INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-KOREA:

PYEONGTAEK STRIKE ENDS WITH 'POLICE RIOT':

For over a month workers at Ssangyong Motors in Pyeongtaek, South Korea have been occupying their factory to protest against "restructuring" ie massive layoffs. Today, after many threats, the South Korean police moved in to evict the workers "with maximum prejudice". No doubt this is a defeat, but it has lessons that can be learned. First of all the plant occupation was the only way to apply pressure on management and the political authorities. Any other course would have led to what was basically complete capitulation. Yet the occupation was insufficient. Why ? First of all the union involved was not willing to "go far enough". Rather than call for an outpouring of solidarity, both local and international, the union seemed content to keep the factory occupation isolated. As the following article from the British LibCom site points out this may be a rather common response amongst union bureaucrats worldwide. To say the least workers who engage in such tactics anywhere in the world in the future will have to take note, and build their own rank and file mechanisms of solidarity, rather than depend on official unions that are often compromised. The workers involved did indeed build their own solidarity networks, as the following article points out, but they were insufficient, and they point to the need for even greater efforts on this line in the future.

Secondly, there was no consideration of actually resuming production under workers' self management, as has been done in other places in such situations. Maybe such a goal is unrealistic in the case of an auto plant, but it should be a primary consideration in many other occupations. It has been in some. Even if such a tactic doesn't lead to a fully cooperative workplace, displacing the previous management, it is an even more effective bargaining chip than a simple workplace occupation. Like the prospect of hanging such a move to expropriation "concentrates the mind" of management like nothing else can.

Here's the background to the strike from the LibCom website.

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Pyeongtaek strike continues in South Korea:
A strike now completing its fourth week at Ssangyong Motors in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, remains a standoff as of this writing. The strike echoes in many ways the dynamic seen in the recent Visteon struggle in the UK and in battles over auto industry restructuring around the world. Involving, on the other hand, an outright factory seizure and occupation, and preparation for violent defense of the plant if necessary, it is the first struggle of its kind in South Korea for years.
Loren Goldner
(June 19)
The company was taken over three years ago by China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, which holds 51% ownership. At the time, the Pyeongtaek plant had 8700 employees; it now has 7000. In February the company filed for bankruptcy, proposing a restructuring and offering the Pyeongtaek plant as collateral for further loans to re-emerge from bankruptcy. The court approved the bankruptcy plan, pending adequate layoffs to make the company profitable again.

The management strategy seems to have been a long-term whittling down of personnel combined with acquisition of technology for operations in China. Since the Shanghai Automotive takeover, there has been no new investment at Ssangyong Motors, and no new car model launched. (Korean prosecutors have raised questions over the legality of the technology transfer to China, since the technology in question was developed with Korean government subsidies, but to date no legal action has been taken.)

Workers at the plant responded with strikes against pending layoffs in April which accelerated into a full strike and plant takeover and occupation by 1700 workers on May 27 when the list of workers to be laid off was announced. The strike focused on three main demands: 1) no layoffs 2) job security for all and 3) no outsourcing. The company wants to force 1700 workers into early retirement and has fired 300 casuals.

The Ssangyong workers are organized in the Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU) and have worked an average of 15-20 years in the factory. A regular worker earns a base pay of approximately 30,000,000 won (currently ca. $25,000) per year; a casual earns about 15,000,000 for the same work. (In Korea, the base pay is only part of the salary, which includes benefits –for regular workers—as well as significant overtime paid at a higher rate, often 10 hours a week and accepted, or even desired, by most workers as a necessary income supplement.)

As of mid-June, about 1000 workers were continuing the occupation, with wives and families providing food. About 500 workers not slated for layoff are staying at home, and about 1000 supervisory staff are scabbing, mainly maintaining machines, while no cars have been produced since the occupation began.

There has been to date little mass police presence in Pyeongtaek. This is due at least in part to to the current political crisis in South Korea following the recent suicide of ex-president No Mu Hyeon and subsequent large-scale demonstrations expressing growing outrage against the current right-wing government of Lee Myong Bak, demonstrations that are expected to gain momentum into July. The Lee government, elected in December 2007 on a program of high economic growth and now discredited by the world crisis, has been taken aback by the depth of outrage revealed in demonstrations mobilizing up to 1 million people. After the unleashing of riot police provoked further outrage and brought more people to the streets, the government is unwilling to risk further disenchantment by an assault on the Pyeongtaek factory.

On June 16, a large anti-strike rally of more than 1500 people was held outside the factory gates. The rally was attended by the 1000 supervisory scabs, 200 hired thugs and 300 workers not on the layoff list and not supporting the strike. 400 riot police stood by, doing nothing, and finally declared the scab assembly illegal.

During the scab rally, about 700-800 workers from nearby factories, such as the Kia Motor company, came to defend the Ssangyang plant, in part in response to a text message tree of the KMWU.

The occupying workers have made plans for armed defense against any police attempt to recapture the plant, stocking iron pipes and Molotov cocktails. As a further fallback plan, they intend to concentrate in the paint department, where the flammable materials (in their estimate) will dissuade the police from firing tear gas canisters and setting off a conflagration.
According to one activist critical of the role of the union, the KMWU seems to remain in control of the strike. In contrast to role of the unions in the Visteon struggle in the UK and in the dismantling of the US auto industry, the KMWU has thus far supported the illegal actions of seizing the plant and preparing for its armed defense. On the other hand, it has been concentrating on the demand for no layoffs and soft-pedaling the demands for job security for all and against out-sourcing.

The core occupation of the plant is powered by 50 or 60 rank-and-file groups of 10 workers each, who in turn elect a delegate (chojang) for coordinated action. According to the same critical activist, these chojang are the most combative and class-conscious workers.

The outcome of this strike remains up in the air. It benefits from a momentarily favorable political climate, which has put the Korean government on the back foot, but it is up against the deep crisis of the world auto industry and the world economic crisis generally. The nearby Kia Motor Company plant is itself in the middle of critical negotiations for crisis measures, and GM-Daewoo is being hit with the world reorganization of GM. The company strategy, as in the case of Visteon, seems to be at best slow attrition (already underway since 2006) or even an outright closing of the plant. The Ssangyong Motor struggle may light a fire in the Korean auto industry and beyond, or, more likely, be strangled, slowly or not so slowly, in its current isolation.

