Wednesday, October 27, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SOUTH KOREA:
REPRESSION OF WORKERS IN SOUTH KOREA:
South Korea is due to host the next G20 meeting soon. It will no doubt be true to form with protests being violently repressed. Whether SK can live up to the heights of overkill recently demonstrated on the streets of Toronto is an open question. What is sure is that South Korea has yet to live up to its commitments to bring its labour legislation in line with international standards. Here is an item from the international union federation the IUF about what sort of country the g20 meeting will be held in this time around.
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International Unions Call for Action on Labour Rights Abuses in Korea
When Korea joined the OECD in 1996, a condition of adherence was a commitment to reform its industrial relations legislation in line with ILO standards. Not only has there been no reform, but the situation has markedly deteriorated.
In the runup to the G20* meeting scheduled for November 11-12 in Seoul, South Korea, international union organizations are calling for pressure on the Korean government to bring its repressive labour law and employment regime into line with international standards and its own commitments.
The ILO has repeatedly called on the government of South Korea to amend its labour legislation, which criminalizes legitimate union activity, blocks large numbers of public sector workers from joining unions or bargaining collectively and promotes the massive use of precarious employment relationships to effectively deny workers their collective rights.
Despite its 1996 pledge, current and previous Korean governments has refused to ratify ILO Conventions 87 (freedom of association) and 98 (collective bargaining).
Article 314 of the Penal Code on "obstruction of business" is routinely used to arrest and imprison union leaders and members and impose fines totalling millions of dollars in order to cripple union activity. Over 300 trade unionists have been imprisoned over the past 18 months.
When the crisis affected production at Ssangyong Motors, management responded to union demands to negotiate worksharing by unilaterally dismissing agency workers. In the course of the strike which followed (May-August 2010), riot police consistently used violence against the workers, including using electroshock weapons. ( See previous posts here at Molly's Blog- Molly )
A loose definition of "essential services" allows the government to deny large numbers of public sector workers the right to join a union. Unions of government employees, teachers, construction and transport workers are refused the right to represent over 250,000 workers.
Outsourced, subcontracted (dispatched) and other forms of precarious work have been aggressively promoted to deny whole categories of workers their right to union representation. Some 50% of all employed persons in Korea today lack an open-ended, direct permanent employment contract. The KCTU Korean metalworkrers have identified companies making use of up to a hundred labour contractors in a single factory - all to prevent workers from joining a union and bargaining with the real employer.
In an important decision last year, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association called on the government of Korea to stop the abusive use of precarious contracts to deny workers their rights.
The only labour law reform, however, is proposed legislation to extend the current two-year period after which dispatch workers must be made permanent - to 4 years! Sungjong Lee, Policy Director of the IUF-affiliated Korean Federation of Private Service Workers' Unions (KFSU), denounces the proposed legislation because it will be used by employers to evade their obligation to regularize precarious workers: most employers, says Lee, will simply replace irregular workers as their contract conversion approaches with new, precarious hires.
Newly proposed legislation would also expand the range of job classifications allowed for dispatch (agency) work from the current 32 with up to 17 additional job classifications (in accordance with "market needs"). According to Nambee Park, President of the IUF-affiliated Korean Women's Trade Union, this has already encouraged the conversion to agency work of many directly-employed women workers, with a consequent loss of security, wages and benefits. If the remaining restrictions on agency work are done away with, says Park, the result will be a further expansion of low wage work, deepening insecurity and gender discrimination
The global union federations, the ITUC and TUAC are together calling for pressure on G20 governments to make sure the urgent need for labour law reform comes to the fore at the G20 meeting. A briefing note, sample letters and background materials for trade unions are available on the website of the International Metalworkers Federation in English, French, German, Russian and Spanish.
But you needn't live and work in a G20 country to take action in support of our Korean sisters and brothers! Unions everywhere can use these campaign materials to urge your government to pressure the government of Korea, to organize actions and protests at South Korean government representations and to inform your members and the wider public about the current situation - and the urgent need for change.
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*The Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the USA.
International Unions Call for Action on Labour Rights Abuses in Korea
When Korea joined the OECD in 1996, a condition of adherence was a commitment to reform its industrial relations legislation in line with ILO standards. Not only has there been no reform, but the situation has markedly deteriorated.
In the runup to the G20* meeting scheduled for November 11-12 in Seoul, South Korea, international union organizations are calling for pressure on the Korean government to bring its repressive labour law and employment regime into line with international standards and its own commitments.
The ILO has repeatedly called on the government of South Korea to amend its labour legislation, which criminalizes legitimate union activity, blocks large numbers of public sector workers from joining unions or bargaining collectively and promotes the massive use of precarious employment relationships to effectively deny workers their collective rights.
Despite its 1996 pledge, current and previous Korean governments has refused to ratify ILO Conventions 87 (freedom of association) and 98 (collective bargaining).
Article 314 of the Penal Code on "obstruction of business" is routinely used to arrest and imprison union leaders and members and impose fines totalling millions of dollars in order to cripple union activity. Over 300 trade unionists have been imprisoned over the past 18 months.
When the crisis affected production at Ssangyong Motors, management responded to union demands to negotiate worksharing by unilaterally dismissing agency workers. In the course of the strike which followed (May-August 2010), riot police consistently used violence against the workers, including using electroshock weapons. ( See previous posts here at Molly's Blog- Molly )
A loose definition of "essential services" allows the government to deny large numbers of public sector workers the right to join a union. Unions of government employees, teachers, construction and transport workers are refused the right to represent over 250,000 workers.
Outsourced, subcontracted (dispatched) and other forms of precarious work have been aggressively promoted to deny whole categories of workers their right to union representation. Some 50% of all employed persons in Korea today lack an open-ended, direct permanent employment contract. The KCTU Korean metalworkrers have identified companies making use of up to a hundred labour contractors in a single factory - all to prevent workers from joining a union and bargaining with the real employer.
In an important decision last year, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association called on the government of Korea to stop the abusive use of precarious contracts to deny workers their rights.
The only labour law reform, however, is proposed legislation to extend the current two-year period after which dispatch workers must be made permanent - to 4 years! Sungjong Lee, Policy Director of the IUF-affiliated Korean Federation of Private Service Workers' Unions (KFSU), denounces the proposed legislation because it will be used by employers to evade their obligation to regularize precarious workers: most employers, says Lee, will simply replace irregular workers as their contract conversion approaches with new, precarious hires.
Newly proposed legislation would also expand the range of job classifications allowed for dispatch (agency) work from the current 32 with up to 17 additional job classifications (in accordance with "market needs"). According to Nambee Park, President of the IUF-affiliated Korean Women's Trade Union, this has already encouraged the conversion to agency work of many directly-employed women workers, with a consequent loss of security, wages and benefits. If the remaining restrictions on agency work are done away with, says Park, the result will be a further expansion of low wage work, deepening insecurity and gender discrimination
The global union federations, the ITUC and TUAC are together calling for pressure on G20 governments to make sure the urgent need for labour law reform comes to the fore at the G20 meeting. A briefing note, sample letters and background materials for trade unions are available on the website of the International Metalworkers Federation in English, French, German, Russian and Spanish.
But you needn't live and work in a G20 country to take action in support of our Korean sisters and brothers! Unions everywhere can use these campaign materials to urge your government to pressure the government of Korea, to organize actions and protests at South Korean government representations and to inform your members and the wider public about the current situation - and the urgent need for change.
------------------------------------
*The Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is made up of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the USA.
KLKLKLKLKL
THE LETTER:
Please go to this link to send the following message to the President of South Korea.
KLKLKLKLKL
Dear President Lee Myung-bak,
I join with the International Metalworkers' Federation in calling for the Korean government to honour its international commitments and respect workers’ rights.
Repeatedly workers and trade unions in Korea are subject to violations of human and trade union rights. The number of arrests and severity of prison sentences as well as physical violence is increasing.
When Korea joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996 it was on the proviso that your government would take the necessary measures to bring Korea’s labour law in line with international standards.
Korea has failed to adhere to or ratify ILO conventions no. 87 (right to freedom of association) and no. 98 (right to collective bargaining) and your government has repeatedly refused offers of technical assistance from the International Labour Organisation to bring your legislation into line with international standards.
The Korean Government routinely uses criminal sanctions under Article 314 of the criminal code to arrest and imprison trade unionists for exercising their legitimate right to conduct trade union activities.
The Korean law denies workers in precarious or irregular employment the right to join a trade union and bargain collectively. Employers systematically engage workers on precarious employment contracts specifically to prevent them from forming and joining trade unions.
Public sector workers are subjected to anti-union discrimination and disciplinary measures and their collective agreements are unilaterally cancelled by the Government. Whole categories of Government workers are prevented from organizing through an overly broad definition of “essential services”.
I call on the Korean government to honour your international commitments and respect workers’ rights.
