INTERNATIONAL POLITICS GREAT BRITAIN:

INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN ENGLAND:





The London Metropolitan police have jumped on one of their critics, the website 'Fitwatch' (no longer operational for reasons that will become plain below) which was originally set up 3 years ago to oppose heavy handed tactics on the part of London police. The recent development comes in the wake of student demonstrations against English government austerity measures which ended in occupation of Conservative Party headquarters. With egg all over their faces for failing to anticipate the level of militancy amongst some of the demonstrators the police have reacted with a show of bravado by flailing out at their critics. Things haven't turned out as well for themas they expected. Here's a brief report on this incident from the eGov Monitor.


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Police Ire Forces Shut Down Of Fitwatch Website - But The Offending Post Unsurprisingly Is Now On Various Websites


The Metropolitan Police has forced the suspension of the Fitwatch website last evening arguing that it was "being used to undertake criminal activities".

The website has been suspended, however, unsurprisingly, the particular blog post has now been published on thousands of websites across the internet beyond the Met's jurisdiction.

The move came following a blog post was published on the Fitwatch website which gave advice to students who were afraid of police action against them following their protest and occupation of the Millbank complex last week, the Guardian reported today.



Following the protest, the blog post on Fitwatch advised students to stay calm, and not hand themselves over to the police as well as change their appearances. In addition, it asked those who are worried about being arrested to stay away from similar protests planned later.

The website's hosting company, Justhost.com was approached by the Met's public order branch C11 to request the site be removed - following which a more formal request came from the Met's e-crime unit, which argued that the blog was providing "guidance" to offenders.

The letter seen by the Guardian says: ""We hereby request [you] de-host this website for a minimum period of 12 months. The website is providing explicit advice to offenders following a major demonstration in central London. The demonstration was marred by violence and several subjects have already been arrested, with a major police operation under way to identify and arrest further offenders."

An acting detective inspector, Will Hodgeson authorised the action against the website, according to the letter.

Fitwatch was set up in 2007 to campaign against what it saw as heavy handed police tactics of the Met's Forward Intelligence Teams - who take photographs of people participating in protest.

If nothing else, this decision was not thought through at all - and once again proves that police forces do not really understand how the internet works. In fact, it could be argued by taking the action, the police ensured that the particular blog post gets massive publicity and is published on various sites around the world.
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As is argued above the police merely ended up with yet more egg of their faces through their actions as the advise given went viral and began appearing on blogs and websites across the world. Always ready to do her little bit Molly reproduces the article below courtesy of the Another Green World blog. For the life of me I cannot see any counselling to commit a criminal act in what follows. Actually it seems quite akin to what some police officers do when they retire ie set up a business to counsel people on how to get out of their traffic tickets. As a point of interest you can read more about this case and other incidents of internet censorship at the Committee To Protect Bloggers website.
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16 Nov 2010
Banned Fitwatch article here, please re-blog.
THIS IS THE BANNED FITWATCH ARTICLE
I DON'T CONDONE DROPPING FIRE EXTINGUISHER BUT PROTEST IS ESSENTIAL....any way on to the banned.

The remarkable and brilliant student action at Millbank has produced some predictable frothing at the mouth from the establishment and right wing press. Cameron has called for the ‘full weight of the law’ to fall on those who had caused tens of thousands of pounds of damage to the expensive decor at Tory party HQ. Responsibility is being placed on ‘a violent faction’, after the march was ‘infiltrated’ by anarchists.

There are an encouraging number of initiatives to show solidarity with the arrested students – something that is vital if they are to avoid the sort of punitive ‘deterrent’ sentences handed out to the Gaza demonstrators. A legal support group has been established and the National Campaign against Cuts and Fees has started a support campaign. Goldsmiths lecturers union has publicly commended the students for a ‘magnificent demonstration’.

This is all much needed, as the establishment is clearly on the march with this one. The Torygraph has published an irresponsible and frenzied ‘shop-a-student’ piece and the Met are clearly under pressure to produce ‘results’ after what they have admitted was a policing ‘embarrassment’.

51 people have been arrested so far, and the police have claimed they took the details of a further 250 people in the kettle using powers under the Police Reform Act. There may be more arrests to come.

