[olympiaworkers] Protest At the Mexican Consulate

Please post widely

>From Tacoma LPSG:

The Tacoma LPSG is not the initiating the protest below, but we are doing
all that we can to support it. Not only because we are a human rights
organization but also because many of the people involved in the Oaxaca
struggle are indigenous people and belong to indigenous organizations. In
the direction given us by Leonard Peltier, he has stated many times that the
struggle of his support organizations are not just about his case, but are
also about human rights and the struggles of indigenous people. So we are
asking that all people who believe in a free and just world to please come
out for this protest if they are able to do so. Thank you
Tacoma LPSG

PROTEST AT THE MEXICAN CONSULATE
IN SUPPORT OF THE STRUGGLE IN OAXACA
AND AGAINST THE DEADLY REPRESSION

THURSDAY, 2, 2006
11:00 AM TO 3:00 PM

AT:
Mexican Consulate
2132 3rd Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 448-3526

PLEASE ALSO SEND LETTERS OF PROTEST TO THE CONSULATE AND MAKE PHONE CALLS
TO THE CONSULATE, EXPRESSING YOU VIEWS TO THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT!

Please bring signs and your friends to this important protest.

INTERNATIONAL ZAPATIST CALL FOR ACTION

OFFICIAL NOTICE OF THE REVOLUTIONARY INDIGENOUS CLANDESTINE COMMITTEE -
MILITARY COMMAND OF ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION. MEXICO. 30 OF
OCTOBER OF 2006.

TO THE TOWN OF MEXICO:
TO THE TOWNS OF THE WORLD:
TO ALL THE OTHER IN MEXICO AND NORTH OF THE RIO GRANDE:
TO ALL THE INTERNATIONAL SIXTH:
COMPANIONS: SISTERS & BROTHERS:

AS IT IS OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE, YESTERDAY, 29 OF OCTOBER OF 2006, The
FEDERAL FORCES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF VICENTE FOX, ATTACKED THE TOWN OF OAXACA
AND IT'S WORTHIER REPRESENTATIVE, THE POPULAR ASSEMBLY OF THE TOWNS OF
OAXACA, The APPO.

AS OF TODAY, THE FEDERAL POLICE FORCES HAVE ASSASSINATED AT LEAST THREE
PEOPLE, AMONG THEM A MINOR OF AGE; LEFT MANY PEOPLE HURT, AMONG THEM SEVERAL
OAXAQUEÑA WOMEN; AND MANY WERE ARRESTED AND TRANSFERRED ILLEGALLY TO
MILITARY PRISONS. ADDED TO ALL THIS ARE THE DEAD, ARRESSTEES AND MISSING WHO
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MOBILIZATION THAT DEMANDS THE RESIGNATION OF
ULISES RUIZ FROM THE OAXACAN GOVERNMENT.

THE FEDERAL POLICE FORCES ATTACK DOES NOT HAVE MORE OBJECTIVE THAN TO
MAINTAIN ULISES RUIZ IN POWER AND TO DESTROY THE POPULAR ORGANIZATION OF
THOSE OF FROM BELOW IN OAXACA.

THE OAXACA TOWN RESISTS. NO HONEST PERSON CAN REMAIN IN IMMOVABLE & SILENT
WHILE AN ENTIRE TOWN, MAINLY INDIGENOUS, IS ASSASSINATED, BEATEN AND JAILED.

WE, THE ZAPATISTAS, WILL NOT SHUT UP AND WE WILL MOBILIZE IN SUPPORT OF OUT
BROTHERLY TOWN AND COMPANION OF OAXACA.

THE SIXTH COMMISSION OF THE EZLN HAS ALREADY CONSULTED ZAPATISTA COMMAND AND
THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN DECIDED:

FIRST. - THROUGHOUT THE FIRST OF NOVEMBER OF 2006, THE HIGHWAYS AND ROADS
WILL BE CLOSED THAT CROSS THE TERRITORIES WHERE THE EZLN MAINTAINS PRESENCE
IN THE SOUTHEAST STATE OF CHIAPAS.

CONSEQUENTLY, WE EXHORT THAT EVERYONE ABSTAIN FROM TRAVELING CHIAPAS
HIGHWAYS THAT DAY AND TAKE THE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS FOR IT.

SECOND. - THROUGH THEIR SIXTH COMMISSION, THE EZLN HAS INITIATED
CONTACTS AND CONSULTATIONS WITH OTHER POLITICAL AND SOCIAL
ORGANIZATIONS, AS WELL AS WITH GROUPS, COLLECTIVES AND PEOPLE OF THE OTHER
CAMPAIGN, TO INITIATE DAYS OF SOLIDARITY WITH OAXACA AND TO SUMMON JOINT
ACTIONS TO ALL OF MEXICO FROM BELOW AND MAKING NATIONAL HALT DAY ON THE 20
OF NOVEMBER OF 2006.