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THE END OF THE STRIKE:

The following news item is from the business news website 'Trading Markets.Com'. If there is anything positive to be taken from these developments is that obviously the company's hired goons lost against the workers when they attempted to retake the plant. In the end the company had to resort to the police.

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KOREAN POLICE RAID SSANGYONG MOTOR PLANT TO DISBAND STRIKERS:
PYEONGTAEK, Jun 26, 2009 Hundreds of riot police on Friday entered the premises of ailing Ssangyong Motor Co's only plant, south of Seoul, to disperse striking unionized workers waging a weeks-long sit-in in protest over the company's massive layoff plan, police and company officials said.

Some 500 police troops with helmets and plastic shields began streaming into the plant shortly after 5 p.m. to disband the striking Ssangyong workers estimated to number about 900, the officials said.

Hours earlier, about 300 security guards hired by company management were sent into the plant complex to confront with the striking employees, with witnesses reporting a number of injuries as the two groups faced off.

Unionized workers at Ssangyong who were laid off after the troubled automaker was put under court receivership earlier this year have waged a sit-in at the company's factory in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

They have been locked in a dispute with other workers whose jobs have been saved as a result of the company-wide restructuring plan. (More like a dispute with company management-Molly)

Earlier in the day, the company's management proposed to rehire some of the laid-off workers once the company turns itself around, but the proposal was immediately rejected by the union.

AMERICAN POLITICS:

IMMIGRATION REFORM IN THE USA:

The following call to petition the US White House and Congress comes from the United Farm Workers. The American attitude to immigration can seem particularly bizarre for a country that is, aside from Native Americans, populated entirely by people whose ancestors were, at one time, immigrants. Today the country simply wouldn't function without immigrant labour, and the criminalization of much of this labour is an official act of irrationality equal to the unofficial xenophobia that some segments of the population hold to. The UFW calls for a rational reform of US immigration policy.

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UFW to White House and Congress:

Pass comprehensive immigration reform this year!
United Farm Workers President Arturo S. Rodriguez issued the below statement today (June 25, 2009) from the union's Keene, Calif. headquarters following President Obama's meeting at the White House with top congressional leaders on immigration reform. Please read it and then take action and send your message the president and key congressional leaders.

The United Farm Workers is grateful to President Obama for moving the process of immigration reform forward with today’s meeting at the White House. We take heart from the Democratic congressional leadership's commitment to place comprehensive reform on the agenda this year. But there are those who say 2009 is not the year to address this pressing issue.

In April 1963, in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," Dr. King wrote, "For years now I have heard the word, 'Wait!'...We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that 'justice too long delayed is justice denied.'"

In June 1963, addressing the nation to propose the Civil Rights Act, President Kennedy reminded Americans, "Those who do nothing are inviting shame...Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality."

In September 1965, "Ahora es cuando!" ("Now is the time!") became the rallying cry of Cesar Chavez and the farm workers when they took a stand for justice and humanity by beginning the historic Delano grape strike.

Now is the time to move forward with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that recognizes reality and embodies equity for hard-working immigrant families, businesses and the American people who have been plagued for too long with a broken immigration system.

Across all groups of voters, the American people desire a just and practical solution. A grassroots national campaign is behind comprehensive reform. The congressional leadership and the President are for it. Let both Democrats and Republicans, in President Kennedy's words, "recognize right as well as reality" and pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.
Please take action today.
http://www.ufwaction.org/ct/c1zuCuF1CcKk/takeaction

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THE LETTER:

Please go to the link above to send the following letter to American political decision leaders.

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I join with the United Farm Workers and hundreds of other organizations in asking you to fix the comprehensive immigration reform issue this year.

We are grateful to President Obama for moving the process of immigration reform forward with today's (6/25) meeting at the White House. We're encouraged by the Democratic congressional leadership's commitment to place comprehensive reform on the agenda this year.
Now is the time to move forward with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that recognizes reality and embodies equity for hard-working immigrant families, businesses and the American people who have been plagued for too long with a broken immigration system.

I ask you to take the leadership to make comprehensive immigration reform in 2009 a reality.

CANADIAN POLITICS/ANTI-MILITARISM:

MAYORS AND OTHER VULTURES:

Most Canadian mayors are corrupt in the penny ante way of underhanded real estate deals. Ottawa's Mayor O'Brien, however, seems to play in the big leagues, a 'merchant of death', an arms dealer no less. Not that being a tall tree in the multi-million dollar forest inhibits such a person from the more petty forms of corruption, as the following article from the Ottawa Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) lays out. The point of the article, however, is that there are greater crimes than influence peddling. Read on...

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The online version of this article includes many images.

Ottawa's Mayor O'Brien, Calian Technologies and the CANSEC War-Industry Bazaar: Democracy under Attack at Home and Abroad:

By Richard Sanders, coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT)

For weeks now, while peace activists have been busy campaigning to oppose the use of Ottawa's publicly-funded municipal facilities for private military arms exhibitions, like CANSEC 2009, the City’s mayor -- Larry O'Brien -- was on trial.

The mayor of Canada’s capital city (and founder of Calian Technologies -- a prominent local war industry exhibiting at CANSEC) is one of those colourful corporate-class executives who enters the political arena by threatening to run the government as if it were his own private business enterprise.

While this apparently is no crime, attempted bribery and purported influence peddling, are. These charges became public when a fellow right-wing mayoral candidate, Terry Kilrea, asserted that O'Brien had offered him $30,000 and a plum federal job on the National Parole Board in exchange for withdrawing from the mayoral race in 2006. Kilrea bolstered his claim by signing a legal affidavit that was initiated and paid for by the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

These much-discussed accusations, revealing O'Brien's apparent disdain for the basic principals of local democracy, have featured prominently in mainstream media accounts of this story. However, there is a far more insidious and largely unspoken dimension to this chronicle of O’Brien’s perceived willingness to undermine democracy.

This hidden aspect of the O'Brien narrative, which the corporate news has not deigned to report, has to do with how Canadian military industries -- like O'Brien's very own Calian Technologies -- supply scores of high-tech products and services for wars that undermine democracy at a global, international level. Like the unseen subsurface mass of an iceberg, this is the much larger yet invisible saga of how Canadian military industries profit from the big business of equipping those whose professional occupation is to wage war.