Yours,
Labels: G20, international labour, International Metalworkers Federation, IUF, labour., petitions, protests, solidarity., South Korea
Monday, October 25, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR ONTARIO:
CAW DAY OF ACTION:
This Wednesday, October 27, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) will be holding a day of Action across Ontario where they will protest the continued erosion of workers' rights and benefits by the employers. Here's the announcement of times and places.
CAWCAWCAWCAW
CAW Auto Parts Workers 15,000 Strong Demonstrate Across Ontario
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CAW members in the auto parts sector will be demonstrating outside their respective workplaces on Wednesday, October 27 for a province-wide Day of Action. In more than 100 workplaces across Ontario, workers will be staging rallies, calling for an end to the downward pressure on working conditions and employer demands for severe contract give-backs.
This is the first time such a large-scale effort has been orchestrated by Canada's auto parts workers. The Day of Action also includes a massive outreach effort to non-unionized auto parts workers, including those employed by Magna.
CAW National President Ken Lewenza and Assistant to the President Jerry Dias will be attending the rally at Burlington Technologies, located at 3267 Mainway Drive in Burlington at 12:30 p.m.
Here is a cross section of key rally locations and contact information:
Brampton
Benteler Automotive
9195a Torbram Road - 10:20 a.m.
Gerry Harvey, CAW Local 1285 2nd Vice President (cell) 416-456-2310
Guelph
CPK Interior Products (Formerly Guelph Products)
500 Laird Road - 10:00 a.m.
Robin Dudley, CAW Local 1917 President (cell) 519-993-8985
Ingersoll
Autrans
17 Underwood Road - 11:00 a.m.
Kellee Janzen CAW Local 2163 President (office) 519-425-9028
Hamilton/ Dundas
El-Met Parts
47 Head Street, Dundas - 12:00 p.m.
Randy Smith, CAW Local 504 President (cell) 905-973-3231
Kitchener
Lear Seating
530 Manitou Drive - 11:25 a.m.
Tim Mitchell, CAW Local 1524 President (cell) 519-749-5110
London/ Glencoe
Cooper Standard
268 Appin Road, Glencoe - 11:00 a.m.
Tim Carrie, CAW Local 27 President (cell) 519-318-1022
Oakville
Automodular
2335 Speers Road - 11:00 a.m.
Angus MacDonald, CAW Local 1256 President (cell) 905-467-5133
Stratford
Cooper Standard Automotive
1030 Erie Street - 10:00 a.m. rolling to 12:30 p.m.
Kim Kent, CAW Local 4451 Vice President (cell) 519-272-9004
St. Thomas
Legatt & Platt (formerly Crown North America)
43 Gaylord Road, Unit #2 - 12:00 p.m.
Ryan Dolby, CAW Local 2168 President (office) 519-631-2005
St. Catharines
Tora Investments Inc.
15 Cushman Rd - 12:00 p.m.
Wayne Gates, CAW Local 199 President (cell) 905-328-9532
Tillsonburg
Reiter Automotive Systems (formerly Mastico Industries Ltd.)
73 Goshen St. - 12:00 p.m.
Fran Ward CAW Local 1859 President (office) 519-688-0051
Toronto
Woodbridge Foam
8214 Kipling Avenue, Woodbridge - 9:30 a.m.
Roland Kiehne, CAW Local 112 President (cell) 416-801-1120
Windsor/ Tecumseh
Canadian Engineering
2265 South Cameron Boulevard - 12:00 p.m.
Gerry Farnham, CAW Local 195 President (cell) 519-980-4195
Integram Seating
201 Patillo Road, Tecumseh - 11:00 a.m.
Dave Cassidy, CAW Local 444 Financial Secretary (cell) 519-999-7708
Woodstock
TRW (Formerly Kelsey-Hayes)
155 Beard's Lane -12:00 p.m.
Ross Gerrie, CAW Local 636 President (cell) 519-535-2014
Labels: Canadian labour, CAW, CAW Day Of Action, demonstrations, events, labour., Ontario, protests
Sunday, October 24, 2010
CANADIAN POLITICS:
NO TO THE STEALTH FIGHTERS:
This just in from CeaseFire.ca , a public education conference call on the Harper government's plans to blow $16 billion dollars on 'stealth fighters'. One might think that in light of the government's ballooning deficit that they should be a bit more "conservative" with our money. Ah well, for some things there will be to times of austerity. One should note that "stealth" fighters are pretty well the definition of an offensive weapon. They are only useful over somebody else's airspace. In any case the amount that may be spent on such toys has more or less been buried by the feds. Can we call this "Stealth by stealth" ? Here's the invite from CeaseFire.ca.
SFSFSFSFSF
Join our Canada-wide campaign conference call
Canada-wide campaign conference call
NO STEALTH FIGHTERS
Thursday, October 28, 2010
12:00 noon ET
(1:00 AT, 11:00 CT, 10:00 MT, 9:00 PT)
With Steven Staples and
special guest Michael Byers
Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia. His work focuses on Arctic sovereignty, the law and politics of military force, and international humanitarian law. He is the author of War Law (2005), Intent for a Nation (2007) and Who Owns the Arctic? (2010).
Join us to learn more about Stephen Harper's plan to spend $16 billion on "shock and awe" stealth fighters.
Send in your question or campaign idea. Find out how you can get involved.
Labels: Canadian militarism, Canadian politics, Cease Fire organization, conference calls, militarism, protests, stealth fighters
Thursday, October 21, 2010
CANADIAN POLITICS:
PROTEST CETA IN OTTAWA:
CETA, the Canada -EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, is one of those things that has the habit of sneaking up on you gradually. Only at the last moment do you realize that you are in an inescapable trap. Canada has had ample experience of this in the past with NAFTA, and now the federal government wants to tie us to yet another democracy destroying contract.
The following item from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) echoes a call from the Council of Canadians for a demonstration in Ottawa on the 22nd against this agreement. As a public service union CUPE is, of course, most concerned with the way that this agreement will be used to further privatization of public services. As an organization with a nationalist agenda the C0C is most concerned with the loss of Canadian sovereignty that such deals represent. Most important, in my point of view, is the weakening of the potential for significant decentralization in Canada as our polity becomes hamstrung by international restrictions. In any case there are many reasons to oppose such a deal. Here is the notice from CUPE.
CETACETACETA
CETA: Treat or Trick?Just in time for Halloween, Canadian and European Union trade negotiators are in Ottawa next week putting together a monster free trade pact. But this Harper-era trade deal is no treat. It's a trick that threatens workers, First Nations, municipal democracy, our public services and more.
People in both Canada and Europe want public services that are owned and operated by democratically elected governments and run on a not-for-profit basis. There is no place for trade deals that prohibit keeping our services and infrastructure public and keeping our tax dollars flowing back into our communities.
Don't let Harper create a trade monster. Help us chase CETA out of town!
What: rally against CETA organized by The Council of Canadians
Where: Old Ottawa City Hall, 111 Sussex Drive
When: Friday, October 22, 12 - 1 p.m.
For more information:
Tel: 613-233-2773
Email: inquiries@canadians.org
Read more about CETA on the CUPE Privatization Watch Webpage.
Labels: Canadian labour, Canadian politics, CETA, Council of canadians, CUPE, demonstrations, labour., Ottawa, protests, trade deals
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR VIETNAM:
SUPPORT VIETNAMESE WORKER ACTIVISTS:
It's just another day in another workers' paradise, and three workers are due to go on trial for organizing a strike. The "proletarian justice" they may face can mean up to 15 years in prison. Here's the story and appeal from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.
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Vietnam: Labour rights advocates face prison
Three Vietnamese labour rights advocates face 5-15 years imprisonment for helping organise a strike by 10,000 workers at the My Phong shoe factory in January 2010. Doan Huy Chuong, Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and Do Thi Minh Hanh, all in their 20's, have been detained virtually incommunicado since their arrests in February. The trial is expected in late October 2010.
The "crimes" alleged by prosecutors are that Doan Huy Chuong, Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and Do Thi Minh Hanh worked in an organised manner, distributed leaflets expressing discontent about working conditions and about the authorities, and helped workers to organise a strike. All of these activities ought to be legal, under Vietnam's own Constitution and in international instruments to which Vietnam is a signatory. The charges that they encouraged workers to destroy factory properties are without evidence and appear made-up.
Vietnam: Labour rights advocates face prison
Three Vietnamese labour rights advocates face 5-15 years imprisonment for helping organise a strike by 10,000 workers at the My Phong shoe factory in January 2010. Doan Huy Chuong, Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and Do Thi Minh Hanh, all in their 20's, have been detained virtually incommunicado since their arrests in February. The trial is expected in late October 2010.
The "crimes" alleged by prosecutors are that Doan Huy Chuong, Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and Do Thi Minh Hanh worked in an organised manner, distributed leaflets expressing discontent about working conditions and about the authorities, and helped workers to organise a strike. All of these activities ought to be legal, under Vietnam's own Constitution and in international instruments to which Vietnam is a signatory. The charges that they encouraged workers to destroy factory properties are without evidence and appear made-up.