Students who are worried should consider taking the following actions:

If you have been arrested, or had your details taken – contact the legal support campaign. As a group you can support each other, and mount a coherent campaign.

If you fear you may be arrested as a result of identification by CCTV, FIT or press photography;

DONT panic. Press photos are not necessarily conclusive evidence, and just because the police have a photo of you doesn’t mean they know who you are.

DONT hand yourself in. The police often use the psychological pressure of knowing they have your picture to persuade you to ‘come forward’. Unless you have a very pressing reason to do otherwise, let them come and find you, if they know who you are.

DO get rid of your clothes. There is no chance of suggesting the bloke in the video is not you if the clothes he is wearing have been found in your wardrobe. Get rid of ALL clothes you were wearing at the demo, including YOUR SHOES, your bag, and any distinctive jewellery you were wearing at the time. Yes, this is difficult, especially if it is your only warm coat or decent pair of boots. But it will be harder still if finding these clothes in your flat gets you convicted of violent disorder.

DONT assume that because you can identify yourself in a video, a judge will be able to as well. ‘That isn’t me’ has got many a person off before now.

DO keep away from other demos for a while. The police will be on the look-out at other demos, especially student ones, for people they have put on their ‘wanted’ list. Keep a low profile.

DO think about changing your appearance. Perhaps now is a good time for a make-over. Get a haircut and colour, grow a beard, wear glasses. It isn’t a guarantee, but may help throw them off the scent.

DO keep your house clean. Get rid of spray cans, demo related stuff, and dodgy texts / photos on your phone. Don’t make life easy for them by having drugs, weapons or anything illegal in the house.

DO get the name and number of a good lawyer you can call if things go badly. The support group has the names of recommended lawyers on their site. Take a bit of time to read up on your rights in custody, especially the benefits of not commenting in interview.

DO be careful who you speak about this to. Admit your involvement in criminal damage / disorder ONLY to people you really trust.

DO try and control the nerves and panic. Waiting for a knock on the door is stressful in the extreme, but you need to find a way to get on with business as normal. Otherwise you’ll be serving the sentence before you are even arrested.

PERSONAL LIBERTY-GREAT BRITAIN:

FIGHT AGAINST THE SURVEILLANCE STATE:

This item is particularly for our readers in the United Kingdom, but, in the end, it is for us all. Great Britain has already gone further along the way towards a "total surveillance state" than any other western country, and, in many ways, the ability of the state to gather information on individuals in GB has gone beyond the practices of most communist states during the worst of their Stalinist regimes. It certainly exceeds the practices of such present communist dictatorships as Cuba and China. This spreading dictatorship, in the land that gave us such things as habeus corpus, jury trial and common law is particularly odious. If it is not defeated there then there is less hope for the rest of us who come from less liberal cultures(such as here in Canada). The following is an appeal to join a Facebook group against these laws,to write a British MP and there is also a link to a general website for this matter of personal liberty.

LLLLLLLLLLLL

If you care about fundamental rights and freedoms, privacy and confidentiality, the time to act is NOW.:

*** UPDATE 3rd July 2009 ***

Back in March 2009, Stop Clause 152! and other groups were successsful in getting the UK government to withdraw the unfettered data-sharing powers in Clause 152 of the Coroners and Justice Bill. At the time, we said it would try again.

Now it is.

On Wednesday 8th July 2009, the House of Commons will vote on a group of three ID-related Statutory Instruments including one called 'The Identity Cards Act 2006 (Provision of Information without Consent) Regulations 2009'.

This piece of secondary legislation would give powers to the Identity and Passport Service - the bit of the Home Office responsible for 'identity management' across government - to pass on information it holds on you *without your knowledge or consent*. (The ID scheme - and, most importantly, the linked databases on which it's based - is, contrary to some recent media reports, still very much alive.)

This information would include not only official document numbers, your name, addresses and signature (more than enough to facilitate massive identity fraud) but your fingerprints and even - to the police, intelligence services, taxman, and *anyone else they authorise* - details of every time you had had your ID checked, e.g to register with a GP, open a bank account, travel abroad.

