PO Box 1293, Olympia Wa, 98507 Organize@OlympiaIWW.com (564) 225-2472

Fellow Worker Roberta’s canidate statement for editor of the “Industial Worker.”

To the General Membership of the Industrial Workers of the World:

Knowledge is the real power. Knowledge of the truth, that is.

What’s the best way of distracting people from their freedoms being taken
away and realizing how huge the financial inequities actually are? What will
keep them from pushing for unions, fair pay, and better sources of energy so
that their children and grandchildren will be able to breathe, grow food and
flowers, and live in health?

Deny them access to truthful information.

Read More

Wobbly Campout August 26th – 28th

IWW branchs in the Northwest are hosting a campout in late August!  See below for all the info!

 

Aug.26th -28th
Battle Ground Lake State Park, WA
Group Camp Site #1 (NOT the Horse Camp). Check in at the main entrance, then drive around the Park to the north side, where the entrance to the Group Camp is. It is a forest service-type, steel bar gate, which the Advance Party will force open with C-4 charges, or just ask the Rangers for the key. We will make some pie-plate signage beginning at the crucial left-hand turn on Grace St. in Battle Ground (town), about 3 miles from the Park entrance. The Town is substantial enough to have a Clinic, diners, rib joints, drug stores, speakeasies, a Medical Cannabis dispensary, gun shops, major and minor grocery outlets, and a Rotary Club. If there is an American Legion post, we shall take appropriate measures to insure them that Wobblies Never Forget.
Check-in after 14:00 (2:00 PM)
$25.00 per tent, $10.00 per individual wanting to use 1 of 32 possible bunks. This is for the whole weekend, which is less than half of the full price for individuals or families.

There are 4 Adirondack shelters, which are wooden structures with a roof and three walls. Bring firewood if desired, as there is a large wood storage shed for the main fire pit which is surrounded by benches. There are satellite fire rings near shelters, also three iron barbecues at one end of the picnic shelter. The site has its own shed with two vault toilets, which we will keep clean during our stay. Two water points, one with a garden hose hookup, the other with a drinking fountain-type faucet. The tent area is large and grassy (maybe 1/4 acre?), and it is possible to find more secluded places to pitch a tent in the woods if one is more inclined to privacy. The whole site is tailor-made for convivial gatherings. The picnic shelter is big enough so that Vegans and FWs with special dietary considerations can set up their own kitchen and thus join in meals with their omnivorous Fellow Workers. No plans for a group kitchen or organized serving of meals have been made, so bringing enough of one’s own food is encouraged. The bunk rooms have no bedding, so please bring your own. No Wobbly will be turned away for lack of funds, nor shall they be mocked. The eponymous Lake is about a quarter mile long and oval shaped. Bring bathing suits; Naked Wobblies scare the Citizens. The Lake has trout stocked in it, but one needs a Washington State License to catch any, unless the Rangers can’t see your rebreathing equipment or hard-hat diving suits. Foot trails connect everything, and a map of the Park is available on the web site.
A really good Country Store is close by (Heisson Grocery) which has … everything, and ice cream, too. Intoxicating Liquors are permitted, but be mindful of the requirements of decorum; the Ayahuasca ceremony was cancelled due to the Shaman’s Union strike, which we will of course honor. Cross that picket line at your peril. RSVP and pay Seattle GMB, c/o Kristen King. Please make sure to tell her 1) how many campers, 2) Tent or Bunk, 3) and how much money you are sending. You can pay by mail, their Pay Pal account, or at the event itself, but telling her how many is strongly encouraged for bookkeeping and future planning. Plan for bad weather (NOT expected in late August), but even if it rains the entire time, there are enough covered shelters so that we won’t be totes bummed out if Zeus is angry. Please check camp rules regarding pets, available here:
http://www.parks.wa.gov/
http://parks.state.wa.us/472/Battle-Ground-Lake

Further money info:
Remember that no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
$25 for a tent space (this is for a space for a tent, so if there are mulitable people using the same tent only $25 has to be paid)
$10 for a bunk (this is per bunk, so per person)
Payments can be made to the Seattle General Membership Branch (GMB) by paypal or mail.  The Paypal account is seattleiww@gmail.com. The postal address is “1122 E. Pike Street #1142, Seattle, Wa 98122.”
For all payments, please follow up with an eamil to the Olympia GMB at OlympiaIWW@riseup.net and the Seattle GMB at SeattleIWW@gmail.com – showing the amount of payment and that it is for the campout.  This is for financial transparency.

