industrial worker - august - september 2009

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Page 2 Industrial Worker August/September 2009

Australia

IWW Regional Organising Committee: PO Box 1866,Albany, WA www.iww.org.au

Sydney: PO Box 241, Surry Hills.

Melbourne: PO Box 145, Moreland 3058.

British Isles

IWW Regional Organising Committee: PO Box 1158,Newcastle Upon Tyne NE99 4XL UK,

[email protected], www.iww.org.uk

Baristas United Campaign: baristasunited.org.uk

National Blood Service Campaign: nbs.iww.org

Bradord: [email protected]

Burnley:[email protected]

Cambridge:IWW c/o Arjuna, 12 Mill Road, Cam-bridge CB1 2AD [email protected]

Dorset: [email protected]

Dumries: [email protected]

Hull: [email protected]

London GMB: c/o Freedom Press, 84b Whitechapel

High Street, London E1 7QX. [email protected]

Leicestershire GMB and DMU IU620 Job Branch:Unit 107, 40 Halord St., Leicester LE1 1TQ, England.Tel. 07981 433 637, [email protected] www.leicestershire-iww.org.uk

Leeds: [email protected]

Manchester: 0791-413-1647 education@iww-

manchester.org.uk www.iww-manchester.org.uk

Norwich: [email protected]

www.iww-norwich.org.uk

Nottingham: [email protected]: [email protected]

Sheeld: [email protected]

Somerset: [email protected]

Tyne and Wear: PO Box 1158, Newcastle Upon Tyne,

NE99 4XL [email protected].

West Midlands: The Warehouse, 54-57 Allison Street

Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5TH [email protected]

York: [email protected]

Scotland

Aberdeen: iw [email protected]

Clydeside GMB: [email protected]

iwwscotland.wordpress.com.

Dumries IWW: 0845 053 0329, [email protected] , ww w.geocities.com/iww_dg/

Edinburgh IWW: c/o 17 W. Montgomery Place,

EH7 5HA. 0131-557-6242, [email protected]

Alberta

Edmonton GMB: PO Box 75175, T6E 6K1. edmon-

[email protected], edmonton.iww.ca.

British ColumbiaVancouver IWW: 204-2274 York Ave., Vancouver, BC,V6K 1C6. Phone/ax 604-732-9613. [email protected], vancouver.iww.ca, vancouverwob.blogspot.com

ManitobaWinnipeg GMB: IWW, c/o WORC, PO Box 1, R3C [email protected], [email protected].

Ontario

Ottawa-Outaouais GMB & GDC Local 6: PO Box

52003, 298 Dalhousie St. K1N 1S0, 613-225-9655Fax: 613-274-0819, [email protected] French:[email protected].

Peterborough: c/o PCAP, 393 Water St. #17, K9H 3L7,705-749-9694, [email protected]

Toronto GMB: c/o Libra Knowledge & InormationSvcs Co-op, PO Box 353 Stn. A, M5W 1C2. 416-919-

7392. [email protected]

Qubec: [email protected]

Denmark

Aarhus / Copenhagen: [email protected]; +452386 2328

FinlandHelsinki: Reko Ravela, Otto Brandtintie 11 B 25,

00650. iwwsuomi@helsinkinet.

German Language AreaIWW German Language Area Regional OrganizingCommittee (GLAMROC): Post Fach 19 02 03, 60089Frankurt/M, Germany [email protected]

Austria: [email protected], www.iwwaustria.

wordpress.com

Frankurt am Main: [email protected].

Goettingen: [email protected].

Koeln: [email protected].

Munich: [email protected]

Luxembourg: [email protected] , 0352 691 31 99 71

Switzerland: [email protected]

Greece

Athens: Themistokleous 66 Exarhia Athens

[email protected]

Netherlands: [email protected]

United States

ArizonaPhoenix GMB: 480-894-6846, 602-254-4057.

ArkansasFayetteville: PO Box 283, 72702. 479-200-1859,

[email protected].

DCDC GMB (Washington): 741 Morton St NW, Washing-

ton DC, 20010. 571-276-1935.

CaliforniaLos Angeles GMB: PO Box 811064, 90081. (310)205-

2667. [email protected]

North Coast GMB: PO Box 844, Eureka 95502-0844.

707-725-8090, [email protected].

San Francisco Bay Area G MB: (Curbside and Buyback

IU 670 Recycling Shops; Stonemountain Fabrics

Job Shop and IU 410 Garment and Textile Workers

Industrial Organizing Committee; Shattuck Cinemas)

PO Box 11412, Berkeley 94712. 510-845-0540.

Evergreen Printing: 2335 Valley Street, Oakland, CA

94612. 510-835-0254 [email protected].

San Jose: [email protected].

Colorado

Denver GMB: c/o P&L Printing Job Shop: 2298 Clay,

Denver 80211. 303-433-1852.

Four Corners (AZ, CO, NM, UT): 970-903-8721,

[email protected].

Florida

Gainesville GMB: 1021 W. University, 32601. 352-246-2240, [email protected]

Pensacola GMB: PO Box 2662, Pensacola, FL 32513-2662. 840-437-1323, [email protected],www.angelre.com/5/iww

St Petersburg/Tampa: Frank Green,P.O. Box 5058,Gulport, FL 33737. ( 727)324-9517. [email protected]

Hobe Sound: P. Shultz, 8274 SE Pine Circle, 33455-

6608, 772-545-9591 [email protected]

Georgia

Atlanta: Keith Mercer, del., 404-992-7240, iw-

[email protected]

Hawaii

Honolulu: Tony Donnes, del., [email protected]

Illinois

Chicago GMB: 37 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607

312-638-9155.

Central Ill GMB: 903 S. Elm, Champaign, IL, 61820.

217-356-8247Champaign: 217-356-8247.

Waukegan: PO Box 274, 60079.

Indiana

Laayette GMB: P.O. Box 379 3, West Laayette, IN

47906, 765-242-1722

IowaEastern Iowa GMB: 114 1/2 E. College Street

Iowa City, IA 52240 [email protected]

Maine

Barry Rodrigue, 75 Russell Street, Bath, ME 04530.(207)-442-7779

MarylandBaltimore IWW: c/o Red Emmas, 2640 St. PaulStreet, Baltimore MD 21212, 410-230-0450, [email protected].

Massachusetts

Boston Area GMB: PO Box 391724, Cambridge

02139. 617-469-5162.Cape Cod/SE Massachusetts: PO Box 315, WestBarnstable, MA 02668 [email protected]

Western Mass. Public Service IU 650 Branch: IWW,Po Box 1581, Northampton 01061.

Western Massachusetts GMB: 43 Taylor Hill Rd.,

Montague 01351. 413-367-9356.

MichiganDetroit GMB: 22514 Brittany Avenue, E. Detroit, MI48021. [email protected].

Grand Rapids GMB: PO Box 6629, 49516. 616-881-

5263.

Central Michigan: 5007 W. Columbia Rd., Mason48854. 517-676-9446, [email protected].

Freight Truckers Hotline: 847-693-6261,

[email protected]

Minnesota

Twin Cities GMB: PO Box 14111, Minneapolis 55414.612- 339-1266. [email protected].

Red River IWW: POB 103, Moorhead, MN 56561

218-287-0053. [email protected].

Missouri

Kansas City GMB: c/o 5506 Holmes St., 64110.

816-523-3995.

MontanaTwo Rivers GMB: PO Box 9366, Missoula, MT 59807,[email protected] 406-459-7585.

Construction Workers IU 330: 406-490-3869,[email protected].

New JerseyCentral New Jersey GMB: PO Box: 10021, NewBrunswick 08904. 732-801-7001 [email protected], [email protected]

Northern New Jersey GMB: PO Box 844, Saddle

Brook 07663. 201-873-6215. [email protected]

New Mexico

Albuquerque: 202 Harvard SE, 87106-5505.505-331-6132, [email protected].

New YorkNYC GMB: PO Box 7430, JAF Station, New York City10116, iw [email protected]. wobblycity.org

Starbucks Campaign:44-61 11th St. Fl. 3, Long

Island City, NY 11101 [email protected]

Upstate NY GMB: PO Box 235, Albany 12201-0235, 518-833-6853 or 518-861-5627. www.upstate-nyiww.org, [email protected],

Rochelle Semel, del., PO Box 172, Fly Creek 13337,607-293-6489, [email protected].

Hudson Valley GMB: PO Box 48, Huguenot,12746,845-858-8851, [email protected], http://hviww.blogspot.com/

Ohio

Ohio Valley GMB: PO Box 42233, Cincinnati 45242.Textile & Clothing Workers IU 410, PO Box 317741,Cincinnati 45223. [email protected]

Oklahoma

Tulsa: PO Box 213 Medicine Park 73557, 580-529-3360.

OregonLane County: 541-953-3741. www.eugeneiww.org

Portland GMB: 311 N. Ivy St., 97227, [email protected], pdx.iww.org

Pennsylvania

Lancaster GMB: PO Box 796, Lancaster, PA 17608.

Philadelphia GMB: PO Box 42777, Philadelphia, PA19101. 215-222-1905. [email protected]. Union

Hall: 4530 Baltimore Ave., 19143.

