Blogs

Thanksgiving and Telling the Full History

National Day of Mourning plaque in Plymouth

When we attempt to tell a history from the bottom up of Thanksgiving, we need to remember to tell the whole thing.

As a revolutionary who lives in New England and was born and raised in Massachusetts, I feel a particular obligation to help propagate a counter-narrative to the hegemonic one about Thanksgiving.

The Black Friday Wal-Mart Strikes: An Analysis

Friday the 23rd of November will see Wal-Mart, which owns UK chain ASDA and has an entirely non-union workforce, hit with coordinated strikes and protests on “Black Friday”, the busiest shopping day of the year in the US.

This article, written by a American-born SolFedder who's worked retail in the past, seeks to explore the strikes: their roots and their implications for the American working class. This is written in lieu, I should add, of a proposal that North London SolFed organise a picket on the day. It didn't happen. I blame PAMSU. wink

So what should radicals make of this? First and foremost, we should support the strikers. We should make an effort to understand how such strikes were organised, how they've spread, and why, at this particular point, Wal-Mart workers have found the confidence to strike. Second, however, we should also analyse the potential pitfalls the so-called “viral strikes”.

Greece: the antifascist response

The far-right continues to grow in Greece but so to does the antifascist response. The last few weeks alone have seen antifascist actions across the country.

Over the last six months and more if you checked the news from Greece in the morning it's likely you would see a report of another attack or incident involving far-right groups. Whilst sadly this is still the case recently it's become just as likely that there will be a report of another antifascist action to brighten up the morning. This has especially been the case the last few days.

The trade unions and the "crisis of leadership" narrative

HMRC staff in Coventry during rank-and-file led action on 14 November

The ongoing struggle against austerity have brought into focus the differences between the "left" and "right" of the trade union movement. But they have also shown the inadequacy of the trade union left and the illusions it promotes. So what hope do militant workers in the UK have of going beyond the limitations imposed on us from above?

On Monday Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union, declared that the British trade union movement faced a "crisis of leadership." It is safe to say that he summed up the feelings of an awful lot of trade union members and activists when he did so.

Solidarity with the people of Gaza all over Italy

Solidarity to Palestine spreads across Italy, with rallies held in the major towns of the country.

Italians have joined the international wave of solidarity with the people of Gaza, now suffering the consequences of the Israeli bombings.

A spontaneous sit-in happened in Rome in front of Palazzo Montecitorio, the Chamber of the Deputies building, on November 16; on the same day, a rally was held in Milan, in front of the Duomo, the cathedral.

Ann Hansen's statement on her recent arrest, imprisonment and release

Ann Hansen is a former member of Direct Action, an underground anarchist group active in the 1980s, who presently lives as a writer, farmer and public speaker in the Kingston area. On August 3, 2012, Ann was arrested and had her parole suspended for ‘unauthorized associations and political activity’ in the context of growing anti-prison organizing in Kingston, Canada’s prison capital. Ann, with the advice of her lawyer, chose to not publicize her arrest until after her parole hearing. On October 30, the Parole Board canceled her parole suspension and released her on stricter conditions. This is her first public statement regarding her arrest and imprisonment.

On August 3, I was at my home near Kingston, Ontario, sitting in a lawn chair after supper when out of the corner of my eye I saw a line of black SUVs speeding towards our driveway. With a sinking feeling, I realized one of my reoccurring fears as a parolee was becoming a reality.

World Cup Qatar: festivities built on slavery

Dohar Foorball stadium - brought to you by forced labour

My latest piece I wrote for Freedom magazine, published in the October issue. On migrant workers' conditions in Qatar, where the World Cup of 2022 is supposed to be held. Basically the original version, but with a few small corrections.

One of the Arab countries apparently almost untouched by the Arab Spring is Qatar. The tide of protest and revolt more or less passed this Emirate by. The main news channel spreading attention to these events, Aljazeera, is Qatari-baed and regime-owned, which does not help to raise attention to what happens there.

European strike: a list of (about) all demonstrations in Italy

A list of (about) all the demonstrations which took place in Italy for #14N - the 14 November set of strikes and general strikes across Europe.

Agrigento: demonstration outside the prefecture.

Alessandria: in the bankrupt city, the protest was led by public employees, demonstrating against cuts by the central government.

Monson scores win over Emelianenko

Anarchist MMA fighter scores his biggest win in recent years over Alexander Emelianenko tonight.

For any MMA fans interested, Jeff Monson defeated Alexander Emelianenko tonight in St.Petersburg, Russia. Alexander is the brother of Fedor, who defeated Monson this time last year.

The fight video is available at this page.

Worker autonomy: debate on the trade unions

The following presents a commentary on a three-part debate (part 1, part 2 and part 3) conducted, within the pages of ultra-left journal Socialisme or Barbarie, by different representatives of the libertarian communist tradition on the trade unions. The commentary aims to introduce contemporary reflections on the trade union movement using the analysis to draw together anarchist communist strategies towards organised labour in the present period.

