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Immigration, class composition, and the crisis of the labor market in Canada - Bruno Ramirez
1977 text by Bruno Ramirez about class composition and migration to Canada, which was due to be published in Zerowork 3.
Editors' introductionStatement from autonomous union-busting firm in the Twin Cities
A public statement on a labour conflict by a group of anarchists and radicals in Minneapolis. The statement resembles typical union-busting strategies, combined with the language of anti-capitalism. We do not agree with this article, but reproduce for reference, and have written a critical introduction.
Recently, in the Twin Cities, canvassers with Sisters Camelot, a nonprofit food shelf, affiliated with the IWW because of grievances at work. On March 1st, after the managing collective that runs the organisation refused to negotiate with the union, the canvassers went on strike.
South Wales miners strike xmas cards
Set of 4 Xmas cards produced by Rhymney Valley Miners Support Group in South Wales during the strike of 1984-85. Images on the outside and writing by miners on the inside. Black & white scans.
MinerCard01_out.png MinerCard01_in.png MinerCard02_out.png MinerCard02_in.png MinerCard03_out.png MinerCard03_in.png MinerCard04_out.png MinerCard04_in.pngRank and file or broad left? A short history of the Building Worker Group
Pamphlet about the UK rank-and-file Building Worker Group within the UCATT union, published as issue 8 of the series Revolutions Per Minute.
Issue 8 is dedicated to the 3,000 building workers who have lost their lives in so-called ‘site accidents’ since the advent of the Health and Safety at Work Act in 1974. In the year 2000/1 there were 120 deaths on site.
Murder, in fact, would be a better word.
An injury to one – fighting the victimisation of workplace organisers
Victimisation, by bosses and the state, of those who try to organise in the workplace is nothing new. But recently a spate of high profile cases have focused wider attention on the issue.
Last year, William Hill bookmakers announced plans to extend their Sunday opening hours. As they already have over long shifts, forced overtime and the generally shitty end of the stick when it comes to working conditions1
- 1. Not the least of which seems to be a callous attitude to the mental health of those whose shops get robbed.
Domestic violence, International Women's Day, and the RMT
We reproduce below the statement made by RMT member Caroline Leneghan on her personal blog, in solidarity with her and other women speaking out about gender violence. [trigger warning: descriptions of domestic violence, pictures of injuries sustained]
Today I would like to show my solidarity with women all over the world on International Women’s day and to raise the issue of domestic violence against women. The RMT have released a model domestic violence policy for the transport industry which I hope gets rolled out to every employer.
I am writing this because I feel it is imperative that all organisations on the left take a look at themselves and question whether they are doing all they can to support their female members and fight sexism and abuse, in all its guises Caroline Leneghan‘Feminism is a dirty word’. What would Marx and Engels think today? - Camilla Power
This article takes ‘dinosaur marxists’ to task for refusing to treat rape as a political issue. The author looks at events in the SWP, RMT and across the British left in the light of what Marx and Engels – so often invoked by these ‘dinosaurs’ – wrote about sex and its connection with class.
‘Feminism is a Dirty Word’. What Would Marx and Engels Think Today?
The immediate, natural and necessary relation of human being to human being is found in the relation of man to woman. From this relationship man's whole level of development can be assessed.' Karl Marx, 1844Alfie Meadows and Zak King found not guilty - two years, three months, and three trials later
After years of uncertainty and two mistrials, Alfie Meadows and Zak King have been found unanimously not guilty of violent disorder on a demonstration against tuition fees and cuts to education of December 9, 2010. Alfie was beaten so badly by police on that day he needed three hours of emergency surgery after he developed bleeding on the brain.
The following is a press statement from Defend the Right to Protest, who have tirelessly supported Zak, Alfie and other victims of police violence and harassment.
“The struggle for justice for my son has finally begun” (Susan Matthews, mother of Alfie Meadows).
“The struggle for justice for my son has finally begun. We can now move on to the really important thing, which is to get justice for Alfie" Susan Matthews, mother of Alfie MeadowsDeveloping the IWW’s direct unionism politics
An article by Juan Conatz replying to some of the Direct Unionism discussion paper responses.
Cleaning out my numerous Google Doc drafts, I found this, which continues the direct unionism debate by taking on most of the responses to the original discussion paper. So I decided to finish it, as most of the written discussion has dropped off.