Paper Crane Press IU 450 Job Shop: papercrane-

[email protected], 610-358-9496.

Pittsburgh GMB : PO Box 831, Monroeville,PA,15146. [email protected]

Rhode Island

Providence GMB: P.O. Box 5795 Providence, RI02903, 508-367-6434. [email protected]

Texas

Dallas & Fort Worth: 1618 6th Ave, Fort Worth, TX76104.

Washington

Bellingham: P.O. Box 1793, 98227. [email protected] 360-920-6240.

Tacoma IWW: P.O. Box 2052, Tacoma, WA 98401

[email protected]

Olympia GMB: PO Box 2775, 98507, [email protected]

Seattle GMB: 1122 E. Pike #1142, 98122-3934.206-339-4179. [email protected]

Wisconsin

Madison GMB: PO Box 2442, 53703-2442. www.madisoniww.ino.

Lakeside Press IU 450 Job Shop: 1334 Williamson,

53703. 608-255-1800. www.lakesidepress.org.

Madison Inoshop Job Shop: 1019 Williamson St. #B,53703. 608-262-9036.

Just Cofee Job Shop IU 460: 1129 E. Wilson, Madi-

son, 53703 608-204-9011, justcofee.coop

GDC Local 4: P.O. Box 811, 53701. 608-262-9036.

Railroad Workers IU 520: 608-358-5771.

[email protected].

Milwaukee GMB: PO Box 070632, 53207. 414-481-3557.

IWW directoryIndustrial WorkerThe Voice of Revolutionary

Iustril Uiois

ORganIzaTIOn

EdUcaTIOn

EmancIpaTIOn

Ofcial newspaper of the

IndustrIalWorkers

oftheWorld

Post Ofce Box 23085

Cincinnati OH 45223 USA

513.591.1905 [email protected]

General Secretary-treaSurer:

Chris Lytle

General executive Board:

Sarah Bender, Nick Durie,

Jason Krpan, Bryan Roberts,

Heather Gardner, Stephanie Basile,

Koala Lopata.

editor& Graphic deSiGner :

Diane [email protected]

printer:

Saltus PressWorcester, MA

Send contributions and letters

to: IW, PO Box 7430, JAFStation, New York, NY 10116,

United States.

Next dedline isSeptember 7, 2009.

US IW mailing address:IW, PO Box 7430, JAF Sta-tion, New York, NY 10116

ISSN 0019-8870Periodicals postage

paid Cincinnati, OH.

POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to IW, Post Ofce Box

23085, Cincinnati OH 45223 USA

SUBSCRIPTIONSIndividual Subscriptions: $18

International Subscriptions: $20Library Subs: $24/year

Union dues includes subscription.

Published monthly with the excep-

tion of March and September.

Articles not so designated donot reect the IWWs

ofcial position.

Press Date: July 29, 2009.

Send your letters to: [email protected] Letter in the subject.

Mailing address:IW, PO Box 7430, JAF Station, NewYork, NY 10116, United States

Letters welcome!

Get the Word Out!IWW members, branches, job shops andother afliated bodies can get the wordout about their project, event, campaignor protest each month in theIndustrialWorker. Send announcements to [email protected]. Much appreciated donationsfor the following sizes should be sent toIWW GHQ, PO Box 23085, Cincinnati,OH 45223 USA.

$12 for 1 tall, 1 column wide$40 for 4 by 2 columns$90 for a quarter page

Dear Industrial Worker,First, I would like to say congratula-

tions to Fellow Worker Nate Holdrenon the upcoming birth of his daughter!Im sure I share the feelings of all IWWmembers when I say that we are allthere to support you in your fatherhoodadventure.

FW Holdrens Workers Powercolumn, titled Build a Ship which ap-peared on page 4 of the July 2009 Indus-trial Workerreminded me of a story toldby Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos ofthe Zapatista National Liberation Army.The story goes something like this:

In a certain town, men and womentoiled at work in order to survive. Everyday the men and women went out totheir respective jobs: the men to theelds and the bean crops; the women toget rewood and water. At times therewas work that brought them together asequals. For example, men and womenwould join together for the cutting ofcoffee, when its time had come. And so itpassed.

But there was a man who did not do

that. He did work though, butnot in the elds or bean crops,nor did he go to the coffeeplantations when the beansreddened among the branches.No, this man worked plant-ing trees in the mountain. Thetrees this man planted did notgrow rapidly; all of them tookentire decades to grow and tomake all their branches andleaves. The other men laughedat and criticized this man quitea bit.

Why do you work atthings that you are never goingto see completed? Better towork in the elds, which willgive you fruit in months, andnot in the planting of treesthat will be large when you have alreadydied. You are a fool, or crazy, becauseyou work fruitlessly.

The man defended himself and said:Yes, it is true, I am not going to seethese trees full grown, full of branches,leaves and birds, nor will my eyes see

children playing under their shade. But,if all of us work just for the present andfor just the following day: who will plantthe trees that our descendants are goingto need, in order to have shelter, conso-lation and joy?

Continued on 11

Creating A New World In The Shell Of The Old

ErlyIWeditors, year unknown. Photo: iww.org


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August/September 2009 Industrial Worker Page 3

__I afrm that I am a worker, and that I am not an employer.

__I agree to abide by the IWW constitution.

__I will study its principles and acquaint myself with its purposes.Name: ________________________________

Address: ______________________________

City, State, Post Code, Country: _______________

Occupation: ____________________________

Phone: ____________ Email:_______________

Amount Enclosed: _________

The working class and the employingclass have nothing in common. There canbe no peace so long as hunger and wantare found among millions of workingpeople and the few, who make up the em-ploying class, have all the good things oflife. Between these two classes a strugglemust go on until the workers of the worldorganize as a class, take possession of themeans of production, abolish the wage

system, and live in harmony with theearth.

We nd that the centering of the man-agement of industries into fewer and fewerhands makes the trade unions unable tocope with the ever-growing power of theemploying class. The trade unions fostera state of affairs which allows one set ofworkers to be pitted against another setof workers in the same industry, therebyhelping defeat one another in wage wars.Moreover, the trade unions aid the employ-ing class to mislead the workers into thebelief that the working class have interestsin common with their employers.

These conditions can be changed andthe interest of the working class upheldonly by an organization formed in sucha way that all its members in any one in-dustry, or all industries if necessary, ceasework whenever a strike or lockout is on inany department thereof, thus making aninjury to one an injury to all.

Instead of the conservative motto, Afair days wage for a fair days work, wemust inscribe on our banner the revolu-tionary watchword, Abolition of the wagesystem.

It is the historic mission of the work-ing class to do away with capitalism. Thearmy of production must be organized,not only for the everyday struggle withcapitalists, but also to carry on productionwhen capitalism shall have been over-thrown. By organizing industrially we areforming the structure of the new societywithin the shell of the old.

TO JOIN: Mail this form with a check or money order for initiationand your rst months dues to: IWW, Post Ofce Box 23085, Cincinnati OH45223, USA.

Initiation is the same as one months dues. Our dues are calculated

according to your income. If your monthly income is under $2000, duesare $9 a month. If your monthly income is between $2000 and $3500,dues are $18 a month. If your monthly income is over $3500 a month, duesare $27 a month. Dues may vary outside of North America and in RegionalOrganizing Committees (Australia, British Isles, German Language Area).

Membership includes a subscription to theIndustrial Worker.

Join the IWW Today

The IWW is a union for all workers, a union dedicated to organizing on thejob, in our industries and in our communities both to win better conditionstoday and to build a world without bosses, a world in which production and

distribution are organized by workers ourselves to meet the needs of the entire popu-lation, not merely a handful of exploiters.

We are the Industrial Workers of the World because we organize industrially that is to say, we organize all workers on the job into one union, rather than dividingworkers by trade, so that we can pool our strength to ght the bosses together.

Since the IWW was founded in 1905, we have recognized the need to build a trulyinternational union movement in order to confront the global power of the bossesand in order to strengthen workers ability to stand in solidarity with our fellowworkers no matter what part of the globe they happen to live on.

We are a union open to all workers, whether or not the IWW happens to haverepresentation rights in your workplace. We organize the worker, not the job, recog-nizing that unionism is not about government certication or employer recognitionbut about workers coming together to address our common concerns. Sometimesthis means striking or signing a contract. Sometimes it means refusing to work withan unsafe machine or following the bosses orders so literally that nothing gets done.Sometimes it means agitating around particular issues or grievances in a specicworkplace, or across an industry.

Because the IWW is a democratic, member-run union, decisions about what issuesto address and what tactics to pursue are made by the workers directly involved.

IWW Constitution Preamble

Oil: Dirtier Than A Can Of Worms? You Bet!By Dvid Ptrick

In what could have been a restormof nationalistic antagonism, xenophobiaand violent labor clashes, a peaceful andprogressive solution soared from theashes of a wildcat strike by oil reneryworkers in North Lincolnshire. Workersin the Lindsey oil reneries, employed byTotal SA, have come to an understandingwith management in regards to out-sourcing labor and the protection of localintegrity in the workforce. Ten days after900 workers were sacked after a walkoutof nearly 1,200 on June 19, amid spread-ing sympathy strikes and accusations ofbigotry at high government levels, it ap-pears that the labor movement has takena step forward.

