July 3 (Friday) 9.00 - 4:00 PM (Free) - Marine Firemen’s Hall - 240 2nd St., SF
The 1934 San Francisco General Strike: An Educational Conference
The San Francico General Strike and West Coast Maritime Strike was a pivotal point for the working people in San Francisco and the West. This strike which was organized from the bottom up showed that the rank and file have the power to successfully form a union despite the resistance of the bosses, the media, the politicians and the government. The lessons of workers today for this strike are vital when millions of workers are unorganized and facing concession after concession with the economic collapse of our enconomy.
Videos Harry Bridges, A Man And His Union will be shown. This conference will also be streamed on the web for those who are unable to attend the conference.
Speakers including: Harvey Schwartz, Ralph Schoenman, Brad Weidemier, Akio Masuda, Cleophus Williams, Gifford Hartman, Clarence Thomas and Jack Heyman.
Hosted by ILWU Local 34 & Local 10, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee
www.sfgeneralstrike.org
Live streaming
Watch live video from brightpath's channel on Justin.tv
July5 (Sunday) 9:00 AM (Free) - Meet at Music Concourse - Steuart & Market St. SF 9:00 AM -5:00 PM PST
Bloody Thursday 75th Anniversary Procession
On the 75th anniversary of “Bloody Thursday,” thousands of maritime workers and trade unionists from San Francisco and from around the world will join in remembrance of the workers who were killed and injured in their struggle to establish a union and a union controlled hiring hall.
Please join.
Hosted by BALMA, ILWU Local 10, 34, 91, 75 & ILWU Pensioners. (Somber procession, uniformed, respectful and orderly.)
Live streaming
Watch live video from brightpath's channel on Justin.tv
July 6 (Monday) 9:00 - 5:00 PM PST (Free) ILWU 34 Hall - 801 Second St. Next to AT&T Park, SF
The Lessons of The Past For The Struggles Today
International Labor Conference
Working people are under attack through out the world as well as in the US. The labor conference will look at the use of policies such as deregulation, privatization and free trade agreements to attack working people on a global level. The conference will also look at the increasing repression of labor and working people through legislation and militarization of society. Hosted by ILWU Local 10 & Local 34, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, LaborFest
http://www.sfgeneralstrike.org/LaborConfStatement.htm
Live streaming
Watch live video from brightpath's channel on Justin.tv
]]>'34 General Strike Educational Conference July 3, 2009
Marine Fireman's Union
240 Second St.
San Francisco
San Francisco
9:00 AM
5 minutes-Introductions:
Greetings
Greetings from Maritime unions
9:05 AM
10 minutes-Introduction of Delegations and Guests
9:15 AM
20 minutes with Harvey Schwartz July 3, 1934 What Happened
9:35
10 minutes-Clarence Thomas introduces Cleophus Williams And the How This Shaped The ILWU
9:45
20 minutes Cleophus Williams on The Fight To Defend Harry Bridges From Being Expelled
10:05
10 minutes-Award To Cleophus Williams and All Those Who Fought To Defend Harry Bridges
10:15
10 minutes video of Pete Seeger and the 1940 performance and witch hunts
10:25
20 minutes Jack Heyman on How The General Strike Was Won And The Lessons
10:45
20 minutes Brad Weidmeier Role of Albion Group by
11:05 15 minutes Howard Keylor on the 1948 Strike and the Role of the Strike Committee
11:15
45 minutes Discussion
12:00 Lunch &
Screening Of Harry Bridges, A Man And His Union
1:00 PM
30 minutes Lessons of SF General Strike From Japan
1:35
10 minutes Award/Recognition to Doro-Chiba For translating the Big Strike in Japanese and Publication
1:45
20 minutes Giffard Hartford on Role of Sydicalism and IWW on Harry Bridges and ILWU Founding
2:05
30 minutes Discussion
2:35
10 minutes Music: Ballad of Harry Bridges and other songs
2:45
25 minutes Ralph Schoenman and Lessons of the Struggle for 113 Steuart ILA strike Headquarters and preservation of site and history
3:10
15 minutes Stories and Poems of Tillie Olsen and others
3:25
15 minutes to outline proposal for Labor History/Education/Training Center at 113 Steuart St.
3:40
5 minute Discussion and vote on proposal to support establishment of Labor Center
3:45
1 hour 15 minutes Discussion
5:00 PM Close of Conference
International Labor Conference July 6
9:00 AM
Greetings
ILWU Local 34 President
9:15 AM
Introductions
9:20 AM
Reports of Unions and Organizations And Activist
Korea
Brother Lee Jae Young, former president of KCTU Seoul
Jun Yoon Gwang, the
policy director of the Korean Transport Workers' Union
(KTWU). KTWU and one of its affiliated union, the Korea Cargo
Transport Workers' Union (KCTWU)
Japan
Tanaka-san, President of Doro-Chiba
Aruga-san
National Organizing Committee of August 6-9 Hiroshima-Nagasaki Anti-War and Anti-Nuke Actions/ Committee of August 6 Hiroshima Rally of Great Action
Turkey
TUFAN SERTLEK
Union: Dev-Sağlık İş Sendikası-Disk Turkey
Membe of the Executive Committee of the Union and the current General Secretary.
