Launching Thurston Public Power Initiative 2020!

Puget Sound Energy is a foreign owned monopoly. If you didn't know that, there is a reason. They spend millions of dollars on lies. Those millions in lies are just a small part of the roughly 10% of your bill guaranteed to PSE in profit, the rest gets sent out of the USA. We are stopping them!

In 2012 we attempted the Thurston Public Power Initiative to replace PSE with a Public Utility District but millions were spent corrupting our election... it didn't pass.

We need you to support this effort again! Welcome to Power to the Public!

Here are some good reasons to give and volunteer!

• As predicted in 2012, PSE has kept racing to the bottom since being bought by foreigners in 2008. Right now the rates are much higher! The lack of maintenance is leaving us in the dark more often. They aren't investing in infrastructure or new generation. PSE was sold again in 2018 to more foreign owners. The LNG plant in Tacoma is a disaster no one wants. And they have shut down their pay centers! PSE has gotten worse!
• On the flip side our fight for public power has gotten stronger! Jefferson PUD is a success after becoming public in 2008. Thurston PUD is now twice as large as it was in 2012, making it a stronger organization for taking over electric utilities. We can build on the 40% yes base we gained in 2012. We have huge amounts of facts, plus volunteers who are veterans now to the struggle! We know what we are up against in terms of PSE's dirty tricks! 
• Finally, we are not alone like in 2012. East King County is joining the struggle in creating their own electric PUD this year! A second campaign that is larger can bolster and invigorate our own! 

I'm also excited that we have a heavy hitter coming for our launch. Dennis Kucinich will be speaking on behalf of our Thurston Public Power Initiative 2020 on February 4th, 7PM, at the Olympia Community Center! Please come!

Now the ask: will you donate right now to the effort? This is grassroots and we need to raise about $1,000 by the end of this month just to cover the start of the campaign. More importantly, we also need your time. 15,000 signatures need to be gathered in 6 months and then the real fight begins on the campaign!

PSE has all the money but we have all the heart! Get involved today!

Solidarity 

Bruce Wilkinson

Volunteer

Can you stop an oil rig? Want to learn how?

Inspired by #ShellNo actions? Backbone Campaign's "Localize This!" Action Camp brought many of those skills and relationships together. Media Island is bringing 8 people for this year's camp, contact us if you have questions or want to coordinate travel, tents, etc. This Sunday, August 2, 11-1pm, come to First Sunday Brunch, a KOWA 106.5FM benefit to learn more, 816 Adams St. SE. Contact: dj@kowalp.org, 360-352-8526

Action Camp is merely two weeks a way. . .
Have you registered yet?
Localize This! is August 11th-17th
Register for Action Camp ->HERE<-

Register TODAY, recruit your friends, and whatever you do, make sure you don't miss Localize This! Action Camp.

What: Localize This! 2015 is YOUR destination to explore Creative Direct Action Tactics and Effective Organizing Strategies
When: Tuesday August 11th - Monday August 17th, come a day or stay a week
Where: Vashon, WA a beautiful, rural island across from Seattle.
Register HERE

What started out as training ground for a community's fight to stop a transnational corporation's environmental destruction has turned into an annual celebration of some of the best our movements for justice have to offer.

Action Camp is a valuable resource to your organizing.

Donate online HERE or send checks to PO BOX 278, Vashon, WA 98070

Action Alert: Support Hunger Strikers @ NW Detention Center

CALL TO ACTION!
Today, if you can make it, head to the NW Detention Center, 1623 E J St, Tacoma, WA, to show solidarity with the detainees and to prevent the GEO Group from violently force feeding and threatening the hunger strikers. There are people there at the fence starting at noon going till 4pm, and then at 5pm and a noise demo at 8pm. Carpool from Media Island, 816 Adams St. SE, at 5pm. https://www.facebook.com/ShutdownPrisons

Urgent Action Needed

Support Hunger Strikers at the Northwest Detention Center

Sign the petition NOW!

Friends,

Your urgent support is needed. You may have read the news reports about the hundreds of detainees on a hunger strike since Friday, at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.

