industrial worker - issue #1754, april 2013

7/28/2019 Industrial Worker - Issue #1754, April 2013

1/12

Industrial Worker

PO Box 180195

Chicago, IL 60618, USA

ISSN 0019-8870ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Periodicals Postage

P A I D

Chicago, ILand additional

mailing ofces

O f f i c i a l n e w s p a p e r O f T h e i n d u s T r i a l w O r k e r s O f T h e w O r l d

OBU & HorizontalWorker CooperativesIn Texas 11

Special: Requiem ForA Campaign 6-7

INDUSTRIAL WORKER

When Child CareWorkers Fought Back 3

a 2 0 13 # 1 7 5 4 V o . 1 1 0 n o . 3 $ 2 / 2 / 2

Wobblies Organize, Strike At Nonprofit In Minneapolis

100 Million WorkersGo On General StrikeIn India 12

Sisters Camelot workers show off their red cards after going public asIWW members on Feb. 25.

Photo: colt thundercat

By X364359On Monday, Feb. 25, canvass work-

rs at Sistrs Camlot, a nonprot foodshare organization in Minneapolis, wentpublic as card-holding IWW members. Theworkers demanded a negotiation meetingwith th managmnt collctiv (of whichmost of th workforc ar not mmbrs,despite claiming to be a worker collec-tive) on Friday, March 1, at which theypresented their demands. The workersalso thratnd to strik if th collctivrfusd to ngotiat. Aftr discussing thdmands for an hour, th bosss told thworkers that they would not negotiate, andthe workers went on strike.

The union has near-unanimous sup-port from canvassrs, most of whom havsigned red cards or pledged to, and amajority of whom took part in th marchon the collective when they went public.Additionally, on of th canvass dirctors,

Bobby Becker, openly supportsthe union and joined the workerson strike, although he is ineligiblefor IWW mmbrship undr thexisting management structure.

The workers began organiz-ing about four months prior togoing public and approached theIWW on thir own, aftr yarsof dclining workplac condi-tions. Their grievances includelack of workplac dmocracy,below-standard pay, no medicalcovrag for job-rlatd injuris,and no paid vacation/sick days.Although Sistrs Camlot claimsto be a collective and that thereare no bosses here, both directorsand th collctiv can hir and rcanvassers who arent collectivemembers. The workers main

Continued on 8

By Evelyn StoneAftr thr yars of carful organizing,

the IWW Star Tickets Workers Union wentpublic in late January. Star Tickets is aticketing agency owned by Detroit-areamillionair Jack Krasula with an ofc inGrand Rapids, Mich. The company con-sists of a small call cntr with customrservice representatives who sell event

tickets to customers andoffic workrs who dalwith clients such as casi-nos and concert venues.

Ovr th last fwyears, our organizing com-mitt has functiond asthe human resources de-partmnt bcaus our of-c dosnt actually havone. Collaboratively, wesolve problems that comeup at work, support eachothr, and affct som vic-tories by working togetherwithout publicly using the

title union. The mostsignicant victory was gt-ting the company to stop

hiring call center workers as independentcontractors in 2011. Weve always beencautiousperhaps too cautiouswith ourorganizing, and our decision to come out inJanuary was uncharacteristically suddenbecause the workload and stress level inthe client services department had becomeunbarabl. W ralizd that our fllowworkers in that department could not go

Grand Rapids Call Center Workers Win Union Electionon any longer under these conditions.The workers in client services are onsalary, which basically means theres nocap to th amount of hours thy hav towork, and, while the workload and jobdscription of th staff in that dpartmnthas been steadily expanding over the lasttwo years, the compensation certainly hasnot. Client services representatives regu-larly work 60 to 70 hours per week andstill nd it impossibl to nish thir work,much lss satisfy thir own high standardsfor th work thy do. Thy may hav paidtim off, but thy ar too afraid to us it b-caus of how much work will pil up duringthir day off. This is an xtrmly unfulll-

ing situation to b in wk aftr wk. Notto mntion its vry hard to justify givingup all your fr tim and social rlation-ships just for a job that, whn you do thmath, pays an avrag of about $9.50 prhour. Currently, the people working in thatdepartment are miserable, and all it wouldtak to x is hiring a coupl mor poplto help distribute the workload. However,Krasula runs Star Tickets on an austeritymodel, and he is committed to getting themost work out of th fwst popl for th

lowst pay. Although w hav pointd outthis problm ovr and ovr, h rfuss tomake changes.

We had always pictured our ideal sce-nario for going public as a union at a timwhn w had a strong majority of supportin th ofc and could affct a big walk-on-the-boss straight to Krasula, who israrly in our ofc. W wantd to includeveryone on the organizing committee.However, we realized that we couldntwait any longr for that idal scnario. Thcommittee held an emergency meeting anddcidd to l a ptition with th NationalLabor Rlations Board (NLRB). It was adifcult dcision, but w knw Krasula

and knew that he would never bargainwith us without lgal forc. Aftr ling thptition, thr of our cor mmbrs wntinto th ofc of th highst managr onsit, th vic prsidnt of sals, and madour dmands for hr to pass on to Krasula.Ths dmands wr for him to crat twonew positionsone more client servicesposition and one marketing assistant posi-tion to tak car of all th various markt-ing duties that have been dumped on

Continued on 9

SponSoranInduStrIalWorker

SubScrIptIonforaprISoner

Sponsor anIndustrial Worker

subscription for a prisoner! TheIWW often has fellow workers& allies in prison who write to

us requesting a subscription tothe Industrial Worker, the ofcial

newspaper of the IWW. This is yourchance to show solidarity!

For only $18 you can buy one fullyears worth of working-class newsfrom around the world for a fellow

worker in prison. Just visit:http://store.iww.org/industrial-

worker-sub-prisoner.html to orderthe subscription TODAY!

Star Ticket Workers rally in January. Photo: Evelyn Stone


2/12

Page 2 Industrial Worker April 2013

AfricaSouth AfricaCape Town: 7a Rosebridge, Linray Road, Rosebank, CapeTown, Western Cape, South Arica 7700. iww-c [email protected] Kabale Uganda: Justus Tukwasibwe Weij-agye, P.O. Box 217, Kabale , Uganda, East Arica.jkweijagye[at]yahoo.com

AustraliaNew South WalesSydney GMB: [email protected]. Laura, del.,[email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: nor [email protected]

QueenslandBrisbane: P.O. Box 5842, West End, Qld 4101. [email protected]. Asger, del., [email protected] AustraliaAdelaide: [email protected], www.wobbliesSA.org. Jesse, del., 0432 130 082VictoriaMelbourne: P.O. Box 145, Moreland, VIC 3058. [email protected], www.iwwmelbourne.wordpress.com. Loki, del., [email protected]: [email protected] AustraliaPerth GMB: P.O. Box 1, Cannington WA 6987. [email protected]. Bruce, del.,[email protected] IslesBritish Isles Regional Organising Committee (BIROC): POBox 7593 Glasgow, G42 2EX. Secretariat: [email protected], Organising Department Chair: [email protected]. www.iww.org.ukIWW UK Web Site administrators and Tech DepartmentCoordinators: [email protected], www.tech.iww.org.ukNBS Job Branch National Blood Service: [email protected]

Mission Print Job Branch: [email protected] Construction Workers IU 330: [email protected] Workers IU 610: [email protected],www.iww-healthworkers.org.ukEducation Workers IU 620: [email protected], www.geocities.com/iwweducationRecreational Workers (Musicians) IU 630: [email protected], [email protected], Legal, Public Interest & Financial Oce WorkersIU 650: [email protected]: [email protected] GMB: Hydra Books, 34 Old Market, BS2 [email protected], www.bristoliww.org.uk/Cambridge GMB:IWWCambridge, 12 Mill Road, Cam-bridge CB1 2AD [email protected]: 0044(0)7570891030. [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected], [email protected] GMB: Unit 107, 40 Halord St., Leicester LE11TQ, England. 07981 433 637. [email protected] ww w.leicestershire-iww.org.ukLondon GMB: c/o Freedom Bookshop, Angel Alley, 84bWhitechapel High Street, E1 7QX. +44 (0) 20 3393 1295,[email protected] www.iww.org/en/branches/UK/London

Nottingham: [email protected] GMB: [email protected]: s [email protected] and Wear GMB (Newcastle +): [email protected]. www.iww.org/en/branches/UK/TyneWest Midlands GMB: The Warehouse, 54-57 AllisonStreet, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5TH [email protected] www.wmiww.orgYork GMB: [email protected] www.wowyork.orgScotlandClydeside GMB: [email protected] and Galloway GMB: dumries@iw w.org.uk ,iwwdumries.wordpress.comEdinburgh GMB: c/o 17 W. Montgomery Place, EH7 5HA.0131-557-6242. [email protected] Canadian Regional Organizing Committee (CAN-ROC): [email protected] GMB: P.O. Box 75175, T6E 6K1. [email protected], edmonton.iww.ca. Gabriel Cardenas,del., 780-990-9081, [email protected] ColumbiaVancouver GMB: 204-2274 York Ave., V6K 1C6.604-732-9613. [email protected]. www.

vancouveriww.com

Vancouver Island GMB: Box 297 St. A, Nanaimo BC, V9R5K9. iw [email protected]. http://vanislewobs.wordpress.comManitobaWinnipeg GMB: IWW, c/o WORC, P.O. Box 1, R3C [email protected] BrunswickFredericton: [email protected] GMB & GDC Local 6: 1106 WellingtonSt., P.O. Box 36042, Ottawa, K1Y 4V3. [email protected],[email protected] Panhandlers Union: Karen Crossman, spokesper-son, 613-282-7968, [email protected]: c/o PCAP, 393 Water St. #17, K9H 3L7,705-749-9694. Sean Carleton, del., 705-775-0663,[email protected]

Toronto GMB: c/o Libra Knowledge & Inormation SvcsCo-op, P.O. Box 353 Stn. A, M5W 1C2. 416-919-7392. [email protected]. Max Bang, del., [email protected] GMB: c/o WWAC, 328 Pelissier St., N9A 4K7.(519) 564-8036. [email protected]. http://windsoriww.wordpress.comQubecMontreal GMB: cp 60124, Montral, QC, H2J 4E1. 514-268-3394. [email protected] Language AreaIWW German Language Area Regional OrganizingCommittee (GLAMROC): IWW, Haberweg 19, 61352 BadHomburg, Germany. [email protected]. www.wobblies.deAustria: [email protected]. www.iwwaustria.wordpress.comBerlin: Oenes Treen jeden 2.Montag im Monat im CaeCommune, Reichenberger Str.157, 10999 Berlin, 18 Uhr.(U-Bahnho Kottbusser Tor). Postadresse: IWW Berlin, c/oRotes Antiquariat, Rungestr. 20, 10179 Berlin, [email protected] am Main: [email protected]/Koeln GMB: c/o Allerweltshaus, Koernerstr.77-79, 50823 Koeln, Germany. [email protected]

