The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is battling to get multinational conglomerate EGT Development to honor the union's West Coast contract and use ILWU labor at a new $200 million grain terminal. When picketing disrupted test-run operations at the terminal, the company countered with harassment and state repression--ILWU Local 21 has been fined over $300,000, and at least 75 of its 200 members face some form of citation, fine or arrest.
Sometime between the beginning of January and early February, EGT plans on unloading its first barge grain shipment using scab labor--and then loading its first scab ship.
On January 2, the --the umbrella union body for the Longview, Wash., area--adopted a resolution calling on union members and supporters to participate in a protest against the first EGT grain ship. Below, we reprint the resolution passed by the council and a call to action from one of its officers.
Resolution of the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Central Labor Council
Adopted January 2, 2012
Whereas: the ILWU has always been at the forefront in the struggle for social justice and better working conditions. And,
Whereas: ILWU Local 21 has inspired working people worldwide. And,
Whereas: ILWU jurisdiction is under an unprecedented attack. And,
Whereas: It is clear to all working people that EGT is seeking to race to the bottom and destroy a long history of good family wage jobs throughout the area. And,
Whereas: The Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Central Labor Council, hereinafter called the Council, recognize the blatant union-busting tactics of EGT, as well as the danger of losing the ILWU as a powerful ally for the working class. And,
Be it Resolved: That this Council call out to friends of labor and the "99 percent" everywhere to come to the aid of ILWU Local 21, and to support them in any way possible in their fight against multinational conglomerate EGT. And,
Be it further Resolved: That this Council request that anyone willing to participate in a community and labor protest in Longview, Washington, of the first EGT grain ship do so when called upon by this body. And,
Finally be it Resolved: That the Council forward this resolution to all local unions, the Washington State Labor Council, Oregon Federation of Labor, California Labor Federation, the AFL-CIO and all other relevant organizations.
Respectfully submitted,
Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Counties Central Labor Council Executive Board
Jeff Washburn, president
Tim Pfiefer, vice president
Kyle Mackey, secretary/treasurer
Lynda Hart, trustee
Dale Barto, trustee
Lowell Lovgren, trustee
Rex Osborne, seargent at arms
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A Call to Action
IT IS estimated that sometime in late January or early February, the EGT facility at the port of Longview will receive its first grain ship to be loaded at its berth. The name and timing of this ship will undoubtedly be kept secret until the last possible moment.
It is likely there will be a few days to as little as 24 hours' notice of when the ship will dock. Notification will be given via the Internet and any other relevant means of networking throughout the country. We are imploring all able working class people willing to take time out of his or her own lives, to come to Longview, Washington, for a historic protest.
This is the time for workers everywhere to take a stand. Unions and the working class standard of living that have benefited from collective bargaining for so long are in danger of being extracted completely. You can see this systematically taking place over the last 30 years or longer, and especially in recent times. Unions have lost ground over this period of time due to unjust anti-labor laws, corporate influence on the government, and complacency on the part of organized labor among other reasons.
We recognize the danger of, and view the government attack on, collective bargaining of public employees as a warning shot to labor as a whole. Wisconsin was ground zero and the spark that awoke the sleeping giant that is labor. Workers are beginning to remember there is indeed strength in numbers, regardless of how many unjust laws are made to divide us. We have not been pacified long enough as to give up our constitutional rights or to give up all the gains our forefathers fought and died to achieve over the last hundred years.
People inherently ask WHY? Why should I, or others come to the aid of the ILWU? Why should I care, and what does it matter if this ship gets loaded and they lose this struggle?
The ILWU has a proud history of being arguably the strongest labor union in the world for almost 80 years. The secret of this success lies in the bottom up, rank-and-file democratic structure. This empowers and involves every member. And the intelligence and foresight of the leaders who knew without unity on the entire West Coast and unity with the working class, there was no strength.
EGT is attempting to break the ILWU. They are operating on public port property where the ILWU have worked for decades. They are in violation of their lease agreement, which states that the ILWU is to be the workforce on port property. Longshoremen have done work in port grain elevators before the ILWU was formed in 1934. If EGT succeeds, they will have essentially broken the ILWU.
First, they will set a precedent that work on public port docks is no longer automatically longshore jurisdiction. Then within less than a year, when the northwest grain handlers' agreement is set to be negotiated, all the other grain elevators will seek to either go non-ILWU or to match the eroded standard EGT creates. Shortly thereafter, in 2014, the ILWU will negotiate its master contract with the Pacific Maritime Association. If they lose, you can bet the PMA will take notice and hit hard.
Most importantly to note is that grain accounts for 30 percent of the ILWU health and welfare package. If you lose a third of your bargaining power and your traditional jurisdiction on port property, what are you left with? Either no ILWU, or a union that would resemble nothing like what it once was. There would be little or no collective power up and down the West Coast, and no way to fight for social justice or defend the working class, just as the ILWU has done for so long, in its entrenched and strategic position at the gates of international commerce.
Longshoremen have traditionally been a rough and tough bunch, but they always make sure to educate their members on the importance of history, unity and the power of collective bargaining. People nowadays forget or have not been taught their own history. They forget what it means to cross a picket and become a scab the rest of their life. For 30 years or more, we have been sliding downhill, while some would argue unions have outlived their time. The reality is unions are the last defense when the imperfect system of checks and balances within our government fails to serve the interests of the workers.
The class struggle never really goes away. Right now, the rich and the ruling class are attempting to deal a blow that labor might never recover from. The ILWU has always been the vanguard of labor everywhere. Today, the ILWU's slogan of "An injury to one is an injury to all" couldn't be any more pertinent for all organizations. So please, if you believe in a better future for the 99 percent of us that work for a living, do what you can to support ILWU Local 21.