Olympia, Wa – September 8th & 9th: IWW Organizer Training 101 “Building The Committee”

Education. Emancipation. Organization.

Interested in organizing your workplace? Interested in worker’s rights? Interested in a better world? Come to the Organizer Training 101 hosted by the Olympia IWW, and learn the basic skills for creating better working conditions. Food will be provided. It’s FREE and open to all workers! RSVP requested. Ask about child care.

The Organizer Training will be on September 8th & 9th, 2016. The cutoff to apply is August 31st to ensure we have enough food (light breakfast and lunch).

We are asking folks to register by August 31st, 2016 to insure that we have enough training materials, breakfast & lunch for everyone. Registration is FREE. The Training is completely FREE. The Union pays for it. All that we ask is that folks plan to attend the entire two days of the training. All workers are welcome. To sign up please fill out the form at-

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgWzDxfrIWWnRl_eq7YRcBh5zvx76Z4tZoqO8MJ7sP7yA_0Q/viewform?c=0&w=1

About the Training:

The ‘Organizer Training 101: Building & Maintaining The Committee’ is one of the most comprehensive trainings of its kind aimed towards rank and file workers, union members, and worker organizers.

The two-days of content is more than most advanced training programs. It’s a great opportunity to inspire workers and provide the the basic tools needed to organize so we can live and practice the idea of “every worker a leader.”

More than anything, the training is about giving workers the confidence they need to begin organizing with their fellow workers.

Participants: 10 – 20 expected. 25 Max.
Questions: OlympiaIWW@riseup.net or call 360-362-0112

Thursday September 8th, 2016
Setup/Breakfast: 11:00am – Noon
Start Time: Noon
End Time: 7:00pm
Clean up

Friday September 9th, 2016
Setup/Breakfast: 10:00am – 11:00am
Start Time: 11:00am
End time: 6:00pm
Cleanup

Content of the Training:

First Day:
Introduction: What is a Union?
Stages of a Campaign
Gathering Contacts
Workplace Mapping & Social Charting
Identifying Leaders
One-on-ones
Setting Up a First Meeting
AEIOU: Agitate and Educate

Second Day:
AEIOU: Inoculation
AEIOU: Organize
AEIOU: The Union Makes Us Strong
Asking Workers to Join The Union
Going Public: Knowing When and Possibilities for How
Labor Law in a Nutshell
Direct Action
Picking A Target: Strategic Organizing
End

Hope to see many of you there!

Solidarity.

Esther Barnett Goffinet Talks in August

Esther Goffinet

Esther Barnett Goffinet, the daughter of fellow worker Eugene Barnett, will be speaking in Lewis County in August. Eugene Barnett witnessed the American Legion attack on and Wobbly defense of the IWW hall in Centralia, WA on 11 November 1919. Rather than allowing him to be a star witness for the defense, the prosecution attempted to judicially murder him by charging him with a key role in actions he took no personal part in- all because he refused to remain silent about the truth of what had happened. He was convicted of second-degree murder and did nearly 12 years in Walla Walla State Penitentiary as a class war prisoner.

Eugene Barnett, IWW, Centralia, Armistice Day 1919
FW Eugene Barnett, circa 1920

Esther has written an amazing book, Ripples of a Lie, detailing what happened to her father and how those events went on to impact her family and the families of the other men wrongly imprisoned in the aftermath of Armistice Day 1919. She will be speaking about her book and the Centralia Conspiracy at the Lewis County History Museum in Chehalis on August 12 at 6:00 p.m. and at the Centralia library at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 13.

Esther Barnett Goffinett, IWW, Centralia 1919, Eugene Barnett
Ripples of a Lie

Esther is the daughter of a class war prisoner from the height of anti-IWW oppression of the Palmer Raid era. The rest of her father’s life and her life to this day were strongly impacted by those events and we owe her a strong Wobbly turnout. I hope all of us can be there.

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Welcome to the Olympia IWW Page!

This is the first post on the Olympia IWW’s web blog. Look here in the future for news, articles relating to radical labor organizing and IWW history, and other interesting stuff pertinent to the One Big Union in Olympia, WA.