INTERNATIONAL LABOUR/ANARCHOSYNDICALISM:

LATEST SPANISH GENERAL STRIKE A HUGE SUCCESS:

March 29th saw a one day general strike in Spain that eclipsed previous general strikes in magnitude if one is to judge by the drop in energy consumption, often the best way of estimating the impact of general strikes on the economy as a whole. According to this measure this strike was much more popular than that of September 2010 being actually the largest in 30 years in Spain. There are actually quite important differences between this event and previous strike protests in Spain. Not only was this the largest demonstration of working class resistance to state plans in Spain. It was also set against a background of conservative governments in both Spain and the Catalan region.

Even more importantly this strike was not a project of the so-called "majority unions", the UGT and the CCOO. As far as I can determine the date of this strike was more or less set originally by the "nationalist" unions in Euskadi and Galicia. This timing was then agreed to by the CGT and then by the other libertarian unions (the CNT-FAI, CNT-Catalunya, Solidaridad Obrero). The UGT and CCOO were late comers to the endorsement. It happened only after they could gain nothing by their preferred method of bureaucratic negotiation.Then they "signed on" at the last moment. This had its effect. Not only were the so-called majority unions very much a minority vis-a-vis the local unions in Galicia and Euskadi. In several places in Catalonia the gatherings of the UGT/CCOO were less numerous than that of the libertarian unions (who allied themselves to a rainbow of community groups).

No doubt looking at the country overall the UGT/CCOO "mafia" are still the most popular unions in Spain, and their turnout was higher overall than that of their libertarian and nationalist competitors. Still, the very fact that they have lost the initiative and have to play catch-up is significant. In previous general strikes the libertarian unions tailed the UGT and CCOO.

What does this mean ? When I look at this from over here in Canada where anarchists in unions are a tiny minority it is easy to be sceptical. I think the fact that the socialist (UGT) and so-called "reformed" communist (CCOO) unions are still a majority amongst Spain's workers is still very significant. Yet....looking at the buildup to the general strike (in my case mostly info from the CGT and the CNT-AIT) I get the distinct impression of watching "people who know what they are doing and have a plan". The libertarian unions, especially the CGT, took the evidence of the past (previous general strikes) and distilled it into a plan for opening a new front against the conservative government. They have also understood very clearly that politics is a process rather than any sudden conversion. Hence the plans already mooted for a two day general strike in the future.

Personally I think is is an historic opportunity for the libertarian unions in general and the CGT in particular. Anarchosyndicalism has always contained an Utopian element with the advent of "libertarian communism" easily following the "general strike". This easy stepwise proposal has been repeatedly disproved in history. In order for the anarchosyndicalist unions to become even major competitors with other unions, let alone usher in a free society, they first have to prove that their tactics are more effective in the here and now in advancing the rights of workers. Spain today is a perfect example of where this is possible. The "program" of the libertarian unions is actually very circumcised- opposition to the austerity of the conservative government. Prove that more militant libertarian tactics are better than the treacherous negotiations of the UGT/CCOO, however, and all sorts of possibilities open up.

What will happen in the future ? Who knows. Yet I see the actions of the Spanish anarchists as great evidence that libertarians in at least one country understand their task as a process that requires planning and intelligence.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR IRAN:
SAVE ABDOLREZA GHANBARI:

Abdolreza Ghanbari is an Iranian university professor who has been sentenced to death by the regime basically for the "crime" of receiving unsolicited political emails. Here is his story and appeal for solidarity from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.
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Iran: Stop the execution of Abdolreza Ghanbari


In partnership with the Education International, the world’s largest federation of unions, representing thirty million education employees in about four hundred organisations in one hundred and seventy countries and territories, across the globe.