"The most important word in the language of the working class is solidarity"--Harry Bridges
In Solidarity,
Kyle Mackey, secretary/treasurer, Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Central Labor Council and ILWU Local 21 member
1/9/12
Interview: Longview's call for solidarity
In the small city of Longview in Washington state, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 21 is locked in a battle to force multinational conglomerate EGT Development to use ILWU labor at a new $200 million grain terminal--the first new terminal built on the West Coast in the last 25 years.
When picketing by hundreds of unionists and their supporters disrupted test run operations at the terminal, the company countered with harassment and state repression--Local 21 has been fined over $300,000, and at least 75 of its 200 members face some form of citation, fine or arrest. However, in a setback for EGT, the two cases that have gone to court so far have resulted in acquittals for Local 21 members.
Sometime between the beginning of January and early February, EGT plans on unloading its first barge grain shipment using scab labor--and then loading its first scab ship with grain destined for Asia. Local 21 President Dan Coffman summarized the stakes in this modern-day labor war by saying, "We view this as an attempt by corporations to try to break the strength of the ILWU."
In December, Occupy Longview put out a call "to all Occupies, from New York City down to Florida, all the way through to the West Coast, to join us in solidarity in Longview" in protest against the scab barge and ship when they arrive at the Port of Longview. Paul Nipper, a spokesperson for Occupy Longview, talked to about the importance of the call for people to caravan to Longview--and why Local 21's struggle is crucial not only for the Longview community, but for people all over the U.S.
THE GROUP voted to move forward with this action because we view Longview as ground zero in the labor movement right now. The ILWU is considered to be one of the most powerful unions in the country and world as well. If "the corporations" are successful in busting up a union as strong as the ILWU, who's next? The answer is obvious--anyone who gets in their way.
THE OCCUPY movement is all about supporting the middle class and trying to level the playing field between corporate power and people. Union workers are part of the 99 percent. It is a verifiable fact that when unions are strong, the middle class is strong. It's no coincidence that with the decline of union membership, the rest of the middle class has suffered.
The members of OLV are all in agreement that unions have the final grip on our voices in the workplace, and even in our unbalanced political system. We also agree that it is inevitable that if the remaining unions in this country are overpowered and busted up, our voice will no longer be heard in both arenas.
When picketing by hundreds of unionists and their supporters disrupted test run operations at the terminal, the company countered with harassment and state repression--Local 21 has been fined over $300,000, and at least 75 of its 200 members face some form of citation, fine or arrest. However, in a setback for EGT, the two cases that have gone to court so far have resulted in acquittals for Local 21 members.
Sometime between the beginning of January and early February, EGT plans on unloading its first barge grain shipment using scab labor--and then loading its first scab ship with grain destined for Asia. Local 21 President Dan Coffman summarized the stakes in this modern-day labor war by saying, "We view this as an attempt by corporations to try to break the strength of the ILWU."
In December, Occupy Longview put out a call "to all Occupies, from New York City down to Florida, all the way through to the West Coast, to join us in solidarity in Longview" in protest against the scab barge and ship when they arrive at the Port of Longview. Paul Nipper, a spokesperson for Occupy Longview, talked to about the importance of the call for people to caravan to Longview--and why Local 21's struggle is crucial not only for the Longview community, but for people all over the U.S.
WHY DID Occupy Longview (OLV) vote to call for a caravan to Longview to support ILWU Local 21 in its struggle against EGT?
WHY IS this struggle one the Occupy movement nationally should support?
The members of OLV are all in agreement that unions have the final grip on our voices in the workplace, and even in our unbalanced political system. We also agree that it is inevitable that if the remaining unions in this country are overpowered and busted up, our voice will no longer be heard in both arenas.
The brutal legacy of Seattle police
By Johnny Mao
Orginally published at socialistworker.org
THE MEDIA spotlight on the Seattle Police Department (SPD) grew wider and more intense on December 15 when the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) released the results of an 11-month-long civil rights investigation.
The shooting murder of John Williams in August 2010 by officer Ian Birk and subsequent public outcry spurred the federal investigation, and the results have become another firestorm for discussing serial police brutality in Seattle.
Evidence in the report, corroborated by the accounts of citizens and SPD documents, shows a "pattern or practice" in which the SPD violated the U.S. Constitution by engaging in excessive force with "deficiencies in SPD's training, policies and oversight," where "starting from the top, SPD supervisors often fail to meet their responsibility to provide oversight of the use of force" with "troubling practices that could have a disproportionate impact on minority communities."
The report also found that excessive force was enabled by "vague" use-of-force policy, "pervasive underreporting" and a lack of "true finding nor remediation" in failing to seriously punish any abuses of authority.
Police Chief John Diaz and Mayor Michael McGinn were caught off-guard by the announcement, and their meeting with the Feds reportedly "ended in raised voices and bitter accusations by city and police officials, upset at the Justice Department's findings," according to the Seattle Times.
In anticipation of the Justice Department announcement, police officials proposed their own review of police shootings through an independent auditor. "It is my hope that the DOJ will be as cooperative as we have been and allow the police department to examine and study the data that helped them come to their conclusions," Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Rich O'Neill said in a statement.
McGinn, Diaz and O'Neill attempted to defend themselves in public statements. "[Diaz] has implemented reforms to [SPD] training, community outreach and professional accountability, and continues to do so," said McGinn.
"I want to make this clear," Diaz told reporters after the results of the report were released. "The department is not broken."
However, Seattle NAACP President James Bible has said that the SPD needs to "clean house," echoing calls of community groups, such as El Comité Pro-Reforma Migratoria y Justicia Social, who are calling for Diaz to resign. "The Seattle-King County NAACP has been aware of the pattern of excessive force for the past 25 years," said Bible.