VWVWVWVWVW
THE LETTER:
Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Vietnamese authorities.
VWVWVWVWVW
I call on the Vietnamese government to release jailed labour rights advocates Doan Huy Chuong, Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and Do Thi Minh Hanh.
Labels: international labour, Labour Start, labour., protests, solidarity., Vietnam
Saturday, October 16, 2010
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:
PROTEST HONORARY DEGREE TO VIC TOEWS:
As Molly has mentioned before tomorrow there will be a ceremony to present federal Justice Minister Vic Toews with a (dis ?)honorary degree at the University of Winnipeg. It's a strange case of "honour" as one can question the basis for it in terms of service to the community. Has VT saved even one medical patient from a deadly disease ? Has he given even one person hope via raising them from poverty ? Has he established even one innovative social program that has done any good whatsoever ? I don't mean building more prisons. Has he contributed anything whatsoever to the literary or artistic legacy of this country at least once ? Has he even been entertaining and told at least one original funny joke in his life ? In other words has he ever done anything whatsoever to make anyone's life better at any time in the past present or future ? Or has he been a good and crafty political timeserver and held enough offices for enough years to coast into a bizarre "port of honour". What on Earth does "honour" mean in this case ?
Some will be opposing the granting of this 'honorarily' degree. Here's the notice of the protest.
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Vic Toews Honorary Degree Protest
Time Sunday, October 17 · 12:00pm - 2:00pm
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Vic Toews Honorary Degree Protest
Time Sunday, October 17 · 12:00pm - 2:00pm
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Location University of Winnipeg, Bulman Centre basement
515 Portage Ave
Winnipeg, MB
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More Info
515 Portage Ave
Winnipeg, MB
-----------------------------------
More Info
Join the Coalition for Integrity in Academic Accolades on Sunday, October 17th at 12:00 noon in the Riddell Hall Cafeteria (U of W) for a protest of the University of Winnipeg's decision to grant Vic Toews an Honorary Doctorate of Laws. We will be meeting in the cafeteria to coordinate before moving outdoors to the protest... location which will remain undisclosed until Sunday. All who attend the protest are asked to be respectful towards those attending the convocation ceremony.
The sins of Toews are too numerous to list, but here are a few lowlights:
-Vic Toews believes that a bill adding queer Canadians to a list of groups protected by hate propaganda legislation is "a dangerous bill that will toss fundamental Canadian freedoms out the window.”
-Vic Toews has suggested lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10 and is not opposed to putting 10-year-olds in jail.
-Vic Toews spoke in favour of re-criminalizing abortions at the National Pro-Life Conference that was held in Winnipeg in 2004.
-Vic Toews has compared legalizing same-sex marriage to the “government celebrating a Black Mass.” ( Molly Note- In which case it should be right up the Harperite alley. The federal Conservatives seem pretty Satanic to me )
Labels: conservatives, local events, protests, Vic Toews, Winnipeg
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR UZBEKISTAN:
STOP CHILD LABOUR IN UZBEKISTAN:
The following appeal to pressure clothing retailer Gymboree to stop stocking items made by child labour in the country of Uzbekistan comes from the International Labour Rights Forum.
CLCLCLCLCL
Call Gymboree About Forced Child Labor TODAY!
Give Gymboree a Call TODAY about Forced Child Labor!
Call Gymboree at 1-800-222-7758 extension 7264 and leave a message saying:
"As a consumer, I want to be sure that workers are respected in the production of my clothes. Gymboree is one of a handful of major clothing companies that has not taken any action to address forced child labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. This inaction is unacceptable and I expect your company to do more to stop this abuse today. Will you issue a statement opposing forced child labor and commit to stop sourcing Uzbek cotton today?"
Let us know how your call went here!
THANK YOU to everyone who took action last week to tell Abercrombie & Fitch and Gymboree to speak out about forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry. Your actions are definitely making a difference!
Many of you may have received a response from Abercrombie stating that the company has a policy to not source cotton from Uzbekistan due to the government's practice of removing millions of children from school and forcing them to pick cotton. It's clear that when consumers speak up, companies will listen and this commitment is an important first step. We are working to get more details from Abercrombie on how it implements this policy, especially as the government of Uzbekistan is holding a cotton fair to sell it's cotton to international traders RIGHT NOW even as children are continuing to be forced to pick cotton.
On the other hand, Gymboree, the children's clothing store, continues to be silent on the ongoing exploitation of children in the cotton industry. Gymboree needs to hear your voice TODAY. Please take a minute to call Gymboree and tell them the time for remaining silent about forced child labor is over! Check out the call-in information and sample script in the box to the right. After you make your call, let us know how it went here.
After you call Gymboree, take action on Facebook by visiting Gymboree's Facebook page and posting this message: Gymboree: Time to break the silence on forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry! Commit to stop sourcing Uzbek cotton today. Take action on Twitter by posting this message: @Gymboree: Break the silence! Commit to stop sourcing cotton made by forced child labor in Uzbekistan today!
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This message you brought to you by the International Labor Rights Forum.
Call Gymboree About Forced Child Labor TODAY!
Give Gymboree a Call TODAY about Forced Child Labor!
Call Gymboree at 1-800-222-7758 extension 7264 and leave a message saying:
"As a consumer, I want to be sure that workers are respected in the production of my clothes. Gymboree is one of a handful of major clothing companies that has not taken any action to address forced child labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry. This inaction is unacceptable and I expect your company to do more to stop this abuse today. Will you issue a statement opposing forced child labor and commit to stop sourcing Uzbek cotton today?"
Let us know how your call went here!
THANK YOU to everyone who took action last week to tell Abercrombie & Fitch and Gymboree to speak out about forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry. Your actions are definitely making a difference!
Many of you may have received a response from Abercrombie stating that the company has a policy to not source cotton from Uzbekistan due to the government's practice of removing millions of children from school and forcing them to pick cotton. It's clear that when consumers speak up, companies will listen and this commitment is an important first step. We are working to get more details from Abercrombie on how it implements this policy, especially as the government of Uzbekistan is holding a cotton fair to sell it's cotton to international traders RIGHT NOW even as children are continuing to be forced to pick cotton.
On the other hand, Gymboree, the children's clothing store, continues to be silent on the ongoing exploitation of children in the cotton industry. Gymboree needs to hear your voice TODAY. Please take a minute to call Gymboree and tell them the time for remaining silent about forced child labor is over! Check out the call-in information and sample script in the box to the right. After you make your call, let us know how it went here.
After you call Gymboree, take action on Facebook by visiting Gymboree's Facebook page and posting this message: Gymboree: Time to break the silence on forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry! Commit to stop sourcing Uzbek cotton today. Take action on Twitter by posting this message: @Gymboree: Break the silence! Commit to stop sourcing cotton made by forced child labor in Uzbekistan today!
-----------------------------------
This message you brought to you by the International Labor Rights Forum.
Labels: child labour, international labour, International labour Rights Forum, labour., protests, solidarity., Uzbekistan
Sunday, October 10, 2010
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:
NO TO VIC TOEWS:
Vic Toews is one (of many) local conservative luminaries, luminous enough for some to think that he should be recognized for his "stellar" career. Others disagree. The following is a notice for a planning meeting for a protest against this award.
WWWWWWWWWW
Planning Meeting for Vic Toews Honorary Degree Protest
Time Wednesday, October 13 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm
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Location Rainbow Resource Centre
170 Scott Street
Winnipeg, MB
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More Info
Planning Meeting for Vic Toews Honorary Degree Protest
Time Wednesday, October 13 · 7:30pm - 9:00pm
----------------------------------
Location Rainbow Resource Centre
170 Scott Street
Winnipeg, MB
---------------------------------
More Info
On Sunday, October 17th at 2:00pm, the University of Winnipeg will be giving Vic Toews an honorary Doctorate of Laws during the autumn convocation ceremony. Throughout his career, Vic Toews has consistently represented the worst that Canadian conservatism has to offer. Here are some of his heinous positions: he is against same-sex marriage, he is against hate-speech laws protecting gay people, and he is against the legal right t...o abortion. He also wants to put as many Canadians in jail as possible: he is in favour of ramping up the war on drugs, he is in favour of allowing 10 year olds to be sent to jail, and he fought to end the two-for-one sentencing credit. Recently, Toews got in trouble for referring to the passengers aboard the Tamil refugee ship (MV Sun Sea) as "terrorists". In response, the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) charged that Toews incited "distrust and anger" towards members of the Sri Lankan community.
For all these reasons and more, we believe that Vic Toews should not be granted an honorary degree by the U of W. Doing so would tarnish the value of degrees given to all of its students. Toews' positions are based on ignorance and are in direct opposition to the notions of compassion and justice that should be idealized by institutions of higher learning and the Canadian justice system.
