Saturday, October 31, 2009


CANADIAN LABOUR/INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:
VALE INCO SOLIDARITY IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC:
As Molly has mentioned before the United Steelworkers who are on strike against Vale Inco in Ontario and Newfoundland have been busy building international solidarity across 4 continents, amongst other workers who are employed worldwide by this corporation. The following item from Radio Australia tells about their recent visit to New Caledonia ( known as Kanaky amongst the locals) where Vale Inco also operates. In previous posts Molly has mentioned the fact that, considering we live in an age of the internet and 'teleconferencing' that it may be perceived that sending certain privileged members of the USW on worldwide jaunts might "come back to haunt" the leadership of the USW, especially if the strike ends as something less than an obvious victory.The membership could easily perceive that these trips were a frivolous use of the strike fund, and maybe they are.
Here's another thing that may later come back to haunt the leadership of the USW. As previously mentioned the USW has had a previous solidarity agreement with the USTKE in Kanaky as per unions representing workers employed by Vale Inco across the world. The USTKE has ties with both the anarcho-syndicalist CNT-F and the ex-communist CGT in France. Despite the fact that the previous agreement was with the USTKE the Steelworkers' travelling solidarity/vacation delegation decided to accept an invitation from the colonial branch plant union in New Caledonia of the French Force Ouvriere (FO) union confederation. Molly has discussed the various union confederations in France previously on this blog. The FO may legitimately be characterized as a 'right wing' union federation, from its origin as a split from the CGT (perhaps engineered by the CIA), through its continued existence as an alliance of right wing social democrats and right wing Trotskyists whose major (only ?) raison d'etre was to oppose the CGT.
Now, this may not have as great an influence in Canada as the possibility that, if the strike ends up as even a partial failure, that there will be questions about the money spent on the various foreign trips. Still, it should have at least some relevance. The USW has ignored the previous requests for solidarity against state repression from the USTKE, and now they have bypassed them entirely on their tour in favour of a union that was not part of the original solidarity agreement, a union that might be seen as an "agent" of the present conservative French government in its attempt to suppress a more militant alternative in one of its colonies. I'll leave the literate reader to suggest an appropriate word for such actions on the part of the USW. In any case, here's the story from Radio Australia.
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New Caledonian unions back Canada's striking Vale workers:
Unions representing ( some of the -Molly ) workers at the Vale Inco nickel mine in New Caledonia have agreed to back strike action taken by their counterparts in Ontario, Canada. The Worker's Force trade union has hosted two of the workers who have been on strike for three and a half months, as well as a representative from the United Steel Workers (USW) union. It's part of a global push for support by the union, which has also held talks with Vale workers in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales. The visit comes just weeks after the Worker's Force union sent a letter to the president of New Caledonia, asking him to investigate reports that workers at the local Vale Inco mine were over-worked and under-trained. They've also raised concerns about a series of environmental issues at the plant, which they believe has jeopardised the safety of the workers. Speaking to Helene Hofman from the capital Noumea, the research director for Canada's United Steel Workers union, Charles Campbell, said the Canadians employed by the Brazilian miner had similar concerns.
Presenter: Helene Hofman
Speakers: Research director for Canada's United Steel Workers Union, Charles Campbell
CAMPBELL: The experiences have definitely point to similarity and when in Australia and here, we have definitely found when we describe our situation, the workers nod their heads and raise similarities that they have seen since Vale bought their company in case of here in New Caledonia, its 2006, in Australia, its 2007. Again they have seen many of the same efforts and practices on the part of the company to roll back things that workers have fought for over the years.
HOFMAN: I understand those things are, for example, pensions and I know there have been some concerns in New Caledonia that under training and under working employees. Are those the kind of problems you are talking about?
CAMPBELL: That is definitely among them, I mean the tension system in Canada is so completely different that it is not an exact parallel, but the problem that Vale Inco is trying to operate its facilities without giving people the proper training or adequate staffing. What we here from the people of New Caledonia definitely matches up with what we see happening back in February, where for the first time in Inco's history, they say they are going to start production without our 3,000 members, who normally make the mines, the mills, the smelters work. They started training people who either un union or people who are members of our union, but under a different agreement for the office workers and so they are training the office workers to do the work in the mines and the smelters. It's actually hard to believe that they are serious about that, but if they are serious about it, they could have the same kind of problems in February that they have had here in New Caledonia with the workers not being properly trained.
HOFMAN: So from your end, you've now garnered the support of these workers unions in New Caledonia and also in Australia. What have you been able to give them in return?
CAMPBELL: For now, it's principally, the exchange of information, the commitment to stay in touch, the commitment that when if they find themselves on strike or otherwise in conflict with Vale, that we will definitely provide whatever support we can and to continue building ties for the long term as well. Because in a world where Vale and for that matter other companies are more and more operating internationally and they certainly coordinate their policies between Canada and Australia and New Caledonia. We need to be equally active in making sure that the workers on their side are doing everything they can to support each other.
HOFMAN: And then I guess in New Caledonia, the Vale Inco facility does not go into production until January. I suppose that is what you have heard from their case, it is probably then that they are going to need your support?
CAMPBELL: Vale Inc has announced that their mine here in New Caledonia will start production in January. What we've found in general here, both from the workers who work here and also from others in the community is there is a lot of scepticism as to whether that will really happen between the concern about the acid leak and other events there and indications that the process is not working nearly as well as the company would have hoped. It is not clear to us that they really are going to start in January. It may well and among the points of similarity, I mean time will tell on this, but we begin to see indications that when they say they are going to start production in February with people who don't know how to do the work, or they say they are going to start production in January in New Caledonia, and it's widely thought that that just is not technically possible, that they may be doing more in the way of trying to propagandise and scare our members into accepting concessions that they are just not going to accept as opposed to really setting out what is going to happen.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAN:
MORE IRANIAN UNIONISTS JAILED:
Molly has blogged many times before about the situation of workers in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and, in particular about the workers at the Haft Tapeh sugar plantation/refining complex. Here, from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start, is yet another appeal for solidarity for workers sentenced to jail in yet another example about the holy/unholy alliance of the ruling mullahs and the bosses of Iran.
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Iran: Union leaders sentenced to prison - call for global campaign of solidarity:‏
In a drive to destroy the independent union at the giant Haft Tapeh plantation/refining sugar complex in southern Iran, a court on October 12 sentenced six union leaders to prison on charges of "endangering national security."
Their only crime was to lead a strike.
Haft Tapeh workers have repeatedly had to resort to strikes and other actions to claim huge wage arrears and protest deteriorating working conditions.
"The regime is clearly determined to crush the union by putting its entire leadership behind bars," writes the IUF, the global union federation for food workers.
They've launched an online campaign of protest. Please take a moment and send off your messages:
To learn more about the case, read this:
There's full coverage of Iranian labour news on LabourStart, here: http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Iran&langcode=en
Thanks for your support.
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Here's the article and appeal from the IUF referred to above. You can send a letter/email to the Iranian authorities using either the links above or the links in the following article.
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Sugar Union Leaders Sentenced to Prison in Iran - Act Now!:
Posted to the IUF website 26-Oct-2009
In a drive to destroy the independent union established last year by workers at the giant Haft Tapeh plantation/refining sugar complex in southern Iran, a court on October 12 sentenced 6 union leaders to immediate prison terms on charges stemming from October 2007. Three leaders convicted for their union activity last year for "endangering national security" in connection with worker action in 2008 had their sentences overturned on appeal in September. Two union officers, president Ali Nejati and communications officer Reza Rakhshan, both of whom face lengthy prison sentences, were still awaiting the outcome of their appeal when the court in the city of Dezful sentenced the six leaders on the similar 2007 charges.
Ghorban Alipour, Feridoun Nikoufard, Jalil Ahmadi, Nejat Dehli and Ali Nejati were all sentenced to 6 months' immediate imprisonment and 6 months suspended sentences over 5 years; during which time they are barred from union activity. Mohammad Heydari Mehr received a 4 month term, 8 months suspended. Ali Nejati must serve his suspended sentence as prison time, meaning he faces an immediate one-year prison term. Should he lose his appeal on the 2008 conviction, his sentence could stretch to over 2 years.
Haft Tapeh workers in recent years have repeatedly had to resort to strikes and other actions to claim huge wage arrears and protest deteriorating working conditions. The union was officially founded in June 2008 following a 42-day strike to demand long-standing arrears. The Haft Tapeh union is an IUF affiliate.
Haft Tapeh president Nejati has been refused work at Haft Tapeh and blacklisted from all work in the region since being released in April from a month in solitary confinement in an intelligence detention center. The other Haft Tapeh leaders sentence on October 12 have now also been turned away from their work and instructed to report to prison.
The regime is clearly determined to crush the union by putting its entire leadership behind bars.
The fate of imprisoned transport and teachers' union activists shows that the Haft Tapeh prisoners risk prolonged physical and psychological abuse. The IUF urges all defenders of democratic and trade union rights to mobilize in their defense.
Act Now! - CLICK HERE to send a message to the Iranian state and judicial authorities, calling on them to immediately and unconditionally annul the sentences against the Haft Tapeh unionists! Please note that some messages may bounce back - do not be discouraged! Server overload is a common condition in Iran - some messages will get through, making the point that the persecuted trade unionists enjoy international support. The Haft Tapeh union leaders are also supported by Amnesty International.
You can also send a message to the Iranian embassy or diplomatic representation in your country - or pay them a visit! A complete list of embassies/consulates is available here, and you can generally find e-mail addresses by searching the internet for the individual representation in your country.