Records of what information has been given to whom and why may be destroyed after 12 months or less.

This is precisely the sort of data trafficking we successfully opposed before, but we have very little time and need you to contact your MP straight away - http://www.WriteToThem.com makes it very easy - to tell him or her that you deeply object to having your personal information shared without your knowledge or consent, and ask him or her to vote against 'The Identity Cards Act 2006 (Provision of Information without Consent) Regulations 2009' and the other two ID-related Statutory Instruments on Wednesday 8th July.

Please write to your MP now AND TELL OTHERS - link to this group, e-mail your friends, but don't delay.
Contact Info
Email:

national.coordinator@no2id.net
Website:
http://www.no2id.net/

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-GREAT BRITAIN:
FACTORY OCCUPATIONS AT VISTEON:
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Last Tuesday British auto parts manufacturer Visteon filled for bankruptcy protection. This company is a supplier to the Ford Motor Company, but is has been separated from the parent corporation since 2002. the following article from the Financial Times gives the story of the bankruptcy, including the cynical move on the part of Ford to both avoid helping out its supplier and to put its supply chain before the workers involved.
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UK car parts maker files for bankruptcy:
By John Reed and Michael Kavanagh in London
The largest UK unit of Visteon, the financially troubled US auto parts producer, on Tuesday filed for bankruptcy in a move that will cost about 600 jobs.





Visteon UK said that it had lost £669m since 2000, and was dependent on its US parent, to which it owes £400m to fund its losses. It appointed Jim Tucker and John Hansen of KPMG as joint administrators.





Visteon separated from Ford Motor in 2000 and remains one of the US car maker’s biggest suppliers. The company has three UK plants in Basildon, Enfield and Belfast, and employs 610 people.





About 565 people will be made redundant immediately, while the remaining employees would help administrators wind down the business. The unit’s collapse followed several unsuccessful restructuring attempts, according to KPMG.





“The entire automotive supply chain has been under pressure for a number of years,” Jim Tucker, joint administrator, said in a statement. “In the current economic downturn, car sales have dropped dramatically, which has caused further severe pressure on parts suppliers.”
The company made a $16m interest payment in the US earlier this month that analysts had expected it to miss, which would have triggered a Chapter 11 filing.





But Moody’s cut its credit rating earlier this month after an admission from Visteon that its auditors might query its status as a “going concern.”





Visteon UK makes air conditioning, interior and power train components with Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover - which Ford owned until selling it to Tata Motors last year - accounting for around 80 per cent of its business.





Donald J Stebbins, chairman and chief executive officer of Visteon in the US, said on Tuesday: ”Despite extensive restructuring efforts, the UK plants have continued to incur substantial losses. Regrettably, having exhausted all options, the Visteon UK board of directors had no alternative but to file for administration.”





He added the decision to withdraw financial support from the UK subsidiary reflected Visteon’s commitment ”to taking decisive actions in view of the current challenging operating environment to protect the long-term viability of the business”.





Unlike General Motors, which has pumped about $11bn into its main supplier Delphi since it filed for bankruptcy in 2005, Ford has refused to bail out Visteon itself.




A UK spokesman for Ford said that the failure of Visteon’s UK arm had not yet disrupted production.





“We’ve been in close contact with Visteon, as we would be with any supplier in distress – especially so over the past few months,” he said.





“Our aim now of course is protecting vehicle production, and at this point we’re not expecting any disruption to vehicle assembly.”





The spokesman said that Ford was working with Visteon to implement a plan to secure its customers’ other parts supplies, including from other Visteon plants outside the UK.





Auto parts suppliers are suffering from a severe downturn after extended shutdowns of car plants by many manufacturers. Earlier this month, the US Treasury announced a $5bn bailout package for the sector.




In the UK, Visteon is latest car parts maker to fail. In December London-listed Wagon Automotive, controlled by US billionaire Wilbur Ross, placed its UK arm into administration with the loss of several hundred jobs. Wagon’s failure also prompted the failure of one its its key suppliers, Sonas Automotive.





A separate UK company, Visteon Engineering Services, which employs about 400 people, is unaffected by the Visteon UK’s failure, and continues to trade as normal.