Join us at the planning meeting that will be held on Wed. Oct. 13th at 7:30pm at the Rainbow Resource Centre located at 170 Scott Street (corner of Scott and Wardlaw). At that meeting we will plan the protest that will occur during the convocation ceremony on October 17th.
For all these reasons and more, we believe that Vic Toews should not be granted an honorary degree by the U of W. Doing so would tarnish the value of degrees given to all of its students. Toews' positions are based on ignorance and are in direct opposition to the notions of compassion and justice that should be idealized by institutions of higher learning and the Canadian justice system.
Join us at the planning meeting that will be held on Wed. Oct. 13th at 7:30pm at the Rainbow Resource Centre located at 170 Scott Street (corner of Scott and Wardlaw). At that meeting we will plan the protest that will occur during the convocation ceremony on October 17th.
Labels: local events, meetings, protests, Vic Toews, Winnipeg
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT 2010:
The annual Take Back The Night march will be held here in Winnipeg this coming September 30. Here's the particulars.
TBTNTBTNTBTN
Take Back the Night 2010
Time September 30 · 7:00pm - 9:00pm
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Location Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre
430 Langside Street
Winnipeg, MB
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More Info
Shine a Light: Take Back the Night
Take Back the Night is an annual march which takes place all over the world. It is a collective display of solidarity to reclaim the streets as safe for all, and calls for an end to violence against women.
This year we will "shine a light" on violence against women which takes place in the street, but also that which happens under the cover of darkness and behind closed doors.
Rally begins at 7:00 p.m. March to follow. Reception with refreshments after the march.
There will be drumming, and music provided by Little Hawk after the march.
Speaker TBA
All are welcome to attend the march.
Bring your noisemakers, drums, banners, placards and your voice!
**Take Back the Night 2010 in Winnipeg is a World March of Women 2010 event**
Please share widely and invite others!!
Labels: demonstrations, feminism, local events, protests, Take Back the Night, violence against women, Winnipeg, women
CANADIAN POLITICS BURNABY:
MAKE NOISE TO RELEASE THE TAMILS:
Across the world, from Argentina to Bulgaria, from Italy to India and all points in between, demonstrators have used the "pot banging" as a novel way of making their point. It will be the same this coming Sunday as demonstrators gather in front of the Burnaby Youth Custody Services (?) Centre to demand the release of the Tamil boat people imprisoned there. Here's the notice from No One Is Illegal.
TITITITITI
Noise Demo to Release Detained Tamil Refugees
Time September 19 · 1:30pm - 6:30pm
-----------------------------
Location Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
Burnaby, BC
----------------------------
Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
---------------------------
More
Noise Demo to Release Detained Tamil Refugees
Time September 19 · 1:30pm - 6:30pm
-----------------------------
Location Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
Burnaby, BC
----------------------------
Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
---------------------------
More
Info Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Let Them Free, Let Them Stay!
Sunday Sept 19 at 1:30 pm
Shuttles Leaving Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15
...
Last week over 100 people gathered in front of the Burnaby Youth Custody
prison where approximately 90 Tamil refugee mothers and children are being
incarcerated. Locked out of the facility, for over two hours supporters
banged on pots and pans to the beats of Tamil music. A large Tamil banner
reading "We welcome you, we support you" was held towards the two
detention units where children could be seen waving and smiling, peering
through prison bars.
Join No One is Illegal-Vancouver again this week at the Burnaby detention
facility to continue to express our love, support, and solidarity with
those still being held inside and to call for the immediate release of
detained Tamil asylum seekers.
<><><><><><><><><>
Let Them Free, Let Them Stay!
Sunday Sept 19 at 1:30 pm
Shuttles Leaving Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15
...
Last week over 100 people gathered in front of the Burnaby Youth Custody
prison where approximately 90 Tamil refugee mothers and children are being
incarcerated. Locked out of the facility, for over two hours supporters
banged on pots and pans to the beats of Tamil music. A large Tamil banner
reading "We welcome you, we support you" was held towards the two
detention units where children could be seen waving and smiling, peering
through prison bars.
Join No One is Illegal-Vancouver again this week at the Burnaby detention
facility to continue to express our love, support, and solidarity with
those still being held inside and to call for the immediate release of
detained Tamil asylum seekers.
<><><><><><><><><>
Sunday Sept 19 at 1:30 pm
Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who
arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
LOCATION: 7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
Shuttles Leaving Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15
<><><><><><><><><>
* Bring noise! We want to be visible and be heard from inside so please
bring pots, pans, horns, drums, noisemakers (please be aware of noises
which may be triggering or traumatizing)
* TRANSPORT:
1) Meeting at Edmonds skytrain station at 12:45pm. Shuttles Leaving
Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15. If you have a vehicle and
can offer carpool, please contact us at noii-van at resist.ca or 778 885
0040.
2) Public transit is not very accessible, but if you are taking it, then
take the #116 from Edmonds station.
Surviving a dangerous journey, 492 Tamil refugees, including women and
children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka.
When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First
Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services,
and RCMP. The refugees are now in jails, facing endless hearings that have
revealed the clear incompetency, deliberate negligence, and racism of the
system.
In the context of the never-ending "War on Terror" refugees, migrants, and
racialized people are increasingly being racially targeted, dehumanized as
security threats, and criminalized through unprecedented police and state
powers. Despite its rhetoric of 'liberating' and 'protecting' women
globally and locally, the Canadian state is detaining an increasing
numbers of women and children that cross these borders. In light of
increasing repression and exclusionary policies and ideologies, we demand
"Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!"
www.nooneisillegal.org
Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who
arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
LOCATION: 7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
Shuttles Leaving Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15
<><><><><><><><><>
* Bring noise! We want to be visible and be heard from inside so please
bring pots, pans, horns, drums, noisemakers (please be aware of noises
which may be triggering or traumatizing)
* TRANSPORT:
1) Meeting at Edmonds skytrain station at 12:45pm. Shuttles Leaving
Edmonds station starting at 12:45 until 1:15. If you have a vehicle and
can offer carpool, please contact us at noii-van at resist.ca or 778 885
0040.
2) Public transit is not very accessible, but if you are taking it, then
take the #116 from Edmonds station.
Surviving a dangerous journey, 492 Tamil refugees, including women and
children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka.
When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First
Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services,
and RCMP. The refugees are now in jails, facing endless hearings that have
revealed the clear incompetency, deliberate negligence, and racism of the
system.
In the context of the never-ending "War on Terror" refugees, migrants, and
racialized people are increasingly being racially targeted, dehumanized as
security threats, and criminalized through unprecedented police and state
powers. Despite its rhetoric of 'liberating' and 'protecting' women
globally and locally, the Canadian state is detaining an increasing
numbers of women and children that cross these borders. In light of
increasing repression and exclusionary policies and ideologies, we demand
"Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!"
www.nooneisillegal.org
Labels: Burnaby, Canadian politics, demonstrations, immigrants, No One is Illegal, No One is Illegal-Vancouver, protests, tamil refugees, Vancouver
Friday, September 10, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR TORONTO:
NORTEL RETIREES SUPPORT RALLY:
Here's another support rally coming up next week, this one from the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). The Nortel company has been using Canada's bankruptcy laws to avoid their pension obligations. Former Nortel workers are demanding that alternatives to the usual pension plan wind-up be found. One such alternative is the Financial Support Model as proposed by the Nortel Retiree's Protection Committee. Please go to their website for more details and also to see how you can support the Nortel pensioners. Here's the announcement.
NPNPNPNPNP
Nortel Workers Rally at Queen's Park: September 15
------------------
The CAW national union is calling on all retired workers, local unions and other allies to come to Queen's Park in Toronto on Wednesday, September 15 at 12 noon to support former Nortel workers.
The rally is part of the on-going CAW and CLC campaign to demand "Retirement Security for All Workers."
The Nortel Retirees and former employees Protection Canada (NRPC) have been lobbying the Ontario government to explore alternatives to a conventional pension plan wind-up.
The CAW is asking that all local unions, Retired Workers chapters and area councils organize buses in their respective areas. Jenny Ahn, director of the CAW retired workers department, said the rally highlights the importance of government action on the issue.
"We need to keep the pressure on all levels of government to fulfill their moral obligation to ensure our pensions are funded and fully protected," said Ahn.
For more information and bus locations contact CAW National Coordinator Dean Lindsay at 1-800-268-5763, ext. 3791 or (416) 497-4110, ext. 3791.
NPNPNPNPNP
The Nortel retirees protection Association has a rather restricted mandate, mostly dealing only with ex-employees of Nortel in Ontario. There is, however, a new national organization of pensioners the Silver Fox Alliance that is more national and not company restricted. Check out their website, especially in regard to the following petition regarding the federal Bill C-501. This is a motion before Parliament that has passed second reading despite the fact that it has the support of only 12 Conservative MPs. It aims to reform federal bankruptcy legislation such that workers' pensions are secured during the bankruptcy process. Go to the Silver Fox website to sign the following petition.
