transport
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in transport and distribution around the world.
Oakland dockers honour anti-war picket lines
Oakland Port anti-war and labor protesters close SSA terminal for the day. ILWU 10 & ILWU 34 members refuse to cross lines.
Dozens of anti-war protesters including the leadership and many members of the Oakland Education Association (OEA) joined the picket lines this morning and in the evening of the SSA (Stevedoring Services of America) shipping terminal in Oakland, California to protest the war and the lack of funding for schools in Oakland.
Argentina: wildcat strike on Buenos Aires Metro
Metro Workers in Buenos Aires launched a 24-hour wildcat strike in protest at an agreement between management and their union.
The strike was virtually 100% observed and shut down the entire network, which is used by over a million people every day. The workers called the strike in protest at the salary increase negotiated by the rail workers' union (UTA). Buenos Aires was chaotic with traffic jams blocking most of the city as hundreds of thousands of people tried to use the roads instead.
Argentina: railway station burnt by passengers
Angry passengers attacked and destroyed offices, before burning them down in protest at the atrocious state of the privatised service.
The trouble started when a train broke down 600 metres from Constitucion station, south of Buenos Aires. After 20 minutes a group of passengers (these trains are packed solid with no air conditioning and little ventilation) walked to the station to demand answers. When they did not get any they began to destroy the information offices.
Strikes in Egypt spread from centre of gravity
The longest and strongest wave of worker protest since the end of World War II is rolling through Egypt. In March, the liberal daily al-Masri al-Yawm estimated that no fewer than 222 sit-in strikes, work stoppages, hunger strikes and demonstrations had occurred during 2006.
Take from Middle East Report Online
In the first five months of 2007, the paper has reported a new labour action nearly every day. The citizen group Egyptian Workers and Trade Union Watch documented 56 incidents during the month of April, and another 15 during the first week of May alone.[1]
Narita Airport riots (video clip)
A video of the riots against the construction of Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan during the 1970s.
The video is hosted on YouTube and has English subtitles. The riots included students and farmers protesting against the airport's construction, and involved pitched battles against the police with molotov cocktails and explosives.
France: university strikes and occupations against Sarkozy
After the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as President of France there have been successive protests each night, mostly ending in confrontation with the police.
The has been a lot of unrest in France and yesterday; at an general meeting (AG) students at Tolbiac in Paris voted to go on strike and occupy the university. Some 700 of the campus's 10,000 students were present at the AG. It is being reported that some 500 students occupied the buildings overnight.
Italian taxi drivers back on strike
Almost a year after a wave of wildcat strikes, cab drivers in Italy struck again yesterday against liberalisation of the industry.
Xinhuanet.com reported that Italian taxi drivers resumed strike action Tuesday to protest against government plans to deregulate the sector.
Taxi union officials said some 25,000 cabbies were taking part in the one-day stoppage which caused havoc as travelers left stranded at airports, stations and taxi ranks.
Denmark: wildcat strike by cabin crew
[1].jpg "Cancelled SAS flights")
Wildcat action by 1600 air hostesses and stewards working for the airline SAS has led to the cancellation of 104 flights in and out of the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
The airline has already cancelled a further 14 flights tomorrow as a precaution and has assured customers that flights with Norwegian and Swedish staf will be unaffected.
Belgium: Wildcat strike by bus drivers
Wildcat strike action began on Friday morning at the Haren Bus Depot which is in a suburb of Brussels, after workers learnt that a colleague had been fired.
The worker has been accused of falsifying an expenses claim by claiming payments for hours spent on union tasks from the management, resulting in his being paid twice for them.
France: Strike over at Gare d'Austerlitz
Night-train cleaners at the Gare d'Austerlitz rail station in Paris have ended their strike after negotiations with management.
After a month of weekly one-day strikes the cleaners, employed by contractor TSI, at the Gare d'Austerlitz have returned to work.