Brazil
Fabio Bosco
Brazil Bankers Union/Conlutas/Coordenação Nacional de Lutas
Philippines
Gerry Rivera, President Philippine Airlines Ground Workers Union
Italy
Pietrasanta Marco
FILT CGIL Genova Ports & Transportation Workers
US Delegates
Brian Lewis, President UTU 239 Union Pacific
Kaminkow Ron IBT/BLE, Railroad Workers United RWU
ILWU Local 34 Allen Fung, Secretary Treasurer
ILWU Local 10, Adam Mendez, Secretary Treasurer
Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Mother
11:45 Discussion
12:30 Lunch
1:15 PM
Global Economic Crisis And Policies Privatization, Deregulation and Union Busting
World Labor and A Fightback-Need for World Action of labor and break with labor-management collaboration and partnership with Bosses and Corporate governments
The Affect of Deregulation
Labor And War, Repression TWIC, ICE, Repression Globally
Labor Media and education/information
3:30 PM
Proposals-Resolutions For Action-Defense of Working Class Globally/International Labor Communication/Media Network
5:00 PM Conference ends with International
7:00 PM International Labor Musical Program
ILWU Local 34
801 2nd St/Embarcadero, San Francisco
Musical program
Ann Feeney, Jack Chernos, Jimmy Kelley
Music From Delegations
www.sfgeneralstrike.org
www.ilwu10.org
www.laborfest.org
www.transportworkers.org
]]>Masked Mob Ransacks Marseilles Port Office
Bruce Barnard | Jun 29, 2009 4:09PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story
Hooded attackers raid port chief’s office with axes, iron bars
Up to 40 hooded people swinging axes and iron bars attacked the offices of the Port of Marseilles Authority June 29 in what appeared to be a major escalation of a long running dispute over container handling.
The attackers ransacked the offices of the port director Jean-Claude Terrier, the port authority said in a statement.
The authority said the attackers, who were wearing port clothing, invaded its offices an hour after it had delivered a letter to union officials detailing plans to transfer dock workers from its payroll to a private stevedore.
Dock workers have been staging strikes at the container terminal at Marseilles’ eastern docks to protest plans to transfer them onto the books of private stevedore Intramar to comply with the French government’s port reform program.
Intramar is a joint venture between CMA-CGM, the Marseilles-based ocean carrier, and Dubai’s DP World, a global ports company.
Dock workers at six state-controlled ports, including Le Havre, France’s top box hub, accepted plans to transfer around 2,000 container crane operators to private stevedores last July after the government sat through three months of rolling strikes.
But the union officials at Marseilles are still fighting the reforms claiming private stevedores will use the economic downturn as an excuse to tear up agreements on jobs and wages.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy says the reforms, which also loosen the state’s grip over the waterfront, are necessary to boost the lagging competitiveness of French ports, whose share of European box traffic halved from nearly 12 percent in 1989 to just six percent in 2006 and is still shrinking.
Crane operators at Marseilles work around 2,000 hours a year against 4,000 hours for dock workers at Barcelona and Antwerp, according to Sarkozy.
The Marseilles Port Authority insisted it will implement the reforms which were voted by the French parliament last July.
Transport Secretary Dominique Bussereau said today’s violence was “intolerable” and pledged his support for the port authority.
Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.
http://www.runbartrun.org/
We want to keep BART running safely, cleanly, efficiently and on time!
Welcome
With days to go before BART’s union contracts expire, BART employees have launched this website to keep riders and the media up to date about public events and negotiations updates related to a possible strike action.
BART Workers’ Legislative Briefing
at Noon
Posted: Monday, 29 June 2009 6AM
BART Workers are holding a legislative briefing with elected officials at the CA State Building in Oakland.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Breaking News Update
BART TRAINS KEEP RUNNING THROUGH JULY 9 MIDNIGHT
BART Workers and Management Agree to Extend Labor Contract
Posted: Sunday, 28 June 2009 6AM
With three days before BART’s union contracts expire, BART Management has agreed to extend labor contracts with employees of SEIU 1021 and ATU 1555.
Read full press release: BART TRAINS KEEP RUNNING THROUGH JULY 9 MIDNIGHT
--------------------------------------------------------------------
BART Workers DO Not Want To Strike
Posted: Thursday, 25 June 2009 6AM
Workers hope for an extension and if not granted by management they will ask the Governor to intervene.
We, BART’s employees, are committed to exploring all other options and to strike only as a last resort if options do not open up.
BART management refuses to consider extending the current contract and has asked Gov. Schwarzenegger NOT to grant the unions a cooling-off period if an agreement is not reached in time.
More time is likely necessary to work out a new contract. Meanwhile, BART executives continue to ask only riders and employees to suffer the consequences of their financial mismanagement.
We are committed to keeping BART running safely, cleanly and efficiently.
Believe us — we want BART to continue its service as much as you do. But management won’t take responsibility for its budget abuse costing riders millions of dollars.
Run BART RUN!
1. BART Executives Reject Obama’s stimulus money for operations
The New York Times reports a majority of transit agencies in the country are choosing to use federal stimulus money to help with reducing fare hikes and service cuts—except BART. BART Executives have rejected stimulus money for operations. Instead they are choosing to raise fares and cut service.
Check out the NYT coverage.
2. BART wants to grow at any costs—even when wrestling with $250 million budget deficit.
BART Executives have announced plans to spend $7 billion on new trains and $500 million on the Oakland Airport Connector when far cheaper options are available. Now Don Perata, former State Senate President Pro Tem, is siding with other elected officials who are re-thinking the cost-benefit of the Oakland Airport Connector.
“This fails any
cost-benefit on its face.” --Don Perata
Check out the letter Don Perata sent to Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Chairman
3. BART Executives stop Lt. Governor Garamendi from spending a day as a BART Worker
In 2007, Barrack Obama walked a day in the shoes of Pauline Beck, an Oakland home health care worker, where he was able to learn about people who care for the elderly and people with disabilities. (Watch Video of Beck and Obama)
On June 18, 2009, Lt. Governor Garamendi was going to do the same thing, but this time he would walk a day as a hard-working BART employee. While experiencing a day as a worker, the Lt. Governor was also going to provide his analysis of state budget cuts affecting Bay area residents.