Abdolreza Ghanbari, a 44-year-old lecturer of Payam e Nour University, was arrested at his home in Pakdasht on 4 January 2010. He was charged with Moharebeh (enmity towards God) for receiving unsolicited emails from an armed opposition group, to which he does not belong. While in detention at the notorious Evin Prison, Prof. Ghanbari was interrogated for 25 days in a row and forced to confess under duress to unproven charges. Nasrin Sotoudeh was his lawyer until he was himself condemned to a six year sentence in Evin prison for "propaganda against the regime" and "acting against national security". In 2007, Prof. Ghanbari had already been detained for 120 days and sentenced to a six-month suspension from teaching and exiled from Sari to Pakdasht. Prof. Ghanbari has no known political connections. He was previously involved in teacher union activities until his union ITTA was dissolved in 2007. Prof. Ghanbari's death sentence has been confirmed by Tehran's Appeal Court, Branch 36 in April 2010. He has since been waiting on death row. A request for pardon was rejected on February 28 by the Commission of Justice in Tehran. It means that authorities are allowed to proceed with the execution. The Education International calls on the Iranian authorities to stay the execution of Prof. Abdolreza Ghanbari and revoke the death sentence; to drop all charges against all detained trade unionists and release them immediately; to comply with the international labour standards and respect the rights of Iranian workers to freedom of association, assembly and expression.

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THE LETTER

Please go to this link to send the following letter to Iranian authorities.

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Your Excellency,

I am writing to you to condemn the death sentence pronounced against Prof. Abdolreza Ghanbari, a university lecturer. I urge the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately stay his execution. Abdolreza Ghanbari was arrested at his home in Pakdasht on 4 January 2010. While in detention at the Evin Prison, Prof. Ghanbari was interrogated for 25 days in a row and forced to confess under duress to unproven charges. He has been sentenced to death for "enmity towards God". His death sentence has been confirmed by Tehran's Appeal Court, Branch 36 in April 2010. A request for pardon was rejected on February 28 by the Commission of Justice in Tehran. I urge the Iranian authorities to:
- Stay the execution of Prof. Abdolreza Ghanbari and revoke the death sentence;
- Drop all charges against all detained trade unionists and release them immediately;
- Compensate the individuals for the damages suffered as result of detentions;
- Register the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations (CCITTA) and allow it to hold trade union activities and reach out to members;
- Stop the harassment and repression against teachers, unionists and human rights defenders;
- Comply with the international labour standards and respect the rights of Iranian workers to freedom of association, assembly and expression;
- Engage in a peaceful dialogue regarding the professional concerns of teachers in Iran.
I look forward to hearing about your positive intervention on this very serious matter.

CANADIAN LABOUR EDMONTON:

SUPPORT NICK DREIGER:

Nick Dreiger is a shop steward for the Canadian Union Of Postal Workers (CUPW) in Edmonton Alberta and an organizer for the IWW. He was recently fired because of a number of charges related to either his union activities or his show of political support for the Occupy Edmonton encampment. The following is a solidarity campaign message from the Toronto IWW.

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Please support fired CUPW Steward & IWW Organizer
Posted by MoS ⋅ February 13, 2012

Reinstate postal worker shop steward.

Edmonton CUPW Shop Steward and IWW organizer Nick Drieger has been fired after many years of service at Canada Post. He was fired due to honking his horn at an action near Occupy Edmonton, who were not allowed on the university campus at the time.

His termination was based on

1.Attitude towards police.
2.A ticket for stunting (honking his horn).
3.Being out of his delivery area.
4.Activity on a wild cat strike when he was on vacation.
The plan for Tuesday February 14th is to fill their managers emails with letters of outrage over the conduct of firing this worker based on these charges.Thank you, solidarity, and lets fight to win. An injury to one is an injury to all.

Please begin sending emails and letters to the following people in response to Nick Driedger’s termination.

Wesam Haymour
Title:SPT TRANSPORTATION
Location: 9808 103 A AVE, T5J 2T6
Edmonton Alberta
Email: wesam.haymour@canadapost.postescanada.ca

Brenda Young
Title MGR SHIFT
Location:12135 149 ST, T5L 5H2
Edmonton Alberta
Email: brenda.young@canadapst.postescanada.ca

Robert Mccutcheon
Title DIR PLANT OPERATIONS
Location: 12135 149 ST T5L 5H2
Edmonton Alberta
Email: ben.mccutcheon@canadapost.postescanada.ca

Azam Bacchus
Title: OFFICER OF LABOUR RELATIONS
Location: 12135- 149 ST T5L 5H2
Edmonton Alberta
Email: azam.bacchus@canadapost.postescanada.ca

SAMPLE LETTER:

To: ________________

I am writing out of concern over the treatment of Shop Steward Nick Driedger, who has recently been dismissed. It is my understanding that Mr Nick Driedger advances the welfare and safety of his fellow workers in this role. It is hard to believe that someone as honest, positive, and hard working as Nick should be dismissed, especially in light of the charge discussed below.

