The statewide strike of teachers in West Virginia that started on February 22nd is a model for teachers and other working-class people across the US of how we can struggle together for what we need. It is a desperately needed example of mass working-class solidarity in a time when the rich are attempting to fracture us even more. It is also an important model of the kinds of strikes we can wage when we realize that the existing labor laws (the same ones that the rich are trying to destroy anyways) are traps designed by the rich to tie our arms behind our backs and hold us back.
Some teachers and supporters in West Virginia are organizing through the IWW to spread a revolutionary unionist perspective in the current strike, to expand the strike and strengthen the militant mood of the teachers, and to build for long-term organization that is not reliant on politicians or bureaucrats. They will begin by distributing a leaflet to encourage teachers and other members of the working class to extend and expand the current struggle, and they will be looking for openings to expand on that organizing.
You can support their organizing by donating here. Funds raised will be used to print agitational materials, to cover travel costs related to organizing, to rent spaces or cover child-care for meetings, and to cover other costs related to building a militant and organized presence among teachers and working-class people in West Virginia.
The text of the leaflet they will be distributing is below. We also welcome anyone in West Virginia, or any teachers anywhere, or anyone else, to download the PDF and distribute it in your workplaces, schools, churches, and neighborhoods.
The Power of Working Class Solidarity
What Do We Face?
Jim Justice and the Republican-dominated legislature seek to cut state funding to the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), increasing premiums over the next several years, and eliminating teacher seniority while opening up the possibility of charter schools to privatize public education in areas in most need of quality public servants. The goal for this legislature is to utterly decimate public sector labor, reap obscene profits through private charter school investments which lack accountability measures, and ultimately reduce the quality of education in the state.
We know that both Democrats and Republicans no longer have a need for a highly-educated workforce. Instead, they seek to create a system of obedient workers who can perform the menial tasks asked of them by their corporate masters without questioning the powers that be. Careers that provide meaningful employment with a steady wage and quality health care no longer exist for the many. They have been replaced, over the course of the past few decades, with a series of half-hearted promises by both parties. If we do not act NOW to halt this reactionary legislation, we will ultimately lose our future – our children’s future – to big business and the corporate-controlled parties.
In sum, we face the daunting challenge to confront elitism in our political party system and the legislation they seek to create. BUT, we cannot create a new destiny simply by voting out one party and replacing it with another. For substantive change to occur, we must FIRST organize around our common destiny as workers.
Read More
Last Updated: March 26, 2018 by x37pegasus
Solidarity with the Rojavan Struggle!
“Where as the IWW is engaged in the struggle to end capitalism. Where as capitalism has engulfed the whole globe, and we need to build international solidarity to defeat an international system. Be it resolved that the Olympia GMB state that we are in total support of the Rojavan struggle, and strongly condemn any attack on their project including the most recent attack on Afrin by Turkey. We send our revolutionary greetings with warm hearts and raised fists.”
Last Updated: February 27, 2018 by x37pegasus
West Virginia: Extend the Strike, Build Long Term Power
The statewide strike of teachers in West Virginia that started on February 22nd is a model for teachers and other working-class people across the US of how we can struggle together for what we need. It is a desperately needed example of mass working-class solidarity in a time when the rich are attempting to fracture us even more. It is also an important model of the kinds of strikes we can wage when we realize that the existing labor laws (the same ones that the rich are trying to destroy anyways) are traps designed by the rich to tie our arms behind our backs and hold us back.
Some teachers and supporters in West Virginia are organizing through the IWW to spread a revolutionary unionist perspective in the current strike, to expand the strike and strengthen the militant mood of the teachers, and to build for long-term organization that is not reliant on politicians or bureaucrats. They will begin by distributing a leaflet to encourage teachers and other members of the working class to extend and expand the current struggle, and they will be looking for openings to expand on that organizing.
You can support their organizing by donating here. Funds raised will be used to print agitational materials, to cover travel costs related to organizing, to rent spaces or cover child-care for meetings, and to cover other costs related to building a militant and organized presence among teachers and working-class people in West Virginia.
The text of the leaflet they will be distributing is below. We also welcome anyone in West Virginia, or any teachers anywhere, or anyone else, to download the PDF and distribute it in your workplaces, schools, churches, and neighborhoods.