Friday, October 30, 2009


ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS-BRANTFORD ONTARIO:
SOLIDARITY RALLY FOR SIX NATIONS LAND RIGHTS:
The following notice came Molly's way via the people around the libertarian socialist group Autonomy and Solidarity, publishers of the Upping The Anti journal. The area around Brantford Ontario, of course, has been the scene of a long standing land claims dispute, and the rally announced below is to show the Mohawk defenders of the land that they are not alone. It's quite heartening to see the number and variety of sponsoring organizations.
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Saturday Nov. 7th -- Rally in Solidarity With Six Nations Land Rights:‏
Upping the Anti has endorsed this event and encourages you to attend it if you're in the area or can make it.
*Saturday Nov. 7th -- Rally in Solidarity With Six Nations Land Rights!*
Rally at 1 PM, Victoria Park, (Corner of George St. and Darling St.,Brantford, ON).
Potluck dinner and social to follow at 5PM at the reclaimed Kanata Village site.
Down with the Brantford Injunction!
No Developments on Six Nations Land!
Drop all charges against Six Nations land defenders!
Meaningful negotiations now!
Speakers include:
Aaron Detlor (Lawyer for the Haudenosaunee Development Institute)
Bev Crawford (Haudenosaunee Hoskanigetah)
Bill Squires (Mohawk Workers)
Chris Harris (Black Action Defense Committee, Toronto)
Dawn Martin-Hill (Dept. of Indigenous Studies, McMaster)
Jan Watson (Co-founder of Community Friends in Caledonia, CAW 555)
Janie Jamieson (Former spokesperson for the DCE Reclamation)
Jim Windle (Brantford TRUE)
Missy Elliott (Young Onkwehonwe United)
Phil Monture (Six Nations Land Claim Expert)
Ruby and Floyd Monture (Six Nations Land Defenders)
Steve Watson (CAW Educational Department)
Tim Reynolds (Brantford TRUE)
Tom Keefer (CUPE 3903 First Nations Solidarity Working Group)
Vince Gilchrist (Haudenosaunee Hoskanigetah)
(Note: Group affiliation in the brackets is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily indicate that the speaker is speaking on behalf of their group).
Brantford, Ontario has become “ground zero” in the struggle over Indigenous rights in Ontario. Most of the city is under land claim, but instead of halting development until the status of the disputed land can be negotiated, Brantford city council is carrying out an aggressive policy of encouraging the criminalization of Six Nations land defenders.
Since 2006, when protests in nearby Caledonia erupted, over 60 people from Six Nations have faced more than 160 criminal charges as they have tried to peacefully stop illegal developments from taking place on their lands. It is time for allies and supporters of Six Nations to stand up and bring pressure to bear on our governments and institutions in order to demand that they respect and honor the treaties and agreements we have made with Indigenous nations.
The Six Nations Solidarity Network — a group made up of non-native activists from communities in and beside the Haldimand tract, is calling all supporters of Six Nations land rights to join us in a peaceful protest on Saturday, Nov 7th 2009, at 1pm in Brantford’s Victoria Park (corner of Market St. and DarlingSt.).
The demonstration will march through Brantford and stop at a variety of sites including:
* City Hall (where local politicians have criminalized Six Nations land rights through injunctions and arrests)
*MPP Dave Levac’s Office
* Harmony Square (where Six Nations land is being expropriated to make room for the new YMCA)
* Indian Affairs Office
* Brant’s Crossing (on the unceded Nathan Gage tract)
* Erie Ave at Birkett Lane (on the Eagles Nest tract and where Six Nations land defenders have most recently been charged).
At each of these stops, the demonstration will be addressed by speakers about the pressing issues relating to each stop. The demonstration will conclude with a potluck and social which will begin at 5:00pm at the reclaimed Kanata Village Museum. The space is being made available by the Mohawk Workers.
Bring food to share!
Buses and carpooling to Brantford are being organized from Paris, Guelph, Caledonia, Oshwegen, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Toronto and other nearby cities and towns.
To endorse the demonstration or get in touch with the organizers, please email 6nsolnet@gmail.com or visit http://6nsolidarity.wordpress.com for more information.
This event is endorsed by Brantford TRUE, CUPE 3903 FNSWG, AW@L, CAIA York, Upping the Anti, and is being organized by the Six Nations Solidarity Network which includes local environmental activists and activists from a variety of union locals including the CAW, CUPE and the Steelworkers.
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Here's another story from the Toronto Star about a press conference held yesterday by four of Canada's major unions at the conclusion of their campaign to press the federal government to do more about the situation of native people in Canada, more beyond issuing effect less 'apologies'. Once more it is heartening to see unions taking up this important issue.
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'Sorry' not enough for natives, unions say:
'Disgraceful' conditions persist in native communities after residential schools apology
Richard J. Brennan OTTAWA BUREAU
Published On Thu Oct 29 2009
OTTAWA — Four of Canada's largest unions have joined together to urge the federal government to tackle the appalling conditions facing the country's native communities.

