Re: [olympiaworkers] meeting thursday

Thanks for keeping such good notes and passing them on. I regret that
for personal reasons, (I've been spending too much time away from my
family @ ILWU meetings in Portland recently) I need to prioritize my
family over attending this meeting. I will however try to find someone
else who might attend in my place. Regardless I would still like to
have the minutes forwarded and would like to keep contact between this
new group and Local 5 ILWU @ Evergreen.

I thought of a possible name acronym/name for our group, (get ready...)
O.W.L. - Olympia Workers Logistics ! What do you think? Sounds almost
intellectual but the owl flies on silent wings through the night to
hunt its prey in the dark.

Anyway I'm going to miss being with the energy of the group but hold a
space for me in spirit. Solidarity.

Jens Eventyr
IlWU Local 5 Bargaining Unit Representative

On Monday, February 26, 2007, at 10:24 AM, olympiaworkers@riseup.net
wrote:

> There will be a general labor organizing and strategizing session this
> thursday (march 1st) at 6:30 at Media Island (816 Adams St. SE - near
> the
> downtown Olympia library). It's a potluck so bring some food.
>
> If you want any items on the agenda, please say what you want by
> responding to this email.
>
> So far we'll be talking about general plans and goals, active
> organizing
> campaigns (restaurants and day labor), the IWW Starbucks action in
> Seattle
> March 21st and Fire Yoru Boss trainings.
>
>
> Posted below are the notes from the last meeting:
>
> Labor organizing/strategy meeting notes:
>
> In attendance: Jon, Paul, Jens, Lindsey, Tom, Evan, Brendan. Members of
> ILWU Local 5 and IWW as well as non-union members were present.
>
> This is what we decided to work on:
>
> 1. Establishing a "Fire Your Boss" training. (Olympia IWW held these in
> the late 1990s.) This training would teach workers about solidarity
> unionism, NLRB/NLRA and labor law, general understanding of worker
> power,
> organizing and unionizing, workplace democracy and improvements on the
> job. We decided that a workshop like this could be held at Evergreen,
> SPSCC, Olympia and Lacey - it should be made as accessible as possible
> to
> workers who are often ignored.
>
> 2. Social mapping of Olympia businesses. This will include researching
> where there are trends of corporatization, property and income of
> business
> owners, where there are "hot" workplaces (places where there are a
> number
> of problems at a job site and where workers are interested in
> organizing).
> Specific interest was given to the bicycle and restaurant industries,
> as
> well as organizing day laborers.
>
> 3. Flyering and canvassing was also discussed to give information to
> workers and to start a face-to-face dialogue.
>
> 4. The creation and distribution of labor and union literature.
>
> Here's our "homework":
>
> Brendan and Lindsey agreed to meet to discuss establishing an agenda
> and
> co-facilitating for the next meeting so it runs smoothly and
> efficiently.
>
> Paul wants to research and help develop contacts with other labor and
> labor rights organizations (Jobs with Justice, etc.). Jon wants to
> help
> research labor material.
>
> Jon and Brendan are going to raid the Evergreen Labor Center, and
> Bread
> and Roses for OWA literature and other labor-related literature.
>
> Evan and Jens agreed to either bring food (or suggested a potluck) for
> the
> next meeting in 3 weeks.
>
> Every person has to bring 2 new people to the next meeting.
>
> We also discussed:
>
> -The Free Choice Act. (Perhaps we can make petitions, etc. for this.)
> -Unionizing versus cooperatives. Jon recommended people read an IWW
> writing on this which can be found at
> http://www.iww.org/en/join/collectives.shtml (A longer pdf version is
> at
> the bottom of the page.).
> -The ILWU Del Monte food boycott at Evergreen and the No Sweat
> campaign.
> -The Starbucks Workers Union IWW protest and action planned around the
> annual Starbucks shareholders meeting in Seattle March 21st.
>
> -We also decided not to have an official group name (yet) and not to be
> the OWA because of some concerns with the OWA in the past.
>
> -We also agreed that we wanted to work hard to reach out to workers not
> just at Evergreen and downtown. We want to reach out to workers at the
> Mall, Lacey, etc.
>
> The next meeting will be at 6:30 at Media Island on Thursday March 1.
>

[olympiaworkers] meeting thursday

There will be a general labor organizing and strategizing session this
thursday (march 1st) at 6:30 at Media Island (816 Adams St. SE - near the
downtown Olympia library). It's a potluck so bring some food.

If you want any items on the agenda, please say what you want by
responding to this email.

So far we'll be talking about general plans and goals, active organizing
campaigns (restaurants and day labor), the IWW Starbucks action in Seattle
March 21st and Fire Yoru Boss trainings.

Posted below are the notes from the last meeting:

Labor organizing/strategy meeting notes:

In attendance: Jon, Paul, Jens, Lindsey, Tom, Evan, Brendan. Members of
ILWU Local 5 and IWW as well as non-union members were present.

This is what we decided to work on:

1. Establishing a "Fire Your Boss" training. (Olympia IWW held these in
the late 1990s.) This training would teach workers about solidarity
unionism, NLRB/NLRA and labor law, general understanding of worker power,
organizing and unionizing, workplace democracy and improvements on the
job. We decided that a workshop like this could be held at Evergreen,
SPSCC, Olympia and Lacey - it should be made as accessible as possible to
workers who are often ignored.

2. Social mapping of Olympia businesses. This will include researching
where there are trends of corporatization, property and income of business
owners, where there are "hot" workplaces (places where there are a number
of problems at a job site and where workers are interested in organizing).
Specific interest was given to the bicycle and restaurant industries, as
well as organizing day laborers.

3. Flyering and canvassing was also discussed to give information to
workers and to start a face-to-face dialogue.

4. The creation and distribution of labor and union literature.

Here's our "homework":

Brendan and Lindsey agreed to meet to discuss establishing an agenda and
co-facilitating for the next meeting so it runs smoothly and efficiently.

Paul wants to research and help develop contacts with other labor and
labor rights organizations (Jobs with Justice, etc.). Jon wants to help
research labor material.

Jon and Brendan are going to raid the Evergreen Labor Center, and Bread
and Roses for OWA literature and other labor-related literature.

Evan and Jens agreed to either bring food (or suggested a potluck) for the
next meeting in 3 weeks.

Every person has to bring 2 new people to the next meeting.

We also discussed:

-The Free Choice Act. (Perhaps we can make petitions, etc. for this.)
-Unionizing versus cooperatives. Jon recommended people read an IWW
writing on this which can be found at
http://www.iww.org/en/join/collectives.shtml (A longer pdf version is at
the bottom of the page.).
-The ILWU Del Monte food boycott at Evergreen and the No Sweat campaign.
-The Starbucks Workers Union IWW protest and action planned around the
annual Starbucks shareholders meeting in Seattle March 21st.

-We also decided not to have an official group name (yet) and not to be
the OWA because of some concerns with the OWA in the past.

-We also agreed that we wanted to work hard to reach out to workers not
just at Evergreen and downtown. We want to reach out to workers at the
Mall, Lacey, etc.

The next meeting will be at 6:30 at Media Island on Thursday March 1.

[olympiaworkers] The Coalition of Immokalee Workers announces a major mobilization for farmworker justice, April 13-14, 2007, in the greater Chicago area

1/9/07: SAVE THE DATE! April 13-14...

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers announces a major mobilization for
farmworker justice, April 13-14, 2007, in the greater Chicago area. Make
your plans to join us for historic actions that will usher in a new phase
in the Campaign for Fair Food.

CIW: "Today, we are tired, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., of
'relying on the good will and understanding of those who profit by
exploiting us.'"