Unfortunately, the Lt. Governor was denied access to BART employees at their job site by BART administration. Past visitors at BART job sites include: Boy Scouts, busloads of tourists, and BART administration-approved journalists.
BART BUDGET WASTE
Our friends at BARTBudgetWaste.org have BART Executive salaries and spending covered. They’ve done their research and discovered handful of executive salaries toppling over 3.4 million and $500,000 in credit card spending. Much more atwww.BARTbudgetwaste.org.
Meet the REAL BART WORKER
Our other friends at realBARTworkers.org have a plethora of information detailing BART management’s bad ideas, lies of the week and a closer look at the folks that contribute to your destination on the BART system. If you ride BART, this is a must see:www.realBARTworkers.org
This web site is brought to by the BART workers of SEIU 1021.
]]>Transit union leader Roger Toussaint & Co. suffer a series of defeats
BY PETE DONOHUE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, June 25th 2009, 4:00 AM
Transit union leader Roger Toussaint, who led the 2005 Christmastime strike that crippled the bus and subway system, has lost his ironclad grip on Transport Workers Union Local 100.
A faction of Toussaint loyalists suffered a series of stunning defeats Monday when ballots for delegates to the international's convention were counted.
The loyalist "United Invincible" faction won dozens of uncontested races - but lost about 40 of 67 of the head-to-head contests against the anti-Toussaint "Take Back Our Union" camp, sources said Tuesday.
That doesn't bode well for Toussaint and his handpicked successor, acting Local 100 President Curtis Tate, who heads the United Invincible slate.
Toussaint stepped down after taking a promotion to the international organization.
Ballots for president, secretary-treasurer and other Local 100 leadership posts were mailed out this month but haven't been counted.
"If I was a betting man, I'd say John (Samuelsen) is going to win," J.P. Patafio, a high-ranking union official, said of the Take Back Our Union presidential candidate.
Samuelsen's campaign has claimed Toussaint, Tate and the current union administration have been too accommodating toMetropolitan Transportation Authority management since the strike. Toussaint and Tate have said they've won safety and other improvements through cooperation after the walkout.
A Tate spokesman declined to comment. The union hasn't officially released the results of the delegates' races.
Ballots for delegate seats and local leadership posts were mailed out this month to transit workers.
The American Arbitration Association will not count the presidential race ballots until December under an unusual schedule adopted by the union's executive board, which said combining some aspects of two elections would save money.
pdonohue@nydailynews.com
BART Management And Labor Leaders Trade More Barbs
Posted: 7:08 pm PDT June 23, 2009
Updated: 10:00 pm PDT June 24, 2009
OAKLAND, Calif. -- BART management and union leaders sent out competing negative press releases Wednesday, indicating that tensions are high with only a few days left before BART's contract with its 2,800 union employees expires.
BART management alleged that two of the transit agency's largest unions have abandoned an offer to freeze employee wages and are now seeking a 3 percent raise over two years.
KTVU learned Wednesday that union leaders have asked state mediators to join labor negotiations starting Friday.
One of those unions, Local 1555 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, then issued a press release accusing BART executives of leaking details of sensitive negotiations to news media, which the union said is consistent with management's pattern of "bad faith bargaining" throughout contract talks, which began on April 1.
The bitter exchange between the two sides comes in the wake of votes by two of BART's three biggest unions to authorize a strike if an agreement on a new contract is not reached by the June 30 deadline.
Ninety-one percent of BART workers with Local 3993 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents about 200 middle managers, who voted Tuesday approved authorizing a strike.
Ninety-nine percent of ATU Local 1555, which represents about 900 train operators, station agents and power workers, who voted Tuesday also approved authorizing a strike.
Members of Local 1021 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 1,200, mechanics, custodians, safety inspects and clerical employees, are scheduled to participate in a strike authorization vote Thursday.
Two smaller unions also are in the midst of negotiations with BART management.
The BART Police Managers Association represents sergeants, lieutenants and commanders and the BART Police Officers Association represents rank-and-file officers.
Although strike-authorization votes are common in labor negotiations and do not lead to a strike most of the time, BART spokesman Linton Johnson told reporters in a briefing today that "it's outrageous to even talk about a strike in these economic times."
In a press release issued later Wednesday, Johnson said ATU Local 1555 and SEIU Local 1021 are asking for a half-percent wage increase for Jan. 1, 2010, another half-percent increase on July 1, 2010, and a salary hike of 2 percent effective Jan. 1, 2011.
Johnson said the cost of the wage proposal would be $17.5 million for those two unions alone.
The cost would be even more if similar increases were given to the other unions as well as non-union employees, Johnson said.
BART Board President Thomas Blalock said in a statement that the proposal by the two unions "could worsen BART's budget problems and indicates that some union leaders are refusing to acknowledge the economic realities that BART, its riders and the public are facing."
Blalock said, "The average union member makes $114,000 in wages and benefits, far more than what many of our riders earn and more than most other transit workers across the country."
But ATU Local 1555 leaders said in their press release that they have proposed a package of benefits cuts and "small" salary increases designed to save BART up to $40 million over the next two years.
They said BART executives themselves had called for similar restructuring, but responded by telling the news media that unions were seeking a 3 percent pay increase without mentioning off-setting savings.
ATU Local 1555 President Jesse Hunt said in a statement, "This is another example of bad faith bargaining by BART executives. They are bargaining in the press and attempting to derail the talks, but we remain committed to reaching an agreement that is fair to workers and maintains the highest level of safety and service for riders."
Johnson said at the media briefing that management and union negotiators are "working around the clock every day" to try to reach an agreement and have scheduled "marathon sessions" until the June 30 deadline.
Johnson said the cost for the three months of labor talks is $1 million, including the cost of renting a space for the negotiations.