The labour movement's "sorry is not enough" campaign is pressing the Conservative government to get beyond last year's apology by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Canada natives for the emotional and physical harm done to them by the residential school system.

"Sorry is not enough when aboriginal peoples in almost every measure are the most marginalized group in Canada," John Gordon, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) told a press conference Thursday.

"Now we are to tell members of Parliament that the time has come to take the natural next step after an apology. Begin to make it right," Gordon said.

Besides PSAC, the group includes the United Steelworkers (USW), Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which together represents tens of thousands of unionized workers across the country.

The government can begin to address aboriginal poverty by implementing the Kelowna Accord, said the union leaders.

The accord, which withered and died, was an initiative by the former Paul Martin Liberal government to improve the education, employment, and living conditions for native communities.

Among the most pressing needs is the demand for clean water on native reserves, the unions agree. There are 108 communities across the country that must now boil their water before drinking.

"The fact that over 100 communities cannot drink their water is a national disgrace," national CUPE president Paul Moist told reporters.

"Water is a right for all people regardless of their race or their heritage, it is not a privilege," Moist said.

National CUPW president Denis Lemelin said Canadians are "expecting more than just words from the government. We want to see action."

Pat Van Horne, Steelworkers' national representative, said the government's apologize for abuse in the past "does not make up for the continuing abuse that now takes the form of gender discrimination, lack of housing and clean water and the barriers that still face First Nations in their quest for economic, social, land based and cultural rights."

"First Nations cannot wait another century for truth, reconciliation and progress," she said.
NDP MP Jean Crowder, the party's native affairs critics, urged all Canadians to write to Harper asking Canada to sign onto the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Rights.

"We really do need that grassroots pressure to force the government of the day into making the right decision around human right facing aboriginal, Métis and Inuit," Crowder, the MP for Nanaimo-Cowichan, said.

Thursday, October 29, 2009


CANADIAN LABOUR-OTTAWA:
BOYCOTT THE CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION:
The following item came to Molly's attention via the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). For five weeks now employees at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa have been on strike, and their union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), have asked the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) to call for a boycott of both the Museum of Civilization (in Gatineau) and the Canadian War Museum (in Ottawa). Here's the story from CUPE.
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Support striking museum workers:
For the past five weeks, 420 employees of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) have been on strike. The Public Service Alliance of Canada workers want to secure a collective agreement that ends the precarious employment practices of the CMCC and affords its employees some job security.
The executive council of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has passed a resolution asking workers who belong to its affiliated unions not to visit the Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa-Gatineau until striking workers have secured a fair collective agreement.

CUPE National President Paul Moist joined other CLC executive council members on Monday to protest the CMCC’s bargaining tactics.
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Here is the declaration from the CLC.
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CLC supports striking museum workers:
Asks union members not to visit Civilization and War Museums

OTTAWA – The Executive Council of the Canadian Labour Congress is asking workers who belong to its affiliated unions not to visit the Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa-Gatineau until striking workers have secured a fair collective agreement.

The CLC’s Executive Council, meeting in Ottawa, passed a resolution saying in part that the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC) “has blatantly abandoned that responsibility by failing to negotiate a fair collective agreement with its workforce.”

For the past five weeks, 420 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada have been on strike at the museums to secure a collective agreement that would change the museum’s employment practices: 38% of the workforce is employed on a temporary basis, and museum workers are being paid 30% less on average than other federal government museum workers doing the same or similar jobs.

The CLC is also calling upon the government of Canada to force the museum “to negotiate a collective agreement that ends the precarious work practices used by the Corporation.”
Contact: Dennis Gruending, CLC Communications, 613-526-7431 or 613-878-6040 (cell.)

LOCAL EVENTS-WINNIPEG:
INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY WEEK WINNIPEG EVENTS:
Molly is really late out the starting gate on this one, but there are at least two more days of events left in this week in support of indigenous sovereignty. Here's the announcement. Molly has mentioned some of these events before, but here they are all in one place. Please note that this list was previously posted on the local Winnipeg Wobbly Blog.
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Indigenous Sovereignty Week:

Host:
Winnipeg indigenous peoples solidarity movement - w.ipsm
Time:
Sun Oct 25 at 11:00 am until Sat Oct 31 at 4:00 pm
Venue:
downtown Winnipeg and u of m
Description
Events happening all week:
++Sunday, 25 Oct. - vegan abc brunch 11-3 Mondragon with speakers starting at noon
++Monday 26 Oct. *film 'Green Green Water,' with discussion on Hydro's violation of Aboriginal rights in N. Manitoba @ 7PM Eckhardt-Grammatte, third floor U of W
++Tuesday 27 Oct. Winnipeg Copwatch will be hosting "Start your own Copwatch"Tuesday, 5PM, Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre, Langside at S of Ellice.
*film 'The Scars of Mercury' and discussion on history of mercury poisoning of indigenous commnities @ 7PM Eckhardt-Grammatte, third floor U of W
++Wednesday 28 Oct. *panel: Urban Issues and community policing - 7:30 U of W Eckhart-Grammatt
++Thursday 29 Oct.*Film 'Finding Dawn' with presentations and discussion, 12 - 2PM Aboriginal House U of M
*Sovereign Indigenous Voices - spoken word and music - 7-11PM Urban Shaman Gallery, 203-290 McDermot Avenue
++Friday 30 Oct sovereignty expressed. decolonizing the street. email winnipeg.ipsm@gmail.com for more information or to partake in planning this unique event...
++Saturday 31 Oct Defenders of the Land: Voices of Resistance featuring four Aboriginal activists standing up to the Tar Sands, Hydroelectricity's floods and broken promises, uranium mining, and clearcut logging panel and workshops 12-4 PM, U of Winnipeg Bulman Student Centre, Spence St. doors and downstairs (*venue subject to change)...
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And here's a recent update on some of the events.
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Events Update for the Week...:
Hi all, as we head over to U of W for tonight's 7PM screening of Green, Green Water on Manitoba Hydro's northern history, we have these events updates:
1) Tuesday evening's film showing of 'The Scars of Mercury': Anthony Henry, Band manager of Whitedog, is attending the screening of The Scars of Mercury. Anthony represents 10 residents who are requesting their mercury data from Health Canada. The request was done in 2005 and has been ignored so for. He will be happy to join Q & A session after the screening.
2) Wednesday: NEW EVENT, afternoon: the University of Winnipeg Aboriginal Governance Program and the Politics Department are co-sponsoring a talk on Wednesday, October 28 by Rights Action activist Graham Russell who will speak about Indigenous and Community based resistance to Gold Mining in Honduras and Guatemala. The talk will take place from 12-2pm in Eckhardt Grammate Hall. Admission is free!
3) Saturday's big event at U of W's Bulman Student Ctr, 12-4, Defenders of the Land. We can confirm the following speakers: Mike Mercredi of Fort Chipewyan on the Tar Sands' impact on his community; Roberta Keesick and Judy da Silva of Grassy Narrows on the ongoing assertion of traditional land use rights in the 'whiskeyjack forest,'; Sam McKay of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug in Ontario (of the KI 6) talking about his community's resistance of uranium exploration on their lands and the state's repressive response; and a speaker on Manitoba Hydro's ongoing legacy of destruction and division in N. Manitoba.
See you all out at these events!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009


INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:
MONDRAGON AND WORKERS' CO-OPS IN NORTH AMERICA:
You know, if you live long enough and are patient enough, you will eventually see something really good start to take form. This is the way that I view the following item from the website of the United Steel Workers. It has been too long since labour actually had a vision , a social goal that went beyond the all-too-necessary everyday fighting over small details of work life, punctuated by dramatic strikes that end up more like a football game without passing ie a struggle over, at best, small gains in yards. The traditional vision of socialism ie state ownership has been discredited not just in its barbaric Marxist dictatorial forms but also in its more civilized forms of democratic social democracy. It didn't work. In many ways it didn't work, not least because whether by prison camps or by civilized methods (which proved to be the most enduring in the end) it became obvious that it was not a method for achieving equality and liberty but rather one whereby a new class of managers rose to power.
There was, however, always, an alternative view of socialism, held in its purest forms by the anarchists but also shared, in many ways, by other socialists the failures of the statist model. "Cooperative Socialism" whereby the decisions at work are made democratically by all workers in an enterprise has always been there as an alternative vision to the statist socialism that has failed. Nowadays this vision is becoming ever more popular. Whether they truly hold to the ideal or not modern socialists find it almost obligatory to cover themselves with at least the mantle of such a vision. In some cases, such as with communist sects or caudillos in power one can seriously doubt the sincerity of their commitment. In other cases such as, here in Canada, people such as Pierre Ducasse (see his Ecodema blog), once a contender for the NDP leadership, one cannot doubt the sincerity of these "semi-libertarian socialists" because they are fully committed to a non-dictatorial method of change.
This brings us to the following item from the USW website. It seems that the USW have entered into an agreement for collaboration with the Spanish/Basque Mondragon group of workers' cooperatives. The purpose...to promote the idea of workers' cooperatives in Canada and the USA. Now, I have no doubt that one can have many doubts about both parties to this agreement. In the case of the USW one can certainly quibble about its internal democracy. This varies from area to area. Here in Canada one could also quibble about its almost religious devotion to the NDP, and in the USA the attachment to the Democratic Party is even more problematic (no kidding). If an union is to be an instrument of worker democracy it has to be an exemplar of democracy and involvement itself. No organization, however, is perfect, and the membership of the USW are certainly trying to live up to that democracy. Mondragon is also open to criticism, particularly as it sems to have a "two-tiered" system of membership whereby non-Spanish enterprises are subject to considerably more centralized control and have fewer rights than those in Spain. Like other cooperatives it is also a, perhaps eternal, battleground between those who defend the rights of the membership and those who wish to see more power vested in management.
This battle may be inevitable, but the workers' cooperative model at least allows for a field in which it is possible for this battle to be fought. Government owned enterprise, just like private corporations, are automatically manager controlled. The following is also interesting in that it shows the recognition, at least on the part of the USW, that the usual 'Employee Stock Ownership' programs that some companies have are not the same as actual worker cooperatives. Molly has discussed this question before, especially in regard to the airline industry here in Canada, but she perhaps didn't emphasize enough the limitations of these programs.
So, here's the item, one that I find to be a very hopeful sign. One can only hope that the idea is not going to be restricted to small enterprises, and that it will also become an alternative idea for dealing with larger industrial enterprises in the future.
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Steelworkers Form Collaboration with MONDRAGON - World’s Largest Worker-Owned Cooperative:
PITTSBURGH--(ENEWSPF)--October 27, 2009.
The United Steelworkers (USW) and MONDRAGON Internacional, S.A. today announced a framework agreement for collaboration in establishing MONDRAGON cooperatives in the manufacturing sector within the United States and Canada. The USW and MONDRAGON will work to establish manufacturing cooperatives that adapt collective bargaining principles to the MONDRAGON worker ownership model of “one worker, one vote.”

“We see today’s agreement as a historic first step towards making union co-ops a viable business model that can create good jobs, empower workers, and support communities in the United States and Canada,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “Too often we have seen Wall Street hollow out companies by draining their cash and assets and hollowing out communities by shedding jobs and shuttering plants. We need a new business model that invests in workers and invests in communities.”

Josu Ugarte, President of MONDRAGON Internacional added: “What we are announcing today represents a historic first – combining the world’s largest industrial worker cooperative with one of the world’s most progressive and forward-thinking manufacturing unions to work together so that our combined know-how and complimentary visions can transform manufacturing practices in North America.”