Munich: [email protected]: [email protected]: iw [email protected] IWW: 004793656014. [email protected]://www.iwwnorge.org, http://www.acebook.com/iwwnorge. Twitter: @IWWnorgeUnited StatesAlaskaFairbanks: P.O. Box 72938, 99707. Chris White, del.ArizonaPhoenix GMB: P.O. Box 7126, 85011-7126. 623-336-1062. [email protected] IWW: 928-600-7556, [email protected]: P.O. Box 283, 72702. [email protected]

CaliforniaLos Angeles GMB: (323) 374-3499. [email protected] Coast GMB: P.O. Box 844, Eureka 95502-0844.707-725-8090, [email protected] IWW: P.O. Box 2445, 95812-2445. 916-825-0873, [email protected] Francisco Bay Area GMB: (Curbside and Buyback IU670 Recycling Shops; Stonemountain Fabrics Job Shop

and IU 410 Garment and Textile Workers IndustrialOrganizing Committee; Shattuck Cinemas; EmbarcaderoCinemas) P.O. Box 11412, Berkeley, 94712. 510-845-0540. [email protected] 520 Marine Transport Workers: Steve Ongerth, del.,[email protected] Printing: 2412 Palmetto Street, Oakland94602. 510-482-4547. [email protected] Jose: [email protected] GMB: 2727 W. 27th Ave., 80211. Lowell May, del.,303-433-1852. [email protected] Corners (AZ, CO, NM, UT): 970-903-8721, [email protected] GMB (Washington): 741 Morton St. NW, WashingtonDC, 20010. 571-276-1935FloridaGainesville GMB: c/o Civic Media Center, 433 S. Main St.,32601. Robbie Czopek, del., 904-315-5292, [email protected], ww w.gainesvilleiww.orgMiami IWW: [email protected] Sound: P. Shultz, 8274 SE Pine Circle, 33455-6608.772-545-9591, [email protected] GMB: P.O. Box 2662, Pensacola 32513-2662.840-437-1323, [email protected], www.

angelre.com/f5/iww

GeorgiaAtlanta GMB: 542 Moreland Avenue, Southeast Atlanta,30316. 404-693-4728HawaiiHonolulu: Tony Donnes, del., [email protected]

IdahoBoise: Ritchie Eppink, del., P.O. Box 453, 83701. 208-371-9752, [email protected] GMB: P.O. Box 57114, 60657. [email protected] Truckers Hotline: mtw530@iw w.orgv

Indiana

Indiana GMB: 219-308-8634. [email protected]: Indiana IWWCelestial Panther Publishing IU 450 Job Shop: 317-420-

1025. [email protected]. http://celestial-panther.me

IowaEastern Iowa GMB: 563-265-5330. [email protected] Kansas City/ Lawrence GMB: P.O. Box 1462,Lawrence, 66044. 816-875-6060. [email protected]: Naythan Smith, del., [email protected] IWW: John Mark Crowder, del.,126 Kelly Lane,Homer, 71040. 318-224-1472. [email protected]

Maine IWW: 206-350-9130. [email protected], www.southernmaineiww.orgMarylandBaltimore GMB: P.O. Box 33350, 21218. [email protected] Area GMB: P.O. Box 391724, Cambridge, 02139.617-863-7920, [email protected], www.IW-WBoston.orgCape Cod/SE Massachusetts: [email protected] Mass. Public Service IU 650 Branch: IWW, P.O.Box 1581, Northampton, 01061

MichiganDetroit GMB: 4210 Trumbull Blvd., 48208. [email protected] Rapids GMB: P.O. Box 6629, 49516. [email protected] Rapids Bartertown Diner and Rocs Cakes: 6Jeerson St., 49503. [email protected], www.bartertowngr.comCentral Michigan: 5007 W. Columbia Rd., Mason 48854.517-676-9446, [email protected] River GMB: [email protected], [email protected] Cities GMB: 3019 Minnehaha Ave. South, Suite 50,Minneapolis 55406. [email protected] IWW: P.O. Box 3232, 55803. [email protected] Kansas City IWW: P.O. Box 414304, Kansas City64141-4304. 816.875.6060. [email protected]. Louis I WW: P.O. Box 63142, 63163. [email protected] Workers IU 330: Dennis Georg, del., 406-490-3869, [email protected]: Jim Del Duca, 106 Paisley Court, Apt. I, Bozeman59715. 406-860-0331. [email protected] a GMB: P.O. Box 81175, Lincoln 68501-1175.402-370-6962. [email protected]. www.nebraskaiww.orgNevadaReno GMB: P.O. Box 12173, 89510. Paul Lenart, del.,775-513-7523, [email protected]

IU 520 Railroad Workers: Ron Kaminkow, del., P.O. Box2131, Reno, 89505. 608-358-5771. [email protected] HampshireNew Hampshire IWW: Paul Broch, del.,112 Middle St. #5,Manchester 03101. 603-867-3680 . [email protected]

New JerseyCentral New Jersey GMB: P.O. Box 10021, New Brunswick,08906. 732-801-7001. [email protected]. Bob Ratyn-ski, del., 908-285-5426New MexicoAlbuquerque GMB: 202 Harvard D r. SE, 87106. 505-227-0206, [email protected] YorkNew York City GMB: 45-02 23rd Street, Suite #2, LongIsland City,11101. iw [email protected]. w ww.wobblycity.orgStarbucks Campaign:[email protected] www.

starbucksunion.org

Hudson Valley GMB: P.O. Box 48, Huguenot 12746, 845-342-3405, [email protected], http://hviww.blogspot.com/Syracuse IWW: [email protected] NY GMB: P.O. Box 235, Albany 12201-0235,518-833-6853 or 518-861-5627. ww w.upstate-nyiww.org, [email protected], Rochelle Semel,del., P.O. Box 172, Fly Creek 13337, 607-293-6489,[email protected] IWW: Brendan Maslauskas Dunn, del., 315-240-3149. [email protected] CarolinaCarolina Mountains GMB: P.O. Box 1005, 28802. 828-407-1979. [email protected] GMB: P. O. Box 5022, 27435. 1-855-IWW-4-GSO (855-499-4476). [email protected] DakotaRed River GMB: [email protected], [email protected] GMB: c/o Rie, 4071 Indianola Ave., Columbus43214. [email protected] Ohio GMB: P.O. Box 141072, Cleveland 44114.216-502-5325Ohio Valley GMB: P.O. Box 6042, Cincinnati 45206, 513-510-1486, [email protected] Patches Screenprinting IU 410 Job Shop:[email protected]: P.O. Box 213, Medicine Park 73557, 580-529-3360OregonLane GMB: Ed Gunderson, del., 541-743-5681. [email protected], www.eugeneiww.orgPortland GMB: 2249 E Burnside St., 97214, 503-231-5488. [email protected], pdx.iww.orgPortland Red and Black Cae: 400 SE 12th Ave, 97214.503-231-3899. [email protected]. www.redandblackcae.comPennsylvaniaLancaster IWW: P.O. Box 352, 17608. [email protected] Valley GMB: P.O. Box 1477, Allentown, 18105-1477. 484-275-0873. [email protected]. acebook.com/lehighvalleyiwwPaper Crane Press IU 450 Job Shop: 610-358-9496. [email protected], www.papercranepress.comPittsburgh GMB: P.O. Box 5912,15210. [email protected] IslandProvidence GMB: P.O. Box 5795, 02903. [email protected] IWW: Lara Jennings, del., 106 N. 3rd St.,Clarksville, 37040. 931-206-3656. Jonathan Beasley,del., 2002 Post Rd., Clarksville, 37043 931-220-9665.TexasDallas & Fort Worth IWW: 1618 6th Ave, Fort Worth,76104El Paso IWW: Sarah Michelson, del., [email protected] Triangle IWW (Beaumont - Port Arthur): [email protected] Texas IWW: [email protected] Lake City GMB: P.O. Box 1227, 84110. 801-871-9057. [email protected] GMB: P.O. Box 8005, 05402. 802-540-2541Virginia

Richmond IWW: P.O. Box 7055, 23221. [email protected], ww w.richmondiww.orgWashingtonBellingham: P.O. Box 1793, 98227. [email protected] GMB: P.O. Box 7276, 98401. [email protected]://tacoma.iww.org/Seattle GMB: 1122 E. Pike #1142, 98122-3934. 206-339-4179. [email protected]. www.seattleiww.orgWisconsinMadison GMB: P.O. Box 2442, 53701-2442. www.madison.iww.orgIUB 560 - Communications and Computer Workers: P.O.Box 259279, Madison 53725. 608-620-IWW1. [email protected]. www.Madisoniub560.iww.orgLakeside Press IU 450 Job Shop: 1334 Williamson,53703. 608-255-1800. Jerry Chernow, del., [email protected]. w ww.lakesidepress.orgMadison Inoshop Job Shop:1019 Williamson St. #B,53703. 608-262-9036Just Coee Job Shop IU 460: 1129 E. Wilson, Madison,53703. 608-204-9011, justcoee.coopRailroad Workers IU 520: 608-358-5771. [email protected] GMB: 1750A N Astor St., 53207. TrevorSmith, 414-573-4992

Northwoods IWW: P.O. Box 452, Stevens Point, 54481

IWW directoryIndustrial WorkerThe Voice of Revolutionary

Idustrial Uiois

ORgAnIzATIOn

EDUcATIOn

EmAncIpATIOn

Ofcial nwspapr of th

IndustrIalWorkers

oftheWorld

Post Ofc Box 180195Chicago, IL 60618 USA

773.728.0996 [email protected]

www.iww.org

General Secretary-treaSurer:

Sam Green

General executive Board:

Monika Vykoukal, Dave Pike, KatieJennings, ME Miller, John Slavin,Montigue Magruder, Meg Beyer

editor& Graphic deSiGner:

Diane [email protected]

proofreaderS :

Maria Rodriguez Gil, Tom Levy,Nick Jusino, Scotty Hrtz,

Jacob Brent, John Steven Pirres,Mathieu Dube, Tony B, Dan Scott,

Jonathan D. Beasley, Tala Birch,D. Knan, Nil Parthun,Estelle Clark, Rebekah David,

Skylaar Amann, Chris Hffnr,Billy OConnor, David Patrick,

Joel Gosse, Zac Smith

printer:

Globe Direct/Boston Globe MediaMillbury, MA

Next deadline isApril 5, 2013

U.S. IW mailing address:IW, Post Ofc Box 180195,Chicago, IL 60618, United

States

ISSN 0019-8870

Periodicals postagepaid Chicago, IL.