Beyond the martyr complex: confessions of a “pink collar” militant
Dave Stannton's account of his experiences as a “pink collar” militant working at an immigrant-serving non-profit organized by a large public-sector union in Northern Alberta.
This article is an account of my experiences as a “pink collar” militant working at an immigrant-serving non-profit organization (NPO)1
- 1. NOTE: In much of the academic literature surrounding the non-profit industry, the terms NPO (non-profit organization) and NGO (non-governmental organization) are used interchangeably.
Chávez' death: Neither in mourning nor celebration, time for social struggles to become autonomous!
When an illness becomes serious, when medical attention becomes a vehicle for myopic, politically motivated decisions and when a patient becomes drunk with power, it can only end this way. The strongman has died, and in so doing, he has initiated a substantial shift in the Venezuelan political landscape.
What used to be the regime’s greatest strength has suddenly turned into its defining weakness: it was all Chávez, and, without him, the only solution is to fabricate an absolute commitment to his memory and his plans for succession.
We must spell out for the politicians in power that we don’t need them, neither as intermediaries nor as gracious givers of what we ourselves can construct – united and from the base – without any need for “clean hands” or “red berets”Venezuela: the killing of Sabino Romero
The official statement of the El Libertario collective following the murder of Sabino Romero, Yukpa indigenous rights activist, in Zulia, Venezuela last night.
During the night of March 3, 2013 Yukpa Cacique Sabino Romero, well known for his defense of the rights of the Yukpa people, was assassinated on Chaktapa Highway, in the Sierra de Perijá (Zulia State).
Sabino joins the roster of fighters assassinated during the Bolivarian government for defending their rightsWu Ming’s interview “Beppe Grillo lives on the ruins of the movements"
This is an interview by Roberto Ciccarelli, whom we thank, and it appears in today’s (Friday’s) issue of “Il Manifesto”. We couldn’t be more clear and straightforward than this. It synthesises what we think about the Movimento 5 Stelle (henceforth M5S) and about its relation to the crisis/absence of social movements.
This interview by Roberto Ciccarelli appeared on Il manifesto and on Wu Ming Foundation’s blog, Giap.
IWW non-profit workers in Minneapolis go on strike after negotiations fail
Information on a just begun strike at a non-profit mobile food shelf and soup kitchen in Minneapolis.
From the Twin Cities IWW blog:
Organizing as If Social Relations Matter
A commentary about the "Free Education for All" struggle, via a Cooper Union artist-organizer rally in NYC on February 20, 2013. For photos too, see the original post at my Outside the Circle blog, cbmilstein.wordpress.com and/or my "Free Education for All" tumblr at http://free-educ-for-all.tumblr.com/.
This evening, several hours after standing around outdoors in chilly winter weather at a rally beneath the clock tower of Cooper Union and a giant "free education for all" red banner high above, a young Egyptian revolutionary, an active and articulate organizer these past couple years in Tahrir Square, said that freedom isn't just a word; it's how one practices it and tries to enact it.
Manifesto of the fast food worker - Socialist Alternative
Socialist Alternative's text on the fast food industry, written in the wake of an organising drive at Pizza Hut in 2003. Though insightful, we disagree with the politics of the authors, Tony Wilsdon and Brent Gaspaire.
The “war on the unions” - its meaning and the response we need
Stories about the government threatening a “crack down” on trade union power emerge almost on a loop. Particularly in times of heightened class antagonism. But far from showing the unions as threats to society, such threats are a demand that the unions tighten up their role in policing class conflict.
The latest such story comes from the Independent, the main headline of which is a policy to “make strikes illegal unless at least 50 per cent of union members voted in a ballot.” This ties in with government rhetoric about ballot turnout whenever they attempt to
The Belfast police mutiny of 1907 - John Gray
A history of the mutiny of 70% of the Belfast police force during a dockers' strike which brought together Catholic and Protestant workers in struggle.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The Cork harbour strike of 1921
New York Times article where dock workers took control and expropriated money to pay wages.
DAIL EIREANN HALTS CORK HARBOR STRIKE
Intervenes and quiets a tense situation when workers seized board offices, had hoisted a red flag.
Men return to jobs after Sinn Fein Labor Ministry has negotitations reopened.
The battle for Spain: The Spanish civil war 1936-1939 - Anthony Beevor
Anthony Beevor's definitive history of the Spanish civil war. While it focuses on the military aspects it takes a detailed and balanced look at all of the forces in Spanish society at the time.
I heartily recommend you buy this book online.
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