USA

The Pacific Maritime Association has asked the National Labor Relations Board to file charges against the union. The employers’ move, initiated in late May, comes in the midst of ongoing contract talks.

Born April 18, 1890, Werbiwici, East Galicia (now Ukraine). Died March 14, 1945, New York, USA.

Grand Rapids, MI (06/06/2008) - Starbucks terminated a barista active in the IWW Starbucks Workers Union today as part of its ongoing effort to combat a growing movement of employees pushing for a living wage and secure work hours. The barista, Cole Dorsey, was fired after two years of service while he was coordinating a union recruitment drive at Starbucks stores in Grand Rapids.

Day to protest recent firing of CNT member in Spain and continuing anti-union discrimination in Grand Rapids

May 28, 2008

Flaum Appetizing, a kosher food distributor, terminated 20 IWW members last week. The IWW had a strong presence at Flaum, with about two-thirds of the warehouse being union members. Workers had been struggling for respect from the boss for almost a year before the firings occurred.

Independent truckers in California's San Joaquin Valley shut down their rigs on Friday, May 2nd declaring an open-ended strike. At $4.80 a gallon, sky-rocketing diesel prices top the list of grievances. As their main demand, drivers insist on doubling the rates paid for hauling a container. The second biggest demand is a fuel surcharge of upwards of 55%.

On Friday May 16, tenants at twelve apartments behind the Green Lake Motel on Aurora Ave got a surprise visit from their landlords - who also own the motel and a few others - saying they had two days to move out, or they'd be arrested. The motel's license was being suspended due to unsafe conditions, and the apartments had been operating (possibly wrongly) under the same license.

On, February 1st, I got a call from Ruth Benn that Ralph DiGia, 93, had died at St. Vincent's in New York City. I had visited him recently and sensed he was losing his battle - he had fallen and broken a hip about two weeks before, got an infection in the hospital (hospitals in the US are notoriously dangerous places for the sick and .wounded to go!), and despite rallying several times, died.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union declared the day as "a day for union business" for workers at all 29 ports on the west coast. This may be the beginning of a record setting anti-war action, since the vast majority of supplies and munitions for the American government's current wars are shipped from the 29 ports on the West Coast. All 29 were closed today.

The United States has once again surpassed its own world record for incarcerating the highest percentage of its population. According to a report released by the Bureau of Prison Statistics, one out of every 32 adults was in prison, in jail, on probation, or on parole at the end of 2005.

A group of physicists last month challenged the American Physical Society after the APS withdrew two articles, the authors of which indicated an intention to publish some of the work on online-encyclopaedia Wikipedia

This cash-strapped city reached a tentative deal with its police and firefighters unions Thursday, just before city leaders convened to decide if the city would seek bankruptcy protection from a swell of economic uncertainty.

That question remains unresolved, however, as details of the deal will be made public today before the council revisits the issue Monday.

The bicoastal vote followed the announcement last week of the tentative three-year contract, which grants annual pay raises of 3%-3.5% and some gains in residuals for new-media content, including content streamed online - the major rubbing point in negotiations. Guild officials said 3,775 ballots were cast in person or by proxy, with 92.5% of votes cast in favor of ending the work stoppage.

Negotiations between management and UAW local 2069 had begun on January the 8th, but with no new agreement in place by the end of the contract on Thursday at midnight the union began the strike that 95% of members had already voted in favour of. This morning 120-150 workers were at the plant picketing this morning.

Extracting the Michael and Slurs and Stereotypes by Tom Jennings

Extracting the Michael

Beginning on the morning of March 18, the strike had been precipitated by months of stalling by union leaders and government officials. With no rights to collective bargaining, and having not seen wages increase between 1967 and 1969, anger amongst postal workers had been simmering for years.

“An ardent German anarchist…He had considerable poetic talent and wrote forceful propaganda…He was a likeable fellow and entirely trustworthy, though a considerable drinker”. - Living My Life. Emma Goldman

The west coast division of the WGA issued a statement announcing that the organizer of the awards ceremony, Dick Clark Productions, was one of the companies from which writers went on strike and therefore members would picket the awards ceremony.

"...the greatest thing in history."
- Harry S. Truman
President of the United States during the Atomic Bombing

"It always appeared to us that, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse."
- General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold
Commanding General of the U.S. Army
Air Forces Under President Truman