The anticlimactic resolution cameafter many hills and valleys of a rollercoaster ride dating back to the begin-ning of the year. At the end of January,800 Lindsey workers went on the rststrike in protest of the Italian contractorIREM being given primary employmentover British workers, despite the ravaged

local economy, high unemployment andthe overall conditions of the global nan-cial markets. In the European Union, therst set of protests sent white-hot signalares into the capitalist air and it drewsignicant attention in European media.

Soon after, the plot line of the story,like the black gold itself, became thicker,dirtier, and darker. In early February,the British and Irish trade unionUniteThe Unionissued a statement to rejectthe claims of ethnic prejudice circulatingin the British media. The early protestswere shown through the prism of theEuropean Unions utilization of PostedWorkers Directive. The PWD regulatesthe movement of workers and guaran-

tees the right of European laborers toseek work in other countries. The PWDhas been labeled as being discriminatoryagainst British workers, a sort of reverseoutsourcing: bringing in workers fromother countries to work at lower wages

in the aim to undercut the localpopulation where standards of livingand wages might be higher.

Even British Prime Minis-ter Gordon Brown was forced toacknowledge the issue by stating:When I talked about British jobs,I was talking about giving people inBritain the skills, so that they havethe ability to get jobs which were atpresent going to people from abroad,and actually encouraging people totake up the courses and the educa-tion and learning that is necessaryfor British workers to be far moreskilled for the future.

Notwithstanding this defenseof British labor, when the workerstried to take the matters into theirown hands against corporate powerstructures, many of which form thefoundations of Gordon Browns sup-port, the Prime Minister decried thewildcat strikes of the later months,saying that: thats not the rightthing to do and its not defensible.

The laborers did not really stickby Browns later remarks as morethan 1,000 workers across Wales,Scotland and England joined theLincolnshire strikers in sympathystrikes. The re was fueling rapidlyas the strike demanded the attention ofthe corporate headmastersTotal SA,the French energy Conglomeratewhentalks began in early February.

While many in America speak of themorbidly obese prots of Exxon Mobil,the people of the western hemisphereremain largely ignorant about the small-est of the super-major oil companies.However, the company in various partsof the globe has been ned hundreds of

millions of dollars for oil spills and en-vironmental catastrophes over the pastdecade. Total has also been the subjectof notorious scandals as Italian execu-tives of the company, in attempts tosecure rights to an oileld, were charged

with corruption in December 2008. Also,what can only be seen as intolerablyrepugnant, Total is the subject of Belgianand French legal inquiries into slavelabor being used to construct a pipelinefrom Burma (Myanmar) to Thailanddespite EU sanctions against Myanmarsmilitary dictatorship.

Totals initial talks with the GMBthe general trade union of the U.K.

were successful, as Total got its Italianlabor as well as 102 new jobs createdsolely for British workers. Of whatcan be expected between marriages inthe Western world nowadays, a messydivorce was imminent. The strikes

resumed in June 2009 as a subcontrac-tor, Shawworking for Total to build ahydro-desulphurization plantlaid off51 workers while another subcontractoralso employed by Total SA was hiringmore workers. The wildcats startedwildres as three power stations and anoxygen plant, among others, rejoinedthe sympathy strikes to put pressure onemployers seeking to leave local labor in

the dust.Total SA would not be so gregariousthis time around as it responded to thisnew wave of protests by sacking 900workers from the Lindsey site. GeneralSecretary of the GMB Paul Kenny gavea response to Total on GMBs website asve more plants walked out in support ofthe sacked workers:

GMB condemns the action of Total.Total has for a full week refused tomeet the union to resolve the problemsthrough ACAS. It seems pretty obviousthat there is a mass case of victimiza-tion taking place here. Locking out theworkforce at Lindsay will not solve theproblem. It will escalate it.

The conict was getting hotter and

hotter as rhetoric intensied and otherprotests were staged. On the eve of amild English summer and the deadlineto re-apply for the jobs, workers for theLindsey site burnt their dismissal noticesin furious anger with the reaction ofmanagement and 3,000 other workersfrom plants across Britain walked out insupport.

Totals main dispute was that thewalkout was staged illegally, as a wildcatstrike is performed without the autho-rization of trade union ofcials, andthe talks reached a stalemate on how toresolve this particular issue.

Just passing the 41st anniversary ofthe famous French May 1968 protests,

which virtually shut down the countryfor a brief period, the wildcat strikesappeared to have worked for now as atentative deal was reached and ratiedby the GMB on June 29, 2009. Detailsinclude reinstatement or reassignmentof almost everyone who had lost theirjobs in the dispute. With no punitiveactions being taken against the laborersreported aside from a few jobs havingbeen lost, it appears a new honeymoonfor a new shotgun wedding has begun.So, if labor-management disputes doreally in fact follow the pattern of holymatrimony, well then, at least let us praywith all that is at stake here for workershome and abroad that they dont follow

the example of Elizabeth Taylor.

Workers picketing in North Lincolnshire. Photo: John Giles


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Workers Power is on vacation thismonth and will return next month. Ifyoure interested in writing for WorkersPower send your submission to ColinBossen at [email protected].

Graphic: Mike Konopacki

By Gregg ShotwellPower respects power, not punks. In

manufacturing power is production, notgrievances. If you wait for United AutoWorkers (UAW) ofce rats to act, youwont get a break until youre at on yourback.

The General Motors (GM) plantin Lansing, Michigan, which makes

crossover SUVs, is working full bore, butGM refuses to call back laid-off workersfor summer replacements. Its a trend.Workers are expected to sacrice timeoff with their families and postponevacations until the end of the yearor whenever it suits management. GMisnt satised to cut wages, benets, andhard-won work rules. Now they want tocontrol when, if ever, workers take vaca-tion. What next? Less break time? Shaveanother six minutes and double stitchthe repetitive stress?

Slow down. Its the only way to exertpower and get what workers deserve:time off at full pay, recall of laid-offbrothers and sisters, and a humane workpace. Vacation isnt entitlement. Itsearned.

When management canceled sum-mer vacations at my old plant, we raisedhell. We circulated petitions. We de-manded a rank-and-le meeting with theboss, and his boss, and his bosss boss,and on up the ladder. We werent justtalking words. To put some heft in thetalk we worked really slow. Productioncrawled, keeled over, and passed out.Management canceled summer vaca-tions, but like the proverbial horse led towater, they couldnt make us work andsoon restored the protocol for summervacations: summer replacement work-ers.

One of the reasons that summer

vacations were canceled at the GM plantin Coopersville back in 1993 was be-cause our sister plant in Austria got thewhole month of August off and we had tomake up for the lag in production. WhileAustrian workers enjoyed fresh air andsunshine with their families, we were ex-pected to work 24/7 in a polluted factorywith uorescent lighting.

Europeans get better pay, moretime off, universal health care, andstate-funded college education, and weget freedom. Freedom to work lon-ger for less. Freedom to pay exorbitantprices for prescriptions and health care.Freedom to take out a second mortgagein order to send our children to college.

Freedom to maintain military bases in130 countries. Freedom to support agovernment that funds bankruptcies,plant closings, and off-shoring. Freedomto vote for concessions until voting is theonly thing left to concede.

Whats the sense of trying to keepup when progress means you continu-

Work Is The Only Power We Ownally work harder for less? Its like tryingto walk up a down escalator. If yououtpace the stairway to hell, you get tothe next oor only to nd you have 29more ights to go before they cancelyour health care and dump your pen-sion. Might as well pull the plug whilethe lights are still on and you can ndthe outlet.

The promise of pension and health-care in retirement was a hoax. No moneywas invested in a trust for healthcare.Two years ago they told us the pensionwas over funded, now its going broke,right along with our 401K plans andour homes. Its a hoax. With each newcontract we make more concessionson the premise that concessions savejobs. Work hard and youll get ahead isdrummed into our heads. Its a hoax.

Experience has taught us well. Donttrust the boss. Dont trust the company.Dont trust the government. Dont trustthe union. Dont trust the stock market.Dont trust any kind of broker or nan-cial advisor. Beware of those who claimthey are messengers of the divine marketand advise you to bend meekly to thewill of forces beyond your control. Itsa hoax. The free market is rigged tolower wages. Capital strip-mines laborand leaves toxic waste dumps in place ofpensions.

Who can you trust? Your coworkers.When in doubt, ask your coworkers forhelp. Dont take chances. Work slowlyand safely and ask your coworkers forhelp. When the boss makes threats, keepyour mouth shut and slow down. Whenthe boss says hurry, drag your feet.

When management demands over-time, help your coworkers by slowingdown more. If a union rep says, Man-agement has the right to manage, dont

trust the rep, trust your coworkers, andslow down harder. You want a stimulusplan that creates jobs? Slow down. Whenmanagement says no one can have timeoff, help your coworkers by going to thenurse or the boss or the cafeteria andthrowing up. When they pay less, workless. When your coworkers get walkedout or laid off or injured, slow down.When the cost of living goes up, com-pensate yourself by slowing down. Whenthey raise the price of gas, drive slower.When they raise the price of medicine,grow your own. When they raise utilityprices, conserve energy with a rapidlyadvancing slowdown. If youre a soldierdeployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, slow

down. Theres nothing to win. As soon asone war ends, theyll start another. Dontget red. Say, Yes, sir, and slow down.

