AMERICAN LABOUR:

WORKERS' MEMORIAL DAY:

Workers' Memorial Day, the day set aside for memory of workers killed and injured on the job, is rapidly approaching (April 28). This day commemorates the fallen in the battle between Capital and Labour. Here is what the American AFL-CIO has available for this day.

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Workers Memorial Day:
Decades of struggle by workers and their unions have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions. But the toll of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths remains enormous. Each year, thousands of workers are killed and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs. The unions of the AFL-CIO remember these workers on April 28, Workers Memorial Day.

The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. Every year, people in hundreds of communities and at worksites recognize workers who have been killed or injured on the job. Trade unionists around the world now mark April 28 as an International Day of Mourning.
Workers Memorial Day 2009 Materials
Read the 2008 edition of Death on the Job or download the complete 2008 report (PDF) [the 2009 edition will be available in April];
Workers Memorial Day flier;
Workers Memorial Day poster;
Workers Memorial Day clip art in English and Spanish—
Mourn for the Dead, Fight for the Living and
Good Jobs, Safe Jobs. Give Workers a Voice for a Change;
Workers Memorial Day stickers;
Workers Memorial Day events form;
Order Workers Memorial Day materials at The Union Shop Online;™
Workers Memorial Day proclamation; and
Safety & health update (February 2009).
Facts about Safety and Health - 2009
State-by-State Profile of Workplace Safety and Health
Workers Memorial Day Talking Points
Sample Letter to the Editor
Sample Media Advisory
National Labor College Workers Memorial Brochures
Individual Brick Remembrance
Granite Bench Remembrance
Here are some other ways we honor workers who have been killed or injured on the job:
**A Collection of Workers' Memorials and
**Workers Memorial Day poems and tributes.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-VANCOUVER:

OLYMPIC RESISTANCE MOVEMENT MEETINGS:

From the Olympic Resistance Network, here are the times of the next regular meetings out Vancouver way.

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Upcoming ORN Meetings: ‏
Upcoming ORN general meetings: (Every 2nd Sunday)

*Sunday, April 26, 6pm@ Spartacus Books, 684 E. Hastings

*Sunday, May 10, 6pm(The first meeting of each month includes time for new member orientation and Olympic issues background.)

*Sunday, May 24, 6pm@ Spartacus Books, 684 E. Hastings

** If you are interested in ORN, but unable to attend Sunday meetings,consider getting involved in one of the subcommittees planning popular education/outreach, legal defense, fundraising, communications, etc. and contact olympicresistance@riseup.net for more information.

CANADIAN LABOUR:

TORONTO HOMECARE WORKERS OCCUPY OFFICES OF COMMUNITY ACCESS CENTRE:

Since initiating strike action workers employed by the Toronto Community Access Centre have gone on to occupy the offices of the organization in the face of massive layoffs. As has been predicted here at Molly's Blog such workplace occupations are indeed becoming more and more frequent in these tough economic times as workers look for extra leverage as traditional methods fail to pressure the bosses. The workers involved are represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1. The following story is from a press release by the SEIU, via the Ontario section of the Anarchist Black Cat discussion forum.

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TORONTO, ONTARIO-- Home care workers and their supporters occupied the headquarters of the Toronto Community Access Centre today after learning that 350 women and men who work for Red Cross were going to lose their jobs because they exercised their right to bargain for a better contract.

"These women and men are trying to improve their lives and the quality of the home care system. No one should lose their job for that," said Louise Leeworthy an SEIU home care worker. "We've been taking strike action for over a month and not a single person with essential health needs has gone without support. Home care workers in Toronto haven't missed a day of work."

Last night, SEIU was informed by Red Cross management that they would be firing 350 home care workers in the Toronto-area after the Toronto Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) declared that they would be switching to other providers. Camille Orridge, the CEO of Toronto CCAC, claimed that they decision was a result of Red Cross home care workers decision to take strike action.

Members of SEIU Local 1 Canada employed by Red Cross have been in a legal strike position since March. Rotating one-day strikes have taken place in communities across Ontario. All clients with essential health needs have received the same regular care. No strike action has been taken in Toronto.

Home care workers have chosen to take strike action after years of poor work conditions. While the government has set a "minimum wage" of $12.50 an hour - home care workers are only paid for a fraction of the hours in their work day. Home care providers spend as much as a third of their day travelling from client to client - time that no home care agency provides real compensation for. Statistic Canada calculates a "low income cut off" annually. In 2006, a single mother in Toronto with one child had to earn $21,384 a year to be above that cut-off. Many home care workers don't earn this much. By contrast, Camille Orridge, the CEO of the Toronto CCAC, receives over $180,000 in annual compensation.

"I'm not asking for a six-figure salary," said Leeworthy. "All we want is to be able to do our job."

AMERICAN LABOUR:

NEW VIDEO ON ORGANIZING AT WALMART:

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) has a new video produced by the Walmart Workers for Change campaign on organizing at the world's biggest sweatshop. So far unionization has only been successful up here in Canada in Québec and Saskatchewan. Hopefully this will change soon. Here's the story.

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THOUSANDS OF WALMART WORKERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY UNITE TO CALL FOR A VOICE IN THE WORKPLACE:

New Video Highlights Intimidation, Anti-Worker Tactics Associates Face from America’s Largest Private Employer
Washington, DC – Walmart Workers for Change, a new campaign of thousands of Walmart’s 1.3 million associates across the country who are standing up and demanding a voice in the workplace, today released a new video that highlights the sorts of anti-worker tactics they are facing from the world’s largest retailer.

“The associates are afraid,” said Cynthia Murray, a Walmart associate in Laurel, Maryland. “They’re intimidated, and they are afraid. My family and other families have paid the price for freedom. And when you tell me I can’t talk about a union, you’re taking my freedom from me.”

Workers in more than 100 stores in 15 states across the country have joined together and signed union representation cards, citing a lack of respect from the company, as well as poverty-level wages and sub-par benefits as reasons they need a union voice on the job.