A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover said: ”The uncertainty of Visteon’s position has been known for a long time, and as a prudent business measure we have put in place contingency plans for the supply of components which have been sourced from Visteon UK. Now they [the plans] will have to be implemented.”





Visteon shares opened $0.03 or 20 per cent lower in New York at $0.12.
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In response workers at three plants in the UK proceeded to occupy their factories. This in significant because it is a coordinated response to factory closing, unlike most previous occupations which have been localized to one plant only. It does, however, show that the tactic of factory occupations is becoming more and more popular as the financial crisis deepens. Hopefully it will spread even further and become more radical. Here's a report from the British LibCom site on the occupations.

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Car factory occupations spread across the UK:
Sacked workers from the car parts firm Visteon have been occupying three factories across the UK since Wednesday.





The action began with an overnight sit-in at the Visteon plant in Belfast and employees are continuing their protest at the factory. More than 100 workers have staged a sit-in, the Unite trade union has said. Earlier, it was announced that 565 staff would go at Visteon car components plants across the UK. Most of the jobs have been lost with immediate effect and two hundred jobs will go at the Belfast factory.





KPMG said it had no alternative but to close the factory and the two others in Basildon and Enfield in England. Administrators have been called in to the factory which is the former Ford plant. Visteon has a total workforce of 600 in the United Kingdom.





Unite convener John Maguire said the workers at the plant had "been treated disgracefully".
"We have been left with no choice but to occupy the factory to save our jobs and to defend jobs for the people of Belfast," he said.





Fifty people who were sacked on Tuesday are now on the roof of the Enfield plant. Others are holding a sit-in at the plant in Basildon in Essex.





The protesters claimed the company's former owner and main customer, Ford, had promised redundancy contracts which they now want to see honoured.
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Here's yet another first hand report from the Irish Workers' Solidarity Movement, via the Anarkismo website. It's about the occupation in Belfast.

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Audio: Inside the occupation of Visteon Belfast:
by Sean Matthews - WSM (personal capacity)
A short audio interview with Unite shop steward and convener John McGuire from inside the occupied Visteon plant in Belfast.





“Don’t wait for politicians and people high up in the unions- just do it yourself”, says Unite shop steward John McGuire.




Protests spread, as workers continue to occupy Visteon/Ford plant in West Belfast.




Workers decided to take action on Tuesday after the car parts company announced without notice that administrators are being brought in with the loss of 210 jobs with minimum redundancy payments. A further 400 people will also lose there jobs across the UK. Even those who have been working at the plant for 30 years will be receiving £9,000 in redundancy payment with most getting less. Davy McMurray, from the Unite trade union in Northern Ireland said the way the job cuts were announced was "brutal." "The administrators came in, took a meeting of the workforce and told them their employment was terminated.




"Visteon took over from the former Ford plant in 2000. Ever since that, management at the plant have been undermining workers rights and conditions including gradually reducing redundancy payments. The company’s two other plants Basildon and Enfield in England have now been occupied.




Despite the devastating news and bosses refusing to meet face to face, solidarity and unity amongst workers remain determined to reach a settlement. Motorists on the MI motorway were keen to express there support through beeping their horn. Essential materials and goods such as food are supplying the blockade.




This is the latest example of us having to pay for the crisis in capitalism and the mess by politicians and the very rich. Like the Calcast workers in Derry and the Waterford Crystal workers, these brave and determined car workers are leading by example in resisting attacks on our rights and conditions. Support and solidarity by the wider workers movement is essential.




Solidarity is Strength
For Workers Control’.




This short audio interview below took place inside the plant with Unite shop steward and convenor John McGuire. It was first published on indymedia.ie and can be downloaded from there at http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2009/workers_occupation.mp3
Related Link:
http://www.wsm.ie/
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Finally, here's another story on the events, this time from the Australian IWW. Please note that this article contains a link whereby you can express your solidarity with the Visteon workers.
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Visteon update occupations Ireland & England:
Submitted by Viola Wilkins
During the global financial crisis Bosses lie that sacrifice now will result in job security and better wages later. This has has been disproved once more at Visteon: "Workers had been put on 1, 2, or 3 day shifts since November - led to believe such a sacrifice would help pull the company thru hard times - a now familiar story we shall hear more frequently as more workplaces move towards closure." http://libcom.org/forums/news/workers-occupy-visteon-factory-31032009





“Don’t wait for politicians and people high up in the unions- just do it yourself”, Unite shop steward John McGuire.