Introduction

14N European strike: Bologna

Demonstration in Bologna

Four rallies, involving 10,000 people, crossed Bologna as part of the European general strike on 14 November 2012. The rallies left at 9 a.m. from different parts of the city, marching along all major streets, from those of the university quarter to shopping areas to the avenues where most urban traffic circulates.

One rally was lead by the CGIL union, which had called for a strike of just four hours. It covered a short distance and then ended the morning with a speech from the local leader, Danilo Barbi. Just around 1,000 people took part in this demonstration, which also included the Mayor, Virginio Merola, and some important local representatives of the PD.

IWW cleaners at John Lewis to ballot for industrial action

On Wednesday 14 November 2012, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) announced their intention to ballot IWW unionised John Lewis cleaning staff for industrial action. The outsourced cleaners work at four different John Lewis sites in London and are employed by cleaning contractor Integrated Cleaning Management (ICM). This announcement follows a previous press release on Monday 12 November, in which IWW lodged a fresh pay dispute on behalf the IWW unionised cleaners at John Lewis. Attached campaign press releases can be downloaded at the bottom of this article.

Today, Wednesday 14th November, the Industrial Workers of the World union (IWW) [1] have notified cleaning company Integrated Cleaning Management (ICM) of the intention to ballot cleaners at four John Lewis sites for industrial action in the current pay dispute.

Minister of Labour Elsa Fornero is welcomed in Naples by 3000 protesters

demonstration.naples

More than 3,000 students and unemployed workers demonstrated on November 12 in Naples as a protest against the Ministers of Labour and Education, who were in town to attend an intergovernmental summit on occupational policies.

More than 3,000 students and unemployed workers demonstrated on November 12 in Fuorigrotta, a neighborhood of Naples, as a protest against Elsa Fornero, the Minister of Labour, and Francesco Profumo, the Minister of Education, who were in town to attend an intergovernmental summit on occupational policies.

Greece against austerity: Everything continues

Another round of austerity measures has been approved in Greece. Before, during and after the vote people went on strike and took to the streets. And there are signs of resistance stiffening.

There are grounds for both pessimism and optimism when looking at last week in Greece. On the one hand another batch of austerity measures passed through parliament and whilst the mobilisations were big they were also nothing new. On the other hand for a more optimistic view we could point to some moments from the struggles of last week which suggest resistance is shifting and not weakening.

IWW cleaners at John Lewis in new pay dispute

On Monday 12th November 2012 the Industrial Workers of the World union (IWW) lodged a fresh pay dispute on behalf of outsourced cleaners at John Lewis.

On Monday 12 November 2012 the Industrial Workers of the World union (IWW) [1] lodged a fresh pay dispute on behalf of outsourced cleaners at John Lewis. This follows an IWW cleaners' strike at John Lewis in Oxford Street earlier in the year [2] – the first strike in John Lewis history.

Hurricane Sandy: Observatorio Crítico launches independent relief effort in Cuba

Translation of appeal for donations from Observatorio Crítico de Cuba, the independent Marxist grouping based in Cuba

Solidarity in the face of catastrophe: let’s put the network to work!

Hurricane Sandy forcefully punished Cuba’s east coast on 25 October, leaving 11 deaths, a desolate landscape and 3 million affected victims. The superstorm has created a complicated humanitarian situation in the eastern provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Holguín and Guantánamo.

The struggle at Ikea continues: November 11 update

ikea.strike

The struggle of IKEA workers in Italy goes on.

After a workers’ blockade in front of the IKEA storage in Piacenza was violently cleared on November 2, the protest spread to other cities. Solidarity rallies were organized in Bologna and Piacenza on November 7 and solidarity demonstrations took place on November 10 in front of many Ikea stores all over Italy.

Struggle at San Raffaele Hospital, Milan

Hospital workers block ringroad.

Following on from recent occupations, strikes and demonstrations by health workers in Milan, workers at San Raffaele Hospital block traffic on a major ringroad to protest against planned redundancies.

On the morning of Monday, 5 November, hundreds of workers from San Raffaele Hospital in Milan held a demonstration along the city's major ringroad, blocking traffic in both directions for about an hour. The demonstration had been called during a workers' assembly held outside the hospital earlier that same morning.

Dispatches from Hurricaned NY: Mutual Aid Is a Social Relationship

(Originally written on November 9, 2012)

[i]Note: If you're looking to lend some love and mutual aid in post-hurricane NY and NJ, look no further than http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/.

Dispatches from hurricaned NY: Morning in Manhattan

One of a series of blogs from Cindy Milstein on living through the hurricane. While power is out and tanks roll in, somehow people are still making it in to work...

At around 5:00 p.m. yesterday, out of some perverse curiosity, because I almost didn't want to believe it, I wandered up as far as Times Square. No need to take a photo; it looks like any other day, packed full of shoppers and tourists, and glaringly lit up like an extra-sharp slap in the face to all those areas and people in cold, dark apartments facing food and water shortages.