Despite Walmart’s long and well-documented history of anti-worker activities, associates say they are emboldened by the election of Barack Obama and the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act in Congress.

The campaign comes at a time when workers find their wages have stagnated, even as Walmart and the Walton family continue to make record profits. Walmart’s recently released 2009 10K shows the company made $13.4 billion in profits last year.

“Walmart’s slogan is ‘Save Money, Live Better,’” said Vikki Gill, a former Walmart manager in St. Louis, Missouri. “Walmart is saving money and living better at the associates’ expense.”
In the new video, which can be viewed at http://www.walmartworkersforchange.org/index.php/pages/articles/walmarts_war_on_workers, 10 workers from coast to coast detail the company’s response to their organizing efforts. Dominique Sloane and Mark Moore, of Dallas, Texas, were told that their store would be closed if workers voted to organize. In Miami, Florida, Cheryl Guzman was interrogated by a manager about who among her colleagues supported a union. Linda Haluska, of Glendale, Illinois, was called into four mandatory meetings in one week, where she and her colleagues were shown anti-union, anti-Employee Free Choice videos.

“Since we’ve started talking union, the company has been holding meetings, they’ve flown people in,” said Sloan. “They’ve even mentioned as far as with the union, there’s a possibility that stores may close.”

Walmart Workers for Change is a new campaign made up of thousands of Walmart workers joining together to form a union and negotiate better benefits, higher wages, and more opportunity for a better future.

The campaign is a project of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), America’s neighborhood union. The UFCW represents 1.3 million workers nationwide, with nearly one million working in the supermarket industry. Many of UFCW members also work at national retail stores such as Bloomingdales, Macys, H&M, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue, RiteAid, CVS, and Syms.
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The 1.3 million member UFCW is the nation's largest private-sector union with most members working in the retail food, meatpacking, food processing, and manufacturing industries. UFCW members represent a cross-section of America's working families. The UFCW is America's neighborhood union with more than 800,000 members working in neighborhood supermarkets across the U.S. and Canada.

MOUVEMENT ANARCHISTE DU CANADA-MONTRÉAL/CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-MONTRÉAL:

BESOIN POUR LE SALON DU LIVRE ANARCHISTE/HELP FOR THE ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:

Besoin de votre aide/need your help Programme pour enfants/Banderoles au Salon Kids Program/Banners at the Bookfair:‏
[English below]

Deux demandes (ci-dessous) du collectif du Salon du livre anarchiste, concernant le programme pour enfants au Salon du livre anarchiste et les banderoles au Salon.

Two requests below from the Anarchist Bookfair Collective, concerning the Kids Program and Banners at the Bookfair.

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1) Le programme pour enfants au Salon du livre anarchiste

Cher amies et alliées du salon du livre anarchiste – Le collectif du Salon du livre demande si des personnes pourraient aider à organiser le programme pour enfants du Salon (à la fois pour samedi le 16 et dimanche le 17 mai). Cela veut aussi dire aider avec la coordination des volontaires dont nous avons besoin pour le programme pour enfants et la garderie. Habituellement, il est préférable que 2-3 personnes se partagent les responsabilités de l’organisation du programme pour enfants, et de la coordination de la douzaine de volontaires dont nous avons besoin chacune des journées.

Si vous pouvez aider, svp contactez-nous à info@salonanarchiste.ca ou 514-679-5800.

2) Banderoles au Salon du livre anarchiste de Montréal Cette année, dans le cadre de l’exposition Art et Anarchie au Salon du livre anarchiste, nous allons accrocher des banderoles et des bannières au plafond de l’espace principal. Nous demandons aux groupes de la région de Montréal de proposer leurs banderoles à suspendre pour qu’elles fassent parties de l’exposition. Si vous voulez participer, svp envoyez-nous les informations suivantes avant le 9 MAI à info@salonanarchiste.ca :

- Les dimensions de votre banderole (longueur et largeur) et, si possible, une idée de son poids (nous ne pouvons suspendre que des banderoles assez légères).

- Le message et les graphiques sur la banderole- Si possible, envoyez nous une photo de votre banderole

- Les informations pour vous contacter (téléphone et courriel) SVP Notez que les banderoles seront suspendues du vendredi 15 mai en soirée, jusqu’à 17h, dimanche le 17 mai. Merci de faire suivre ce message aux autres groupes de la région de Montréal qui pourraient participer. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

1) Kid’s Program at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair

Dear Bookfair friends and allies – The Bookfair Collective is asking if anyone can help with bottom-lining the kids program at the Bookfair (both on Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17). Bottom-lining the kids program means organizing the program, as well as helping to coordinate the volunteers needed for both the kids program and childcare. Usually, it’s best to have 2-3 people who can be responsible for organizing the program, and coordinating the dozens of volunteers needed for the day.

If you can help, please e-mail us at info@salonanarchiste.ca or phone 514-679-5800.

2) Banners at the BookfairAs part of this year’s Art and Anarchy exhibition at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, we will be hanging banners from the ceiling of the main Bookfair space. We are asking Montreal-area groups to submit their banners to hang as part of this exhibit.

If you would like to participate, please send us the following information before MAY 9 to info@salonanarchiste.ca:

- The size of your banner (length and width) and, if possible, an idea of how heavy it is (we can only hang relatively light banners).

- The message and graphics on your banner.

- If possible, send us an image of your banner.

- Your contact information (phone and e-mail).Please note, the banners will be set up on the evening of Friday, May 15, until 5pm on the evening of Sunday, May 17. Please pass this message on to other local Montreal-area groups who can participate.

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Salon du livre anarchiste de Montréal

Montreal Anarchist Bookfair

514-679-5800

info@salonanarchiste.ca

www.salonanarchiste.ca

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-BELFAST:

MAY DAY IN BELFAST:

May day, the real Labour Day, is fast approaching, and anarchists across the world are preparing to celebrate. I've already mentioned what will be happening in London, Ontario. From the other side of the pond here's what will be going on in Belfast, Northern Ireland. From the A-Infos site...