Highlighting the differences between Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and union co-ops, Gerard said, “We have lots of experience with ESOPs, but have found that it doesn’t take long for the Wall Street types to push workers aside and take back control. We see Mondragon’s cooperative model with ‘one worker, one vote’ ownership as a means to re-empower workers and make business accountable to Main Street instead of Wall Street.”

Both the USW and MONDRAGON emphasized the shared values that will drive this collaboration. Mr. Ugarte commented, “We feel inspired to take this step based on our common set of values with the Steelworkers who have proved time and again that the future belongs to those who connect vision and values to people and put all three first. We are excited about working with Mondragon because of our shared values, that work should empower workers and sustain families and communities,” Gerard added.

In the coming months, the USW and MONDRAGON will seek opportunities to implement this union co-op hybrid approach by sharing the common values put forward by the USW and MONDGRAGON and by operating in similar manufacturing segments in which both the USW and MONDRAGON already participate.
Click here for the full text of the Agreement.
About MONDRAGON:
The MONDRAGON Corporation mission is to produce and sell goods and provide services and distribution using democratic methods in its organizational structure and distributing the assets generated for the benefit of its members and the community, as a measure of solidarity.
MONDRAGON began its activities in 1956 in the Basque town of Mondragon by a rural village priest with a transformative vision who believed in the values of worker collaboration and working hard to reach for and realize the common good.

Today, with approximately 100,000 cooperative members in over 260 cooperative enterprises present in more than forty countries; MONDRAGON Corporation is committed to the creation of greater social wealth through customer satisfaction, job creation, technological and business development, continuous improvement, the promotion of education, and respect for the environment. In 2008, MONDRAGON Corporation reached annual sales of more than sixteen billion euros with its own cooperative university, cooperative bank, and cooperative social security mutual and is ranked as the top Basque business group, the seventh largest in Spain, and the world’s largest industrial workers cooperative.
About the USW:
The USW is North America’s largest industrial union representing 1.2 million active and retired members in a diverse range of industries.

AMERICAN LABOUR:
WORKING FOR WALMART-NOW THAT'S SCARY:
This one is mostly for our American readers who live in a country where health care insurance is, if it exists at all, is at the whim (or forced and grudging agreement) of employers. Employers such as Walmart whose 'generosity' is as bone thin as a Halloween skeleton. The following from the Wake Up Walmart group is asking you to protest the grinning toothed pumpkin behind the Walmart happy face mask. Walmart, of course, is hardly restricted to the USA, and I'm sure that many of us out here in the colonies would see fit to join this protest as well.
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What Is Behind Walmart's Mask?:‏
Apparently, every day is Halloween at Walmart headquarters. For months, Walmart has been dressed up as a health care champion: trumpeting support for the employer mandate and running ads about how "proud" it is of its health care record. In truth, Walmart's talk simply masks the reality of its health care failures.

Behind Walmart's PR mask is something uglier and scarier than anything you will see this Halloween. Behind the mask is the harsh reality of Walmart's notion of health care: unaffordable and inadequate coverage, nearly half of its employees without company health care, and staggering amounts of workers forced onto taxpayer-subsidized programs like Medicaid.

This Halloween, we want to do something a little different. We want to take off Walmart's mask and challenge the company to live up to its own rhetoric on health care. Join us. Take action, and help us "remove Walmart's mask" in time for Halloween.
Sign our open letter to Walmart CEO Mike Duke, calling for better coverage for employees and support for real heath care reform

Walmart claims it "won't be 100% satisfied until every American has quality affordable health coverage." Meanwhile, nearly 50% of its own employees are forced to look elsewhere for health insurance.

Walmart claims it offers quality plans. Yet, an average full-time Wal-Mart employee on the least expensive family coverage plan must spend over 20% of their yearly income before the health insurance provides any reimbursement.

When it comes to health care, Walmart is still part of the problem. Help make it part of the solution. Take action today: Tell Mike Duke to change Walmart's health care rhetoric into health care reality.
Sign our open letter and "take the mask off Walmart"
Thanks for all that you do,
The Team,
AlAlAlAlAlAlAlAlAl
THE LETTER
Please go to THIS LINK to read more and send the following letter of protest to WalMart
management.
AlAlAlAlAlAlAlAlAl
Dear Mr. Duke,
You have said Walmart cares about health care coverage. You have said Walmart claims to want reform. Last year, your company made $13 billion in profits. Yet, nearly 700,000 of your workers still go without company health care. That’s wrong.

Walmart claims that costs need to be controlled, but your own plans are unaffordable for many of your employees. These high costs force approximately 13% of your employees onto state health care programs like Medicaid and SCHIP in at least 8 states where data is available.

Mr. Duke, it’s your responsibility to lead Walmart toward better health care coverage. Do the right thing, make your actions match your words: your employees deserve the quality, affordable health care coverage you claim all Americans should have.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009



CANADIAN LABOUR:

STEELWORKERS TAKE IT TO THE BIG APPLE:
In their quest for international support for their strike against an international corporation-Vale Inco- the United Steelworkers have expanded their solidarity efforts across the world. Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, New Caledonia, you name it. Here, from the Sudbury Star, is the story of one of their recent efforts in New York City where they threw a little kink into what would have been a major PR coup on the part of Vale. The following item came to Molly's attention via the strike support site Fair Deal Now. Read on.
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Steelworkers take New York by storm:
VALE INCO STRIKE: Strikers take fight to Wall Street
Posted By CAROL MULLIGAN, THE SUDBURY STAR
Two dozen striking Steelworkers got their message out loud and clear to the financial community and others in the Big Apple on Wednesday.





Fourteen members of Sudbury's United Steelworkers Local 6500 and 10 from Local 6200 in Port Colborne made a 48-hour return road trip to New York City to spread the word about their labour dispute with Vale Inco Ltd.





Wednesday was to be Vale Day on the New York Stock Exchange and Vale officials were to ring the bell at the opening of trading. The event was cancelled due to scheduling conflict, said a Vale spokeswoman in Brazil.





But Steelworker Joe Guido and his travelling colleagues think it was the threat of them embarrassing the mining company at the NYSE that forced the postponement.





A machinist at Vale Inco's divisional shops, Guido organized the trip for members of USW's Political and Allies Committee. The Canadian strikers rallied on the steps of the Federal Building, paraded with banners along Broadway and "rode" the symbolic bull outside the stock exchange.