NPNPNPNPNP
To: The Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, The Hon. Jim Flaherty, The Hon. Tony Clement.
We the undersigned implore you to pass Bill C-501 third reading before Sept. 30. It is time to stop the unconscionable harm inflicted by current bankruptcy laws on Canadian pensioners. We have a voice.
Let it not be said, " Sirs, you had a choice"
Labels: Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian labour, Canadian politics, labour., Nortel, Nortel Retirees protection Committee, pensions, petitions, protests, rallies, Silver Fox Alliance
Monday, September 06, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR POLAND:
FIRED FOR WANTING TO BE PAID:
The following article and appeal for protests comes from the Polish Pracownik network site. Pracownik is an "employee forum" supported by Polish syndicalists where workers can exchange information and contact each other.
PPPPPPPPPP
Workers Fired for not Wanting to Work for Free
---------------------
By pracownik - Posted on 06 wrzesień 2010
Workers from ZEFAM furniture factory in Nowe Miasteczko in the west of Poland were given disciplinary dismissals because they asked when the would get paid.
ZEFAM stands for Zielona Gora Furniture Factory. Workers there had not received salaries for months. Some had not been paid for four months and nobody was receiving overtime payments. On August 19, the workers asked about this. The manager went to consult with the director of the firm, Marek Cierpka. Then he told the workers to "go home". They didn't want to, but the manager shut down the production hall. After some time of not knowing what to do, the workers went home.
The next day, the manager was waiting for them at the gates of the factory with disciplinary dismissals. Most people refused to take them, but they were sent by post to 27 workers. In the dismissals it was written that they were being dismissed for leaving their work place without permission or justification.
The boss claimed that the workers held a wildcat strike.
The next day, the boss proposed that people return to work, but with new contracts, for "trial periods".
Some people were so desperate that they agreed to this, but 11 people refused. Six of them are prevented by security from going near the factory.
But even the ones who "agreed" to the new conditions are not factory. The Mayor of Nowe Miasteczko "mediated" but convinced them to agree to the bad deal. It was agreed that if the workers have no problems or "strikes' over the next two months of the "trial period", then the Director will annul the disciplinary dismissal.
In Poland, all records of work are kept in your "work book". If you were fired, it stays on your record and basically creates a problem for you for years, if not the rest of your life.
The workers at ZEFAM were totally fucked. The majority of them are older, many in their 50s and 60s. Many have worked in the factory 30 or 40 years with no problem. And now they are told they should be on a trial period! If they give their work books, the bosses will write that they were fired. If they don't give their work books to be signed, they will have no proof of the work they have done for decades!
It is important to point out that these people live in a high unemployment area.
The Mayor of Nowe Miasteczko is actually aiding the director, Mr. Cierpka, in committing a crime. Unfair dismissal is not a crime in Poland, but if he is not paying, the company should go into bankruptcy, its assets liquidated and the workers paid from this. But the case is more likely that the company just wanted to find some pretext to get rid of old staff and hope that the workers will not be able to fight back.
We hope that this assesssment of the workers will prove wrong and we support the 11 who refused! Hopefully the next wildcat strike will be a real one!
Protests can be sent to:
Prezes Zarządu
Marek Cierpka
Zielonogórskie Fabryki Mebli S.A.
ul. Głogowska 18
67-124 Nowe Miasteczko
Tel. (+48 68) 325 46 31
Fax (+ 48 68) 388 89 64
Email: zefam@zefam.com.pl
www.zefam.com.pl
Labels: anarcho-syndicalism, international labour, labour, Poland, Pracownik, protests, solidarity.
CANADIAN POLITICS VANCOUVER:
SEPT. 11 RALLY FOR DETAINED TAMILS:
It is approaching a month now since a boat full of Tamil refugees en route to Canada was intercepted and its occupants detained. This coming Saturday, September 11, there will be a rally outside the jail where they are being held. Here's the story from No One Is Illegal.
TRTRTRTRTR
Sep 11 Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Updated on web: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2336
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149354218418109
Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Let Them Free, Let Them Stay!
For almost one month now, 492 Tamil refugees have been detained by
Canadian authorities. Families have been separated, and women and children - including young children - are being incarcerated in Burnaby. Join No One is Illegal-Vancouver at the Burnaby detention facility to express our love, support, and solidarity to those being held inside and to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers.
<><><><><><><><>
Saturday Sept 11 at 1:30 pm
Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who
arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
LOCATION: 7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
<><><><><><><><>
* Bring noise! We want to be visible and be heard from inside so please
bring pots, pans, horns, drums, noisemakers (please be aware of noises
which may be triggering or traumatizing)
* TRANSPORT:
1) Commercial and Broadway Safeway Parking Lot at 1 pm. Rides provided. If
you have a vehicle and can offer carpool, please please please do contact
us at noii-van@resist.ca or 778 885 0040.
2) Public transit is not very accessible, but if you are taking it, then
take the #116 from Edmonds station.
-----------------------
Surviving a dangerous journey, 492 Tamil refugees, including women and
children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka.
When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First
Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services,
and RCMP. The refugees are now in jails, facing endless hearings that have
revealed the clear incompetency, deliberate negligence, and racism of the
system.
In the context of the never-ending "War on Terror" refugees, migrants, and
racialized people are increasingly being racially targeted, dehumanized as
security threats, and criminalized through unprecedented police and state
powers. Despite its rhetoric of 'liberating' and 'protecting' women
globally and locally, the Canadian state is detaining an increasing
numbers of women and children that cross these borders. In light of
increasing repression and exclusionary policies and ideologies, we demand
"Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!"
www.nooneisillegal.org
Sep 11 Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Updated on web: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2336
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149354218418109
Release Detained Tamil Refugees:
Let Them Free, Let Them Stay!
For almost one month now, 492 Tamil refugees have been detained by
Canadian authorities. Families have been separated, and women and children - including young children - are being incarcerated in Burnaby. Join No One is Illegal-Vancouver at the Burnaby detention facility to express our love, support, and solidarity to those being held inside and to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers.
<><><><><><><><>
Saturday Sept 11 at 1:30 pm
Burnaby Youth Custody Services Centre where mothers and children who
arrived aboard MV Sun Sea are being detained.
LOCATION: 7900 Fraser Park Dr, Burnaby
<><><><><><><><>
* Bring noise! We want to be visible and be heard from inside so please
bring pots, pans, horns, drums, noisemakers (please be aware of noises
which may be triggering or traumatizing)
* TRANSPORT:
1) Commercial and Broadway Safeway Parking Lot at 1 pm. Rides provided. If
you have a vehicle and can offer carpool, please please please do contact
us at noii-van@resist.ca or 778 885 0040.
2) Public transit is not very accessible, but if you are taking it, then
take the #116 from Edmonds station.
-----------------------
Surviving a dangerous journey, 492 Tamil refugees, including women and
children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka.
When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First
Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services,
and RCMP. The refugees are now in jails, facing endless hearings that have
revealed the clear incompetency, deliberate negligence, and racism of the
system.
In the context of the never-ending "War on Terror" refugees, migrants, and
racialized people are increasingly being racially targeted, dehumanized as
security threats, and criminalized through unprecedented police and state
powers. Despite its rhetoric of 'liberating' and 'protecting' women
globally and locally, the Canadian state is detaining an increasing
numbers of women and children that cross these borders. In light of
increasing repression and exclusionary policies and ideologies, we demand
"Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!"
www.nooneisillegal.org
Labels: Canadian politics, immigrants, protests, rallies, tamil refugees, Vancouver
Sunday, September 05, 2010
HUMAN RIGHTS:
NO LECTURES FROM WAR CRIMINALS:
This appeal in recently from the School of the Americas Watch. The ex-president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, is due to give a series of lectures at Georgetown University as a "distinguished scholar". During his tenure as President Colombia earned the distinction of being the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. Here's the story and appeal from the SOAW.
SOAWSOAWSOAW
U.S. and Colombia
Keep Colombian Ex-President Alvaro Uribe out of Georgetown and send him packing to La Picota prison in Colombia!
Take Action Here
Georgetown University has recently announced that former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe will be named a "distinguished scholar in the practice of global leadership," and will soon begin giving seminars at the university's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS). Uribe has said it is a "great honor" for him, and that his "greatest wish and happiness is to contribute in the continuous emergence of future leaders."
Uribe's 8-year tenure in Colombia was rife with corruption, human rights violations and widespread impunity. In a letter in June to the White House, Human Rights Watch expressed "serious concerns" about the Uribe administration's record on and commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
◘◘ More than 3 million Colombians (out of a population of about 40 million) have been forced to flee their homes, giving Colombia the second-largest population of internally displaced persons in the world after Sudan.
