Category: WORKERS’ RIGHTS

STRIKEWATCH

AS WELL AS our local posties’ pickets, this month on StrikeWatch, we look back on a couple of firsts in industrial action, last month:

For the first time in 50 years, 500 Walmart workers in the U.S. carried out a 24-hour strike on 23rd November – the so-called ‘Black Friday’ shopping frenzy. Over 1,000 protests in 100 cities across 46 states, 1,000’s of supporters, with some of the strongest demos seen in Paramount, California, and Hannover in Maryland. The employee group leading the strike – ‘OUR Walmart’ – was formed 18 months before, to fight the low wages, decaying work benefits and Walmart’s infamous anti-union retaliation practices, which borders on the illegal (for what that’s worth). Strikers leafleted, Christmas carolled, put on lightshows and mic-check flashmobs, and – in Paramount – blocked the odd road. Walmart C.E.O. ‘Dollar’ Bill Simon laughingly claimed that less than 50 ‘associates’ took part nationally, but fooled no one. The workers, for their part, chanted in a Arnie-esque fashion: “We’ll be back.”

Back in the U.K., workers were out three days earlier, but this time at Amnesty International. Hundreds of picketers were out for the second time in two months, supported by the union Unite, up in arms about the human rights charity’s shift away from research and meaningful casework, and towards marketing-themed branding and flashy stunts. Of course, the management’s intended changes will also involve £2.5m in cuts, and losses of up to 40 jobs. A.I.U.K.’s internal divide has been bitterly widening over the last 20 years, with one senior director quitting in disgust over the treatment of their own staff (who agreed to a voluntary pay freeze, despite a steady 2% annual growth in income), with the workforce calling for director Kate Allen’s resignation, and issuing a vote of no-confidence in the rest of the leaders. A senior leadership that isn’t opposed to a bit of corruption, by the way – compared to the seven people earning more than £60,000 in 2007, this has swollen to 36 people netting big cash last year, and two former execs got a £800,000 golden handshake to see them off, back in 2009. Meanwhile, Amnesty local groups and members are calling for an extraordinary general meeting to set it all straight.

http://news.yahoo.com/amnesty-international-workers-start-strike-105900938.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/animosity-international-staff-on-strike-in-amnesty-offices-across-the-globe-8317303.html

http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/acpr/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/22/us-economy-walmart-workers-black-friday-strike

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/23/walmart-strike-black-friday_n_2177784.html

http://www.thenation.com/blog/171435/biggest-strike-against-biggest-employer-walmart-workers-make-history-again

 

DODGY DAVE IN DIRECT ACTION DEFEAT

HAVE YOU EVER worried that protesting doesn’t change anything? Well, stop – you’re wrong. ‘And who says so?’, you ask. None other than our very own darling government!

Last month, the government blocked the release of a list of companies involved in workfare, admitting that protests and direct action have left the unpopular scheme in tatters. Since its creation, the scheme has met with fierce resistance with dozens of exposed companies (like the British Heart Foundation and Holland & Barrett) being forced to pull out through a high profile campaign of protest. The scheme was appealing to bosses when it was a dirty little secret, but it turns out that they hate being exposed as free labour profiteers, and tend to drop out when exposed to the light of day.

So, enter every big-businessman’s bezzie mate: David ‘Call me Dave if yer rich’ Cameron. Working with the D.W.P., he has blocked calls to reveal a list of workfare providers. Leaked documents from government lawyers state that “Previous targeted campaigns had resulted in the withdrawal of providers from workfare”, effectively citing mass public disapproval as the main reason for hiding the list. However, with more and more employees and people pushed onto the forced-labour scheme and happy to whistleblow, it won’t be long before more big names start falling.

The most important thing about the documents isn’t the length to which governments will go to protect big business, or the contempt for democracy shown by suppressing information from the public – we all knew this went on. What makes this crucial is that the government have admitted – in a document meant for their eyes only – that they are scared of action as it can and does get results. With the government admitting their fear of popular discontent, just think what we could achieve if we pushed a little harder…

So, on that happy note, ask yourself this: what better time than now to get on http://boycottworkfare.org, round up a bunch of yer mates and get stuck into the fight against this redundancy-making, crumbling scheme that puts yet more of our taxes in the pockets of the rich?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/09/mandatory-work-activity-names-witheld

ANCIENT HISTORY

WELCOME TO THE first column on westcountry radical history. Radical history for us involves reclaiming our story, uncovering hidden narratives, challenging established narratives, and encouraging new historians from the working class, to read, write and give talks on our story.

