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Lessons from Wisconsin – Why M1GS?

Published on April 7, 2012 by in 15M, Articles/Essays, Greece Crisis, Occupy Oakland, Occupy Together, Occupy Wall Street, Plutocracy, Worker Struggles
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A year ago, the original 21st century “Occupy” occurred in the United States – at the State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. Scott Walker, Tea Party, Koch-funded governor sought to eliminate collective bargaining of public workers. The unions erupted, thousands stormed the building and did not leave for two weeks. Even the Democrats in the state legislature fought this one as all of them fled Wisconsin to prevent a quorum for the vote. This constant protest materialised at the heels of the Egyptian Revolution to oust Mubarak. “We are Egypt” was the cry from the streets. I arrived in Madison in early March on the Union dollar. The physical all day occupation was over, but a presence of resistance continued to exist within and outside the building. Hundreds were still gathered, singing, chanting, speaking. Outside hundreds marched around the Capitol. The spirit was alive; people were angry, the air was electric with hope and despair. A little over a week later, Governor Walker decided it was time to by-pass the problem of quorum by removing the financial part of the bill which would allow it to pass without the Democrats. Clearly the contention was never about how to balance the budget in Wisconsin – it was how to demolish even the glimmer of a labor movement in the United States. Us, union organizers, were holed up in offices for most of our two week stay. We were asked to make phone calls in an attempt to build a database of all the union members since the bill could possibly bar the Union’s access to the workers at the workplaces. It was surreal, the week before the bill passed, the Union took the talent of organizers and used it for routine phonebanking. We were all perplexed and talked about need for a more radical approach. Yet the message from the Unions was recall. Recall those damn Republicans – they are the ones fucking shit up; look at the Democrats, they are on our side – they risk their lives by evading the vote. During the day, liberal reformism flowed in our dialogue; at night, pockets of resistance

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Occupy May 1st General Strike

Published on March 4, 2012 by in Articles/Essays, Features, Plutocracy, Worker Struggles
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Which way forward for the 99%? Build Power & Show Power through Mass Participatory Bold Action by Occupy May 1st There have been a wave of repressive attacks on, and evictions of, various Occupy camp sites throughout the country including where the movement started in Zucotti (Liberty) Park. But even before the evictions and repression escalated to the current levels, questions were being asked: what’s the way forward for the movement? Already there have been glimpses of organizing and action that are leading the way and shining a light for the rest of us to follow: the Oakland General Strike, Occupy Foreclosures, and other actions. These actions show that, fundamentally, all of the strategic questions revolve around the question of power. The power of the 99% vs. the power of the 1% Although the 99% holds enormous power -all wealth is generated, and the current society is built and maintained through, the collective labor (paid and unpaid) of the 99%-, we do not frequently exercise this collective power in our own interests. Too often we fight amongst and scapegoat each other as the source of the problem through: racism, patriarchy, xenophobia, occupational elitism, geographical prejudice, heterosexism, and other forms of division, oppression and prejudice. This is necessary for the 1% to maintain control because their power is only exercised by different segments of the 99% actively oppressing and working against other segments of the 99%, in addition to us neither being fully aware of, nor organizing to utilize, the collective power we have. The result is that many segments of the the 99%- people of color, women, GLBTQ, immigrants, those with less formal educational credentials, those in less socially respected occupations or unemployed, the homeless, and others- deal with overlapping forms of oppression and societal prejudice; all of us remain divided amongst each other; and the 1% continues to increase their power and wealth because of this. Currently, the state of the economy has hit all of us (some facing overlapping prejudice and oppression, harder than others). There are too many people out of work; our pay has barely or hasn’t kept up with rising

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Egypt: Army and Police Attack Striking Court Workers

Published on March 2, 2012 by in Egypt, Worker Struggles

  Thousands of court and prosecution service workers were reported to have organised sit-ins and protests across Egypt as part of a national strike which began on 28 February. The strikers are calling for improved salaries and improved conditions at work. Court workers protested outside the courts in Isma’iliyya, chanting the iconic slogan of the 25 January Revolution: Bread, Freedom, Social Justice.   Hundreds of court workers chanting during their occupation of the court buildings in Giza. The courts in Suez were completely closed by the strike. Hundreds of court workers gathered outside and held the doors shut to enforce the shutdown. Police and army forces stormed the court buildings, using electric batons to beat aside the strikers, injuring dozens in the process. Send messages of support for the court workers’ strike to menasolidarity@gmail.com   Technorati Tags: #generalstrike, egypt, protest, sit-in, solidarity, strike, union, workers

 
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International Libertarian Statement of Solidarity with the Egyptian popular Struggle – Anarkismo

Published on November 28, 2011 by in Egypt, Libertairan Socialism, Tahrir Square, Worker Struggles

International Libertarian Statement of Solidarity with the Egyptian popular Struggle – Anarkismo   On the weekend 19-20th a new wave of mass protest all over Egypt broke out because of the systematic violence of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) against the Egyptian masses. People are tired of its dictatorial behaviour, the use of extreme force against protesters, the military trials that in 10 months have ended up with 12,000 comrades rotting in jail, their censorship, the torture, kidnappings and selective murder of activists. People are tired of the military council hijacking the banners of our revolution to continue the same old dictatorship through other means. People are tired of the sectarianism they promote to divert us from our real fight for justice, equality and freedom. [العربية] [Castellano] [Italiano] International Libertarian Statement of Solidarity with the Egyptian popular Struggle On the weekend 19-20th a new wave of mass protest all over Egypt broke out because of the systematic violence of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) against the Egyptian masses. People are tired of its dictatorial behaviour, the use of extreme force against protesters, the military trials that in 10 months have ended up with 12,000 comrades rotting in jail, their censorship, the torture, kidnappings and selective murder of activists. People are tired of the military council hijacking the banners of our revolution to continue the same old dictatorship through other means. People are tired of the sectarianism they promote to divert us from our real fight for justice, equality and freedom. Technorati Tags: activist, egypt, Egyptian, libertarian socialism, Libertarian Socialist Network, Mubarak, north africa, protest, SCAF, socialist, tahrir, violence, Workers Solidarity Movement

 
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Watch Occupy Wall Street Live

Published on October 2, 2011 by in Occupy Wall Street

Technorati Tags: #occupywallstreet, live, new york, occupy, Occupy Wall Street, protest, video, wall street

 
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Declaration of the Occupation of New York City

Published on October 2, 2011 by in Occupy Wall Street

First ‘official’ statement from the Occupy Wall Street movement As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies. As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known. They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage. They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses. They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization. They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices. They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions. They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right. They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay. They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility. They have spent millions of

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