We share this message from Maru Mora Villalpando of Latino Advocacy in Washington state:

"We have reports that more than 20 of the strikers were placed in isolation yesterday with no communications. ICE and GEO [the private prison company running the detention center] are pressuring immigrants to break the strike and harassing them verbally. We need more than 1000 signatures by tomorrow at 5PM. Please keep forwarding the petition and make sure all your contacts sign it as well.

The strikers need you!!!!!!!"

************************************

Go here to sign the petition (hosted by #not1moredeportation) by 5 pm PDT on Tuesday, March 11.

About the situation:

On Friday, March 7th, 1200 people held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, one of the largest immigration prisons in the country, began a hunger strike and work stoppage. They are putting their bodies on the line to protest the on-going deportations overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the inhumane conditions at the for-profit detention center owned and operated by the GEO Corporation.

Inspired in part by the February 24 #Not1More deportation action at the detention center, the hunger strikers timed their action to begin on Friday. On Fridays, the people facing imminent deportation are separated and processed for deportation, weekly events that contribute to the nearly 2,000,000 deported during the Obama administration. The hunger strikers join a nation-wide movement of resistance against unprecedented levels of detention and deportation.

Apart from calling attention to the unrelenting deportations, the hunger strikers demands include:

• Improved food quality
  
• Improved treatment (including medical treatment)
  
• Increased pay for work in the facility (the current pay is $1.00/day)
  
• An end to exorbitant commissary prices
  
• Fundamental fairness and justice
  

People in the detention center are risking their health by not eating and withstanding potential backlash for participating in the hunger strike. Sign the petition and share widely to support the hunger strikers and their demands. Not one more deportation!

To:  Natalie Asher, Washington Field Office Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
CC: Daniel Ragsdale, Deputy Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
      John M. Hurley, Senior Vice President, GEO Corrections and Detention

I support the hunger strikers at the Northwest Detention Center and their demands. I am alarmed and disturbed by the ongoing deportations and the conditions facing those held at the Northwest Detention Center awaiting deportation.

I urge you to initiate accountable negotiations with the hunger strikers and/or their chosen representatives. I urge you to take action to implement the demands immediately, and in good faith. I also want your guarantee that hunger strikers will not face retaliation.

Add your name to the petition now!

Connect/Support:                

[olympiaworkers] Fast food strike gets super-sized over wages

Aug. 29, 2013 CNBC

The battle to boost the minimum wage escalated Thursday when thousands of
workers at fast-food restaurants in 50 U.S. cities walked off the job to
demand a "decent" wage.

From San Diego to New York, workers stopped flipping burgers, frying
fries, and slathering on secret sauce in what organizers called the
largest strikes against the nation's fast food companies ever.

"You're trying to go up and you're just going down," said protester
Shantel Walker, 31, of Brooklyn, who makes $7.25 working at a Papa John's
(PZZA) in Manhattan. "All of us are in the same financial crunch. We're
trying to take care of our families and our livelihood."

The strikes mark the latest salvo in a nearly year-long battle to get not
only higher wages but also an opportunity to unionize without facing
retaliation from their employers. The workers' ire, too, is at the very
heart of a politicized debate to raise the country's minimum wage that
eventually may be decided in Washington.

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez told The Associated Press that the worker
strikes were a sign of the need to raise the minimum wage. "For all too
many people working minimum wage jobs, the rungs on the ladder of
opportunity are feeling further and further apart," Perez said.

At the core of the workers' demands with the $200 billion fast food
industry is salary starting at $15 an hour from the current $7.25 an hour
minimum wage and the $8.94 median wage for front-end workers.

Workers mobilized in cities from Alameda, Calif., to West Haven, Conn. and
across the nation, including several demonstrations set for New York City.
To date, strikes have been held one city or the other, or in regions, but
nothing like Thursday's national push involving hundreds of restaurants.

About 200 workers marched through the midtown Manhattan McDonald's (MCD)
on Thursday morning, and more gathered downtown in the Financial District.
As the streets became more crowded with protesters beating drums and
blowing loud whistles, police struggled to keep traffic moving.