POSTMASTeR: Send addresschangs to IW, Post Ofc Box180195, Chicago, IL 60618 USA

SUBSCRIPTIONSIndividual Subscriptions: $18

Intrnational Subscriptions: $30Library/Institution Subs: $30/yarUnion dues includes subscription.

Published monthly with the excep-tion of Fbruary and August.

Articles not so designated donot reect the IWWs

ofcial position.

Press Date: March 18, 2013

Letters Welcome!Snd your lttrs to: [email protected] withLetter in the subject.

Mailing Address:Industrial Worker, P.O. Box 180195,Chicago, IL 60618, United States.

Staughton Lynd Responds To Counterpoint On PlanksLong liv fr spch and comradly

disagreement! Rosa Luxemburg wrotefrom prison: Frdom is always frdomfor th on who thinks diffrntly.

However, sometimes there are misun-derstandings that can be cleared away. Ithink I may not have made clear my twomain points and that FW Miller may havemisunderstood them in his response to mypic, Planks For A Platform And A Fw

Words About Organizing, titld Countr-point On Planks For A Platform, whichappard on pag 3 of th March IW.

First, I am not saying that industrialunions have been corrupted. I am sayingthat th 1905 Prambl assums that if thlabor movement can reorganize on a basisof industrial rathr than craft unionism,the new industrial unions will practicesolidarity, and that history has shown thisassumption to be mistaken.

I offr th Unitd Min Workrs asan xampl of an industrial union thatwas in many ways top-down and anythingbut radical in 1905, and became even lessradical in the 1920s when John L. Lewisbcam its prsidnt. Lwis, as initiator ofth Congrss of Industrial Organizations(CIO), implantd in CIO contracts from

th vry bginning th ky idas of(1) a management prerogatives clausethat gav managmnt a fr hand inmaking the big investment decisions,including closing a plant and movingcapital overseas, and (2) promisingnot to strik during th duration of thcontract, thus dpriving workrs of thopportunity to ght back.

An in tr st in g si d ba r to ou r

discussion is that in those same yearsLenin, in exile in Siberia, read theWebbs books on British trade union-ism and concluded that conventional laborunions, lft to thir own dvics, would notseek radical structural change. I suggestthat his diagnosis was correct but his rem-edy, the vanguard party, was a disaster.

My second main point was that Wobsmight hlp thir fllow workrs to un-drstand what th IWW was up to ifthr wr a list of particular practicsand demands that the IWW advocated.Brothr Millr agrs with most of thm,but comments repeatedly nothing newthr or w hav known this for a longtim. Of cours. Thats th point. I offrda listand there was nothing sacred aboutthis particular listof practics and d-

May Day! May Day!

Th dadlin for announcmnts for thannual May DayIndustrial Worker is

April 5, 2013. Celebrate the real laborday with a mssag of solidarity! Sndannouncmnts to [email protected]. Muchapprciatd donations for th followingsizes should be sent to:

IWW GHQ, P.O. Box 180195,Chicago, IL 60618, United States.

$12 for 1 tall, 1 column wid$40 for 4 by 2 columns$90 for a quartr pag

mands that w know about but that fllowworkers dont necessarily understand thatwe advocate. I think having such a list topass on to fllow workrs might licit thresponse, Well, yeah, I agree with that.What ls do you stand for?

Finally, b fair. I didnt and dont askanyon to dn thmslvs as an accom-panyingist. I said that the labor move-mnt might accomplish mor if, instadof trying to organiz popl w sought toaccompany them, that is, to walk besidethm, sharing idas on a basis of quality.

Staughton Lynd,just an old retired historian andlawyer

Photo: washington.edu


3/12

April 2013 Industrial Worker Page 3

__I afrm that I am a workr, and that I am not an mployr.

__I agree to abide by the IWW constitution.

__I will study its principls and acquaint myslf with its purposs.Nam: ________________________________

Addrss: ______________________________

City, State, Post Code, Country: _______________

Occupation: ____________________________

Phone: ____________ Email:_______________

Amount enclosd: _________

The working class and the employingclass have nothing in common. There canbe no peace so long as hunger and wantar found among millions of workingpopl and th fw, who mak up th m-ploying class, hav all th good things oflif. Btwn ths two classs a strugglmust go on until th workrs of th worldorganiz as a class, tak possssion of thmans of production, abolish th wagsystem, and live in harmony with theearth.

W nd that th cntr ing of thmanagmnt of industris into fwr andfwr hands maks th trad unions un-able to cope with the ever-growing powerof th mploying class. Th trad unionsfostr a stat of affairs which allows onst of workrs to b pittd against anothrst of workrs in th sam industry,thrby hlping dfat on anothr inwage wars. Moreover, the trade unionsaid the employing class to mislead theworkrs into th bli f that th workingclass have interests in common with theiremployers.

These conditions can be changed andth intrst of th working class uphldonly by an organization formd in such

a way that all its members in any oneindustry, or all industris if ncssary,cease work whenever a strike or lockout ison in any dpartmnt throf, thus mak-ing an injury to one an injury to all.

Instad of th consrvativ motto, Afair days wag for a fair days work, wmust inscribe on our banner the revolu-tionary watchword, Abolition of th wagsystem.

It is th historic mission of th work-ing class to do away with capitalism. Thearmy of production must b organizd,not only for th vryday struggl withcapitalists, but also to carry on produc-tion when capitalism shall have beenoverthrown. By organizing industriallyw ar forming th structur of t h nw

socity within th shll of th old.

TO JOIN: Mail this form with a chck or mony ordr for initiationand your rst months dus to: IWW, Post Ofc Box 180195, Chicago, IL60618, USA.

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

according to your incom. If your monthly incom is undr $2000, dusar $9 a month. If your monthly incom is btwn $2000 and $3500,dus ar $18 a month. If your monthly incom is ovr $3500 a month, dusar $27 a month. Dus may vary outsid of North Amrica and in RgionalOrganizing Committs (Australia, British Isls, Grman Languag Ara).

Membership includes a subscription to theIndustrial Worker.

Join the IWW Today

Th IWW is a union for all workrs, a union ddicatd to organizing on thjob, 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 ar organizd by workrs ourslvs to mt th nds of th ntirpopulation, not mrly a handful of xploitrs.

W ar th Industrial Workrs of th World bcaus w organiz industrially that is to say, we organize all workers on the job into one union, rather than dividingworkrs by trad, so that w can pool our strngth to ght th bosss togthr.

Sinc th IWW was foundd in 1905, w hav rcognizd th nd to build atruly intrnational union movmnt in ordr to confront th global powr of thbosss and in ordr to strngthn workrs ability to stand in solidarity with our fl-low workrs no mattr what part of th glob thy happn to liv 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 govrnmnt crtication or mployr rcognitionbut about workers coming together to address our common concerns. Sometimesthis mans striking or signing a contract. Somtims it mans rfusing to work withan unsaf machin or following th bosss ordrs so litrally that nothing gts don.Somtims it mans agitating around particular issus or grivancs in a spcicworkplace, or across an industry.

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

IWW Constitution Preamble

Feminism

When Child Care Workers Fought BackBy Susan Dorazio

In th rst dcad of th 20th cn-tury, agitation by women in the industrialparts of th world for thir civil rights andfor thir rights as workrs was gainingmomentum. Inspired by this increasedmilitancyand by the organizing in 1909of National Womns Day by th WomnsNational Committ of th Socialist Partyof Amricath Womns Congrss ofthe Second International, meeting inCopenhagen in 1910, approved the callby Ger man soc ial ist Clara Zetkin andother delegates to create a Womens Dayto fostr intrnational solidarity amongsocialist women.

In contrast to the liberal movementsfor womns suffrag and workrs rights,and in opposition to war and social injus-tice, International Womens Day would bermly placd in th contxt of th globalcapitalist systm, on that basically rfussto recognize, let alone heed, the needs andrights of womn.

In th last dcad of th 20th cntury,anothr rawakning, also focusing on

workrs rights in th contxt of th rangof womns rols in socity, was occurringin th Unitd Stats. For th bttr part ofth 1990s, hundrds of child car workrs,including myslf, took part in a grassrootsproject called the Worthy Wage Campaign.Through fact-finding, consciousnss-raising, marchs, rallis, strt fstivals,letter-writing, and media contactandundr th bannr of Rights, Raiss, andRspctw confrontd what was calldth stafng crisis, and wr dtrmindto rvrs it. Of immdiat concrn wasth rvolving door of misrably paid childcar workrs and th ffct this has had onchildrn and familis.

As this phnomnon startd gtting

sortd out through data from cntrs andintrviws with workrs, crtain factsbcam cla r. Firs t and formost wasthat our low wags, lack of bnts andgood working conditions were subsidiz-ing th cost of child car, ithr to as

the burden on par-nts if thr wrfs to pay, or ongovernment whosespending prioritiesinvariably put hu-man services suchas child care at thebottom of th list.

A s w g o tdeeper into ourundrstanding ofthe various crisesin child care, manyof us startd to un-derstand their sys-temic nature andthe ways workers,familis and com-munity memberswere getti ng ma-nipulated and pit-ted against eachother. We would see that this was servingto drail us from taking th kind of collc-tive action that would really challenge and

transform capitalism, th root caus of thcrises that riddles the care and educationsectors.

To nd allis, som of us who par-ticipated in the Worthy Wage Campaignwork d hard to gt th right s of childcar workrs, familis and childrn onth agnda of human rights, social justicand radical labor groups. At th samtim, thos of us afliatd with th IWW,socialist organizations, and/or womensrights/liberation projects did the reverse(i.e., encouraged child care workers to getinvolvd with th broadr movmnt forsocial change), since our issues were sooftn th sam. I had what I considrdth xtra advantag of bing a socialist

fminist in an ovrwhlmingly fmalworkforc. This hlpd m s my xpri-ncs as a child car workr from both aclass-based and a gender perspective. Oth-rs, also, cam to apprciat th fact thatpatriarchy and misogyny had a lot to do

with our low pay,low status, and atendency to under-value ourselves.