Mr Nick Driedger has been accused of stunting, a charge of which he has not been found guilty. According to eyewitness testimony, he was merely honking his horn, which could only make him more visible as he drove through an area with many police and protesters. Also, according to eyewitnesses, he ceased after hearing shouting from the officers in question. The eyewitness testimony in his favour is substantial, and it is disturbing that Canada Post Corporation would find Nick Driedger guilty in advance of the verdict of a court of law.

I, ____________________ request that Nick Driedger be reinstated as a full time mail service courier with no harm to his seniority. I also request that any targeting of him due to his activities as a CUPW shop steward come to an immediate end.

AMERICAN LABOUR CALIFORNIA:

HAVE A HEART: SUPPORT THE UFW IN CALLING FOR A BAN ON METHYL IODIDE;


This Valentine's Day give a gift to farm workers and rural residents in California and ask that the toxic fungicide be banned in the state of California. Here's the article from the United Farm Workers (UFW).

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CA appoints new director of pesticide regulations
Urge Gov. Brown and Dir. Leahy to take action on methyl iodide now
BREAKING NEWS: Governor Brown has just appointed Brian Leahy as the new Director of California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). California is now poised to reverse the decision to permit the use of the cancer-causing pesticide, methyl iodide.

For over a year, Gov. Brown has not taken action on methyl iodide, saying that the decision must rest with the incoming head of DPR. That person, Brian Leahy, is now in place. Please join us in calling for immediate action on methyl iodide.

More than 85% of the country’s strawberries are grown in California so actions here will have national implications. It may give the EPA a new opportunity to re-evaluate this chemical that has no safe place in agriculture.

Methyl iodide is a known carcinogen that could cause spontaneous miscarriages and contaminate groundwater. Injecting it as a gas into the soil presents unacceptable risks to farm workers, nearby rural communities, pregnant women and children. Clearly, this toxic chemical is dangerous and should be banned.

The UFW is joining with a coalition of environmental groups to send a petition to Director Leahy telling him to prioritize banning of methyl iodide. Sign the petition today!

* If possible, please add a paragraph personalizing your comment.
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The Letter
Please go to this link to send the following letter to Californian Governor Jerry Brown and his director of pesticide regulation.
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Dear Governor Brown and Director Leahy,

I am writing to urge you to take action on methyl iodide in the new year. In March, Gov. Brown said he would take a “fresh look” at the chemical slated for use on California’s strawberry fields, and since then, the case against cancer-causing pesticide has only gotten stronger.

Scientists have said time and time again that methyl iodide causes cancer, poses extremely high risks to farmworkers and pregnant women, and has the potential to contaminate our scarce groundwater resources. And based upon recent court findings, it’s clear that the Schwarzenegger Administration ignored that body of science in its zeal to approve the chemical.

We are hopeful that Director Leahy has the right farming and government experience needed to pull methyl iodide off the market.

We trust that that you have had enough time to “look” at methyl iodide. In looking you would have seen that the chemical doesn’t belong in California – not near farmworkers, rural children or any community.

Sincerely,

AMERICAN LABOUR:

MORE ANTI-WORKER LEGISLATION IN ARIZONA:

The following item is from the National Public Radio in the USA.

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Arizona Lawmakers Target Public Workers' Unions
by Ted Robbins

February 9, 2012

Labor unions plan to rally in front of the Arizona State Capitol on Thursday afternoon to protest four bills quickly moving through the state Legislature that could make last year's Wisconsin labor laws look modest by comparison.

Three of the four bills restrict the way unions collect dues and the way workers get paid for union activities. The fourth bans collective bargaining between governments and government workers: state and local. Unlike Wisconsin, it affects all government employees, including police and firefighters.

"It seems as though those employees or at least the unions that represent them don't care what the burden is on the taxpayer as long as they get theirs," says state Sen. Rick Murphy, a Republican who is sponsoring the bills.