Orginally published at socialistworker.org
THE MEDIA spotlight on the Seattle Police Department (SPD) grew wider and more intense on December 15 when the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) released the results of an 11-month-long civil rights investigation.
The shooting murder of John Williams in August 2010 by officer Ian Birk and subsequent public outcry spurred the federal investigation, and the results have become another firestorm for discussing serial police brutality in Seattle.
Evidence in the report, corroborated by the accounts of citizens and SPD documents, shows a "pattern or practice" in which the SPD violated the U.S. Constitution by engaging in excessive force with "deficiencies in SPD's training, policies and oversight," where "starting from the top, SPD supervisors often fail to meet their responsibility to provide oversight of the use of force" with "troubling practices that could have a disproportionate impact on minority communities."
The report also found that excessive force was enabled by "vague" use-of-force policy, "pervasive underreporting" and a lack of "true finding nor remediation" in failing to seriously punish any abuses of authority.
Police Chief John Diaz and Mayor Michael McGinn were caught off-guard by the announcement, and their meeting with the Feds reportedly "ended in raised voices and bitter accusations by city and police officials, upset at the Justice Department's findings," according to the Seattle Times.
In anticipation of the Justice Department announcement, police officials proposed their own review of police shootings through an independent auditor. "It is my hope that the DOJ will be as cooperative as we have been and allow the police department to examine and study the data that helped them come to their conclusions," Seattle Police Officers' Guild President Rich O'Neill said in a statement.
McGinn, Diaz and O'Neill attempted to defend themselves in public statements. "[Diaz] has implemented reforms to [SPD] training, community outreach and professional accountability, and continues to do so," said McGinn.
"I want to make this clear," Diaz told reporters after the results of the report were released. "The department is not broken."
However, Seattle NAACP President James Bible has said that the SPD needs to "clean house," echoing calls of community groups, such as El Comité Pro-Reforma Migratoria y Justicia Social, who are calling for Diaz to resign. "The Seattle-King County NAACP has been aware of the pattern of excessive force for the past 25 years," said Bible.
1/4/12
1/5: UW Meeting
Agenda:
1. Intro to the UW ISO (30 min)
We'll talk about what the UW ISO hopes to accomplish this quarter and answer questions about how our group works on campus and off.
2. Labor War in Longview (45 min)
A labor struggle of national importance is taking place just two hours south of us in Longview by members of ILWU Local 21 and the union busting grain conglomerate EGT. Solidarity is urgently needed as EGT is expected to unload a scab ship in late January or early February. Hear about organizing plans in Seattle including a solidarity meeting this Friday (see announcement below).
Read more about the struggle:
Labor war in Longview
Rallying support in Longview
The battle of Longview
ILWU Local 21 Facebook Page
3. UW General Assembly (30 min)
Next Tuesday UW will be having it's first General Assembly to talk about what we want for our campus, outside bureaucratic channels.We'll discuss the GA and how to help organize for it.
Check out http://uwgenassembly.org/ for more info
1/3/12
1/4: City Branch Meeting Agenda
This week we're having our City meeting on Wed night so that we can attend Thursday's event BDS: A Call to Action with Omar Barghouti and we'll also be in a new location, just a few blocks from our previous meeting space at SCCC.
Wed 1/4 7pm
Wed 1/4 7pm
The Summit, First Covenant church's new meeting space at the site of the old Honda and Yamaha dealership on the corner of Pike and Summit (420 E.Pike, Seattle, WA 98122).
Please come to the Side Door on the West side of Summit Street half way down the block between Pike and Pine, next to the parking garage entrance.
Please come to the Side Door on the West side of Summit Street half way down the block between Pike and Pine, next to the parking garage entrance.
Agenda:
1) Fighting Police Brutality (45 min)
After the release of the Department of Justice's damning report on the serial racism and brutality of the Seattle Police Department, organizing is underway to demand justice and accountability!
Full text of the DOJ report
The Seattle Police Department's Epic Crash: A History, in Brief
Defend the 99%: Bring Diaz Down
2) Labor war in Longview (45 min)
A labor struggle of national importance is taking place just two hours south of us in Longview by members of ILWU Local 21 and the union busting grain conglomerate EGT. Solidarity is urgently needed as EGT is expected to unload a scab ship in late January or early February. Hear about organizing plans in Seattle including a solidarity meeting this Friday (see announcement below).
Labor war in Longview
Rallying support in Longview
The battle of Longview
ILWU Local 21 Facebook Page
3) Vote on meeting location (20 min)
We'll be meeting in a new space -- and we have the opportunity to continue meeting here. We'll discuss the costs and vote on whether to continue meeting weekly at The Summit.
4) Announcements (10)
After the release of the Department of Justice's damning report on the serial racism and brutality of the Seattle Police Department, organizing is underway to demand justice and accountability!
Full text of the DOJ report
The Seattle Police Department's Epic Crash: A History, in Brief
Defend the 99%: Bring Diaz Down
2) Labor war in Longview (45 min)
A labor struggle of national importance is taking place just two hours south of us in Longview by members of ILWU Local 21 and the union busting grain conglomerate EGT. Solidarity is urgently needed as EGT is expected to unload a scab ship in late January or early February. Hear about organizing plans in Seattle including a solidarity meeting this Friday (see announcement below).
Labor war in Longview
Rallying support in Longview
The battle of Longview
ILWU Local 21 Facebook Page
3) Vote on meeting location (20 min)
We'll be meeting in a new space -- and we have the opportunity to continue meeting here. We'll discuss the costs and vote on whether to continue meeting weekly at The Summit.