The Power of Working Class Solidarity
What Do We Face?
Jim Justice and the Republican-dominated legislature seek to cut state funding to the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA), increasing premiums over the next several years, and eliminating teacher seniority while opening up the possibility of charter schools to privatize public education in areas in most need of quality public servants. The goal for this legislature is to utterly decimate public sector labor, reap obscene profits through private charter school investments which lack accountability measures, and ultimately reduce the quality of education in the state.
We know that both Democrats and Republicans no longer have a need for a highly-educated workforce. Instead, they seek to create a system of obedient workers who can perform the menial tasks asked of them by their corporate masters without questioning the powers that be. Careers that provide meaningful employment with a steady wage and quality health care no longer exist for the many. They have been replaced, over the course of the past few decades, with a series of half-hearted promises by both parties. If we do not act NOW to halt this reactionary legislation, we will ultimately lose our future – our children’s future – to big business and the corporate-controlled parties.
In sum, we face the daunting challenge to confront elitism in our political party system and the legislation they seek to create. BUT, we cannot create a new destiny simply by voting out one party and replacing it with another. For substantive change to occur, we must FIRST organize around our common destiny as workers.
Read More
Last Updated: February 22, 2018 by x37pegasus
Why Join the Industrial Workers of the World?
We want our work to be less boring, less dangerous, and less destructive to the environment. We want more control over how we produce goods and provide services. We want meaningful work that contributes to our communities and world. Our employers, in contrast, want us to work longer, harder, faster, and cheaper. They want fewer safety and environmental regulations and they demand absolute control over all decisions, work schedules, speech, and actions in the workplace. We think if you work it, you should control it.
Read More
Posted: February 22, 2018 by x37pegasus
Canvassers Give Grassroots Campaigns A Surprise Valentine’s Day Present – A Union
With Trump’s election, many organizations without internal fundraisers frequently turn to canvassing organizations such as Grassroots Campaigns Incorporated, which sends politically savvy workers all over the city of Seattle to alert people to important causes and issues that affect their lives, such as the American Civil Liberties Union or Planned Parenthood. These canvassers often face hostile opposition, sexual harassment, and intimidation while striving to make the world a better place.
However, these workers – crucial to the success of various nonprofits, who have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for various causes – frequently find themselves fighting for fair workplace treatment. And like many others, they’ve engaged in a time-honored way to get it – forming a union. Canvassers and field managers with the Boston-based company’s Seattle office have joined together, choosing to form under the Industrial Workers of the World, one of the oldest unions in the United States with a long history in the Pacific Northwest.
“We hope to see that Grassroots Campaigns, given its stated progressive bent, will accept this union without putting up a fight.” said one union organizer. “Given that the overwhelming majority of workers in the Seattle Canvassing office have signed union cards, it would be a violation of its stated principles to do otherwise.”
“Let’s call it an early Valentine’s Day present,” one union member said about their filing for recognition with the National Labor Relations Board, which occurred on Feb 12. “We know that the organizations we fundraise for value our labor and appreciate the results we bring. Morale is up now that we are organizing, and better treatment brings better results.”
“The perception is that this kind of work is just done by college kids who don’t need full-time employment – but canvassing happens year-round, and we need a living wage and job stability,” said another IWW member of the Canvassers Union. “The idea that someone could lose their job because of a rainy week where not many people were outside is not acceptable.”
Founded in 2003, Grassroots Campaigns Incorporated specializes in face-to-face campaigns for political parties, candidates and advocacy groups. Their employees help build bases and mobilize supporters for organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Democratic National Committee, the Nature Conservancy and Oxfam International.
Employees of Grassroots and members of the union are available for comment: please contact the Seattle Branch of the IWW at seattleiww@gmail.com to arrange for interviews.
Posted: November 16, 2017 by x37pegasus
In November We Remember
On November 11th wobblies gathered in Centralia to remember those who fell 98 years ago defending the Union. On the same date in 1919 the IWW union hall in Centralia was attacked during an armistice day parade (which is now veterans day).
We spoke about the events that took place on that day, we talked about today and we looked forward to the future.
We cleaned the grave stones that were laid by the Union to mark the graves, and we placed wreaths and flowers.