Power respects power. Show themyou mean business. Slow down. Work isthe only power we own.

Republished from Live Bait &Ammo #131, July 2009.

By Misc LebevreThrough a haze of smoke, punkrock bands, beer and wine, one wouldexpect to nd yet another benet showfor some crusty squat with no vision orcleanliness. But this past June in Pariswas a benet for the CNT-Fs newspa-per, the Combat Syndicaliste. For manyyears, the CNT-F and the IWW havecalled each other comrade. Both arerevolutionary, syndicalist-leaning anddirect-democracy based. We have takenour cues from each other, paying closeattention to organization, action andeducation, to hopefully arrive one day atthe global emancipation of our class.

However, lately the IWW has notbeen observing its own principles. We

have begun to compromise our internaldemocracy, wherein the latest manifes-tations of organization are losing groundon our now-international platform.Because of this, our local campaigns willbegin to suffer.

A lack of adequate fundinginclud-ing certain dues schedules and misal-locations of fundshas put our union inthe hole nancially and administratively.The CNT-F as well is no stranger to this,because they too have been under themicroscope of the French governmentin the past. This is what happens whenwe dont pay attention to our internaldebates.

So our best weapon against the boss-es is solidarity. Our second best weapon

is information. But our second bestweapon is closer to being a spoon than aknifemaybe even a spork. The IWWsnewspaper is suffering, plain and simple,but that is not to say it is hopeless.

The Fte du Combat Syndicaliste is astraight and to-the-point way of raisingfunds for the Combat Syndicaliste, witha pay-what-you-can admission, a bar, asoup kitchen, debates, lectures, lms anda book fair. Figuring out a way to raisefunds for theIndustrial Worker, wherewe could have bands, a bar, a soupkitchen, etc. would make us more sexyand dynamic! You want to be sexy anddynamic, dont you FWs? Besides, whatbetter way to bring people into the fray!Something to this effect would educate,

inspire and lay down the informationalplatform for revolution.This will also help us out in our orga-

nizing efforts in the street. If theIWhasthe resources to publish once a month,publish on time and increase distribu-tion, then the IWWs efcacy increasesand we cease to be some obscure pieceof history and become relevant to thepublic. Having something other than theGeneral Convention for debates, lmsand camaraderiesomething which theFte du Combat Syndicaliste includeswill increase our solidarity. Sometimes,we all need to chill out and have a goodtime. All this said, I offer up a challengeto the rest of you. Let us put our headstogether and have theIWFestival.

Our Own Festival: A Wobbly Reports On His Recent Visit To Paris


5/12


By Diane KrauthamerNEW YORK On Wednesday, July

8, red workers from Scoop NYC gath-ered outside the trendy retail store inSoHo to protest against labor violations.Handing out free scoops of ice creamand chanting Scoop Scoop is unfair, allwe want is our fair share! the workersannounced a lawsuit against the com-

pany, alleging racial discrimination andnumerous labor violations.

The rally was organized by the RetailAction Project (RAP)a community-la-bor partnership of the Retail, Wholesaleand Department Store Union (RWD-SU) and Good Old Lower East Side(GOLES)and featured speakers fromlocal political leaders to rank-and-leworkers. Community, labor and religiousgroups came to support the workers aswell, including the Restaurant Oppor-tunities Center of New York (ROC-NY),the New York Labor-Religion Coalition,St. Marks Church, the Lower East SideGirls Club, the Jewish Labor Commit-tee, Reverend Billy and the Church ofStop Shopping, half a dozen RWDSUlocals, and the IWW.

The company took advantage ofhardworking immigrants, said MadouKone, a former Scoop NYC security su-pervisor. Ive never felt so discriminatedagainst in my life.

The workers, who hail primarilyfrom West Africa, are ling suit with theU.S. Department of Justice for unlawfulrings, document abuse and citizenship-status discrimination. According to RAP,in October 2008 Scoop NYC initiatedan internal I-9 audit of the immigrantworkers papers. Seven of these work-

ers presented authorization as soon asrequested, but Scoop NYC red them, al-leging that they failed to produce properdocumentation. These workers are ask-ing for approximately $200,000 in lostwages since the time of their termina-tion. Additionally, workers charge ScoopNYC with multiple labor violations,including failure to pay overtime.

For over six years, nearly everysingle stock and security worker wouldwork over 60 hours per week and neverreceive a single penny in overtime pay,said RAP organizer Pete Montalbano.Fifteen of these workers are accusingScoop NYC of neglecting to pay overtimeand other benets by deceptive measuresand wrongfully attempting to misclassifythese workers as managerial, therebyexempting them from receiving over-time pay, as stipulated in the Fair LaborStandards Act (FLSA). These workersare asking for approximately $300,000in back wages.

In addition to the discriminationand wage violations, workers also citehazardous conditions in the store.

Our break room was a boiler roomin the basement, said Kone. This iswhere we had to eat our lunch, changeour clothes and even sleep. According toRAP, the break room had poor ventila-tion, electrical hazards such as exposedwires on the walls and ceilings, and fre-quent leaks and ooding of raw sewagefrom bathrooms and drainage systems.

You cant hide these workers in thebasement any longer, said Montalbano.You need to make amends for whatyouve done, and were not going awayuntil you do!

Scoop New York: One-Stop ShoppingFor Labor Violations

By Rio Grnd Vlley IWWRama Carty is a man that has been

wrongfully detained by U.S. Immigra-tion and Customs enforcement and theDepartment of Homeland Security (ICE/DHS) for well over a year now. Havingbeen shifted about the Immigration andDetention Court system for such a longperiod, he has seen abuse, been abused,and has incessantly denounced anddocumented patterns of abuse inside ofit. He is an adamant human rights advo-cate and a peaceful activist.

On July 9, the public received wordthat DHS/ICE, in correlation with theU.S. Attorneys Ofce, is indicting ourfriend and ally, Rama Carty, on false

charges of assaulting, resisting, oppos-ing, impeding, intimidating or inter-fering with [ofcial duties] ICE guardLt. Eric Saldivar and detention ofcerHector Buentello Jr. around an incidentwhich occurred on June 3, 2009.

The incident at hand is beingtrumped up to a total and intentionalmisinterpretation by ICE/DHS. Commu-

nity members have spoken to detaineewitnesses of the alleged assault. Allmaintain that Rama was peaceful dur-ing the incident. As far as one can tell,the only person assaulted was RamaCarty, as he let himself be dragged fromhis detention pod in an act of peacefulresistance. None of the witnesses testi-monies are being taken into account. Seesidebar for an account of Rama Cartystreatment so far, including the assault inquestion.

Industrial Workers of the World(IWW) Rio Grande Valley, a democratic,worker-run organization, views ICE/DHS allegations as a further attack onRama Carty for his defense of justice.

If fully convicted, Rama Carty faces16 years in jail and a $500,000 ne, ac-cording to court records.

IWW denounces the indictmentof Rama Carty. We say: Drop the falsecharges on Rama Carty! End the abusesthat are widespread inside immigrantprisons! Free Rama Carty! Freedom tothe global working class!

ThE FaCTS Rama Carty helped his fellow detainees around their legal cases as much as

he could, considering that he does not have a professional legal background. In thissense, Rama was a legal resource to detainees in a system that does not provide accessto any such resources.

Rama Carty inspired and organized a Hunger Strike with detainees at thePort Isabel Detention Center (PIDC) when grievances about lack of medical attention,abuses by guards, inadequate legal resources, and denied due process went ignored bythe entire ICE/DHS bureaucracy. The Hunger Strike is an act of self defense.

The Hunger Strike was largely ignored by complicit government and privatemedia agencies, but Rama Carty, along with fellow detainees, continued to be outspokenand managed to get some word to the public about the lack of humane conditions atPIDC and throughout the broader U.S. immigration system.

Rama Carty brought the attention of international human rights group Am-nesty International to the PIDC. Amnesty visited the PIDC and spoke with Rama Carty.The following day Rama Carty was assaulted by guards and dragged away, bleeding, tobe transferred to LaSalle Detention Facility in Louisiana.

Rama Carty organized a Hunger Strike while at LaSalle Detention Facility. ICE/DHS tried to illegally deport Rama Carty to Haiti. He is not a citizen of

Haiti, and has never been there. The General Consulate of Haiti has refused to issuetravel documents allowing the deportation to Haiti based on the fact that there is nobirth record for Rama Carty.

ICE/DHS plan for deportation failed. The current charges seem to be a des-perate form of punishment (as if being denied your basic freedom wasnt enough) forhuman rights advocate Rama Carty.

The Wheels Of Injustice Continue To Turn Against Immigrants

Trespassing Charges Against Denis Rancourt Dropped

By Peter MooreOn June 25, 2009, the University of

Ottawa dropped charges of trespassingthat it had laid against physics professorDenis Rancourt, whom it had suspendedover a dispute on how to grade and teachhis graduate students.