4) Announcements (10)
1/2/12
1/5 & 1/6 Events: BDS: A Call to Action with Omar Barghouti
THURS, Jan 5
6:30 PM
Bloedel Hall, St Mark's Cathedral
1245 10th Ave E, Seattle
And
BDS Action Workshop -- FRI, Jan 6
6:30PM, AFSC Meeting Hall
9th Ave and NE 40th St, University District
Omar Barghouti is an independent Palestinian commentator and human rights activist. He is a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
Barghouti's book BDS: The Struggle for Palestinian Rights is available from Haymarket Books.
1/6: Solidarity Meeting: Defend ILWU 21
Friday, Jan. 6th, 6pm
Labor Temple, Hall 8, 2800 1st Avenue (at Broad), Seattle
4pm - Come early for a planning meeting for solidarity caravan to Longview to meet the ship
Speakers From:
Speakers From:
- ILWU Local 21 (Longview)
- Million Workers March, S.F.
- Jack Heyman, ILWU 10 (retired)
- Occupy Oakland
- Occupy Seattle
Longshore workers are battling for their jobs and our future. The multinational EGT is trying to bust International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 21 by hiring scab labor in their new grain terminal. West Coast Occupy forces are mobilizing to support
their struggle and help block an expected grain ship in late January.
Join us in discussing how to build an effective movement that can meet our needs as workers -- unionists, unemployed, low-waged and casualized.
Donate at the meeting or send contributions to:
ILWU Local 21, Attn: EGT Fighting Fund,
617 14th Avenue, Longview, WA 98632
For more info call 206-424-4547 or email seattleportsolidarity@gmail.com
Sponsored by members of Occupy Seattle
- Million Workers March, S.F.
- Jack Heyman, ILWU 10 (retired)
- Occupy Oakland
- Occupy Seattle
Longshore workers are battling for their jobs and our future. The multinational EGT is trying to bust International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 21 by hiring scab labor in their new grain terminal. West Coast Occupy forces are mobilizing to support
their struggle and help block an expected grain ship in late January.
Join us in discussing how to build an effective movement that can meet our needs as workers -- unionists, unemployed, low-waged and casualized.
Donate at the meeting or send contributions to:
ILWU Local 21, Attn: EGT Fighting Fund,
617 14th Avenue, Longview, WA 98632
For more info call 206-424-4547 or email seattleportsolidarity@gmail.com
Sponsored by members of Occupy Seattle
12/31/11
Happy New Year!
We're taking two weeks off for the holidays.
It's been a fantastic year, a year of revolt from below and struggle for the 99%. Inspiring struggles from Tunsia and Egypt to Wisconsin to Wall Street. Working people of the world have said "enough is enough" and begun to organize and fight back. 2012 should be an exciting year in its own right, building on that momentuem.
A few articles to keep you busy:
The year of revolt
Jesus the revolutionary?
The ancestors of Occupy
The Egyptian revolution continues
And, as always, these archives should help fill your holiday down time:
International Socialist Review
Socialist Worker
We Are Many
UPDATED: January meeting announcements will be posted before the new year. The first Seattle city branch meeting will be Wednesday, January 4, 2012.
12/16/11
Seattle students against cuts
reports on a spirited demonstration against education cuts in Seattle.
December 16, 2011
socialistworker.org
CHANTING "WE'RE the future of our nation, no more cuts to education!" high school students from all over Seattle walked out of class December 14 to protest proposed cuts in education funding. Nearly 700 students converged on the University of Washington's Red Square for a rally that challenged state lawmakers' plans for more budget cuts.
Washington faces a $2 billion shortfall this year, and Gov. Christine Gregoire called a special session of the state legislature starting November 28 to balance the budget before the regular session starts in January. After nearly $10 billion in cuts over the last three year, Gregoire is proposing over $250 million more in reductions from K-12 education and another $160 million from higher education.
The student walkout was sparked after protests against the special session in the state capital of Olympia. Unions representing state and municipal employees mobilized rallies during the first week of the session. Teachers in the Social Equality Educators (SEE), a rank-and-file group of activist teachers from the Seattle area, helped lead attempts by union and community activists to Occupy the Capitol building and disrupt the legislature.
A judge has declared that Washington's legislature is out of compliance with the state constitution mandating education funding to be the state's "paramount duty." Therefore, SEE sent a team of teachers to Olympia to make a citizen's arrest of the legislature for breaking the law. As the House session began, SEE members unfurled a giant banner reading, "Citizen's Arrest: Lawbreakers need to fully fund education" from the balcony of the House chambers at the beginning of the session.
Back in Seattle, when students at Garfield High School learned that a teacher, Jesse Hagopian, was arrested for "mic-checking" the Senate Ways and Means committee, they moved into action. Students created a Facebook page titled "Free Mr. Hagopian." Within hours, they had hundreds of students following it. When Hagopian was released later that day, students changed the group's name to "Seattle Student Walkout for Education."
On December 7, over 500 Garfield students walked out of class and marched to City Hall. Students made flyers to hand out detailing the cuts and the impact on education. Once at City Hall, they organized a speakout using the people's mic, having filled up the front steps of the building. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn came out and praised students for their efforts.
Garfield senior and Black Student Union President Obadiah Terry remarked on the support for the walkout:
December 16, 2011
socialistworker.org
CHANTING "WE'RE the future of our nation, no more cuts to education!" high school students from all over Seattle walked out of class December 14 to protest proposed cuts in education funding. Nearly 700 students converged on the University of Washington's Red Square for a rally that challenged state lawmakers' plans for more budget cuts.