THIRD. - THE EZLN MAKES A CALL TO THE OTHER CAMPAIGN IN MEXICO AND NORTH OF
THE RIO GRANDE, SO THAT THIS FIRST OF NOVEMBER OF 2006 IT IS MOBILIZED,
WHERE IS POSSIBLE, CLOSING OF TOTAL, PARTIAL OR INTERMITTENT, REAL OR
SYMBOLICALLY, THE STREETS, ROADS, HIGHWAYS, TOLL BOOTHS, STATIONS, AIRPORTS
AND ANY MASS MEDIA.

FOURTH. - THE MESSAGE THAT WE THE ZAPATISTAS SENT AND WILL SEND TO THE TOWN
OF OAXACA IS ONE: THEY ARE NOT ALONE. ¡ULISES RUIZ OUT OF OAXACA!

IMMEDIATE EXPULSION OF FEDERAL FORCES OCCUPYING OAXAQUEN TERRITORY!

LIBERTY AND FREEDON TO THOSE DETAINED!

CANCELLATION OF ALL THE ORDERS OF APPREHENSION!

PUNISHMENT TO THE ASSASSINS!

JUSTICE! FREEDOM! DEMOCRACY!

>From the north of Mexico.
By the Revolutionary Indigenous Clandestine Committee
- Military command of the Army Zapatista of National Liberation.
By the Sixth Commission of the EZLN.

[olympiaworkers] EZLN - call to action

A Call from the Zapatistas: Oaxaca Is Not Alone Shut-Down of Roads, Highways
and the Media on November
1; General Strike Called for November 20

By the Sixth Commission of the EZLN
The Other Mexico

October 30, 2006

Message from the
CLANDESTINE REVOLUTIONARY INDIGENOUS COMMITTEE-GENERAL
COMMAND
of the
ZAPATISTA ARMY OF NATIONAL LIBERATION
MEXICO.

October 30, 2006.

To the people of Mexico:
To the people of the world:
To the Other Campaign in Mexico and the other side of
the Rio Grande:
To the entire Sixth International:

Compañeros and compañeras:
Brothers and sisters:

It is now known publicly that yesterday, 29th of
October 2006, Vicente Fox's federal forces attacked
the people of Oaxaca and its most legitimate
representative, the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of
Oaxaca (APPO).

Today, the federal troops have assassinated at least 3
people, among them a minor, leaving dozens of wounded,
including many women from Oaxaca. Dozens of detainees
were illegally transported to military prisons. All
this comes in addition to the existing total of
deaths, detainees and missing persons since the
beginning of the mobilization demanding that Ulises
Ruiz step down as Oaxaca's governor.

The sole objective of the federal attack is to
maintain Ulises Ruiz in power and to destroy the
popular grassroots organization of the people of
Oaxaca.

Oaxaca's people are resisting. Not one single honest
person can remain quiet and unmoved while the entire
society, of which the majority are indigenous, is
murdered, beaten and jailed.

We, the Zapatistas, will not be silent; we will
mobilize to support our brothers, sisters and comrades
in Oaxaca.

The EZLN's Sixth Commission has already consulted the
Zapatista leadership and the following has been
decided:

First: During whole day of November 1, 2006, the major
and minor roads that cross Zapatistas territories in
the southwestern state of Chiapas will be closed.

Consequently, we ask that everyone avoid traveling by
these roads in Chiapas on this day and that one make
the necessary arrangements in order to do so.

Second: through the Sixth Commission, the EZLN has
begun making contact and consulting other political
and social organizations, groups, collectives and
individuals in the Other Campaign, in order to
coordinate joint solidarity actions across Mexico,
leading to a nationwide shut-down on the 20th of
November, 2006.

Third: the EZLN calls out to the Other Campaign in
Mexico and north of the Rio Grande, so that these
November 1st mobilizations happen wherever possible,
completely, partially, at intervals or symbolically
shutting down the major artery roads, streets, toll
booths, stations, airports and commercial media.

Fourth: The central message that the Zapatistas send
and will continue sending is that the people of Oaxaca
are not alone: They are not alone!

Ulises Ruiz out of Oaxaca!

Immediate withdrawal of the occupying federal forces
from Oaxaca!

Immediate and unconditional freedom for all detainees!

Cancel all arrest warrants!

Punish the murderers!

Justice!
Freedom!
Democracy!