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Ireland, Anarchism & Mayday in Belfast:

Mayday is a time of reflecting and renewing the proud tradition of working-class resistance and commitment to social revolution. The spirit of class struggle continues to burn in all of us from the Visteon workplace occupations to the school occupations in Glasgow and beyond. As we continue to bear the brunt of job cuts, house evictions and police brutality, the powerful message of direct action and solidarity against the bosses and the state is as relevant and necessary as ever before.

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“They are the crisis, we are the solution”

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The WSM Belfast branch are calling on people to join us for the annual Mayday march on Saturday, 2nd May, organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Assemble at 12pm at York Street/Art College. Look out for the red and black banners.

Branch secretary Michael McGovern said: “Over a century after that first May Day demonstration in Chicago, where are we? We need independent working class politics. No collaboration with government and bosses. Real solidarity with fellow workers in struggle, not a blinkered sectional outlook. The Visteon workers are leading example and it is about time we do the same.”

As part of this year’s activities the Anarchist Communist Discussion Group formed by the WSM, will be hosting a talk on ‘The roots of Mayday and its relevance today.” The talk will take place on Tuesday 5th May at 7pm in the Belfast Unemployment Centre, 45/47 Donegall Street in the city centre.

The ACDG aims to create monthly informal public discussions, to debate and analyse all areas of labour and revolutionary history.

To encourage debate within the wider anarchist/libertarian movement on present areas of struggle. Action without theory is blind and often futile, but theory without action is ultimately sterile and no use to anyone.

To spread and articulate the vision of revolutionary anarchist communism.

We are open to speakers from other political and social organisations. If you have any ideas or suggestions for future meetings, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Contact details:

belfastwsm@yahoo.com

07928479308

AMERICAN LABOUR:

MURDER BY ANOTHER NAME:

The following appeal is from the United Farm Workers of the USA. Over a year since the death of farmworker Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, previously reported here at Molly's Blog, state officials have finally decided to lay "involuntary manslaughter" charges against officials of the labour contractor by whom she was employed. The UFW are calling for support in pressuring the government of California to pass a bill that will make it easier for farmworkers to organize and actually enforce the laws that are on the books via a strong union presence. Here's their appeal.

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SB789 Passes CA State Senate on Lobby Day. Take the next step.:
Involuntary manslaughter charges were filed today against three top officials of the defunct labor contractor company, Merced Farm Labor, in the case of 17-year-old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez--who died of a heat stroke last May 16.





The UFW applauds the District Attorney's decision to prosecute this as the crime it was. It never should have happened. An innocent young girl never should have died due to grower indifference. (Click to read Maria’s story.)





However, violations occur every day and nothing is done. Last year five other farm workers died of heat-related causes after Maria's death. Complaints regarding lack of drinking water, shade and work breaks to make use of these simple but lifesaving measures are an everyday occurrence for farm workers. (Click to read farm worker stories.) Farm workers can’t afford to wait until such an audacious violation such as Maria’s finally causes the state to react.





That's why farm workers need this bill that will give then the means to protect themselves. It's why SB789 is so vital. SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg) will make it easier for farm workers to organize and help enforce the laws that California's government cannot enforce.





SB789 just passed the California state senate yesterday. It will next be heard in the state assembly and then go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Please e-mail Calif. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and/or your Assembly members. Tell them to pass SB789, a bill that will give farm workers the power to protect themselves.





Please take action today. Help protect the men and women who are in the fields working under the sweltering sun working to put food on our tables.
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THE LETTER:
Please go to THIS LINK to send the following letter to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Assembly.
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Please support SB789, CA Employee Free Choice Act for Farm Workers (Steinberg).




SB789 just passed the senate floor and will next be heard in the assembly. This important bill will make it easier for farm workers to organize and enforce the laws that California's government is not enforcing.





Farm workers are forced to deal with abuses and safety violations on a daily basis. Things like a lack of clean drinking water, shade to protect them from the searing sun, and clean restrooms. It's time for these abuses to end.





Just this week, involuntary manslaughter charges were filed today against three top officials of the defunct labor contractor company, Merced Farm Labor, in the case of 17-year-old Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez--who died of a heat stroke last May 16. I applaud the District Attorney's decision to prosecute this as the crime it was. It never should have happened.
However, last year five other farm workers died of heat-related causes after Maria's death. Farm workers can't afford to wait until such an audacious violation such as Maria's finally causes the state to react.





We need your help to do more to prevent unnecessary deaths from occurring this year. Having laws on the books that often are not enforced is not enough. Please pass SB789, a bill that will give farm workers the power to protect themselves.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

MAY DAY IN LONDON ONTARIO:

The following blurb is from the website of the Empowerment Infoshop in London Ontario, advertising their upcoming May day event. What caught Molly's eye about this one was the origin of one of their entertainers- Yellowknife NWT. I love it. Capitalism and the state are not yet doomed, but when sympathy for anarchism spreads across the lake to Hay River you can be assured that the last days of the ruling class are nigh. Here's the blurb.

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MAY DAY Show & Fundraiser --7pm May 1st :
Let's get together and celebrate May Day at a time when organized labour is under attack here in North America. The auto workers, as well as our brothers in other fields are in need of some support and solidarity. We will be celebrating with: www.myspace.com/andthegaloshes (Welland/Guelph)

www.myspace.com/danasipos (Yellowknife)

www.myspace.com/tomdusome (Hamilton)

In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labour movement.

May Day can refer to various labour celebrations conducted on May 1 that commemorate the fight for the eight hour day. May Day in this regard is called International Workers' Day, or Labour Day. The idea for a "workers holiday" began in Australia in 1856. With the idea having spread around the world, the choice of May 1st became a commemoration by the Second International for the people involved in the 1886 Haymarket affair.

