Chicago

Chicago factory occupiers form worker cooperative

Submitted by working class s... on Jan 15 2013 23:31

First, they occupied the factory to get their wages from the bosses that owned the machinery. Then, they occupied their factory to keep the second bosses from shutting down their machinery. And, now, they are on their way to owning and running the machinery.

The group of workers who occupied their Chicago factory in 2008 and again in 2012 incorporated a worker-run cooperative on May 30, 2012. The factory window makers will take over was formerly owned by Republic Windows and Doors and then Serious Energy, and will now be run by New Era Windows, LLC.

Towards a new labor movement (principles of left communism) - For the Workers' Opposition

A manifesto written and presented in Spring 1981 by For the Workers' Opposition, a small group of anarchists and council communists from Chicago, IL inspired by the German/Dutch communist left.

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Striking agreement: How one neighborhood school sees CPS’ attempt at a deal

Submitted by Ramona on Sep 17 2012 19:36
CTU members on strike

A first-hand account from the Chicago Teachers Union strike, from education worker Agnieszka Karoluk.

This morning at 7am I went to one of my neighborhood public schools, Jordan Community school in North Rogers Park, Chicago. About 40 teachers and other staff gathered outside the school’s front door, all wore red shirts some showed up with picket signs. A box of documents sat in the middle of the circle that we all formed, surrounded by donuts, muffins, a cake, and some coffee.

On the Chicago Teachers Union strike

The following is from a Chicago member of First of May Anarchist Alliance. It is an overview of the situation and was drafted over the weekend in the lead up to the strike that has started September 10, 2012.

It is looking increasingly likely that the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) teachers will go on strike on Monday, for the first time in 25 years. I’m biased, as my wife is an active member of the union, but I will try to offer some perspective as an anarchist, as well as a parent of two CPS students and the spouse of a potential strike captain.

From gang-bangers to urban revolutionaries: the Young Lords of Chicago

Submitted by Juan Conatz on Aug 29 2012 03:34

An essay on Chicago's Young Lords Organization, a Puerto Rican radical group started by former gang members in the 1960s.

Originally appeared in Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (199cool, Vol. 96, No. 3 (Autumn, 2003)

Staughton Lynd’s remarks on Solidarity Unionism

Staughton Lynd's speech at the 2005 IWW Centenary in Chicago, Illinois.

To Begin With

The greatest honor I have ever received is to be asked to speak to you on the occasion of the IWW's 100th birthday.

The Memorial Day massacre

Submitted by Juan Conatz on Jun 1 2012 04:18

Daniel J. Leab looks at the different accounts of The Memorial Day Massacre, an incident in 1937 in which Chicago police killed 10 strikers.

I know nothing of the facts, but policemen under the law, by the opinion of all the courts have the right to exercise such force as may be necessary to preserve the law, and the court says that their actions in those matters are not weighed on golden scales, that they must use such force as they think necessary.

Senator Josiah Bailey

Occupy, Neighborhood Organizing & National Convergences: Race & Class Struggles in Chicago & Beyond

As Occupy activists travel to Chicago for the NATO protests it is important to consider tensions between neighborhood organizing/long term organizing and national campaigns/shorter term actions. James Tracy and Amy Sonnie are authors of “Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times” (Melville House, 2011). It is the story of radical organizing in working-class white neighborhoods, the interracial movement of the poor, and the original (pre-Jessie Jackson) Rainbow Coalitions with the Black Panthers, Young Lords, and others.

Camilo Viveiros (CV): Can you share a story related to Chicago from your book that may inform activists who hope to gather people from around the country for upcoming national protests?

Four Star Digest

Freesheet by Four Star Anarchist Organization, an anarchist political organization based in Chicago, published from March 2011.

Workers occupy factory in Chicago

Submitted by Juan Conatz on Feb 24 2012 01:36

News, Twitter and on-the-ground updates from the occupation of Serious Materials in Chicago.

Workers with the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America have occupied Serious Materials (formerly Republic Window & Door) in Chicago.