"We brought our message to Wall Street and it was loud and clear," said Guido on Thursday. "It was a good day."





Steelworkers were joined by American USW members, as well as members of the United Federation of Teachers. The latter union served lunch to the Canadians.





They also joined the rally, which by law required a permit for strikers to use a bullhorn. Police officers armed with automatic rifles were vigilant and have been present since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.





One officer told the delegation, "you make all the noise you want," said Guido.





The visitors presented another officer with the Steelworkers' tiny shovel pin, which is worn handle down during a labour dispute.





"The officer said he couldn't wear it on his uniform, but he would keep it," said Guido.





Strikers used bullhorns to ask where Vale president and chief executive officer Roger Agnelli was.





"What is he hiding from?" they asked, said Guido.





Passers-by, many clearly investors by the look of their "thousand-dollar suits," said Guido, accepted leaflets the delegation distributed. Some promised to research Steelworkers' claims Vale is seeking "significant cutbacks" that led to the strike.





"I never had a negative comment," said Guido, who also arranged a trip to Queen's Park where striking Steelworkers supported the Ontario New Democrats' call for legislation prohibiting the hiring of replacement workers during labour disputes.





But the private member's bill co-sponsored by Welland MPP Peter Kormos and Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas did not pass second reading. Before the vote, Steelworkers were ejected from the visitors' gallery for cheering and jeering while MPPs spoke to the bill.





Guido said he and his union brothers spoke with people in New York City, including Canadian tourists who wondered what a delegation from their country was doing on Wall Street.





"A high number were appalled when we told them what Vale is doing," said Guido.





USW insists Vale Inco was seeking concessions with a settlement offer calling for a defined contribution pension to replace the defined benefit one, reductions in the nickel bonus and limits on transfers among workplaces.





Vale Inco officials call the proposals "changes" and insist they are necessary to keep the business competitive in all business cycles.





Sudbury strikers left the city Tuesday at 5:30 a. m. and returned 48 hours later. Guido said he slept for a couple of hours before attending a Thursday morning USW Local 6500 membership meeting where he gave an update on the NYSE trip.





"I told them it wasn't a walk in the park," said Guido. "They were impressed."





The New York rally was staged as similar events were held in Sudbury, Toronto and Brazil, where Vale is headquartered.





When asked to comment on the Toronto demonstration, Vale Inco spokesman Steve Ball said Steelworkers were doing "what they feel is right to help their cause.





"We consider this is really another distraction and, unfortunately, the Steelworkers seem to be more committed to these kinds of events than they are to meaningful negotiations," said Ball.
"It would be nice if some of that time and effort was directed toward getting a deal done, and that can only be achieved when they commit to sitting down with us and dealing seriously with the issues that need to be discussed at the bargaining table."
cmulligan@thesudburystar.com

