Neue VeranstaltungshinweiseEs wurden keine neuen Veranstaltungshinweise in der letzten Woche veröffentlicht Kommende VeranstaltungenNorth America / Mexico | Workplace struggles Keine kommenden Veranstaltungen veröffentlicht France at a Crossroads 06:59 Jan 16 3 comments Apoyo a los y las Trabajadoras de los Servicios Públicos en Rosario (Argentina) 01:37 Dec 31 0 comments Labor in the age of Duterte: The Pacific Plaza strike 00:20 Mar 14 0 comments The Google Walkout: An International Working-Class Movement 18:55 Nov 05 2 comments [South Africa] Stop the repression of casualised/contract workers in Ekurhuleni! 07:27 Sep 29 0 comments mehr >> |
Recent articles by Mike Harris
"The North American American Anarchist: The Newspaper Dedicated to Dir... 4 comments La lucha irlandesa contra la austeridad 0 comments The Irish Struggle Against Austerity 1 comments Recent Articles about North America / Mexico Workplace strugglesSeize the Hospitals! ...But How? Aug 01 23 Vermont Labor Takes Sharp Left Turn: Van Deusen Elected Vt AFL-CIO Pre... Sep 17 19 Shut it Down! Jun 14 18 The state of the union is …unequal
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Thursday January 30, 2014 09:14 by Mike Harris - Workers Solidarity Alliance (W.S.A.)
Direct action and workplace organization rather than legislation will end inequality OK, so the “little person” has been fighting against wage theft, low wages, and harsh working and living conditions for years. Sometimes alone and lonely, sometimes collectively and in a self-managed way. For the past year or so, mainstream labor, through various grass-roots and top-down efforts has tried to coordinate the fight against poverty wages. Through a string of events in the fall of 2013, various campaigns engaged in this theme of subterranean pay rates. Obama has sometimes countered the demands of nominally left-wing critics with an admonition to “make me do it.” As he prepares to deliver his State of the Union address, advance reports indicate that it will contain elements of mainstream labor’s issues. Perhaps the stagecraft, rather then shop floor organization, has acted as a “make me” moment for Obama. I will not argue that any gains made by poor working class folks are a bad thing. I surely do not subscribe to what, a century ago, was known as the “worse, better” notion: the worse you are, the better the chances are of convincing you to take militant and radical action. A bit more milk for the kids is never a bad thing. However, I anticipate that with a little Presidential attention, and increasing political action away from the shop floor, a switching of the train tracks will occur, diverting attention from workplace organizing. Not that a lot of effort aimed at building shop floor unionism or shop floor committees has been undertaken to begin with. I predict that even less shop floor-oriented attention and action will occur. The shift towards a different game will be played up by the mainstream. In this new dynamic, institutional players will continue their role, only this time as part of the institutional soft left and trade unions, with a little wind in their sails and some solid public backing on their side. No one should starve, that’s for sure. But the cycle of militant action channeled into the usual institutionalized relationships, developing as well as old, will still leave millions unorganized or, at best, mis-organized. The fight for a living wage is a fight for working class organization on the shop floor and in the communities. Direct struggle without intermediaries allows for continual betterment and, one hopes, a recognition that class struggle is constant, not open for periodic negotiations. Out of such struggle, an understanding develops that when we build committees in the workplaces that are worker-run, we are more likely to make the gains that we are seeking, rather then those mediated by others. The issue of class inequality that was brought to the forefront by “Occupy Wall Street” and the hard work by the shop floor workers of the many early and real “alternative labor” movements are more radical and more threading then legislative campaigns. Yet sometimes it’s harder to stick to the basics. We all sometimes want someone else to do things for us. Sometimes we welcome those with resources and connections. Sometimes they deliver the goods …and they will always make you remember that they and not your early militancy and self-organization, brought the goods to the table. Perhaps by way of legislation they have brought some good things to the table. Yet I suspect that a different vision, coupled with a push to organize on the shop floor and in the community, will win us a whole hell of a lot more than sitting back and just handing the keys to others and allowing them to drive us. The keys and the driver seat are there for the taking. |
HauptseiteSupport Sudanese anarchists in exile Joint Statement of European Anarchist Organizations International anarchist call for solidarity: Earthquake in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan Elements of Anarchist Theory and Strategy 19 de Julio: Cuando el pueblo se levanta, escribe la historia International anarchist solidarity against Turkish state repression Declaración Anarquista Internacional por el Primero de Mayo, 2022 Le vieux monde opprime les femmes et les minorités de genre. Leur force le détruira ! Against Militarism and War: For self-organised struggle and social revolution Declaração anarquista internacional sobre a pandemia da Covid-19 Anarchist Theory and History in Global Perspective Capitalism, Anti-Capitalism and Popular Organisation [Booklet] Reflexiones sobre la situación de Afganistán South Africa: Historic rupture or warring brothers again? Death or Renewal: Is the Climate Crisis the Final Crisis? Gleichheit und Freiheit stehen nicht zur Debatte! Contre la guerre au Kurdistan irakien, contre la traîtrise du PDK Meurtre de Clément Méric : l’enjeu politique du procès en appel North America / Mexico | Workplace struggles | en Fri 19 Apr, 01:57 Vermont Labor Takes Sharp Left Turn: Van Deusen Elected Vt AFL-CIO President, Adie Executive Vice Pr... 05:59 Tue 17 Sep 1 comments On September 15, 2019, in South Burlington Vermont, former Green Mountain Anarchist Collective-NEFAC member David Van Deusen was elected President of the