In practical terms, for Canadian war industries, this means supplying what some indiscreetly call the "US war machine." That's because about about three quarters of all Made-in-Canada military hardware is exported and 80% of those exports are sold, without any federal restrictions, to the United States. Once south of the border, Canadian technology -- much of it in the form of high-tech components -- is assembled into complete, American weapons systems.

Although some of these major weapons are then sold to other governments, they are -- for the most part -- used in whatever war, or wars, the US is then waging. For those who haven't noticed, this usually means either some "regime change" (to physically topple an unwanted foreign government) or "regime maintenance" (to help business-friendly governments retain their iron grip on political power).

Calian, which O'Brien founded in 1982, is one of these lucrative Canadian military industries and, financially, it seems to be doing very well indeed. Calian supplies software, training, personnel and high-technology components and support services to the world's biggest institutions of war. Calian has several subsidiaries and each one is deeply ensconced in the business of war.

Let's take a brief look at a few examples of Calian contracts that have aided and abetted the planning and waging of large-scale armed conflicts.

SED Systems

SED Systems is a wholly-owned division of Calian Technologies, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It provides ground services for various satellites including those used by US intelligence and military institutions. For instance, SED has been under contract since 1995 to "control and monitor the RADARSAT-1" satellite. SED also provides "flight operations services to the RADARSAT-2 mission."

Although these two publicly-funded Canadian satellites cost taxpayers over a billion dollars, the Liberal government was quick to privatise RADARSAT. Its state-of-the-art earth-monitoring services have been used for weapons-targeting roles in various US-led wars, most notably in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia.

A six-month study of RADARSAT's many military functions led to a 52-page COAT report called: "Canada’s Role in the Militarisation of Space: RADARSAT - The Warfighters’ Eye in the Sky and its links to Missile Defense."

SED also supplies "various systems and components" for the so-called " Manportable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar" (MSTAR). This US system "locates moving targets and uniquely classifies them as personnel, tracked or wheeled vehicles." MSTAR is said to have "performed admirably in service with U.S. and Allied Forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and other locations." Users of this military targeting system include the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. There are now "more than 500 MSTAR radars...in service throughout the world."

As during previous years, SED Systems was an exhibitor at the CANSEC 2009 military trade show in Ottawa this May 27 and 28. This landed Mayor O'Brien in hot water. After commenting publicly that CANSEC should be held on City of Ottawa property, despite a 20-year ban imposed by a 1989 Council resolution, O'Brien was accused of conflict of interest.

Because he still sits on Calian Technologies' Board of Directors, O'Brien stood to personally benefit from the CANSEC trade show because of SED's position as an exhibitor. (Ottawa Citizen, March 29, March 30, March 31.)

Calian Technology (US) Ltd

This branch of Calian Technologies prides itself on helping to facilitate the export of US military equipment to foreign governments around the world. It does this through contracts which provide "Foreign Military Sales management training in support of the International Programs Office of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)."

The DLA is the " logistics combat support agency whose primary role is to provide supplies and services to America's military forces worldwide."

But Calian does more than assist the US government agency responsible for getting war technologies into the hands of a million or more US warfighters strategically based around the world. Calian's "management support" is specifically targeted to help the " international purchasers of US weapons systems." Calian contracts include, for example, teaching the DLA's " Foreign Military Sales management course." Could there be any more significant evidence of Calian's support for the international arms trade than this?

F/A-18 "Hornet"

Calain Technology (US) Ltd., has been supporting the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 program since 1988. It provides "professional, technical, and administrative support services" to the RAAF's Technical Liaison Office that " include financial and administrative support, logistical analysis and systems engineering support" for Australia's fleet of F/A-18s. Australia uses American F/A-18 fighter/attack warplanes to fulfill various combat roles including the escort of bomber warplanes during bombing sorties, the suppression of enemy air defences, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. Australia has used their F/A-18s in the Afghan and Iraq wars since 2001 and 2003 respectively.

Calian Content Management Services (CMS)

Calian CMS provides high-technology software products and services for numerous major US weapons systems, particularly war planes and drones, used in the Iraq War. These weapons systems have also been used in Afghanistan and elsewhere. For more details on Calian's contracts for these weapons systems, click on the links below.

F-117 "Night Hawk"

The F-117 is a wedge-shaped, ground-attack fighter aircraft with stealth features that make it virtually undetectable to radar. First used by the US Air Force in the bombing of Panama in 1989, it was heavily used in 1991 Gulf War and against Iraqi targets through the 1990s. In 1999, F-117s were used during the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia. Then, beginning in 2001, it was used in bombing Afghanistan to assist and empower the Northern Alliance warlords who have since been encouraged to take political power in that country. F-117s were also used during the most recent Iraq War that began in 2003.

RQ-4 "Global Hawk"

This high-altitude surveillance and reconnaissance drone -- the size of a large business jet -- carries one ton of imaging technology and can photograph targets with one foot of resolution from 200 kilometres away. It uses Synthetic Aperture Radar and Electro-Optical/Infrared imagery to provide data for weapons targeting. America's RQ-4s have been used in the following wars and military operations: Afghanistan (2001-present), Pakistan (2002-present), Philippines (2003) and Iraq (2003-present).

U-2 "Dragon Lady"

This variety of US spy plane was originally operated by the CIA. It has conducted high-altitude surveillance and tactical reconnaissance missions since 1956 and has been used in a great many wars and military operations. For instance, the U-2 is known to have provided data for use in military operations over the following countries: Egypt, Lebanon, USSR, Cuba, Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.

C-130 "Hercules"

This cargo plane is the primary means for transporting troops, weapons, tanks and other vehicles into battle zones. Having accumulated over 20 million flight hours, it is probably the most versatile, tactical transport aircraft ever built. Some variants refuel fighter and bomber aircraft, while others have sprayed Agent Orange and dropped the world's largest conventional weapons (the BLU-82) in Vietnam and Iraq. C-130s have been used in countless wars, bombing missions invasions and regime changes including Lebanon (1958), Congo (1960-1961, 1964-1965), Dominican Republic (1965), Vietnam (1962-1975), Korea (1968-1969), Cambodia (1970), Israel (1973), Korea (1976), Zaire (1978), Iran (1980), Grenada (1983), Panama (1989), Iraq (1991), Somalia (1991-1992), Angola (1992), Sierra Leone (1992), Somalia (1992-1994), Haiti (1994-1995), Rwanda (1994-1996), Yugoslavia (1992-1996, 1999), Liberia (1996), Afghanistan (2001-present) and Iraq (2003-present).

