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Articles : InternationalLabor News Roundup
Ahoy, fellow workers & filthy bourgeoisie! Welcome to the thirteenth edition of GNN’s exclusive Labor News Roundup. Though labor-related news is neglected in both the mainstream and “alternative” news services, important labor stories are breaking all over the world every day. This roundup is but a small sampling. For more international labor news, check out LibCom and LabourStart.
Union Square Hospitality Group Drops Wild Edibles: “The Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) recently confirmed that it has ceased buying seafood from Wild Edibles, a seafood company that has been accused of violating several labor laws. The announcement comes just a week after La Goulue decided to drop Wild Edibles, making the USHG the third restaurant group to drop the company. Pastis and its associated restaurants were the first group to do so, back in September. Since August 2007, employees from Wild Edibles have been fighting for their right to be paid overtime, to form a labor union, and to be treated with respect on the job. Thus far, 10 workers have been terminated in retaliation for union activity. Brandworkers has been working in solidarity with them as they continue to wage their struggle for basic labor rights. The USHG will refrain buying products from Wild Edibles until the labor dispute is resolved. The group includes Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, Eleven Madison Park, Tabla, Blue Smoke and Jazz Standard, Shake Shack, The Modern, Cafe 2, Terrace 5, and Hudson Yards Catering. Brandworkers International empowers retail and food employees with legal, advocacy, and organizing tools. We strive to increase employer compliance with the law and improve working conditions throughout the supply chain. (The union mentioned in this article is the IWW.)” (IWW.org, 01/29/08)
Israeli Restaurant Workers Strike for Union Rights at Coffee Bean: “Israel’s national labour center Histradut is giving full support to workers at Tel Aviv’s Ibn Gvirol street branch of the international coffee roaster and restaurant franchiser Coffee Bean, where workers have been on strike since January 22 against a union-busting management. Coffee Bean, originally a US-only roasting and coffeehouse chain, now operates over 500 outlets (270 direct owned) in 15 countries in the USA, Middle East, Asia, and Australia. None of the 14 Israeli establishments are currently union organized. The struggle for union rights at the restaurant began in January last year, when workers began to press for improved conditions. In July 2007, an employee activist who had attempted to establish a worker committee was sacked. The Histadrut successfully challenged the dismissal in the courts, but management refused to enter into negotiations for a collective agreement and began pressuring workers supporting the attempt to organize. Workers responded to the ongoing intimidation and harassment by taking strike action on January 22, with the support of the Histradut and social and youth activists, who demonstrated outside the restaurant and are now taking their protests to other Coffee Bean outlets. Coffee Bean workers are standing up to management bullying and responded to the recent aggression by declaring 100% membership in the union branch. The labour movement in Israel sees organizing the Coffee Bean as a potential breakthrough for building union organization in the chain and in the sector generally. You can support their struggle by sending a message to the local franchise owner and to the Coffee Bean international headquarters, supporting the fight against union-busting and in support of trade union rights. Copies of the messages will be automatically sent to the Histadrut and to the IUF.” (Infoshop News, 01/29/08)
Support the Strike for Union Rights at Tel Aviv Coffee Bean! Coffee Bean is an internationally-franchised upscale coffee roaster and coffeehouse chain. For over a year, workers at a Coffee Bean in Tel Aviv, Israel have fought for union representation and a collective bargaining agreement. Management’s response has been dismissal, threats and harassment. On January 22, the workers launched a strike, with the support of the whole Israeli labour movement. You can show your support for their struggle by using the form below to send a message to local and international management demanding respect for trade union rights! (IUF: Uniting Food, Farm and Hotel Workers World-Wide)