>From the North of Mexico.
For the Clandestine Revolutionary Indigenous
Committee-General Command of the Zapatista Army of
National Liberation.
For the EZLN Sixth Commission.

Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos

Update on Oaxaca Teachers' Strike

TEACHERS VOTE ON RETURN TO CLASSES, SENATE SUPPORTS RUIZ

After a 14-hour debate that extended into the early morning hours on
Sunday, Section 22 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE)
rejected the results of a consultation carried out Thursday and Friday on
their possible return to classes after a five-month strike.  A second
vote is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of next week.  Enrique Rueda,
president of Section 22 and closely affiliated with the traditional
charro union structure, pushed hard for the vote even after at least five
previous ballots declared teachers would continue their strike until
Governor Ulises Ruiz is removed from office.  Rueda has been an unpopular
figure in Oaxaca City after negotiating with federal officials behind
closed doors for the past week and then announcing teachers would return
to class three days before the vote.  Leaders of the SNTE rejected the
results of the consultation after Rueda annulled thousands of votes that
weren't consistent with the "format." Rueda fled from the teachers' hotel
shortly after the vote, protected by bodyguards, after thousands of
residents and teachers called him a traitor.  The results reflect a
divided union.  Officials reported that 25,692 teachers voted to return
to classes no later than October 30 while 17,482 rejected the 17-point
plan negotiated recently by Rueda and Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal
that included an immediate return to classes.  Another 12,129 teachers
rejected the Abascal plan and voted to return to class five days after
Ulises Ruiz is removed as governor, and these are the votes that were
annulled by Rueda.  Abascal's plan does not contemplate the removal of
Ruiz.

The strike began on May 22 and includes some 70,000 teachers responsible
for 1.3 million students.  Initially the demands focused on increased
salaries, but when Governor Ruiz tried to put down the strike with police
violence, teachers joined with more than 200 community organizations to
form the APPO.  The principle demand of the united organizations is the
removal of Ruiz.  Negotiations last week with Interior Secretary Abascal
never addressed this key issue.

Violence continued in Oaxaca City.  Panfilo Hernandez, a popular
indigenous teacher, was assassinated on Wednesday as a left an APPO
meeting in Oaxaca City, becoming the third teacher to die from
paramilitary violence organized by the governor.  Early Sunday morning,
the APPO reported shots fired at a barricade in the center of the city,
though no injuries were reported.  And also on Sunday morning, at least
nine shots were fired at the home of Francisco Toledo, Oaxaca's most
famous living artist.

On Thursday, the Senate rejected a finding of “disappeared powers” in
Oaxaca by 74 to 31, with the PRI, PAN and Green Party voting to maintain
Governor Ruiz in power, though Senators also found that the state is
currently "ungovernable."  In negotiations last week in Mexico City,
Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal left the final decision on Ruiz in the
hands of the Senate.  In anticipation of the vote, on Monday Abascal
criticized Ruiz: "the local authority does not have the capacity to
control peace, order and security.  That's why we are in this situation."
Yet the leadership of Abascal's own party rejected a finding that would
have removed the Oaxaca governor.  The Senate decision rekindled a
politically damaged Ruiz, who renewed his call for the use of federal
forces to dislodge protestors from the historic center of Oaxaca City,
which has been virtually closed for the past five months.  With teachers
apparently prepared to maintain their strike and with the APPO firm in
their commitment to remove Ruiz, federal authorities are under increasing
pressure from the business community and the PRI to use force.  The
Federal Preventative Police and the army are reportedly prepared to move
at any time.  The PAN finds itself in a complicated political position.
President-elect Felipe Calderon is anxious to resolve the situation
before assuming the presidency on December 1.  His campaign revolved
largely around law and order issues and he repeatedly called for the
"mano dura" in speeches, a strong indication that he supports the use of
force in Oaxaca.  He is also anxious to preserve the PRI-PAN alliance
that brought him to power in a fraudulent election, yet the PAN does not
want to assume political responsibility for a local situation created
largely by a corrupt PRI governor.  With Abascal's negotiations ending in
failure and with no ther federal initiatives on the immediate agenda, the
use of force becomes more probably every day.  Ruiz has well-armed
paramilitary groups ready to move in Oaxaca, and he will likely try to
murder APPO leadership under cover of a federal police action.  But the
APPO is not backing down.  On Sunday, the leadership called for a
mega-demonstration and a national meeting to evaluate the performance of
all state governors.  There is no shortage of official corruption at the
state level throughout Mexico, and presumably those governors who don't
meet popular approval would be targeted for removal, which could quickly
extend the Oaxaca actions to a national level.