Rancourt and his graduate studentMarc Kelly had been hosting his weeklyFriday political movie and discussion

night, Cinema Politica/Academica, onJanuary 23, when campus security andpolice entered the hall and arrested bothKelly and Rancourt. Kelly was held over-night in jail and released without charge.

Rancourt maintained that he had aright to be on campus and that the arrestwas an attack on free speech.

The University of Ottawa know-ingly gave the Ottawa Police incorrect

information that I had no righton campus. The police then liedto apply a false charge of tres-passing, said Rancourt in a pressrelease announcing his victory.Rancourt represented himself incourt.

While free of the trespassingcharges, Rancourt continues toght for his reinstatement. TheUniversity of Ottawas board ofgovernors voted to dismiss himon March 31, 2009 over his inten-

Trespassing Charges Against Denis Rancourt Droppedtion to give the students in his graduatelevel physics course an A+ so that theycould get on with learning. While theuniversity claimed his dismissal wasnecessary to maintain its credibility,Rancourt said that he believes the uni-versity voted to remove him for politicalmotives, particularly his vocal criticismof the way the university is run and hisexpressed views on controversial issuessuch as Palestine and climate change.

Rancourt continues to receivethe support of the Committee for theDefence of Education and the IWWsGeneral Defense Committee Local 6.

To help get Rancourt his job back,send an email to the University of Ot-tawa president Alan Rock [email protected] and please be sure to copythe chair of Denis defense committee,[email protected]. Also, please signthe online petition: http://www.petition-online.com/uOttawa/petition.html.

Name: _______________________

Address: _____________________

State/Province: __________ Zip/

PC________________________

Send to: PO Box 23085,Cincinnati OH 45223 USA

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Former Scoop NYC workers rally on July 8. Photo: Diane Krauthamer

Denis Rncourt Photo: cdecde.blogspot.com


6/12


By Tom LevyWorkers on the London Under-

ground subway system went on strikefrom 7:00 p.m. on June 9 until 9:00p.m. on June 11, 2009. The rank-and-lestrike committee of the National Unionof Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers(RMT) had called the strike. The mainissue was job security, but the usualissues of pay, conditions, health andsafety, as well as management bullying,also contributed to the workers decisionto take action.

Te IssuesThe strike committee, acting on

the authority of the estimated 10,000RMT members who work on the Tube,had organized the strike to commencein the event that contract negotiationsbroke down between the RMT and Tubemanagement. Negotiations had beenongoing, and in response to numeroussticking points, the RMT had conveneda general meeting in which 88 percent ofattendees had voted to authorize a strike.

Last fall the RMT had requested ave percent pay increase. In light of thecurrent economicsituation, theunion had ex-pressed a willing-ness to reconsiderthat demand,but the proposedcounter offerwas not only forsignicantly lessmoney, it soughtto change the structure of negotiations.Management wanted a ve-year contractto replace the one-year contracts thathad seen such large gains for Tube work-

ers. The main concern for the union,however, was mandatory redundancies.Transport for London, the local govern-ment agency that oversees the Tube, hadrequested 1,000 workers be let go. Thiswas one demand workers were unwillingto accept.

Adding fuel to the re, in 2008 then-mayoral candidate Boris Johnson hadmade a campaign commitment to securea no-strike deal with the Tube unions.Since assuming ofce, his relationshipwith the Tube unions, and especially theRMT, has been acrimonious at best.

Medi DistortionOn the day the strike was to be-

gin, the London pressespecially thesensationalist right-wing tabloids givenout for free throughout the citybe-gan to claim negotiations faltered afterthe shock demand that managementreinstate two red employees. The Eve-ning Standards front-page headline onJune 9 boldly proclaimed Tube strikecaused by dispute over two sacked men.Besides branding the disciplined work-ers as incompetent, the papers went sofar as to imply one of the sackings was acriminal matter and as such could notbe openly discussed in print. It is truethat the rings were a side issue in thenegotiations (the union claims manage-ment brought them up at the last minutein an effort to force a confrontation), but

the two terminations were far from themain issue. (It is worth noting, however,that one of the workers was allegedlyred for opening the doors on the wrongside at a Victoria line station. Yet, afterthe driver was suspended, workers onthe Victoria line struck for 24 hours todemand more safety accommodations.The union claimed that, since the intro-duction of the private sector onto theTube, concern for passenger safety hadbeen diminished. According to the RMT,the mistake occurred as a result of a lackof adequate safeguards. All of the papersneglected to mention these inconvenientfacts).

In an even more egregious distor-

tion, the London papers placed the

blame for the strike on union lead-ership, and Bob Crow in particular.For the media, the strike was merely acontest between the RMT boss andConservative London Mayor Boris John-son. Recriminations were exchangedbetween the two men and at one pointJohnson publicly called the unionsleadership deranged. However, theirony of the medias claim is that Crow,the general-secretary of the RMT and aself-proclaimed socialist, is rumouredto have initially opposed the strike. TheRMT executive sanctioned the actiononly after the rank-and-le pushed thestrike upon their leadership.

An agreement had been drawn upand signed an hour before the strikebegan. As Bob Crow stated in an openletter to the London public:

At 6:35 p.m. whilst awaiting thenal typed agreement we were toldby management that they had made aphone call and that they could no longerabide by the agreement they renegedbefore the ink was even dry ... I have no

doubt that the phone call made was tothe Transport Commission or City Hall

and they instructed the ne-gotiators to pull the agreeddeal.

Strike!The union has claimed

a victory in shutting downthe majority of Londonsunderground train services.Although the RMT is themain union of Tube workers,

it competes with other unions for mem-bers. For instance, the craft-orientedAssociated Society of Locomotive Engi-neers and Firemen did not endorse the

strike and many of its members crossedthe picket lines. As a result, the LondonUnderground did manage to run 120 outof 500 trains during the action. Never-theless, considering that on an averageweekday some 3.5 million people ridethe Tubes, there can be little doubt thatridership was severely restricted by thestrike. The power of the Tube workersdoes not necessarily lie in their ability toinhibit the prots of the public-privatepartnerships that run the linesit istheir ability to severely disrupt Lon-dons economy. They undoubtedlyaccomplished this. Even though the cityattempted to provide extra bus services,it is estimated the Tube strike cost theLondon economy 100 million over thethree-day dispute.

The other angle that must be consid-ered is public perception. In England, asin much of the world, the current eco-nomic crisis has created a rise in workermilitancy. The country has experiencedfactory occupations to demand adequateredundancy payments, wildcat strikesaimed at ensuring immigrant labor ispaid equally to established workers anddoes not undermine union standards,and school occupations to protest cuts insocial spending by the faltering Labourgovernment. Given this turn of events,it is not surprising that many Londonerswere willing to support the strike anduse it as an excuse to take a day off work

themselves. However, rightly foreseeingthe media would highlight the naysayers,the RMT offered the following messageon their strike support website:

If popularity won pay rises, thennurses would be millionaires and politi-cians would be begging on street cor-ners!

In the days following the strike,negotiations began anew. Currently, itis unknown whether progress has beenmade toward a new contract, but mili-tancy is still running high on the Tube.

Even as he was returning to the bar-gaining table, Bob Crow said If we dontmake progress and come to an agree-ment with Transport for London, then

we will denitely strike again.

London Workers Shut Down Underground for 48 Hours

Tube workers are known for their militancy, and in an effort to under-stand the dynamics of the strike, a group of London radicals travelledto numerous pickets on the rst evening of the strike. On our travels wemet a worker who, besides being a rank-and-le militant, was also an

RMT safety ofcer. This is what he had to say:

TL: In terms of how the strike was organized, was there a lot of rank-and-leinvolvement?FW: Its a rank-and-le union. Its rank-and-le from the bottom up. Its the onlydemocratic ghting union left in the country.

TL:Have there been a lot of meetings to determine the course of the strike?FW: We got a strike committee set up. The strike committees are based from activ-ists within every grade and every location across the board. Theyre from all walks oflifeall working-class people. They make the decisions. I mean, ultimately the ex-ecutive committee of the union makes the decisions, but the strike committee makesthe recommendation of what the rank and le want.

TL:Has there been any conict between the strike committee and the union higher-ups?FW: Theres always conict between the rank and le and the union hierarchies;its the nature of the beast. It always happens, but we tell them what to do; we electthem. If they dont do what we want, we just de-select them in the next election. Itsas simple as that.

TL: You said this depot is like 50/50 between RMT and ASLEF. Whats the com-munication like between the two unions? [Note: ASLEF is the British train driversunion and did not endorse the strike. RMT is an industrial union and, althoughmembership is open to all drivers, it is estimated that only 40-60 percent choose tojoin].FW: It gets difcult at a time like this. You can try to maintain a bit of comradeship,a bit of solidarity, but when youve got people crossing picket lines its difcult to becivil. Were hoping a lot of themwell, not a lotbut if we could get a few of themnot to cross our picket lines well be happy. There are obvious safety issues becausetheres no eet maintenance, theres no track patrols, theres no qualied signal per -sonneltheyre all on strike. So weve got leaets were handing out to drivers whenthey do cross the picket line. And if they do crossGod forbidthen well be askingthem not to drive on the grounds of safety. Either way, well be shutting down theservice. Itll be having the desired affect.