]]>Justice for Iranian Workers26 June 2009 – Global Solidarity Action Day
« US Teamsters back workers’ rights in IranUna guía rápida de las acciones que tienen lugar a nivel local – ¡las pequeñas acciones pueden tener un gran impacto! »
Vahed Syndicate – Any Suppression or threat of civil liberty condemned
18 June Statement
Any Suppression or threat of civil liberty condemned
In line with the recognition of the labour rights, we request that June 26 Action Day – Justice for Iranian workers – to include the human rights of all Iranians who have been deprived of their rights.
In recent days, we continue witnessing the magnificent demonstration of millions of people from all ages, genders, and national and religious minorities in Iran. They request that their basic human rights, particularly the right to freedom and to choose independently and without deception be recognized. These rights are not only constitutional in most of the countries, but also have been protected against all odds.
Amid such turmoil, one witnesses threats, arrests, murders and brutal suppression that one fears only to escalate on all its aspects, resulting in more innocent bloodshed, more protests, and certainly no retreats. The Iranian society is facing a deep political-economical crisis. Million-strong silent protests, ironically loud with un-spoken words, have turned into iconic stature and are expanding from all sides. These protests demand reaction from each and every responsible individual and institution.
As previously expressed in a statement published on-line in May of this year, since Syndicate Vahed does not view any of the candidates support the activities of the workers’ organizations in Iran, it would not endorse any presidential candidate in the election. Vahed members nevertheless have the right to participate or not to participate in the elections and vote for their individually selected candidate.
Moreover, the fact remains that demands of almost an absolute majority of the Iranians go far beyond the demands of a particular group. In the past, we have emphasized that until the freedom of choice and right to organize are not recognized, talk of any social or particular right would be more of a mockery than a reality.
The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company fully supports this movement of Iranian people to build a free and independent civil society and condemns any violence and oppression.
In line with the recognition of the labour rights, the Syndicate requests that June 26 which has been called by the International Trade Unions Organization ‘Day of action’ for justice for Iranian workers to include the human rights of all Iranians who have been deprived of their rights.
With hope for freedom and equality
The Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company
18 June 2009
http://www.hra-news.org/news/1160.aspx
This entry was posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009 and is file
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/22/BAKE1886JP.DTL
BART bosses, unions work to meet pact deadline
Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, June 22, 2009
(06-21) 20:54 PDT -- Four years ago, BART contract negotiations came down to the wire, as workers prepared to strike. But about an hour before the threatened shutdown, the rail agency's labor unions and management brokered a predawn deal that dodged a commuters' nightmare.
Those hard-fought contracts expire at the end of the month, and BART bosses and its unions are engaged in increasingly acidic negotiations to hammer out new pacts.
Neither side has ruled out the prospect of a strike.
It would be the fourth work stoppage in BART's 37-year history. The last one, in 1997, sent BART regulars scrambling for alternative ways to get to work, gripping the Bay Bridge and Bay Area freeways in gridlock.
Today, the agency, which operates in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, carries 355,000 passengers on a typical weekday - about 85,000 more boardings than a dozen years ago.
"A walkout or lockout would do great damage to the region, causing serious disruptions," said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who, with other political leaders, intervened in the contract battle eight years ago to help avert a strike. "These are very tough economic times and no one wants to give up anything, but everyone will have to give up something."
The negotiations come as BART, like transit agencies nationwide, is getting hammered by the lousy economy. Faced with significant cuts in state aid and falling tax revenue, operators have been cutting service, raising fares and laying off workers, or a combination of the three.
Higher fares, less service
BART riders face fare increases on July 1, followed by service reductions in September. Those measures are unpopular with the public and have been highlighted by BART officials as they push for union givebacks.
"If long-term changes to the benefit levels are not addressed during labor negotiations, additional cost savings through actions such as service cuts and staff reductions will be necessary," said BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger.
The district's operating budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is $642 million. But it has a projected operating shortfall of $250 million over the next four years. Management hopes to slice $100 million from the deficit by cutting labor costs.
The proposed savings would come by diminishing health care and pension benefits and changing work rules that would give management more say over employee assignments - measures BART officials say are necessitated by the economic conditions.
Unions blame managers
Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a business-backed think tank, said the strategy makes sense. "There simply is not enough money to run BART the way it's been run in the past. It has to evolve. There's no time like the present."
For their part, the unions have been showcasing what they view as excessive and wasteful spending: high executive salaries and bonuses, and tens of thousands of dollars of expenditures on catering, promotional items, labor consultants, clothing and other items they view as nonessential.
They also fault BART for supporting expansion projects - most notably the proposed Oakland Airport Connector - that they say would diminish existing service.
"We think that if BART management made better choices with how they spend taxpayer and riders' dollars, there would be no need for employees or passengers to suffer," said Jean Hamilton, president of the BART chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Bosses reject extension
The union representing train operators and station agents proposed a one-year contract extension - with a freeze on benefits and wages - to see whether the economy picks up before locking in another four-year contract that could undercut gains labor made in years past.
"They are trying to take advantage of the economic instability," Jesse Hunt, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555, said of management negotiators.
Management rejected the requested contract extension.
Union leaders now are calling for more time at the bargaining table. But that, too, has been snubbed by management. The elected BART board sent a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asking him not to impose a cooling-off period. Any delay, Dugger said, would cost the district money.
Management also fears that if contract talks were delayed, the negotiations could bleed into the Labor Day weekend, when the Bay Bridge is scheduled to be shut down for four days of seismic work. A BART strike then would cripple the Bay Area's transportation network.
Crafting a strike plan
Union leaders worry that if new contracts are not cemented by July 1, management would impose work-rule changes and takeaways unilaterally. That, they said, would elevate the chance of a strike.