Nearly two years have passed since Taco Bell and the CIW announced an
historic initiative to address the ever-deepening poverty and decades of
degradation faced by farmworkers in Florida. At that time, Taco Bell
challenged its fast-food industry counterparts to join in demanding fair
wages and humane treatment for the workers who pick their tomatoes.

McDonald's, the undisputed leader of the $100 billion fast-food industry,
has refused to meet that challenge. Despite increasing public pressure on
the fast-food giant, McDonald's has refused to recognize the seriousness
of the exploitation of tomato pickers exposed through the Taco Bell
boycott, and refused to work with the CIW to address that exploitation.
Instead, it has taken measures that appear aimed at undermining the
hard-won advances in wages and working conditions established in the
agreement with Taco Bell.

Today, after nearly two years of waiting patiently for McDonald's to join
us in addressing the crisis of human rights abuses and sub-poverty wages
in its tomato supply chain, we are tired of waiting. We are tired, as
Martin Luther King Jr. said, of "relying on the good will and
understanding of those who profit by exploiting us."

Our members and allies feel that it is now time to intensify our efforts.
As such, the campaign is entering a new phase this year, and support from
our allies across the country will be more important than ever. The
action in Chicago this April will mark the first major engagement in this
new phase of the Campaign for Fair Food.

Mark your calendars today and start organizing to bring members of your
community to McDonald's backyard this April to join us in a:

* Major rally outside McDonald's global headquarters in Oak Brook, IL,
Friday, April 13, 2007.

* Carnaval and Parade for Fair Food, Real Rights, and Dignity -
Saturday, April 14, 2007 in downtown Chicago.

We strongly encourage our allies from across the country to join us in
Chicago this April and to participate in the colorful carnaval and parade
action. Groups are encouraged to organize their own floats and
delegations for this action. Contact workers@ciw-online.org for more
info.

ALSO... Be sure to check out all the highlights from last year in the
Campaign for Fair Food. Click here to see the extensive "2006 Year in
Review" from the Student/Farmworker website.

CIW announces a major mobilization for farmworker justice April 13-14 in the greater Chicago area

1/9/07: SAVE THE DATE! April 13-14...

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers announces a major mobilization for farmworker justice, April 13-14, 2007, in the greater Chicago area. Make your plans to join us for historic actions that will usher in a new phase in the Campaign for Fair Food.

CIW: “Today, we are tired, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., of ‘relying on the good will and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us.’”

Nearly two years have passed since Taco Bell and the CIW announced an historic initiative to address the ever-deepening poverty and decades of degradation faced by farmworkers in Florida. At that time, Taco Bell challenged its fast-food industry counterparts to join in demanding fair wages and humane treatment for the workers who pick their tomatoes.

McDonald’s, the undisputed leader of the $100 billion fast-food industry, has refused to meet that challenge. Despite increasing public pressure on the fast-food giant, McDonald’s has refused to recognize the seriousness of the exploitation of tomato pickers exposed through the Taco Bell boycott, and refused to work with the CIW to address that exploitation. Instead, it has taken measures that appear aimed at undermining the hard-won advances in wages and working conditions established in the agreement with Taco Bell.

Today, after nearly two years of waiting patiently for McDonald’s to join us in addressing the crisis of human rights abuses and sub-poverty wages in its tomato supply chain, we are tired of waiting. We are tired, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, of “relying on the good will and understanding of those who profit by exploiting us.”

Our members and allies feel that it is now time to intensify our efforts. As such, the campaign is entering a new phase this year, and support from our allies across the country will be more important than ever. The action in Chicago this April will mark the first major engagement in this new phase of the Campaign for Fair Food.

Mark your calendars today and start organizing to bring members of your community to McDonald's backyard this April to join us in a:

• Major rally outside McDonald's global headquarters in Oak Brook, IL, Friday, April 13, 2007.

• Carnaval and Parade for Fair Food, Real Rights, and Dignity - Saturday, April 14, 2007 in downtown Chicago.

We strongly encourage our allies from across the country to join us in Chicago this April and to participate in the colorful carnaval and parade action. Groups are encouraged to organize their own floats and delegations for this action. Contact workers@ciw-online.org for more info.

ALSO... Be sure to check out all the highlights from last year in the Campaign for Fair Food. Click here to see the extensive "2006 Year in Review" from the Student/Farmworker website.

With these hands I demand the future that poverty wages have stolen from me. Farmworkers returning from picking tomatoes bought by companies, such as McDonald's, show hands stained with pesticides and heavy with hard work.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is declaring that they are tired, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, of "relying on the goodwill and understanding of those who profit from exploiting us," and are escalating their campaign to convince McDonald's to end human rights violations in its supply chain.

As their first major action in this new phase of the campaign, they are organizing two days of action in McDonald's corporate backyard, Chicago. The CIW will hold a march and protest outside McDonald's corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, IL, on the 13th to be followed by a day of colorful street protests in downtown Chicago in the Latin American tradition of "Carnaval" on the 14th.

The CIW is asking all the communities who stand in solidarity with the CIW join us this April 13th and 14th in Chicago to demand a fast-food industry that doesn't rely on the endless exploitation of farmworkers.

Explosion of strikes rocks Egyptian firms

Thousands have walked off their jobs in a nation where such work stoppages
are illegal -- and many have won raises, benefits

Dan Morrison, Chronicle Foreign Service
San Francisco Chronicle Feb. 20, 2007

Textile workers in Kafr el-Dawwar went on strike for more...

Kafr el-Dawwar, Egypt -- Ali Ghalab sat on a dusty office couch in a
pinstriped suit, explaining why his 11,700 employees joined a wave of
wildcat strikes that have shocked the government and paralyzed Egypt's
textile industry.

"It's the Muslim Brotherhood," the factory chairman yelled, referring to
the officially banned Islamist movement, "and the communists. The Muslim
Brotherhood stands behind every trouble in every single factory."

A mile away, more than 1,000 strikers had barricaded themselves inside the
textile plant in Kafr el-Dawwar, a gritty town on the Nile Delta about 100
miles north of Cairo. They were demanding more money and greater
opportunity for promotion. A shipment of cotton fabric destined for Turkey
was locked inside with the disgruntled employees.

"Ali is a shoe," they chanted. "He is useless."

Rattled by rising prices, falling benefits and looming privatization, tens
of thousands of Egyptian workers at state-owned industries have been in
rebellion. In recent weeks, more than 35,000 workers at nearly a dozen
textile, cement and poultry plants have gone on strike in a nation where
any strike is illegal and even the smallest public protest can be
squelched with police truncheons. Train engineers, miners and even riot
police also have walked off the job or held demonstrations in the past 2
1/2 months.

"It's very unusual. There's been nothing like this in at least five
years," said Gamal Eid, a lawyer at the Egyptian Organization for Human
Rights. "It's not just the number of strikes, it's the number of people
involved."

The strikers are bucking the government and their own unions to secure
better wages and benefits at a time when inefficient state-owned companies
are being sold off or scaled down. State-owned companies employ 10 percent
of Egypt's workforce of more than 22 million.

Late last month, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin set off a minor
panic when he announced that 100 state-owned companies would be sold to
private owners this year. New foreign investors and cash-strapped state
corporations are trying to cut back on expenses at most factories, which
are in heavy debt due to mismanagement and an excess of employees, labor
experts say.

For more than a generation, Egyptian factories have existed primarily to
provide employment, a policy the government of President Hosni Mubarak has
been pulling away from since the 1980s. In 1993, the Kafr el-Dawwar plant,
for example, had 28,000 workers; today it has 11,700.

Labor Minister Aisha Abdel Hadi was not available for comment for this
report. But in a recent interview with the Cairo daily, Al Masry al Youm,
she said Mubarak "cannot sleep at night knowing there is one unhappy
worker."