(Read more: Earn minimum wage? It'll take this long to afford a Big Mac )

The strike comes as more and more fast food workers making minimum wage
are not teenagers, but adults trying to support families, particularly
since the Great Recession. Only 16 percent of fast food industry jobs now
go to teens, down from 25 percent a decade ago. More than 42 percent of
restaurant and fast-food employees over the age of 25 have at least some
college education, including 753,000 with a bachelor's degree or higher,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Janul Dixon, 35, came out on Thursday to offer his support to the workers.
He used to work at Wendy's for a low wage, but has since found work as an
exterminator. "They need to allow people to make enough to support their
family," he said. "In New York everything is going up but wages are not."

The National Restaurant Association has countered that only about 5
percent of fast-food workers earn the minimum wage. Other defenders of the
industry note that increased wage costs will be passed onto consumers.

"The restaurant industry provides opportunity to over 13 million Americans
with jobs that meet critical needs within our economy. We welcome a
national discussion on wages, but it should be based on facts," said Scott
DeFife, the association's executive vice president of policy and
government affairs. "The restaurant industry is the nation's second
largest private sector employer and our industry is an industry of
opportunity."

(Read more: Minimum wage hike: Just what the economy ordered? )

"Nine out of ten salaried restaurant workers, including owners and
managers, started as hourly workers. The fact is, only 5 percent of
restaurant employees earn the minimum wage, and those that do are
predominantly working part-time and half are teenagers," DeFife added.
"Restaurant jobs teach valuable skills and a strong work ethic that are
useful for workers throughout their professional careers."

McDonald's, which has 34,000 restaurants across the globe., was quick to
defend its salaries. "McDonald's aims to offer competitive pay and
benefits to our employees. We provide training and professional
development for all of those who wish to take advantage of those
opportunities," the company said in a statement. "Our history is full of
examples of individuals who worked their first job with McDonald's and
went on to successful careers both within and outside of McDonald's." The
chain posted $5.5 billion in profits last year on revenues of $27.5
billion.

Thursday's strike was expected to be "the largest attempt at worker
organizing in this industry ever" due to support from the Service Workers
International Union, and grassroots efforts from community groups, local
politicians and the clergy, said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, an attorney at the
National Employment Law Project.

"The workers are responding to total failure on behalf of the federal
government to raise the minimum wage to keep up with inflation and the
cost of living," Gebreselassie said.

(Read more: How bad math about Big Macs gives me indigestion )

Organizers stressed the importance of the strike spreading to Southern
states.

"The South has always been the model for low wage employment, from slavery
to the Jim Crow laws, to the present," said Dorian Warren, an assistant
professor of political science at Columbia University who has published
work on labor organizing and inequality. "It's also the most anti-union
part of the country, so the fact that workers feel empowered enough to
take collective action is enormous."

Strikers complain that while revenue is up about 13 percent at fast-food
restaurants as of August, it's not being passed on to the workers.

All the media attention paid to the strikers Thursday will surely
re-ignite the minimum wage debate, in which opponents say higher
employment costs will mean fewer jobs and higher prices for customers. In
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, the conservative Employment Policies
Institute ran a full-page ad with a picture of a robot making pancakes,
warning that higher wages would mean "fewer entry-level jobs and more
automated alternatives."

"You can either raise prices and lose customers, or (automate) those
jobs," said Michael Saltsman, EPI's research director. "The idea that
restaurants are rolling in the money is not representative of the
situation franchisees face."

[olympiaworkers] SeaSol quickly wins $6,710 at a South Seattle grocery store.

Aug. 13, 2013 Libcom.org

New SeaSol member Antonio worked at a grocery store in White Center for
two grueling years. Working regular 6-day, 72-hour weeks, Antonio received
no breaks, no overtime pay, and was irregularly compensated at less than
$7 per hour (far below Washington State's minimum wage). When he learned
of our win at Jumbo Buffet, Antonio got in touch with the Seattle
Solidarity Network. After much discussion and research, SeaSol and Antonio
voted to fight for 30 weeks of back wages, or $6,710, for Antonio.

