Oakland General Strike - November 2, 2011!

Posted Sat, 10/29/2011 - 1:20am by IWW.org Editor

This report was sent by a member of the Bay Area IWW:

I just returned from downtown Oakland. The turnout at the general assembly was overwhelming. The GA was held in the amphitheater of Oscar Grant Plaza.

The entire "seating" area was packed from side to side. The depressed area between it and the stage was packed. The facilitators had to keep requesting that people move back because the stage area was packed full as was the walkway behind it and the City Hall steps.

We put a proposal to the crowd that one week from today we have a shut down and general strike in Oakland. Many concerns were raised - whether we could organize that in time, could we get workers to strike, etc. Boots Riley (of Boots and the Coup - an excellent radical rap group in Oakland) made the point that thousands of union workers are looking for some point of inspiration. Others pointed out that we have to strike when the iron is hot.

In the end, the vote on the proposal went as follows:

  • Yes - 1484
  • Abstain - 76
  • No - 44

If comrades want to spread this message as far and wide as possible, and launch a call for a global general strike/day of action on that date, I think it would be great.

Bay Area IWW Links:

Union Endorsers (listed in chronological order of endorsement):

Media Coverage:

 

Albuquerque IWW GMB Resolution in Support of (Un)Occupy Albuquerque

Posted Sat, 10/29/2011 - 12:45am by IWW.org Editor

October 23, 2011

WHEREAS, the working class and the employing class have nothing in common; and

WHEREAS, we are in the throes of a Second Gilded Age; and

WHEREAS, 2011 has been a year of unprecedented working class struggle around the globe; and

WHEREAS, the working people of Albuquerque and New Mexico are standing up as a class against the economic elite;

BE IT RESOLVED the Albuquerque General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World offers its full support to the Occupy movement, locally and worldwide.

Contact: abq [at] iww.org

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Industrial Worker - Issue #1739, October 2011

Posted Sat, 10/29/2011 - 12:36am by IWW.org Editor

Headlines

  • Workers Win Big at New York Restaurant Supplier
  • Bay Area Couriers Fight for Living Wage
  • Kansas City Sandwich Shop Workers Organize

Features:

  • Special: Report from the 2011 General Convention
  • Interview: Joe Burns on “Reviving the Strike
  • The Beginnings Of Revolutionary Unionism In Romania

Download a Free PDF of this issue.

Richmond GMB Sends Letter of Solidarity To U.S. Postal Workers

Posted Thu, 10/13/2011 - 4:39pm by x370724

Greetings Fellow Workers,

On behalf of our Union, the Richmond, Virginia General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World stand in solidarity with the United States Postal Workers Union and its effort to preserve the peoples post office from further privatization.

In 1967 U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed a Commission on Postal Reorganization, chaired by AT&T’s Frederick R. Kappel, to “determine whether the postal system as presently organized is capable of meeting the demands of our growing economy and our expanding population.” In June 1968, the Commission found that it was not.[1]

IWW Endorses Occupy Wall Street

Posted Wed, 09/28/2011 - 1:28pm by IWW.org Editor

On behalf of our union, the General Executive Board of the Industrial Workers of the World sends our support and solidarity to the occupation of Wall Street, those determined to hold accountable our oppressors.

This occupation on Wall Street calls into question the very foundation in which the capitalist system is based, and its relentless desire to place profit over and above all else.

When 1% of the ruling class holds the wealth created by the other 99%, it is clear that the watchwords found in our union's preamble, "the working class and the employing class have nothing in common", ring true more than ever.?The IWW does not follow a business union model. We believe that the working class and the employing class have nothing in common and we don't foster illusions to the contrary.

Throughout the world, from Egypt to Greece, from China to Madison, Wisconsin, working class people are starting to rise up. The IWW welcomes this. We see the occupation of Wall Street as another step - no matter how large or small - in this process.