As the deadline nears, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional planning body, is working with Caltrans and transit agencies, including AC Transit and East Bay ferry operators, to craft plans should a strike occur. Plans also are in the works to encourage employers to allow their workers to telecommute or to vary their work schedules to keep as many cars off the roads as possible during peak commute hours. Ramped-up use of casual carpools also is expected.
Joel Keller, a BART director for the past 15 years who has been through one strike and lived under the threat of two others in 2001 and 2005, said the period leading up to the June 30 deadline will be tense, with a lot at stake.
"I'm hopeful that as both sides maneuver and bargain, they'll find a way to settle their differences," he said. "It's probably going to come down to the last half hour."
E-mail Rachel Gordon at rgordon@sfchronicle.com.
]]>Video -Film "Ironeaters Documents Conditions Of Ship Recycle Workers In Bangladesh
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2009/06/21/chiou.ecosolutions.ship.recycle.cnn
Trouble by the tons 2:26
Disposing of huge ships is no small task. CNN's Pauline Chiou reports on intense debates on industry regulation efforts.
http://www.laborfest.net/2009/Films.htm
7:30 Show
Ironeaters (85 min.) Bangladesh by Shaheen Dill-Riaz
The Ironeaters is a beautiful film about the workers in the ship dismantling industry. This industry, which now employs three million workers has replaced the jute textile industry which was destroyed by the IMF and World Bank in order to eliminate competition to the international chemical companies.
The workers in the Ironeaters face a brutal exploitation at 70 cents a day, and deadly health and safety conditions, which destroy their bodies and their lives. This non-union industry, with contractors pushing the workers to get the job done regardless of the costs, and they are deadly as they disfigure many of the workers. The systemic poverty used by the contractors drives these workers to desperation. This is the first film to show the workers in this industry and the work they do as “the rope carriers go home without a penny of wages.”
info@lemmefilm.de
www.eisenfresser-film.de
www.lemmefilm.de
Silicosis (45 min.) 2009 Turkey
by Ethem Özgüven, Petra Holzer, Selçuk Erzurumlu
At one end of the chain of distribution, there are the popular blue jeans. While on the other end are the unregistered workshops. The workers who make these jeans have contracted life threatening lung diseases. The expensive stonewashed jeans shine while the worker’s lives fade away from their dangerous work.
petramh@gmail.com
URGENT CALL TO ACTION
STRATEGY MEETING ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 24 AT ILWU LOCAL 34 HALL
WHERE: ILWU Local 34 Hall at Berry Street adjacent to AT&T Park (2nd and King)
WHEN: 7:00 p .m to 9:00 p.m.
WHAT: Preparing the fight to preserve the Waterfront, itsr labor legacy and to create a landmark Labor Educational, Media and Organizing Center at 113 Steuart Street that enhances the Waterfront and preserves its historic, environmental and architectural legacy.
PRESERVE 113 STEUART STREET, SITE OF ILA HEADQUARTERS AND GROUND ZERO FOR THE 1934 GREAT MARITIME AND GENERAL STRIKE
On March 17 after five hours of public testimony in which the ILWU, Maritime Unions, Labor Historians, Waterfront Residents and Preservationists exposed the attempt by developers to demolish the nerve center of the 1934 General Strike on this its 75th anniversary, the Board of Supervisors voted overwhelmingly to reject the Planning Commission decision to allow Hines Real Estate to raze 113 Steuart Street and put up a high rise that violates planning criteria for the Waterfront.
This is our opportunity to set the agenda: to organize for a project at 113 that preserves the Hall and fulfills the historic role and purpose of this labor landmark.
Contribute to the discussion on how to transform 113 Steuart Street into a labor educational center that celebrates our living history and provides organizing and media center for labor and the community.
JOIN the ILWU, Maritime and Bay Area Union activists, Labor Historians, Defenders of Planning that preserves our neighborhoods,
labor and community proponents for rebuilding the infrastructure of our city, restoring affordable housing, renewing our decaying schools .
THE ILWU INTERNATIONAL AND THE LONGSHORE CAUCUS FOR THE ENTIRE WEST COAST AT THE ILWU CONVENTION IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (JUNE 8TH TO JUNE 12TH 2009) PASSED UNANIMOUSLY THE ATTACHED RESOLUTION THAT CALLS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF 113 STEUART STREET AS A LANDMARKED LABOR HISTORY MUSEUM, LABOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING CENTER.
Join us on June 24th and be part of the struggle to make this happen!