CANADIAN LABOUR-VICTORIA:

DEMONSTRATION IN SUPPORT OF STRIKING B.C. AMBULANCE WORKERS:

Yesterday over 500 CUPE members and supporters joined together to protest government inaction during the recent ambulance drivers' strike in BC. Here's the story from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

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Ambulance paramedics rally in Victoria:
VICTORIA – More than 500 CUPE members and supporters joined striking B.C. Ambulance Paramedics in a mid-day march protesting government inaction.

A sea of fluorescent green jackets and a forest of CUPE flags made its way from the CUPE BC annual convention to a rally outside a “temporary” ambulance station housed for the past eight years in a hotel near the B.C. Legislature.

Speaker after speaker condemned the provincial government for refusing repeated efforts by the 3,500 CUPE 873 members to get an independent mediator and return to the bargaining table. Minister of Health Services George Abbott had suggested a 90-day delay and reneged on a promise to meet this week with Ambulance Paramedics of BC president John Strohmaier.

Strohmaier told the crowd that “crappy working conditions and ambulance stations, uncaring management, and lousy wages have led to a steady decline in what is health care’s front line in the province.”

In a message to Premier Gordon Campbell, CUPE National president Paul Moist said “your silence is NOT acceptable – there is no corner of the province where you can hide from us. We’ll be in your face everywhere you go until we get back to the table and have a fair deal for our paramedics.” Moist pledged the continued support of 600,000 members of CUPE across Canada.

B.C. Federation of Labour secretary-treasurer Angela Schira called the current dispute “a battle that many of us thought we won years ago – the right to collective bargaining, the right to respect in our workplace and the right to wage parity.” She added that it is “insulting” that Campbell and Abbott gave themselves large pay increases but have been unwilling to talk to the paramedics about wage parity.

CUPE BC president Barry O’Neil suggested that “maybe the government that only worked 52 days of the year on their salaries should be put on stand-by and paid $10/hour like the paramedics.” He added that “this dispute is about equity, fairness and respect – and we don’t need 90 days to figure that out.”
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Contact: BJ Chute, Director of Public Education, Ambulance Paramedics of BC: 604-218-6169 Murray Bush, CUPE National Communications Representative: 778-554-2234

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT/LOCAL EVENTS-WINNIPEG:
FUNDRAISER FOR ROBERTA KEESICK:
The case of Roberta Keesick, and her legal trials for asserting her aboriginal rights, has been mentioned before here at Molly's Blog. The Winnipeg Anarchist Black Cross will be holding a fundraising brunch to support her legal defence this coming May 3. Here`s the promo. Just in passing Molly would like to mention that this is the sort of thing that an Anarchist Black Cross should be doing. It makes our ABC more like the European versions of same and less like the American versions. Roberta is a person who is part of a genuine popular struggle, whether she shares the anarchist ideology or not. Furthermore her actions have been such that even people who cannot agree with her claims have to admire her for her courage and peaceful methods. But enough of that. On to the blurb.
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Winnipeg Anarchist Black Cross Fundraiser Brunch:
A delicious vegan brunch to raise funds for Roberta Keesick's legal defense
Host:
Winnipeg Anarchist Black Cross
Date:
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Time:
11:00am - 2:00pm
Location:
Mondragon Bookstore and Coffeehouse
91 Albert Street
Winnipeg, MB
Description
Winnipeg Anarchist Black Cross, the Mondragon Bookstore and Coffeehouse & CKUW 95.9 FM present :

A fundraiser Vegan brunch for Roberta Keesick

on Sunday, May 3rd from 11AM to 2PM

@ the Mondragon Bookstore and Coffeehouse.

Roberta Keesick, a Grassy Narrows clan mother, trapper, blockader, and grandmother, is facing charges in Red Lake Ontario for building a trappers' cabin on her traditional family lands without a Provincial permit. She has been a tremendous force in the grassroots struggles at Grassy Narrows to reclaim traditional land and assert the right of self determination.

Cost for the brunch is $10

All proceeds from the brunch go to Roberta Keesick's legal defense fund.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-BELFAST NORTHERN IRELAND:

DEMONSTRATING IN BELFAST:

The following article, describing a demonstration held last Friday in Belfast, the capital of Ulster, comes from the Anarkismo website. Molly's comments follow below the article.

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Belfast rallies against job cuts- Lions led by Donkeys:
by Sean - WSM Belfast (personal capacity)
Belfast City Centre was brought to a standstill last Friday lunchtime in a rally organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) against the latest job losses in the manufacturing and textile industry.

Around 200 people turned out including trade union representatives and workers from FG Wilson, Bombardier and a majority contingent from the Visteon workplace occupation. Around 30 Bus drivers in the city centre temporarily left their placement in a show of solidarity and support. Banners displayed at the march included ‘Your Job could be next’ and ‘One Solution, Revolution’.

Addressing the rally outside the City Hall, ICTU Assistant General Secretary Peter Bunting demanded action from the Stormont administration such as setting up a Workers’ Protection Fund to give financial help to the recent unemployed.“It is perfectly within their powers to pass laws which can protect those workers at risk of redundancy,” he said.

Last week, Visteon workers rejected an insulting offer from their former bosses, providing employees a cash payment equivalent to 16 weeks pay. Adding to insult has been the exclusion of Belfast union representatives from talks taking place between national union officials and the owners. This is not the first time, top union officials are shafted workers. Remember the Gate Gourmet strike in 2005 and recent hunger strike by the Belfast airport workers outside Transport House.

We must remain in control of our own struggles until demands are met, independent and not reliant on politicians and the union bureaucracy. In the face of company attempts to evict the workers occupation, we need to mobilise our communities and workers at home and across borders, both unionised and not in a show of defiance and solidarity. A victory for Visteon workers is a victory for workers everywhere.

An international day of action suggested by Organise! comrades is a practical step in defence of the occupation. In the long- term, we must move beyond occupations towards removing the entire foundation of the status-quo resting on the antagonistic interest between capital and labour. The viable and practical vision of workers' control of industry is the only lasting solution.

