Home » Groups
» All Members

All Members

Submitted by intexile on Thu, 05/26/2005 - 2:01pm.

Who is Sabocat?

Submitted by kennyyates on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 8:42am.

For May Day in Richmond, we made this poster to supplement another poster portraying workers, students and community leaders as cat people.  We wanted to shed some historical light on the image so people understand the connotations behind the "black cat".  Feel free to spread this poster around.  It's 11x17 and print ready.  Click the image for the .pdf

http://maydayrva.org

 

The image of a black cat arching it’s back, sometimes referred to as ’sabocat’, was utilized by organized labor to represent the prospect of sabotage.  Ralph Chaplin, a labor activist and anarcho-syndicalist, created the image while working with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).  Chaplin intended for employees to place the image around their respective workplaces as a symbolic threat to unethical and unrepentant bosses.

Let’s Stop Hiding The Revolution

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 12:51pm.

 

“It seems like the Union is afraid that people will find out the truth about what we are trying to accomplish.”  This was FW Kristin’s comment to me the other day and it got me to thinking.  Are we hiding our Revolutionary program, and if we are hiding, then why?

 

May Day Richmond, VA 2010!

Submitted by kennyyates on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 10:29am.

There will be an IWW workshop at this years May Day in Richmond, Va.  Fellow Workers, from Virginia, are encouraged to attend, we will be discussinga brief history of the Industrial Workers of the World, solidarity organizing, and why Richmond needs a chapter of the IWW.   

Visit [ http://maydayrva.org ]

 

 

Billings Montana: Revolution Through Economic Means

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 11:16am.
Mar 31 2010 - 7:00pm
Mar 31 2010 - 8:30pm
Montana IWW Educational Presentation at Parmly Billings Library. Call Delegate Jim Del Duca at 406-860-0331 for more information.

MAYDAY 2010

Submitted by coledorsey on Sun, 02/21/2010 - 12:08am.
May 1 2010 - 10:00am
May 1 2010 - 8:00pm
Celebrate MAYDAY 2010 in Grand Rapids! May 1st in Martin Luther King Jr. Park. To include: Community Potluck, Hip Hop Artists, Bands, Speakers, Kids Activities... Performances by: Euphoria, Kelly O'Brien and the Bridge Street Special, Jihad Islam, The U.S. Beat, Jumbo, Alexis, Organel Williams and the Bottom Line Band... Participating organizations: Grand Rapids Hip Hop Coalition, The Bloom Collective, Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy, League of Revolutionaries for a New America, Workers Solidarity Alliance, Lansing Workers Center, Grand Rapids IWW, Black Autonomy Network Community Organization, United States Social Forum... More artists and organizations to be announced! If your organization would like to participate or your a musical artist contact: grandrapidsstarbucksunion@yahoo.com 616-881-5263

Location(s)

Martin Luther King Jr. Park
1200 Franklin SE
Grand Rapids, MI, 49507
United States
See map: Google Maps

Wobbly-TV Needs Seed Money! Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 7:26pm.

FWs, I talked with the executive director of our local Community Access channel.  Wobbly TV will be on the air in two weeks if we can come up with $400 for a years membership in the organization.  This blog entry is asking for money, make no mistake!

An Exceptional Source of Current Economic Info

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 1:46pm.

Friends, I use lots of economic statistics in my public outreach activities on behalf of the IWW. I usually have to hunt high and low for enough separate bits of information to puzzle together a picture of the current lousy situation. So I was truly impressed when I read this article on AlterNet. All of the latest and most miserable facts about the economy seem to be referenced in this single article.  As anti-Boss ammunition I feel it is worthy of a close reading for all interested FWs.  The article is by David DeGraw and titled The Economic Elite Have Engineered An Extraordinary Coup, Threatening The Very Existence Of The Middle Class. My first thought after reading it was "Now is the time for the IWW to get moving!"

http://www.alternet.org/economy/145667/the_economic_elite_have_engineered_an_extraordinary_coup%2C_threatening_the_very_existence_of_the_middle_class

Billings Montana Presentation; Unions; What It Takes To Keep Them Honest And Effective

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 4:56pm.
Feb 17 2010 - 7:00pm
Feb 17 2010 - 8:30pm
This educational presentation hosted by the Billings Montana IWW will focus on unions as institutions.  We will explore what makes a successful union which empowers it's members and serves the general welfare of society.  We will also examine union failures, and how to correct mistakes. Contact Delegate Jim Del Duca at 406-860-0331 for more information.