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Thirty-fourth International Convention
Seattle, Washington - June 8 – 12, 2009
Resolution #R-17 passed unanimously 113 STEUART STREET
WHEREAS: 113 Steuart Street, the landmark building that was ground
zero for the Great Maritime and General Strike of 1934 was
targeted for demolition by the multi-billion dollar
developer Hines Real Estate; and
WHEREAS: from 1933 to 1935, the International Longshoremen’s
Association (now the ILWU) Local 38-79 was located on
the second floor of this very building and that this Local is
the direct predecessor of ILWU Local 10; and
WHEREAS: Hines Developers concealed the address of the building to
prevent Maritime workers and organized labor from
discovering their plan to demolish this historic site; and
WHEREAS: Hines ordered a false “Historic Study” stating that neither
the building nor anyone associated with it had made any
significant contribution to the history or development of
the city of San Francisco; and
WHEREAS: It was that Bloody Thursday occurred at this very site on
July 5, 1934, that the funeral of the Longshore martyrs,
Howard Sperry and Nick Bordoise took place in this Hall,
that their bodies lay in state there for four days, that the
massive funeral procession for labor’s martyrs across San
Francisco began here; and
WHEREAS: This great silent march electrified working people around
the world and galvanized the broadest support for the
General Strike; and
2
WHEREAS: Police and armed goons fired shotguns, tear gas, chemical
gas bombs and explosives into the windows of the Hall
killing and wounding untold numbers of working people; and
WHEREAS: Harry Bridges and the leaders of the ILA emerged from this
Hall, and the great struggles that were planned and
organized there; and
WHEREAS: Hines claimed falsely that the building no longer exists in
any recognizable form when it is unchanged in all essentials
and the Hall is today as it was in 1934; and
WHEREAS: In 1934 the employers sought to make concessions to
longshore workers alone, and the newspaper headlines
screamed “Strike Over”; and
WHEREAS: Harry Bridges refused to allow the employers to pit workers
against each other; and
WHEREAS: Harry Bridges and the ILA leadership declared that “an injury
to one is an injury to all” and that the struggle was for good
jobs and decent wages and workers’ power for organized
labor; and
WHEREAS: Working people everywhere today need good paying union
jobs; and
WHEREAS: There is vast work to be done in creating decent and
affordable housing for all working people, schools that are
not collapsing around the heads of the students and
teachers, restoration and renewal of the infrastructure
of San Francisco and of cities across the United States; and
WHEREAS: What Harry Bridges and the Great Maritime and General
Strike of 1934 taught us that working people need to stand
united as a mighty, mighty union; and
3
WHEREAS: The jobs we want will only come through the mobilization
of all working people as in 1934; and
WHEREAS: It was the very mobilization of Maritime and organized labor
across San Francisco and the Bay Area that exposed the lies
of Hines and led to a huge victory for all working people on
March 17 when the Board of Supervisors voted
overwhelmingly to reject the Hines project and the lies
presented about it by the developer and his supporters; and
WHEREAS: Hines seeks to impose a ten story glass building 66% over
the height restrictions for the entire Waterfront District;
and
WHEREAS: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted
overwhelmingly to reject the Planning Board’s “negative
determination” and the demolition of 113 Steuart Street;
and
WHEREAS: Former seven-year ILWU International President Brian
McWilliams led the fight against the destruction of 113
Steuart Street; and
WHEREAS: Officers, executive board members and ranks of all major
Maritime and other unions joined this fight, THEREFORE BE
IT
RESOLVED: That the ILWU Convention calls for 113 Steuart Street to
become a landmarked labor history museum, labor education
and training center and calls for good union jobs for working
people on projects that restore our cities and serve the
needs of our people and not the greed of duplicitous
developers.
RPW/OPIEU29-AFL-CIO
4
Cab Drivers Strike Mostly Ends in Qinghai
Most striking taxi drivers in Qinghai Province were back at work on Thursday, ending a four-day protest over a reported policy change that would shorten their operation rights.
About 2,690 cabs were running in Xining, the provincial capital, on Wednesday evening, and more than 3,000 cabs were taking passengers on Thursday, according to the municipal communication bureau, the public security bureau, and many taxi drivers.
The city has 5,116 registered cabs that run on odd or even days according to the last number of their license plates.
The drivers stopped work on Saturday after a newspaper reported on Friday that the province would cut their license periods from 12 years to eight, meaning most of their licenses would expire now or in a year.
Yuan Fuyu, director in the transportation department of the provincial communication administration, on Monday called the report "incorrect and misleading." He said the shorter period would only apply to new licenses, and that existing drivers would have unspecified advantages in renewing their licenses.
The old regulation stipulated an 8-year operating period for drivers. The city extended the period to 12 years in 2002 to reflect the odd-even plate number system.
Tan Mingjun, vice director of the municipal communication bureau, said Thursday that there would be no change in the policy.
Police detained 33 people who broke the law during the protest.
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2009)
Turban-wearing transit workers demand MTA drop mandated logo on headwear
BY LACIE HALES
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Tuesday, June 16th 2009, 4:25 PM
Backed by a majority of the City Council, transit workers who wear turbans for religious reasons demanded Tuesday that their MTAstop forcing them to put its logo on their headwear.
"This policy is as backwards as you can possibly imagine," said City Councilman John Liu (D-Queens) at a press conference at City Hall. Liu was one of 27 City Council members who sent a letter to New York City Transit, urging a policy change.
Jatinder Attari, a turban-wearing station agent, said the policy has been enforced for about four years.
"It makes no sense," he said.
"The corporate logo is meant for the advertisement of the company. Putting it on my turban doesn't help people recognize me."
There are three MTA logos on his uniform already.
The Sikh coalition said the logo requirement is disrespectful of the religious practices of Sikhs and Muslims.
"It's a Sikh- and Muslim-only policy," coalition director Amardeep Singhcomplained.
"Other people are wearing ball caps or other hats without the logo, and none of them are being cited or punished."
Small Lines Are Target of New Rules for Pilots
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: June 15, 2009
WASHINGTON — Confronting a string of six fatal commuter plane crashes, top federal officials promised on Monday to set new rules to limit fatigue, make the carriers more thoroughly investigate the histories of pilots they want to hire, and push small airlines into adopting the safety programs that are common among big carriers, by threatening to expose the laggards.
The new chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, J. Randolph Babbitt, said the major carriers — the ones whose colors the small airlines use — should involve themselves more thoroughly in pilot training at the regional carriers, with senior pilots “mentoring” the entry-level pilots at the regional lines.
Mr. Babbitt and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, along with dozens of airline executives, union officials, F.A.A. inspectors and other safety experts, gathered at a closed-door meeting on regional carrier safety, prompted by the crash on Feb. 12 of a twin-engine turboprop on a flight from Newark to Buffalo. The plane was operated by Colgan Air, doing business as Continental Connection under a contract with Continental Airlines.
Including that crash, which killed 50, there have been six fatal passenger airline crashes, all involving regional carriers, since the last fatal crash of a major United States carrier’s plane, an American Airlines flight in New York in November 2001.
