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Κοοπερατίβε`... Oct 12 23 May Day 2023 May 01 23 Chinese Workers Fight Back Jan 21 23 Apple Retail Workers Initiative international |
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news report
 Thursday June 16, 2011 00:01 by PaulB - 1 of Anarkismo Editorial Group
 A Union drive in computer giant Apple retail is breaking new ground. Apple showroom employee Cory Moll who works in an Apple computer store in San Francisco has started a drive to unionise retail workers in a rare move at the company. A Union drive in computer giant Apple retail is breaking new ground. Apple showroom employee Cory Moll who works in an Apple computer store in San Francisco has started a drive to unionise retail workers in a rare move at the company. He wants to unionise his fellow workers to fight for better wages and conditions. Unfair practices at the company have spurred him in this struggle. |
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 International | Workplace struggles | News Report | en Sat 20 Apr, 22:43
ISTANBUL: Coordination of Resistance Days Against IMF/WB 1-8 October 2009
Organise! and the WSM Belfast branch picketed Starbucks in Belfast city centre today from 12 to 1 pm. Despite the miserable weather around 12 people joined the picket and leafleted passers by and potential customers outside the coffee shop. At the start of the picket 3 people had gone inside to leaflet customers and staff. There was a very positive response to the picket however one person was falsely accused of assaulting a Starbuck's member of staff after leafleting staff and customers inside.
Turkish National Shipyard Workers go on strike on 16th of June to stop workplace deaths in Tuzla, near Istanbul in Turkey. [ Ελληνικά]
The working class of Australia has no interest in a war against Chinese workers and Chinese workers have no interest in a war with us. Militarization and war is a ruling class game. We have far more in common with each other than either of us do with the ruling classes of our countries. And just as so many Chinese workers (under much harsher conditions than our own) have had the bravery to fight the bosses and politicians who exploit and oppress them, rather than embrace a nationalist fight against ‘foreign forces’, we should also recognise that our main enemy is here at home. They manage our workplaces and make our laws. The only war worth fighting is the class war against them.
January 8, 2020 will go down in the history books as the world’s largest 24-hour general strike to date. In India, more than 250 million workers went on strike during the general strike or “Bharat Bandh”, which was joined by ten major unions as well as a number of independent associations. Associations organising bank employees, farmers and teachers, but also the student movement played a leading role. The electricity supply was also affected, with up to 1.5 million people going on strike in the power stations. The same applies to local and long-distance public transport. Across the country there were also rail blockades.
Mandy Moussouris and Shawn Hattingh explain the roots and principles of anarcho-syndicalism and what these mean for the practice of worker education in movements inspired by these principles and traditions. Emphasising the democratic practice, working class rooted, organic and critical nature of the pedagogy, they explain that the practice seeks to intersect employed and unemployed women and men. Practically, the education provides a platform for post-revolutionary practice of direct democracy at the point of production and, thus, naturally included practical skills such as trades, accounting and sciences.
This article is about the lack of working class’ support to the people’s movement. It analyses the current situation that surrounds working class and the factors that may contribute in weakening it almost everywhere. In the meantime the article considers the rule of working class as essential and crucial in prevailing any movement or any uprising.
Trade union renewal is essential but should not be reduced to democratising structures or new recruitment methods. Renewal should centre on a bottom-up movement based on rank-and-file reform movements, and the direct action of workers as a precondition for radical redistribution of power and wealth to workers, community assemblies and councils in a self-managed, egalitarian order based on participatory planning and distribution by need. It must be rooted in an anarcho-syndicalist understanding that unions can profoundly change society. more >>
No government can save us. Only the working class free itself. We need to make a revolution. We need to overthrow capitalism and build libertarian communism, worldwide. For this, the labour movement needs to be built anew. We need to organise in the workplace and rebuild our unions from the ground up. We need rank and file control. The practices by which we build our movement will be the ones that form the basis of the new society.