OTHER CAMPAIGN SUPPORTS OAXACA PROTESTS

Subcomandante Marcos called on the Other Campaign to support protests in
Oaxaca led by the APPO and striking teachers: "The people of Oaxaca have
given the rest of the country a heroic and organizational example.  And
Oaxaca will find in the Other Campaign a movement that gives
unconditional support, without looking for political advantage. If
[authorities] mess with the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca and
with Oaxaca, they mess with the Other Campaign and the EZLN."  Marcos
clarified the position of the Other Campaign during remarks in Mexicali,
part of a national tour of Mexico that will end in Mexico City on
November 30.

Source:

MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
OCTOBER 16-22, 2006
http://www.mexicosolidarity.org

Houston Janitors go on Strike

Houston Janitors go on Strike

Tuesday, October 24 2006 @ 06:30 AM PDT
From Houston Indymedia:

The janitor's strike is on. After about a week of daily protests about 500 janitors marched downtown Monday night instead of going to work. More janitors are expected to walk out each day this week. See videos from the 10/23 walkout, hear a report, see pictures and more video.

From the Open Publishing Newswire: Bargaining for the janitors broke down last week so a strike was inevitable. This is unfortunate because no one wants to strike, but when all other options have failed, there is no other choice.

Janitors have been winning livable wages and health care now for years across the country in many major cities. Now it's Houston's time and there is no question that this is an historic fight and the best chance low wage service workers in Texas have to win a union contract.

We have learned over the years that in today's world, it takes the whole community of people of conscience standing together to win our rights and respect from these rich corporations. There are many ways you can help this weekend and in the coming weeks!

>> We are setting up a Food Bank in order to provide striking janitors at least one bag of food a week. You can help set up a collection site or bring food to the office. Once our sites are set up we will let you know where food can be donated.
>> Join us on for a picket line any day this week at 4:30 at 1100 Louisiana Ave.
>> March on Saturday, October 28th. We will be assembling in Grady Park in the Galleria area. It is on the corner of San Felipe and Yorktown, a few blocks west from the 610 exit onto San Felipe. Our permit has been denied but we are marching anyway even if it is on the sidewalks.
>> Mobilize - send information out to your families, friends, organizational allies, local listserves about the strike and the march on Saturday!
[read the full article with ways to support the janitors]

Previous Coverage from HIMC: Hundreds of Janitors to Vote Whether to Strike Over Poverty Conditions

Wal-Mart Employees Self-Organize

Wal-Mart Employees Self-Organize First Ever 200 Plus Employee Protest Outside a Wal-Mart Store in Florida

Contact: Chris Kofinis of the WakeUpWal-Mart Campaign, 202-486-6422

MIAMI, Oct. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today, over 200 Wal-Mart employees, at the Hialeah Gardens, Fla., Wal-Mart store (near Miami), self-organized the first-ever large scale employee protest at a Wal-Mart store.

According to Wal-Mart workers who contacted WakeUpWalMart.com, over 250 Wal-Mart associates are currently outside the store protesting the negative effects of Wal-Mart's open availability policy, hours being cut, scheduling changes, and a new, punitive attendance policy. These Wal-Mart employees say they have had enough of executives in Bentonville, Ark., ignoring their concerns, and they are willing to take to the street to counter Wal-Mart's changes which are pushing out hard-working, loyal Wal- Mart employees.

The following statement is attributable to Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com:

"For too long, Wal-Mart has ignored the serious workplace concerns of over 1.39 million Wal-Mart associates. Since the beginning of this year, Wal-Mart has essentially declared war on its employees by cutting hours, reducing the number of full-time workers, imposing salary caps, instituting an open door policy, cutting health care benefits, and even instituting a new, punitive attendance policy. Wal-Mart's changes negatively impact its workers and are all a sinister attempt to push out loyal employees who Wal-Mart believes cost them to much. It is wrong and it must stop.

"As we can all see from this incredible protest in Hialeah, Fla., Wal-Mart workers, having been pushed to the point of no return, are standing up to Wal-Mart executives and fighting back. Contrary to Wal-Mart's heartless changes, employees are not commodities or products on the shelf and they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. These employees are hard- working people with real families and they deserve our support.

"Once again, we call on Wal-Mart to realize that there is a better path. The American people, Wal-Mart associates, and elected leaders are demanding that Wal-Mart end its war on its workers and change into a more responsible employer. In the end, Wal-Mart should not doubt for a moment that this is just the beginning of workers speaking out and their calls will continue to get louder. We can only hope for Wal-Mart's sake and its employees, that Wal-Mart hears these calls for change and does what is right."

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Editor's Note: Wal-Mart employees at the protest are available for comment.

http://www.usnewswire.com/