F-16 "Fighting Falcon"

This multi-role, high-performance fighter/bomber warplane is used in air-to-air combat and for attacking ground targets. American F-16s have been used many wars and bombing missions including: Lebanon (1982-1983), Iraq (1991, 1992-2003), Yugoslavia (1994, 1995-1996, 1999), Afghanistan (2001-2003) and Iraq (2003-present).

C-5 "Galaxy"

This large, military transport aircraft provides strategic intercontinental cargo services for the US Air Force. In use since 1969, it is one of the world's largest warplanes and was deployed in Vietnam (1970-1972), Israel (1973), Iraq (1991), Yugoslavia (1999), Afghanistan (2001-present) and Iraq (2003-present).

MQ-8B "Fire Scout"

This aerial drone is nearing operational testing for launch from US warships to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition operations in Iraq. It is also able to fire "Hellfire" missiles, "Viper Strike" weapons and the "Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System." As such, the MQ-8B will be on the cutting edge of advanced killer robots.

Business and Technology Services (BTS) Division

Calian BTS Division recently received major contract to provide advanced military training services for Canadian warfighters in Afghanistan. The Department of National Defence (DND) has just signed a contract with Calian that may bring in close to $200 million for Mayor O'Brien's company. Calian's role is to create and use high-tech computer-simulated synthetic environments to train soldiers. The use of artificial, electronically-created environments allows them soldiers to practice and rehearse the tactics they will use on the battlefield. This Calian contract is for the continued provision of Training and Capability Development Support Services with DND's Directorate of Land Synthetic Environments (DLSE). The DLSE is responsible " to assist in the development and validation of combat development solutions for the Army in operations throughout the spectrum of conflict."

More information, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT)

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-FINLAND:

MUSTA PISPALA:

Molly came across this announcement in the English language section of the Polish anarchist news site Centrum Informacji Anarchistcznej. The festival/bookfair that it announces has its own website, as given below. What piques Molly's curiosity is the following question. Anarchist bookfairs are proliferating across the world as the movement expands. Is 'Musta Pispala' the furthest north example of its kind ? What do you think ?

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Musta Pispala - Black Pispala: Anarchist counter-cultural festival in Tampere, Finland, 10.-12. July 2009:
The 4th Musta Pispala will offer practical and theoretical workshops, parties, sauna, book fair and children's activities in the unique setting of Pispala.

For us anarchism means for example the critique of all forms of domination and hierarchy and on the other hand creating non-oppressive, egalitarian culture. We see domination not only in large structures of society, but also in oppressive customs among ourselves. Our analysis is not limited only to human relations. It also includes our relationships with non-human beings. Our aim is to strengthen critical views and empowerment in the form of taking control of our lives. Kill the police within!

Through the workshops in the festival you can get familiar with topics such as basics of anarchism and anarcha-feminism. There will be a couple of workshops on anarchist parenting and unschooling. Anti-psychiatry criticizes mainstream views on mental problems, and offers alternatives for mental care. Environmental themes are approached practically and theoretically through worm-composting, edible wild plants, climate change and the environment and technology thinking of anarchists. We also have workshops about specifically local struggles such as anti-gentrification/yuppification and a counter campaign against the city council's efforts to clean the streets of Tampere from street art and posters of small scale events.

We are consciously trying to work to ensure a safe anti-oppression atmosphere. In order to do this, we come up with guidelines for situations of harassment, and we'll have a specific conflict resolution / anti-harassment group. This doesn't mean we wouldn't encourage everyone to take responsibility to ensure that the atmosphere would be positive. We have a conscious anti-oppression policy including but not limited to anti-sexism, anti-heterosexism and anti-racism.

If you need a sleeping place and/or help with child care, please get in touch via mustapispala (at) takku (dot) net beforehand so we can prepare. You can also get in touch if you want to offer your help in organising, hold a workshop or come to the book fair with your distro. The workshops are in Finnish with English translation.

We are sorry that we are so late with our announcement, which makes it pretty much impossible for people who need visas to arrive. We'll try better next time.

More detailed descriptions of the workshops, timetables and other additional information: http://mustapispala.takku.net

CANADIAN LABOUR-LANARK COUNTY:

SOLIDARITY WITH LANARK COUNTY COMMUNITY LIVING WORKERS:

The following story and appeal for online solidarity comes Molly's way via the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

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Help Lanark County community living workers:‏
There are 90 people who help people with intellectual disabilities in Eastern Ontario's Lanark County looking for your support.





The Lanark County ACL's board of directors won't apply for available provincial funding to shore up the association's budget. Instead they're asking for cuts to benefits.





And they're not interested in being part of a pension plan small workplaces can use to give their staff a secure retirement.





A little pressure will help get a deal before the July 2nd strike deadline.





Please email the Lanark County ACL board of directors and encourage them to do everything in their power to reach an agreement with their staff.
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THE LETTER:
Please click on the link above or THIS LINK to send the following letter to the Lanark County ACL Board of Directors.
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Refusing to bargain fairly with your own workers by cutting their benefits and denying them a pension plan that’s available to other ACL workers across Ontario shows a lack of respect for the services these workers provide.





Not taking advantage of available provincial funding to improve working and earning conditions for frontline workers not only hurts workers and the agency, but affects the services provided by your agency.





Why are you risking a strike or a lockout when you should be offering a fair contract so services can continue for people with intellectual disabilities?
I urge you to respect your own workers.
A fair contract will avert a strike.

AMERICAN LABOUR:

THAT'S ONE MEAN TACO:

The following comes Molly's way from the American Rights at Work coalition.

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"Food with integrity.":
That's what Chipotle – America's fastest-growing fast-food restaurant – vows to serve in its restaurants.

Tell that to the Florida farmworkers who pick many of Chipotle's tomatoes. They have one of the worst jobs in America, with sub-poverty wages, back-breaking labor, and unimaginable exploitation.

Click here to urge Chipotle's CEO Steve Ells take a stand for Florida farmworkers.

In spite of its "food with integrity" pledge condemning the "exploitation of animals, farmers, or the environment," Chipotle refuses to partner with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which represents farmworkers, to help improve their working conditions.

More than two dozen leading writers, organizers, filmmakers, and farmers have called on Chipotle to do the right thing. The list includes Eric Schlosser, writer and director of Fast Food Nation; Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet; and Robert Kenner, director of the new hard-hitting documentary Food, Inc.