Striking Workers in New Caledonia Battle the Cops and Bosses: Workers of the USTKE union battle cops and bosses after a union member was fired for theft. The union rejects this accusation, claiming the worker is being victimized. Jef Costello writes: “Workers at Carsud, the bus transport system for the capital Nouméa and surrounding areas, went on strike over the dismissal of a colleague for gross misconduct. Workers began a general strike, rotating between different regions, on January 9th. Some 200 police were sent against the strikers occupying the buildings at around 2am. Workers picketing the roundabout were attacked with tear gas grenades, rubber bullets and batons. Those who couldn’t get away in time claim to have been beaten in the back of the police vans. Workers responded by throwing stones at police. They overturned and burned two police vans as well as the director’s car. Clashes continued all night and well into the next morning in what police described as ’scenes of guerilla warfare’. Seven police and two gendarmes reported minor injuries, as did dozens of workers. Up to 63 arrests were made with at least 12 strikers held on remand, mostly for charges of armed assault on police officers and criminal damage and are set to appear before a judge tomorrow (Jan 22nd)... The union has denounced the refusal of the company to negotiate. The high commissioner for the province, one of France’ overseas territories, said after the night’s violence: ‘they are using the tactics of crooks and thugs and I will punish them as such.’” (Infoshop News, LibCom.org, 01/21/08)
From Russia with Solidarity: Picket in Irkutsk in support of Budryk Miners: A solidarity picket for the striking miners in Budryk Mine was held outside the Polish Consulate in Irkutsk. The consular officials refused to take the protest, but the comrades sent it anyway. They send their solidarity greetings to the Budryk miners. This is from the test of their protest letter: “We are the group Autonomous Action of Irkutsk and we are expressing our solidarity with the striking miners from Budryk Mine. We demand an end to the economic and social injustice with respect to the miners who have less wages than in other mines in this industry, In our viewpoint there are no legal reasons for such discrimination. The mine is the third most profitable one in Poland. Despite this, the Workers are forced to strike in order to support their families. Undoubtedly this does not speak well of the Polish Ministry of the Treasury which owns the mine. We suggest that the Ministry remember the so-called “Railway Wars” – the strikes and blockades of railway lines that took place in Russia at the beginning of 90s. The Ministry should not allow such events to occur because of the persecution of Workers but should fulfill their demands!” In 1998, Russian miners blocked the railways in Siberia in a protest over unpaid wages. This was one of many miners’ protests to occur in Russia over the past ten years. People in Irkutsk still have vivid memories of these events. (Centrum Informacji Anarchistycznej, 01/24/08)
Starbucks discriminates: Tamika’s Story: “My name is Tamika Williams and I’ve been a Starbucks barista for almost a year and a half. As a single mom, I take my job seriously and I do it well. Whether it’s making drinks to standard or going above and beyond with customer service, I get the job done. I wish I could tell you that I believe Starbucks “embraces diversity”, but in my case that’s just not true. For months now, I have been discriminated against by Starbucks on account of my race. I’ve been disciplined for things white workers don’t get disciplined for and management constantly disrespects me. This discrimination has resulted in reduced pay raises and in me getting suspended. When I wanted to further my partner development I was belittled and discouraged. I was physically attacked by a co-worker and for my trouble I received a write-up. He’s white and he informed me he was not given a write-up. White workers haven’t had to bring in doctor’s notes when they’re sick, I do. There’s more but I think you get the picture. Time and time again I have spoken out against unfair treatment and received responses like I’m ‘too sensitive’. I’ve had enough. I’m standing up for myself and for my family. I’ve joined the Starbucks Workers Union and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Working alongside baristas around the country who are part of the Union has made me feel empowered for the first time since I started working at Starbucks. I look forward to winning justice for my family and for my co-workers.” (StarbucksUnion.org, 01/22/08)