On Saturday July 27th 2013, Antonio, his family, and over forty SeaSolers
filed into the store to deliver our demand. The atmosphere was tense as
the boss read the letter, shaking, and looking around at the stern faces
glaring in solidarity with Antonio. The boss was so intimidated by our
direct action that he immediately contacted a lawyer friend for help. His
lawyer called us the following Monday with weak - and quickly shut down -
attempts at bargaining.

On Thursday August 8th 2013, the thieving boss and his lawyer friend met
up with Antonio, his daughter, and other SeaSol members. More attempts to
bully Antonio into accepting less money were rejected, and Antonio was
paid $6,710 on the spot.

The unwavering position presented by SeaSol and Antonio throughout this
fight, our refusal to play legal games with a lawyer, and flawlessly
carried out direct action quickly resulted in a swift win in this fight.
Congratulations to our new comrade Antonio, and thanks to all who showed
up to the demand delivery!

[originally posted at seasol.net August 2013]

[olympiaworkers] Fast-food workers in NYC stage strikes, rallies

NEW YORK (AP) — Workers at McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's restaurants
across New York walked out Monday in a one-day strike to demand better pay
and the right to unionize, calling for minimum wage to more than double
from $7.25 to $15 an hour and the end to what activists called "abusive
labor practices."

"It's noisy, it's really hot, fast, they rush you. Sometimes you don't
even get breaks. All for $7.25? It's crazy," said Nathalia Sepulveda, who
works at a McDonald's opposite Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, where one
protest took place.

Outside the McDonald's as well as a Wendy's in lower Manhattan, workers
chanted "we can't survive on $7.25" and "supersize our wages." At the
Wendy's, the crowd shouted at customers not to go in and two police
officers were stationed inside.

They were among hundreds of people who took part at locations throughout
New York, activists said. Similar strikes were planned across the country
this week, organized by the national Fast Food Forward campaign, which was
launched last year to tackle stagnating wages and the proliferation of
low-wage jobs as the nation recovers from the recession, said campaign
director Jonathan Westin.

"The workers' actions will lift up all of New York City," he said. "If
they have more money in their pockets, they'll spend it right here,
helping to boost the entire economy."

Doubling the minimum wage would have a "significant effect on the private
sector's ability to create jobs, especially those typically filled by
first-time workers and teens," said Scott DeFife of the National
Restaurant Association. McDonald's had directed requests for comment to
the trade group.

Spokesmen for Burger King and Wendy's both said they respect the rights of
their workers.

"We're proud that Wendy's provides a place where thousands of people with
different backgrounds and education levels can enter the workforce," said
Wendy's spokesman Bob Bertini.

Glenda Soto, 35, a single mother supporting four children said that though
she works full-time and often puts in 13-hour days at the Bronx
McDonald's, money is a constant headache.

"My rent is going up in September," she said. "We are already living
paycheck to paycheck."

Many workers brought their families with them, including children.

"We're a movement, we're a team," Sepulveda said as she held the hand of
her 3-year-old son, Hayden.

The striking workers in Manhattan were joined by politicians and community
leaders, including U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat who represents the
district. He said the fact that the fast food industry is worth $200
billion a year and yet many of its employees still rely on food stamps and
Medicaid is "disgusting."

Ashley Pinkney, who works at McDonald's in Times Square, arrived at the
downtown rally still in her uniform.

"I can't even order something off the menu with what I earn," she said.
"It makes me wonder what I'm even doing there."

[olympiaworkers] Backbone Activist Camp! What fun! You should come!

Hello Olympia! Have you been to a summer camp made just for you and your activist friends focused on creating a better world? If you have, you know it's fun, if you haven't, think Wet Hot American Summer... (It's nothing like that.) Come to Localize This! Action Camp!

Localize This Action Camp is for people who care and have a day or a week on their hands July 31- Aug. 5. Paddle, sail, swim, walk, bike or hitch a ride to Vashon Island, eat delicious food, camp under the stars (there are bathrooms and showers nearby) and learn excellent techniques to challenge the powers that spy on all your emails, put you in bottomless debt through steroidal student loans and devastates the climate of our only earth amongst other nefarious things (such as wars, Guantanamo, oppressing women, police state, etc.) that only benefit the sick 1% who control America's government and the corporations.