The crisis of capitalism won’t resolve itself. No government can save us. Only the working class can end it for the better. We need to make a revolution. We need to overthrow capitalism and build libertarian communism, worldwide. For this, the labour movement needs to be built anew. We need to organise in the workplace and rebuild our unions from the ground up. We need direct democratic control, with delegates held to mandates, and a consistent federalist structure. The practices by which we build our movement will be the ones that form the basis of the new society. And we need to do it now, because time is short.
The yearnings for justice and freedom of the Chicago Martyrs will roam the streets again this coming May Day, together along the oppressed of the world, in their struggle for a better future. Their dreams live on in the struggle of all people, all across the globe, for bread and dignity, but also for a fully egalitarian and fair society.
Capitalism in 2021 still hasn’t defeated the coronavirus pandemic and the downward trend in wage rises in advanced countries hasn’t changed. Social inequality continues to increase, while racism and misogyny are entrenched state policy. In many countries, capitalist democracy is crumbling. The radical workers’ movement which is being born is still young and weak, but the material conditions are helping it develop. This workers’ movement needs to unite internationally in order to overthrow capitalism and end all oppression worldwide. Anarchists need to be part of this movement, for it is our home.
The struggle against the coronavirus pandemic is one that can only be won by an act of unprecedented human solidarity. Through that act the values of a new world can be born. But turning those values into reality requires the working class. Only the working class: global, multi- racial, multicultural and gender diverse, has the potential strength to uproot the power of capital at its source and steer a new course. We can start by defending health and safety for all workers and by fighting for adequate resources for the health care system. We can extend the struggle by defending civil liberties and opposing austerity. And we can culminate it with a revolution to overthrow capitalism and create libertarian communism, worldwide. more >> |
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Kommentare (11 de 11)
Spring zu Komment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11What does he expect? He is a part time employee who swaps iPhones. While he works at the "Genius" bar he is far separated from those who actually hold the title of Genius. Their starting is far above that in states who have smaller base pay rates. He isn't getting what he wants from Apple because he has little value to put towards it.
I know from experience.
Just another case of someone wanting a bigger slice of someone else's pie.
First of all, I love Apple products but...
Everyone knows that retail pays poorly, but working in a high tech store like Apple you are not just swapping iPhones. You ARE expected to know their products and how they work with other products - hardware and software. That is not easy and the expectation that Apple puts out there is that you can come into the store and get any problem addressed. That is a huge task on the shoulders of the store employees. They are clearly not compensated appropriately. Apple gets away with this for 2 simple reasons. Firstly the economy is bad, so people are forced to accept the low pay or not work and secondly, Apple has done a great job of promoting the idea that there is some mystique in working for Apple. While it may be cool, fun and lucrative to work for Apple, that clearly does not include the retail store.
The money Apple spends on their retail stores is in the look and location of the store - not the employees compensation. Good luck to forming a union, but I seriously doubt Apple will it happen. Look at what they have allowed at their factories. You can't tell me they didn't know.
Dude - you work in an air conditioned, retail store, selling luxury items. You are not out working construction, out in the hot sun doing dangerous tasks. If you want Apple to fail, Unionize. Drive up their costs, cutting down on the resources for innovation, and in a short time you'll be begging for the days of making $14 an hour... rather than $0.
So much for unionizing. In this economy, be happy with your genius bar situation!!!
so much for American freedoms! the guy was fired! freedom of association is a basic democratic right and you don't have it in America. Why? BECAUSE THE USA IS NO DEMOCRACY IS A CORPORATE DICTATORSHIP OF BRAINWASHED CLONES AS THOSE COMMENTING THIS POST.
Apparently there is a wait list for these jobs. If you think the pay sucks, go work somewhere else that will pay you more. You don't get determine what Apple pays you. As a company, apple will start to pay more when the customer experience deteriorates because they don't pay enough to get good people. As long as techie hipsters think its cool to get the apple shirts and be called genius, it's $14 an hour or go make coffee at Starbucks. Cold hard math.
Look. I have been a loyal Apple customer for over 20 years. My first purchase was a powerbook 180! I have seen this company grow, and I have accumulated stock in the company over the last 15 years. Apple has come a long way in making their brand great. In the beginning trying to get tech support for your product sucked, you spoke over the phone to people who did not understand the machines they were trying to give technical support for.