Washington faces a $2 billion shortfall this year, and Gov. Christine Gregoire called a special session of the state legislature starting November 28 to balance the budget before the regular session starts in January. After nearly $10 billion in cuts over the last three year, Gregoire is proposing over $250 million more in reductions from K-12 education and another $160 million from higher education.
The student walkout was sparked after protests against the special session in the state capital of Olympia. Unions representing state and municipal employees mobilized rallies during the first week of the session. Teachers in the Social Equality Educators (SEE), a rank-and-file group of activist teachers from the Seattle area, helped lead attempts by union and community activists to Occupy the Capitol building and disrupt the legislature.
A judge has declared that Washington's legislature is out of compliance with the state constitution mandating education funding to be the state's "paramount duty." Therefore, SEE sent a team of teachers to Olympia to make a citizen's arrest of the legislature for breaking the law. As the House session began, SEE members unfurled a giant banner reading, "Citizen's Arrest: Lawbreakers need to fully fund education" from the balcony of the House chambers at the beginning of the session.
Back in Seattle, when students at Garfield High School learned that a teacher, Jesse Hagopian, was arrested for "mic-checking" the Senate Ways and Means committee, they moved into action. Students created a Facebook page titled "Free Mr. Hagopian." Within hours, they had hundreds of students following it. When Hagopian was released later that day, students changed the group's name to "Seattle Student Walkout for Education."
On December 7, over 500 Garfield students walked out of class and marched to City Hall. Students made flyers to hand out detailing the cuts and the impact on education. Once at City Hall, they organized a speakout using the people's mic, having filled up the front steps of the building. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn came out and praised students for their efforts.
Garfield senior and Black Student Union President Obadiah Terry remarked on the support for the walkout:
You can look around your class and see you've got 34 students in a 28-student room, or your teacher has to move around the school and share rooms, or your science teacher has to buy materials for hands-on labs. You can see it all around you, and when everyone realizes it at once, we all know we need to do something about it together.
12/15/11
Haymarket Books for the holidays!
Haymarket Books is offering a fantastic discount for the holidays!
Fill your bookshelf or check off your holiday gift list with 40% off and free shipping through December 15 with the code OCCUPY40.
The discount applies to any title including recently released titles like Too Many People? by Ian Angus and Simon Butler, On History by Tariq Ali and Oliver Stone, and A Time to Die: The Attica Prison Rebellion by Tom Wicker.
Fill your bookshelf or check off your holiday gift list with 40% off and free shipping through December 15 with the code OCCUPY40.
The discount applies to any title including recently released titles like Too Many People? by Ian Angus and Simon Butler, On History by Tariq Ali and Oliver Stone, and A Time to Die: The Attica Prison Rebellion by Tom Wicker.
12/13/11
Occupy and women's rights
explains why the Occupy movement must embrace women's rights.
December 13, 2011
We are still paid, on average, only 77 cents to a man's dollar (that number drops to 68 cents for African American women and 58 cents for Latinas). When one takes into account the impact of childbearing and the fact the women still bear the brunt of unpaid labor in the home, this figure slides further downwards. One study measuring the cumulative impact over 15 prime-earning years found that women actually make 38 cents for each dollar a man makes.
This should come as no surprise living in one of the only countries in the world--along with Swaziland and Papua New Guinea--which does not require employers to provide paid maternity leave.
Women are disproportionately impacted by the budget cuts that are shredding the social safety net. Nationally, about two-thirds of adult recipients of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program are women. Women and people of color are also overrepresented in public-sector jobs, and therefore are particularly vulnerable to the onslaught of layoffs and pay cuts these budget cuts entail.
According to the U.S. Labor Department, women lost 72 percent of 378,000 government posts cut between July 2009 and March 2010.
In my home state of Washington, women constitute 54 percent of individuals enrolled in the government's Medicare health care program. The governor's latest budget proposal includes $2 million in cuts to maternal and child health and $1.8 million to family planning--in addition to the complete elimination of the Basic Health Program, which provides coverage to the state's poorest residents--again, disproportionately women.
Meanwhile, the 1 percent here in Washington state continues to reap the benefits of generous tax loopholes and the most unfair tax structure in the country. We are home to four of the 23 richest people in the country: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen. There seems to be a gender imbalance on that end as well.
IVAW and Seattle ISO member Jorge on Democracy Now
“I see the struggle that’s going on with the port workers and the truck drivers down in Seattle and across the West Coast,” Gonzalez says, who was pepper-sprayed on Monday while taking part in the Seattle protest. “They deal with the same issues like mental health, homelessness. Veterans, they see themselves connected with all these issues.”
Jorge Gonzalez is the Executive Director of Coffee Strong, an anti-war, pro-soldier coffee house outside of Fort Lewis, and a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
12/11/11
12/15 District Mtg
THURS, Dec 15
7-9PM
UW Savery Hall Room 130
This Thursday we will be getting together all our comrades from the Puget Sound area for a district organizing meeting before taking two weeks off for the holidays. Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 5, 2012.
NBC report back and Dec 12th & 14th assessments
The National Branch Council, a body of representatives from ISO branches in over 50 cities across the country, will be having a conference call this Tuesday to assess the state of the occupy movement nationally. We will assess the actions in Seattle this week, including the Dec 12th West Coast port shutdown and the Dec 14th student walkouts as well as what's next for the Occupy movement nationally.
Building the ISO across the Puget Sound
2011 has been an incredible year for activism, and as a result the audience for socialist politics has never been greater. In addition to experiencing growth in the Seattle branches and the launching of a new Everett branch, we have met people in other cities and on other campuses. We will discuss a proposal to reach out to these areas by building study groups and speaking events culminating with the a one-day Puget Sound Socialist Conference sometime in March.