Register TODAY! It's a short app. If you're broke, no one is turned away for lack of funds. Register now to be counted early and let's throw a party to raise some money. Nearly every large highway banner, noisy artful action, puppet headed protest, light projection and helium filled highlight of the past 3 years seen in Oly has been a product of the skills acquired at a Backbone Campaign training. Don't miss this!

https://www.facebook.com/events/533301153379337/

July 31 is an anti-oppression training with the camp following August 1-5 in full. If you don't know how you'll get there or don't have camp gear to bring or just want to know more, email me (this is my 4th year). Lot's of fun, share this with friends and let's all meet by the campfire after days of kayaking, tree climbing, strategizing, blockade trainings and art making.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bill Moyer <bill@backbonecampaign.org>
Date: Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 8:35 AM
Subject: Pitch in to Get Change Agents to Localize This! $5? Frequent Flyer Miles? What Can YOU Do?

If this doesn't look BEAUTIFUL then, Click Here to View Online

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REGISTER for Localize This! 2013 - Contribute - AND Spread the Word! Get AMAZING Change Agents like Jeff and Ahern to Localize This! 2013 so they can share their skills with others! (like YOU) $5? $10? Share & Tweet? Frequent Flyer Miles? What Will YOU Do? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ahern Dreadsen - Direct Action, Online Media & Tactical Communications Ahern is the Direct Action trainer and Organizer of Multi Kulti in Chicago. Unity For A Change, the Activist organization of Multi Kulti, recruited him to conduct Direct Action training workshops and long-term power-building consultation with the many grassroots organizations who utilize the Co-Op. Ahern has diverse experience & accomplished a wide-range of actions from animal rescue in Hurricane Katrina, and shutting down 2 of the oldest Coal plants in Chicago with Rainforest Action Network Chicago, to long-term campaigns which have closed a corrupt police department and worked on Appalachia Rising Campaign. Ahern has worked with FIJA , "Fully Informed Jury Association" and has been deeply involved with Occupy Chicago organizing, being one of the the first two people to form their Non-Violent Direct Action Committee. PLEASE Pitch in NOW! Jeff Lucas - Organizer, NonViolent Direct Action Trainer & Artful Activism Innovator Jeff Lucas hails from coal country in central Illinois. His introduction to activism came from his grandfather who was a 60 year rank and file member of the Industrial Workers of the World. His current focus is organizing and movement building with frontline communities in the Illinois Coal Basin, Chicago, and St. Louis. Residing in Chicago for 8 years Jeff has worked with Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Rainforest Action Network, Action Now, Forest Ethics, United Steel Workers, Heartland Coalfield Alliance, The Alliance for Appalachia, United Food and Commercial Workers, Chicago Housing Initiative, Anarchist Black Cross, Rising Tide, Service Employees International Union, Chicago Youth Climate Coalition, Agit-Pop, Food Not Bombs, and more, and trained Students for a Free Tibet. PLEASE Pitch in NOW! What is Localize This!? Check out this 2 min. video Change is not just possible, it is inevitable. But opportunity favors the prepared. There is nothing the Backbone Campaign does that is more crucial to preparing progressive change agents or weaving connections between them than our annual Localize This! Action Camp. All year long, the Backbone team appears in our region and across the country, but only one time per year does the country come to us. For the past four years this gathering has been at the cusp of movement innovation, a source of numerous collaborations, and a spark for countless creative actions from viral Flash Mobs to Giant floating buttocks. Our giant 1% arrows banner and light projections preceded Occupy. Last year's camp lifted up Eviction Protection in the Seattle area and now our allies are celebrating a victorious Eviction Blockade. Our first camp helped save an island! HERE is how you can help spread the word about the 5th annual Localize This! Artful Action Camp Please copy and SHARE/Tweet/email to friends this link http://LocalizeThis.org Invite Facebook Friends to our FB event page HERE. Download 4 per page handbill HERE. Download poster HERE.