For a period of time the tech support was even off-shore and you spoke with people who didn't even own a god damn computer, never mind a Mac. As a share holder I am proud of how Apple has turned this around. There phone tech support is stellar and they are a leader in their field , blowing away any type of tech support you get form any other computer or software maker. The young men and women who work in the stores are alway very knowledgable about the products Apples has in store and can help or lend advice on many matter.
The :Genius Bar" experience is also something you can get now where else, from any other computer maker. Dell is attempting to copy this concept in their fledgling brink and mortar stores, but they are a long second to the Apple store experience. I really believe if the Apple store employes want to organize they should try. They should sit down at the table with Apple to work out better, pay, continuation of their extensive and up to date training programs, (most genius bar employees are flown across country to receive training even now) and work out medical benefits and pension plans.
If Apple wants to remain at the top of their game it would only benefit them to retain a knowledgable and loyal work force. Paying a better salary and having a health and pension plan would in no way hurt apples margins. They are currently sitting on 40 Billion in cash and pay no stock dividend. They have more than enough money in the bank and in their margins to afford to pay for union employees. It would make them a better American business and bring more people to their brand if their consumers felt that they were doing the right thing by their employees.
Most of you these days do not work in situations where you get benefits and health plans. You should realize that you have to work a minimum of 5 to 10 years to be vested in a pension plan. Most of the current employees at Apple are transient college kids looking to move on after on a couple of years at Apple, so the company would have little to worry about with this type of employee.
Get real folks better wages for American workers is what this country needs. Apple make all of their products off-shore in horrible sweat shops in China, if a documentary ever emerges as to the conditions of these factories the Apple would lose much of it's shine. The least they can do for the moment is pay the workers in this country who can stand up for themselves under freedom of association and collective bargaining, and pay them a better wage if they unionize. It makes for a better country, a better company, and a better way of live for some fellow American workers. Wake up folks support unions and support the working middle class, or soon we will all be Chines sweat shop workers because we surely cannot all be the likes of Steve Jobs.
Ok, so the recurring theme of the pro-union argument is "Apple allows horrible conditions for factory workers in China, so American retail workers should unionize to get more money". What exactly does that do for the Chinese workers? Nothing. If anything, it puts more pressure on the company to cut costs elsewhere, which will worsen conditions for those Chinese factory workers.
Don't get me wrong, this (the U.S.) is a semi-free country and you have the right to form unions and do collective bargaining. But the company also has the right to hire someone else to do the work. In this environment, they don't seem to have any trouble finding people to work for $14 and hour at a retail store. My wife makes minimum wage at a high-end retail store, and she doesn't complain. She is also expected to know their products, and they sell a much wider range of products than Apple does.
Sometimes you gotta realize how good you have it and not complain.
"(the U.S.) is a semi-free country and you have the right to form unions and do collective bargaining. But the company also has the right to hire someone else to do the work." That means there's no freedom at all because the rich can always get their way and fire someone for unionising. That's why workers have to come together and get organized. Numbers is their only strength, so called democratic freedoms are a facade so bosses can do as they please. Freedom in America is freedom only if you can afford it.
The arguments about about the retail workers not being "worth" more than they're already making, or the individualistic suggestion that they should just look for different work if they don't like the conditions shows the ignorance of the posters of the systemic realities under capitalism. Under capitalism, our pay, working conditions and benefits are determined by the power with which we claim our just share. Right now Apple profits are booming: http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/apple-profit...-2011. The workers making, selling and providing services to assist in the utilization of these products are the ones creating and enabling the rest of us to enjoy the value of apple products; however they're only going to get what they fight for and demand from management. Otherwise management will be sure to squeeze the workers at the base level in order to horde the wealth generated from the sale of the products for themselves and the shareholders. So, solidarity to the workers at Apple in their unionization struggle to put a check on dictatorial economic control within capitalist company hierarchies through base level worker power and make gains in limiting exploitative working conditions, and getting a fuller share of the fruits of their labor!