TL: Whats the result of the strike?FW: Its pretty good at the minute. Its a 48-hour strike. Nobody wants to lose twodays pay. It might be a bit more difcult to put on another 48-hour strike in a coupleweeks time. People are going to start to dither. Thats the way it works.

TL: Where do you see this going after 48 hours?FW: Thats a difcult question. I mean, where do we go after this? The strike com-mittee will have to decide that. Whatever it will be, it will be a majority decision anda democratic decision.

TL: Could you speak briey again about the privatisation of the rail line and howthis has affected strike action?FW: The compulsory redundancies that were talking about now are a result ofthe previous privatisation of Metronet. The infracore, as they call itthe eet,the track, the signallersthey were all taken out of London Underground Limited(LUL), the publicly owned and administered government agency that ran the Tube

until 2003. Metronet sold off under the PPPthe so-called public-private partner-ship that proceeded the LUL. [Current Prime Minister]Gordon Brown as chancellorwas the architect of the PPPhe wrote it all up. And now, when Metronetone ofthe companies brought in under the PPPfailed, theyve had to spend millions andmillions of pounds bringing it back in-house. But in the six years it was privatisedthere has been duplication of work, so youve got two people doing the same job atvarious locations across the combine. We need to lose these people. But were sayingthey should be lost for involuntary service, you know, natural wastage (i.e. quittingand retiring). And they want to introduce compulsory redundancies, and weve got aprevious agreement saying therell be no compulsory redundancies. As usual, its theworkers they want to take it out on.

More money would be good. Well tighten our belt even though the politicianshave their snout in the trough and LUL managers are giving themselves fortunes.*But the redundancies are the big one for us.

*[Note: at the time of the strike there was an ongoing expenses scandal inwhich it was revealed parliamentary politicians had misappropriated millions intaxpayer funds to cover lavish expense accounts].

The London Underground prepares for a strike. Photo: libcom.org

Graphic: Ned Powell


7/12


8/12


Photo: thelonelyreview.com

In the chapter Transforma-tion of Production and Class RelationsHighlights Realities Facing Millions inAfrica, originally published in the Sept.8, 2008, edition ofThe Militant, Koppelindicates that the country has almost nomanufacturing industry. Its food is im-

ported from Cameroon, Spain, and othercountries. Even the oil rig, construction,hotel, restaurant, and other workers areprimarily brought in from other partsof Central and West Africa, as well asChina, North Africa, Lebanon, and Iran.When you have to import the food,materials, and workers to support aneconomy that exports a countrys wealth,in this case oil, whats left for the peoplewho live in Equatorial Guinea?

Perhaps not even work. In theReporters Notebook, section at theend of the book, which I found mostinteresting, Waters suggests that thereare very few Guineans working on the oilrigs and other infrastructural projects tosupport the oil industry. Over and over

you hear the comment that these busi-nessesand Equatorial Guinean onestoodont hire Equatorial Guineansbecause Guineans dont like to work,she writes.Whenever we get the chance,we ask, Why should they? There areindividual alternatives to wage slaveryand debt slavery, so why work?

Indeed, while that could lead toan idyllic utopia, that can also makefor some major disconnects betweenthe countrys populace and the workingclass. In one instance, a Cuban electri-cian remarked that maintaining the newelectrical infrastructure is challengingbecause, while foreign companies camein to install underground cables, they

didnt leave any plans or diagrams fortheir maintenance.

While the above two sections,which open and close the book, accountfor about 50 pages, the bulk of the textconsiders sectors in which EquatorialGuineans are taking more of an activestake, largely with the help of the Cubaninternational. In 2000, Cuba sent bri-

gades of medical workers to staff hospi-tals and public health centers in Equato-rial Guinea. In 2006, the rst class ofdoctors graduated from a medical schoolassociated with the national universityin Bata. Even though those graduates,as well as subsequent classes, are now

stafng Equatorial Guinean healthcarefacilities, they still need to persuade resi-dents to seek medical careand not theassistance of tribal healers, or curande-ros, which can delay timely healthcare.Perhaps as importantly, if not more so,however, hardly anyone can afford suchhospital care or stays. Many EquatorialGuineans live on less than $1 or $2 a day.A doctors visit can cost $225.

Part III, Without Culture YouCannot Be Free addresses the nascentculture industry, which is tightly tied tothe educational system. The authors par-ticipated in the First Equatorial GuineaBook Fair in 2005, a groundbreakingevent given that there are reportedlyno printing presses or bookstores in

the country. Educators at the NationalUniversity of Equatorial Guinea hopedthe event would help develop a culture ofreading, as well as the documentation ofGuinean literature and history. This sec-tion is composed primarily of transcriptsof remarks given at the fair by Watersand Victor Dreke, then Cuban ambassa-dor to Equatorial Guinea.

Even with those valid and valu-able efforts and projects, the problem ofthe lack of an organized working classremains. Working-class organization isillegal, as are strikes, yet there are initialsigns of a proletariat being born! Waterswrites. It seems that it might be in Equa-torial Guineas interest to more strongly

assert its citizens as employees of theglobal enterprises that are taking advan-tage of the offshore oil reserves. I alsowonder whether some form of national-ized industry to support the countrysgrowing economy and infrastructuremight also be promising.

With increasing numbers of Equa-torial Guineans becoming workers on

Capitalism Is Transforming The African Working Class

road and construction projectsmanyfor the rst timeand most of the skilled

workers coming from other countries,theres also a sizable opportunity fororganization and training to ensurethat Equatorial Guinean workers dontmiss out on the bounty being reapedby othersand that the country is leftholding the keys to its own shop once theinfrastructure is complete (or the oil isdepleted).

Granted, its still early daysnon-oil industry in the country mostlyincludes a small bottling plant, a brew-ery (beer costs 50 cents, water $3), anda cement factorybut those can be themost important days. The country stilluses DDT to fumigate for malaria, forexample. Safer methods take a differ-

ent level of labor productivity and socialorganization, Waters says.

When should that labor produc-tivity and social organization be estab-lished? Now. Theres already a RotaryClub in the city of Malabo. If you canhave a Rotary Club, you can have aunion. Perhaps the introduction of theIWW would be a sensible next step.

Water, Mary-Alice and Martin KoppelCapitalism and the Transformation ofAfrica: Reports from Equatorial Guinea.Pathnder Press, 2009. 150 pages, pa-perback, $10.

By het Row

In 2005 and 2008, the authors andother reporters took two trips to Equa-torial Guinea, a coastal country with apopulation of about 630,000and oneof the smallest in Africa. Since gainingindependence in 1968 after 190 years ofSpanish rule, the West African countryexperienced an 11-year dictatorshipunder Francisco Macias Nguema, humanrights violations that inspired the exodusof more than one third of the countryscitizens, and a coup led by the currentpresident Teodoro Obiang NguemaMbasogo. With the discovery of offshoreoil reserves in the early 1990s and thearrival of American oil companies, thecountry is now the third largest oil pro-ducer in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the last two decades, EquatorialGuinea has experienced massive eco-nomic development, much of which hasyet to translate to stable improvementsin basic national infrastructure such aseducation, healthcare, electricity, andtransportation.

In the blink of an eye, historicallyspeaking, the authors write, one ofthe most capital-intensive, technologi-cally complex, and highly monopolizedindustries has been superimposed ona foundation of labor productivity thatwas the product of thousands of yearsof hunting, shing, and subsistenceagriculture.

That collisionthe introduction of

globalization and the oil industry to astill largely pre-capitalist and -industrialsocietymakes for a fascinating oppor-tunity for the mindful development andemergence of a working class, as wellas workers rights. Yet this slim, read-able, and insightful book indicates thatin many ways, the opportunity is largelybeing lost.

Book Review

Director: Daldry, Stephen. The Read-er. The Weinstein Company, 2009. 123minutes. $15.

By Mike Bllrd"Every single day365 days a year

an attack against children occurs that is10 times greater than the death toll fromthe World Trade Center...We know howto prevent these deaths -- we have thebiological knowledge and tools to stopthis public health travesty, but we're notyet doing it." - Jean-Pierre Habicht, pro-fessor of epidemiology and nutritionalsciences at Cornell.

Eight million of the 11 millionchildhood deaths a year could easilybe prevented. This is because almost60 percent of deaths of children underve in the developing world are due tomalnutrition and its interactive effects

on preventable diseases. Is this not aholocaust?

An old Soviet piece of gossip hadit that Comrade Khruschev was inter-rupted during his famous 'secret' speechbefore the Communist Party elite whenhe denounced Stalin's crimes in 1956,three years after Stalin's death. A voicefrom the audience shouted, "Why didn'tyou speak out against these crimes whenComrade Stalin was committing them?"Khruschev looked up from his speechand asked loudly, "Who said that?" Along silence ensued after which Khrus-chev observed, "That is why."

When you see "The Reader," askyourself why you are doing nothingabout the holocaust which is happeningevery year to the poorest children of theworld. Is it because you are afraid to beseen as being silly or too socialist

or soft hearted or because the systemdemands that you pay attention to theimportant things of life like obeyingyour bosses and keeping order? Besides,"What can a lowly person like myself doabout the situation?" and perhaps you're

too busy speculating on what the real es-tate market will be doing in the comingmonths and or nding a pair of jeans atJeans West which will t.