The growing tension between management and labor broke into open defiance
late last year.

In December, 18,000 textile workers at Mahalla, Egypt's largest
public-sector factory north of Cairo, took to the streets over low wages
and purported corruption. They won an annual bonus worth 45 days' pay --
but may strike again to demand the removal of their local union
leadership, who sided with management.

"It won't be two or three days, it'll be an open-ended strike," said Karim
el-Beheiri, 23, a Mahalla leader. El-Beheiri said managers were
retaliating by evicting retirees from company housing. "It's a witch hunt
against our parents," he said.

In Egypt, there are 13 industrial unions whose top leaders are appointed
by the state; local-level officers are elected with the support of state
security agents. Local law also does not permit labor competition -- a
union can't organize workers from another sector, and there has never been
a legal strike in Egyptian history, labor experts say.

"Control over the unions has always been thought of as a national security
issue," said Ragui Assaad, an Egyptian labor expert. "It's not about wages
and collective bargaining, it's about making sure the state has control
over an active, organized, movement that can make trouble."

Labor's victory at Mahalla set off a wave of wildcat strikes, as workers
from other factories began demanding similar bonuses. Employees at Kafr
el-Dawwar seized their plant early this month. Six days into the strike,
company Chairman Ali Ghalab said the workers were deluded if they thought
they could get the same bonus as Mahalla.

"We are probably the most in debt of all the textile companies," he said.
"If I had the money, I would pay them."

He said workers benefit from frequent promotions, inexpensive housing and
a company hospital that even offers free open-heart surgery.

"They are being manipulated," he said. "The governor himself went to see
them the other day. They were so rude."

At the factory, a small crowd of police and intelligence men listened to
growing chants inside. A few striking workers laughed at management's
claims of health care and the opportunity of promotion. One said a friend
had contracted hepatitis C after having a molar pulled by a company
dentist.

The workers denied that the Muslim Brotherhood -- whose members run as
independents and comprise the largest opposition block in parliament -- is
linked to their strike.

"When the ruling party has a bad dream, they wake up and blame the Muslim
Brothers," said Khalid Ali, a 36-year plant veteran. "You know why we're
striking? Conditions have reached a dismal level. It's bad for workers all
over Egypt."

Egypt's growing economy can't keep pace with the more than 600,000
graduates from technical colleges who enter the workforce annually.
State-subsidized fuel prices rose 30 percent last year, and inflation
passed 12 percent, while salaries have remained stagnant or fallen
slightly, according to the Economist news magazine.

Egypt's teachers routinely charge for after-school tutoring in exchange
for passing grades, parents say.

"If you earn 500 pounds (about $87 a month), you have to pay 400 just to
tutor your kid," said Khalid Ali, citing a typical factory salary. Other
men showed scars, a missing finger, a crooked shin and a gashed forearm --
all the result of factory injuries.

As word that a compromise had been reached between Kafr el-Dawwar workers
and the Labor Ministry, cell phones rang, strikers chanted and held up
their fingers in the V-for-victory sign. The government agreed to give
them a cost-of-living allowance equivalent to a 45-day bonus, increased
promotions and improved health care facilities among other guarantees.

As workers streamed into the factory's concrete yard, a convoy of cars
arrived carrying the local governor, Mohamed Shaarawy. A former general in
the state security directorate, Shaarawy announced the deal via a weak
bullhorn.

While Egypt's security agencies typically crack down on protesters seeking
political reform, they are often more tactful in their approach to labor
uprisings, which can involve tens of thousands. In fact, security agents
sometimes act as mediators during wildcat strikes, says Gamal Eid, the
human rights lawyer.

They will do "whatever it takes to keep the pressure down," he said.

[olympiaworkers] Zapatismo vs. McDonald's

from http://anarkismo.net
by zapagringo - SFA Wednesday, Feb 21 2007
organize@sfalliance.org

First things first: Find some way to get yourself to Chicago this April
13th & 14th to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and their allies
from around the world, in what will be an historic mobilization and
gathering for "Fair Food, Real Rights, and Dignity" in the USA!

There's more information on how to do that below, but first a couple
questions:

How did a small group of Mayan indigenous people armed with machetes,
sticks, and a few guns-certainly no military threat to the Mexican
regime-force the then-ruling PRI to make more concessions to the political
opposition of their country in the three weeks following the Zapatistas'
1994 uprising than they had in the 50 years prior?

How did the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a 2,500 member
organization of farmworkers with no legal rights to organize in the USA,
bring the world's largest restaurant corporation, Yum! Brands (Taco Bell,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, A&W, Long John Silver's, and Pizza Hut), to its
knees in an age of rising corporate power and declining worker
unionization?

Well, neither of them did it alone for one, so see below for how you can
join the CIW this April in Chicago and support them in the meantime.
You'll also find below a few connections between the CIW and the
Zapatistas...not the least of which there statement of adherence to the
Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, translated into English (for the
first time?) here at Zapagringo.com...

For starters, and to give credit where credit's due, you can check out
this article from the October 2005 Monthly Review that breaks down
specifics of the "who, what, where, when, how, and why" of the CIW and
their struggle...and the zapatismo connections.

The connections between the CIW and the Zapatistas are not difficult to
make. As Melody Gonzalez of the Student/Farmworker Alliance (SFA)
discovered, they may even have overlapping membership...the SFA is an ally
formation to the CIW and as a representative for them at an early meeting
of the Other Campaign in September 2005, Melody encountered a Zapatista
compa who had been working in Immokalee's fields until 1992 when he
returned to Chiapas to participate in the uprising!

Immokalee's farmworkers, coming mainly from Mexico and Guatemala (with
significant membership who are also either Haitian or African-American),
earn sub-poverty wages that have been stagnant for almost thirty years.
They are denied the right to overtime pay, the right to organize and, in
some cases, endure violence and abuse at work; and, in some extreme cases,
conditions of modern-day slavery.

Employing the secondary boycott, the most successful tactic in labor
movement history (and one that formal unions are denied by the federal
government through the Taft-Hartley Act), these workers have forced Taco
Bell to meet their demands (and more!) and are now going after McDonald's.

They are demanding that McDonald's take responsibility for the poverty and
inhumane working conditions that it directly contributes to through its
mass-volume, low-cost tomato purchasing practices. They assert that it is
farmworker poverty that has contributed in no small measure to the wealth
of McDonald's.

This struggle is about worker's rights, immigrant's rights, human rights
and the struggle for fair food. It's also about being compañeros to our
fellow adherents to the Sixth Declaration!

Join the CIW this April 13 in Oak Brook, IL, for a major rally outside
McD's global headquarter and April 14 in downtown Chicago for a "Carnaval
and Parade for Fair Food, Real Rights, and Dignity." This is a global
justice struggle led "from below and to the left" in the USA! There are
CIW allies organizing transportation to Chicago from cities across the
country, you can contact organize[@]sfalliance[.]org to get connected
locally.

You can also work to get the CIW's PSAs played on radio stations and
elsewhere...here they are in English and Spanish.

If you are in NYC, you can check out Celeste Escobar of the SFA
presentating at Bluestockings in the Lower East Side at 7p on March 5th.

And without further ado, here's the Statement of adherence to the
Zapatistas' Sixth Declaration from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers...

At a September 2005 gathering of the Other Campaign in the Zapatista
Autonomous Municipality "Javier Hernandez" in Chiapas, Mexico:

My name is Melody Gonzalez and I am a Xicana from Califaztlán, the stolen
Mexico. I am the daughter of immigrants from the state of Michoacán. I am
representing the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community organization
of immigrant farmworkers in southwest Florida.