Feel free to contact the Backbone office or Bill at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ email: bill@backbonecampaign.org o. 206-356-9980 c. 206-356-9980 web: http://backbonecampaign.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[olympiaworkers] Fast-food workers in Detroit walk off job, disrupt business

May 10, 2013 By Steve Neavling and Lisa Baertlein

(Reuters) - Hundreds of fast-food employees in Detroit walked off the job
on Friday, temporarily shuttering a handful of outlets as part of a
growing U.S. worker movement that is demanding higher wages for flipping
burgers and operating fryers.

The protests in the Motor City - which is struggling to recover from the
hollowing out of its auto manufacturing sector - marked an expansion in
organized actions by fast-food workers from ubiquitous chains owned by
McDonald's Corp, Burger King Worldwide and KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut
parent Yum Brands Inc.

Fast-food workers, who already have taken to the streets in New York,
Chicago and St. Louis, are seeking to roughly double their hourly pay to
$15 per hour from around minimum wage, which in Michigan is $7.40 per
hour.

Organizers said more than 400 people turned out for the Detroit event, the
most to date.

They also said the walk-outs forced the temporary closures of two
McDonald's restaurants, a Burger King, a Subway, a Long John Silver's and
a Popeyes in Detroit - a claim some chains disputed.

Outside a Burger King on 8 Mile in Detroit, employee Claudette Wilson said
she's tired of poor wages, especially at a time when the fast-food
industry continues to grow.

"I make minimum wage, which is what I made when I started working in fast
food three years ago," the 20-year-old college student said. "I can't
understand how the industry is growing but our wages aren't."

Organizers said the Detroit metro area has 53,000 fast-food jobs, which
pay at or just above minimum wage.

The fast-food workforce is twice as large as that of the region's famed
auto manufacturing sector and is projected to grow faster than the
region's overall workforce in the coming years, organizers said.

"People can't make a living at $7.40 a hour," said Rev. Charles Williams
II, a protest organizer. "Many of them have babies and children to raise,
and they can't get by with these kind of wages."

Those workers face high hurdles in their fight for better pay. Low-wage,
low-skill workers lack political clout and face significantly higher
unemployment than college graduates.

U.S. President Barack Obama proposed raising the federal minimum wage in
his State of the Union address as a way to help lift some workers out of
poverty. But critics of such a move, including representatives for the
nearly $200 billion U.S. fast-food industry, say it would kill jobs by
burdening small businesses with higher costs.

PROTESTS, DISPUTES

At a Long John Silver's on Detroit's east side, a lone manager tended the
restaurant as the presence of protesters appeared to stifle business.

A McDonald's spokeswoman told Reuters its Michigan restaurants were "open,
and operating as usual". Burger King said none of its restaurants were
shut down and no workers walked off the job.

Representatives from Subway, Long John Silver's and AFC Enterprises'
Popeyes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Margaret Neal, 52, said frustration with the low wage she earns after more
than a decade working at a McDonald's in Detroit prompted her to join
Friday's protests.

Asked about her pay, Neal said: "You don't even want to know, I've been
there 15 years. I'm still making $8.83 (an hour). That's not right."

Neal, who works full-time, says her bosses have told her she is "maxed
out" at her current wage and ineligible for an increase.

The vast majority of McDonald's more than 14,000 U.S. restaurants are
owned and operated by franchisees. The company said in a statement that
McDonald's employees are paid competitive wages, have access to a range of
benefits and opportunities for training and career advancement.

The Detroit action was put together by the Michigan Workers Organizing
Committee, an independent union of fast-food workers, that is supported by
community, labor and faith-based groups such as the Interfaith Coalition
of Pastors, UFCW Local 876, SEIU Healthcare Michigan and Good Jobs Now.

[olympiaworkers] Lonmin miners strike in S.Africa, unnerving investors

Tue Mar 5, 2013 11:50am Reuters

* Wildcat strike launched as media tours mine

* Confusion sends rand, platinum, shares on bumpy ride

* Union feud at heart of dispute

By Sherilee Lakmidas

MARIKANA, South Africa, March 5 (Reuters) - Workers went on a wildcat
strike at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine in South Africa on Tuesday,
embarrassing the company as it launched a publicity drive to try and show
it had recovered from months of deadly labour unrest.

The world's third-largest platinum producer invited journalists to tour
the mine, but the public relations exercise backfired as thousands of
workers took advantage of the media spotlight to down tools at four
shafts.

