IWW Direct Action! Demand Unpaid Wages for Worker at 3rd St. Diner in Richmond, Virginia

Posted Sun, 04/15/2012 - 2:20pm by IWW.org Editor

On behalf of Fellow Worker Moriah "Mo" Karn, the Richmond General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World and IU640 (Restaurant, Hotel, & Building Service Workers Industrial Union) are initiating a campaign to demand that $183.18 in unpaid wages be paid in full to fellow worker Karn.

Fellow worker Karn worked as a bartender and waitstaff for 3rd St. Diner located at 218 E. Main St. in Richmond, Virginia. Karn has yet to receive any compensation for their labor after working a total of 86 hours at a wage of $2.13 an hour, between November 3rd and November 22nd, 2011.

Although in the state of Virginia, it is a violation of law to withhold a final paycheck from an employee after removal (see §40.1-29 Va State Code), the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry was of little help. When fellow worker Karn filed a complaint with the Virginia Department of Labor, they were told that because there was no written proof of their hours worked, ie. a time sheet, schedule, etc., and because the employer failed to process their W2 form, there was nothing the Department of Labor could do for them.

In lieu of this news, on Friday April 6, 2012 a letter was issued to owner, Mr. William "Billy" Polyaris, requesting he do the right thing and pay fellow worker Karn in full by 4:00pm Friday April 12, 2012. Informing him that failure to do so would result in further action. We received no response.

Whereas the inability of the state to procure justice for workers who are victims of wage theft, and whereas Mr. Polyaris appears to have no remorse for the exploitation of his workers, we call upon supporters to participate in a phone blast, putting pressure on management and demanding retribution and accountability for Karn and her fellow workers.

Federal Court Orders FBI To Turn Over Evidence for Independent Forensic Analysis in 1990 Judi Bari Car Bombing Case

Posted Mon, 04/02/2012 - 3:25pm by IWW.org Editor

Note: Judi Bari was a dues paying member of the IWW from 1988-94 and active in the IWW when the bombing on May 24, 1990 took place.

By Ben Rosenfeld - April 2, 2012

In an order dated March 31, 2012 and released today, Honorable Claudia Wilken, United States District Judge of the Northern District of California, affirmed a March 21, 2011 Order by Magistrate Judge James Larson, directing the United States, through the FBI, to turn over evidence in the 1990 car bomb assassination attempt of Judi Bari in Oakland, CA to a third party forensic laboratory for independent testing.

"This is a historic and momentous development", said Ben Rosenfeld, attorney for plaintiff Darryl Cherney, Judi Bari's co-organizer in the sustained campaign to preserve California's ancient redwoods, who was also injured when the bomb went off. Cherney went to Court in 2010 to prevent the FBI from destroying the evidence. That evidence includes a mostly intact explosive device built by the same hands as the car bomb, a cardboard sign, and latent fingerprints.

The FBI never subjected this evidence to basic forensic examination. Its lawyers contacted Cherney's lawyers in 2010 announcing plans to destroy the evidence. In 2002, an Oakland federal jury found three FBI agents and three Oakland police officers liable for violating Bari and Cherney's First and Fourth Amendment Rights in trying to frame them by falsely accusing them of transporting the bomb which nearly killed them. The FBI never looked elsewhere.

Cherney alone has continued to pursue the bomber(s). With co-Director Mary Liz Thomson, he just released a new documentary entitled Who Bombed Judi Bari? The evidence, hitherto sealed away in an FBI locker, may finally yield an answer to that question.

Request a copy of the Court order via one of the contacts above, or look it up on PACER under federal Case No. 91-01057 (Document Number 686). For historic information about the case, visit judibari.org.

IWW shop in Portland needs your help!

Posted Sun, 04/01/2012 - 6:59pm by IWW.org Editor

By Ryan G

Greetings IWW members,

This is a call for union members to help out an IWW shop in Portland, OR, the Red & Black Cafe.  Last evening, someone threw a brick through one of the cafe windows with a hate message attached.  Our fellow workers at the cafe, which is collectively owned and operated (and an IWW closed shop) need financial assistance in order to get the window replaced as soon as possible.

Please visit the cafe website at http://www.redandblackcafe.com/, where you can make a PayPal donation.  Donations by check can be mailed to the cafe at 400 SE 12th Ave., Portland, OR 97214.

This union shop, which is a long time gathering point for the IWW in Portland, has been subjected to several acts of vandalism this year from unknown individuals.  The cafe is a gathering space for unionists, anti-capitalists, and the radical community at large in the Portland area.  We could use your help!

In solidarity,

Ryan G.

Portland IWW / IWW General Executive Board / Red&Black Cafe worker

Huge victory in arrest of sweatshop employer!

Posted Sun, 04/01/2012 - 6:50pm by IWW.org Editor

By Daniel Gross - March 29, 2012

I write with great emotion, gratitude, and hope for the future. Nothing has reached as deep into the soul of the Brandworkers community as the crushing death of Juan Baten in a Brooklyn tortilla factory at the beginning of last year. And nothing has fortified our determination for change as much as the courageous efforts of Juan's widow, Rosario Ramirez, to achieve justice for Juan and their daughter Daisy Stephanie.

Juan lost his life because of his employer's reckless disregard for worker health & safety, a problem of endemic proportions in New York City's food processing factories and distribution warehouses. OSHA, the federal workplace safety agency, concluded that Juan's death would have been prevented had the employer placed a legally required and simple machine guard on the mixer that brutally ended Juan's life. After Juan's death, the factory owner Erasmo Ponce and fellow managers threatened workers if they cooperated with investigators, lied about Juan's death, and even disrespected Rosario at Juan's funeral.

Who would have challenged the employer's false narrative in the media and to government authorities if not for you, the Brandworkers community?

Who would have raised thousands of dollars for Rosario and Daisy if not for you, the Brandworkers community?

Who would have persistently advocated for Erasmo Ponce's arrest to the Office of the Attorney General if not for you, the Brandworkers community?

After this lengthy struggle and with your accompaniment, on Tuesday Rosario finally got some of the solace she so profoundly deserves. Authorities arrested sweatshop owner Erasmo Ponce on 26 felony counts and 23 misdemeanor counts, including falsifying business documents, wage-related violations, and misconduct in connection with the unemployment and workers compensation systems.

Northeast Ohio Industrial Workers of the World resolution on behalf of the teachers of the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD)

Posted Sun, 03/18/2012 - 12:44pm by IWW.org Editor

By the Northeast Ohio Industrial Workers of the World - March 13, 2012

On behalf of the Northeast Ohio Industrial Workers of the World, we salute the Cleveland Teachers Union and the students and families of Cleveland, Ohio in their stand against Mayor Frank Jackson’s school reform initiative simply referred to as the “Cleveland Plan.” This plan, if one can call it such, has no data or research showing how any of the “reforms” would increase student learning or make the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) any better. Scapegoating teachers is a failed tactic, especially in a district such as Cleveland where teachers have lowered their own pay by $25 million and pushed for innovative reforms in teacher evaluation and collaborative work environments. The problem in the CMSD is not the staff, it is poverty. It is not only economic poverty destroying so many communities, but also the craven poverty of spirit that seeks simple answers to difficult questions and uses Cleveland’s children as pawns yet again in another untested reform package.