Fundraising
We will vote on a district goal and fundraising plans for the annual Center for Economic Research and Social Change fund drive. CERSC is the publisher of Haymarket Books and the International Socialist Review which have been key tools for arming a new generation of activists with ideas for changing the world. In addition we'll be discussing fundraising parties, trivia night, t-shirt sales and more!
12/8/11
12/8: UW Brainstorming for next Quarter & Doodle Poll
This Thursday is our last meeting of the Quarter. Since folks are busy studying for finals we're going to keep the meeting to an hour and just do a casual brainstorm of ideas for next quarter.
Thurs 7-8pm
Savery 130
Feel free to join us even if you haven't been able to be involved yet this year, it's not too late to contribute your ideas and get involved next quarter.
And on that note we've know a number of people weren't able to make our meetings this quarter with their class schedule, soooo it's time for the......
....Doodle Poll
We'd love to find a time that works better for everyone that wants to be involved so please fill out the Doodle Poll -- just enter your name and check off the times that work for you for a weekly meeting next quarter.
12/8 City Mtg: What's Next for Occupy Seattle?
THURS, Dec 8
7-9PM
SCCC Room 4135
Looking for a UW meeting? Click here.
What's Next for Occupy Seattle?
A 72-hour eviction order has been issued to clear the encampment at SCCC by Friday afternoon. Seattle is one of the last remaining encampments in the country, but as cities elsewhere have shown "you can't evict an idea whose time has come". Whatever happens with the encampment, the movement of the 99% will continue. This will be a chance to discuss overall trajectory, the next two sections will focus on specific actions next week.
Read more:
A closed bank put to good use
Why the movement shouldn't #OccupyXMas
December 12 West Coast Port Shutdown
The Oakland General Assembly has called for a coastwide blockade of ports in solidarity with struggles of port truck drivers in LA and the ILWU in Longview. Hear about plans for the action here in Seattle.
Read more:
Why we called for a port shutdown
Labor war in Longview
December 14 Student Walkout
Students at Garfield and other high schools organized a successful walkout against cuts to education last week, and now they're organizing an even bigger one on the 14th!
Read more:
Garfield seniors to state: Don't pawn off our future
Protesting Washington's painful cutbacks
Seattle Transit Riders Union
An organizing update.
NEXT WEEK! District-wide meeting
December 15th will be our last meeting of 2011 and we would like to get all of our members and allies from around the region to come out to discuss some exciting plans, including: Puget Sound Socialist Conference! Speaking tour! Fundraising! Holiday reading plans!
Full agenda and location forthcoming, but plan to be there!
12/7/11
12/6/11
Protesting Washington's painful cutbacks
Occupy activists join with labor and community groups to demand that Washington state tax the 1 percent instead of cut services, reports .
December 5, 2011
socialistworker.org
THOUSANDS OF Occupy, labor and community activists from around Washington state converged on the Capitol building in Olympia, Wash., November 28 to protest a new slate of devastating budget cuts on the first day of a 30-day special legislative session.
Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire convened the special session in order to cut $2 billion from the $8.7 billion discretionary state budget. Since the Great Recession began three years ago, the legislature has cut $10.5 billion from education, health, human services and state employees. Just six months ago, legislators slashed $5 billion without raising a cent in new revenue. The Democratic Party controls both houses of the legislature.
The day of direct actions started with teach-ins organized by the Washington Education Association and Washington Federation of State Employees as well as a rally and march led by Occupy Olympia. While a mass rally was held on the steps of the Capitol building, two dozen teachers attempted to disrupt a session of the full legislature with a "mic check" before they were physically removed by the Washington State Patrol.
Hundreds of protesters then marched to occupy the House Ways and Means Committee meeting. Initially, state troopers would not let the protesters in. Following loud chanting, banging on the doors and minor scuffles, several dozen demonstrators broke into the hearing room.
As soon as the meeting started, Jesse Hagopian, a teacher at Garfield High School in Seattle, along with other teachers from Social Equality Educators, "mic checked" the committee. "We, the educators of Washington State, will not remain silent while the state legislature cuts the funding to our schools," they chanted. While attempting a citizen's arrest of legislators for failing to uphold their state constitutional duty to fully fund public education, Hagopian was arrested by state troopers.
The crowd of protesters continued to use the people's mic to speak out against years of painful cuts to the 99 percent's standard of living. After about 15 minutes, legislators canceled the committee meeting.
"We have campaigned, petitioned, lobbied and testified through the established political process for three years," transit activist Chris Mobley explained. "But instead of listening to us, they just slashed the budget more and more. They've given us no choice but to disrupt that process through direct action and democracy. It's time we force them to listen to us."
December 5, 2011
socialistworker.org
THOUSANDS OF Occupy, labor and community activists from around Washington state converged on the Capitol building in Olympia, Wash., November 28 to protest a new slate of devastating budget cuts on the first day of a 30-day special legislative session.
Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire convened the special session in order to cut $2 billion from the $8.7 billion discretionary state budget. Since the Great Recession began three years ago, the legislature has cut $10.5 billion from education, health, human services and state employees. Just six months ago, legislators slashed $5 billion without raising a cent in new revenue. The Democratic Party controls both houses of the legislature.
The day of direct actions started with teach-ins organized by the Washington Education Association and Washington Federation of State Employees as well as a rally and march led by Occupy Olympia. While a mass rally was held on the steps of the Capitol building, two dozen teachers attempted to disrupt a session of the full legislature with a "mic check" before they were physically removed by the Washington State Patrol.
Hundreds of protesters then marched to occupy the House Ways and Means Committee meeting. Initially, state troopers would not let the protesters in. Following loud chanting, banging on the doors and minor scuffles, several dozen demonstrators broke into the hearing room.