This is the latest example of us having to pay for the crisis in capitalism and the mess by politicians and the very rich. Like the Calcast workers in Derry and the Waterford Crystal workers, these brave and determined car workers are leading by example in resisting attacks on our rights and conditions. Support and solidarity by the wider workers movement is essential. Solidarity is Strength For Workers Control’. The audio interview below took place inside the plant with Unite shop steward and convener John McGuire.
http://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/apr2009/workers_occupation.mp3





More: Support Visteon Factory Occupation in London, Enfield Short Report, 2nd of April 2009





After car parts manufacturer Visteon announced job cuts workers occupied plants in Belfast, Basildon and Enfield. In Enfield about 70 workers - men and women from all kinds of backgrounds - are still inside the plant and on the roof. Last Tuesday the management called for a general assembly and told people that they would have to leave their workplace immediately. They were told to fetch their personal belongings the next day at 10 am.





When people turned up the factory was already closed. Workers entered through an unlocked side entrance and occupied the plant. The security guards won't let people go inside, they also blocked the fire exists with padlocks - which is clearly illegal.





Last night, Thursday 1st of April, two bailiffs entered the plant. They issued an eviction order, supported by five cops. The eviction order was flawed, e.g. it was not signed and it had the wrong address on it. Workers expect a proper eviction order for tomorrow, Friday, 3rd of April.
In case of eviction workers plan to picket the plant. they also plan to go to Ford Dagenham for a solidarity picket. The plant manufactured parts for various car companies, for example Land Rover, Jaguar, Madzda, Renault, Ford. In 1991 there were still 1,100 people employed, this number came down to 250.





Workers guess that Ford Southampton, the main 'client', piled up stock lasting several weeks - Ford Southampton announced redundancies and will eventually shift production of the Transit to Turkey. Links of solidarity between Enfield and Southampton is the most pressing. People have the most basic stuff inside, sleeping backs, some food etc., contributions are welcome, ex-Visteon workers and neighbours from Enfield drop by with food.





Unfortunately the G20 hype has pushed the occupation into the public back-ground. The occupations are the first 'offensive' collective reactions to the crisis, we should support them - particularly given the pending threat of eviction. So spread the word and come up to Enfield: Meeting point: Friday, 3rd of April and Saturday, 4th of April at 10 am at Ponders End Railway Station (the plant is 5 in walk, cross the foot-bridge, walk down main road towards Central London, the next street to the left is Morson Road, the factory situated at the end).





Bring along: friends, banners, food, music... Flyer for Visteon Factory Occupation http://london.indymedia.org.uk/events/998
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Here is the statement of support that has been suggested for the Visteon factory occupations.
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RESOLUTION
We support the occupations by Visteon workers in Belfast and Enfield against the summary closure of their factories without notice, without proper redundancy pay, and without pension security.





We support their demand that Ford - the huge global corporation which is Visteon's main customer, and from which Visteon was spun off - intervene to stop the closures.





We urge the whole trade union movement to give maximum support to these occupations in whatever ways are requested by the workers.





We believe that these occupations, like those at Republic Windows in Chicago, USA, and Prisme Packaging in Dundee, show the best way for the working class to resist mass job cuts and closures and to demand that industries be taken into public ownership under workers' control, with reconversion to alternative products where appropriate.
Please send to: stevehart@unitetheunion.com (for Enfield)
dmcmurray@unitetheunion.com (for Belfast)





Messages of support / offers of help to John Maguire Belfast Unite Convenor - 07816590380"
more: http://www.shopstewards.net/Visteon.htm
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MOLLY NOTE:
Here is an example of where Molly has to modify her usual schpiel. The workers at the three plants involved in this occupation are pretty much "trapped". They have one and only one customer, and that customer has ultimate control (until it itself, of course, goes bankrupt) over the marketing of the product of the plants. This is quite different from other factory occupations where there was at least the possibility of the workers involved marketing the factory products on their own to a diverse set of consumers. This means that the occupations in question are inevitably purely political, and that they are limited to putting pressure on the buying company and various governments. How possible is this ? Who knows ? What is certain is that the workers involved cannot simply start up production on their own. This is a serious limitation on the eventual success of the occupations, particularily as the Ford Corporation has already indicated that they will shift parts supply to other countries.