Monday, October 26, 2009


CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-VANCOUVER:
MORE ANTI-OLYMPIC ORGANIZING ON THE WEST COAST:
Nearer and nearer draws the inevitable Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Winter Olympics, but those organizing on the west coast against this government give-away sponge are not idle. Here's the latest news from the Olympics Resistance Network.
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ORN Meetings, Events and Actions:‏
Reminder, ORN General Meeting (open to all!)
Sunday Oct 25, ORN General Meeting 6pm @ Spartacus Books, 684 E. Hastings
*** Upcoming Anti-Olympics Events and Meetings:
1) Anti Olympic Torch Relay kickoff - Victoria Oct 30th
2) Call for Cross Canada Mobilizing: Extinguish the Torch!
3) Oct 19th: Olympics and National Security Forum at SFU
4) Oct 19th: Olympics impact on the poor. UBC free speaker series.
5) Oct 28th: Teaching 2010 Resistance Educators Meeting
6) Oct 29th: Resistance Without Reservation! Indigenous Sovereignty Week
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ANTI OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY KICKOFF
*** For travel details includes times of departure and arrival from Vancouver to Victoria, check out the transportation information below.
The Canada-wide Olympic Torch Relay officially begins in Victoria, Lekwungen and WSANEC Territories, on October 30th and the Anti-Olympic Festival will be there to greet it.
Join us in the spirit of creative resistance to ongoing colonization, cut-backs in social services, environmental destruction, the privatization of public space, the quashing of free speech, and the corporate spectacle.
==> PROGRAM INFORMATION FOR FRI OCT 30TH <==
1. 2:00 pm, Anti-Olympics festival of resistance in "Spirit Square"(formerly known as Centennial Square) downtown Victoria on Pandora between Government and Blanshard.
2. 4:30 pm: "Zombie March" In memoriam of Olympics past, hosted by the Anti-Olympics festival. Depature from Spirit/Centennial Square. People are encouraged to bring scary costumes, or just costumes!
3. 5:30 pm: The Torch will be blessed during an officially planned ceremony at the Legislature buildings. Does your group want to get a message to the world on October 30th? Over a thousand media people can't be wrong. Get in on the fun! Organize a friendly competition, step up to the soapbox, take over a ring of the Five Ring Circus! Music, art and theatre especially welcome. Join us, don't sit this one out! For updates as the become available keep your eyes on:
==> TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION <==
*** For those leaving on Fri Oct 30, there is a planned meeting point at the Safeway parking lot at Commercial Drive and Broadway Ave, Vancouver. Transportation pools will depart at 9am. The cost is approx $40 return. This is to encourage group travel on public transit (please note ORN is not providing financial assistance for transit).
*Transit directions from Vancouver to Victoria:
Take the Expo train line from Broadway Station to to Grandville Station and transfer to the Canada Line. The Canada Line Station is on the corner of Grandville Ave and Georgia Street Take the Canada Line southbound to Bridgeport Station (25 min) Transfer to the bus "620 Tsawwassen ferry terminal" (to make 1st ferry board at 5:55am) Buy a walk on ticket for the ferry going to Swartz Bay. Go to www.bcferries.com for schedules and fares. The 1st ferry is 7:00 am. After arriving in Swartz Bay, there is a bus stop right in front of the ferry terminal, where you’ll catch the "No. 70 Downtown/Airport" bus. The cost is $2.75. If you catch the ferry at 10am you will arrive in Victoria at 12:30 pm Check the Victoria Transit website for schedules:
* For those interested in leaving the evening of Thurs Oct 29th, please fillout the transportation form indicating whether you can provide or carpooling or need a ride located at olympicresistance.net or email: marlarenn@gmail.com .
==> CAN YOU HELP? <==
No2010 Victoria is working on providing billeting and people are encouraged to go over the night before (Thurs Oct 29th).
* If you know folks that can provide sleeping spaces in Victoria please contact no2010victoria@gmail.com
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Hosted by: No2010 Victoria
This invitation brought to you by the Olympic Resistance Network
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CALL FOR CROSS-CANADA MOBILIZING:
EXTINGUISH THE OLYMPIC TORCH!
* Route details below
* From October 31 2009 - February 12 2010, the Olympic Torch Relay ; A Path of Northern Lights; will be traveling across Canada. The Olympic Resistance Network, based in Vancouver Unceded Coast Salish Territories, is calling on and encouraging our allies to coordinate efforts in over 2000 communities to oppose and resist the Torch Relay.
The origins of the Torch Relay lie in the dark history of the 1936 Games in Berlin, where it was devised as a means to spread Nazi fascism and to promote the Third Reich. The Royal Bank of Canada and Coca Cola are the main sponsors of the 2010 Torch relay. RBC is the top financier of the environmentally devastating Alberta Tar Sands, while Coca Cola has been responsible for health degradation as part of the junk food industry, massive depletion of groundwater and toxic waste pollution in India, and involved in hiring paramilitary groups to violently repress union organizers in Colombia.
It is becoming increasingly evident that far from being simply about sport, the 2010 Olympics is rooted in displacement, corporate greed, militarization, and repression. While Olympic corporate sponsors are getting bailed out, Indigenous lands are being stolen, more people are becoming homeless, thousands are losing their jobs and access to public services, the environment is being destroyed, and civil liberties are being eroded as over a billion dollars are being sunk into security and surveillance measures.
This Torch Relay will be the longest in-country relay in Olympic history, giving us the chance to make some anti-Olympic history!
No Olympics onStolen Native Land!
==> If you are organizing an event or action in your city, town, or community please email us the details at olympicresistance@riseup.net so we can compile the information and build strength and unity in our efforts by having this information available on our website.
Basic route details (see links below for full information) are as follows:
Oct 30 - Nov 5, 2009: through BC, Yukon, and Northwest Territories: Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Snuneymuxw, Esquimalt First Nations, Tla-o-qui-aht, Qualicum, Courtney, Campbell River, Whitehorse, Taku River Tlingit, Dawson City, Kugluktuk, Yellowknife, and others.
Nov 6 - Nov 15, 2009: through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut, Quebec, and NewFoundland: Fort McMurray, Cold Lake, La Ronge, Thompson, Qausuittuq, Iqaluit, Kuujjuaq, Gaspé, Labrador, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Sheshatshiu, St. John's, St. Anthony, Grand Falls-Windsor, and others.
Nov 16 - Nov 28, 2009: through Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick: Sydney, Whycocomagh, Port Hawkesbury, Truro, Paqtnkek, Antigonish, Halifax, Bear River FN, Lunenburg, Charlottetown, Moncton, Sussex, Saint John, Fredericton, Esgenoôpetitj, Grand Falls, and others.
Nov 29 - Dec 11, 2009: through Quebec: Rimouski, Baie-Comeau, Les Escoumins, Saguenay, Lévis, Saint-Georges, Black Lake, Victoriaville, Sherbrooke, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières, Longueuil, Kahnawáke,Beaconsfield, Mont-Tremblant, Montréal, Laval, Gatineau, and others Dec 12, 2009 - Jan 4, 2010: through Ontario: Ottawa, Pikwàkanagàn, Akwesasne, Kingston, Tyendinaga, Peterborough, Toronto, Hamilton, St.Catharines, Six Nations, Brantford, Oneida, Leamington, Windsor, Sarnia, London, Stratford, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Barrie, Huntsville, Temiskaming, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Red Rock FN, Kenora, and others.
Jan 5 - Jan 20, 2010: through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta: Winnipeg, Sioux Valley Dakota, Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Moosomin FN, Edmonton, Wetaskiwin, Red Deer,Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Calgary, Canada Olympic Park, Stoney Nation, and more.
Jan 21 - Feb 11, 2010: through BC: Golden, Cranbrook, Nelson, Trail, Osoyoos FN, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Kamloops, 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Prince George, Smithers, Gitanmaax, Fort St. John, Terrace, Bella Bella, Powell River, Sechelt, Squamish, Whistler,Lilwat, Merritt, Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland and others.
* Full route information: Complete listing by day:
Provincial and Territorial Routes:
* About the Olympic Resistance Network:
*Why we Oppose the 2010 Games:
Video at:
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Monday, October 26 12:30-2:30
* MBC 2290 *
SFU Burnaby Campus
Refreshments will be served
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The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place on unceded Indigenous land from February 12-28, 2010. From real estate developers to private security corporations, the political and corporate elite have the most to gain from the Olympics. Over 13,000 municipal, provincial, national, and military police as well as joint US-Canada military & North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD none the less-Molly )operations are being deployed to protect the Olympic games at the cost of over $1 billion dollars. This is why the 2010 Olympics have been dubbed the "Security Games".