After the meeting, Mr. LaHood said it was important to ensure that the small airlines’ safety was as good as the big ones’.
“For common ordinary citizens, when they get on a United Express flight, they think they’re on United Airlines,” he said.
The first officer in the Colgan Air turboprop, earning about $24,000 a year and living with her parents on the West Coast, had stayed up all night to fly in to begin her work shift at Newark the day of the fatal flight, and the captain had also showed signs of fatigue, based on data from the cockpit voice recorder.
Mr. Babbitt said union officials at the meeting had shown a willingness to foster “professionalism in the cockpit” regarding fitness for duty. Mr. Babbitt said the pilots’ starting salary at the regional airlines was a problem.
“If you expect to get the best and the brightest, I don’t think you’re going to get that for very long at $24,000,” he said, although he added that when he began his career as an airline pilot in 1966, he earned about that much, after adjusting for inflation.
But Mr. Babbitt also said F.A.A. rules on the maximum number of hours a pilot could fly or be on duty and the minimum number of hours’ rest required between shifts did not take into account the strain of flying six or eight 50-minute flights a day, with multiple takeoffs and landings, versus a single long-distance flight.
For years, the aviation agency has tried to modernize the rules on flight and duty hours, but has been unable to win consensus in the industry; airlines do not want to add costs by hiring more pilots, and many pilots like to get in a month’s worth of flying in as few days as possible.
But Mr. Babbitt promised, “We are going to get a new rule.” The federal agency writes rules mostly by winning agreement among industry participants, but Mr. Babbitt said that “at the end of the day, if there’s two or three open issues, they will be decided and there will be a rule.”
Big airlines commonly have safety programs that allow anonymous reporting of problems, to remove the fear of repercussion for pilots. The big carriers also analyze information pulled from on-board equipment that resembles the flight data recorder, to look for safety gaps. Mr. LaHood said the F.A.A. would encourage small airlines, which generally do not have such programs, to adopt them, and publicize the names of those that do not.
Both men also called for changes in the law that gives airlines the right to get pilots’ detailed work histories from previous employers. That law was passed after a 1995 crash of an American Eagle flight; the pilot had joined the airline four days after being forced to quit by another airline for incompetence.
Experts now say that the new rule, which requires previous employers to give up information on a job candidate’s tenure, does not go far enough. The captain in the crash outside Buffalo had failed three in-cockpit exams, called “check rides,” before he came to Colgan, but Colgan knew about only one. Mr. Babbitt said the F.A.A. would now make it clear that airlines are expected to require job applicants to waive their right to privacy, and then ask the F.A.A. for such data.
]]>http://www.laborfest.net/2009/SFGSevents.htm
75th Anniversary
San Francisco General Strike Events
July - August 2009
July 3 (Friday) 9.00 - 4:00 PM (Free) - Marine Firemen’s Hall - 240 2nd St., SF
The 1934 San Francisco General Strike: An Educational Conference
The San Francico General Strike and West Coast Maritime Strike was a pivotal point for the working people in San Francisco and the West. This strike which was organized from the bottom up showed that the rank and file have the power to successfully form a union despite the resistance of the bosses, the media, the politicians and the government. The lessons of workers today for this strike are vital when millions of workers are unorganized and facing concession after concession with the economic collapse of our enconomy.
Videos Harry Bridges, A Man And His Union will be shown. This conference will also be streamed on the web for those who are unable to attend the conference.
Speakers including: Harvey Schwartz, Ralph Schoenman, Brad Weidemier, Akio Masuda, Cleophus Williams, Gifford Hartman, Clarence Thomas and Jack Heyman.
Hosted by ILWU Local 34 & Local 10, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee
www.sfgeneralstrike.org
July5 (Sunday) 9:00 AM (Free) - Meet at Music Concourse - Steuart & Market St. SF
Bloody Thursday 75th Anniversary Procession
On the 75th anniversary of “Bloody Thursday,” thousands of maritime workers and trade unionists from San Francisco and from around the world will join in remembrance of the workers who were killed and injured in their struggle to establish a union and a union controlled hiring hall.
Please join.
Hosted by BALMA, ILWU Local 10, 34, 91, 75 & ILWU Pensioners. (Somber procession, uniformed, respectful and orderly.)
July 6 (Monday) 9:00 - 5:00 PM (Free) ILWU 34 Hall - 801 Second St. Next to AT&T Park, SF
The Lessons of The Past For The Struggles Today
International Labor Conference
Working people are under attack through out the world as well as in the US. The labor conference will look at the use of policies such as deregulation, privatization and free trade agreements to attack working people on a global level. The conference will also look at the increasing repression of labor and working people through legislation and militarization of society. Hosted by ILWU Local 10 & Local 34, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, LaborFest
http://www.sfgeneralstrike.org/LaborConfStatement.htm
July 6 (Monday) 7:30 PM (Free) ILWU 34 Hall - 801 Second St. Next to AT&T Park, SF
International Music Night
International Labor Music Night with singers from around the world and labor musicians Anne Feeney and Jack Chernos.