Neoliberalism, the freed trade agreements, and the large corporations have
forced many people to leave their lands and come there, many times they
end up working for miserable wages for the very same corporations. These
workers don't only represent cheap labor, they are also the most
vulnerable, least protected, and represent production and profits at a
minimal cost for agroindustry and fast food.

In Immokalee, a community that for many years did not exist on the map, a
large part of the farmworkers are from the south of Mexico, especially the
south, and from Guatemala and Haiti. They arrived knowing they would have
much work but many didn't imagine the conditions they would face. They
didn't imagine that they would receive a wage that's been the same since
1978. Picking tomatoes is the largest industry in Florida and all of the
East coast, in this industry a worker has to pick 2 tons of tomatoes to
make just $50. At the end of the year, they've earned $7,500. Meanwhile,
the rent in Immokalee averages $400 per week for a trailer. With these
miserable salaries, the people are forced to live in trailers with up to
16 people. It's the only way to have money to survive and to send money to
the family that stays in Latin America. In addition to this, there is no
form of benefits.

We describe these conditions of ours as sweatshop conditions but in the
fields, but there is another reality even more extreme—slavery. These are
the cases of workers that are put in isolated labor camps, forced at
gunpoint to work against their will, and many times threatened and
violently attacked. Many of these workers are tricked when coming to the
United States and end up in debt bondage to their bosses. In the past 7
years, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers have freed more than 1,000
slaves.

All of this drove us to organize ourselves to fight for our rights and in
1993 we began, organizing ourselves first against the violence that was
happening in the fields and against the miserable wages. One of our mottos
is "Consciousness + Commitment = Change". Together, we began to analyze
our situation to understand why wages were stagnated and why slavery still
existed in the 21st century. We realized that there were large fast food
corporations and supermarkets that, in demanding the cheapest price from
their suppliers, had pushed wages down. And so they sell their cheap
product to the consumers, who for many years did not ask from where their
food came and under what conditions, and they made their profits. As it
says in the Sixth [Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle], in the market we
see products but we don't see the exploitation from which they came. And
they are sweatshop conditions that are fertile ground for slavery.

After analyzing the situation, we committed ourselves to this struggle and
launched a national campaign for just food, leading a boycott against Taco
Bell, that is a part of Yum Brands, the largest fast food company in the
world; and one of the biggest purchasers of tomatoes. After 4 years of
boycott, and nearly 11 years of struggle, making alliances with religious
people, students and awakening the conscience of the consumers, the
boycott ended when Taco Bell and Yum Brands accepted the demands of the
Coalition. Today our struggle continues, because this victory is just one
step. We are analyzing how we can struggle against the other corporations
that also benefit from our poverty, to impact in this way the rest of the
food industry and so that farmworkers receive the respect and dignity that
they deserve. We continue fighting against slavery at the root of the
problem and not simply helping with the investigation and prosecution of
case after case because as it says in the Sixth, we fight to be free
people, not to change our master.

We understand that although our struggle for better wages and conditions
in the fields is one struggle of one grassroots organization, it is,
without a doubt, connected to the global struggle for justice and peace.
The same forces that oppress us are the ones that oppress so many
communities in Mexico and in many other countries.

A struggle that we have already taken on is the struggle against the FTAA
[Free Trade Agreement of the Americas]. We organized in 2003, along with
various other grassroots organizations, a 34 mile march against the FTAA
in Miami, Florida. Each mile that we marched represented a country that
would be a part of the agreement. Today we continue our struggle and do
not want free trade that exploits human beings, but fair trade that
respects the dignity of all. We have made alliances with other
organizations locally, nationally, and also internationally. We are going
to continue forming alliances, sharing experiences, and organizing
ourselves as one force against the free trade pacts.

We understand that our struggle is already part of the Sixth thus we
commit ourselves to the Sixth continuing the work we are already doing.
And we also wish to strengthen our paths of communication and dialogue
with the organizations and people in Mexico that also struggle against
free trade and in favor of fair trade. We see this trip to Chiapas as an
opportunity to learn what is being done and what is going to be done in
Mexico. We are constantly learning from other struggles and this is part
of our consciousness-raising. Many of our friends there [in Immokalee] are
from Chiapas and since back in the day they have talked of the struggle
here. We commit ourselves to continue learning from the struggle here and
in all parts of Mexico, and also to assure ourselves that the Zapatista
word continues being expressed in our work. We also wish to leave some
materials from our struggle to share our experience with you. My
compañeros in Immokalee send their greetings and brotherly hugs to the
Zapatista communities and say that although you don't know them in person,
they know that work, commitment and consciousness converts us into
compañeros. We are with you and the Sixth.

READ MORE HERE:
http://zapagringo.blogspot.com/2007/02/zapatismo-vs-mcdonalds.html

http://sfalliance.org

Re: [olympiaworkers] Status of Pizza Time?

The first political action that the Pizza Time workers (who went on strike
and were locked out) took was making pizzas for peace advocates down at
the port during a military shipment. One of the workers crossed onto port
property to give the cops a peace-sign pepperoni pizza. That worker was
threatened with arrest for that action. Other pizza time workers delivered
lots of free pizzas to peace advocates who later brought down the port
fence for the first time.

It comes to no surprise to me that Heath Flores, the current owner of
Pizza Time, would try this sort of publicity stunt to create divisions in
the Olympia Community. Heath Flores is a former repo man who has lots of
tricks up his sleeve. He wants to put the Pizza Time Strike and lock out
behind him and make a buck in Olympia. Please do not fall for his tricks.

Heath Flores locked us out of our jobs. I worked at Pizza Time for two
years at minimum wage. All we wanted to return to work was for Heath to
put it in writing that we would not be fired or discriminated against once
things got back to normal. Heath Flores never gave us a chance and hired
the scabs you see today.

If you advocate justice, do not eat Pizza Time pizza even if it is free.

In struggle and solidarity,

Joe

p.s. Feb 12 was the two year anniversary of when all the workers at
Olympia Pizza Time stood up for themselves and went on strike. I'm still
on strike!

Re: [olympiaworkers] Status of Pizza Time?

We had Pizza and other food from various sources during Camp Quixote I.
In many cases we were cautioned not to thank the establishments because we
might get the employees, who were the actual donators, in trouble. In at
least one other case a well wisher simply bought us Pizza from somewhere.

It is not unusual, in this oppressive economy and system, for employees to
see helping the poor as a satisfying act of rebellion. Every truck driver
who gives a hitch hiker a ride is doing an act of rebellion against the
trucking company. Fast food employees will often just silently do a free
upgrade to a big sandwich from a dollar menu. Truck stop employees will
quietly give you free showers and look the other way when you roll up in a
tarp on the lot, and waitresses will whisper a go ahead to fill up on the
Buffet, then cancel your check for coffee.

This is often followed by them confiding in you about how terrible it is
since the independent business got taken over by the big corporation or
whatever. I have been traveling low to the ground for a few years now,
there is a hell of a lot of simmering rebellion out there. Camp Quixote
brought some of that out that out in Olympia.

Love, Solidarity and Magic
Jesse

> So, on a couple occasions I saw a Pizza Time delivery guy bring a big pile
> of Pizza Time pizzas to Camp Quixote. This raises a lot of questions,
> given
> the big lockout and strike a couple years back in which a whole unionized
> staff was fired.
>
> 1) Were the pizzas bought, or were they donated?
>
> 2) If they were bought, Why the Hell are we buying our pizzas at Pizza
> Time?
>
> 3) If they were donated by Pizza Time to the homeless for tent city, does
> that not change things? Time to at least re-evaluate the ongoing
> blacklisting of Pizza Time? I know, a few free pizzas is a small, small
> gesture considering Pizza Crime's history in Olympia. Buuuut, if Pizza
> Time's owners had reconsidered their stance, is this not how they might
> first show it?
>
> 4) Should there be no re-evaluation of Pizza Time based on the notion that
> our reconsideration cannot be bought with a few pizzas? Or should a
> gesture
> perhaps be made to re-open discussions with it's owners as to how to make
> their business respectable again, if maybe that's what they want?
>
> Any thoughts?
> -Wally
>

Re: [olympiaworkers] Status of Pizza Time?