Michael meets Hanna when he is 15.Unbeknownst to Michael, he is comingdown with scarlet fever. He is throw-ing up in an alley on a very rainy daywhen Hanna, the tram conductor, stopsto offer him a warm place to rest untilhe feels better. Hanna also cleans uphis vomit from the pavement. Hannabelieves in orderliness and cleanliness.This penchant for order is apparent fromthe beginning of their relationship andthese traits lead her to offer Michaelbaths and to bathe herself as well and

as the movie progresses the motherlyHanna and her son-like friend begin toexplore the attractions which ow fromsuch erotic circumstances.

Both Hanna and Michael are full ofhidden passions. Michael could havebeen a Heydrich in Prague, had he beenborn 15 years earlier. He is clearly of-cer material. Hanna, on the other hand,is a working-class woman born 30 yearsearlier into a society which told womenthat their highest aspirations could befullled by staying in the kitchen withthe children when they weren't engagedin taking in a church service. Educationwas unnecessary. Both Hanna and Mi-chael are intelligent and attractive. Bothare turned on by the doors which are

opened to them by great literature. Bothare also social products of their own Ger-man culture, with its various and sundryfacets of puritanical, psychological re-pression. This includes a kind of reservewhich leads to the peculiarly German

goodness of keeping one's mouth shutin public about things politicalthingswhich the authorities have well in hand.Hanna's fear of exposing her own il-literacy and Michael's fear of publiccondemnation as a young law student atspeaking up for Hanna in a court of laware the stuff of tragedy.

Even after many steamy sexual en-counters, Hanna is shocked by passagesin D.H. Lawrence's Lady ChatterlysLovershe tells Michael that it is theequivalent of smut and that he shouldstop reading from it, almost as hismother would have. But clearly, Michaelis not attracted to Hanna because she isa mother replica.

However, it is klip und klar thatHanna loves Michael and he loves herbut, unbeknownst to them both whenthey are together, their love runs very,very deeply. They might believe that theywill get over their summertime romanceas time goes by, but the reality is thatsuch love does not die, no matter whathappens: there are no conditions for it.

There are elements of Fassbinder's"Ali, Fear Eats the Heart" and "BerlinAlexanderplatz" in "The Reader." "So-phie's Choice" also comes to mind. Seethis movie and be prepared to cry forhumanity because as Thoreau observed,"Most men lead lives of quiet despera-tion and go to the grave with the songstill in them."

Graphic: africabookcentre.com

Hollywood actress Kate Winslet plays Hanna.

A Love Story In Post-World War II Germany


9/12


Korean Motor Workers Under Police Seige

By Neil PrtunThe national housing crisis has led to

thousands of families losing their homes.The rise in homelessness has contrib-uted to the increase in tent communitiesacross the United States as a grassrootssolution to the problem.

Nowhere to go in ChampaignCounty

This crisis has impacted ChampaignCounty, Illinois, with the closure ofAutumn Glen apartments in Rantouland Gateway Studios in Champaign dueto the landlords failure to pay bills. Theclosures of Autumn Glen and GatewayStudios were only the latest examplesof the decline of affordable low-incomehousing in Champaign. To further com-pound matters, the City of Champaignalso allows for landlords to discriminateand not rent to tenants using Housingand Urban Development Section 8 hous-ing vouchers.

The City of Champaign does not haveany shelters where a person can simplyget a bed for the nightit only has tran-

sitional centers which require entranceinto a program if one qualies. Most ofthese transitional centers are at capacityalready or have extensive waiting lists.Other transitional centers have rules thatexclude many homeless from eligibility.Champaigns social services also facedifculties as the City of Champaign haspulled funding from homelessness ser-vice programs over the past year. Due tothese various challenges, many homelessdo not see this as a viable or digniedsolution.

Tent Community RootsAccording to many homeless, Cham-

paign can be a very dangerous place to

camp alone. As a result of this danger,

a group of about 12 homeless men andwomen came together organically in anarea near the Catholic Worker House tocamp together in safety.

On June 8, 2009, the Champaignpolice department came to investigatecomplaints from the neighbors. Thepolice began videotaping the communityand entered the Catholic Worker Houseproperty without permission. Whenasked why the ofcers were videotapingand coming onto the property withoutpermission, one of the ofcers statedthat he could do what [he] want[s].

When a member of the tent com-munity blocked the camera from lming,he was given a citation for obstructing apolice ofcer. The same resident tossedhis cell phone to a friend in an attemptto document the ofcers behavior. Hewas subsequently given a citation for as-sault as the ofcer alleged the phone wasthrown at his head.

The police harassment brought al-lies and the tent community togetherin solidarity. The tent community wasrenamed Safe Haven and has become a

safe, dignied grassroots solution to endhomelessness.

Safe Haven moved to the back yardof the Catholic Worker House andquickly adapted rules from another suc-cessful community called Dignity Villagein Oregon. Safe Haven promotes a safe,clean and dignied community life forthe homeless and is run democraticallyby the people living there. The residentsdutifully abide by the rules and havecreated an excellent low-cost solution tohomelessness.

The Fight BeginsBy June 23, the City of Champaign

stated that the Catholic Worker House

and Safe Haven were violating the zon-

ing ordinances that prohibited outdoorliving. The city continued their offensivewhen City Council member Tom Brunostated in the local newspaper, NewsGazette, that Safe Haven was a politi-cal statement. Throughout the entirediscussion, the City Council has used thelocal media to speak with activists ratherthan addressing the activists directly.

On June 30, the Catholic WorkerHouse had a routine re code inspection.Approximately an hour before, the Citynotied the Catholic Worker House thatadditional building inspectors would bedoing a more detailed inspection. Theseinspections found a host of code viola-tions that must be corrected by August3 or the Catholic Worker House will becondemned. A condemnation would endthe six-day-a-week meal program andthe housing assistance provided at theCatholic Worker House. The City zoningadministration also told the residents ofSafe Haven that they had to be off theproperty by July 17 or they would facenes of $750 per day.

Local housing activists believe that

this is an overt attack on both organiza-tions. It is selective enforcement of thelaw because the Catholic Worker Househas given a site to Safe Haven. The Cityof Champaign knew for more than a yearabout the deteriorating conditions ofGateway Studios and never sent inspec-tors to make sure the building was upto code. Multiple other buildings inChampaign would also fail such inspec-tions if the City chose to enforce all suchregulations.

Activists showed up at the July 7City Council meeting to address theChampaign City Council about how thecity was demanding that Safe Haven bedismantled but was not providing any

alternative solutions. Some activists

discussed other successful tent com-munities and explained that Safe Havenwould like to see whether or not the cityis willing to address the changing socialand economic landscape in town bycreating a viable and dignied solutionto the homelessness crisis in ChampaignCounty.

Other activists discussed the taxincentives given by the City Council to alocal developer whose wife is on the CityCouncil. The city gave $3.7 million in taxincentives for the building of a new com-mercial/residential development calledM2 while agreeing to pay for a nearly$12 million parking deck.

Multiple residents of Safe Haven toldthe City Council that Safe Haven wastheir only option. One resident told hisstory of becoming homeless after losinghis wife to illness. He stated that SafeHaven is the lifeline that is keeping himalive and giving him something to ghtfor.

The City has yet to commit to ofcialmeetings with Safe Haven while threat-ening the existence of the community

and not developing any alternatives. Oneof the Council members said on July 7:If the City wanted [Safe Haven] gone, itwould be.

Wt you cn doContact the Champaign City Council

members. Ask them to meet with SafeHaven and develop a dignied solutionlike adapting the zoning laws to allowfor Safe Havens presence in the com-munity. Ask them to work on developingadequate low-income housing in the cityof Champaign .- Mayor Gerald Schweighart:[email protected].

- Deputy Mayor Michael LaDue:

[email protected] il.us

January, when ve people in Seoul diedin another re set off during a confron-tation with police, sparking weeks ofoutrage.

The following day, the company is-sued a statement to the effect that therehad been enough violence, but in realityfollowing recognition of the tenacious

worker resistance, and police and thugswere withdrawn. The company urgedthe government to involve itself directlyin negations. All water in the plant wasnonetheless cut off at the end of June.

Following a court order, the forcesof repression struck again on July 11 asthe riot police moved to seize the factoryarea with the exception of the paint

sector, and encircled the entire factory.Ever since the June 26-27 attack

aimed at isolating Ssangyongs struggleand breaking the strike, solidarityactions took place outside the plant,attempting to build broader support.These included a street campaign,mainly from family organizations in the

center of Seoul and Pyeongtaek areas,and a four-hour general strike by theKMWU during which metal workersfrom nearby plants rallied in front ofSsangyong factory gate. Also, on July4 and on July 11 the Korean Confed-eration of Trade Unions (KCTU) heldnationwide labor rallies in support ofthe Ssangyongs struggle. These actions

were poorly attended and theleadership of the KMWU hashesitated in declaring an all-out strike in response to theattacks on the plant. Activiststhink the KMWU and KCTUleaderships are more preoc-cupied with upcoming unionelections.