Add your name: Call on Chipotle to partner with Florida farmworkers and end the exploitation.

In the past, American Rights at Work activists helped put pressure on big companies like McDonald's, Burger King, and the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut – convincing them to commit to a raise for Florida farmworkers: an extra penny per pound of picked tomatoes.

Chipotle has also agreed to pay an extra penny per pound. Now, with your help, we can achieve an even greater victory: a huge chain pushing for real justice for these workers.

Tell Chipotle to live up to its promise and partner with the Florida farmworkers in its supply chain.

The average farmworker puts in a 10 hour day in the scorching Florida sun and must pick two and a half TONS of produce a day to earn $50 – that's only $10,000 per year. As major buyers, companies like Chipotle have a responsibility to exert their influence and give a fair deal to the workers who help boost their bottom lines.

End the exploitation: tell Chipotle's CEO to partner with Florida farmworkers now! Then, ask all your friends to do the same.
Thanks you for all that you do.
Sincerely,
Liz Cattaneo

American Rights at Work

http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/
P.S. Click here to check out the open letter signed by two dozen leaders of the sustainable food movement demanding that Chipotle be "a true partner in the protection of farmworkers' rights." Then, add your name.

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THE LETTER:

Click on one of the links above or CLICK HERE to sign the following open letter to Chipotle CEO Steve Ells.

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We write with admiration for your efforts to create a socially just and environmentally responsible restaurant chain. We applaud your goal of sourcing "food with integrity," food that's "unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal." Chipotle points the way to a new business model for national-scale restaurant chains: rather than scouring the globe for the cheapest commodities, restaurants should source in a region-appropriate way - bolstering and not undercutting regional food production networks.

Yet for us, naturally raised meat - important as it is - does not trump decently treated human beings. We are outraged by the working and living conditions in the Immokalee area of Florida, source of some 90 percent of the winter tomatoes consumed in the United States. We see Immokalee as a stark example of the vast power discrepancies in our food system. In the winter-tomato market, a small number of very large buyers dictate terms to the seven or eight entities that control land in tomato country; those growers, in turn, squeeze the workers in brutal fashion. Real wages have fallen dramatically in Immokalee over the decades and now hover well below poverty level; housing conditions would not be out of place in apartheid-era South Africa. These are the normal conditions experienced by thousands of workers in south Florida. No one can be surprised that in some extreme cases, right now, some of the people who pick our tomatoes are living in what can only be called modern-day slavery: held against their will and forced to harvest tomatoes without pay. In this context, Chipotle cannot claim the same integrity for the tomatoes it serves as it does for its meat, much less guarantee its customers that the tomatoes in its burritos were not picked by slaves.
We realize that Chipotle has announced that it's paying an extra penny per pound for tomatoes, but we have to ask: What has Chipotle done since that announcement to identify and cultivate growers who are willing to raise their labor standards and pass the penny along to their workers? Your company has shown admirable leadership in working with - and incubating - meat suppliers willing to meet your higher standards. But your failure to do that same hard work in the Florida tomato industry - together with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) - threatens to render your announcement an empty gesture aimed more at public relations damage control than an effort to make real change.




We view the CIW's struggle for dignity as a non-negotiable part of the struggle for a sustainable food system. Therefore, we strongly urge you to enter into an agreement with this worker-led organization that has been fighting tirelessly to improve conditions in tomato country since 1993. As you know, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange has acted to block the penny-per-pound raise agreed to by McDonald's, Yum Brands, Burger King and others, by threatening to fine any grower who cooperates with the buyers and the CIW. The extra penny paid out by these companies now sits in an escrow account, and workers in the fields continue making the same dismal wage. The growers clearly fear the power tomato pickers have galvanized through the efforts of the CIW and Chipotle's refusal to sign an agreement with the CIW only bolsters the growers' intransigence.





Last month, another national-scale food company with a social mission, Bon Appetit, signed a far-reaching deal with CIW that goes well beyond the penny per pound raise. We urge you to study the CIW-Bamco agreement and step up your efforts to identify growers - big or small - who will work with you to make "food with integrity" truly "fair food."





If Chipotle is sincere in its wishes to reform its supply chain, the time has come to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers rights.
Respectfully,
ALALALALALAL
MORE:
The main force behind the drive to improve conditions of farm labour in Florida is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Here is more from their website about the hypocrisy of Chipotle.
ALALALALALAL
HYPOCRISY AND CHIPOCRICY:
Dictionary:
hy·poc·ri·sy
1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
Dictionary:
Chi·poc·ri·sy...
6/22/09: The phenomenon known as "Chipocrisy" was in the news this past week, beginning with the June 15th open letter by more than two dozen leading sustainable food activists calling on Chipotle to live up to its claims of "Food with Integrity" and "work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers' rights."





But it didn't stop there. Also last week, the ABC news show "Nightline" did a piece on Chipotle's relationship with Polyface Farms, a model sustainable farm in Virginia that, in the words of owner Joel Salatin, "fully respects and honors the pigness of the pig." (Believe it or not these flac runners say things like this all the time with a totally straight face-Molly)





In the same Nightline story, Chipotle CEO Steve Ells professed, "I think it's really important that people know where their food comes from. I mean we spend a lot of time researching the very best sources, so that when people go to Chipotle, they can rest assured they are getting the very best food."





Really? The Nightline piece, while valuable for shedding light on Mr. Salatin's admirable operation, was incomplete, and therefore deeply flawed. By allowing Mr. Ells to effectively direct the spotlight, the story revealed only that part of Chipotle's supply chain that the company wished to showcase, creating the impression of an ethical restaurant company that indeed earns its claim to "Food with Integrity."





If, however, Nightline had only turned that same spotlight on the fields where Chipotle's tomatoes are picked, perhaps it would have found that the "humanness" of the men and women who pick those tomatoes isn't afforded the same honor or respect.





This might be a good moment to quote a relevant passage from last week's impeccably-timed sustainable food movement letter to Mr. Ells:





"... (F)or us, naturally raised meat – important as it is – does not trump decently treated human beings... Your company has shown admirable leadership in working with – and incubating – meat suppliers willing to meet your higher standards. But your failure to do that same hard work in the Florida tomato industry – together with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – threatens to render your announcement an empty gesture aimed more at public relations damage control than an effort to make real change."