First off, it was a walk out, not a lock out.  I think they walked out for very good reasons.  I still support their decision to strike.  Unfortunately, they were not officially unionized when they went on strike, so they had no rights guaranteed to striking workers. 

 

Secondly, you're right.  The new owners did know of the situation, which means they are buying a reputation.  That still doesn't obligate them to employ strikers, legally.  Morally, perhaps it is a different matter.  I must say, though, you are grossly exagerating the matter by tieing it to rape.  Not hiring a pizza cook is nothing like not stopping forced sex.  It is an analogy that is disgracetful and uncalled for.

 

As far as the right to employment, please tell me the law that states any of the workers had a right to the jobs they were striking from.  If you can tell me that, then perhaps you can tell me why the strikers don't have their jobs back.  I don't like what happened to them.  I knew them.  I like them. I picketed with them.  That doesn't mean I am going to pretend that the law was on their side.  The law is not always right.  It doesn't mean it isn't there.

 

You ask me why I am here?  Because I was there.  Just because I support them, doesn't mean I think everyone who opposes them is wrong.  I don't live in a world where everything is fair and no one is going to screw me over.  I don't know anyone who has or does, nor do I expect to know anyone who will, so I do my best to protect myself.  If you don't want at will employment, don't sign a contract making your employment at will.  You may find it hard to gain employment, but the high road is not an easy one.  You'll also find there are far less at will employment contracts outside of chain stores. 

 

Walking out was the high road, but it also made their jobs forfeit.  They knew this at the time and they did what they saw as right, anyway.  What lesson did I take away from their misfortune?  Organize.  If you want to strike and keep your job, you'd better get the law on your side.  Then there will be an obligation and a right to a job.

 

Nothing I have said in any of my emails has been in support of Pizza Time.  It has been a discussion of legality.  I do not support Pizza Time.  I have not bought pizza from them since the dispute.  I will not buy pizza from them in the forseeable future.  Not just because the owners are jerks, but because the pizza isn't that good, either.  My aim was to bring about a discussion of the events surrounding the strike.  You are awful quick to make an enemy of an ally.  Please don't mistake my arguments for an attack.  It is important to have a diversity of ideas and opinions to come to a critical conclusion.  Otherwise we are acting out of blind passion, not reason.

 

 

-Éamon

 

On 2/11/07, Wally Cuddeford <ersatzcats@gmail.com> wrote:

"He had nothing to do with the labor dispute."

Except being the new owner of the business that was continuing to lock out the striking workers, and choosing to continue that lockout.

"The corporate owners of the franchise weren't culpable in the decision."

Pizza Time Corporation could have, at several instances, intervened and at least pressured Bloking or Flores to do the right thing.  Just because there are other people to lay the blame on doesn't absolve them of not acting on a situation they were well aware of.

" 'Too bad the last bosses treated you like shit, we're staying out of it,' is, in my mind at least, a legitimate position."

What does that mean?  "Sorry you got raped in front of me.  I guess I could have stopped it, but you know, it didn't really have anything to do with me, did it?"

"The workers did not have a right to those jobs."

That's awfully turn-of-the-century of you.  Why are you on this listserv again?

"Shitty deal, but that's part of signing an at will contract." 

This is the most important thing to recognize in all this.  The business's actions are not justified by their own invented circumstances.  Making employment contracts "at will" does not all of a sudden make it so workers have no right to their own jobs.  Calling it a "new franchise", when it's the exact same company in the exact same storefront in the exact same town does not negate the previous labor dispute.  The NLRB saying this is legitimate labor relations does not negate the strikers' rights to their jobs.  These are invented circumstances which don't really change anything.

"I assume by 'basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves,' you mean they said something else that was less rude."

That wasn't a direct quote, but it was not any less rude.  I'm serious.  They were chased out of the store, and told to never, ever come back.  Flores called the cops on the workers multiple times.  This wasn't a silent shrug.  This was hostility.

"Some thing like, 'not our problem?'  Which it wasn't..."

Uh, new owners of the business that locked them out?  Could have resolved it, or even backed out and not taken any stand either way (which is an option folks who are unfairly thrust into bad situations don't usually have).  Once again, how do they not have an obligation in this?

"It would have been great if they'd employed the strikers, but that's not an obligation."

So, it would be nice if employers respected workers' rights to their jobs and to their dignity, but it's not an obligation?  Once again, Why are you here?

Love and Justice,
-Wally

On 2/11/07, E Doggy <edoggie@gmail.com> wrote:

"Surely, he could have backed out because the property owners didn't tell him everything, but he didn't.  He kept opening up the shop, and basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves, and that they had no rights to those jobs."

 

He could have, but why would he?  He had nothing to do with the labor dispute.  The dispute didn't have much, if anything, to do with anyone outside of the Blokings and other local owners.  The corporate owners of the franchise weren't culpable in the decision.  Just because a previous owner is a douche bag is no reason for someone not to buy a shop.  "Too bad the last bosses treated you like shit, we're staying out of it," is, in my mind at least, a legitimate position.  The workers did not have a right to those jobs.  Shitty deal, but that's part of signing an at will contract.  The abuse and neglect was on the Blokings, not the new owners.  I assume by "basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves," you mean they said something else that was less rude.  Some thing like, "not our problem?"  Which it wasn't...  It would have been great if they'd employed the strikers, but that's not an obligation. 

 

 

-Éamon

 

On 2/11/07, Wally Cuddeford <ersatzcats@gmail.com > wrote:

To Mike,

I think you misunderstood me.  I never suggested turning away donations of food over some sense of indignation.  But if this donation of food had a condition that all the bullcrap they've been responsible for in the past has to be forgiven in exchange for it, then it wouldn't really be a "donation", would it?  It would be self-service on their part, like when middle-class liberals donate money to Starvation Army and then go around saying they do so much for the poor homeless.

I'm not assuming anything about the Pizza Time food.  I don't know what the story behind it is.  That's why I'm asking the folks who would know.  I want to find out if this is charity or if this is solidarity, if you get my drift.

To Éamon,

They're not the original owner, Shane Bloking, but they're quite culpable themselves.  The Pizza Time strikers made it clear well before Flores et al opened up shop that there was an unresolved labor issue, which could only be resolved by rehiring the striking workers.  Yes, it sucks that they bought into the business not knowing about the issue, but sometimes that happens.  What did Flores et al do to resolve this?  Surely, he could have backed out because the property owners didn't tell him everything, but he didn't.  He kept opening up the shop, and basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves, and that they had no rights to those jobs.  Unless there's new developments, Pizza Crime got all the persecution it deserved.

Love and Justice,
-Wally

On 2/11/07, E Doggy <edoggie@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know anything about the pizzas at the camp, but I was around for the strike.

I would like to remind folks that the current owners of Pizza Time are not the owners that would not negotiate with the striking workers.  The current owners bought the shop without knowledge of the Labor dispute.  The man (Shane Bloking?  I forgot most of the names involved) who was to blame for the firings is no longer an owner.  I don't know the standing in the business of the man who owned the building, but I believe he sold his share, as well.  What remains is whether or not the new owners ever had any ethical obligation to hire on the workers fired for the walkout.  If they employed family members and a couple of friends, should said friends and family have been fired in order to rehire workers employed by a previous owner?  Perhaps they really are calous jerks and irresponsible business people.  I have been out of the loop on this issue for quite a while.  Do I have my facts wrong?  Do you disagree with me?

