USA
Content about workers' struggles and events in the United States of America.
Radical America, November-December 1973
This issue contains a symposium on Jeremy Brecher's book Strike!. Brecher was a member of the American group Root and Branch, and brought a sort of council communist politics to his research in American labor history. In this Radical America, Brecher's essay "Who Advocates Spontaneity?" addresses criticisms of his book and focuses on the theme of class consciousness.
Pdf's of other issues of Radical America are available [url=http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://dl.lib.brown.edu/radicalamerica/img/rad_banner.png&imgrefurl=http://dl.lib.brown.edu/radicalamerica/about.html&usg=__mqVMXc6MS4ikkXMPTCJOKygoGU0=&h=90&w=780&sz=42&hl=en&start=52&um=1&tbnid=woofgdPZE9McAM:&tbnh=16&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dradical%2Bamerica%2B1973%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3D
Gourmet Exploitation?
Workers are calling on upscale grocery store Agata and Valentina to respect its workers’ right to organize.
Workers Picket Upper East Side Specialty Market
A group of workers and supporters picketed outside Agata and Valentina this past Saturday as part of an ongoing labor dispute with the company. Workers are calling on A&V to respect its workers’ right to organize and stop engaging in illegal anti-union activity.
Reactions of the American proletariat during the 1929 crisis
With many commentators stating that the 2008 recession is the world's worst since the great Depression, Prol-position analyses the 1929 recession, its effect on workers in the US and how they responded.
In 1930-33, the situation of the American proletariat declined sharply. While not putting capitalist domination on the line, the proletariat was far from apathetic during that period. This text intends merely to summarize the various forms and phases of resistance by the American proletariat to its deteriorating conditions of reproduction.
Flint 1936-7: Diary of a Sitdowner
The diary of one of the striking General Motors workers who occupied their factories between December 1936 and February 1937.
General Motors' sit-in strikers' thoughts inside Fisher Body #2 – Flint, Mi
Written by Francis O'Rourke
December 30, 1936 – 6:45 a.m.
There's a riot goin' on - The Red Menace
Article drawing parallels between the struggles of the late 1960s and late 1980s in Berkeley, California.
The recent wave of media nostalgia for the late 1960s in the USA and elsewhere (exemplified by the re-release of the film of the Woodstock festival) gives the impression that the most important preoccupations of the period were smoking dope and listening to Jimi Hendrix - which of course were not unimportant.
The Black Maroon Settlement of Angola: A Beacon of Freedom in Florida
Historian Adam Wasserman's account of Angola, a largely unknown free black maroon settlement in Tampa Bay, Florida that was destroyed by a covert excursion of pro-white Creeks under the orders of Andrew Jackson.
This article is an extract from Wasserman's A People's History of Florida.
Smack a white boy part two: Crimethinc eviction 2009
A hilariously stupid action carried out by self-proclaimed "anarchist people of colour" who came to Pittsburgh to evict a conference of equally useless lifestylist anarchoids Crimethinc, because they are mostly white, accusing them of "gentrifying" and "colonising" the area by holding their conference.
Here is a statement put out by one of the disrupters of the conference, which we reproduce for reference and amusement only:
Note:this is a brief summery of the actions that took place, and in no way describes the situation in full
Monson could face jail time
Professional MMA fighter and anarchist Jeff Monson faces potential jail time when sentenced this October in connection to a graffiti incident in November 2008.
Anarchist grappler and MMA fighter Jeff Monson could face jail time over an alleged November 2008 graffiti incident on the Capitol Building and an army recruitment centre in Olympia, Washington, USA. Monson, who has used his high-profile to discuss anarchist politics, was arrested initially in January.
Abrams, Jacob aka Jack Abrams, 1883-1953
A short biography of Jack Abrams, active in the USA, Russia and Mexico and famous for the Abrams case which led an assault on US anarchism
He was an excellent organiser, learning languages readily, and spoke beautiful Russian, English and Spanish. He was a fine man, knowledgeable and kind. When he formed an opinion you couldn’t budge him, but when something had to be done, he did it!”. Ida Radosh in Avrich, P. Anarchist Voices.
Home Depot and the Farce of the "Manager" Title
A group of former Home Depot employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the company to win overtime pay.
It is common practice for companies to misclassify employees in order to be exempt from paying overtime. Employers are required to pay time-and-a-half to employees who work over 40 hours per week. However, those employees classified as "managers" are exempt from the overtime pay.