We are not particularly interested in John Cabot. But we are interested in seafarers, press gangs, slavery and pirates. For example, were all pirates murderous villains, led by vicious psychopaths only interested in plunder and rape? Not necessarily: most pirate ships were very multicultural affairs, who elected the captains and had democratic structures on board. Discipline was easier than the Royal Navy, and unpopular captains could be deselected if they were unfair and did not secure enough booty. Some pirate ships directly attacked slave ships. On capture most of the crew were thrown overboard, whilst the slaves were freed. They were given the choice of taking the ship back to Africa with them, or joining the pirates. Many pirates had been known as privateers, when Britain was at war with Spain and France, it was accepted by the British government, when ships were attacked. At times these ships carried massive amounts of gold the Spanish had stolen from the Incas an Aztecs. When friendly diplomatic relations were restored, these attacks were now declared the actions of pirates.

You don’t read this in the mainstream history books. But this our story. As it would have been the likes of us who, whilst walking home from the pub late at night, would have been attacked by a press gang. Ripped from family and friends, we would wake at sea, and be forced to live under a brutal regime of discipline, where life was cheap. One means of escape would have been jumping ship at some foreign port, and entering the service of a pirate ship. Years later, whilst attacking an English clipper carrying sugar back to England from the slave plantations, we are captured. Eventually we are taken back home, to be hung by the neck, or further slavery by being transported to the colonies under the penal code.

There are millions of stories like this, and in this column in future editions we are going to tell them. In the next issue: collective bargaining by riot, in a Kingswood style.

If you have any stories or suggestions send them into the West Country Mutineer.

Love and Rage

Bristol Radical Group

STATING THE OBVIOUS

A DEFIANT YET modest group of eight activists from Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance, Occupy Bath and B.A.R.F. anarchists, were all out in ‘force’ on the freezing night of Wednesday 5th December, leafleting with blue-tinged fingers, and bemoaning George Osborne’s mopey Autumn Statement. A statement that basically stated: “Yes, the evil Con-Dem austerity package has failed to turn around the economy’s nosedive” and “Yes, we’re gonna do at least another six years of the same, and feign surprise when it turns out it didn’t work”. As well as the recent years of frozen wages, ‘Workfare’ neo-slavery and dismantled public services, the new plan similarly attacks benefits, pensions and teachers’ unions. Meanwhile, the Sunday Times Rich List reported that the wealthiest 1,000 UK citizens have seen their fortunes increase by over £18 billion over the past year, to more than £414 billion – over a third of the national debt. Without meaning to state the obvious, but perhaps it’s about time for a bit of old-fashioned wealth redistribution?

NO GRASSES ON OUR TURF

IT’S EASY TO have political beliefs, but so much harder to maintain those beliefs in the face of violence and intimidation. Which is why we’re straying from the sandy shores of the westcountry to bring news of three imprisoned anarchists from Oregon, U.S.A.

Way back in August, anarchists Matthew Duran, Katherine Olejnik and Leah-Lynne Plant had their doors kicked in by armed police, all of their personal possessions seized as ‘evidence’, and the three were then locked up. Police reports parroted by the media claimed that all three were being held in relation to (a minor) vandalism of banks that had occurred during this year’s Seattle Mayday parade.

Despite being able to prove that they were not at the protest, all were ordered to return to court in order to provide names and information that may lead to arrests for the vandalism. During the course of their defence, lawyers working for the anarchists found that the arrest warrants had been signed off in March – before the vandalism at the centre of the investigation had even occurred. The arrests were nothing more than part of an evidence-gathering mission against a vibrant American anarchist movement. Back in court, all three anarchists refused to testify or provide any names or information. As per American law, the judge then applied to strip the defendants of their right to silence, which was duly granted.

All three still refused to talk and now, all but one are starting lengthy prison sentences for the ‘crime’ of refusing to grass on people who may or may not have committed minor crimes at an event which none of the defendants were actually at. Since the trials ended, a fourth anarchist, Matt Pfeiffer has been called before a grand jury. He is also refusing to co-operate and is due to be imprisoned soon.