Join in on a night of labor music. We will have labor solidarity songs about workers’ lives from Japan, Korea, Turkey, Italy and the Philippines. Bring your instruments, your tunes and music for an international music solidarity night.
http://www.annefeeney.com/
July 16 (Thursday) Reception - 5:00 PM (Free) SF Main library, 6th floor - 100 Larkin St. SF
The Men Along the Shore and the Legacy of 1934
An Historical Exhibition and Reception: This historical exhibit by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union celebrating the 75th anniversary of the West Coast Maritime Strike and the San Francisco General Strike. The exhibit is 7 feet tall and 100 viewing feet long, comprised of historical images documenting the 1934 West Coast maritime strike that would change labor history. The exhibit was produced by Richard Bermack and Robin Walker working with ILWU Education Director & Archivist Gene Vrana. (Show from 7/11 through 8/31)
www.ilwu.org
July 18 (Saturday) 10:00 AM (Free) Meet at Harry Bridges Plaza - Front of Ferry Building, SF
San Francisco General Strike Walk
Join a walk with historian Luis Prisco, ILWU Local 10 longshoreman Jack Heyman and musician David Rovics. This walk and history talk will look at the causes of the ‘34 General Strike and why it was successful. How was the strike organized and why are the issues in that strike still relevant to working people today? Also you will walk by the key historical sites in this important US labor struggle. Bring your lunch with you. Be prepared for a long walk.
July 18 (Saturday) 1:00 PM Angel Island Immigration Post North East side of the island
70th Anniversary of Harry Bridges Immigration Trial
In 1939, the Roosevelt administration sought to expel ILWU president Harry Bridges for being a member of the Communist party. These immigration trials took place five times and eventually as a result of the support committee and the backing of the membership this witch-hunt was defeated. This was a prelude to the witch-hunts in the late 1940’s and 1950’s.
Meet in front yard of the Immigration Post building.
You can bring your bike on the ferry for $1.00 from Tiburon, and free from San Francisco.
Ferry from Tiburon leaves every hour. $17.50
Tiburon - Angel Island Ferry (415-435-2131)
www.angelislandferry.com
Ferry from San Francisco by Blue & Gold (415-773-1188)
From Ferry Building - 9:20, 11:20 AM $15.00
From Pier 41 - 9:40, 11:45 AM (Ticket at the booth west of Pier 39)
www.blueandgoldfleet.com
www.angelisland.com
July 24 (Friday) 6:00 PM (Free) Redstone Building - 2940 16th St. & Capp St., SF
The Labor Temple: Past And Present
The tenants of the Redstone Building, the Redstone Labor Temple Association, invite you to an open house and evening of remembrance and entertainment at the historic San Francisco Labor Temple, 16th & Capp St. Built in 1914 by the San Francisco Labor Council, the Labor Temple housed numerous labor union offices and meeting halls through the years. It played a significant role in the 1917 United Railroads Streetcar Strike and the 1934 General Strike. It was in the auditorium of the Labor Temple where the strike vote of July 14, 1934 took place. Join us July 24, 2009 for an evening of live music, food and memories, celebrating the building’s history, murals, and tenants, past and present.
July 25 (Saturday) 10:30 AM (Free) Meet at 75 Folsom St. - Entrance of Hills Brothers Coffee Building, SF
San Francisco Labor History Water Front Walk
With Peter O’Driscoll and Lawrence Shoup
There are many stories to be told about labor struggles in San Francisco. This story is about the maritime industry from 1835 until the burning of the blue book in 1934. The main points in history will include President Andrew Jacksons effort to acquire this peninsula from Mexico; Gold discovery and the urgent need to build the San Francisco Wharfs; The Gold Rush gave the laboring man a value; San Francisco’s port to the sailor was a corrupt and wicked place; Sailors life, boardinghouses for coast-wise and high-sea sailors; The secret society of crimps in 1865; Young men’s fear of shanghaied; why the crimps; Labor supports the eight hour workday; The sailor who became a politician and rabble rouser for the workingman’s party of 1877, and the party’s influence at the state constitutional convention of 1878; The friction between Capital and Labor developed into a social question; Why business owners demanded Congress to increase the size of the army; Sailors union of 1885 and their violent strike in 1886; Why the ship owners association issued the grade book; The 1790 law provides for the arrest of seamen deserters; In 1892 Andrew Furuseth led the organizing of the Sailor’s Union of the Pacific; The Seaman’s act of 1915 it is now known as the “Magna Carta” of the American Seamen; Ship owner Robert Dollar’ resentment for union sailors in 1917; Dollar’s straw bosses broke the 1919 dock strike and issues the Blue Book.
Also labor historian Larry Shoup will talk about the history of the 1901 transportation workers strike which included the Teamsters and was smashed by the San Francisco police. This strike in part led to the formation of the San Francisco Union Labor Party which in 1905 swept the election and took control of the city.
August 1 (Saturday) 2:00-5:00 PM
Films We Are The ILWU, The Eye of The Storm and May Day 2008
At SF Main Library, 6th floor, 100 Larkin St. Hosted by ILWU Local 10.
August 22 (Saturday) 2:00-5:00 PM
Solidarity: An Oral History of the ILWU
Book signing by Harvey Schwartz, ILWU Historian & film premier Bloody Thursday at SF Main Library, 6th floor, 100 Larkin St. Hosted by ILWU Local 10.
RMT members on London Underground walked out on 48-Hour strike on June 9, 2009 in protest at compulsory redundancies and an unfair pay offer. Union general secretary Bob Crow talks about the dispute. www.rmt.org.uk
YouTube - RMT Annual General Meeting 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2U1xZAM7VI&NR=1
, 2008
(less info)
Keynote speeches from lead officers and fraternal guests at the Annual General Meeting of the RMT union, held at Nottingham, England in June 2008.
Speakers:
John Leach, RMT President (0:06)
Gerry Doherty, TSSA (1:16)
Ramdan Abdel-Hameed El-Gendy, Egyptian Railway Workers Union (2:48)
Leif Sande, Industry Energy, Norway (3:34)
Joe O' Flynn, SIPTU, Ireland (4:25)
Puspawarman Dan, Indonesian Railway Workers Union (5:48)
David Cameron, Teamsters, USA (6:34)
Ion Radoi, Metro Workers Federation, Romania (7:08)
Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary (7:51)