◘◘ More than 70 members of the Colombian Congress are under criminal investigation or have been convicted for allegedly collaborating with the paramilitaries. Nearly all these congresspersons are members of President Uribe's coalition in Congress, and the Uribe administration repeatedly undermined the investigations and discredited the Supreme Court justices who started them.
◘◘ Colombia has the highest rate of killings of trade unionists in the world.
◘◘ A clandestine gravesite of 2,000 non-identified bodies was recently discovered directly beside a military base in La Macarena, in central Colombia. When the news became public, Uribe flew to the Macarena and said publicly that accusing the armed forces of human rights abuses was a tactic used by the guerrilla. These comments put the lives of those victims who spoke at the event in grave danger.
◘◘ Starting in 2008, reports came out that the Colombian military was luring poor young men from their homes with promises of employment, then killing them and presenting them as combat casualties. The practice not only served to stack battle statistics, but also financially benefited the soldiers involved, as Uribe's government had, since 2005, awarded monetary and vacation bonuses for each insurgent killed. Human rights groups cite 3,000 or more "false positives".
Students, community activists and religious leaders have already spoken out against the university's decision, and will be planning actions of protest for this fall.
Take action NOW, by signing this letter to Georgetown University President, Mr. John J. DeGioia.
U.S. and Colombia
Keep Colombian Ex-President Alvaro Uribe out of Georgetown and send him packing to La Picota prison in Colombia!
Take Action Here
Georgetown University has recently announced that former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe will be named a "distinguished scholar in the practice of global leadership," and will soon begin giving seminars at the university's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS). Uribe has said it is a "great honor" for him, and that his "greatest wish and happiness is to contribute in the continuous emergence of future leaders."
Uribe's 8-year tenure in Colombia was rife with corruption, human rights violations and widespread impunity. In a letter in June to the White House, Human Rights Watch expressed "serious concerns" about the Uribe administration's record on and commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
◘◘ More than 3 million Colombians (out of a population of about 40 million) have been forced to flee their homes, giving Colombia the second-largest population of internally displaced persons in the world after Sudan.
◘◘ More than 70 members of the Colombian Congress are under criminal investigation or have been convicted for allegedly collaborating with the paramilitaries. Nearly all these congresspersons are members of President Uribe's coalition in Congress, and the Uribe administration repeatedly undermined the investigations and discredited the Supreme Court justices who started them.
◘◘ Colombia has the highest rate of killings of trade unionists in the world.
◘◘ A clandestine gravesite of 2,000 non-identified bodies was recently discovered directly beside a military base in La Macarena, in central Colombia. When the news became public, Uribe flew to the Macarena and said publicly that accusing the armed forces of human rights abuses was a tactic used by the guerrilla. These comments put the lives of those victims who spoke at the event in grave danger.
◘◘ Starting in 2008, reports came out that the Colombian military was luring poor young men from their homes with promises of employment, then killing them and presenting them as combat casualties. The practice not only served to stack battle statistics, but also financially benefited the soldiers involved, as Uribe's government had, since 2005, awarded monetary and vacation bonuses for each insurgent killed. Human rights groups cite 3,000 or more "false positives".
Students, community activists and religious leaders have already spoken out against the university's decision, and will be planning actions of protest for this fall.
Take action NOW, by signing this letter to Georgetown University President, Mr. John J. DeGioia.
SOAWSOAWSOAW
THE LETTER:
Please go to this link to send the following letter to the President of Georgetown University.
SOAWSOAWSOAW
Mr. DeGioia,
As a person concerned with human rights, I believe that it is not only unacceptable but also completely unethical for Georgetown University to give Colombia’s ex-president Álvaro Uribe the title of “distinguished scholar in the practice of global leadership.” This sends the message that Georgetown University is not committed to upholding human rights or its own professed Jesuit values. I demand that Georgetown sides with the victims of human rights abuses and not with the perpetrators. Uribe is a criminal, and therefore not suitable to teach at a prestigious university such as Georgetown.
Uribe’s eight-year tenure in Colombia was rife with corruption, human rights violations and widespread impunity. In a letter in June 2009 to the White House, the NGO Human Rights Watch expressed “serious concerns” about the Uribe administration's record on and commitment to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Uribe’s accusations against union leaders, teachers, and members of the Supreme Court, which have seriously threatened their lives and caused multiple human rights abuses. Along with his cooperation in anti-opposition attacks, he is suspected to be involved in multiple scandals in which more than 70 of his allies in the Colombian Congress were under criminal investigation for links to paramilitary groups and corruption.
Charges by human rights organizations against Uribe include, but are not limited to, collaboration with paramilitary groups in the “false positives” scandal, which entailed luring 3,000 or more poor young men to their deaths, posing them as guerillas fighters and paying bonuses to the soldiers responsible. His legacy also includes extensive illegal phone tapping, email interception, and surveillance of critics of his administration. Not only was Uribe a destabilizing force in the region, but under Uribe’s presidency, there was also a significant rise in extrajudicial killings of civilians, and specific targetting of labor leaders, attributed to the Colombian Army, well as millions displaced from Colombians and other bordering nations. In addition, under Uribe’s administration the Colombian government violated international humanitarian law by wrongly using the Red Cross emblem in a hostage situation.
We urge you to rethink your decision about hiring Uribe as a member of your staff, and instead insist that Uribe stand trial and undergo an investigation for the human rights abuses that took place under his presidency. Unless you believe that corruption, violence and scandals are valuable tools for your students, as the President of Georgetown University, it is imperative that you take a stance on the side of justice and denounce Uribe’s human rights violations by terminating his connection with your university. Uribe should not be honored by Georgetown’s academic prestige, but should instead pay for the crimes that he committed.
Sincerely,
Labels: Alvaro Uribe, Colombia, Georgettown University, human rights, international human rights, latin america, protests, School of the Americas Watch, war crimes
Saturday, August 21, 2010
CANADIAN POLITICS:
RALLIES IN SUPPORT OF TAMIL REFUGEES:
Beginning today and into next week there will be a number of rallies across the country in support of the right of the recently arrived Tamil refugees on the west coast to stay in Canada. These are being organized by No One is Illegal. Here is the story from No One Is Illegal Vancouver.
NOIINOIINOII
Canada: Stop Jailing and Deporting Refugees, Let The Tamil Refugees Stay!
Time
Canada: Stop Jailing and Deporting Refugees, Let The Tamil Refugees Stay!
Time
August 21 at 3:30pm - August 26 at 6:00pm
-----------------------
Location Various cities and communities - check description for details
across Canada / Indigenous lands
-----------------------
Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
----------------------
More Info
-----------------------
Location Various cities and communities - check description for details
across Canada / Indigenous lands
-----------------------
Created By No One Is Illegal - Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
----------------------
More Info
CANADA: STOP JAILING AND DEPORTING REFUGEES, LET THEM STAY!
SUPPORT THE TAMIL MIGRANTS! SAY NO TO RACISM!
==> In VANCOUVER, Unceded Coast Salish Territories:
Saturday August 21 @ 3:30 pm
...Gather at Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Side
* Download poster PDF http://bit.ly/aq9HWI or JPG: http://bit.ly/c0VN60
==> In UNSURRENDERED WET'SUWET'EN TERRITORY:
Saturday August 21
Solidarity with the Tamil Refugees and No One Is Illegal. Moricetown Canyon, noon.
Contact gitksanmanoct6@hotmail.com
==> In VICTORIA:
Saturday August 21st 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Victoria Information Booth, Government and Belville
Organized by Victoria Anti-Racism Network (VARN)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143826562315624
==> In OTTAWA:
Monday August 23 @ Noon.
Gather at corner of Kent and Laurier
(Citizenship and Immigration Canada)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119285261456467
==> In MONTREAL:
Thursday August 26th from noon to 2 pm
Front of Immigration and Refugee Board offices, 200 Boul. René Levesque. Organized by Friends of Tamil Refugees/ Les Amies des Réfugiées Tamils.
Contact 514-668-4751 or 514-449-9370.
==> In KITCHENER-WATERLOO:
Monday August 23.
Press Conference and gathering, details tbc.
Contact rachel@peaceculture.org
==> In TORONTO:
Saturday August 21st
Toronto Welcomes Tamil Migrants!
Follow www.twitter.com/noii_ to to see images of creative actions that we will be taking.
(more TBC)
Join No One is Illegal to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers, and an end to racist and restrictive refugee policies. Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!
Surviving a dangerous journey, 500 Tamil refugees, including women and children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka. When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services, and RCMP. Families are now being separated, with many children being taken by the Ministry of Child and Family Development. The refugees now face the threat of incarceration and eventual deportation.
Canadian government officials and media outlets are perpetuating false and dehumanizing stereotypes of 'illegals', 'terrorists', and so-called queue-jumpers. The earlier arrival of 76 Tamil migrants on Ocean Lady was similarly sensationalized. This deliberately created hysteria appeals to prejudices of refugees as undesirable. Well-known neo-Nazis, like Paul Fromm and the Aryan Guard, also known as the Canada First Immigration Reform Committee, are openly organizing rallies for the ship to be sent back.