Chipotle's failure to live up to the virtues it professes to hold dear was not lost, however, on one Denver-based blogger last week. Writing on the Denver Fair Food blog, "Robert" noted that, on its corporate website, Chipotle strongly recommends that its customers read Eric Schlosser's hard-hitting analysis of the fast-food industry's ills, "Fast Food Nation". The contradiction was too much to stomach for the Fair Food blogger, who undoes Chipotle's claims to sustainability using a series of quotes by none other than Mr. Schlosser himself. His conclusion is withering, and it shall be our conclusion here as well:





"... It’s abundantly obvious. Quoting Eric again: 'the exploitation of farm workers should not be tolerated in Florida. It should not be tolerated anywhere in the United States. There are many social problems that are extremely difficult to solve. This is not one of them.' Plain and simple, the solution is for Chipotle to work in partnership with the CIW. That’s been Eric’s demand of fast-food companies for a long time and that’s his demand explicitly of Chipotle today.





It’s funny really, Chipotle isn’t listening to the guy that Chipotle recommends everyone listen to. Chipotle’s “further reading” is demanding that Chipotle go further, and yet Chipotle refuses to take its own advice. This is a phenomenon that’s become so common place we have a name for it: Chipocrisy.
That’s the thing about further reading – sometimes you end up eating your words."
Read the Denver Fair Food blog post in its entirety here.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-IRAN:

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY DAY WITH THE WORKERS OF IRAN:

Tomorrow, June 26, is the day that has been long planned for by opposition unionists in Iran and their supporters worldwide, a day when international labour, 170 million strong, says enough to the seemingly endless repression of workers' rights in Iran. no doubt the significance of this day has seemingly been overshadowed by recent events in Iran, but its importance should not be underestimated. Through three decades of theocratic oppression the ideal of indpendent workers' organization has been kept alive in Iran, and, in the end, if the present ruling class of that country is ever to be overtrown or even forced to compromise it will not be by easily repressible street demonstrations but rather by indusrial action on the part of the ordinary Iranian. Here, from the website of the International Transport Workers' Federation, is the announcement of the international Day of Action.

ILILILILILIL

Worldwide Iran protests tomorrow:
25 June 2009
Protests for freedom in Iran will be held worldwide tomorrow, 26 June, organised by four global union organisations and their members, representing over 170 million workers.

Demonstrations will be held at Iranian embassies/consulates in Ankara, Bangkok, Brussels, Canberra, Geneva, Jakarta, London, Madrid, New Delhi, Oslo, The Hague, Tokyo, Toronto and Wellington. Alongside those events trade unions in other countries are also holding various support actions (See Worldwide Update at http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org/ for more details).

The ITUC (International Trade Union Confederation), EI (Education International), ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation) and IUF (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations) called the worldwide action day to demand justice and to protest against the denial of rights within Iran. Amnesty International has backed this campaign.

Guy Ryder, ITUC General Secretary, commented: “We have exhausted all avenues of reasonable dialogue to persuade the Iranian government to allow basic human and trade union rights. Their answer has been repression and arrests. Given this failure we must protest publicly against what is happening in Iran.”

Fred van Leeuwen, EI General Secretary, added: “Trade unions across the world are mobilising to express their repugnance for what is being done and what has been done to crush the aspirations of ordinary Iranians. We invite everyone who is concerned at those abuses to join us.”

David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary, said: “Tomorrow we all get the chance to show the government of Iran how discredited it has become and how the whole world feels about the repression and violence it is creating. We intend to raise a worldwide clamour for reform that will force the regime to listen and understand that the time for change has come.”

Ron Oswald, IUF General Secretary, concluded: “As trade unions we have long campaigned for the rights of Iranian workers, and that campaign continues. Tomorrow’s events are one facet of a continuing struggle that will not go away until those rights are respected.”

At time of sending the latest update of events (more will be posted at http://www.justiceforiranianworkers.org/ as they are confirmed) is:
In Australia, the ACTU Congress adopted a motion in support of the campaign. Unions and community organisations will rally outside the Iranian embassy in Canberra at midday on June 26. The MUA also plans events in Sydney and Melbourne.

In Austria, VIDA will use the Danube Island Festival in Vienna from 26 to 28 June to inform visitors about the Iran campaign. The union will distribute flyers, stickers and organise a collection of signatures. The congress of ÖGB (Austrian Trade Union Federation) on 30 June to 2 July in Vienna will also be used to distribute information. Teachers union, GÖD will be joining these activities.

Belgium. Demonstration to be held in Brussels beginning 13:00, with ITUC, EI, ETF, FGTB, CSC, CGSLB, BTB all taking part, along with Amnesty International. BTB is also encouraging every regional section to organise an event on 26 June.

Canada. Demonstrations planned in Ottawa and Toronto (commencing at 18:00 in Mel Lastman Square, Toronto (North York Subway Station).

France. On 26 June, French unions the CFDT, CGT, FO, CFTC and UNSA will submit a letter to the Ambassador demanding the release of trade unions and respect of union rights. At 12:30, there will be a rally in front of the Iranian Embassy in Paris.

HKCTU and HKPTU in Hong Kong have confirmed their participation in the action day.
In India the All India Railwaymen’s Federation will organise rallies, marches and demonstrations.

ITF unions in Indonesia organised a protest action in May after the mass arrests in Tehran on International Workers’ Day. Transport unions KPI, JICT, TPK-KOJA, IKAGI and SPKA, together with the teachers union, PGRI, will hold a rally in Jakarta and conduct a prayer meeting in the port of Tanjung Priok.

In Iran the ITF-affiliated Tehran Bus Workers Union (Syndicate Vahed) has called on unions around the world “to include the human rights agenda for all the Iranians” in the June 26 global solidarity action day.

Iraq. The General Union of Iraq Port Workers will meet at the union’s HQ then demonstrate.

Italy. 19:30 sit-in in front of Iranian Embassy, Rome.

Japan. Japanese affiliates of the IUF and ITF, together with the national centre, Rengo, will host a mass meeting on 24 June to adopt a motion in support of the campaign. Representatives of the unions will then present this at the Iranian Embassy in Tokyo on June 26.

Unions attending the Asia/Pacific Regional Conference of the ITF in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia unanimously adopted a resolution to reaffirm their participation in the action day. EI affiliate NUTP will be collecting signatures and sending protest letters.

