AMERICAN LABOUR:

MOTTS STRIKE ENDS VICTORY OR DEFEAT ?:




Well the strike at the Motts plant in Williamson New York has finally ended after a vigorous continent wide solidarity campaign. Now Molly can go back to buying Clamato juice by the case. Yum ! The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) who are the parent union of the RWDSU who represent the Motts workers are 'declaring victory". Here is their statement from the Canadian website.
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Mott’s strike ends in victory

The four-month strike by three hundred RWDSU-UFCW Local 220 members at a Mott’s bottling plant in upstate New York has come to a successful conclusion.

Workers at the plant, owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement by a margin of 3 to 1.

“This is a very important victory for our Local 220 brothers and sisters,” said UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley. “Their resolve was reinforced by the solidarity and support of UFCW International and UFCW Canada members and local unions across North America through their letters, petitions and boycott of DPS products.”

More than 300 members work at the Mott’s plant in Williamson, New York. With the successful conclusion of the strike, the campaign to boycott DPS products has also come to an end. The conclusion of the work stoppage also marked the end of UFCW Canada's very successful No to Clamato/Down with Caesar campaign, which was widely received by Canadians across the country.

"Our brothers and sisters in Canada were a key part of this fight," says RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. "The donations to the hardship fund we received from Canadians, the support of Members of Parliament, and innovative campaigns like UFCW Canada's "No to Clamato/Down with Caesar" petition drive - all of these things helped Local 220 members know that they were not alone as they fought for good middle class jobs. We are grateful to our brothers and sisters in the UFCW."
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All, however, is not wine and roses in this agreement. It is, I guess, expected that the unions involved would blow their own horns about "victory". Expected yes, but is it either useful or desirable ? This fault called in old-fashioned language "triumphalism" is hardly restricted to unions or the business world in general. It is a widely spread human tendency. Where it becomes harmful is where the disconnect from reality is so great that pretty well anyone other than a protagonist can see the discrepancy. In such cases the claims do little other than discredit the claimant. This is where it becomes undesirable. It becomes a hindrance ie not useful when it prevents the protagonist from dispassionately analyzing what went wrong and what went right and making future plans. be my guest to judge where the union proclamations of "victory" fall in this case.



Many others outside of those immediately involved have opined that the strike was less than a clear victory. I could quote many sources, but here is a particularly good one from Mike Elk in the Huffington Post. This has been a long running theme on this blog. Truth is usually a messy affair in which one side is never always either right or good. After many years of being "on one side" I have come to accept it as a truism that many on my own side may exaggerate, lie or even be simply out to lunch. In this case I would personally definitely support the Motts strikers, but I don't see the usefulness of lieing and pretending that they achieved an unsullied victory.
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Was the Mott's Strike "Victory" Really a Victory?
While organized labor spends close to $100 million to propel Democrats to victory in November, members of the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union/UFCW (RWDSU/UFCW) Local 220 on Monday won perhaps labor's most important victory of the fall.


The Mott's applesauce plant workers went on strike in Williamson, N.Y., on May 23, after Mott's parent company, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, demanded what amounted to a $3,000 per year wage cut for every worker across the board, as well as cuts in pension and healthcare. Companies and unions across the country were watching the Mott Applesauce Strike as a sign of bargaining trends to come. So Monday's settlement is being seen as a "victory" because it stopped profitable companies from demanding wage cuts.

But was the "victory" at Mott's really a victory? For the first time, Mott's workers were forced to accept a two-tier employee structure -- a system that breaks union solidarity over the long run by pitting new hires against older employees. Under the new system, new hires will not have guaranteed pension plans like current workers, but instead have riskier 401(k) plans. Likewise, the company will decrease its matching payments to all retirement plans as well as force employees to pay health care contributions of 20 percent.

As Stephen Franklin reported last week, Snapple argued that because the average worker in the Williamson area was making $14 an hour, while Mott's workers were averaging $21 an hour, Mott's workers should accept wage cuts because the local area contained so many workers who would work for less. Mott's demanded this despite boasting one of its best annual profits on record last year--$550 million, up from $312 million the year before.


As Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), an affiliate of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, said, "This is the first time a very profitable company has come to us and asked for concessions, and I've been with the union for 23 years."

