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Friedrichs v. CTA: the Supreme Court Case That Could Destroy Labor Unions as We Know Them

Submitted on Sun, 09/20/2015 - 3:18pm

By Andrew Stewart - CounterPunch, September 18, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

This Presidential campaign has become even more of a media spectacle than the last two were, which in and of itself proves our electoral system is broken because the voters treat governance like professional wrestling. The Republican field is so close to a Vince McMahon Slam-O-Rama match that we do not even need to come up with silly stage names for these doofuses.

But what stuns me most about the Democratic field is that, even in the midst of our kinda-sorta dialogue about democratic socialism brought about by the Sanders dog-and-pony show, not a single candidate has yet to talk about the cornerstone of a socialist society, our barely-breathing labor unions. We have heard news stories about everyone’s favorite walrus, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, coming down from on high and reminding the masses that he, not they, get to choose whether the unions endorse Sanders or Clinton. But the elephant in the room which no one is talking about is the Friedrichs v. CTA Supreme Court case, which has seen the Petitioner Brief filed on September 4, 2015, followed by nineteen amicus curiae briefs on September 10 and. For those just tuning in, this is the case that will destroy labor unions as we know them in our country. This omission from our national dialogue is analogous to the three months before 9-11 when everyone was telling President Bush that something was going to happen but he was too busy farting around on his ranch to care.

Porn, Sex Positivity, and Working Class Solidarity

Submitted on Sun, 09/20/2015 - 3:09pm

By Kasparkonsequent - Red and Black Leeds, September 18, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The UK’s gradually expanding porn law restrictions have been going on for years and eventually came to a climax the end of 2014, when previously existing restrictions were applied to all pornographic material made in the UK. Though I still see the occasional protest against this, and a few campaigners are still trying to overturn it, the flurry of outrage has largely died down. My aim here is not to defend the ban, but to critique the way this has been discussed, so we might be able to distinguish in future between what some members of the public want the sex industry to be, and an expression of working class solidarity towards those of us who work in it.

It’s obvious to most people that the list of banned acts represents pure moralising, and that the people who made this list seem to have a particular idea of what normal sex is and should be (part of which, as a number of people have noted, seems to be based on the idea that sex is something that women do for men). The legislation is clearly not about what should or shouldn’t happen on a porn set, but is entirely about what should be depicted and how. This is no mistake, the changes are part of the Obscene Publications Act, designed to outlaw any material that “tends to deprave and corrupt”. The fact that some of the banned acts are also things that many workers will want to avoid at work is coincidental and not the purpose of the ban. This becomes apparent when we see that vomiting, for example from facefucking, is something that is acceptable “if it is not performed as part of the sexual act, and is not visibly enjoyed by the participants”. The important phrase is “visibly enjoyed”, as the issue is not whether or not the worker is actually enjoying having the back of their throat hit until they vomit, but whether or not they have the inclination or acting ability to portray someone who does enjoy it. And according to the OPA they should not appear to enjoy it as it might give people watching the idea that this could be fun. However if your work involves occasional uncontrolled vomiting and you look suitably unimpressed by it when it happens, then as far as this legislation is concerned that’s fine and nothing to worry about.

Whether consciously or not, a lot of the responses to this have mirrored the same attitude in the sense that they’ve not been about what the work is like for those people having sex on camera, but about what consumers think should or shouldn’t be depicted, and how it should be represented, and what porn should look like to portray sex in a certain way to society. Progressives all over the UK have complained that they want female pleasure to be depicted and so are against the ban on female ejaculation, that they want women to be shown as empowered in sex and so are against the ban on face-sitting, that they want a variety of sexual acts to be represented so we aren’t conditioned to masturbate only to the same tired misogynistic porn formula. This is fair enough. It’s not only films and high art that influence our society and how we think, but all the media we consume. Even if all the porn actors on set were to be bored out of their minds, hate each other, and feel disgusted by the thought of having to get it on for the camera, if they produce a work of fiction that depicts the healthy negotiating of consent, where the people having sex are smiling at each other while on camera, where women are portrayed as having their own sexual desires, that could have a positive affect on people watching it.