Finally, on July 16, 3,000KMWU members gathered tosupport the Ssangyong strikein front of the Pyeongtaek CityHall. When they tried to moveto the factory after the rally,they were blocked by policeand 82 workers were arrestedon the spot.

All in all, chances for aserious generalization of thestruggle to other factories lookremote. Activists on the scenefeel that even if the KMWUcalled a general strike, only afew districts would follow it.The Hyundai auto workers are

in the midst of wage negotia-tions themselves. Nearby sup-plier plants have already gonethrough structural adjustmentand are not likely to mobilize.

Korean Police Fail To Break Ssangyong Factory OccupationFrom Libcom.org

South Korean police were not able to carry through with a pledge to enter aSsangyong Motor Co. factory, which has been occupied by red workers for almosttwo months, as the carmaker tries to resume production at the plant.

On July 20, about 800 red employees were still in a paint shop, confrontingmore than 3,000 police as in Seoul, Ssangyong spokesman Cha Ki Woong said byphone at the plant in Pyeongtaek, where the automaker is based.

Ssangyong came under court control in February, after facing a serious cashshortage as the global recession damped demand for the automakers sport-utilityvehicles while it lost domestic customers to Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia MotorsCorp. The occupation has caused production losses of about 10,800 vehicles worth230 billion won ($183 million) as of July 15, according to the automaker.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said earlier today it will enter the factoryto assist a court ofcer demanding the former employees leave the factory. The courtofcer left after failing to deliver the document, said Ssangyongs Cha. Police spokes-man Kim Dong Ho declined to comment.

A strikebreaking Ssangyong worker was hit by a projectile from the occupied fac-tory and was sent to the hospital.

Ssangyong plans to eliminate 36 percent of its workforce to return to prot andmeet a Sept. 15 court deadline to submit a restructuring plan to avoid liquidation.

About 800 workers are still in the plant and theyll resist in the face of death

if police tries to forcibly disperse them, union spokesman Lee Chang Kun said byphone.

The output losses at Ssangyong will rise to 14,590 vehicles worth 316 billion wonby the end of July if the former workers continue the occupation, which has stoppedSsangyongs production entirely.

Safe Haven Tent Community Under AttackPhoto: libcom.orgOccupiers use defending the factory.

Photo: libcom.orgPolice spray tear gas at occupiers on July 16.

Continued from 1


10/12


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Its First 100 Yearsby Fred W. Thompson& Jon Bekken forward by Utah PhillipsThe IWW: Its First 100 Yearsis the most comprehensivehistory of the union ever published. Written by two

Wobblies who lived through many of the strugglesthey chronicle, it documents the famous strugglessuch as the Lawrence and Paterson strikes, the fightfor decent conditions in the Pacific Northwest timberfields, the IWW's pioneering organizing amongharvest hands in the 1910s and 1920s, and the war-time repression that sent thousands of IWW membersto jail. But it is the only general history to givesubstantive attention to the IWW's successful

organizing of African-American and immigrant dock workers on the Philadelphiawaterfront, the international union of seamen the IWW built from 1913 throughthe 1930s, smaller job actions through which the IWW transformed workingconditions, Wobbly successes organizing in manufacturing in the 1930s and1940s, and the union's recent resurgence. Extensive source notes provide guidanceto readers wishing to explore particular campaigns in more depth. There is nobetter history for the reader looking for an overview of the history of the IWW,

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Blending cutting-edge legal strategies forwinning justice at work with a theory ofdramatic social change from below,Staughton Lynd and Daniel Gross delivera practical guide for making work betterwhile re-invigorating the labor movement.Illustrative stories of workers strugglesmake the legal principles come alive.

110 pages, $10.00

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Just Passing Throughby Paco Ignacio Taibo IIIn this elegant and literate mysteryadventure novel set in 1920's post-revolutionary Mexico, Paco Ignacio TaiboII is searching for a hero, specifically aleftist hero, and he thinks he has found him

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11/12


By Peter MooreThe North of 49 IWW Assembly in

Winnipeg on June 13-14, 2009, gatheredIWW members from Alberta, British Co-lumbia, Manitoba and Ontario to shareskills and talk organizing strategies forthe union in Canada.

Elected delegates from the Edmon-ton, Ottawa-Outaouais, Toronto and

Winnipeg branches also negotiated aconstitution as the rst step in forming aCanadian Regional Organizing Commit-tee (CanROC). If ratied, the CanROCwould have three ofcers, a Secretary-Treasurer, Organizing DepartmentLiaison, Editor, and be directed by anelected representative from each afli-ated charter-holding branch.

A referendum of all Canadian IWWmembers in good standing is currentlyunderway to ratify the constitution. Bal-lots are due on August 31 and the resultswill be counted and released by a ballotcommittee formed by the Ottawa-Outa-ouais branch.

The North of 49 IWW Assemblyagenda featured a session on the Labour

Movement, Indigenous Workers andSolidarity, with guest speaker Cheryl-Anne Carr, a former postal worker andcurrent member of the Winnipeg LabourDefence League. Other sessions includedCanadian Labour Law, a strategy discus-sion on the General Defense Committee,and Building Industrial Union Branchesfrom General Membership Branches.

By te CEPTORONTO Canadian real estate

giant Cadillac Fairview is union bust-ing and could not sink any lower atits downtown Toronto agship property,the Toronto Dominion Centre, said

Ontario Vice President of the Communi-cations, Energy and Paperworkers Unionof Canada (CEP), Bob Huget.

On July 14, the company announcedthe mass termination of all of its main-tenance and skilled trades employeesat the TD Centre. The 61 workers aremembers of CEP Local 2003 and havebeen locked out by the company sinceJune 14.

Huget said that the workers are longterm employees with an average of morethan 20 years of service to the company.

A number of these people havecommitted their entire working life tothis employer and to be tossed out onthe street and terminated as if they had

no rights whatsoever is simply outra-geous and we wont stand for it, saidHuget. This is nothing less than unionbusting.

Cadillac Fairview Corporation locked

out the maintenance and skilled tradesemployees in two bargaining units aftertabling a nal offer that proposed toeliminate employees, force workers tore-apply for their jobs, restrict unionrepresentation and undermine bargain-

ing rights. After four weeks of a lockout,the company this week sent a letter toall locked out employees stating thatit is pleased with the contractor hiredto do the union members work and istherefore terminating all 61 employ-ees, including those on sick leave andlong term disability. I didnt think thiscompanys tactics could sink any lower,but I am shocked by their actions, saidHuget.

Cadillac Fairview has assets of$16 billion and is wholly owned by theOntario Teachers Pension Plan. Thislast scal year was their most lucra-tive ever with nearly a billion dollars inprot. Company properties include the

TD Centre, Eaton Centre, Pacic Centreand Sherway Gardens, to name a few.The union has led bad faith bargainingcharges at the Ontario Labour RelationsBoard

Canadian IWWs Move To Form Regional Organizing Committee

Cadil lac Fairview Could Not Sink Any Lower

Nort of 49assemblyprticipntsvisited Win-nipegs Ukrai-nin LbourTemple, oneof te mostspied on build-ings in Cana-da accordingto one of itscaretakers. Itws completedin 1919 justmonts beforete Winni-peg GeneralStrike.

No one understood him. The crazy orfoolish man continued planting treesthat he would not see, and sensiblemen and women continued plantingand working for theirpresent. Time passed,and all of them died,their children contin-ued in their work, andthose were followed bythe children of theirchildren.

One morning, a group of boys andgirls went out for a walk and found aplace lled with great trees, a thousandbirds living in them and their greatbranches giving relief from the heat andprotection from the rain. Yes, an entire

Continued from 1American, Shaun Holliday, said thereductions are not about shrinking thebusiness into a more protable core on the contrary, they are about ndingand fueling growth.

In 2008, MPGs parent company,

Havasthe sixth largest communica-tions group worldwideincreased protsby 25 percent. In January 2009, VirginMobile agreed to use MPG as its me-dia planning and buying agent. Virginspends approximately $15-20 millionper year on advertising. In February2009, the recently-formed CBS Films,which plans to spend upwards of $100million per year on advertising, alsoagreed to use MPG as its media planningand buying agent.

Despite the companys increasingrevenue, MPG only gave workers a four-week severance package, which Sanchezsays is simply not enough time to nd anew job.

When Sanchez and his fellow work-ers were laid off, MPG also required thatthey sign an Agreement of Separation &Release in order to receive their sever-ance pay. Included in this statement wasthe stipulation that the former employ-ees would not in any way denigrate anyaspect of the company. The agreement,however, made no mention of the com-pany not denigrating any aspect of theemployee.

Now former employees are demand-ing the pay that they deserve, and theIWW is asking Kmart to stop advertis-ing with MPG until they negotiate a fairseverance agreement. For more informa-tion, please visit http://www.wobblycity.org or email [email protected].

mountainside was found lled withtrees. The boys and girls returned totheir town and spoke of this marvelousplace.

The men andwomen gatheredtogether and they wentto the place in greatsurprise. Who plantedthis? they asked. Noone knew. They went tospeak with their elders

and they did not know either. Only anold one, the oldest of the community,could give them the information and hetold them the history of the crazy andfoolish man.

The men and women met in assem-

bly and had a discussion. They saw andunder

industrial worker - august - september 2009

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