Vermont AFL-CIO. Former ISO member, and union nurse, Tristin Adie was elected as Executive Vice President. Van Deusen and Adie were part of the larger progressive United! slate which swept into leadership positions capturing 14 of the 15 seats on the Vermont State Labor Council’s Executive Board. This marks a sharp turn towards the left for Organized Labor in Vermont. Let’s see what comes next! A free film screening 20:59 Mon 13 Apr 0 comments The documentary Palikari: Louis Tikas and the Ludlow Massacre (2014, Nickos Ventouras) narrates one of the “bleakest and blackest” chapters in American labor history, the Ludlow Massacre. Days After Settlement, Pickets Return to Insomnia Cookies 21:08 Sun 16 Mar 0 comments Picket lines have returned to Insomnia Cookies, less than two weeks after the company settled with four workers who struck in August of 2013. On Friday March 14, two dozen union members and supporters rallied in front of the Boston location of Insomnia Cookies, demanding the reinstatement with back pay of union organizer and bicycle delivery “driver,” Tasia Edmonds. On March 9 the company suspended Edmonds without pay for a month, alleging insubordination, while the union maintains she was disciplined for her union-building efforts. Dylan's Candy Bar Workers Rally for Better Hours, Pay, & Respect 02:09 Sat 02 Nov 0 comments Dylan's Candy Bar workers staged a lively rally outside the store's flagship location Wednesday night. Solidarity networks spread as a new alternative to ‘alternative labor’ 01:04 Tue 29 Oct 0 comments Here is a look at the new campaign of the Portland Solidarity Network, and how their organizing format provides a new avenue for alternative labor. Anarchists and Wobblies Support Striking Refuelers at Toronto Island Airport 22:33 Wed 27 Feb 0 comments The IWW and members of Common Cause Toronto have been hitting the picket lines in support of striking refuelers employed by Porter Fixed Base Operations (FBO) at the Toronto Island airport. The strike has been bravely fought by a mere 22 workers fed up with unsafe working conditions and low wages. Report From Right To Work for Less Protest in Michigan 04:00 Sat 22 Dec 0 comments I started the day feeling pessimistic about what would happen and even though on the whole, people came, yelled and then went home, I was a lot more encouraged by the days events than I thought I’d be. Solidarity Callout - Domino's Pizza Drivers Dispute 12:59 Mon 27 Aug 3 comments September 15, 2012 north american Day of Solidarity with Aussie Dominos Pizza Drivers. Arizona set to abolish public unions 19:40 Mon 06 Feb 0 comments Arizona state employees’ unions were caught off guard this week with news that the state’s Republican-controlled Senate was passing a series of bills which, amongst other provisions, would completely ban unions from engaging in any negotiation which affects the terms of a person's employment with State, county or city government. [Italiano] Workers Solidarity Alliance - On Labor Day 23:15 Sat 03 Sep 0 comments W.S.A. Labor Commission US Labor Day Statement more >>Seize the Hospitals! ...But How? Aug 01 3 comments In May of 2023 several Black Rose / Rosa Negra (BRRN) militants organizing in the healthcare sector attended the Health Autonomy Convergence (HAC) in Durham, North Carolina. This is their collective reflection on and analysis of the event and of the prospects for radical labor organizing in healthcare more generally. Shut it Down! Jun 14 0 comments But what will it take to win against this Death Star of a corporation? We need a direct action workers movement, directly controlled by its members, willing to spread the struggle beyond the shackles of labor law, and beyond the confines of the contract. “Sharing the pains, indignities and anger” Mar 10 1 comments This is an interesting interview with our comrade Miriam (M1 Detroit) on her history of “Industrialization” with her organization at the time the Revolutionary Socialist League. “Industrialization” was the term that the Left used to describe the strategy of getting mainly University and counter-culture youth activists to commit to point-of-production organizing in factories as part of the working-class. It was different than what is today known as “salting” – as “Industrialization” was not usually seen as a short-term stint around a specific campaign, but rather a long-term commitment to building a revolutionary presence in the class. Which way forward for Ontario teachers? Mar 20 0 comments It has been over a month since the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) held their one-day protest of the provincial Liberal Party leadership convention, mobilizing some 15,000 people on the streets of Toronto and then sending them all home again around 4:00 PM. The protest was part of the trade union response to Bill 115, which enabled the provincial government to circumvent collective bargaining and mandate the terms of new “collective agreements”. [Italiano] The general strike that didn't happen: a report on the activity of the IWW in Wisconsin Nov 10 0 comments This is a report written by two IWW organizers from out of state on the activities of the union during the height of the protests in Madison and Wisconsin. The version is slightly modified from a text sent to the 2011 Delegate Convention and reflects the opinion of the authors. more >>A free film screening Apr 13 Anarkismo 0 comments The documentary Palikari: Louis Tikas and the Ludlow Massacre (2014, Nickos Ventouras) narrates one of the “bleakest and blackest” chapters in American labor history, the Ludlow Massacre. Dylan's Candy Bar Workers Rally for Better Hours, Pay, & Respect Nov 02 Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union 0 comments Dylan's Candy Bar workers staged a lively rally outside the store's flagship location Wednesday night. Solidarity Callout - Domino's Pizza Drivers Dispute Aug 27 3 comments September 15, 2012 north american Day of Solidarity with Aussie Dominos Pizza Drivers. Workers Solidarity Alliance - On Labor Day Sep 03 W.S.A. 0 comments W.S.A. Labor Commission US Labor Day Statement Unfazed by near tie, Jimmy John’s Workers vow to continue campaign Oct 23 Industrial Workers of the World 0 comments Workers report widespread illegal activity by company |
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