Call for Submissions: In November We Remember Industrial Worker

Submitted on Thu, 09/17/2015 - 10:05pm

Fall is just around the corner, which means it's time for the annual "In November We Remember" issue of the Industrial Worker (which will technically be the Fall 2015 issue now that we've switched to quarterly). NOW is the time to begin discussing with your branches/groups how you will commemorate fallen comrades with messages of solidarity for all the world to see: and for the first time ever you can do it in COLOR, or RED & BLACK! That's right -- there will be pages set aside for full color ads, as well as for red-and-black ads.

The deadline is Friday, October 2, 2015. Email your submissions to iwwindustrialworker@gmail.com

Production Services Collective workers Join IWW iu630

Submitted on Mon, 09/14/2015 - 7:29pm

Production Services Collective declaration to the ownership of Sound Stage Systems:

For nearly a year, as fellow workers, we have organized ourselves, put forth proposals, met and negotiated with you, the ownership and management of Sound Stage Systems. We have done these things in an attempt to create a democratic work place and a functional system of working that is inclusive, promotes creativity, compensates fairly and sees the value in cooperation rather than the unsustainable spiral of competition.

Our proposals have been met with varying degrees of enthusiasm and hostility. Weekly staff meetings have been attempted and some proposals implemented. Some workers have negotiated better wages on a one on one basis only to find the overtime they expected was now unattainable. Profit over substance has become the mode of operation. Clients' needs have been swept aside as cost over runs are hurriedly “funded’ and new avenues of profit are exploited. New hires have been intimidated with the threat of firing during probation periods. Workers old and new have been “talked to” regarding trivial matters in an apparent attempt to intimidate. An atmosphere of intolerance for dissenting views, alternate methods, procedures and social/work culture is present daily.

We find ourselves in a continuous cycle of emotional and economic boom and bust. Daily we experience the torturous trickle down from a system that disregards our contributions and rights to self-determination and fair compensation. We have determined the only way out of this cycle and into routine control of our lives and movement forward lies in solidarity with workers locally and around the world who struggle daily to form the structures of a new way to work and live within the shell of the old.

It is with this in mind that we proudly declare ourselves members of the Industrial Workers of the World and move to build a work environment that fairly addresses the needs of client, worker and owner.

Before we can continue work on existing projects and before the discussion of work on new projects, we demand that you, the ownership and management of Sound Stage Systems, recognize us, the workers of Sound Stage Systems, as members of IWW IU630 (The Industrial Workers of the World, industrial union 630) and allow us the space to create a more democratic work place.

With a fresh prospective from this new owner/worker dynamic, we can discuss the details of the following additional demands;

  • 1) that as members of IWW IU630 we are given access to and input in every aspect of our role as workers on any project.
  • 2) That as members of IWW IU630 we are the first to be responsible for the training, review and assignment to departments of any member or new hire for any project.
  • 3) That as members of IWW IU630 we receive equal pay for equal work based on a four tier pay scale.
  • 4) That travel project notifications will be a minimum of two weeks prior to booking.
  • 5) That an open system for review and conflict resolution is established with no less than two IWW IU630 members present at any meeting.

We are no longer willing to participate in or make excuses for substandard work that is produced by a system beyond our control. We are dedicated to providing the best products and services in this industry. Within this new framework we are confident we can achieve this and create a work environment that will elevate every project Sound Stage System involves itself in, to this level and beyond.

Sign up for our Introduction to the IWW class!

Submitted on Sun, 09/13/2015 - 1:24pm

Thursday, October 1, from 7:00-8:30pm

All workers welcome! Learn more about the key principles and values of the Industrial Workers of the World and learn what the Portland I.W.W. is doing to improve working conditions – and how you can get involved.

We will explore solidarity unionism, the use of direct action, how the I.W.W. differs from business & trade unions, and more.

Click here to sign up!

For those of you who utilize Facebook: The Intro Class event page