Unfortunatly,liberal politics wonout, and by 2002,the Worthy WageCampaign was nowhadquartrd inWashington, D.C.,renamed the Cen-tr for th ChildCar Workforc,and official ly ap r o j c t o f t h mainstram Amr-ican Fdration ofTeachers Educa-tional Foundation.empowrmnt forradical chang ofthe relationship

btwn workrs, familis and communi-tisbasd on full govrnmnt funding forgood wags and bnts, low child-staff

ratios, high quality facilitis, support sr-vics and fr tuitionhad bcom a vagurfrnc to a wll-ducatd workforc,receiving better compensation and avoice in their workplace.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, the publicsctor nursry nurss, mmbrs of Uni-son, wr gtting fd up with govrnmntstone-walling on their own child care cri-sis. Th rus of so-calld profssionalismthat had undrmind th militancy of thWorthy Wag Campaign was playing itslfout in Scotland in th form of xpanddjob dscriptions but no pay incrass forth addd rsponsibilitis. In fact, thrhad been no salary review since 1988 inany of th Scottish councils in charg of

overseeing the nurseries.By th nd of 2003, btwn 4,000

and 5,000 nursery nurses, disgusted by theintransignc of both th councils and thConvntion of Scottish Local Authoritishad votd for strik action that ld to a

sris of rgional on- or two-day striks,accompanied by rallies and demonstra-tions. By March 1, 2004, th nursrynurses were ready to engage in an all-out,indnit strik for a national sttlmnton pay raises in line with their currentjob rquirmnts and th importanc oftheir work.

Unfortunatly, but prdictably, thstandard businss union tactics of Unisonnot only faild to sufcintly support soli-darity among th nursry nurss but faildto fostr links btwn th nursry nurssand workers in other sectors, and betweenth nurss and thir cntrs familis andcommunities when more picket supportand public outcry might well have changedthe strikes outcome.

Instad, th rallying cry for a nationalsttlmntbasic to th goal of qual payfor qual work and so vital to nabling thnursery nurses to maintain their resolvewas dropped by Unison based on a pledgeof a national rviw of pay and workingconditions at som point in th futur. Thisld to signicant discrpancis btwn

the pay settlements negotiated betweenthe union and individual councils and,undoubtedly, to demoralization among theworkers when the 12-week s trike ended.

Fast forward to London at th nd ofJanuary 2013, when early years ministerElizabeth Truss proposed changes tochild-staff ratios in child car cntrs inengland, as wll as th xpansion of duca-tion rquirmnts for th workrs. In childcare and other human service sectors thisstrategy usually works particularly well be-caus it mploys th mythology of succssthrough individual ffort and prsvrancand platituds about th importanc ofour work, while exploiting the workerscollctiv ddication and compassion. At

th sam tim, it promiss familis and taxpayrs that with on strok of administra-tive genius, child care (or whatever) will becost-ffctiv and thus lss burdnsom.

This is a sham, and workrs, familisand community activists need to say sovia direct and coordinated actions. Childcare workers and supporters must ham-mr away at th fact that wags, bnts,stafng ratios, apprciation of our fforts,and rcognition and support of our skillsand intrsts ar prim dtrminants ofquality child carand non of ths fac-tors should or need to get ignored.

For thos of us who participatd inthe Worthy Wage Campaign in the UnitedStates or the nursery nurses strike in Scot-land, th ridiculous atomizing of qualitychild care that Truss proposal representsis an all-too-familiar tactic for divrtingattntion from thos rsponsibl for thwholly inadquat public funding of socialsrvics by clvrly focusing attntion onthe blameless.

Truss and her ilk need to be told thatw wont stand for thir continual trad-offschms, such as furthr ducation andtraining as a prcondition for good wagsand working conditions. By this time, weshould know that quality car and qualityjobs cannot be an either/or proposition.Ways must b found to nabl thm tooccur simultaneously, and with the rights,nds, and nal say of th s taff at th corof this planning.

By turning the spotlight, and turn-ing up the heat, on purposely convo-luted pseudo-solutions to serious socialproblms and on th rapid rosion of thpublic sctor lading to th withring ofsocial services, we will surely advance thestruggl for th global unity of th work-ing class.

Furthermore, by remembering thecourag and commitmnt of such womnworkers as those who participated in theWorthy Wage Campaign in the UnitedStates and the striking nursery nurses inScotlandacting on bhalf of all womnand all workrsw honor th foundrs,and prptuat th maning, of Intr-national Womens Day in the best way

possible.

Graphic: amirisara.blogspot.com


4/12


Graphic: Mike Konopacki

Taking Creative ActionBy a Pizza Hut Worker

There is no denying that organizing,and class struggle more generally, is hardworkit can be boring and really tiring.However, we need to remember not toget stuck in a pattern that keeps it thatway. There is no reason to stick to the oldmodls of action. Lts b crativ, lts trynw things and most important of all lts

ncourag nw fllow workrs to comup with ideas and take the lead on them.While at Pizza Hut we got creat ive

about taking action, ovr halth and saftyand over management belligerence.

My rst xampl is how w dalt withpoor safty standards, particularly ovngloves. In the 10 years that I have workedat Pizza Hut, safty has always bn is-suethe burns on my arms can attest.Oven gloves with holes were a constantissue. Despite it being raised by multipleworkers, multiple times, nothing was everdone. So we essentially created a game:binning glovs! As w got in on ach shift Ichckd glovs, and if thy wr sub-par,they would end up in the bin.

Th trick to making it fun in this casthough was through involving other PizzaHut workrs, activ fllow workrs or not.That meant taking a risk that they couldhave dobbed us in, but the reality was weknew it was an issue that annoyed every-on. W also mad a gam of gtting awaywith it. At th cor howvr, this actionwas ral and maningful. It rprsnts twoclassic tactics: dual power and workplacesabotag. Although both wr on a smallscale, it meant a lot to workers in a histori-cally unorganized workplace.

Th scond xampl I would put for-ward was a mattr of accidntally discovr-ing a weak spot. For some months, we hadbn trying to push through a grivanc. Agrivanc forms a part of a labor disput

in British employment law and in practice;it is a prtty dcnt way of putting yourbosses on notice.

Dspit our bst fforts to talk, w hadbeen completely ignor ed. So we beganto plan our next move. Our dispute wasover Bank Holiday pay, which is usuallytim-and-a-half, but at Pizza Hut this isstandard pay, as well as delivery driverscommission, which they receive on a perdelivery basis.

The plan was to organize a walk-outon the next Bank Holiday, which wouldhav bn on th day of th illustriousroyal wdding (a nic not of clbrationif you ask m). Howvr, th plan fll apartwhen an unpopular loud mouth thought

it would b funny to catch us out. In frontof a managr and svral othr staff wdidnt yet trust, he shouted out, Whatsthis about, this strik nxt wk thn?

We ha d be en ca ug ht , we ha dn tplannd for this. What would happn? Iwould b rd for sur. Would othrs btoo, had w just lost th lot? No, it wasquit th opposit. Managmnt was ds-prat to talk to us. Suddnly w foundourslvs vry popular and lookd aftr.Bfor w knw it our ara managr camdown to meet with us and tried to settle thedisput, in his I am just on of you guysmanner. Obviously we didnt get whatwe wanted but we managed to sort someother issues around the moped driverssafty gar.

Tactics may somtims com fromwhere you leas t expect them. Keeping anopen mind about ways to deal with issuesand not ltting yourslf b hld back byprconcptions of what falls undr proprmthods allows for som intrsting r-sults. Central to this is remaining openat all tims to th input of your fllowworkers, using the skills around you andencouraging involvement.

Nithr of ths xampls cam about

spontanously; thy grw naturally out ofth cultur of coopration that w man-aged to build in our shop, or Wobblyingthe job. This is something that we cando as organizrs bfor w vn outourselves as such. The boss might want acar driver to take a long delivery to keepthe times down and win themselves a cashbonus; the car driver doesnt want to be outof pockt on ful. A mopd ridr can turndirectly to the car driver, ignoring the boss,and offr to swap for thir shortr dlivry.Depending on the workers and bosses in-volved this may not work but it will alwayscrat a bond outsid of th boss-workrhierarchy, it is this bond which will see usthrough any action, large or small.

Name: ___________________________________________________________

Address:_________________________________________________________

City/State/Province:_____________________________________________

Zip/Postal Code:_____________________________________________________________

Subscribe to the Industrial WorkerSubscribe or renew yourIndustrial Workersubscription.

Give a gift that keeps your family or friends thinking.

Get 10 issues of working class news and views for:

US $18 for individuals. US $30 for library/institutions. US $30 for international subscriptions.

Send this subscription form to:

Industrial Worker Subscriptions,PO Box 180195, Chicago, IL 60618 USA

Shefeld Pizza Hut, 2012. Photo: Tristan Mtcalf


5/12


Wobbly & North American News

Photo: edvoices.com

Ministry Issues Checks For Unpaid WagesBy the Ottawa-Outaouais IWW

Fiftn monthsis a long tim forworkers depen dingon minimum wageto wait for justic.On Feb. 20, the On-tario Ministry of La-bour issued checksto IWW membersStephen Toth and Brandon Wallans, owedunpaid wages, in response to a long andarduous battle with a holdout employer.

This satisfactory sttlmnt is amessage to other Ottawa employers thatrespecting their workers and paying themthir wags is not optional, said Ahmd,an IWW member.

Stephen and Bran-don are very happy

with the re su lt an dlook forward to hlp-ing other workers de-fnd thir rights onth job and ght wagthft.

Wa g th f t is agrowing trend amongbosses who decide not

to pay som or all of th wags arndby thir mploys. Ths thfts can bfought by workrs most ffctivly whnthey unite and take action, not just throughformal lgal channls but also by hittingthe picket lines.

For more information, visit: http://ottawaiww.org.

Teachers Boycott Standardized TestsBy John Kalwaic

On Jan. 9, teach-rs at Garfild HighSchool in Seattle, Wash.,launchd a boycott of astate-mandated stan-dardized test known asth Masurmnt of Ac-admic Progrss (MAP).