Yes, the new agreement does "restore" wage levels for current employees. But it also freezes them for three years.

One has to wonder how much of a victory this truly is for labor. At a time when Mott's overall profits are increasing, workers wages' should be increasing. By threatening massive wage cuts, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group was able to force the union to accept small benefit concessions and a two-tier employee system that saves Dr Pepper Snapple money.

The fact that a corporation was able to force these concessions on workers while making record profits is a testament to the weakened state of organized labor, and the desperation of American workers.

Follow Mike Elk on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MikeElk

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-GREECE:

REPORTS FROM GREECE AND A CALL TO ACTION:

As Molly has said before on this blog events have returned to "normal" in Greece, but the word normal is quite relative. Even in "normal" times the country of Greece is in a state of perpetual ferment. A group of those infamous "outside agitators" are calling for an international day of action this coming January 25. Here's the callout, copied from the Polish anarchist news site Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej.

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A CALL FROM GREECE - 24 January day of action:

As a group of people who came from many countries and who took part in the struggles in Greece over the past weeks, it is now clear to us that there is no such thing as a "Greek problem", that the situation that sparked the intense riots here is the same that the people are facing everywhere abroad. The murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos on December 6th was not the source of this conflict, it only opened and made more clear a conflict that was already ongoing not only here but everywhere around the planet.

In these unstable times, fearing the threat of a deeper, more global movement of insurrection, the authorities have shown their weaknesses in their protection of the dominant capitalist order. Through the enforcement of anti-terrorist measures, tightening of social control, crackdown of different areas of resistance, mass arrests, targeted assassinations, the illusion of democracy is falling and the veil of social peace is starting to burn.

The more the State is taking a defensive stance, the more it is time for us to stop fearing its retaliation and to go on the offensive. It is not the time to withdraw into fear, which would lead us further into a dangerous social peace, but the right time for multiplying the offensives and intensifying the struggle against capitalism and its State, coordinated with the revolt that is happening here.

The core of these events being that we are in a state of war, the only way to get through it is to assume it and to take the offensive even further. That is why we are calling for a global day of actions on January 24th for you to carry out and perpetuate the revolt, to increase the instability. It is NOT a call for you to support the Greek people, but for you to take action where you are.

The 24th of January will be a day of demonstrations and actions all around Greece in support of the prisoners who fell into the hands of the system during this struggle. Wherever you are, let's attack this system that is oppressing us all !
From Saloniki, Greece

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Molly doesn't agree with the general thrust of what is said above. There is an old word for it- "triumphalism", and such an attitude is particularly inappropriate in conditions where you should be reviewing reasons for a defeat rather than trying to sustain an illusion that the defeat never happened. In any case, here from Athens Indymedia, is a report of recent actions in Greece, with at least a realization that the struggle will be longer and certainly broader than that imagined by those who rarely speak to anyone outside of their small circle of friends.

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Actions Report from Greece, 14 January:
Translation of the main articles in the Athens IMC Newswire, on today's events and actions

Arrests

More than 270 people have been arrested in connection to actions, since the beginning of the insurrection, on December 6th, in 15 cities. 67 of them have been detained, while 50 immigrants that were arrested the first 3 days, were rapidly condemned to 18 months of imprisonment and are being deported. 19 arrestees in Larissa face charges under the anti-terrorist law. Countless of people were brought to the police departments but were released with no charges in the end. ( 969401 )

On Saturday 17/01 there will be a nationwide demonstration in Larissa, for solidarity to the arrestees.

One person has been arrested and detained since yesterday in Thessaloniki. He is being accused for explosion (felony) and for organising a gang (minor offence, luckily not connected with the anti-terrorist law), related to the effort for arson for a police department. There was a solidarity demonstration, on Tuesday night, outside the Police Headquarters, where he is kept. He is going in front of the Interrogator and the Public Prosecutor on Thursday noon.

Liberated spaces

The building of the Journalists' Union is still occupied by young people and employees in the media. In solidarity to the revolt of December, they also focus on employment problems, pushing the mainstream media for alternative coverage of the actions, etc..

A municipality cafe on a central street of Zografou district, has been occupied by antiauthoritarians, in order for it to function as an open space for counter-information, discussion and co-ordination of actions.