Fortune Magazine, Stop Lying About Starbucks Being a ‘Best Company to Work For’: Andrew Serwer, Managing Editor of Fortune Magazine, writes: “I take serious issue with the erroneous information regarding Starbucks in Fortune Magazine’s 2008 ’100 Best Companies to Work For’. I am especially concerned about the reliability of Fortune given that the IWW Starbucks Workers Union wrote you an open letter before the 2007 ’100 Best Companies to Work For’ feature that pointed out the very same misinformation which you proceeded to include once again in the 2008 list. The 2008 ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list claims that the most common hourly job at Starbucks is a mysterious position called “Coordinator III” which takes in $37,390 per year. Once again, the most common hourly job at Starbucks, by far, is a position called ‘Barista’ which likely takes in approximately $12,000 per year on average. The precise average pay for baristas is not known since Starbucks refuses to make that information public. The fine print of your list states that some of the data is for full-time employees only but does not state that qualification for the figures regarding pay. Just as in previous years, if you do not set the record straight other media outlets will wrongfully use the “Coordinator III” figure as the average pay for Starbucks’ most common hourly worker. I believe the real problem here is that your ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list is created by a consulting firm, even arguably a public relations firm, called the ‘Great Place to Work Institute’ and not a serious research organization. The ‘Great Place to Work Institute’ uses methodologies which don’t even come close to those used in scientific surveys. Please do what you should have done last year and set the record straight. I also urge you to drop the ‘Great Place to Work Institute’ and engage a serious research organization for Fortune’s ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list. I expect your prompt attention to this matter.” CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE E-MAIL ACTION (StarbucksUnion.org / IWW.org, 01/29/08)
Red & Black Flags Flying Outside Starbucks & Wild Edibles: Colin Moynihan writes for the New York Times: “The dramatic battles of the American labor movement were often fought in hazardous settings like the coal fields of Kentucky or the textile mills of Massachusetts. In recent times, though, a different type of labor dispute has become familiar in New York, focused on the retail outlets that keep upscale customers fed and caffeinated. And so it was that a crowd of about 50 people wrapped in scarves and bandannas against the cold gathered Monday morning outside a Starbucks at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 33rd Street. As their breath steamed the air, they chanted and sang. They carried long banners bearing the logo of the Industrial Workers of the World, a union founded in 1905 that has been trying to organize Starbucks workers since 2004. Red and black anarchist flags waved in the wind, and one woman held aloft a placard depicting a pouncing black cat toppling what appeared to be a venti latte cup emblazoned with a dollar sign.” (New York Times, StarbucksUnion.org, 01/22/08)
Unemployment, Foreclosure, Deunionization: A Look at the State of the Economy and Organized Labor in Michigan: Tuesday night’s primaries in Michigan were dominated by concern over the economy. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country and one of the highest foreclosure rates. Over 200,000 Michigan residents have lost manufacturing jobs since the year 2000. And the latest union contracts with the big three automakers include major concessions. DN! goes to Detroit to speak with Chris Kutalik, a Detroit-based journalist and the editor of Labor Notes. (Democracy Now!, 01/17/08)
China: Strikes and Protests: Bus drivers have been on strike, while the death of a blogger prompted protests and a taxi drivers protest in Hubei proviince. A protest against a landfill site which is expanding into urban areas in Tianmen, Hubei province led to violence as protestors were attacked by Chengguang (City Management Officers). Wei Wenhua, filming the incident from his car on his mobile phone was targeted and killed by the Chengguang during the incident. As many as ten thousand people attended his funeral, and 200 taxi drivers went on strike, protesting in front of the city offices. Since 11 January, bus drivers at Shiyan city bus company have been on strike, with heavy snowfall this has shut down most traffic in the prefuctural city. (LibCom.org, 01/27/08)
Chinese Worker Protests Increase as Troubles Mount, Two Reports Find: “As worker conditions deteriorate, China’s workers are fighting back with spontaneous protests,” including “workers demonstrating in open defiance of the government – from the oilfields of Daqing, the terrolalloy workers of Liaoyang, the Heavenly King textile workers of Xianyang, the Gold Peak battery factory workers of Huizhou, coal miners from Wanbao, teachers from Suizhou, and ex-soldiers who work in factories around the country run by the People’s Liberation Army.” (Corporate Crime Reporter, 01/15/08)