For too long we have listened to sterile and boring speeches from top union officials who have more in common with the bosses than the rank and file. Our local administration on the hill a long time ago nailed their colours to flag of capital and turned their backs on us to face the brunt of dole ques, poverty wages and house evictions. The Visteon workplace occupations and 'boss-nappings' in France are leading by example.

We need to take the struggle of the Visteon workers back to our workplaces’ and communities, to strike and to occupy. Direct action sends a powerful message to the sound bites and betrayals from above, and is the most effective means we have to force concessions from the bosses. In the process building links of solidarity and support between unionised, non-unionised and unwaged. Bringing together occupations and sit-ins from Belfast and Glasgow to France and Greece, as their crisis is global and so is our resistance.

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MOLLY NOTES:

While I hate to rain on the parade of a person with whom I am likely in substantial political agreement with, the article above demonstrates, in my opinion, some grievous defects.

First of all, it is written in a triumphalist style that, while it may be useful at times, far too often exposes the authors to nothing more than ridicule. To be blunt, a turnout of 200 people is not exactly a widespread "movement". I am sure that this did not bring Belfast City Centre to a Halt. I am equally sure that this sort of turnout would be dwarfed by almost every sectarian demonstration in said city. I am not happy about this fact, but it is a fact.

Similarly, I see more than a little tendency to "get ahead of oneself" here. Yeah, I'll agree that union officials can be pretty treacherous bastards. I've had my own experience with it. But, and it's a big but, referring this problem to some mythical "second-coming" such as the slogan "No Solution But Revolution" or advancing something that means the same thing ie saying that only a whole society under workers' control can have any real effect is imagining that one can skip whole stages of history that may span decades !!! To my mind the problem now is not to "go beyond" occupations but rather to make them more effective. Despite the hopes (and illusions) of revolutionaries defeats are just as likely to breed cynicism and resignation as they are to breed radicalism.

Understand that I DON'T say that we should act like Trotskyists and hide our ultimate goals beneath a subterfuge of some "transitional program". What I do say is that, unless we can contrive ways in which the workplace occupations that are occurring and will probably occur with increasing frequency in the near future can win a little bit more than what the social democrats within the union bureaucracies think is "possible" then all calls to 'revolution" will be futile.

No doubt the comrade who wrote the article above actually has such ideas. He has pretty well said it when he spoke of mobilizations. What I say is that there must be a more fleshed out plan for such things. I also say that presenting the "ultimate program" as the only real solution is counterproductive in the times in which we live.

Finally...Belfast. This is off the point, but I have to say here that this was the one place in Ireland when the wife and I visited last year that reminded me of home here in Winnipeg. The same ever present aura of decline and grime, which was pretty well omnipresent outside of the city centre. I have to say that I've seen worse, but it struck me as a very sad city. The saddest thing was that the old sectarian animosities, though toned down, were still present. Belfast still has a long way to go before non-sectarian movements of the working class will gather 20,000 participants rather than 200. I will admit, however, that 200 is at least a start.

CANADIAN POLITICS:
CHANGING IGGY'S MIND:
It's been a little while since I passed on the appeal for Colombian city of workers who were forced out of their jobs by the repressive government of that country, one that the Harper Conservatives plan to impliment a free trade deal with. Here is a follow-up, also from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) asking you to put pressure on Michael Ignatieff, the leader of the federal Liberal party to refuse to support Harper's plans. The plan agreement will not pass without Liberal support, and this would be a good time for The Ig to show that he has a smidgeon of conscience rather than being one more calculating politicians. Is such a thing possible ? Qualms of conscience have come about in the strangest places in human history. Maybe they can here as well.
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We have two weeks to change Iggy's mind on Colombia 2 semaines pour convaincre Michael Ignatieff‏:
I'm writing because the Harper government has tabled a bill that would implement a free trade agreement with the Colombian government. The same government that privatized the Cali workers' jobs, the same one that has watched over the deaths of 2,500 trade unionists, human rights activists and community leaders since 2006.





Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff could stop this bill when it comes to a vote in the next few weeks. The Conservatives need the Liberals' support to pass it. Right now, they have it.
Send Ignatieff a message that will change his mind.
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Je vous écris parce que le gouvernement Harper a déposé un projet de loi visant l’entrée en vigueur d’une entente de libre-échange conclue avec le gouvernement de Colombie. Il s’agit du même gouvernement qui a privatisé les emplois des travailleurs de Cali, le même gouvernement qui, depuis 1986, s’est fait complice de la mort de 2 500 syndicalistes, militants des droits de la personne et dirigeants des mouvements communautaires.





Le chef libéral, Michael Ignatieff, peut bloquer ce projet de loi lorsqu’il sera proposé au vote d’ici quelques semaines. Les conservateurs ont besoin de l’appui des libéraux pour que la loi soit adoptée et en ce moment, ils peuvent compter sur leur appui.
Faites parvenir un message à M. Ignatieff en espérant qu’il contribuera à le faire changer d’idée.
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Here's more on the situation as it stands today.

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Michael Ignatieff can halt free trade with Colombia:
Michael Ignatieff can stop free trade with Colombia. Harper's Conservatives have tabled a bill that would implement the deal they negotiated with the Uribe government. But they need the Liberal's support.





The Liberal leader supports the deal even though the Uribe government has the worst human rights record in Latin America.





He needs to re-think that and you can help him.





Under Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s watch, an estimated 5 million Colombians have been forcibly displaced through land seizures, and trade unionists and civil society activists risk death simply for advocating basic labour rights.





More than 2,500 have been killed by the state and its paramilitaries since 1986, including 40 in 2008.
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THE LETTER:
Please go to THIS LINK to send the following message to Michael Ignatieff.
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I am writing to urge you to you and the Liberal Party to reject the Canada-Colombia trade deal.





Under the government of President Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian people are living in a constant state of poverty and fear.





The Uribe government has one of the worst human rights records in the world.