Tachrs at Garld fltthat MAP was unncs-sary and took valuabletim away from tach-ing. Th administration of th schoolwants tachrs to administr th MAP tst;th school ofcials warnd th tachrsof disciplinary action for rfusing to givth MAP tst to studnts. Many tachrsand students in other schools and aroundth Unitd Stats fl th sam way, thatstandardized tests are being overused.

Teachers in other schools around theSeattle area have also joined in the boycottincluding the two largest teachers unions:th Amrican Fdration of Tachrs andth National education Association, who

hav also shown support for th tachrsat Garld. Th MAP coms from a nwfamily of standardizd tst calld highstakes testing, which is being pushed byan ntir industry of tst makrs who arlobbying politicians.

Othr groups of tachrs and stu-dents began to boycott high stakes tests.In Massachustts a coalition of 130profssors and rsarchrs, includingmany from Harvard, Tufts, Boston andBrandis Univrsitis calld for a boycottof th tsts. Th rsarch committ hadcondemned their state reliance on tests,citing a nine-year study which concludedthat high stakes testing did not improveeducation results. In Providence, R.I., the

Providence Student Union condemnedus of anothr high staks tst, th Nwengland Common Assssmnt Program(NeCAP). Providnc High School stu-dents staged a demonstration on Feb.

13 to protst NeCAP bydressing up as zombiesto bring to light the zom-bie-like education highstakes testing encourag-es. Demonstrators alsoclaimed that less than60 prcnt of Providncstudents would pass the

NeCAP. In Portland,Or., mmbrs of thPortland Student Union

(PSU) launched a campaign to opt-outof standardizd tsts. Mmbrs of PSUdenounced the Oregon Knowledge andAss ssmnt Tst (OAK) and promptdstudnts to opt-out of th OAK tsts.

Studnts can opt-out of many of thsnewly mandated high stakes standardizedtst as long as thy hav a not from thirparents; in many cases, they have to makeup for it with som othr projct. Somparnts and studnts far that thy will notgraduat if thy do not tak ths tsts, soth support for th tst boycott is mixd.On Fb. 4, th day that th MAP tst was

administrd at Garld High School, vryfw studnts took th tst sriously, andmany had prmission from thir parntsto opt-out of th tst. Som rfusd to takthe test while other students had theirscores dismissed because they rushedthrough it. It is important to note thatnot every job action has to be based onwags and bnfits; som can rvo lvaround job-related issues, even ones thatdont dirctly affct th workrs. Studntsar th most important part of a tachrsjob, so concrn for thm is of th utmostimportance especially in these times whereausterity measures threaten the livelihoodof both tachrs and studnts. Rigidity,zero tolerance policies, teacher evaluations

and high stakes testing all threaten teach-ers and students alike.With files from U.S.Nws & World

Report, The Washington Post, and Ed-Voices.com.

By Brendan Maslauskas DunnTh 9th Circuit Court of Ap-

pals in Sattl ruld in favor ofWobblies and other activists in alawsuit against th U.S. Army. Thcas ofPanagacos v. Towery wasld against th Army, Navy, CoastGuard, Air Forc, Immigration andCustoms enforcmnt (ICe), Fd-

ral Burau of Invstigations (FBI),Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF),Dpartmnt of Homland Scurity(DHS), and countless police agencieswho wr involvd with inltrating,data mining and spying on manyactivists (see Remember, Remember,The 5th Of November: IWW Legal BattleWith U.S. Army Rages On, November2012 IW, page 5).

Th cas coms out of th strtbattls wagd in th ports of Olympia,Tacoma and Abrdn, Wash., btwn2006 and 2009. In Novmbr 2007, thPort of Olympia was shut down by a dirctaction of hundrds of anti-war dmon-strators connected with Port Militariza-

tion Resistance (PMR) who were resistingth shipmnt of military vhicls throughPacic Northwst ports.

It was discovered in 2009 throughpublic rcords rqusts that th activ-ist John Jacob was actually John J.Towery II, an army operative connectedwith a Fusion Center at nearby Joint BaseLewis-McChord. The records showedthat Towery was not working alone ininltrating and spying on th anti-warand anarchist movements in Washington.This surveillance program was unleashed

during George W. Bushs presidency andcontinued under current U.S. PresidentBarack Obama.

Attorny Larry Hilds rprsnts thplaintiffs and himslf joind th IWWduring the Redwood Summer campaignwaged by environmentalists and timberworkrs to sav Californias old growthrdwood forsts from th lat 1980s tothe early 1990s. Hildes recently startedthe discovery process in the case to seewhat th scop and natur of th spying

was. Two other attorneys recently joinedthe case as well.

Wobblis from Olympia and Tacomawere spied on, including the General Sec-rtary Trasurr of th IWW, Sam Grn.Its clear that the activists reliance ondirct action to disrupt th war ffort andffctivly shut down th Port of Olympiawas th catalyst for th govrnmnts spyprogram in the region. The legal battlecontinues, as will the direct action. De-positions for th trial ar xpctd to takplace this year.

Court Rules In Favor Of Wobblies, Activists

Photo: Portland IndymediaPolice & protestors faceoff at the Port of Olympiain 2007.

Indiana IWW: Overcoming Obstacles And Making ProgressBy Michael White,General Secretary of the

Indiana IWWThe last time I wrote in to update

everyone on what we were doing here inIndiana w had just had our rst all-statmting at th nd of Novmbr (see In-diana IWW Holds First All-State Meet-ing, January/February 2013 IW, page5). Sinc thn w hav mad quit a bit ofprogrss. In fact it is amazing considringwhr w wr in Novmbr. It has allbn vry fun, w ar doing a lot of goodwork and making new connections, but

it has also bn a lot of hard work andlate nights.On Fb. 17 w wr approvd for

our General Membership Branch (GMB)chartr and w wr approvd for our rstsponsored job shop, Celestial PantherPublishing. We currently have a member-ship list that is in the 50s and growing; itwas bolstrd in th rst fw months duto th support w raisd from th WobblyTour of Indiana that FW Hop Asya andI took in early October 2012. We havelctd ofcrs and mor dlgats. Wcurrently have 10 delegates throughoutth stat of Indiana. Among many othractivitis, I and th othr ofcrs of thbranch have spent many hours organizingcontact lists by Industrial Union number,

mapping out our membership, maintain-ing the Facebook page, and keeping inrgular contact with fllow workrs usingall platforms. Our nw dlgats hav bninstrumental in the success we have had.They have been coordinating between eachother, contacting the membership, stay-ing in contact with myslf as th GnralSecretary and talking to new workers eachday. The membership that we have hasbn vry activ so farthy com fromall ovr th stat, and many of thm wantto organize their workplace.

We have held meetings on the third

Saturday of vry month sinc Novmbr.Our December meeting had the lowest at-tendance with only 17 present; January wemanaged 28 people; and in February wehad 32 people attend. We think Decemberwas low in attendance due to travelling,bad weather and general holiday seasonwoes. We also managed to secure a placeto hold our GMB monthly mtings forth forsabl futur, which was a majorproblm for us from month-to-month.We think that with the new space and theregular meeting time/date, we should haveincreasingly better turnouts.

Som of th biggst problms w havfacd ar most apparnt whn organizingthroughout an entire state. The distancebetween people is always an issue, but that

shouldnt b as much of a problmnow because we have 10 delegatesthroughout the state to sign up newmembers and meet people. We dealtwith it in the past by making theFacebook page, creating an IndianaIWW email list, and driving out tomt popl fac-to-fac in thirtown or city. Anothr problm hasbeen how to connect with peoplewho are not on Facebook. This wassolved by using email to contactthose people, by making phonenumber contact lists, and continu-

ously meeting with and talking tommbrs and workrs. Of cours anothrissue is that people generally do not knowthat an IWW branch exists or is activelyorganizing within the state. To get theword out about our branch we have doneas much as possibl, by handing out yrs,putting up posters, using silent agitators,connecting with people on Facebook andTwitter, talking to any and all workers thatw can, holding call-out mtings in diffr-nt locals and othr such outrach fforts.Thr hav bn othr minor troubls ofcourse; coordinating things, trying to getin contact with people, waiting on things,and the dreaded paperwork. But the prob-lems have been nothing compared to thesatisfaction of ovrcoming thm. Travl-

ling with my frinds and fllow workrs,meeting new people, and singing Soli-darity Forvr in a room full of 32 Wobsmor than maks up for all th ffort.

As for right now, som of our plansfor th futur includ a publication for thIndiana IWW, which we are in the pro-css of hammring out, and also w arplanning a May Day rally in Indianapolis.So far w hav gottn much of th arlypaprwork gurd out and turnd in andwe have been contacting other groups,unions, and people to spread the wordand get as many people out as possible.W plan to hav spakrs, food and fun.If anybody is in th Indianapolis araaround May Day, com nd us!

February GMB meeting. Photo: Hop Asya

Graphic: change.org

Alaska IWW Pickets Plan To Curtail RightsFrom the Alaska IWW

Hrs a photo from th Alaska soon-to-b-branch. This is from Fb. 15, whnthe group joined other union members inprotesting a citywide plan which wouldlimit pay increases, extinguish the rightto strik and hand th nal dcision onstalld labor ngotiations to th Anchor-ag Assmbly rathr than a third-partyarbitrator.

Students protestin Seattle.

Photo: Chris White


6/12


Special

Requiem For A CampaignBy Grace Parker

Oftntims as workplac organizrs,w hav a difficult tim admitting ourmistakes. We are driven and strong-willed,and though ths attributs oftn aid usin the struggle, they can also hold us backfrom slf-rction and acknowldgmntof our flaws. As Wobblis, how do w

cope with the realization that our entirecampaign was prhaps a mistak from thstart? For on, w viw th situation asa learning opportunity. There is no suchthing as a faild campaign, for althoughw may pull ourslvs out of a workplacwithout making clear, concrete gains onth shop oor, w also tak away manyvaluable lessons regarding ourselves, ourbranches, and the IWW as a whole. Theselssons must b passd on to fllow orga-nizrs in th union in ordr to facilitat acultur of skill-sharing, and hopfully, ifdone correctly, the union will not makethe same mistakes twice. Secondly, endinga campaign is not just a union issue; it isa mattr of grat prsonal importanc forthe organizers involved. We put our blood,sweat and tears into an organizing drive,and if w fail to sort out our flings as wdisngag from a campaign, w ar sttingourslvs up for failur in our procd-ing endeavors. In order to succeed in thestruggle long-term, it is just as importantfor us to fac our prsonal issus as it isto rct on our organizing. In this pic,I will attmpt to addrss both of thsaspects in relation to the recently haltedgrocery store campaign in the Twin CitiesGeneral Membership Branch (GMB).