ANARCHIST MAGAZINES:

BLACK FLAG WANTS ARTICLES:

The following is an appeal from the British anarchist magazine 'Black Flag'. Seems they're on the hunt for articles. If you have an itchy typing finger why not drop them a line.

..........................

Black Flag issue 229 appeal:
Black Flag is a UK based class struggle anarchist magazine which (currently) comes out twice a year. We are not affiliated with any of the British anarchist federations, although we aim to have friendly relationships with all and hope to increase co-operation in the future. We also work with the comrades at Freedom.

We are currently getting issue 229 ready and we are appealing for comrades to contribute articles. The deadline is mid-March (at the latest) and we need articles on current events -- for example, an analysis of the recent wildcat strikes would be good, or the crack-down in France on anarchists, or the recent riots in Greece.

We have a lot of history and theory, although obviously if its a good article we would consider it.

If you are interested in getting involved, please contact us. And please pass this onto anyone who would be interested in writing articles or otherwise getting involved. Articles should be, preferably, in rich text format (rtf).

Needless to say, we are looking for articles by class struggle anarchists (or those close to that position) and which reflect a communist-anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist perspective (or, again, those close to that position).

If you are interested in getting issues of Black Flag to sell, please contact us as well.

blackflagmag@yahoo.co.uk

Black Flag

BM Hurricane

London

WC1N 3XX

United Kingdom

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

FIRST IWW GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN EUROPE:

The following originally comes from the October issue of the Industrial Worker, the paper of the syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World(IWW). It's a report about the first General assembly of that organization to ever be held outside of North America. this version comes via the A-Infos anarchist news website. You can download a printable pdf of this issue of the Industrial Worker at the IWW website highlighted above.

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General Assembly in Europe an IWW first:

The Industrial Workers of the World held its first General Assembly outside of North America in London, England on August 30-September 1, 2008. Hosted by the IWW British Isles Regional Organizing Committee (BIROC), 89 confirmed delegates from Canada, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland and the United States met to discuss proposals, hear officer and organizing reports, and make international officer nominations for the November referendum.Observers from the French Confédération Nationale du Travail (CNT) and Courant Syndicaliste Révolutionnaire (CSR), Workers’ Initiative of Poland, and Solidarity Federation of the United Kingdom also attended.

General Secretary-Treasurer Mark Damron began the meeting with “excellent table-thumping singalong,” as one wobbly described it, and on the last day it concluded with the traditional chorus of “Solidarity Forever”.

The meeting was co-chaired by the treasurer of the British Islands Regional Organizing Committee (BIROC), Frank Syratt, and Sarah Bender of the United States. Ant Ince, Stuart Melvin, Nick Durie, and Louise van der Hoeven took minutes.

Notably, a new Assembly committee to address the critical issue of gender in the union was formed, with Rhiannon Edwards of Canada elected as chair.

Delegates made reports on their local and regional activities. IWW Regional Organizing Committees (ROCs) reported making progress in building the IWW outside of North America. In addition to the BIROC, which has about 500 members, delegates reported organizing in the Netherlands and Portugal that may lead to new ROCs. Delegates from the Frankfurt and Cologne branches of the IWW German Language Area Regional Organizing Committee (GLAMROC) reported that this new body had 45 members and was growing.

In the United Kingdom, a number of BIROC branch members are involved in the National Shop Stewards Network (www.shopstewards.net), which is slated to be a rank-and-file cross-union means of rebuilding the grassroots of working class solidarity and unity in the United Kingdom. The network’s first conference was backed by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT).

The West Midlands branch in England reported that it has organized a print shop and is agitating in the health sector with the National Blood System campaign, alongside the London and Leeds branches.