As soon as the meeting started, Jesse Hagopian, a teacher at Garfield High School in Seattle, along with other teachers from Social Equality Educators, "mic checked" the committee. "We, the educators of Washington State, will not remain silent while the state legislature cuts the funding to our schools," they chanted. While attempting a citizen's arrest of legislators for failing to uphold their state constitutional duty to fully fund public education, Hagopian was arrested by state troopers.
The crowd of protesters continued to use the people's mic to speak out against years of painful cuts to the 99 percent's standard of living. After about 15 minutes, legislators canceled the committee meeting.
"We have campaigned, petitioned, lobbied and testified through the established political process for three years," transit activist Chris Mobley explained. "But instead of listening to us, they just slashed the budget more and more. They've given us no choice but to disrupt that process through direct action and democracy. It's time we force them to listen to us."
12/4/11
Study Group: Black Liberation and Socialism
Thursdays before City branch meetings
6-7PM*
SCCC Room 4135
RSVP on facebook
*On Thursday, Dec 8, the study group will begin at 6:30PM
This is a history that you probably didn't learn in high school. This weekly round table analyzes the material roots of racism, as well as the successes and failures of movements against racism. This includes the struggles in which black and white workers united together.
How do we bring the interrelations of race and class in the United States to the forefront? Let’s discuss the relationship between anti-racist struggle, and the fight for a liberated future for us all.
Reading the book Black Liberation and Socialism is encouraged but not necessary for discussion. Topics include, but are not limited to: Slavery in the United States, Abolitionism, The Civil War and Reconstruction, and Populism.
Facilitated by Jesse Hagopian, Seattle ISO member and Garfield history teacher
12/1/11
UPDATED: 12/1 City Meeting: Eyewitness from Egypt!
THURS, Dec 1
7-9PM
NEW! SCCC Room 4135
1701 Broadway at Pine St
1701 Broadway at Pine St
Looking for a UW meeting? Click here.
Eyewitness from Egypt
Seattle-based, Egyptian-born activist Yasmin Elbaradie has recently returned from Cairo. Come with your questions about the recent resurgence of protests and strikes and the upcoming elections-- results of which we may know by then.Read more:
Egypt's revolution returns to the streets
A letter from Cairo to the Occupy Movement
Occupy Olympia
A report back from the week's actions against the special session of the legislature and building for Saturday's union rally (info and carpooling info on that action to follow).
Socialism in Everett
A report on work up in Everett pulling together a group of people interested in socialism and next steps towards building a new branch up north!
11/30/11
Labor war in Longview
November 30, 2011
ILWU members in Longview have confronted grain shipments headed for the new EGT terminal
As soon as ground construction started with the building of this thing, people realized that local labor was not getting any of this action. What we found out is that Bunge was bringing in every non-union type of company to do this project. The high expectations were soon evaporating right in front of our eyes.
At the same time, the ILWU always felt confident, because we have a working agreement with the port that has been in existence for 70-plus years. We felt confident that we were going to sit down and get an agreement with Bunge.
Bunge is part of what we call the grain cartel, which is the equivalent of the oil cartel. There's a handful of players in the grain cartel, and Bunge is one of them--along with Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Louis Dreyfus, Gavalon. Actually, if you look at it, they're probably more powerful than the oil cartel, because people have to eat, and they know that.
Itochu is a logistics firm out of Japan that has a lot of trucking and shipping interests. Then the shipping lines company they needed to haul their product was Pan Ocean. What they did was triangulate their corporations to meet all their needs, and it became a partnership.
Jake: I think one of the main things about Longview is the geographical location. It's the first place you come to on the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean. We're set up with a rail system. I-5 is right there. None of that is a coincidence. It was definitely orchestrated, almost brilliantly.
The other big sticking point was that, in a grain elevator, they have what they call the master console. He controls the flow of grain throughout that facility. Bunge didn't want any union member in that control room. We told them we don't care if you have 50 supervisors in there, there needs to be one longshoreman. We don't take orders from a supervisor. We needed that buffer between management and labor.
In the beginning, they offered us a total of three jobs in the whole facility. We finally got them to up that to four when we asked for a lead man or a general foreman. On top of that, there'd be a need for two millwrights and one electrician, for a total of seven jobs.
We started our negotiations on January 20, 2010 in Portland, Ore. We broke off negotiations, I believe, at the end of February of 2011. During our negotiations, they weren't willing to budge on one thing. I didn't call them negotiations--I called them dictations--dictations by three giant conglomerates that wanted it all their way.
If you can imagine a Panamax ship being loaded in about a 24-hour period, that's basically unheard of. You're talking 50,000 to 60,000 metric tons of whatever product being loaded in over a 24-hour or less period. That's huge volumes at super-fast speeds. These people are recreating the playing field for the grain industry.
This new elevator is going to meet their needs logistically to supply them with an easier route to get their product to Southeast Asia and Japan. They had to set up an elevator on the West Coast to achieve that.
The small city of Longview in southwestern Washington state is currently ground zero for one of the most militant U.S. labor struggles in decades.
Since May, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 21 has been escalating the fight in a two-year-plus battle to force the multinational conglomerate EGT Development to honor its contract and use ILWU labor at a new $200 million grain terminal in Longview. This is the first new terminal built on the West Coast in the last 25 years.
In the course of the battle in Longview, ILWU members and their supporters have blocked trains from bringing grain to the terminal and organized mass pickets to disrupt its operations. But the company is taking a hard line. Local 21 is up against multiple global corporations, police and private security, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and another union--Operating Engineers Local 701, which is providing scab labor.