Organizational LessonsTh cor organizrs, including myslf,

had already been working at the grocerystors for at last a yar, and w joind

th IWW in th wak of th Jimmy JohnsWorkers Union (JJWU) campaign goingpublic. It was an exciting time to be aWobbly in Minneapolis. There were directactions, events, and parties every week.Optimism was in the air, and there was agnral fling that w could succd inany organizing ndavor. Bfor joiningthe IWW, I had never considered build-ing a union in my workplac. evn forth rst coupl months of mmbrship, Ihld onto th blif that th grocry storwas not rally a targt for organizing, andI prfrrd th ida of doing solidaritywork with Jimmy Johns and othr fastfood organizing drivs. Thos workrswr fighting for bas ic thin gs such as

higher wages and sick daysthat whichwe already enjoyed at the grocery stores.I did not think that a union was necessary,a view that changed over time as I learnedmore about the IWW and the class strug-gle. Then in late October 2010, I was at ahous party following th JJWU NationalLabor Rlations Board (NLRB) lctionloss. A group of v or six grocry storworkrs, including myslf, had formd acircle and were talking about what a uniondrive would look like in our workplaces.Two of us wr alrady Wobblis and threst were clearly union supporters. It wasduring this conversation that we decidedw wr going to try to form a union forthe Twin Cities grocery store workers.Thr was littl forthought and vry littlresearch that went into the decision, some-thing that is extremely important to thestart of a campaign. Instad, w wr justa group of kids drinking brs at a partywho thought that the Jimmy Johns unionwas cool, and w gurd that it would bcool if w did th sam thing too.

When we came to the branch in De-cmbr 2010 asking to bcom an ofcialIWW campaign, there was no existingIndustrial Organizing Committee (IOC)for food and rtail workrs in th TwinCitis. That body would not b formd foranother three months. Instead, we had togo in front of th ntir GMB to announcourselves, a task that was somewhat intim-idating for us as brand nw mmbrs. Ad-

ditionally, by telling our entire GMB aboutour campaign, it created the impressionthat w wr much farthr along in ourorganizing than we actually were. Fellowworkers became incredibly excited aboutthe campaign, and many were convincedthat it was th nw campaign followingth JJWUs NLRB loss. This brings upan intrsting point about th us of r-sourcs in th union. W typically think ofths as nancial or matrial, but thr aralso emotional resources that exist withinth union, maning that fllow workrs puttime and energy into thinking about andsupporting a campaign and its organiz-ers. By telling the entire branch about our

organizing, as wll as NOT tlling thmabout th aws and stagnation within thcampaign, we became an emotional drainon the branch and the international. Italso cratd a sns of guilt amongst thorganizers, which was an emotional drainon us as well. This is something to keep inmind for futur projcts.

Not only did our campaign fail to com-municat dirctly and ffctivly with thbranch, w also faild to communicatwith ach othr. Oftntims, w wr notopen or direct when issues arose. Some-times these issues were personal, and theywould boil undr th surfac until thyoccasionally blw up. Mor oftn howvr,the issues were organizational. Without

clear communication, we were unable tohave solid, consistent meetings, and itwas difcult to follow up with ach othron assignd tasks. Thr was oftn a lackof honsty in rporting progrss in achstore, leading others to believe that wewr furthr along than w actually wr.If w had bn honst and opn with achother and ourselves, we could have mademor progrss in organizing. Altrnativly,we could have realized much sooner thatthis campaign was going nowhere, andwe could have redirected our energies toa diffrnt projct that was mor worthour time.

Coming back to th subjct of IOCs:if your branch has at last four workrsin a given industry and you are activelyorganizing, I highly rcommnd formingan IOC. I dont car if your branch onlyhas 10 active members; just start an IOCalready. For one, shop-talk has no placeat a GMB mting. Anyon off th strtcan come to an IWW branch, meaningthat any cultur of discrtion that has bncreated is negated. IOCs should be openonly to IWW mmbrs, and prfrablythos who work in that spcic industry,thus prsrving th privacy of campaignsand individual fllow workrs. Also, GMBmeetings can be long, boring, and tedious,which can quickly turn a co-workr offfrom th union if it is thir rst xposurto the IWW. Instead, bringing them to anIOC meeting is empowering. They get to

meet other union members who are in asimilar lif situation, which maks thmfl lss isolatd. Whn facilitatd in thright way, an IOC crats a saf spac totalk about working conditions, organizing,and the industry in a way that cannot occurat a GMB meeting.

Our grocery store campaign wasuniqu in that it was on of th rst cam-paigns that came to the Twin Cities IWWand stuck around, instad of bing chosnby th branch in a purposful way. Thiscreated some interesting dynamics. Foron, thr was no nd for us to salt intothe stores, and we already had establishedrelationships with our co-workers. We had

existing contact lists, social and physicalmapping was a breeze, and in some waysa fw of us wr alrady social ladrs inour workplaces. However, this led to someproblms. Th rst issu was that w im-mediately began to organize within ourexisting social groups in our own depart-ments. In less than two weeks, grocerystore W already had around six workerstak out rd cards. Sounds grat, right?Unfortunatly, it was not that asy. All ofths workrs wr from th sam socialgroup in th sam dpartmnt. It quicklybecame clear that, although these work-ers were agitated about their conditions,many of thm only signd cards and camto mtings bcaus thir frinds wr. It

flt cliquish, which mant that it bcamharder to bring in new workers who werenot a part of that social group, and mt-ings quickly dvolvd into complainingsssions amongst frinds. Most impor-tantly, when these workers realized thatunion organizing meant much more thanbitching about work and going to parties,thy droppd off th map. As organizrs,w larnd that whil xisting frindshipsin th workplac can somtims b usfulin a campaign, thy ar no substitut fortrue agitation, education and organization.

Anothr issu that aros from th factthat w cam to th IWW instad of thIWW coming to us was that, in hindsight,the grocery stores were just not great tar-gets. While my own department had manyissues surrounding pay and management,th majority of workrs in th stors actu-ally have it relatively good. The materialconditions at the grocery stores are someof th bst in th Twin Citis. Wags arth sam, if not bttr, than Unitd Foodand Commercial Workers (UFCW) grocerystors. Now, Im not saying that vrythingis wondrful and sunny and covrd withrainbows, but compard to th rst of thclass in our industry, its a fairly cushyjob. At Jimmy Johns, for xampl, it iseasy to agitate co-workers about issuessurrounding pay because minimum wagesucks. But arning $10 to $13 pr hour ata grocery store when you are a 20-some-thing years old without a college degree is

a bit harder to agitate around. It still sucks,but the it-could-be-worse mentality isxtrmly prvalnt. Additionally, fromthe unions perspective, the grocery storesar not stratgic in th gratr pictur ofth struggl. Whil thy ar a major part oflif in th Twin Citis (for a crtain socio-conomic group that much of th GMB is

a part of), th grocry stor campaign hada limited ability to create a greater impactwithin the class. For example, the JJWUcampaign not only affctd Minnapolis,it also startd a rippl ffct that touchdfast food workrs across th country. Butths grocry stors ar part of an incrd-ibly nich sctor of th food chain. Thpotntial for crating a gratr splashin th industry was ngligibl. Also, thworkforc largly consists of downwardlymobile middle class white people, a demo-graphic that by no means lacks represen-tation within our union. Bcaus of thsfactors, it is highly doubtful that th TwinCities GMB would have ever sought outan organizing drive at the grocery stores.But sinc w cam to th IWW instad ofthe other way around, the campaign tookhold. The branch was excited that a groupof workrs had dcidd on thir own toorganize with the IWW, and that it wasnally big nough and visibl nough tobring nw folks around without havingto seek us out. But I also believe that thisxcitmnt stmmd from th succsss ofthe Jimmy Johns campaign. Twin CitiesWobblies were still riding the JJWU high,and thy wr agr to jump onto th rstopportunity that came at them.

Unfortunatly, that xcitmnt alsoclouded our strategic judgment. Im notarguing that we should say no to groupsof workrs that com to th union forhelp. That would also be un-strategic and

just plain silly. Instead, I believe that thegrocery store campaign is a good lessonin setting boundaries and being honestwith ach othr. Instad of continuing towork on a campaign that was bound to diefrom th start, w should hav had somserious conversations about why we wantto organize and what we are trying to getout of it. W wr brand nw to workplacorganizing, and someone needed to havethose discussions with us. Its a trickysituation and a difcult convrsation tohave, but it would ultimately have beenbncial for th branch, th union, andus as organizers.

Som fllow workrs hav pointd outthat we as organizers should not abandon

the grocery store campaigns because theyar low-hanging fruit in th sns thatthey are doing very well business-wise,are socially tied to our existing networks,are a winnable size, and that a victory inthe stores would put the Twin Cities IWWrmly on th labor map. With all du r-spect to those making these arguments,I would have to disagree. While its truethat these stores are doing incredibly wellnancially, bcaus of th uniqu naturof th ownrship structur, many workrsand othr mmbrs of th community flas though they actually have a stake inth conomic succss of th businsss. Iwill not go into furthr dtail as doing sowould asily idntify th stors in qus-tion, but this mntality has gratly inu-ncd organizing on th shop oor, andif th campaign wr vr to go public, itwould also affct th communitys ractiontowards unionization in a negative way.In response to the statement that a clearvictory would put the IWW on the TwinCities labor map, I would argue that thecampaign at Jimmy Johns was incrediblysuccssful in that sns, and that furthrcampaigns in that sector would achieveth sam dsird ffct as a campaign atthe grocery stores. Im not particularlyinterested in putting in more time andffort into attmpts at radicalizing thpetty-bourgeoisie in South Minneapolis.