 

 

-Éamon

 

On 2/11/07, Wally Cuddeford < ersatzcats@gmail.com > wrote:

So, on a couple occasions I saw a Pizza Time delivery guy bring a big pile of Pizza Time pizzas to Camp Quixote.  This raises a lot of questions, given the big lockout and strike a couple years back in which a whole unionized staff was fired.

1) Were the pizzas bought, or were they donated?

2) If they were bought, Why the Hell are we buying our pizzas at Pizza Time?

3) If they were donated by Pizza Time to the homeless for tent city, does that not change things?  Time to at least re-evaluate the ongoing blacklisting of Pizza Time?  I know, a few free pizzas is a small, small gesture considering Pizza Crime's history in Olympia.  Buuuut, if Pizza Time's owners had reconsidered their stance, is this not how they might first show it?

4) Should there be no re-evaluation of Pizza Time based on the notion that our reconsideration cannot be bought with a few pizzas?  Or should a gesture perhaps be made to re-open discussions with it's owners as to how to make their business respectable again, if maybe that's what they want?

Any thoughts?
-Wally

Re: [olympiaworkers] Status of Pizza Time?

"He had nothing to do with the labor dispute."

Except being the new owner of the business that was continuing to lock out the striking workers, and choosing to continue that lockout.

"The corporate owners of the franchise weren't culpable in the decision."

Pizza Time Corporation could have, at several instances, intervened and at least pressured Bloking or Flores to do the right thing.  Just because there are other people to lay the blame on doesn't absolve them of not acting on a situation they were well aware of.

" 'Too bad the last bosses treated you like shit, we're staying out of it,' is, in my mind at least, a legitimate position."

What does that mean?  "Sorry you got raped in front of me.  I guess I could have stopped it, but you know, it didn't really have anything to do with me, did it?"

"The workers did not have a right to those jobs."

That's awfully turn-of-the-century of you.  Why are you on this listserv again?

"Shitty deal, but that's part of signing an at will contract." 

This is the most important thing to recognize in all this.  The business's actions are not justified by their own invented circumstances.  Making employment contracts "at will" does not all of a sudden make it so workers have no right to their own jobs.  Calling it a "new franchise", when it's the exact same company in the exact same storefront in the exact same town does not negate the previous labor dispute.  The NLRB saying this is legitimate labor relations does not negate the strikers' rights to their jobs.  These are invented circumstances which don't really change anything.

"I assume by 'basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves,' you mean they said something else that was less rude."

That wasn't a direct quote, but it was not any less rude.  I'm serious.  They were chased out of the store, and told to never, ever come back.  Flores called the cops on the workers multiple times.  This wasn't a silent shrug.  This was hostility.

"Some thing like, 'not our problem?'  Which it wasn't..."

Uh, new owners of the business that locked them out?  Could have resolved it, or even backed out and not taken any stand either way (which is an option folks who are unfairly thrust into bad situations don't usually have).  Once again, how do they not have an obligation in this?

"It would have been great if they'd employed the strikers, but that's not an obligation."

So, it would be nice if employers respected workers' rights to their jobs and to their dignity, but it's not an obligation?  Once again, Why are you here?

Love and Justice,
-Wally

On 2/11/07, E Doggy <edoggie@gmail.com> wrote:

"Surely, he could have backed out because the property owners didn't tell him everything, but he didn't.  He kept opening up the shop, and basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves, and that they had no rights to those jobs."

 

He could have, but why would he?  He had nothing to do with the labor dispute.  The dispute didn't have much, if anything, to do with anyone outside of the Blokings and other local owners.  The corporate owners of the franchise weren't culpable in the decision.  Just because a previous owner is a douche bag is no reason for someone not to buy a shop.  "Too bad the last bosses treated you like shit, we're staying out of it," is, in my mind at least, a legitimate position.  The workers did not have a right to those jobs.  Shitty deal, but that's part of signing an at will contract.  The abuse and neglect was on the Blokings, not the new owners.  I assume by "basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves," you mean they said something else that was less rude.  Some thing like, "not our problem?"  Which it wasn't...  It would have been great if they'd employed the strikers, but that's not an obligation. 

 

 

-Éamon

 

On 2/11/07, Wally Cuddeford <ersatzcats@gmail.com > wrote:

To Mike,

I think you misunderstood me.  I never suggested turning away donations of food over some sense of indignation.  But if this donation of food had a condition that all the bullcrap they've been responsible for in the past has to be forgiven in exchange for it, then it wouldn't really be a "donation", would it?  It would be self-service on their part, like when middle-class liberals donate money to Starvation Army and then go around saying they do so much for the poor homeless.

I'm not assuming anything about the Pizza Time food.  I don't know what the story behind it is.  That's why I'm asking the folks who would know.  I want to find out if this is charity or if this is solidarity, if you get my drift.

To Éamon,

They're not the original owner, Shane Bloking, but they're quite culpable themselves.  The Pizza Time strikers made it clear well before Flores et al opened up shop that there was an unresolved labor issue, which could only be resolved by rehiring the striking workers.  Yes, it sucks that they bought into the business not knowing about the issue, but sometimes that happens.  What did Flores et al do to resolve this?  Surely, he could have backed out because the property owners didn't tell him everything, but he didn't.  He kept opening up the shop, and basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves, and that they had no rights to those jobs.  Unless there's new developments, Pizza Crime got all the persecution it deserved.

Love and Justice,
-Wally

On 2/11/07, E Doggy <edoggie@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know anything about the pizzas at the camp, but I was around for the strike.

I would like to remind folks that the current owners of Pizza Time are not the owners that would not negotiate with the striking workers.  The current owners bought the shop without knowledge of the Labor dispute.  The man (Shane Bloking?  I forgot most of the names involved) who was to blame for the firings is no longer an owner.  I don't know the standing in the business of the man who owned the building, but I believe he sold his share, as well.  What remains is whether or not the new owners ever had any ethical obligation to hire on the workers fired for the walkout.  If they employed family members and a couple of friends, should said friends and family have been fired in order to rehire workers employed by a previous owner?  Perhaps they really are calous jerks and irresponsible business people.  I have been out of the loop on this issue for quite a while.  Do I have my facts wrong?  Do you disagree with me?

 

 

-Éamon

 

On 2/11/07, Wally Cuddeford < ersatzcats@gmail.com > wrote:

So, on a couple occasions I saw a Pizza Time delivery guy bring a big pile of Pizza Time pizzas to Camp Quixote.  This raises a lot of questions, given the big lockout and strike a couple years back in which a whole unionized staff was fired.

1) Were the pizzas bought, or were they donated?

2) If they were bought, Why the Hell are we buying our pizzas at Pizza Time?

3) If they were donated by Pizza Time to the homeless for tent city, does that not change things?  Time to at least re-evaluate the ongoing blacklisting of Pizza Time?  I know, a few free pizzas is a small, small gesture considering Pizza Crime's history in Olympia.  Buuuut, if Pizza Time's owners had reconsidered their stance, is this not how they might first show it?

4) Should there be no re-evaluation of Pizza Time based on the notion that our reconsideration cannot be bought with a few pizzas?  Or should a gesture perhaps be made to re-open discussions with it's owners as to how to make their business respectable again, if maybe that's what they want?

Any thoughts?
-Wally

Re: [olympiaworkers] Status of Pizza Time?

To Mike,

I think you misunderstood me.  I never suggested turning away donations of food over some sense of indignation.  But if this donation of food had a condition that all the bullcrap they've been responsible for in the past has to be forgiven in exchange for it, then it wouldn't really be a "donation", would it?  It would be self-service on their part, like when middle-class liberals donate money to Starvation Army and then go around saying they do so much for the poor homeless.

