Submitted by x344543 on Sun, 06/19/2011 - 1:16pm
The news website Gawker.com recently released for public viewing a copy of Target's antiunion propaganda video. Filled with scary tales of those terrifying union organizers and how they're out for your money, it was a typically low-budget production and we frankly give it two thumbs down.
What we do take incredible exception to is that this anti-union propaganda video was a union job,starring two members of AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Ric Reitz and Nicky Buggs.
We find it simply abhorent that anyone at all would, under the jurisdiction of their union, portray such capitalist, anti-worker swill and be fine collecting a paycheck. Ric Reitz offered an explanation typical of that drilled into too many workers by the pro-boss business unions under the AFL-CIO: "If someone hires me to play a rapist, does it make me a rapist?
You take the job, and you're an actor," says Reitz, a longtime member of AFTRA and the Screen Actors Guild. "Am I pro-union? Absolutely." To which we ask, "Would you take a job playing a rapist in a video intended to promote rape?"
Submitted by x344543 on Sun, 06/19/2011 - 1:02pm
By Adam Kader, In These Times, June 16, 2011.
This article is reposted in accordance with Fair Use Guidelines. The opinions of the author do not necessarily reflect those of the IWW and vice versa. The image included here was not included with the original article.
The decline of unions does not mean the end of the labor movement. Indeed, the last few years have seen a proliferation of new kinds of worker organizations and workers' rights campaigns. Some of the most exciting of late have been conducted by community-based groups (rather than workplace-based unions), such as the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and those part of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
In Solidarity Unionism at Starbucks, a recent pamphlet published by PM Press, Daniel Gross and Staughton Lynd highlight an increasingly important feature of today’s labor movement—nonunion workers using direct action strategies protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)—while examining the Industrial Workers of the World’s (IWW)'s ongoing efforts to organize Starbucks.
Submitted by x344543 on Sat, 06/04/2011 - 1:39pm
Headlines:
- Wobblies Celebrate May Day Worldwide
- Worker-Owned Restaurant in Michigan Joins IWW
- International Solidarity with Cuban Comrades
Features:
- Obituary: Remembering Hazel Dickens
- The NEW Industrial Worker Book Review!
- Mr. Block Protests on May Day
Download a Free PDF of this issue.
Submitted by x344543 on Thu, 05/05/2011 - 5:37pm
Headlines:
- Six Jimmy John’s Workers Fired For Whistleblowing
- Fired Union Barista Achieves Victory In Brooklyn
- ILWU Local 10 Shuts Down Oakland Port
Features:
- The Evolution of May Day Worldwide
- Wobbly Arts: The Art of the IWW Protest Song
- Key figures from the IWW in South Africa
Download a Free PDF of this issue.
Submitted by x344543 on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 12:21am
Who would have thought?
The self-sacrifice of a street vendor in Tunisia sparked the rage of a nation including general strikes from independent unions which successfully ousted the Ben-Ali dictatorship. The garment workers of Mahalla and their national day of action catalyzed the seeds of revolt in Egypt. Then with millions in the street and Hosni Mubarak obstinately ensconced in his compound, mass industrial action from workers across sectors and across Egypt broke the stalemate and ended a 30-year reign of oppression. Popular revolts have spread throughout the region.
When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker launched extremist attacks on public worker union rights for the benefit of corporate elites, the example of the Egyptian and Tunisian achievements inspired workers to actions with a scope and spirit unseen for decades in the U.S. labor movement. The persistent occupation of the Capitol and enthusiastic solidarity from far and wide proved that the sense of self-worth and fighting spirit of the American worker is alive and well. A General Strike is being discussed by workers in states around the country, not as a historical relic, but as a practical, effective, and needed tool to deal with problems at work and in the political system.
As the attacks on public and private sector unions escalate, the racist scapegoating, exploitation, and deportation of immigrant workers continues apace. Right-wing legislators in states across the country are pursuing the Arizona show-me-your-papers racial profiling model which undermines the liberty and offends the dignity of every working person. Employers enrich themselves for years on the hard work of immigrant employees only to cynically raise status issues when confronted with demands for stolen wages or for decent working conditions. Yet still, immigrant workers of color are routinely demonstrating the courage to lead some of the most profound and hard-fought labor campaigns in the United States.
On May 1, 2006, millions of immigrant workers and their allies poured into the streets from coast to coast with tremendous spirit and energy to give May Day life again after decades of slumber in the country in which it was born. Regrettably, many corners of the labor movement shied away from this watershed moment which featured large numbers of workers actually striking their jobs without even the protection of union membership. The achievement of International Workers Day in 2006 has yet to be duplicated.
The combination of existential challenges and historic opportunities facing workers indicates only one appropriate response on May 1, 2011: everyone together in the streets against the attacks on immigrants, public and private sector unions, and all working people. A new network of over fifty leading worker and community-based organizations, May Day United, has been hard at work building just this type of dynamic May 1st under the banner of "A Day Without Workers" and a call for, "No Work, No Shopping, and No School-Related Activities." May 1st falls on a Sunday this year which should help facilitate the participation of many working families.
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