Confusion mounted after the company said they had all returned to work,
only to revise its statement when it became clear miners at two of the
shafts remained above ground.

The conflicting statements sent platinum prices, South Africa's rand and
Lonmin's shares on a bumpy ride, highlighting nerves over the health of
the country's key mining sector after months of labour unrest.

Disruptions at Marikana are particularly closely watched as it was the
site where 34 striking miners were shot dead by police last August in
South Africa's deadliest security incident since the end of apartheid in
1994.

"Things are still not right," said Johannes Liofo, a rock drill operator
at Lonmin's Karee mine. Speaking at a rock face and drenched in sweat, he
said he was still waiting for working conditions to improve.

Lonmin said workers affiliated to the Association of Mineworkers and
Construction Union (AMCU) refused to go underground on Tuesday, demanding
the closure of the offices of a rival union.

AMCU has a reputation for militancy and one of its shift bosses, Phahla
Mekela, said there was still a high level of absenteeism at the shafts,
something he attributed to widespread resentment among workers and a long
list of demands still unmet.

Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey said the miners had taken advantage of the
presence of the world's media to stage a stoppage and make their point.

"They made use of the opportunity to convey their message. They have been
heard," she said.

TURF WAR, ROUND TWO

AMCU Members are demanding the closure of the offices of the rival
National Union of Mineworkers because they say it is no longer the largest
body representing workers there.

The turf war between AMCU and NUM, which is a powerful political ally of
the ruling African National Congress, was at the heart of much of the
unrest that hit the platinum and gold mining sectors in South Africa last
year, triggering labour violence that killed over 50 people.

The union rivalry has shaken investor confidence in Africa's largest
economy and the world's top platinum producer and led to credit downgrades
for the country.

The rand initially fell to a session low of 9.1173 and then recovered
after the company said the strike was over. Lonmin's share price fell as
much as 2 percent in Johannesburg while platinum prices jumped over 1
percent, leap-frogging gold before easing back to parity with bullion.

Investors are also nervously monitoring union reaction to plans by Anglo
American Platinum, the world's top producer of the precious metal, to
restore profits by mothballing two mines and cutting up to 14,000 jobs.

The platinum belt northwest of Johannesburg remains a flashpoint of social
and labour tension after it was the scene of riots last year and
widespread intimidation as AMCU recruited workers angered at the NUM
leadership, which they see as out of touch with the rank and file and too
close to the ANC.

Glaring income disparities and grinding poverty in the shantytowns around
the platinum mines have also fueled the violence.

2 rabble rousing analysts on Latin America + Israeli Apartheid Week!

Laura Carlsen, two major talks in Olympia on the Drug Wars and Neoliberalism.
1) Latin America's Challenge to Neoliberalism https://www.facebook.com/events/214326362039336
Monday, March 4, 2013 7-9pm, Olympia Center, Room 101, 222 N Columbia St, Downtown Olympia
2) A Nation at Risk: Drug Wars, Democracy, and Dependency in Mexico https://www.facebook.com/events/446797372059675
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 11am-1pm, The Evergreen State College, Seminar II, Room E1105

Laura Carlsen is a political analyst and writer who has lived in Mexico City for 25 years and is  the Director of The Americas Program, www.cipamericas.org, at the Center for International Policy,  She has written extensively on NAFTA, the drug war, immigration and gender issues in Americas Updater, Counterpunch, La Jornada and others. She is a columnist for Huffington Post and Foreign Policy in Focus, and a commentator with Al Jazeera, CCTV, NBC, Democracy Now!, NPR and Mexican television and radio stations. Laura Carlsen is co-editor of "Confronting Globalization: Economic Integration and Popular Resistance in Mexico" and has participated as an analyst and activist in the movement against militarization and the drug war on both sides of the border. Both events are free and open to the public! Sponsored by OMJP (Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace), MEChA de Evergreen and the TESC Political Economy and Social Movements Program.

