Juan Conatz's blog

A review and some comments from Juan Conatz on Theodore Draper’s history of the various factions that would become the Communist Party USA.

A glossary of currently used, mostly in the Twin Cities, IWW slang and lingo.

A repost from another blog I run, with a personal update and an idea for a project about the Dubuque Packing Company, a large meat processing plant that once employed 3,500 people, until its decline and eventual closure, in 2001.

Juan Conatz goes over some reasons for his personal problems with being able to write, exploring underlying reasons behind the 'writer's block'.

Some updates on a recent IWW campaign in Minneapolis, in which 5 workers were fired for organizing.

An update on an ongoing strike at a nonprofit 'mobile foodshelf' in the Twin Cities.

An article by Juan Conatz replying to some of the Direct Unionism discussion paper responses.

Information on a just begun strike at a non-profit mobile food shelf and soup kitchen in Minneapolis.

A reader I compiled from various texts online of the AAUD/AAUD-E.

An article I wrote about two Twin Cities IWW branch events in 2011. Was originally intended for The Organizer, but was never used, so I'm posting it here.

Some rough thoughts on political organization, mostly based on my experience with groups in North America and conversations with some current and former members.

A post about the Los Angeles riots, hip-hop and race in America.

An interview with an individual involved in Burnt Bookmobile, a blog out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin run by some people influenced by various anti-authoritarian tendencies, including insurrectionary anarchism, left communism, and nihilism, among others.

A short list of objections to the May 1st general strike effort within the Occupy movement and some responses to them.

This is part of a discussion on Facebook that started off some questions on the topic of general strikes. I thought the conversation was interesting, so decided to turn into a blog post.

A callout to people with access to hard copies of non-digitized material that documents a number of radical social movements and groups to come forward.

A short piece exploring some common issues and objections when it comes to agitational material.

A piece exploring whether the increasingly common claim by various anarchists and communists that reform is impossible is actually true. Inspired by informal conversations with Nate Hawthorne, who replies here.

An update on what's happened in Wisconsin since early April.

Part 2 of a 2 part reply by a IWW member, to 'Direct Unionism: A Discussion Paper', which argues for a network of militants and non-contractual organizing.