I'm not assuming anything about the Pizza Time food.  I don't know what the story behind it is.  That's why I'm asking the folks who would know.  I want to find out if this is charity or if this is solidarity, if you get my drift.

To Éamon,

They're not the original owner, Shane Bloking, but they're quite culpable themselves.  The Pizza Time strikers made it clear well before Flores et al opened up shop that there was an unresolved labor issue, which could only be resolved by rehiring the striking workers.  Yes, it sucks that they bought into the business not knowing about the issue, but sometimes that happens.  What did Flores et al do to resolve this?  Surely, he could have backed out because the property owners didn't tell him everything, but he didn't.  He kept opening up the shop, and basically told the strikers to go fuck themselves, and that they had no rights to those jobs.  Unless there's new developments, Pizza Crime got all the persecution it deserved.

Love and Justice,
-Wally

On 2/11/07, E Doggy <edoggie@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't know anything about the pizzas at the camp, but I was around for the strike.

I would like to remind folks that the current owners of Pizza Time are not the owners that would not negotiate with the striking workers.  The current owners bought the shop without knowledge of the Labor dispute.  The man (Shane Bloking?  I forgot most of the names involved) who was to blame for the firings is no longer an owner.  I don't know the standing in the business of the man who owned the building, but I believe he sold his share, as well.  What remains is whether or not the new owners ever had any ethical obligation to hire on the workers fired for the walkout.  If they employed family members and a couple of friends, should said friends and family have been fired in order to rehire workers employed by a previous owner?  Perhaps they really are calous jerks and irresponsible business people.  I have been out of the loop on this issue for quite a while.  Do I have my facts wrong?  Do you disagree with me?

 

 

-Éamon

 

On 2/11/07, Wally Cuddeford < ersatzcats@gmail.com> wrote:

So, on a couple occasions I saw a Pizza Time delivery guy bring a big pile of Pizza Time pizzas to Camp Quixote.  This raises a lot of questions, given the big lockout and strike a couple years back in which a whole unionized staff was fired.

1) Were the pizzas bought, or were they donated?

2) If they were bought, Why the Hell are we buying our pizzas at Pizza Time?

3) If they were donated by Pizza Time to the homeless for tent city, does that not change things?  Time to at least re-evaluate the ongoing blacklisting of Pizza Time?  I know, a few free pizzas is a small, small gesture considering Pizza Crime's history in Olympia.  Buuuut, if Pizza Time's owners had reconsidered their stance, is this not how they might first show it?

4) Should there be no re-evaluation of Pizza Time based on the notion that our reconsideration cannot be bought with a few pizzas?  Or should a gesture perhaps be made to re-open discussions with it's owners as to how to make their business respectable again, if maybe that's what they want?

Any thoughts?
-Wally

Re: [olympiaworkers] Status of Pizza Time?

I don't know anything about the pizzas at the camp, but I was around for the strike.

I would like to remind folks that the current owners of Pizza Time are not the owners that would not negotiate with the striking workers.  The current owners bought the shop without knowledge of the Labor dispute.  The man (Shane Bloking?  I forgot most of the names involved) who was to blame for the firings is no longer an owner.  I don't know the standing in the business of the man who owned the building, but I believe he sold his share, as well.  What remains is whether or not the new owners ever had any ethical obligation to hire on the workers fired for the walkout.  If they employed family members and a couple of friends, should said friends and family have been fired in order to rehire workers employed by a previous owner?  Perhaps they really are calous jerks and irresponsible business people.  I have been out of the loop on this issue for quite a while.  Do I have my facts wrong?  Do you disagree with me?

 

 

-Éamon

 

On 2/11/07, Wally Cuddeford <ersatzcats@gmail.com> wrote:

So, on a couple occasions I saw a Pizza Time delivery guy bring a big pile of Pizza Time pizzas to Camp Quixote.  This raises a lot of questions, given the big lockout and strike a couple years back in which a whole unionized staff was fired.

1) Were the pizzas bought, or were they donated?

2) If they were bought, Why the Hell are we buying our pizzas at Pizza Time?

3) If they were donated by Pizza Time to the homeless for tent city, does that not change things?  Time to at least re-evaluate the ongoing blacklisting of Pizza Time?  I know, a few free pizzas is a small, small gesture considering Pizza Crime's history in Olympia.  Buuuut, if Pizza Time's owners had reconsidered their stance, is this not how they might first show it?

4) Should there be no re-evaluation of Pizza Time based on the notion that our reconsideration cannot be bought with a few pizzas?  Or should a gesture perhaps be made to re-open discussions with it's owners as to how to make their business respectable again, if maybe that's what they want?

Any thoughts?
-Wally

[olympiaworkers] Status of Pizza Time?

So, on a couple occasions I saw a Pizza Time delivery guy bring a big pile of Pizza Time pizzas to Camp Quixote.  This raises a lot of questions, given the big lockout and strike a couple years back in which a whole unionized staff was fired.

1) Were the pizzas bought, or were they donated?

2) If they were bought, Why the Hell are we buying our pizzas at Pizza Time?

3) If they were donated by Pizza Time to the homeless for tent city, does that not change things?  Time to at least re-evaluate the ongoing blacklisting of Pizza Time?  I know, a few free pizzas is a small, small gesture considering Pizza Crime's history in Olympia.  Buuuut, if Pizza Time's owners had reconsidered their stance, is this not how they might first show it?

4) Should there be no re-evaluation of Pizza Time based on the notion that our reconsideration cannot be bought with a few pizzas?  Or should a gesture perhaps be made to re-open discussions with it's owners as to how to make their business respectable again, if maybe that's what they want?

Any thoughts?
-Wally

[olympiaworkers] meeting notes

Labor organizing/strategy meeting notes:

In attendance: Jon, Paul, Jens, Lindsey, Tom, Evan, Brendan. Members of
ILWU Local 5 and IWW as well as non-union members were present.

This is what we decided to work on:

1. Establishing a "Fire Your Boss" training. (Olympia IWW held these in
the late 1990s.) This training would teach workers about solidarity
unionism, NLRB/NLRA and labor law, general understanding of worker power,
organizing and unionizing, workplace democracy and improvements on the
job. We decided that a workshop like this could be held at Evergreen,
SPSCC, Olympia and Lacey - it should be made as accessible as possible to
workers who are often ignored.

2. Social mapping of Olympia businesses. This will include researching
where there are trends of corporatization, property and income of business
owners, where there are "hot" workplaces (places where there are a number
of problems at a job site and where workers are interested in organizing).
Specific interest was given to the bicycle and restaurant industries, as
well as organizing day laborers.

3. Flyering and canvassing was also discussed to give information to
workers and to start a face-to-face dialogue.

4. The creation and distribution of labor and union literature.

Here's our "homework":

Brendan and Lindsey agreed to meet to discuss establishing an agenda and
co-facilitating for the next meeting so it runs smoothly and efficiently.

Paul wants to research and help develop contacts with other labor and
labor rights organizations (Jobs with Justice, etc.). Jon wants to help
research labor material.

Jon and Brendan are going to raid the Evergreen Labor Center, and Bread
and Roses for OWA literature and other labor-related literature.

Evan and Jens agreed to either bring food (or suggested a potluck) for the
next meeting in 3 weeks.

Every person has to bring 2 new people to the next meeting.

We also discussed:

-The Free Choice Act. (Perhaps we can make petitions, etc. for this.)
-Unionizing versus cooperatives. Jon recommended people read an IWW
writing on this which can be found at
http://www.iww.org/en/join/collectives.shtml (A longer pdf version is at
the bottom of the page.).
-The ILWU Del Monte food boycott at Evergreen and the No Sweat campaign.
-The Starbucks Workers Union IWW protest and action planned around the
annual Starbucks shareholders meeting in Seattle March 21st.