This fear-mongering is just another tactic used to disguise the racist policies that define Canada’s immigration and refugee system. The Canadian government was recently forced to apologize for its “keep Canada white” measures, such as the Komagata Maru incident. Yet Minister of Censorship and Deportation Jason Kenney continues to increase detentions and deportation of refugees and undocumented migrants, while bringing in more temporary exploitable migrant labour. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews recently declared that Cabinet is drafting new policies to clamp down on migrants and “make this country less welcoming for future shipments of human cargo.”
No One is Illegal-Vancouver asserts the basic human right to safety, mobility, and protection. It is well known that Tamils in Sri Lanka are fleeing military atrocities and mass displacement. The only crime the migrants have committed is transgressing this imposed settler-colonial border. We encourage you to join us in rejecting repressive, racist, and exclusionary ideologies and policies, and instead encourage compassion, solidarity, respect for life, and justice for all refugees. Release Detained Asylum-Seekers! Let the Boat Stay! Status for All!
*** HOW ELSE CAN I SUPPORT? ***
THERE ARE 10 THINGS YOU COULD DO!
1) Join other cities and communities for nation-wide actions. Wherever you maybe, whatever you can organize (delegation to a Minister’s office, street theatre, leafleting, community speak-out), will help build this movement. Please email noii-van@resist.ca and let us know how you can participate.
2) Engage in dialogue and widely circulate the factsheet on the 6 most popular myths about the 490 Tamil Refugees, available here: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2167
3) Sign the online petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/16082010/petition.html . Join the Facebook group Uphold the Rights of the MV Sun Sea Migrants here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106719212717437
4) Put up posters in your neighbourhood, workplace, and campus, and as your social media profile. We have ‘Let them Stay’ and ‘Anti Neo Nazi, Fight Racism’ posters available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nooneisillegal/ . PDF’s: http://bit.ly/9HBtGa and http://bit.ly/cgM3gK
5) Participate in the Call/Email/Fax Campaign to the Government and your MP. State your support for the refugees to stay in Canada and denounce the government for spreading unsubstantiated racist lies. This is easy to do and you can tell others to do the same!
Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Phone 613-992-2235 or 403-225-3480. Fax 403-225-3504 or 613-992-1920.
Email: Minister@cic.gc.ca and kennej@parl.gc.ca
Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety
Phone: (204) 326-9889 or (204)345-9762 or (613) 992-3128.
Fax: (204) 346-9874 or (204) 345-9768 or (613) 995-1049
Email: toewsv1@mts.net and Toews.V@parl.gc.ca
To find out who your MP is and where to write them:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC
6) Always take a minute to write letters to the editor and comment on news stories - make a difference in public discourse! Reinforce your support for the migrants and condemn irresponsible reporting including repeating unsubstantiated lies and giving white supremacists like Paul Fromm a platform. All letters must be short (100 words), include name, mailing address and daytime phone number of the writer; state “Letter to the Editor” in subject; and content should be in the body of the email.
Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.com
Vancouver Sun: sunletters@png.canwest.com
Vancouver Province: provletters@png.canwest.com
24 Hours: news@sunmedia.ca
Metro News: http://www.metronews.ca/Vancouver/comment/lettereditor
National Post: letters@nationalpost.com
Toronto Star: lettertoed@thestar.ca
7) Take your own initiative. This issue is not just the Tamil communities’ or for migrant justice organizers. The growing racist backlash that is taking root should concern all of us. Think of creative ways to disrupt this xenophobic climate (do a banner drop, host a community picnic, take some friends postering, organize a forum or press conference, distribute anti-racist zines, take action at the prison).
8) Consider inviting a speaker to your next meeting. Email noii-van@resist.ca and we would be happy to attend or suggest speakers, as well as provide educational materials.
9) Have your organization, traditional council, union, community group, or artist collective write a short public statement of support for the Tamil migrants. Please email us a copy at noii-van@resist.ca .
10) Join our low-traffic email announcement list to receive news and events. You can subscribe yourself https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/noii-l . Our Facebook group is: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6252584281&ref=ts . Visit our website regularly for articles: http://noii-van.resist.ca/
www.nooneisillegal.org
SUPPORT THE TAMIL MIGRANTS! SAY NO TO RACISM!
==> In VANCOUVER, Unceded Coast Salish Territories:
Saturday August 21 @ 3:30 pm
...Gather at Vancouver Art Gallery, Robson Side
* Download poster PDF http://bit.ly/aq9HWI or JPG: http://bit.ly/c0VN60
==> In UNSURRENDERED WET'SUWET'EN TERRITORY:
Saturday August 21
Solidarity with the Tamil Refugees and No One Is Illegal. Moricetown Canyon, noon.
Contact gitksanmanoct6@hotmail.com
==> In VICTORIA:
Saturday August 21st 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Victoria Information Booth, Government and Belville
Organized by Victoria Anti-Racism Network (VARN)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143826562315624
==> In OTTAWA:
Monday August 23 @ Noon.
Gather at corner of Kent and Laurier
(Citizenship and Immigration Canada)
RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119285261456467
==> In MONTREAL:
Thursday August 26th from noon to 2 pm
Front of Immigration and Refugee Board offices, 200 Boul. René Levesque. Organized by Friends of Tamil Refugees/ Les Amies des Réfugiées Tamils.
Contact 514-668-4751 or 514-449-9370.
==> In KITCHENER-WATERLOO:
Monday August 23.
Press Conference and gathering, details tbc.
Contact rachel@peaceculture.org
==> In TORONTO:
Saturday August 21st
Toronto Welcomes Tamil Migrants!
Follow www.twitter.com/noii_ to to see images of creative actions that we will be taking.
(more TBC)
Join No One is Illegal to call for the immediate release of detained Tamil asylum seekers, and an end to racist and restrictive refugee policies. Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!
Surviving a dangerous journey, 500 Tamil refugees, including women and children, arrived in BC after fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka. When the ship first neared Esquimault, territories of the Songhees First Nation, it was immediately boarded by the Armed Forces, Border Services, and RCMP. Families are now being separated, with many children being taken by the Ministry of Child and Family Development. The refugees now face the threat of incarceration and eventual deportation.
Canadian government officials and media outlets are perpetuating false and dehumanizing stereotypes of 'illegals', 'terrorists', and so-called queue-jumpers. The earlier arrival of 76 Tamil migrants on Ocean Lady was similarly sensationalized. This deliberately created hysteria appeals to prejudices of refugees as undesirable. Well-known neo-Nazis, like Paul Fromm and the Aryan Guard, also known as the Canada First Immigration Reform Committee, are openly organizing rallies for the ship to be sent back.
This fear-mongering is just another tactic used to disguise the racist policies that define Canada’s immigration and refugee system. The Canadian government was recently forced to apologize for its “keep Canada white” measures, such as the Komagata Maru incident. Yet Minister of Censorship and Deportation Jason Kenney continues to increase detentions and deportation of refugees and undocumented migrants, while bringing in more temporary exploitable migrant labour. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews recently declared that Cabinet is drafting new policies to clamp down on migrants and “make this country less welcoming for future shipments of human cargo.”
No One is Illegal-Vancouver asserts the basic human right to safety, mobility, and protection. It is well known that Tamils in Sri Lanka are fleeing military atrocities and mass displacement. The only crime the migrants have committed is transgressing this imposed settler-colonial border. We encourage you to join us in rejecting repressive, racist, and exclusionary ideologies and policies, and instead encourage compassion, solidarity, respect for life, and justice for all refugees. Release Detained Asylum-Seekers! Let the Boat Stay! Status for All!
*** HOW ELSE CAN I SUPPORT? ***
THERE ARE 10 THINGS YOU COULD DO!
1) Join other cities and communities for nation-wide actions. Wherever you maybe, whatever you can organize (delegation to a Minister’s office, street theatre, leafleting, community speak-out), will help build this movement. Please email noii-van@resist.ca and let us know how you can participate.
2) Engage in dialogue and widely circulate the factsheet on the 6 most popular myths about the 490 Tamil Refugees, available here: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2167
3) Sign the online petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/16082010/petition.html . Join the Facebook group Uphold the Rights of the MV Sun Sea Migrants here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106719212717437
4) Put up posters in your neighbourhood, workplace, and campus, and as your social media profile. We have ‘Let them Stay’ and ‘Anti Neo Nazi, Fight Racism’ posters available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nooneisillegal/ . PDF’s: http://bit.ly/9HBtGa and http://bit.ly/cgM3gK
5) Participate in the Call/Email/Fax Campaign to the Government and your MP. State your support for the refugees to stay in Canada and denounce the government for spreading unsubstantiated racist lies. This is easy to do and you can tell others to do the same!
Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Phone 613-992-2235 or 403-225-3480. Fax 403-225-3504 or 613-992-1920.