EVENT: Eyewitness Updates on Honduras: Attacks on LGBTQ Community and Unions
https://www.facebook.com/events/406819922734669/
Friday, March 8, 6PM, Media Island, 816 Adams St. SE, Olympia, free event (donations accepted), food for purchase by MIJAS
Come out to hear Chuck Kaufman as he speaks about his first hand experiences organizing delegations to Honduras. Three years after the Honduras coup, Indigenous, LGBTQ, Teachers, Labor and Farmers are subjected to continual violence. The Resistance Front calls for greater international solidarity to stop the violence. This is Chuck Kaufman's final stop on a NW tour speaking on this issue, Evergreen masters student Caitlin Payne Roberts will give a recap of her experience doing solidarity work in Honduras and the delegation trip she took with Chuck. Introducing both will be Bruce Wilkinson, who traveled to Honduras 6 months after the coup and now works for Alliance For Global Justice. MIJAS will be selling food and talk about their project in honor of International Women's Day.

On June 28, 2009, democratically elected Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was rousted from his bed by the military and flown into exile. Under the coup government, and the illegitimate government of Porfirio Lobo, "selected in sham elections," violence and repression against the people of Honduras has continued to grow.

• More than 55 small farmers, members of cooperatives farming land they are entitled to under the country's land reform laws, have been murdered by government forces and "security guards" of large landowners.
• Thirty LGBTQ activists have been murdered, many of them tortured and mutilated first.
• African-descended Garifuna people on Honduras' Caribbean Coast are being violently evicted to make way for tourism projects.
• In May, four indigenous Miskito people, including two pregnant women, a 14-year old boy and a 21-year old youth were wrongfully slaughtered when a US helicopter with DEA agents aboard, negligently fired at Miskito families in a community boat. Four other indigenous family members of the boat were badly wounded. Six of the sixteen persons on the boat were children.

The US government trains and funds the Honduran military and corrupt police. It was the primary force behind recognizing the coup government and returning Honduras to membership in the Organization of American States.

Join Chuck Kaufman who has traveled to Honduras frequently since the coup to learn about the violence against marginalized communities there, how they are fighting for their economic and civil rights, and what you can do to help. Chuck Kaufman is National Co-Coordinator of the Alliance for Global Justice with 25 years of Latin America solidarity work and anti-war, anti-US militarism work in the US. He has led many delegations to Honduras since the coup and is one of the key organizers in the Honduras Solidarity Network.

AFTER the EVENT: Heartsparkle Players – Playback Theatre:  "Stories of Women Making a Better World: Their Struggles, Successes and Resilience" in recognition of International Women's Day, and in collaboration with the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation, 7:30, Traditions, $5-10

ALSO: Israeli Apartheid Week at The Evergreen State College
https://www.facebook.com/events/397306510366028/

You're invited to Evergreen's Second Annual Israeli Apartheid Week!

During this week, hosting by the Mideast Solidarity Project and the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, please join us in conversation about the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement. If you don't know what BDS is, come to these events! If you aren't sure why "apartheid" is an accurate term, or disagree, come to these events! We will have current Evergreen students reporting on their recent travels in Palestine, in addition to various films and an introductory workshop. We welcome everybody--students, friends, community members, faculty, and staff. All events will have facilitated discussions after the main event.

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW): March 4th- 8th. More info about the international movement: http://apartheidweek.org/

Sunday: Author and Activist, Remi Kanazi: Hosted by MSP and The Rachel Corrie Foundation
Time: 2-4PM workshop, 6PM poetry reading Location: the Washington State Labor Council, 906 Columbia St. SW.
https://www.facebook.com/events/288730851256532/

Monday: Intro to Israel/ Palestine
Time: 4-5 PM Location: Lecture Hall 3
https://www.facebook.com/events/539843806050493

Student Report back from Palestine
Time: 5:30- 7 PM Location: Lecture Hall 3
https://www.facebook.com/events/407730202653910

Wednesday: Film screening: Five Broken Cameras
Time: 6 Pm Location: Lecture Hall 3
https://www.facebook.com/events/506621916054946

Thursday: Film Screening: Slingshot Hip-Hop
Time: 4 PM Location: Sem 2 B1105
https://www.facebook.com/events/496086030429158

Sponsored by Mid-East Solidarity Project

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