-We also decided not to have an official group name (yet) and not to be
the OWA because of some concerns with the OWA in the past.

-We also agreed that we wanted to work hard to reach out to workers not
just at Evergreen and downtown. We want to reach out to workers at the
Mall, Lacey, etc.

The next meeting will be at 6:30 at Media Island on Thursday March 1.

[olympiaworkers] meeting this thurs

There will be an Olympia labor strategy session Thursday February 8 at 7pm
at Media Island (816 Adams Street - near the public library).

It's open to all labor activists and organizers and the purpose of it is
to come up with a concrete plan of action for labor education, outreach,
organizing and unionizing efforts.

Spread the word.

[olympiaworkers] Pierce County Jobs with Justice Post on Feb. 10th Peltier March

 

In this message: 1) March & Rally - Justice for Peltier Feb.10    2)Protest for Justice at Macy's Feb.17

 

Pierce County Jobs with Justice Organizing Committee Calls on All of Us to…

14th Annual March and Rally: Justice for Peltier

starts Saturday, Noon, February 10, from Portland Ave. Park, Tacoma

(on Portland Ave. between E. 35th and E. Fairbanks Ave. Take Portland Ave. exit off I-5 and head east)

RALLY 1pm, U.S. Federal Court House, 1717 Pacific Ave

For more info, contact the lead organization Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group at bayou@blarg.net.

 

Background

The struggle for justice for Leonard Peltier is a struggle about all of our civil rights, not just Native American people.  He organized to challenge corporate greed just as he had organized previously and locally for workplace, union, and economic justice rights.  That's why labor councils and major unions in Canada have prioritzed Peltier's struggle for justice.  To see this labor support, check out the statement of the Chair of the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian public sector union webpage, and the Ontario Federation of Labour Human Rights honor, two Long Lists of International Supporters including Nelson Mandela and other celebs,.  Why does Canadian labor specifically support Peltier and for more details about the event and background? see below…

 

Protest for Justice at Macy's

Saturday, February 17th, Noon

Gather at the Food Court of the Tacoma Mall

If you have any questions please call us at 253-459-5107

 

We are protesting Tacoma Macy's because it is

• Trying to convert South Sound residents into Macy's debt-slaves.  Macy's is imposing on workers that at least once every 30 hours they must lure Macy's shoppers to apply for a credit card.  If Macy's workers fail to meet this quota, they could be fired.  To make it easier to go into Macy's debt, the company recently lowered the credit rating so that low-income and already indebted people are eligible.  Macy's credit cards have notoriously high interest rates (about 25%) and they exported the service jobs on these credit cards to countries with high poverty to avoid paying living wages locally. 
• Refusing most Tacoma Macy's workers a raise in the last 3 years.  Now Macy's is proposing no future wage increase for over half of the employees and then cutting wages by increasing medical premiums by 11 to 29%
• Denying over half of Tacoma Macy's workers an affordable healthcare plan and relying on taxpayers to pick up the tab
• Corporate Greed gone wild.  Macy's parent company Federated has doubled its profits while it cut costs on workers' and shoppers' backs.  Federated sales rose to over $23 billion, driving profits well over $1.4 billion this year.  Federated CEO Terry Lundgren's 2006 salary & bonuses are $5,029,256 and other compensation amounts to Vested Stock Options of $7,050,530; Nonvested Stock Options of $8,190,810; Exercised Stock Options of $98,344. 

For more background, see the Tacoma Weekly Op-Ed article in response to the story (click on this link) and our website link (click on this)

 

More Background on the Peltier Event

PARKING:  If you get to the park early we will organize cars being moved up close to the rally site. You could also park at the Tacoma Dome Station and catch a bus. There is also parking at the park and LPSG will try to find drivers to take people back to the park after the rally.

 

For CARPOOLS from Olympia, be ready to leave from the parking lot at Harrison and Division at 10:30

 

RALLY PROGRAM:  Performances by The Aztec Dancers, United Nations Native Rap Activists, Albert Combs.  Speakers: Matilaja: Yu'Pik/Yakama and Steve Hapy and Arthur J. Miller, Tacoma LPSG; Robert Robideau Co-Director of the LPDC and Co Defendant, Shelly Vendiola: Indigenous Women's Network; David Duenas Puyallup; Juan Jose Bocanegra Jobs with Justice and Every Worker's Movement; Frank Reynolds Native American Coalition; Bill Bichsel Catholic Worker and Jobs with Justice; Zoltan Grossman Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace and Faculty Evergreen's Native American Studies

 

More Background on Peltier

Canadian labor specifically supports Peltier because the Canadian government extradited Peltier for US federal prosecution when many believed him to be a political refugee at a time that the US federal government was corrupted by Nixon's Watergate and domestic espionage.

 

Leonard Peltier is a Native American activist and was a union member in Washington State.  He went to South Dakota to support local Native American people defending land and local democracy rights from large radioactive uranium mining corporations that were trying take away reservation land in the 1970s.  The corporations hired armed guards to visit the Reservation unannounced and the situation got tense, violent, and deadly often.  The FBI intervened and also made unannounced armed visits to the reservation and during one visit, a firefight took place with differing views of how and who was responsible.  Two FBI agents were killed. 

 

In the first trial of two American Indian Movement (AIM) members who had been in the firefight, the jury came back with a verdict of not guilty by reason of self-defense.  Then the government re-charged and convicted Leonard Peltier using new judges, evidence, and witnesses.  Through appeals, Peltier's lawyers have been able to disprove the case against him to the point that the U.S. Government prosecutors have stated that they don't know what role he played in the firefight -- he was just there that day and thus aided and abetted in the deaths of the agents.

 

The federal courts have recognized the repressive nature of the government actions against American Indian Movement and Leonard Peltier. Federal Judge Heaney stated, "The United States Government overreacted at Wounded Knee. Instead of carefully considering the legitimate grievances of the Native Americans, the response was essentially a military one, which culminated in the deadly firefight on June 26, 1975."  And last year the Tenth Circuit Court found that, "Much of the government's behavior at the Pine Ridge Reservation and in its prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned. The government withheld evidence. It intimidated witnesses. These facts are not disputed."  The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals ruled "There is a possibility that the jury would have acquitted Leonard Peltier had the record and data improperly withheld from the defense been available to him in order to better exploit and reinforce the inconsistencies casting strong doubts upon the governments case."  Peltier continues to await a fair trail in prison.

 

Thirty-one years later, the FBI has refused to release over 140,000 pages of material evidence to Leonard Peltier or his attorneys.  Documents are supposed to be automatically declassified after 25 years under Executive Order 12958. The FBI is arguing that this material should not be subject to automatic declassification because it could damage or cause serious damage to national security and the war on transnational terrorism.

 

"Mr. Peltier's unjust incarceration remains a festering sore that impedes better race relations in America. Surely the time has come to promote healing and a spirit of trust and genuine goodwill toward the Indian peoples of America with an act that serves both compassion and justice."

  - Coretta Scott King

 

 "In a nation which so prides itself on a strong and incorruptible judicial system and a human and responsive government, it is sad indeed to think that in nearly a quarter of a century, justice has been elusive for this man. If the matter continues without remedy and action, it will soon be too late for any justice at all. A tragedy of this magnitude cannot be allowed."

 - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

 

South Sound Office of Washington State Jobs with Justice

3049 S. 36 St, #201

Tacoma, WA  98409-5801

(253) 459-5107

website:  wsjwj.org  Seattle office: wsjwj@igc.org

 

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