Solidarity to Konstantina Kouneva

Employees and workers from 27 first-grade unions, had a sit-in in the office of Evangelismos hospital, where Konstantinta Kouneva is being treated. This hospital is also using cleaning services by subcontracting agencies, similar to the one Konstantina was hired by.

The Worker Unions' Center in Volos, after having been occupied by activists for 2 days, was released in the morning. It was an action of solidarity to Konstantina Kouneva and the arrestees of the revolt in December .

*Konstantina Kouneva, a woman, immigrant and unionist, was violently attacked with acid on her face, due to her political action against the employers.

Universities and High schools

A lot of general student union meetings have been taking place in Universities all over Greece, 62 faculties are currently occupied, while many of others stay open, due to the support by the communist, the social democratic and the pro-government student parties.

An education-wide demonstration will also take place on Thursday in many Greek cities.Parents of a high-school in Pireas, protest against the authorities of the schools, who terrorise the students that took part in the school occupation in October, where a lot of students were beaten up and sent to court.

The students of the 3rd High-school of Ilioupolis, Athens, have occupied their school, against the decision of the teachers to move 4 students to another school and not allow another 5 to attend courses, for 5 days (969734), as a punishment. They are also protesting against the surveillance cameras outside their school building.

Workers' struggles

120 people were sacked, last month, from the iron-nickel factory in Larimna. 3 people were fired from a local Athens TV station.

The employees of the water supply company in Thessaloniki are on a strike, staying in the building (despite being terrorized by their employers), making sure that there will be no problem with the water supply. They are against the privatization of the company. the inner corruption and they ask for more personnel to be hired.

The Higher court decided for the second time against the construction of a mall in Eleonas.

War in Palestine

A demonstration against the war in Palestine is being organised for Saturday 17/1. Arion, the ship of the Free Gaza movement, that transfers doctors and food towards the Gaza people, is threatened to be stopped by the Israeli authorities. The Greek government and the mainstream media didn't pay attention to the issue.

Meanwhile, people, student unions and organizations of the left have mobilized for a demonstration on Thursday, in order to prevent transfer of US weapons towards Israel, through the private port of Astakos, on the Aegean Sea .

Mainstream Media reports

Mainstream media published the results of the official police ballistic report on Alexis Grigoropoulos' shooting, stating that the bullet hit a marble ball (functioning as a barrier in the edge of the sidewalk) which was next to Alexis, and then turned towards his body. Commenters think that this proves that the cop actually fired towards the young persons. (Molly comment-this is highly credible. having seen the Greek police in (in)action Molly would have serious doubts about their marksmanship)

Mainstream media announced that the so-called "terrorist organisation" named "Revolutionary Struggle", (as it had been suspected by the police) issued a communique for the shooting against three police officers in Athens, resulting into the serious injury of one of them.

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Molly Comment:

Molly has mentioned before the suspicion in Greece that the shooting of three police officers in Athens was an act of provocateurs. The fact that this has been "claimed" by one of Greece's tiny Maooid sects doesn't deny this accusation any credibility. Like most such sects, anarchist ones unfortunately included, such collections of 1/10th educated true believers are easy prey for police manipulation. Their acts never have any positive consequences anarchism-wise, socialism-wise, or any "wise" in terms of any social struggles outside of the struggle in the minds of their perpetrators to "prove themselves". They usually, but not always, serve the interests of the powers that be as one of their greatest advertisements. If a group that is certainly infiltrated by the secret police and may be controlled by same claims an action it merely moves the index of suspicion to a higher level rather than obliterating it. Let those who deny such a thing study history, especially Russian and French history (and American history too).

Greece is full of such nonsense, both "anarchist" and the decaying remnants of Maoism. The USA (and unfortunately my own country Canada) also has such bullshit. Take the US example, subtract the ridiculous bows to politically correct guilt (truly bizarre actually). Make the tiny armed struggle groups 10 times as effective (even if there still is no point to what they are doing), and you have the situation in Greece. The problem...even increasing the efficiency of those who think they can bomb and vandalize their way to social change by one order of magnitude still leaves 4 orders (X 10,000) before such actions can be something other than useless or merely serving the interests of the state.