Mexico. Events TBC.

Rail workers of the UMT in Morocco will organise a solidarity meeting in Casablanca on 26 June.

Nepal. No Iranian embassy in the country so protest to Iran government will be made via the Nepalese Foreign Ministry.

In Wellington, New Zealand, the unions plan to bring “a brass band, lots of signs, drums and a street play depicting locked up Iranian Unionists” to the Embassy.

Aviation union, ATSSAN in Nigeria will hold a solidarity rally at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

In Norway, Fagforbundet (Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees) and Norsk Transportarbeiderforbund (Norwegian Transport Workers’ Union) will organise a demonstration in front of the Iranian Embassy in Oslo.

In The Netherlands, the FNV has requested a meeting at the Embassy of Iran. Gatherings of the AOB teachers’ union and FNV Bondgenoten on 26 June will reflect the Justice for Iranian workers campaign.

Turkey. Turkish transport unions, BTS, HAVA-IS and TUMTIS confirm that they will organise a protest action in Ankara in front of the Iranian embassy. They are inviting fellow trade unionists, human rights groups and students to take part. Further action is also planned in Istanbul.

Spain. CCOO and UGT organising demonstration in front of Iranian Embassy, Madrid, commencing 10:00.

Switzerland. The ITUC’s Geneva office have requested a meeting with the Iranian labour attaché to the UN on 26 June. The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM) has announced its support for the campaign.

In Sweden LARARFORBUNDET is discussing joint activities with the Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions.

Thailand. In Bangkok, the ITF-Thai committee, together with the national labour centre, SERC, will organise a demonstration at the Embassy and submit a letter to the Ambassador. They will also visit the ILO Office to raise the violation of workers’ rights in Iran.

In London, United Kingdom, a demonstration will be held at the Iranian Embassy, 16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PTF from 12:30 to 13:30.

USA. NEA has written to the US State Department on violation of workers’ rights in Iran. AFT is also planning an activity. The Teamsters Union has written to Secretary of State Clinton.
ENDS
For more details please contact
ITF. Press officer Sam Dawson.

Tel: +44 (0)20 7940 9260.

Email: Dawson_sam@itf.org.uk
ITUC. Press Officer Mathieu Debroux.

Tel: +32(0)2 22 40 204.

Email: mathieu.debroux@ituc-csi.org
EI. Nancy Knickerbocker.

Tel: +32 (0)2 22 40 611.

Email: Nancy.knickerbocker@ei-ie.org
IUF. Peter Rossman.

Email: iuf@iuf.org
International Transport Workers' Federation -

ITF:HEAD OFFICE

ITF House, 49 - 60 Borough Road, London SE1 1DS

Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7403 2733

Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7375 7871

Email: mail@itf.org.uk

Web: http://www.itfglobal.org/

ILILILILILILUL

A WORKING CLASS UNITED ?:

This is is direct contrast to the title of a previous post on this subject ie 'A Ruling Class Divided'. While the ruling class in Iran scrambles to settle their internal feuds and, at the same time, repress challenges to their rule, the international working class, in its tens of millions are moving to offer solidarity to their Iranian fellow workers. the following from the Justice for Iranian Workers website is the "hand across the divide" from workers in Iran and their organizations. Molly has expressed her opinion in one of the polls on our sister site Molly's Polls that the present ruling clique in Iran will achieve a "tempoorary victory" over the present protests but thatg the opposition will take the present events and deepen their resistance over the long term. An important, perhaps the most important , aspect of this resistance will be the spread and consolidation of independent working clasds orgnaizations in Iran. Here is their statement at teh present time.

ILILILILILILIL

Joint message by 26 workers’ groups in Iran on Action Day:
The Solidarity Message from Iranian Workers for the Day of Action
Four international trade union organisations (ITUC, ITF, IUF and EI) have declared 26 June as the international day of solidarity with Iranian workers to support their struggle for their basic rights. Members of these confederations around the world will organize practical support towards workers in Iran on this day.

This declaration of international solidarity with Iranian workers is a significant historical moment in the struggles of the international workers’ movement to achieve human rights for workers around world. It would certainly play a significant role in advancing the struggles of the workers in Iran. Moreover this action would further deepen the international unity and solidarity of the working class throughout the world.

We the undersigned wholeheartedly support this international unity initiative. We would like to express our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the organizers of the action day and wish to warmly shake hands with you. We send our sincere greetings to the workers of the world in each and every unions.
Long live international solidarity,25 June 2009
Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company

Union of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Workers

Free Union of Iranian Workers

The Collaborative Council of Labour Organizations and Activists

Kermanshah Electricity and Metal Society

Khameneh Textile Workers;

Workers of Sanandaj Par-Ris Factory;

Workers of Rugs West Factory

Kurdestan Textile Workers

Sanandaj Shin-Baaft Textile Factory;

Workers of Shahoo Companies

Kurdistan Textile Gharb-Baaft [Textile Company];

Pak Ara Milk

Workers Brick Shell Company

Sama Gunnysack Makers Fajr Flour

Niroo Raksh [Power Company]

Service Workers of Sanandaj Tohid Hospital;

Group of Sanandaj retirees;

Workers of Westrmanshah Carpet Company;

Group of Kian Tyre (Alborz) Workers;

Group of workers and activists in Marivan city

Group of workers and activists in Kamyaran city

Group of workers and activists in Mashhad

Workers of Car Glass

Group of workers of Metal factories

Workers of Yarag Alam Ghom Company

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-IRAN:

A TRIBUTE TO NEDA:

'Neda' was the name of the young woman who was murdered by the Iranian security forces a few days ago, and her name and story have become legend for the Iranian opposition. the following is a poetic tribute from the Iranian.Com website. Molly also wants to recommend the Anonymous Iran website for continued updates of the events in Iran in both English and Farsi.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Neda's Song
by Tina Ehrami

21-Jun-2009
Her name was Neda, she was only 16

She was a young girl who got caught in between

A bullet and her flesh and some place serene

And now Iran will never be as it’s been

...
Her name was Neda and she wanted to show

That fear of death wouldn’t keep her below

And now all of you will come to know

How far Iran’s people are willing to go

...
She’d been shouting and running, days on end

She didn’t go to school or work, days on end

She called out for justice, days on end

But in the end for her it was just the end

...
She did what she could to get back what she lost

She wanted her vote back that someone’d tossed

But it’s a damn shame that this is what it cost!