Location(s)

Parmly Billings Library
Billings, MT
United States
See map: Google Maps

Albuquerque General Membership Branch Meeting

Submitted by clay on Tue, 01/26/2010 - 3:00pm.
Feb 13 2010 - 1:00pm
Feb 13 2010 - 2:30pm
Downtown Public Library, Conference Room #2 1-2:30 pm

Letter of Solidarity to ATU Local 1220

Submitted by kennyyates on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 6:16pm.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1220
2302 West Main Street
Richmond, VA
http://atu.org
http://www.ridegrtc.com/
 
 
Fellow Workers,
 
On behalf of the organizers of Richmond May Day 2010, an event geared at celebrating the history of working class struggle, we'd like to stand in solidarity with the union members of ATU Local 1220.  Among these organizers are individuals, students, union members, community activists, and above all, workers and riders of GRTC.

We've been made aware by the media that there is potential for a strike by GRTC union members of ATU Local 1220.  We'd like to know how we can show our solidarity.  We fear that the 40,000 daily passengers of GRTC do not understand the gravity of the situation, and likely view the strike as an inconvenience.  Local media has been breeding fear of job loss for those who depend on the transportation to move around the city. We'd like to help alleviate some of that sentiment.

IWW On Talk Radio!

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 2:12pm.

Howdy FWs!  I had my first radio talk show experience this morning.  FW Kristin said it was frustrating that I didn't get to talk more, and respond to the disinformation.  I agree with her, but at least it's a start. I'll be better prepared in the future thanks to this opportunity.  Anyhow, here is the link, way down at the bottom of the page: http://www.northernbroadcasting.com/NEWS/VoicesofMontana/tabid/142/Mid/588/ItemID/268/ctl/Details/Default.aspx

Your feedback is appreciated!

 OBU!

Jim

Do Not Balance the Budget on the Backs of the People!

Submitted by kennyyates on Tue, 01/12/2010 - 7:59pm.

Okay folks, I'm involved with Richmond Jobs With Justice and the Virginia People's Assembly, as well as May Day.  Comrade Breanne with Richmond Jobs With Justice and Vice President of Commincation Workers of American at Verizon in Richmond, VA was invited by the Teamsters to attend, on their behalf, a meeting with incoming Republican Governor Mcdonnell's administation about several pieces of legislation they intend to present at the General Assembly.  Abolishing the corporate tax was one of them... this has not been announced to the public as of 1/12/2010 by his administration. Here is a little informal press release we started spreading around...help us get the word out. 

 

Breanne Armbrust of the Virginia People's Assembly, Richmond Jobs With Justice & organizer with Richmond's May Day is being interviewed by Richmond's NBC 12 News Correspondent Laura Geller tonight, January 12th, about McDonnells yet-to-be publicly announced legislation to abolish the corporate tax completely. Be sure to see what she discovered! It's absolutely rediculous.

New Orleans General Strike of 1892

Submitted by Cosh on Tue, 01/12/2010 - 6:42pm.
Fellow Workers - This article, abstracted from GI Special, is an interesting and instructive part of labor history. I present it for your edification and enjoyment. Sorry there's no para breaks, but that's the way it was when I copied it. X323510 THE NEW ORLEANS GENERAL STRIKE OF NOVEMBER 8, 1892 “The First General Strike In American History To Enlist Both Skilled And Unskilled Labor, Black And White, And To Paralyze The Life Of A Great City” “White Supremacy Was A Political And Social Creed; It Never Saved Labor From Being Paid As Little As The Negro” [Very special thanks to Melissa Reilly, Baton Rogue, Louisiana, for going to the library to copy this otherwise lost article. T] By ROGER WALLACE SHUGG, Louisiana Historical Quarterly, Vol. 21, #2 This paper was read before the third annual meeting of the Southern Historical Association at a session held in Chapel Hill, N. C., Nov. 19, 1937. It is drawn largely irons the files of contemporary New Orleans newspapers, to which specific citations are omitted because of the necessary condensation of material. ****************************************

Wobbly Story in Billings, Montana Paper

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Mon, 01/11/2010 - 10:02pm.

Howdy Friends!  I'm cheating, so instead of writing my blog I'm giving the hyperlink to a column written about our local Montana efforts. I hope you folks find it entertaining, if not full of new and thought provoking information.

I think that I have a good excuse for not being able to concentrate on writing.  FW Kristin is full term with our new baby and labor could start any minute.  I'm nervous and preoccupied, and now you understand why.  Anyway... here is the link!

http://www.billingsnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=999:in-billings-wobblies-attempt-labor-comeback&catid=36:fits-n-pieces&Itemid=79

A message of solidarity to the Virginia People's Assembly from Kenneth Yates on behalf of May Day 2010

Submitted by kennyyates on Sun, 01/10/2010 - 1:13pm.
A message of solidarity to the Virginia People's Assembly from Kenneth Yates on behalf of May Day 2010

The left has a choice, we can either continue on the same path of intellectual obscurity, drowning in our theory until idealism turns to apathy, or we can put this theory to work, re-join American culture, and earn perspective like those in a more radical time...
Through direct action and participation!

It's important however, that we steer clear from the sectarian nature of political parties, and focus directly on the organization of the working class. 

As it stands, the working people barely exist in the minds of bureaucrats, and their policies are proof of this. Representatives sit comfortably in the pockets of capitalists, and together they have successfully eliminated the working people as a threat.

It's time we recognize that they are not our representatives at all.  They are our opponents. 

Response to 'Broad Street Revivalists' - Style Weekly Richmond, Virginia

Submitted by kennyyates on Thu, 01/07/2010 - 6:24pm.
Article in Style Weekly, 1/6/2010 Read the entire article here: [ Broad Street Revivalists - Scott Bass ]

Billings, Montana, USA IWW Presentation

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Fri, 12/25/2009 - 1:54pm.
Jan 12 2010 - 7:00pm
Jan 12 2010 - 8:30pm

 Industrial Workers of The World

Billings, MT, USA

December 25, 2009                                                          

Contact Information:

Jim Del Duca- Delegate Billings Branch

Who Is Sitting In The Driver's Seat?

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Mon, 12/14/2009 - 3:50pm.
 

Howdy Friends and Fellow Workers!

 

Montana is below zero Fahrenheit right now and so it’s a perfect time to pound the computer keys and toss around a few ideas.  My recent Blog, about how I think that only the OBU sees the big picture, generated some good discussion.  One FW expressed some skepticism. She wrote;

May Day 2010 pre-first meeting Agenda

Submitted by kennyyates on Sun, 12/13/2009 - 6:54pm.

Last year we started organizing in February, and had four formal meetings and about eight puppet building workshops and countless informal meetings between organizers.  We were able to  pull close to 300 people into the streets with only posters, handbills, facebook, and word of mouth.  We marched without a permit so we chose not to promote it in corporate media, so as to not draw the attention of the police and certain figures surrounding the First Friday art walk which we chose for our route because we knew there would be an audience. 

Pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennida/sets/72157617617062154/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/judasprime/sets/72157617566015237/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yellowbuzz/sets/72157617568362649/

 

 

Meeting Agenda:

Billings, Montana IWW Presentation

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 11:33am.
Dec 15 2009 - 7:00pm
Dec 15 2009 - 8:00pm
The Billings Parmly Library third floor meeting room will be the venue for the IWW presentation entitled "The Anti-Democracy Alliance: Lawless Corporations, Impotent Unions, and Corrupt Government". For more info contact Delegate Jim Del Duca at 406-860-0331, or email delducja@gmail.com

A Case For Direct Action!

Submitted by kennyyates on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 3:09pm.
By: Kenneth Yates (Industrial Workers of the World, Richmond Jobs With Justice)

Recently I watched a documentary called 'The Garden'.  It was about a community of latino farmers in South Central, Los Angeles who found themselves organizing to save a community garden, then the largest urban garden in the United States, from being taken from them.

The farmers cultivate the land into a lush and diverse self sustaining resource, not only for themselves, but also the community around them. 

The land was given (later redefined as a "loan") to the community by the city in order to help soften the blow following the destructive 1992 Los Angeles riots. Later it would be sold from beneath them and back to the developer who in 1986 the city acquired it from through imminent domain.

The farmers organized, and were able to win a few small battles prolonging the life of their garden, but in the end lost to the greed of a uncompromising capitalist.

----

Only The IWW Can See The Big Picture

Submitted by JimDelDuca on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 1:09pm.

Greetings from below-zero Montana!

Republic Sit-Downers Fundraiser in Grand Rapids

Submitted by coledorsey on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 9:55pm.
Dec 19 2009 - 11:53pm
Republic Sit-Downers Fundraiser in Grand Rapids. 918 Benjamin Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503. $5-10 Suggested Donation All Proceeds go to Sit-Downers. Event includes: Documentary, Q&A with participants, live local music

Location(s)

Kent/Ionia Labor Hall
918 Benjamin Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI, 49503
United States
See map: Google Maps

GDC Local 6 needs support

Submitted by tomkat on Sun, 11/15/2009 - 8:41pm.
November 15, 2009 Fellow Workers, Ottawa's police and prosecutors know that panhandlers are an easy target. They have no money and little support. This is why panhandlers themselves organized the IWW Ottawa Panhandlers Union in 2004. Since then, panhandlers have been pushing back! And they have noticed the difference. Police know that harassment of union members now has consequences. Pressing charges against organizer Andrew Nellis was a way of trying to immobilize the organization. By withdrawing the charges, the City admitted it had a weak case. But it also knew that Fellow Worker Nellis was saddled with legal fees he could not pay on his own for a case that never even went to court. We cannot allow the authorities to use the costs of defending oneself in the legal system as a weapon against the poorest and most marginalized members of our working class. We need 100 IWW and GDC members to stand up and send $10 to pay the legal defense of our organizer, Andrew Nellis. Be one of the 100 to say that our union stands strong in the defense of the working class on the street.

Worker Occupations And The Future Of Radical Labor: An Interview With Noam Chomsky

Submitted by Diane on Sat, 11/14/2009 - 9:04pm.