A group of Latino workers, at the Twin Cities-based D’Amico’s & Sons restaurant chain have organized and taken direct action to resist being fired for receiving “No-Match” letters from the Social Security Administration. The workers ­ many who have well over a decade of service for the company ­ have been joined by family members, some co-workers, the Workers Interfaith Network (WIN), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Twin Cities General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.) and others.

D’Amico’s announced that Monday, March 31, 2008 would be the last day of work for 17 employees who had received the “no-match” letters. This appears to be illegal as the Social Security’s “no-match” notices explicitly state that employers should take no “adverse action” against employees based on these letters. “No-match” means a problem has been identified with a worker’s name and social security number not matching. Sometimes this can be due to immigration status, other times a simple typo can trigger the letter. In any case, the legal precedent has been that it was up to employees to correct the issue and not employers. A California Federal Court halted attempts by the Bush administration to penalize employers for having workers with “no-match” letters.

Saturday, February 16, 2008.

Approximately one dozen fellow workers from the Twin Cities General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World marched in support of immigrant rights and struggles in Minnesota on Saturday. The demonstration was organized by MIRAC, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition.

The rights of immigrant workers - both documented and undocumented - is part of a nationwide discussion during this election year, and an international discussion. The terms of the discussion are often the same in today's neoliberal environment. The reactionary right demonizes all those who are forced or choose to travel in search of security, opportunity, and a life; the reactionary left pretends that this is merely a moral issue and ignores the economics of immigration, and the 'muddled middle' hold a variety of contradictory opinions.

DETAILS:
UTAH PHILLIPS BENEFIT
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 6PM
EAGLE'S CLUB - 2507 E. 25th St.
PERFORMERS: Charlie Parr and Bernie King; Pop Wagner & Friends; Gabe Barnett; Mary Dushane; Paul Metsa; Bill Hinckley & Judy Larson; Papa John Kolstad; Maureen McElderry; Peter Lang; Dakota Dave Hull; Phil Heywood.
ADMISSION $10

Utah Phillips, the “Golden Voice of the American Southwest,” and one of America’s longest-performing and most beloved folk singers, has had to end his 40-year career as a traveling musician, due to serious heart problems.

As a result, he is without the means to support himself. The Industrial Workers of the World, which Utah is both a member and a important supporter of, is holding a benefit to help Utah continue to live a decent life, and to help defray his overwhelming medical bills.

Utah is an American military veteran, rail-riding hobo, co-founder of the Joe Hill house, pacifist, former candidate for U.S. Senate (Utah), and former host of National Public Radio (NPR) program Loafer’s Glory: The Hobo Jungle of the Mind.

A major influence on American Folk Music, as well as on the culture of the modern American labor movement, he taught and inspired contemporary folk icons like Rosalie Sorrels, Kate Wolf, and Ani DiFranco, and his music has been covered by countless musicians.

Utah has many Minnesota connections that make it particularly appropriate for this benefit to be held here: he used to play in the hobo jungles at Pig’s Eye Landing, and in the Finnish Socialist Communes that played such an important role in the Minnesotan North.

This is our humble attempt to help out someone who desperately needs our help, and to pay him back a little for his countless contributions to our lives and world. I sincerely hope all can come and help support Utah in his current difficulties.

Current Classes

Updated October 2007 

 

Chomsky 101: An Introduction to Noam Chomsky's Life and Political Thought.

FW Facilitator Stephen Holm

This 6-part class will introduce participants to the thinking and writing of one of America’s preeminent dissidents- the MIT Linguistics professor, Wobbly, and anarchist Noam Chomsky.

Themes covered will include Media and Propaganda; U.S imperialism around the world; and the anarchist alternative. There will be short readings and group discussion.

Chomsky 101 meets Saturdays
November 17th - December 22nd 2007 11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Downtown Minneapolis Public Library
4th Floor, Conference Room N-402

 

The Twin Cities branch of the Industrial Workers of the World has restarted the historic school known as the Work People’s College. We are dedicated to providing free, radical, and practical education to the working women and men of our communities, education that will further the aims of the working class revolution that we advocate as a union.

We are now accepting class proposals from prospective instructors for classes beginning in early October 2007. Instructors are not paid, except in gratitude for service to the struggle. We are looking specifically for classes in, but not necessarily limited to, the following areas:

• History     (e.g., The Spanish Civil War, the 1934 Strike)
• Vision        (e.g., Political Economy, Philosophy)
• Culture        (e.g., Working Class Culture classes)
• Organizing    (e.g., Direct Action, Social Mapping)

The Twin Cities Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is pleased to announce the Winter session of the WORK PEOPLES COLLEGE.  The WORK PEOPLES COLLEGE continues the legacy of working-class education for emancipation carried out by the Duluth, MN IWW in the first part of the 20th Century.

The first Winter class offering is "Imagination and Social Liberation."

This class is dedicated the concept of the ‘imagination,’ which is increasingly used almost as a code-word for modern struggles for social justice and liberation. But what do we mean when we use the word? This class will examine the history of the word in philosophy and practice, from Greek and Muslim philosophers to contemporary social thinkers, and rely on the participation of the students to create a practice-based definition of the word, and justification for why we might (or might not) care about ‘liberating the imaginary.’

This class may be of interest especially to workers and students involved in such movements but lacking a philosophical background, or students of philosophy and psychology with an interest in such movements.

Fellow Workers and Friends –

The Twin Cities GMB is hosting an organizer training on Saturday and Sunday the 3^rd and 4^th of February.  We cordially invite you to attend the training, which will focus on how the IWW does workplace organizing.   

Any member of the IWW is welcome to attend.  There is no charge.  Please RSVP if you plan on attending - call our branch voicemail at (612) 339-1266 or email twincities@iww.org.  If you let us know in advance we can find housing for those who need it.  We're also planning a hootenanny that weekend for members of the union and friends.

We hope to increase the core of workplace organizers in the union, while growing our capacity to organize strong branches and regional organizing structures.  Please join us!

Industrial Workers of the World

Twin Cities General Membership Branch

TO:

Tommy Sheridan MSP

Rosemary Byrne MSP

George Reid MSP (Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament)

Scottish Parliament
Holyrood, Edinburgh
EH99 1SP, United Kingdom

CC: Barbara Scott

14 December 2006

The Twin Cities General Membership Branch (GMB) of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) supports the IWW and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the Scottish Parliament in their industrial dispute with Tommy Sheridan MSP and Rosemary Byrne MSP. We call for:

• an immediate return of all misappropriated funds to the employees resources group, an apology from the two MSPs, and for the Scottish Parliament to accept its culpability in conspiring with Sheridan and Byrne to unilaterally abrogate workers' collective contracts, thus forcing them into redundancy.
  
• The workers in question, who are employed by the Scottish Parliament as Caseworkers, Researchers and Parliamentary Assistant's for the SSP group, gained a major improvement in their employment situation when the May 2005 contract pooling MSP employment funds was won. These are collective gains; precisely the kind that we value the most and must protect.

The workers have made it very clear, and the Twin Cities GMB reaffirms, that this is not a political dispute but an industrial one. It is untenable that politician-employers could unilaterally, with the connivance of the Scottish Parliament, discard these collective gains for the sake of a political dispute. Workers' rights are not subject to political machinations.