient nature of the workers," said Amy Mondloch, an IWW member and lead organizer of the campaign.

But this wouldn't be a typical union, where labor leaders try to get a majority of the employees in a workplace to sign up and form a union.

Developing Workers Autonomy: An Anarchist Look At Flying Squads

x344543 — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 22:37:00 +0000

By Jeff Shantz, Punching Out Collective (NEFAC-Toronto)

Recently much interest and discussion has been generated by the emergence of union flying squads in Ontario. Flying squads -- rapid response networks of workers that can be mobilized for strike support, demonstrations, direct action and working class defense of immigrants, poor people, and unemployed workers -- present a potentially significant development in revitalizing organized labor activism and rank-and-file militancy.

Here are organizations with rank-and-file participation working to build solidarity across unions and locals and alongside community groups, engaging in direct action while striving to democratize their own unions. No wonder then that the re-appearance of flying squads in Ontario, in a context of halting resistance to a vicious neoliberal attack, notably among some sectors of the labor movement, has been cause for much excitement.

Operation Sold Out II: The Failed General Strike in British Columbia in 2004

x344543 — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 22:23:00 +0000

Disclaimer - The following article is reposted here because it is an issue with some relevance to the IWW. The views of the author do not necessarily agree with those of the IWW and vice versa.

By Paul Finch - external secretary of Northwestern Anarchist Federation, formerly FNAC; reposted from nefac.net

The most significant period of labor unrest in British Columbia since 1983 took place in late April and early May of 2004, as a result of the failed province-wide “General Strike” movement. During this period, dissatisfaction with government policies and ensuing legislation escalated into wildcat strikes, walkouts, and significant mass public support for the actions of labor unions, community groups, and students in opposition to the government.

Madison Downtown Workers

x344543 — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 07:53:00 +0000

Industrial Worker - February 2006

The Madison (Wisconsin) General Membership Branch has launched a campaign to organize the 400 or so businesses in the downtown area. The campaign began last Fall by canvassing the district, gathering contacts in dozens of shops, and is now well on the way to mapping the entire district.

The IWW Downtown Workers Union has opened an office at State and Gilman streets, produced a brochure on Workers’ Rights in Madison, and is working to build a strong union presence among these low-paid, hard-working, unorganized workers. They are working to establish new industrial union branches in IUs 640 (restaurant and building service) and 660 (general distribution), and to build an ethos of solidarity unionism that will give these workers the tools to win some of the good things of life.

New Montpelier Union Says it's Setting Up Shop

x344543 — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 08:25:00 +0000

By Sky Barsch - Barre Montpelier Times-Argus, July 20, 2005

Disclaimer - The following article is reposted here because it covers an IWW campaign. The views of the author and the publisher do not necessarily agree with those of the IWW and vice versa.

MONTPELIER — Several members of the now-defunct Montpelier Downtown Workers' Union are reorganizing under a new name and are affiliating with a new union.

Some 25 to 30 Montpelier workers who were formerly members of the Montpelier Downtown Workers' Union, which was affiliated with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, are resurrecting themselves as a branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, according to a written statement from the newly named Montpelier Workers Union.

The Montpelier Downtown Workers Union was an effort to organize the capital city's retail and food-service workers. It officially called it quits earlier this summer, blaming high turnover and strong employer resistance as the reasons.

Montpelier Workers Union Steward Diana Duke, who works at Champlain Farms, said she hopes the new union will have 50 members and new contracts signed with shops by the first snowfall. She declined to say what stores the union had targeted for contracts. She said "pretty extravagant things" would be happening soon.