It’s a damn shame, but if we must, we must

...
Her name was Neda, she was only 16

There was still so much that she should’ve seen

But she’d seen enough, even as a teen

She was so tired of things as they had been

...
Her name was Neda and she was taken too soon

She was a beautiful child, her parent’s full moon

But from now that moon will glow red and maroon

So that people will start singing in a different tune

...
She took that bullet in her heart, for you and for me

She wanted a better tomorrow, for you and for me

Her name means ‘sign’ and this’s one for you to see

That freedom’s worth dying for, so fight to be free!

CANADIAN LABOUR-TORONTO:

TORONTO CIVIC WORKERS STRIKE:

Two days ago the city of Toronto became the second major community in Ontario to been visited by a civic workers' strike. this follows a strike by workers in the city of Windsor that is edging towards three months. Like in Windsor, both Toronto inside workers, represented by CUPE Local 79, and outside workers represented by CUPE Local 416, have gone on strike. Interested readers can follow the progress of the strike from a labour point of view by visiting the sites of these two locals. What follows below is the official announcement of the strike from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). But before that, here's a little Molly aside....

New Brooms Become Old in a Few Years ?

A little backgrounder on this strike is in order. The last civic workers' strike in Toronto occurred in 2002, and it lasted 3 weeks before the provincial government legislated the strikers back to work. A year afterwards an aspiring municipal politician rode discontent with the city's handling of the strike (amongst many other issues) to victory as the new mayor of Toronto. His name...David Miller, the present Mayor of Toronto. He rode to power on a slogan of being a "new broom" to sweep clean the entrenched cronyism, corruption and unresponsiveness of City Hall.

The years have passed. The Toronto civic workers have demonstrated their disgust with Mayor Miller's record of broken promises by "breaking brooms" at their recent solidarity rally, a media stunt that says what they think of him now. It must be admitted that Mayor Miller rode to power on a set of promises, almost all of them unfulfilled, that were more of a vague lefty "greenishness"(sort of the colour of lower small intestine bile), rather than a traditional socialist program, let alone a libertarian socialist one. As far as I can see a socialist program, traditional or libertarian, is pretty well a non-starter in terms of electability anywhere on the North American continent if one is vying for a mayor's chair. A vague lefty "greenishness" can, however, swing into power in some situations.

Is it, however, worthwhile to devote more than a few nanoseconds of one's time to helping such sparkling politicians to power ? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the example of Mayor Miller example number 86,953,284,631 of the treachery of leftist politicians. I might be out by a few million ! No doubt a lot of the civic workers who are now opposed to the Mayor were great supporters of his as little as 6 years ago. Is electing lefties to power any worthwhile way to spend one's limited time on Earth ?

But anyways, here's the story from CUPE.

CLCLCLCLCLCL

Toronto city workers strike:
City of Toronto inside and outside workers walked off the job just after midnight tonight in a fight against management demands for concessions.

“After six months at the bargaining table, the city has not heard the message from our members that they must be treated as fairly as all other unionized workers who provide public services to the people of Toronto,” said Mark Ferguson, president of CUPE 416.

“This city cannot treat their direct employees, our members, like second-class citizens,” said Ann Dembinski, president of CUPE 79, representing about 18,000 inside workers. “We had two choices – roll over and play dead or stand up and fight for our rights.”

In all, about 24,000 workers are on strike. Other unionized public employees in the city, ranging from Toronto Community Housing, Parking Authority, and Port Authority to police and firefighters have achieved collective agreements with wage increases of at least three per cent and no concessions.

CLCLCLCLCLCL

Here's another interesting item, this one from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). Here they state their solidarity with the Toronto city workers, and they also say more about the so-called "progressive" Miller Administration. History is full of examples of such treachery, as too much of the "left" is more concerned with becoming a new ruling class through political means rather than actually carrying out the ideals that they profess.

CLCLCLCLCLCL

OCAP STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH TORONTO CITY WORKERS:

The members of CUPE 416 and 79 who work for the City of Toronto are now on strike. The business media has begun its inevitable campaign of misinformation to produce the greatest possible backlash against these workers. We are encouraged to focus on uncollected garbage and suspended services but not, of course, to give any regard to the rights of public sector workers or to think as working people about what is at stake in this strike.

OCAP, as a matter of basic principle, stands in solidarity with workers' struggles. We don't hate or blame workers who have been able to win a living wage or support calls for them to be driven into poverty. Rather, we want to see the poor provided with wages and incomes that raise them out of poverty.

This strike occurs in a context that makes it especially important for all of us that it end in victory and that the concessionary demands of the 'progressive' Miller Administration be defeated. The Mayor defended his shameful efforts to gut the collective agreements of City workers by pointing to rising welfare caseloads brought on by the economic downturn. What a disgusting statement. To pit City workers against those who are being forced to turn to the wretched sub poverty pittance that welfare provides is an outrage. This comes from a man who boasts that there are more cops on the streets under his regime than every before and who is taking us towards an obscene billion dollar a year police budget, while he has frittered away the welfare reserve fund to a fraction of where it was when he took office.

The Mayor points to the state of the economy to justify his attack on City workers. In doing this, he makes clear what side he is on when it comes to who should pay for this economic crisis. As unemployment shoots up, we face the situation with an empty shell of an unemployment insurances system that shuts out most of the unemployed and with a post Mike Harris welfare system that fails to provide the necessities of life. None of the 'solutions' to the crisis involve meeting the basic needs of the unemployed and poor. For those who still have jobs and unions, the bankrupt corporations they work for will be bailed out at vast public expense while their rights as workers are destroyed and they are presented with massive concessionary demands.

The process of attacking workers started in the auto industry and other parts of the private sector. The drive for austerity is now spreading, inevitably, to the public sector. Beginning with militant fights by postal workers in the 1960s, public sector workers have spent decades struggling for decent wages and conditions. The present crisis of capitalism will mean an all out confrontation to take back those gains. Moreover, an attack on the workers who deliver public services can't be separated from the attack on the services themselves and the rights of those who receive them. (NB-Molly )

That is the context of this strike and we in OCAP know what side we're on. We call for full support for the City workers.

Send messages of solidarity.

Be there with them on their picket lines.

Stand with them in their fight because they are fighting for all of us.