Across America, acts of solidarity, from protests to sabotage of court-houses and cop-shops, have been intensifying and the prisoners have reported receiving hundreds of books and letters of support (which you can add to by checking out nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com). Here at the Mutineer, we want to raise our hats in salute to four people who took their politics beyond a game or lifestyle choice. When faced with a real test of their beliefs, they lived up to the thousands of anarchists before them who have faced imprisonment and repression simply for holding the dangerous belief that we can, and should, create a world free of injustice, inequality and tyranny.

OFF THE BUSES

ANYONE WHO’S EVER got on a bus or train in the southwest, even once, will have learned at least one important fact. First Great Western are rip-off merchants. With fares on a constant sky-rocket, no noticeable improvements to (often late, patchy and overcrowded) services, and directors’ pay also on a steady, yet undeserved upward slant, it’s no wonder most passengers view First Group as the gangsters and capitalist con-artists that they are. But all the overcharging of customers must translate into more money for the workers, right? Wrong. First have recently slapped their bus workers in Devon and Cornwall with a new pay ‘offer’ which removes pay during the time workers spend getting from bus to bus, sabotages sick pay and pension schemes and bans ‘visual checks’ in which drivers check the condition of their bus mid-shift. The workers and the R.M.T. union flat out rejected the offer, with 85% voting for strike action until a respectable offer is tabled.

Making the link between mistreatment of workers and shoddy services, R.M.T. head honcho Bob Crow said “Bus service workers in the southwest will be taking action as the companies attempt to ramp up profits at the expense of the staff as well as the travelling public’. Too right Bob! And as the strikes get underway, it would be great to see words being turned into action, with staff and service users standing together against the racketeers before of First Great Western run our public transport all the way into the ground. Better yet would be if the strikers emulated their fellow drivers in Barcelona, who, during a recent strike, parked their buses across depot entrances, main roads and other choice locations, slashed the tyres and walked off with the keys!

 

FREE FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY!

ON 20TH OCTOBER 200,000 people filled the streets of London from Lambeth to Hyde Park, in protest against austerity. There were people from diverse social and racial backgrounds, babies and great grannies, black and white, poor and slightly less poor (rumour has it the rich of London were huddled in Blitz-style terror behind the reinforced shutters of the Ritz), all having a laugh, a sing-song, a good chat and a shout in the sun. There were nurses, physiotherapists, train and bus drivers, teachers, pensioners, students, anarchists, socialists, communists, and people with disabilities: all with one thing in common, being fucked over by the government and wanting their voices heard! Most knew marching alone wouldn’t be enough, and there was a definite mood to take things further, but what better way to boost your own morale than meeting others who want things to change?

The highlights of the day came at the end of the march, as a couple of thousand malcontents took action against companies involved in tax-dodging and the government’s Workfare/slave labour scheme. Targets included a posh Hilton hotel, stormed and occupied just like McDonalds, Starbucks and Boots. Wheelchair-users and pensioners blocked the road at Marble Arch in protest at cuts to services and benefits, and reports are still rolling in of small-scale occupations and shutdowns all over London. In a telling moment, thousands of trade unionists booed Ed ‘I’m just like you in my £1.4 million mansion’ Miliband at Hyde Park as he tried to convince the crowd that red cuts hurt less than blue ones. Despite the great atmosphere, numbers were way down on the 500,000 strong anti-cuts demo last March. Why? Because the T.U.C. have sold us the occasional demo as an alternative to actions that really could stop the cuts, such as mass strikes, occupations and direct action. While angry workers made the most of the day to network amongst themselves, for the T.U.C. leadership, it was nothing more than a ‘re-elect Labour’ stunt and a pacifier to the thousands desperate to get properly stuck into the Tory scum. It is now the job of ordinary people to keep fighting, with or without the T.U.C.: a one-day strike and the odd protest is not a recipe for success and if the union leadership can’t deliver the action we need to be taking, it’s time to start doing it for ourselves, in our communities and in our workplaces. You never know, we could even be talking revolution.

 

HEY, TEACHER, MAKE THOSE BOSSES GROAN!