Murphy says collective bargaining lets public workers put themselves ahead of the public they are working for.

Nick Dranias of the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute, a libertarian/conservative think tank that helped Murphy write the bills, says public-sector workers in Arizona make about 6 percent more in salary and benefits than their private-sector counterparts.

"You're not in government, you know, to collect a fat paycheck," Dranias says. "You're in government to serve. And if you get paid reasonably, that's nice, but the moment you feel the need to organize collectively and create laws like collective-bargaining laws that give you special privileges to negotiate and extract compensation not seen in the private sector, you've gone too far."

Arizona is also different from Wisconsin in that it's a right-to-work state: No one can be forced to join a union. So unions in Arizona already have less clout. Still, 80 percent of police in the state choose to belong to a union.

Brian Livingston, who represents the Arizona Police Association, which is fighting the bills, says police and firefighters typically get paid less in salary, but he acknowledges that they negotiate better benefits and retirement plans. Livingston says police deserve it.

"By the time we retire, we know that most of us will not live beyond what the average private citizen does," he says. "And I'm speaking specifically about public safety, the rigors of our occupation, the hazards of our occupation take a lifelong toll on our longevity."

Democrats in the Arizona Legislature are outnumbered by Republicans 2-to-1 in the House and by more in the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader David Schapira says he is appalled by the bills.

"These bills are clearly the most anti-worker, anti-middle class, anti-union bills in the history of the country," he says.

These bills are clearly the most anti-worker, anti-middle class, anti-union bills in the history of the country.

- Arizona Senate Minority Leader David Schapira
Schapira says the bills are purely political. They're being considered, he says, because union leaders tend to support Democrats over Republicans.

"These are people that the Tea Party leadership at the State Capitol in Arizona disagree with, and so they're punishing them and that's the purpose of these pieces of legislation," he says.

Murphy, the bills' sponsor, acknowledges that public worker labor unions are a political problem for him. The elected officials labor leaders are negotiating with, he says, are afraid to give in to unions for fear of political reprisal.

"When the unions are the ones who are disproportionately influencing those elected officials, the elected officials are very rarely on the side of the taxpayers in those negotiations," he says.

The swiftness of this new attempt at cutting the power of public worker unions took labor leaders by surprise. The bills were introduced just last week, passed through committee and are ready for a full Senate vote.

AMERICAN LABOUR:

WORKERS WIN INJUNCTION AGAINST WALMART CONTRACTORS:

Here's an interesting item and an appeal for solidarity from the Making Change At Walmart group.

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Workers win injunction against Walmart contractors
Posted on February 2, 2012 by benjaminwaxman

Yesterday, employees working for two Walmart contractors that operate warehouse facilities won a major victory in federal court. The U.S. District Court for Central District of California issued an injunction prohibiting two companies, Schneider Logistics and Rogers-Premier Unloading Services, from firing workers who participated in a federal class action lawsuit to recover stolen wages. As a result, workers will be able to keep their jobs, which were scheduled to be eliminated on February 24th.

Why did workers sue in the first place? According to Jose Tejeda, a worker who is employed by Schneider Logistics, conditions in the warehouses are pretty brutal. During a conference call organized by Warehouse Workers United, Tejeda said that workers were required to work long hours without a bathroom break and could be punished by supervisors for taking a sick day. Another worker, Manuel Gonzalez, said that workers are often required to work 12 hour days and do not receive overtime. These types of conditions are why Tejeda, Gonzalez, and other warehouse workers joined together to sue the Walmart contractors.

That provoked a response. Janet Herold, an attorney representing the warehouse workers, said that management in one of the facilities gathered together all employees and said that anyone participating in the lawsuit would “be crushed.” The employees were then notified that there would be a mass firing of all workers involved in the case. Thankfully, the ruling that came down yesterday means that workers will be able to keep their jobs.

However, a single lawsuit isn’t the answer to preventing this kind of abuse in the future. Walmart must adopt a responsible contractor policy, which would require any company working for the retail giant to meet basic labor standards. That’s the only way to ensure that warehouse workers won’t be abused in the future.

Click here to sign a petition supporting the Warehouse Workers!