Under Uribe’s watch, an estimated 5 million Colombians have been forcibly displaced through land seizures, trade unionists and civil society activists risk death simply for advocating basic labour rights.





More than 2,500 have been killed by the state and its paramilitaries since 1986, including 40 in 2008.





And yet the Harper Conservatives have tabled legislation to implement a free trade agreement with Colombia.





Human rights must come before trade.





I hope the Liberal Party will put the well-being of 45 million Colombians first, and oppose ratifying the impending trade deal with Colombia.

LE TRAVAIL INTERNATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

APPEL INTERNATIONAL POUR UN 1ER DE MAI DE LUTTE DE CLASSE/INTERNATIONAL APPEAL FOR A CLASS STRUGGLE MAY DAY:

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Journée de la premiere du Mai

Voici un appel d'un réseau international d'organisations pour une anarchosyndicalist Journée du Mai de la lutte des classes. Mai 1er, bien sûr, a toujours été une célébration de luttes du travail

mais, au cours des dernières décennies, il est devenu une simple célébration des partis politiques.

Le anarchosyndicalists penser autrement. Le travail ne peut jamais s'émanciper par la politique, mais uniquement par la lutte économique.

Cette coordination a eu lieu avant, mais c'est la première fois qu'il a le soutien de syndicalistes de 5 continents. Cette propagation de l'idée est à la fois important et gratifiant.

May Day

Here`s an appeal from a network of international anarchosyndicalist organizations calling for a May day of class struggle. May day, of course, has always been a commemoration of labour`s struggles, but, in recent decades, is has become only a celebration for political parties.

The anarchosyndicalists think otherwise. labour can never emancipate itself by politics but only be economic struggle.

This coordination has been held before, but this is the first time that it has the support of unionists from 5 continents. This spread of the idea is important and gratifying.

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Appel international de la CNT pour un 1er Mai 2009 de lutte de classe-:

Pour regarder et écouter la version "vidéo" de l'appel : aller sur le site web de la CNT (http://www.cnt-f.org/) et lancer la vidéo qui se trouve sous le texte d'appel.

- Pour télécharger ou exporter cette vidéo sur votre site : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x90p4a_appel-international-cnt-pour-un-1er_news

- Pour télécharger l'affiche et la version "tract" de l'appel : cliquer sur les pièces jointes accompagnant ce message.
NOUS NE PAIERONS PAS LEUR CRISE !!! :
La crise actuelle du capitalisme met aujourd’hui les travailleurs devant deux options bien définies : continuer de subir un système économique et social inégalitaire et autoritaire, ou construire des résistances pour imposer une redistribution réelle, juste et égale, des richesses et faire respecter nos acquis, nos droits et nos libertés.

Nous, syndicalistes révolutionnaires, anarcho-syndicalistes et syndicalistes de luttes de classe, avons clairement fait notre choix. Nous refusons de continuer à négocier nos défaites et, au contraire, nous voulons organiser nos victoires. Pour cela, les grèves générales interprofessionnelles et reconductibles, comme elles s’esquissent actuellement dans certains pays, sont nécessaires pour faire plier nos dirigeants économiques et politiques. La solidarité internationale sans faille de tous les travailleurs, du Nord comme du Sud, de l’Ouest comme de l’Est, est le garant pour ébranler le système politique et économique capitaliste qui écrase sauvagement et quotidiennement nos droits et nos libertés...

Il est de la responsabilité des organisations syndicales combatives de tout faire pour renverser le rapport de force et mettre un terme au chantage à la crise et aux politiques de destruction sociale qui l’accompagnent. L’heure n’est plus aux complaintes sur les « excès du libéralisme » ou à la « réforme par la négociation », l’heure n’est plus à l’alternance politique, l’heure n’est plus au « dialogue social » truqué et complaisant , non, l’heure est à la mobilisation !

Parce que nous estimons que l’exploitation a assez duré, parce que nous en avons marre de travailler toujours plus vite et plus dur pour augmenter leurs profits, parce que nous réclamons le droit à une santé, à une éducation et à des transports publics et de qualité, parce que nous réclamons le droit pour tous de circuler librement dans un monde sans patries ni frontières, pour toutes ces raisons et bien d’autres encore, nous appelons à la construction d’un syndicalisme de classe, révolutionnaire, anticapitaliste et anti-autoritaire, anticolonialiste et anti-impérialiste, seul capable de renverser le rapport de force.

Car nous affirmons, sans détour ni complexe, que le fondement de toutes les crises économiques, sociales, écologiques ou internationales n’est autre que le capitalisme. Car nous affirmons que derrière la logique de profit se profile une logique de mort. Arrêtons le capitalisme tant qu’il en est encore temps ! Luttons par la lutte syndicale et sociale pour imposer un autre modèle de société, plus libre et plus juste, pour que notre avenir ne soit pas notre présent en pire !
Les signataires :
CNT (France) / Solidaridad Obrera (Espagne) / Action social syndical internationaliste - ASSI (Espagne) / Central des travailleurs suèdois - SAC (Suède) / Luta Social (Portugal) / ASOINCA (Colombie) / CGT (Espagne) / Organisation Démocratique du travail - ODT (Maroc) / Initiative des Travailleurs - IP (Pologne) / Union syndicale italienne - USI (Italie) / SISA (Italie) / Fédération ouvrière de base - FOB (Argentine) / Association nationale des diplômés chômeurs du Maroc - ANDCM (Maroc) / Espace syndical démocratique - ESD (Maroc-Rif) / USTKE (Kanaky) / NGWF (Bangladesh) / Conseil des Lycées d’Algérie - CLA (Algérie) / Collectif des Femmes Kabyles - ACFK (Kabylie) / ESE (Grèce) / SINALTRAINAL (Colombie) / Confédération du secteur public - CSP (Cameroun) / CGT CI (Côte d’Ivoire) / Industrial workers of the World - IWW (États Unis et Grande Bretagne) / Commission syndicale Voie Démocratique (Maroc) / Union nationale syndicale des travailleurs béninois - UNSTB (Bénin) / CGT B (Burkina Faso)

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Here is the English translation, courtesy of a Molly Trans.