Communities in Vancouver are already feeling the fall-out from increased security. Security cameras and increased policing are invading communities and many Vancouver residences--especially anti-Olympic activists and particularly Indigenous defenders--have been intimidated and harassed by CSIS and VISU (Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit). However, as this panel will show, resistance to the Olympics and its regimes of security has been successful. This forum will discuss current and historical practices of and resistance to national security and the Olympics.
Gary Kinsman {LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY}
Author of the Regulation of Desire, and forthcoming book the Canadian War on Queers, speaking to Queer Resistance to the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic social cleansing
Nassim Elbardouh {NO ONE IS ILLEGAL}
SFU student tackles the cuts to civil liberties and increased security due the Games
Tami T {COMMUNITY OLYMPIC WATCH}
Former SFU student and anti-olympic activist talks about her experiences of VISU visits and her ongoing work in the commercial drive area.
This forum is endorsed by Out on Campus, Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group, the Teaching Support Staff Union and the Olympics Resistance Network
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"THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN MYTH AND REALITY"
FREE speakers series of Olympic critics and organisers ongoing most Mondays, 5pm, from Sept. 14 - Dec. 7.
Hosted by UBC's Green College.
The speakers begin at 5 pm with time for questions
(FREE, open to all, no reservations).
Optional dinner with speaker at Green College starts at 6:30pm ($12 for students and $16 for non-students; reserve a spot by noon Sundays at 604-822-0912). (Just a little heads up for those who wish to eat at this event. As Molly has reveled previously on this blog the RCMP was searching for the phone number of this kitchen, presumably to (literally-tee hee hee)) take information on all who register for the meal. Please make sure to order the 'Rookie From Regina Ragout. It's really good. )
Located in the Green College Coach House at 6201 Cecil Green Park Road (north of NW Marine Drive).
For more info email alissawt@shaw.ca
- Monday, Oct.26: "How the Olympics impact the poor and homeless." Laura Track.
Track is a lawyer with Pivot Legal Society specializing in housing issues.
- Monday, Nov. 2: "Olympic security and civil liberties: A lasting legacy." David Eby.
Eby is the Acting Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association.
- Monday, Nov. 16: "The myth of the Green Games." Harjap Grewal and Dustin Johnson. Grewal, Council of Canadians, is a member of No One is Illegal, and the Olympic Resistance Network. Johnson is an Indigenous activist.
- Monday, Nov. 30: "Understanding the Olympics as part of corporate culture; Garth Mullins. Mullins is a Vancouver-based social justice activist and member of the Olympic Resistance Network.
- Dec. 7: IOC Corruption: Would you take these people home to meet your loved ones?" Andrew Jennings.
Mr. Jennings is the author of three books on the IOC.
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[updated version! please note correction]
::::TEACHING 2010 RESISTANCE: UPCOMING EVENTS (updated):::::::
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**PLEASE NOTE CORRECTION to OCT. 28th event below**
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Greetings from Teaching 2010 Resistance
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Many educators have observed that there is a great amount of "Olympic Spirit" materials available for teachers, but very little to balance the picture. However, we believe education means presenting balanced information and supporting critical thinking and the development of active citizens. This is why Teaching 2010 Resistance has developed a workshop that is interactive, fun, and based in cooperative learning, in order to examine the social, environmental, and economic issues associated with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. We are willing to present this workshop in classrooms throughout British Columbia, and are happy to personalize the workshop to fit the needs, unit topics, and the educational level of every class.
Contact us via e-mail at orn.youth [at] gmail [dot] com to discuss the possibilities and schedule a workshop with us. Teaching 2010 is also collaborating to produce easy to use resources and lessons for teachers to use in their classrooms. The materials for our workshop and many other educational activities are available at: http://www.teach2010.org
-----Meeting for Educators: October 28th------
This will be a meeting for educational professionals interested in previewing the workshop, brainstorming possibilities for other activities, and collaborating in adapting the workshop and other materials for elementary students.
;***NEW TIME and LOCATION***
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SFU Harbor Centre;,
515 W. Hastings,
Room 2245
Wed., October 28th, 2009
6:30 - 8:30 pm
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---Become Part of Teaching 2010 Resistance---
Teaching 2010 Resistance is always looking for more people to get involved. We are working on a variety of projects, so there are many ways to help out. Some of these include – but are by no means limited to: - developing teaching resources and alternate workshop modules- organizing social events for youth (art nights, skill shares, etc.) -hosting a workshop in your classroom or community centre- facilitating (presenting) the workshop in Greater Vancouver- helping make materials for workshops and publicity If you’re interested in hearing more about the work that has already been started and finding out how to get involved, please contact us for information about our next open meeting.
------------------Contact us--------------------
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Teaching 2010 Resistance! Email us at: orn.youth [at] gmail [dot] com;
For online teaching resources,please see
For more information on Olympicresistance, please see
Teaching 2010 Resistance is a project of the Olympic Resistance Network.
Teaching 2010 is a community group composed of educators, youth workers,and community members. We are not endorsed by any professional body nor are we seeking to be.
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RESISTANCE WITHOUT RESERVATION!
As part of Indigenous Sovereignty Week and building resistance to the Olympic Torch Relay, join us in an evening of powerful films, dignified food,("dignified food" ????-Molly ) inspiring speakers, and rebel performers... On Facebook:
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Thursday Oct 29.
Free!
Doors and food served @ 6 pm
Event begins @ 6:30 pm
706 Clarke Drive (3 blocks south of Hastings)
Bus route #22, 10, 16, 20
Child-friendly. Bus tickets available
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* Coast Salish Opening by Kat Norris: founder of Indigenous Action Movement and survivor of the Kuper Island Residential School. Kat joined the American Indian Movement and has been a social activist since. Most recently, she has been organizing against police abuses and her biggest success is the Frank Paul Inquiry.
* Carol Martin: Nisga'a/Gitanyow and member of Downtown Eastside Elders Council, Sweetgrass All Nations Healing Centre, and Feb 14th Memorial March Committee. Carol is a long-time advocate and grassroots voice for Indigenous peoples and for women and men in the DTES, especially in the lead up to the Olympic Games.
* Dustin Rivers: a young and outspoken Skwxwúmesh-Kwakwakawakw activist,artist, and writer.He's had an obsession with history from a early age, but also raised in a time of cultural re-generation, he uses his ancestors legacy of political uprising to accomplish his vision of decolonization.
* Writing the Land (7 mins, Kevin Lee Burton): This 2007 film meticulously combines film language with Hunkamenum words to recreate Musqueam elder Larry Grant's experience of rediscovering his language and cultural traditions.
* Resist 2010 (15 mins, Burning Fist Media with no2010): A short,fast-paced documentary focusing on the negative impacts of the 2010 Games and the ongoing resistance by Indigenous & other social movements.
Defenders of the Land, a cross-Canada network of First Nations in land struggle and fighting for Indigenous rights, has issued a call to organize a cross-Canada week of educational events on Indigenous Rights and Indigenous struggles from October 25-31, 2009. The purpose of this week is to disseminate ideas of Indigenism and to contribute to building across-Canada movement for Indigenous rights, sovereignty, and justice that is led by Indigenous communities with a broad base of informed support. As non-native multiracial supporters, we are allies of frontline Indigenous communities who organize in defense of their land, freedom, and autonomy.
As a grassroots anti-racist and anti-imperialist migrant justice group rising to liberation, No One Is Illegal strongly believes that our movement must always be in active solidarity with self-determination struggles of Indigenous communities who struggle across Turtle Island against centuries of imposed racist, sexist, criminalizing, impoverishing, and genocidal policies. Our event is organized in this spirit of respect with the diverse realities of Indigenous peoples to survive and resist, especially in the face of our society's apathy, the normalization of colonialism, and increasing state repression. We hope you will join us and we encourage others to organize additional events and actions during Indigenous Sovereignty Week.
No Justice on Stolen Land!
Organized by No One Is Illegal-Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories.
Formore information, email noii-van@resist.ca
or call 778-833-4484
To read the full callout for Indigenous Sovereignty Week:
To read the basis of Unity for Defenders of the Land Network:
To read an article about the first Defenders of the Land gathering: