Grand Rapids GMB

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Phone Zap in support of Grand Rapids IWW member wrongfully terminated from Jimmy Johns!

Posted Søn, 07/10/2011 - 11:47am by IWW.org Editor

Fellow Worker Mathew Bair was fired July 8 from a JJ in Grand Rapids for alleged costumer complaints, when the facts are that Bair never was told of any complaints and always received praise and good tips from costumers. FW Bair was fired for his membership in the IWW and we won't go silently!

When: Saturday and Sunday July 9th and the 10th 2011 all day

What to Do: Call Owner Tom KirkPatrick.   If he doesn't answer leave a message. 

Demand: That fellow worker Matthew Bair be reinstated and to continue work at Jimmy Johns.  That they stop their campaign against Jimmy Johns workers organizing for a better future.      

Sample Text: Hello Mr. KirkPatrick, I am calling to insist that fellow worker Matthew Bair be reinstated at Jimmy Johns.  It is illegal to terminate someone for their organizing activity.  Please join the consensus of working people around the nation and stop the union busting efforts against your workers.

Tom KirkPatrick   

Phone: (616) 617 3773

Grand Rapids, MI

Local Worker-Owned Restaurant Joins Historic Labor Union: Act signifies workers' real desire for change, not just rhetoric

Posted Lør, 05/14/2011 - 12:52pm by x344543

May 9, 2010: Grand Rapids, MI - Bartertown Diner and Roc's Cakes--a raw, vegan/vegetarian restaurant opening in a couple weeks in downtown Grand Rapids has decided to go "wobbly." The seven member team which constitutes the worker-run establishment have all decided to join the old and storied Industrial Workers of the World labor union.

"It just seemed like the perfect fit for us. After meeting with members of the IWW it was clear that we all want the same things and being that we really don't want to be just another restaurant it seemed logical," said Ryan Cappelletti cook at the new Diner.

Bartertown Diner and Roc's Cakes, which will be located at 6 Jefferson St., joins a growing list of worker-owned IWW shops. The Red and Black Cafe in Portland, Oregon and Just Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin being two others.

"We are very happy that Bartertown and Roc's Cakes has decided to go IWW and believe it can only help in our larger campaign to raise the standard of living and benefits for all food and beverage workers in Grand Rapids, said Shannon Williams, Treasurer of the local IWW branch.

IWW holds Solidarity picket in Grand Rapids for Jimmy John’s workers

Posted Fre, 09/10/2010 - 3:46am by x344543

By Jeff Smith - GRIID, September 6, 2010

Today, 10 members of the local chapter of the IWW and a few supporters stood in the rain outside of the Jimmy John’s restaurant in Eastown today to show support for a new national effort to unionize fast food restaurant chain in the US.

IWW members received primarily positive responses from people walking and driving by the Jimmy John’s location on Wealthy Street near the intersection of Lake Dr and Wealthy.

Despite sending out a Media Release to dozens of local news agencies, the only coverage of the solidarity picket came from Indy media sources, GRIID and a citizen journalist with the Rapidian. WZZM 13 did run a story about the planned picket yesterday, but no commercial news agencies showed up today, despite the obvious tie in to Labor Day.

I.W.W Union to picket in front of Wealthy St. Jimmy John's on Labor Day

Posted Man, 09/06/2010 - 2:01pm by x344543

By Brent Ashcroft - WZZM13.com, September 6, 2010

Grand Rapids, Mi. (WZZM) - Demands for improvements to working conditions have some Jimmy John's employees unionizing around the nation. One West Michigan location will be a test-ground on Labor Day.

About twenty I.W.W (Industrial Workers of the World) members, from the Grand Rapids chapter, will picket in front of the Wealthy St. Jimmy John's Monday from noon to 1pm, representing the franchise's employees across the nation who feel they're underappreciated in the workplace, in support of the Jimmy John's labor dispute in Minneapolis which started it all.

"A lot of Jimmy John's workers are asked to work one and two hour shifts, or are expected to put wear and tear on their vehicles without compensation," says Cole Dorsey, Grand Rapids organizer of the I.W.W. "It's difficult to get sick days or to get job-related workman's compensation [from Jimmy John's management]."

So, Dorsey and the rest of the Grand Rapids I.W.W. will represent area Jimmy John's employees in protest Monday. Leafleting and picketing is planned for 32 of the 39 states in which Jimmy John's operates.

Minneapolis Jimmy John's co-owner, Mike Mulligan said in a statement last week: "We are very proud of our employment record in Minneapolis and take issue with the claims of the I.W.W. We value our relationship with our employees and offer competitive wages and good local jobs. We are dedicated to providing a fair, equal and diverse workplace environment."

Dorsey, and his I.W.W. members, don't see it that way.

"Sexual harrassment, better pay, benefits for non-managerial employees - that's what the union workers, the sisters and brothers in Minneapolis, want from us on Labor Day," says Dorsey.

Grand Rapids Wobbly Participates in Occupation of Senator Levin's Office in Response to Troop Escalation in Afghanistan

Posted Tir, 12/01/2009 - 6:40pm by IWW.org Editor
Why We Occupied Senator Levin’s Office Today, we occupied Senator Carl Levin’s office in Grand Rapids as a protest against the current administration’s decision to escalate the US war in Afghanistan. We do this not simply because we are against war, but because this decision by the Obama administration is unjust. The US is not in Afghanistan to bring Democracy – Since 1979, the US has supported anti-democratic forces such as the Mujahadeen, the Northern Alliance, the Taliban and a variety of individual warlords. The US has also supported the current regime of Karzai, knowing full well that his administration has been corrupt from the beginning.