An issu that has risn in th TwinContinued on next page

Graphic: iww.org


7/12


Special

Requiem For A Campaign

Continued from previous pageCitis GMB is our affiliation with thSouth Minneapolis youth subculture. TheJimmy Johns campaign was closely tiedwith the punk and bicycle scenes, whichwas not nec ess ari ly a neg ati ve thing,but it dnitly mad it mor difcult toorganiz outsid of thos social groups.However, it did bring in many new mem-brs, including myslf. Th issu now isthat we are having a hard time reachinginto othr sgmnts of th working class.The grocery store campaign did nothingto help with this issue. The subculturalidntitis of workrs at Jimmy Johnsand at the grocery stores are very similarand th social scns oftn ovrlap. ThTwin Cities GMB is becoming, or alreadyhas bcom, th union for young, hip20-somthings in Minnapolis. Of cours,that is not a compltly ralistic pictur ofour branch, but it is what the public sees.W want to b sn as a union for ALL

workers, which is what we are in theory,but unless we actively work to make that arality, w will forvr b raising mony atpunk shows and dance parties attended bylargely white, downwardly-mobile middleclass kids.

On a similar note, I think it is impor-tant to rct on th diffrncs btwnthose who stayed around in the unionfrom th grocry stor campaign and thoswho came and went. I would put the totalnumbr of workrs who ithr signd ared card or came to a committee meetingat around 30 since December 2010, butnow the current number is around six. Twoof thos rmaining workrs saltd intothe campaign and were previously highly

involved in the IWW and had experiencein workplac organizing. Th rst of usworkd thr bfor th campaign bgan.What prv nt d th othr 24 work rsfrom sticking around? Som movd toothr citis, som quit or wr rd andgot new jobs, and others just dropped outof th committ. Non of ths ar validexcuses that we as organizers can make.Most workers who moved away went toPortland or Nw York, both citis withIWW branchs to plug into. And if ware organizing correctly, workers shouldbe going to another job and organizingthere as well. Once again, this stems backto our lackluster attempts at agitation,education, and organization. However, themost important workrs who fll off thgrid are the ones who are still working inthe grocery stores. What made them notwant to participat? Of cours, I cannotspak for all of th workrs, and thr arprobably various rasons why thy lft thatthey are not willing to disclose to us. But Iknow that at least one worker was turnedoff by th party cultur that has dvlopdamongst food and rtail Wobblis in thTwin Cities. The post-meeting drinkingthat oftn occurs mad this workr fluncomfortabl, and although I suspctthat thr wr othr contributing factorsthat I will rfrain from dlving into, it wasnough to mak this fllow workr want torenounce their involvement with the IWWand the grocery store campaign. Ironically,

since this workerdropped out, ourIOC has drasticallycut down on ourpost-meeting par-tis for rasons un-related to this work-rs dpartur from

the union. Howev-er, the incident isstill a lesson in theimportanc of cr-ating sober spacesand non-late nightsocial activities.

That being said,workers who werethe most involvedwith the campaignat various stages

also had the strongest social ties to theTwin Citis GMB. I think this rcts asmuch on us as organizers as it does onth workrs. W oftn fll into th trapof ltting our socializing do th organiz-ing for us, and whn th balanc btwnsocializing and organizing falls too havilyon th formr, th workr is not going tohav th skills or knowldg of th IWWto become an organizer themselves in thefullst capacity. Whn thy lav th shop,which is a common occurrence in the high-turnovr food and rtail industry, its liklythat their union involvement will wane aswll. Anothr grocry stor campaign isin th procss of dvloping a mntorshipprogram within their shop committee,and I think that somthing of that naturcould hav bn xtrmly hlpful to ourcampaign. Howvr, at th hight of thcampaign in my shop last summer, I knowthat I did not hav an adquat lvl of po-litical education or organizing experience

to b abl to srv as a mntor for a nwmember. In such a case, the IOC would bea great resource to use.

Thus far, I hav only discussd nga-tiv aspcts of th campaign that w canlarn from, but thr wr many positivsas well that I do not wish to gloss over. Oneof th most succssful outcoms was thatw built up four solid union mmbrs whopreviously had very little-to-no experiencein workplac organizing. Not only did wgain valuable skills, but we also grew asradical, class-conscious workers. We nowhave knowledge that we can bring withus to new campaigns and projects, andwe can share our experiences with othersin the IWW. We became strong, commit-

td mmbrs of our branch, and w havalso bcom involvd in th politics ofthe international, whether through thefounding and administration of Foodand Retail Workers United, working asbranch Organizing Department liaisons,writing for th Industrial Worker, or bybecoming trainers. Without the grocerystore campaign, there is a good chance thatmost, if not all, of us would hav droppdout of th union following th hight ofthe JJWU campaign. The grocery storesgave us something to plug into, a projectto call our own. Th bst way for workrsto stay involved in the IWW is to organize,and thats what we did.

Anoth r raso n that I am proud ofour campaign is that it was started, led,and ultimatly finishd by womn andgndr-qur fllow workrs. Bcaus ofthis, our committee was predominantlymad up of non-mals. Wobblis fromothr branchs oftn ask m why th TwinCities GMB has so many women who areinvolved, and my answer to that is thatwe already have a strong non-male pres-nc, and that in turn maks it asir fornw womn and non-gndr conformingfolks to join and bcom involvd. It mayseem like a chicken-or-the-egg situation,but its rally not that difcult. Non-malidntid organizrs ar bttr at organiz-ing non-mal idntid workrs. Its thatsimple. Im not saying that men cant alsoorganize these workers or be great allies;

its just that we are better at it. I havesn this rsthand, and I rmly bliv itto be true. Some may disagree with thisstatement, but I would challenge thosefolks to look at th gndr makup of thTwin Cities GMB, and then compare it totheir own branches. Which branch hasmore involved and committed women and

gndr-qur organizrs? With fw xcp-tions, the answer is going to be the TwinCitis. Of cours, w still hav a long wayto go in trms of achiving gndr qualitywithin our branch, but I would say that wehav built a solid foundation. So, my ms-sage to all the union ladies and non-genderconforming rbl workrs out thr is GOOUT AND ORGANIZe. Sriously. Yourbranch will thank you, the union will thankyou, and you will thank yourslf.

Personal LessonsI oftn viw th grocry stor cam-

paign as a child. My fllow organizrs andI brought this child into the world, andas a consqunc, it had to b nurturdor it would die. Ultimately, we were badparnts, as th campaign faild in manyrespects. We did not do our best to raiseit in th bst possibl way. It was oftnnglctd, and that is part of th rasonwhy it did not matur into a fully func-tioning campaign. During the meetingin July 2012 when we decided to end thecampaign, the words that I actually usedto dscrib my flings wr throwingour baby into the garbage. This is indeeda graphic and disturbing analogy, but Icannot dny that this was how I flt. I hadbecome incredibly attached to the ideaof unionizing at th grocry stors. I hadbn around ths stors my ntir lif(my mother has worked in that industrysince the mid-1980s), and it became a very

prsonal struggl for m. Th changs thathave been occurring in the grocery storesfor th past 5 to 10 yars wr, in mymind, not only attacks on the workers andworking conditions , but also attacks onmy childhood and all of th work that mymother and her peers put in throughoutth yars. It is difcult to dscrib, but Ibliv that this fling contributd gratlyto my attachment to the campaign. Thus,thr is a sns of guilt that I hav aboutabandoning our organizing.

W oft n only spa k of orga nizi ngin logistical terms. In trainings, we areinoculatd about issus that w will facin a campaign, but it is usually only ina practical sns. As Wobblis, w oftn

gloss over the personal stresses on ouremotions and mental well-being that ariseas w organiz. Ovr th cours of thgrocery store campaign, I came to realizethat addressing these issues are just as im-portant as learning how to run a meeting,how to have a one-on-one meeting with afllow workr, or asking somon to jointh union. For xampl, aftr a particularlyhightnd point of struggl in my shop, aco-workr was rd. W larn how to do amarch on th boss or l an Unfair LaborPractice (ULP) complaint, but we are nevertaught how to deal with the emotionalfallout of such a situation. I now barth burdn of r-sponsibility forthis co-workersfiring, and thatfact is forvr onmy conscience. Iwas the one whoagitated her, Iwas the one whoconvinced her toparticipate in anaction, and as aresult, she losther job. Im try-ing to come toterms with this,and it is an issuethat I will have tocontinue to workout emotionally

for som tim to com. W nd to b bt-tr at collctivly addrssing ths sorts ofsituations, and I think writing about ourexperiences is a great way to do that.

My involvement in the grocery storecampaign also led to some serious mentalhalth issus in my lif. Last yar, I wasgoing to school full-tim, working 25 to

30 hours a week, and organizing on myjob. Between classes, homework, wagewo rk, one- on-ones, meet ings almostevery night, and keeping up with mysocial lif as a 20-yar-old, things wrgoing fastr than I could kp up. I lovdit and thrived on it, but it was incrediblydmanding physically. Instad of takinga step back and trying to cut somethingout, which is what I should have done, Iturned to less-than-natural ways to copewith th situation. By th nd of summr2011, I was compltly addictd to Ad-drall, and I couldnt function without it.Whn I rst bgan using at th bginningof 2011, it smd lik a godsnd. I coulddo vrything and I was on top of thworld, but it eventually caught up withm. As I continud to us, my body wouldadjust to the dosage and I would have tokeep taking more and more. I was barelyeating, lost close to 30 pounds, and evencollapsd during a mting as a rsult of apanic attack. I realized that not only was Ihurting myslf and thos clos to m, mydpndnc was also affcting th grocrystore campaign. Sure, I was doing somehardcore organizing and direct actions,but what I didnt realize was that every-one, including my co-workers, could seethat I was in an altered state. Who wouldwant to join a union when the organizeris in an inducd manic pisod? By Sp-tmbr 2011, I was off of th mdication,but as a result I experienced an immense

drop in energy and drive. The campaignat my store stagnated, and my work inth branch taprd off until I was barlyholding on. Once you get into that state, itis hard to pull yourslf out. It wasnt untilWork Peoples College this past July that Iflt lik I had nally rboundd from thatlow point. The lesson here is that we needto watch out for our fllow workrs, notonly on th shop oor, but in our prsonallives as well. Our current society teachesus to go harder, longer, and more intenselythan w should, and in our ght againstcapitalism, w must also confront thosunrealistic bourgeois expectations.

In conclusion, the grocery store cam-paign, dspit its aws, was in a sns

incrdibly succssful. Th IWW dosntjust organize shops, it organizes peopleand it builds up workers into radical mili-tant unionists. The grocery store campaigncratd a spac in th Twin Citis GMB forthat to occur. It also taught us valuable les-sons about what notto do in an organizingcampaign. Through our mistakes, we havebecome better organizers and we now havethe opportunity to share those lessons withothers in the union, as well as to bringour skills to new union projects. In theaftrmath of th grocry stor campaign,w ar now quippd to build th unionin a mor purposful and organizd way.

The Twin Cities GMB rallies in 2010. Photo: tcorganizer.com

Graphic: iww.orgLogo for Food and Retail Workers United.


8/12


Review

A Primer On Anarcho-Syndicalism For All To ReadFighting For Ourselves: anarcho-syndi-calism and the class struggle. London:Solidarity Federation and Freedom Press,2012. Paperback, 124 pages, 6.

By Lou RinaldiTh nw book from th U.K.-basd

anarcho-syndicalist group, Solidarity Fed-

eration (SolFed), is an excellent primer onanarcho-syndicalism for thos intrstdin the subject. What SolFed has doneis put together something concise andreadable that isnt clotted with jargon andslogans. While the IWW has never been ananarchist organization, SolFds form ofsyndicalism clarly taks inunc fromthe IWWs work developing a democraticunion.

Bringing Our Politics Up To DateTh purpos of this txt isnt to giv us

a history lesson, necessarily, but to give ustools to analyze methods and practice andassess how well they worked. SolidarityFederation remarks early in the text thatthy ar not in sarch of bluprints butinspiration, looking for a rvolutionarytheory [that] keeps pace with practicalrealities and remains relevant [...] to oureveryday lives.

To many both in our milieus and out,unions, including revolutionary unions,ar an anachronism of th Old Lft andth faild workrs movmnts of th past.But for SolFd, th important thing tormmbr is what has bn ffctiv, notfor scuring our plac within th connsof capitalism, but to push byond thmand to not separate our revolutionarypolitics from our day-to-day organizing.For Wobblis in th shop, w soon nd thatw cant hid who w ar and b succssful.Were a revolutionary union and we want

th abolition of th wag systm. W dontlead every situation with the black and red,but it informs why and how w organizthe Wobbly way.

SolFd puts forth an analysis of th

material conditionsthat existed previousto the present and howthis has culminatedinto th crisis of today.Thy focus spcicallyon the casualizationof labor sinc th lat

1970s, and taking as-tut nots from thpast, SolFd puts for-ward th ida of orga-nizing not only on theshop oor but throughgrievance-based soli-darity networks. Rath-er than have separateorganizations, theybelieve we should dothis work through ourown unions. For theIWW, initiatives like this can be seen in thestablishmnt of nw commitmnts to in-dustrial organization like the IWWs Foodand Rtail Workrs Unitd. efforts likthis will hopfully opn up opportunitisnot limited to a shop-by-shop approach,but a tru union for all workrs. In thisrespect SolFeds book articulates theoryand practice already being undertaken bysom parts of our organization.

Our Organizing Is A RevolutionaryPractice

One aspect I think is important in thisbook is its commitment to having politics.In particular, Fighting For Ourselvesaffirms that th practic of solidarityunionism is a commitment to having revo-lutionary politics. It is our revolutionarypractice, and it is the historically mostusful rvolutionary practic of th work-ers movement.

In particular, SolFed advocates thatth bst aspct of an organization lika union is its associative rather than itsrprsntativ function. This is on of thmost usful political statmnts that w

as a union can adopt.At its vry cor it manswe are the union, butit goes beyond this intoa broader political ar-gumnt for shop-oordirect action as opposedto contract fights. For

SolFed, and similar tothe way the IWW haspracticed unionism, theassociativ function of aunion is the means bywhich workers relate toone another. SolFeddescribes this as themost basic way a unionis formd: workrshave power together,so they show solidaritytogether.

Th othr function, th rprsntativfunction, is whn unions bcom burau-cracies by which workers are representedto th boss. Thir critiqu of this typ ofunionism is that it believes in the legiti-macy of having a class-basd socity andit oftn watrs down its politics to simplybread-and-butter issues without a largersocial program. The IWW does neither.

Dspit an almost nonstop critiqu ofth IWW, from both Lft groupings andth Rightthat our failing has bn not go-ing for contractsw can turn this into ourstrength and SolFeds book helps us ar-ticulate this. They argue that an approachthat emphasizes building the union into arepresentational organization, by mediat-ing labor and management through a con-tract, actually hurts organizations abilityto have active and militant memberships.It makes them reliant on bureaucraciesand minimizes militancy to the contract.

Wv sn th rsults in th AFL-CIO. Byjoining together as workers, on the otherhand, that push for a rvolutionary politicin our everyday lives, we change the verydialogue on what a union can and should

be. Furthermore, we become a more real-istic organization, one that understandsbbs and ows of struggl, rathr than anumber-obsessed party-building union.

Recommended ReadingFighting For Ourselves is a good

read that IWW members should consider

picking up. Perhaps what struck me themost about it was that despite somedisagreements here or there, it presentsa call to organize in accessible terms. Ittook complex systems and broke themdown for m. It could potntially bcoma good ducational tool for IWW mm-brs, bcaus as w mov forward as anorganization we need to not just recruitmembers, we need to create Wobblies.As an organizat ion this mans w ndto become a thinking organization that isnot afraid to hav political convrsations.

Fighting For Ourslvs is th typ ofbook I would rcommnd as a follow-up toclassics lik Rudolph Rockrs Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice. I thinkthe two would complement each other wellin succession.

We should be taking in book s likethis, as well as other readings, and incor-porating them into our educational andorganizing practices. Printed materials likeWeakening the Dam, Direct Unionism,and Dismantling Capitalism, DismantlingPatriarchy, should all be recommendedrading for us. Wobblis should also binterested in learning about our historyso that w can mov forward. Chck outBlack Flame: The Revolutionary ClassPolitics of Anarchism and Syndicalismabout the syndicalist movement world-wid, or Truth and Rvolution: A His-tory of th Sojournr Truth Organization,19691986. W all know that you hav

to think bfor you act, and so w should.Fighting For Ourselves is available

from thoughtcrime ink, an IWW printingcollective in Edmonton, Canada. Theirwebsite is http://thoughtcrimeink.com.

Continued from 1demands are to eliminate the canvassdirector position; obtain worker/unioncontrol ovr hiring and ring; mak it anall-union shop in which new canvasserswould have one month to join the union;have vacation/sick pay and medical cov-erage; and get a rotating union rep on thecollective to protect the canvassers. Theyalso want a small base pay raise, whichif mt would still b blow th industrystandard, and common sense items likeprofssional van maintnanc.

Escalation & ReactionsAftr th strik bgan on March 1, both

sides sent press releases and made phonecalls back and forth. Whn th union of-frd to mt for ngotiations again viaphone, the collective claimed they couldnot meet or make any decisions as a collec-tive until their regular meeting on Monday,March 4, and invitd th workrs to mtthen. The collective then proceeded tomt ovr th wknd without informingBecker, the pro-union canvass director

and collective member, thereby violatingtheir own consensus process. When work-ers and union supporters arrived at themeeting, the collective read a statementin which thy complaind of bing forcdinto a boss rol, thn rd Shug Missis-sippi, a striking worker and ex-collectivemmbr who thy accusd of manipulat-ing other workers into unionizing. Thebosss also offrd in a carrot-and-stickmanner to let one canvasser immediatelyjoin th collctiv, and mad it asir forothrs to apply for mmbrship (ignoringth largr causs and blaming th conicton one troublemaker).

The workers walked out dazed, butgalvanizd to rmain unitd in th fac

of managmnts divid-and-conqur

strategy, with FW Luke Welke declaringhis disgust that the collective could askus to btray our frind and fllow workrwho we work with every day and stil lbelieve that they are negotiating in goodfaith. Th bosss xtrm rspons, whiltypical, took many by surprise since theorganization prids itslf as bing radicaland anti-authoritarian. Some workersquit othr highr-paying canvassing jobsto work for Sistrs Camlot bcaus thybelieved in the organizations mission, buthav bcom disillusiond by disrspctfuland oftn paranoid tratmnt from thcollctiv. FW Shug, th rd workr,said, I love Sisters Camelot, but its clearthat the collective has turned into the verything we built it not to be.

Public reactions have been mixed butlargly favorabl toward th union, witha larg outpouring of vrbal and mat-rial support for th strikrs. Howvr, ananti-union community statement wascirculatd and signd by a group of localactivists, claiming to call for mdiation,while repeating the bosses rationale on ev-

ery single point, even supporting the anti-union ring. An angrd Wobbly calld thcollective an autonomous union-bustingcollective in response.

The bosses argue that a union is inap-propriate since, they say, this is not U.S.Steel, and claim, there are no bosseshere. They also claim that canvasserscould join th collctiv if thy wantd.Canvassrs who hav workd bfor onth collctiv complain of dmaningand hostile treatment and the collectivesfailur to mt thir nds, which is whythey unionized and are demanding moreautonomy and workplace democracy.

Whats Ahead

The dispute has been a sobering, at

tims painful xpri-nc for th workrs,who despite being onstrik and facd withviciou s smearing anddivid-and-conqurtactics, have been hesi-tant to escalate due tostrong emotional tiesto the organization.

T h e u n i o n h a sshown strong supportfor th strik, as FWJohn Snortum ex-plained: The largerunion has done every-thing from attndingmeetings and giving usadvice to taking notesand facilitating. As wllas an amazing fund-raising ffort th union has hlpd us inoutreach to the public, media, and otherIWW branchs. And most importantly haskept us grounded and stable on our viewsand blifs that rmind us that w ar do-

ing the right thing.This in contrast to the collectives re-

sponse, said Snortum: The collective hasreacted in a way that clearly demonstratesthat [they] are unwilling to give up anypower over us that they have. They havemad clar that thy ar not followingtheir own rules and are willing to lie ontop of that. Although I knw this was allpossibl, I did hav mor faith in th col-lective and didnt actually expect us to godown this path.

Askd about th campaigns prospcts,Snortum added: In the short term I wantto s rcognition of th whol union so wcan begin negotiations and end the strike.Long trm, asid from Camlot continu-

ing to prosper, I hope our campaign can

inspir and mpowr othr fllow workrsin similar situations to take action andbring justice to their workplace.

Meanwhile the strikers have beenimprssivly unitd and rmain hopful

for a quick victory. Whil bing a smallshop and taking many by surprise as ahot shop, in which there were no saltsand there was no external prodding by theunion, th strik is th biggst thing for thTwin Cities branch since the Jimmy JohnsWorkrs Union campaign in 2010-2011. Awin at Sisters Camelot could be a big boostfor th whol union, whil a loss couldprov

industrial worker - issue #1754, april 2013

Documents