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International Appeal of the CNT for a class struggle May day -:

To watch and listen to the "video" of the call: go to the website of the CNT (http://www.cnt-f.org/ ) and start the video below the text of appeal.

- To download or export this video on your site: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x90p4a_appel-international-cnt-pour-un-1er_news

- To download the poster and the "tract" of the call: click on attachments accompanying this message.

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We will not pay their crisis!:

The current crisis of capitalism is now the workers with two clear options: continue to suffer an economic and social system of inequality and authoritarianism, or to build resistance to impose a redistribution real, just and equal, of wealth and enforce our achievements , our rights and our freedoms.

We, revolutionary unionists, and anarcho-syndicalist class struggle unionist, have clearly made our choice. We refuse to continue to negotiate our failures and, on the contrary, we want to organize our victories. For this, the general and renewable strikes , as they currently attracting attention in some countries are required to make our economic and political leaders bend. The unwavering solidarity of all workers, both North and South, the West as well the East is the guarantor for undermining the capitalist political and economic system that brutally crushes and our rights and freedoms daily... It is the responsibility of combative trade unions to do everything possible to reverse the balance of power and put an end to the crisis and blackmail and its policies of social destruction that accompany it. The time is not only for complaining about the "excesses of liberalism" or "reform through negotiation," the time has come for political change. This is no time for more "social dialogue "rigged and complacent, no, it's time to mobilize!

Because we believe that exploitation is now hard enough, because we have always tried to work faster and harder to increase their profits, because we demand the right to health, education and public transport and quality, because we demand the right for all to move freely in a world without nations or borders, for all these reasons and more, we call for the construction of a class unionism, revolutionary, anticapitalist , anti -authoritarian, and anti-imperialist, this only being able to reverse the balance of power.

Because we affirm, firmly without detour or complexity, that the foundation of all economic crises, social, environmental or international is none other than capitalism. We affirm that behind the logic of profit is a logic of death. Stop capitalism while there is still time! Struggle by the trade union and social struggle to impose a different model of society, freer and more just, so that our future will not be our present or worse!

Signatories:

CNT (France) / Solidaridad Obrera (Spain) / International Trade Union Social Action - ASSI (Spain) / Swedish Workers Central - SAC (Sweden) / Luta Social (Portugal) / ASOINCA (Colombia) / CGT (Spain) / Demoratic Labour Organization - ODT (Morocco) / Workers Initiative - IP (Poland) / Italian Trade Union - USI (Italy) / SISA (Italy) / Federation ouvrière Basic - FOB (Argentina) / National Association of unemployed graduates in Morocco - ANDCM ( Morocco) / Democratic Union Space - ESD (Morocco-Rif) / USTKE (Kanaky) / NGWF (Bangladesh) / Council of Colleges of Algeria - CLA (Algeria) / Collectif des Femmes Kabyles - ACFK (Kabylie) / SEA (Greece) / SINALTRAINAL (Colombia) / Confederation of the Public Sector - CSP (Cameroon) / CGT CI (Ivory Coast) / Industrial Workers of the World - IWW (USA and Great Britain) / Democratic Trade Union Commission (Morocco) / National Union the of Workers of Benin - UNSTB (Benin) / B CGT (Burkina Faso)

CONSUMERISM:

EARTH DAY AND MARKETING:

Earth Day is coming tomorrow, whoop de ding dong. Most good ideas are subject to the law of inevitable chintz, and the whole hoopla around Earth Day may indeed be the primary modern example (though I am sure that there are many close competitors). What exactly is more absurd, the declining portion of leftists who imagine that 'ecology" poses some "fundamental paradigm" for changing society(and their absurd religious apotheoses in our dear "primitivists) for the better or those who buy into the "propaganda model" as promoted by the official sponsors of such events as Earth Day ? Who knows ?

What I do know is that the official promotion of Earth Day by government and corporation has gutted the original concept of any useful meaning. What I did't realise was how far this process had progressed. the story below is from the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, and it questions the idea of the overwhelming corporate sponsorship of Earth Day. What Molly finds most jaw droppingly amazing is the idea almost mentioned in passing ie "Earth Day shopping". Do people actually do this ? That is truly amazing. Holy Jesus H. Christ ! Turn your back for a minute and the kids and the dog are wrecking the house. It is right up their with the anarcho-nonsense spewed across the internet (using the height of technology) to promote some idea of the end of civilization. The difference is that large numbers of people buy the former idea while the latter is confined to an ever diminishing cult. I guess it's the old Biblical adage of the beam in one's own eye.

In any case, if you don't find the idea of "consuming for the ecology" silly then what can I say ? Welcome to Orwell's dystopia.

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MARKETING EARTH DAY(AND OTHER STUFF) TO CHILDREN:
Between Sesame's new green Elmo and Nick's Big Green Help, the children's media and marketing industries are going green in a big way this Earth Day. Or are they? In today's Huffington Post, CCFC's Susan Linn and Josh Golin lay out the harms inherent in the environmental lessons promoted by companies whose profits depend on inculcating consumerism in children.

In the coming year, CCFC will work to make the connections between marketing to children and environmental degradation more explicit. If you have ideas for campaigns that highlight this link, please send them to ccfc@jbcc.harvard.edu.

A link to the article is below. Happy Earth Day!

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Marketing Earth Day (and Other Stuff) to Children
By Susan Linn and Josh Golin
Have you done your Earth Day shopping yet? Between greeting cards, jewelry, mugs, and teddy bears commemorating the day, its roots in environmental activism have all but been forgotten. Now corporations use Earth Day to sell us on the belief that we can buy our way into ecological sustainability. We can't.

Reducing consumption is essential to preserving the earth's resources and preventing its degradation. The same companies that are painting themselves green depend on the profits they earn convincing us to buy more than we need.

Nowhere is this more obvious, and more troubling, than in the world of children's media and marketing, where companies like Disney, Sesame Workshop, and Nickelodeon are eco-marketing as never before.

Read the rest at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-linn/marketing-earth-day-and-o_b_189466.html

MONOPOLY AND ANTI-MONOPOLY:

MEDICINE AND THE PUBLIC DOMAIN:

Considerable controversy has surrounded the idea of "intellectual property rights" in the so-called information age. This sort of monopoly is an obvious one, promoted by private interests, already powerful, and protected and advanced by government. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of instances have arisen in past years where it was obvious that restricted access to information was detrimental to the public good, and campaigns demanding that free access, especially to research funded by public money, have been prominent in their opposition to restricted access, whether it be to genome sequences or to published scientific papers. See The Union for the Public Domain and IP Watch for more on this issue. Also the Against Monopoly site in our links section.

Down Toronto way there will be a panel discussion tomorrow, sponsored by Open Medicine, Canada's independent open source online medical journal. Here's the announcement. catch it if you can for some interesting ideas.

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Open Medicine presents:

The power of the public domain:

Can improving access to information transform global health?:

A panel discussion with: James Orbinski, Gavin Yamey & James Maskalyk

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

6:30 pm

Free (Donations welcome)

Leslie Dan Pharmacy Building

University of Toronto

144 College Street

Room B150

James Orbinski, MD, MA

James Orbinski is an associate professor at the University of Toronto and author of the national bestseller An Imperfect Offering. He was the International President of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in 1999 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and co-founded Dignitas International, an organization focused on community-based care and prevention of HIV in the developing world.

James Maskalyk, MD

James Maskalyk is an associate editor of Open Medicine. He practises emergency medicine and is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. He is the author of the newly published book Six Months in Sudan, which chronicles his humanitarian work with Médecins sans Frontières in 2007.

Gavin Yamey, MD

Gavin Yamey is a senior editor of PLoS Medicine and consulting editor to PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. He has written extensively on global health, and has helped to train medical editors at workshops in Barcelona and Addis Ababa. He is on the editorial board of Health and Human Rights and was recently awarded a 2009 Kaiser Foundation Mini-Fellowship in Global Health Reporting.

For more information, please visit OpenMedicine.ca . You can also follow Open Medicine via identi.ca or twitter (openmedicine)

Please help us spread the word!

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-PALESTINE:

A DEATH IN BIL'IN:

As the clash of states and political parties goes on in Israel/Palestine, others from both sides have come together to jointly oppose the separation wall that Israel is building across the West Bank. This struggle has brought Israelis and Palestinians together across the national divide like no other initiative has. Last Friday there was a casualty in this struggle. Here is the story from the Ilan Against the Wall blog via the Anarkismo website.

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Another casualty of the joint struggle against the separation fence:

Yesterday in the joint Friday demonstration against the separation fence and occupation, a tear gas missile shot directly to the chest of Basem Ibrahim Abu-Rahme - while standing between two Israeli activists of the Anarchists Against the Wall, caused fatal injury. The video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlbzuZ_50mU He died on the way to hospital. The tear gas missile which is a military weapon for the range of four hundred meters, is the same one nearly murdered a month ago Tristan Anderson in a demonstration against the separation fence in Ni'ilin. - For years, the Israeli state force use the demonstrations as experimental field for police weapons for dispersing crowds. Lately they also use them for the testing of the military tear gas missile also used in the last Gaza war.

A comrade reported:

"This Friday some 15 Israelis and 15 internationals joined a few dozen Palestinians in their weekly demo in Bil'in. The demonstration's theme was Palestinian prisoners' day, and the demo was headed by people carrying posters demanding the release of Palestinians held by the Israeli occupation forces. As usual, upon reaching the fence the demo was met with shock and gas grenades. The strong wind blew in the direction of the demonstrators and spread the gas among them, so only a small group of demonstrators managed to stay close to the fence. This, however, only encouraged the soldiers to keep shooting relatively large amounts of gas and other ammunition. The first victim was a French demonstrator superficially wounded in her face by a rebound shrapnel. Shortly after, a soldier shot an extended range gas projectile from a few meters away directly at Bassem Abu Rahme who was standing at the fence, knocked him over, left a gaping hole in the middle of his torso, and put him into respiratory distress and shock. Since no ambulance was at the scene, Bassem (a.k.a. Phil, aged 30) was evacuated in a private car toward Ramallah. Some demonstrators maintained their presence at the fence for a while, but as the last of them left the scene, the news of Bassem's death reached at the village."

The Friday demonstration in Ni'ilin ended abruptly when the participants heard about the murder of Basem in Bil'in and the AAtW activists - all knew Basem from previous demonstrations, and the AAtW people rushed to the nearby Bil'in.

Many of us approached to hold hands with his younger brother Ashraf - another persistent activist, who became "famous" as the media all over the world showed few months ago how a regional commander ordered a soldier to shoot his leg while he was handcuffed and blind folded.

Today (Saturday) we gave Basem the last honer. About 60 activists of the Anarchists Against the Wall joined thousands Palestinians from Bil'in village and the region in the funeral of Basem Ibrahim Abu-Rahme. One of the Bil'in group of people dedicated to the struggle against the separation fence. In four years of Friday demonstrations, I do not recall even one Friday I have not seen him active in the preparation for the demonstration, marching in the first lines, and defying the tear gas near the gate to the route of the separation fence.

At the evening we had a demonstration in Tel Aviv. About 500 people (including 10 of the legendary antiauthoritarian anticapitalist Matzpen - most active from the late 1960s to the early 1980s) mainly from among the thousands who participated in the Friday demonstrations in Bil'in with Basem during the last 4 years. We marched and chanted all the way from the center of town towards the War ministry compound where. There we had a meeting with few speakers.

Friday 10.4.2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy47y59WtQc video of Ni'ilin demonstration
Related Link: http://ilanisagainstwalls.blogspot.com