The Clydeside IWW of Glasgow, Scotland, reported that it has an education job branch at Glasgow University. The Edinburgh IWW reported that it has formed an education industrial organizing committee. It has also focused on doing outreach to Polish workers who are eligible to work in the UK, but are unfamiliar with their British labor rights.

From the United States, the Chicago IWW reported that the Chicago Couriers Union was holding a conference on the same weekend. The Philadelphia IWW also reported organizing with couriers. The Olympia IWW delegate said it has an organizing drive with bike mechanics. The New York IWW branch reported that 20 more workers have been fired for participating in the Industrial Union 460 food warehouse campaign.

Meanwhile, the Providence IWW delegate announced a $15,000 fundraising campaign to pay for the legal expenses of Alexandra Svoboda, who in August 2007 was badly injured by police during a solidarity march with New York’s food warehouse workers.

Solidarity

An emergency motion to support the Workers’ Initiative union in Poland “to defend both victimised workers sacked recently in several industries for organizing” passed. The BIROC and the Polish union signed a Solidarity Alliance last year that committed to card recognition between the unions, mutual aid, exchanges, and closer ties.

The Assembly also endorsed a statement to support the world’s migrants who are under attack in North America and Europe. The statement denounced the “detention and deportation or removal of foreign nationals for purposes of immigration control, whether they are asylum seekers, migrant workers (documented or undocumented), or any other category of immigrant, is a breach of basic human rights and class solidarity.

“[IWW] members should therefore refuse to participate in detention, deportation or removal processes. Members are also encouraged to support action in solidarity with immigrant workers and asylum seekers (such as supporting the right to work whilst claiming asylum).”

Proposals

Assembly delegates faced a packed agenda of 11 proposals for consideration.

The much-debated proposal to change the General Assembly into a Delegate Convention was amended and sent to referendum, with two-thirds of the votes and proxy ballots in favour. If approved by the members, this proposal would allow the Delegate Convention to make union policy, if it is sustained by a referendum vote. Currently, the General Assembly cannot make policy decisions; it can only endorse a proposal and send it to referendum. The convention would be made up of elected delegates elected by each chartered branch. Individual members who attended the convention would be able to speak but not vote on motions. Currently, any IWW member in good standing who has the means to attend Assembly has vote and voice.

The International Solidarity Commission proposal for branches to elect a liaison person “to build greater collaboration between the ISC and the general membership of the union” passed.

The charges reform proposal to clarify jurisdiction and procedure for the IWW’s internal disciplinary process was amended and passed. A proposal to introduce a conflict mediation procedure that branches could use to deal with internal conflict, rather than rely on charges, also will be on the ballot. In the 2007 referendum, two competing charges reform proposals both failed to get the two-thirds of votes cast necessary to amend the constitution.Nominations

As of the Industrial Worker’s press date, the complete list of confirmed nominees is not available. All positions have one-year terms, save the post of the Industrial Worker editor, which is a two-year job. Members should check their General Organizing Bulletin for details.

http://www.iww.org/PDF/IndustrialWorker/IWOctober08.pdf

TWO NEW IWW CAMPAIGNS:

The IWW, the Industrial Workers of the World, continues it organizing efforts. The campaign to unionize the Starbucks chain of coffee shops labours on under the banner of the Starbucks Workers Union. The latest effort of company management to derail this effort is the installation of video surveillance cameras that record the every move of employees at one location in Grand Rapids Michigan. This follows hard on the heels of management forcing every Starbucks worker in Grand Rapids to sign the corporate statement on the union. More on this matter can be seen in an article at the IWW website. The organizers in Grand Rapids are calling on people to phone the managers of the outlets in that city demanding that they end their intimidation and union busting tactics. The phone numbers are on the above links.

Meanwhile over in Britain the British section of the IWW, who have members working in the National Blood Service, have launched a campaign of protest against plans on the part of management to centralize the 13 present testing and processing facilities into only three megacentres. This will result in a projected loss of 600 highly specialized jobs, and will make the service vulnerable to disruptions in long distance transport. The National Blood Service of the UK is not in debt at this time, and the consolidation is unnecessary. The British IWW is asking people to write or email the NBS Chief Executive protesting this move. To learn more or to join the campaign see this article from the IWW website.