Now, after a series of test runs, EGT is planning to bring in its first ship in mid-December. Separately, the Occupy movement--whose call for a general strike and day of action in Oakland, Calif., on November 2 in protest of vicious police violence shut down that city's massive port--is calling for protests at ports up and down the West Coast on December 12 in defense of the movement and longshore unionists. The ILWU has not endorsed this call.
The Longview struggle is a crucial test for labor and the wider working-class movement. In late November, interviewed Local 21 President Dan Coffman and Local 21 Vice President Jake Whiteside. In this excerpt, they about the background and significance of this modern-day labor war--for workers in Washington state and around the country.
Since May, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 21 has been escalating the fight in a two-year-plus battle to force the multinational conglomerate EGT Development to honor its contract and use ILWU labor at a new $200 million grain terminal in Longview. This is the first new terminal built on the West Coast in the last 25 years.
In the course of the battle in Longview, ILWU members and their supporters have blocked trains from bringing grain to the terminal and organized mass pickets to disrupt its operations. But the company is taking a hard line. Local 21 is up against multiple global corporations, police and private security, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and another union--Operating Engineers Local 701, which is providing scab labor.
Now, after a series of test runs, EGT is planning to bring in its first ship in mid-December. Separately, the Occupy movement--whose call for a general strike and day of action in Oakland, Calif., on November 2 in protest of vicious police violence shut down that city's massive port--is calling for protests at ports up and down the West Coast on December 12 in defense of the movement and longshore unionists. The ILWU has not endorsed this call.
The Longview struggle is a crucial test for labor and the wider working-class movement. In late November, interviewed Local 21 President Dan Coffman and Local 21 Vice President Jake Whiteside. In this excerpt, they about the background and significance of this modern-day labor war--for workers in Washington state and around the country.
ILWU members in Longview have confronted grain shipments headed for the new EGT terminal
COULD YOU tell us how this struggle began?
Dan: It would have been early 2009. When we heard about this elevator being constructed in our community, there were a lot of high expectations. If you look at the paper here from November 2009, it talks about how this elevator is going to create 50 new longshore jobs. The new $200 million project was going to put construction people in this community back to work, and this is when our unemployment rate was pushing right around 15 percent.As soon as ground construction started with the building of this thing, people realized that local labor was not getting any of this action. What we found out is that Bunge was bringing in every non-union type of company to do this project. The high expectations were soon evaporating right in front of our eyes.
At the same time, the ILWU always felt confident, because we have a working agreement with the port that has been in existence for 70-plus years. We felt confident that we were going to sit down and get an agreement with Bunge.
YOU MENTIONED Bunge--that's the main one of the three corporations that make up EGT, right? The others are Itochu, based in Japan, and STX Pan Ocean, based in South Korea.
Dan: In negotiations, Bunge talked about how it had planned this for five years prior. The terminal is EGT, but if you look at it, the 51 percent controlling partner is Bunge North America, based in New York state. We negotiated for close to 14 months, and we were negotiating throughout the whole thing with Bunge. You never saw an Itochu official at the table. You never saw an STX Pan Ocean person at the table.Bunge is part of what we call the grain cartel, which is the equivalent of the oil cartel. There's a handful of players in the grain cartel, and Bunge is one of them--along with Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Louis Dreyfus, Gavalon. Actually, if you look at it, they're probably more powerful than the oil cartel, because people have to eat, and they know that.
Itochu is a logistics firm out of Japan that has a lot of trucking and shipping interests. Then the shipping lines company they needed to haul their product was Pan Ocean. What they did was triangulate their corporations to meet all their needs, and it became a partnership.
WHY DID they pick Longview?
Dan: We're a small port. I think they probably thought that being such a small port, they could do what they've done throughout the whole world--they could come in and micromanage not only us, but the community as a whole.Jake: I think one of the main things about Longview is the geographical location. It's the first place you come to on the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean. We're set up with a rail system. I-5 is right there. None of that is a coincidence. It was definitely orchestrated, almost brilliantly.
WHAT WERE the key issues during negotiations?
Dan: The two sticking points were straight-time pay and who was in the master console room. They wanted two 12-hour shifts for a 24-hour period. And during that 12 hours a day, they didn't want any of that to be overtime. It was going to be straight time only.The other big sticking point was that, in a grain elevator, they have what they call the master console. He controls the flow of grain throughout that facility. Bunge didn't want any union member in that control room. We told them we don't care if you have 50 supervisors in there, there needs to be one longshoreman. We don't take orders from a supervisor. We needed that buffer between management and labor.
In the beginning, they offered us a total of three jobs in the whole facility. We finally got them to up that to four when we asked for a lead man or a general foreman. On top of that, there'd be a need for two millwrights and one electrician, for a total of seven jobs.
We started our negotiations on January 20, 2010 in Portland, Ore. We broke off negotiations, I believe, at the end of February of 2011. During our negotiations, they weren't willing to budge on one thing. I didn't call them negotiations--I called them dictations--dictations by three giant conglomerates that wanted it all their way.
WHAT IS the significance of this new terminal?
Dan: This new elevator is going to pour 40 percent faster than the last one that was built on the West Coast and have about a 30 to 40 percent decrease in the labor needed to operate this facility.If you can imagine a Panamax ship being loaded in about a 24-hour period, that's basically unheard of. You're talking 50,000 to 60,000 metric tons of whatever product being loaded in over a 24-hour or less period. That's huge volumes at super-fast speeds. These people are recreating the playing field for the grain industry.
This new elevator is going to meet their needs logistically to supply them with an easier route to get their product to Southeast Asia and Japan. They had to set up an elevator on the West Coast to achieve that.
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