Email: Minister@cic.gc.ca and kennej@parl.gc.ca
Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety
Phone: (204) 326-9889 or (204)345-9762 or (613) 992-3128.
Fax: (204) 346-9874 or (204) 345-9768 or (613) 995-1049
Email: toewsv1@mts.net and Toews.V@parl.gc.ca
To find out who your MP is and where to write them:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC
6) Always take a minute to write letters to the editor and comment on news stories - make a difference in public discourse! Reinforce your support for the migrants and condemn irresponsible reporting including repeating unsubstantiated lies and giving white supremacists like Paul Fromm a platform. All letters must be short (100 words), include name, mailing address and daytime phone number of the writer; state “Letter to the Editor” in subject; and content should be in the body of the email.
Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.com
Vancouver Sun: sunletters@png.canwest.com
Vancouver Province: provletters@png.canwest.com
24 Hours: news@sunmedia.ca
Metro News: http://www.metronews.ca/Vancouver/comment/lettereditor
National Post: letters@nationalpost.com
Toronto Star: lettertoed@thestar.ca
7) Take your own initiative. This issue is not just the Tamil communities’ or for migrant justice organizers. The growing racist backlash that is taking root should concern all of us. Think of creative ways to disrupt this xenophobic climate (do a banner drop, host a community picnic, take some friends postering, organize a forum or press conference, distribute anti-racist zines, take action at the prison).
8) Consider inviting a speaker to your next meeting. Email noii-van@resist.ca and we would be happy to attend or suggest speakers, as well as provide educational materials.
9) Have your organization, traditional council, union, community group, or artist collective write a short public statement of support for the Tamil migrants. Please email us a copy at noii-van@resist.ca .
10) Join our low-traffic email announcement list to receive news and events. You can subscribe yourself https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/noii-l . Our Facebook group is: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6252584281&ref=ts . Visit our website regularly for articles: http://noii-van.resist.ca/
www.nooneisillegal.org
Labels: Canadian politics, demonstrations, Kitchener, Montreal, No One is Illegal, Ottawa, protests, rallies, tamil refugees, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Waterloo
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:
CHALK FOR PEACE:
There's an interesting, novel and fun protest coming up at the end of this month here in Winnipeg. I speak of the 'Chalk for Peace' events on Saturday, August 28 down at Vimy Ridge Park. Rather than marching up and down and at the end of it listening to boring political speeches from the 'official left' people are invited to express their individual creativity using the sidewalks as a canvas. Here's the announcement >>>
CFPCFPCFP
Chalk 4 Peace (August 28th)
Time August 28 · 2:00pm - 11:00pm
-------------------------------
Location Vimy Ridge Park
------------------------------
More Info
Chalk 4 Peace (August 28th)
Time August 28 · 2:00pm - 11:00pm
-------------------------------
Location Vimy Ridge Park
------------------------------
More Info
Chalk 4 Peace is a global event. It happens in many cities across the planet and spreads to more and more every year.
The first Chalk 4 Peace in Winnipeg was started by Sathya Dhara back in 2007, with help from friends.
Come out and draw some art on the sidewalks and see how the pavement transforms throughout the day. With everything going on in this crazy planet of ours the world can always use a little bit more peace. If anybody wants to get involved and help out in any way that would be awesome, just give us a shout.
Invite your friends and spread the word!
Chalk 4 Peace is Saturday, August 28th. If it rains the event will be postponed until the following day, August 29th.
***We will be taking donations on-site for War Child Canada.***
http://www.warchild.ca/
There will be bands (acoustic), drum jams, face painting, fire spinning and some other surprises.
More info TBA.
Peace!!!
The first Chalk 4 Peace in Winnipeg was started by Sathya Dhara back in 2007, with help from friends.
Come out and draw some art on the sidewalks and see how the pavement transforms throughout the day. With everything going on in this crazy planet of ours the world can always use a little bit more peace. If anybody wants to get involved and help out in any way that would be awesome, just give us a shout.
Invite your friends and spread the word!
Chalk 4 Peace is Saturday, August 28th. If it rains the event will be postponed until the following day, August 29th.
***We will be taking donations on-site for War Child Canada.***
http://www.warchild.ca/
There will be bands (acoustic), drum jams, face painting, fire spinning and some other surprises.
More info TBA.
Peace!!!
Labels: Canadian militarism, Chalk For Peace, local events, militarism, protests, war, Winnipeg
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:
WALK FOR THE SHELTERS:
Here's an interesting event beginning today in Winkler and ending on the 21st in Memorial Park here in Winnipeg...the 'Walk for the Shelters'. The cause is the support of shelters for battered women in Winkler and in Winnipeg, and you can see more about it at the walk's website.
Yes, I know, I know, I know. The purists out there amongst the anarchists will complain about any event that asks for more government money, and doubtless they are right in an abstract sense. Yet, this is one of many situations where the government actually doles out its funds to things that are useful, and there is little immediate prospect of funding coming from elsewhere. Aside from the absurdity of waiting for the revolution that will never come there are, of course, other solutions that could be applied in the intermediate to long term. One would be to expand the category of "tax credits" such that donations to certain things would be deductible from income tax.
This is certainly not an impossibility, merely something that would be difficult to get enacted in anything but the very long term. Especially when so much of the opposition to our conservative rulers are either just as statist as they are or are under the delusion that protest is all that has to be done. Yet it would go very far to making the operation of such worthy things as shelters for battered women independent of state control. It's an idea well worth considering.
Here's the story from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) about their support for this walk.
MLMLMLMLML
CUPE Respect Campaign supports Walk for the Shelters
Text size
(What are these?) Aug 13, 2010 01:32 PM
WINNIPEG – CUPE’s Respect Campaign is honoured to support Steve Braun’s Walk for the Shelters as he walks from Winkler to Winnipeg to raise money for two women’s shelters, drawing attention to the fact that women’s shelters across Manitoba lack the funding necessary to provide adequate services to victims of domestic violence.
On August 17 at 9:00 a.m., Steve Braun will begin his 150 kilometre walk. Kathy Macdonald, president of CUPE Local 2343 and member mobilizer for the CUPE Respect Campaign, will be walking alongside Steve during part of his four-day journey which will conclude on August 21 at Memorial Park.
“I’m proud to walk alongside Steve in his quest to make people aware of just how under-funded our women’s shelters really are,” said Kathy Macdonald. “These shelters need adequate resources to provide women and children who are victims of domestic violence a safe alternative.”
CUPE Manitoba represents social services workers in women’s shelters across Manitoba. The goal of the Respect Campaign is to raise the profile of what CUPE members contribute to the people in their care and for their communities.
“In a perfect world, shelters would receive adequate funding from the provincial government and efforts like Steve’s would not be necessary,” said Kathy Macdonald. “Sadly that is not the case. I’m very impressed with the leadership Steve has shown on this issue.”
The funds raised by the Walk for the Shelters will go directly to address staff and resource shortages at the IKWE-WIDDJIITIWIN shelter in Winnipeg and Genesis House in Winkler.
For more information about the Walk for the Shelters or to make a donation, please visit the Walk for the Shelters website.
For more information, contact:
Liam Martin
Communications Representative
Tel: (204) 612-0901
Kathy Macdonald
Respect Campaign Member Mobilizer
Tel: (204) 942-0343, ext. 214
Sheree Capar & Allan Bleich
Social Service Coordinators
Tel: (204) 942-0343
Labels: battered women, CUPE, feminism, local events, protests, tactics, Walk For the Shelters, Winkler, Winnipeg, women
Thursday, August 12, 2010
LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:
I'M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES:
Finally an event that shows a spark of creativity. The local branch of Canadians Demanding A Public Inquiry Into Toronto G20 is organizing a "bubble rally" to publcize their panel discussion next week. Most protests have a dreary aura of sameness to them, but this one actually looks like fun. Here's the promo >>>>>
BPBPBPBPBP
Bubbly Panel Promotion!
Time Saturday · 1:00pm - 4:00pm
---------------------------
Location Memorial Park - In front of the Leg between York Ave. and the fountains
Osborne @ York
Winnipeg, MB
---------------------------
Created By
Canadians Demanding a Public Inquiry into Toronto G20 (Winnipeg Chapter)
--------------------------
More Info
As part of promotion for the G20 Perspectives panel discussion next Thursday, a few of us have decided to organize a little mobile bubble rally this Saturday. We’ll meet at Memorial Park with bubble wands in hand, and then, depending on numbers, either split into groups or go en masse to a few different high-traffic areas (The Forks, Portage Place, The Exchange) to hand out promotional flyers for the event.
Why bubbles? Answer: ... http://tinyurl.com/bubblegirl
How do I make my own bubble solution? Answer: http://www.wikihow.com/Make--Bubble-Solution
Labels: G20 demonstrations, G20 public inquiry, local events, protests, Winnipeg