In November — We Remember
Posted: November 5, 2017 by x37pegasus
New York: Wobblies at Singing Restaurant Win Major Victory
In a major victory for the singing servers at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, their employer has reached an agreement with their solidarity union, Stardust Family United, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). By entering into the settlement agreement, the company will narrowly avoid a trial on some 19 violations of the National Labor Relations Act, including 31 retaliatory firings.
Under the terms of the agreement, all 31 employees terminated over the last year in retaliation for union activity have been offered immediate and full reinstatement, and will receive back pay from the time they were fired. Of the terminated employees, 13 will immediately return to work at the popular Midtown diner.
In addition, the restaurant is required to mail official notices to all employees, informing them that the company will not violate federal law by engaging in certain unlawful practices such as surveilling and threatening workers, interfering with their use of social media, and discouraging them from taking action to improve working conditions.
For the singing servers, this has been a long road. The union, which is a branch of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), initially went public in late summer of 2016. Weeks after making their efforts known to management, 16 active union members were fired. Over the fall and winter, the workers continued to engage in direct workplace action to improve health and safety conditions, as well as pursue other demands. Another mass firing in January 2017 brought the total of terminated singers up to 31.
Despite this, Stardust Family United remained active, both inside and outside the restaurant. “I’m thrilled and proud to know our struggle and vigilance over the last year has paid off,” says returning employee Matthew Patterson. “I’m looking forward to returning and making a positive impact inside the diner.”
As published on IWW.org
Last Updated: October 25, 2017 by x37pegasus
Olympia IWW orientation | Saturday Nov. 4th | Olympia Center 3pm
Hey Fellow Workers!
Are you interested in joining the Industrial Workers of the World? But not sure how to get involved. Or maybe you want to learn more about it. Interested in learning more about your rights as a worker!?
Maybe you are already a member but want to learn how you can get more involved!
Well then you need to come to the Olympia I.W.W. Orientation this weekend on Saturday the 4th of November at 3pm at the Olympia Center.
We will learn more about the I.W.W. as a whole and also about the local Olympia branch! Plus we will brush up on our meeting process – Rusty’s Rules. And more!!
We will also, of course, answer any questions you have. You can join or pay dues as well.
See you there!
Posted: October 8, 2017 by x37pegasus
Friday the 13th Radical Movie Night
Join us this Friday the 13th of October at Last Word Books (111 Cherry St NE Olympia Wa 98501) to watch the documentray “13th.” We will start it at 7pm!
“In this thought-provoking documentry, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.”
Last Updated: August 16, 2017 by x37pegasus
Statement on Charlottesville
Fellow Workers and Comrades,
Todays attack, in Charlottesville Virginia, on our friends, by White Supremacists, stirs deep emotions of anger and sadness. The Olympia Industrial Workers of the World extend our deepest respect and sympathy to those who were attacked in such a cowardly way and we strongly condemn the actions of those who perpetuated it.
We stand against fascists in all their forms and in all venues. They serve only to attack and divide the working class.
Those who were willing and able to stand up against these White Supremacists today in Charlottesville have our gratitude and support such as it is.
On a personal note, I grew up in Virginia not far from Charlottesville, and while I am sickened to see such hatred and racism occur in my home I am also hearted by the show of love and solidarity that stood against it.
Stay strong brothers and sisters for the struggle continues…
In Solidarity,
Dylan B.
Secretary
Olympia General Membership Branch
of the
Industrial Workers of the World
Last Updated: August 16, 2017 by ywuh3
Olympia I.W.W. Orientation! | Sat. 5/6 3pm | Olympia Center
Hey Fellow Workers!
Are you interested in joining the Industrial Workers of the World? But not sure how to get involved. Or maybe you want to learn more about it. Interested in learning more about your rights as a worker!?
Maybe you are already a member but want to learn how you can get more involved!
Well then you need to come to the Olympia I.W.W. Orientation this weekend on Saturday the 6th of May at 3pm at the Olympia Center.
We will learn more about the I.W.W. as a whole and also about the local Olympia branch! Plus we will brush up on our meeting process – Rusty’s Rules. And more!!
We will also, of course, answer any questions you have. You can join or pay dues there. There will be light snacks and coffee!
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