TEACHERS ACROSS THE southwest joined colleagues across the country, last month, starting an indefinite campaign of industrial action against excessive stress and workload. The action, designed not to affect pupils, will involve teachers refusing excessive observations (which teachers in some schools in the west face daily), refusing to hand in their planning to be marked by senior leaders (yes, this happens) and dozens of similar boycotts. The average teacher’s day begins at 7.45a.m., and ends around 6p.m., and the long holidays mostly get consumed with marking and planning. This is something teachers have been willing to put up with for years, but with headteachers increasingly treating staff like naughty children – upping already heavy levels of scrutiny as well as expecting a rainforest-depleting ream of paperwork on a daily basis – teachers felt action was the only option. Their decision to fight back has been made easier by education secretary Michael ‘Pob’ Gove claiming that teachers frequently leave at 3p.m. and should have their pay docked for doing so – a sick joke for anyone who knows how deep into the evening an average teacher’s work runs. Clamouring to one-up his partner in crime, OFSTED boss and well-known scrote Sir Michael Wilshaw recently opened a speech to senior leaders with the line “If anyone says to you that ‘staff morale is at an all-time low’ you will know you are doing something right.” Wow! With bosses like these, who can blame the teachers for striking back?

In some schools, headteachers, scared of losing their iron grip over staff, have attempted to ban the action. In at least one school in Wiltshire, staff standing together have already beaten back this attack, and in another, staff in a religious school are preparing to escalate a campaign against their boss who has banned the action on the grounds that it doesn’t fit with their religious ethos (we’d argue that religion and freedom have never had much in common anyway)! Teachers at the school will be going loud with their campaign soon, so we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you are a parent or pupil, you can support your teachers simply by telling them know that you appreciate what they do. Letting them know you think Gove is a bastard, or offering to deck him will also be guaranteed to raise morale amongst your local educators!

MINE, ALL MINE

OVER THE LAST couple of months, the news has been full of bloody stories from the mining communities of South Africa. We first of all heard of the tragic deaths of over 30 striking miners gunned down by cops, whose government bosses then tried to use Apartheid-era laws to place legal blame on the miners themselves. After that, the focus soon shifted to stories of ‘extremism’ from striking workers, threatening both bosses and scab workers (like they don’t deserve it) and holding the economy to ransom. Then the news went dead. What most people in this country will not know is that after all the suffering, the miners won a complete victory, securing the 22% pay increase they had been striking for.

In what seems to be corporate news policy, they are willing to show us stories of workers getting bravely beaten or being ‘unreasonable’ and violent themselves, but find it impossible to tell the public when ordinary working people organise themselves and win: it would set a bad example. But the good news does not stop at the miners’ victory. Following their example, protests and strikes have erupted across the country, with everyone from teachers to gold miners taking action to better their lives. Since Apartheid ended, wealth in South Africa has still been controlled by the same elite, now with a smattering of added colour, and the workers, overwhelmingly black, still find themselves in dire, increasing poverty. The victory of the miners, though won at a bloody cost, has sent shockwaves through the working class, which is now gearing up for a fight which could see some of the great wealth of their country ripped away from the rich few and taken back by those who work, sweat and die to create it. More to follow.

 

INDEPENDENTS DAY

WITH DEBATE RAGING about the future of the high street, the increasing dominance of the big four supermarkets and the nature of our villages, towns and cities, this is a perfect time to discuss such big issues. In Frome, there are plans to redevelop the town, which sparked the founding of ‘Keep Frome Local’, a group pledged to resist a giant town centre supermarket. After a busy year and a half, they are bringing people together to share their experiences of campaigning and navigating the bullshit brown waters of local planning. What kind of places do we want to live and work in? Is there an alternative to so-called ‘big box’ retailing? For one day of workshops, discussions and more, ‘Independence Day’ will take place on Saturday November 17th, from 10.30a.m. to 4p.m. at the Wesley Chapel, in Frome town centre. To encourage as many local participants as possible, they are offering travel subsidies and subsidised tickets; e-mail info[at]tescopoly.org. On another note, whilst we welcome resistance to Tesco and multinational corporate monoliths, the root of the problem is the capitalist system itself; swapping out big capitalism for smiley small-scale capitalism is only the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.independenceday2012.co.uk/wp/?utm_source=Tescopoly&utm_campaign=ff3c898fa0-Supermarket_watchdog_campaign&utm_medium=email