Vietnam: Strikes spreading in Ho Chi Minh City: “Thousands of workers at four factories in Ho Chi Minh City have gone on strike, Vietnamese press reported Thursday, joining 8,000 shoe factory workers who laid down their tools early this week, as inflation concerns sparked labor unrest in the country’s largest city. The companies hit included Japanese-owned sewing machine manufacturer Juki, with 1,400 workers, and electronic parts manufacturer TTTI, with 1,000, according to the Vietnamese newspaper Ho Chi Minh City Law. The striking workers are demanding raises of up to 20 per cent. On Monday, workers at the Chi Hung joint-venture footwear company struck for higher pay and better factory-provided lunches. A trade union official at Chi Hung, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, said Thursday that a few of the workers had returned to work, although the company had not agreed to raise their wages.” (Monsters & Critics, 01/24/08)
France: Strikes & more government attacks on conditions: “Just outside of Paris at the Areva TD factory in Montrouge, 89 striking workers have been occupying and blockading the factory for four days. The movement began after management announced plans to close the factory, which produces electrical transformers. Workers are demanding large compensation payments, management is currently refusing to negotiate.” (LibCom.org, 01/16/08)
Dock unions urge for strike after workplace deaths near Venice: Three of Italy’s main unions called for a nationwide ports strike to start on Friday after two workers died overnight in a port near Venice. The call for a strike which could paralyze the country comes as Italy debates workplace safety following a fire last month at a ThyssenKrupp steel plant in Turin which killed seven workers. Labor federations CGIL, CISL and UIL said in a statement they “strongly protest following incidents which reached unbearable levels in 2007 and, unfortunately, continue”. They called for for an immediate strike. It was not immediately clear how big the strike would be or how long it could last as unions said its terms would be set locally. “The protest is aimed at those companies which do not guarantee work safety,” the unions said. Two workers died early on Friday after being overcome by fumes while cleaning a ship’s grain hold at Porto Marghera near Venice. (LibCom.org, 01/19/08)
Canada: support workers strike at New Brunswick Community College: 500 workers, including lab technicians and canteen, security and cleaning staff, are currently striking over pay. The workers, members of local 1251 of the public service union have been striking since January 10th; pay negotiations broke down at the end of November and no new negotiations were scheduled. Initially the strike led to the cancellation of meal services and evening classes. Overflowing bins and dirty toilets and classrooms led many teachers to cancel lessons, allowing students to work from home. The university is now officially only open for half of the day. Two toilets have already been closed and a visit by the public health authority could see the university closed. Union representative Louis Arseneau said “We’ve calculated that we’ll have to strike for at least a month and a half to win… We’re prepared to stick it out to the end” (LibCom.org, 01/22/08)
Belgium: train conductors wildcat over violence: A wildcat strike by conductors over violence has rapidly spread across Belgian railways. The strike began late Monday night at the Mons et La Louvière depot after two conductors were attacked on a train and their colleagues walked out in support. As new shifts arrived from 4:30am more workers joined the action. In all only two conductors crossed pickets and at least 30 trains had been cancelled by 6:30am. Workers at Bruxelles-Midi, Braine-Le-Comte, Charleroi and Namur have joined the informal action. With at least 30% wildcatting at Brussels. Services have been getting worse as the day goes on and more and more workers join their colleagues in strike. (LibCom.org, 01/22/08)
Ivory coast workers win cocoa strike: Rob Ray writes for Freedom Newspaper: “Workers across the cocoa industry in Ivory Coast have gone back to work after winning a strike action which brought shipments to a standstill at the beginning of January. The strikers wanted to secure better pay and working conditions, and oust senior management in government agencies accused of severe malpractice. Work resumed after the government conceded and raised wages, but unionists, and industry analysts, have warned that further strike action is highly likely if their demand for the sacking of the director general of the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse (BCC, which regulates the marketing and export of cocoa) is not met. Towards the end of the industrial action, SYNASGFICC unionists at the BCC and other industry bodies blocked registration of cocoa shipments for export. The strike followed walkouts in early December, which were called off for negotiations which never happened.” (LibCom.org, 01/25/08)
Glasgow mechanics strike solidarity: On Tuesday, nine mechanics walked out on official strike after failing to agree to a pre-Christmas pay deal, over 50 other workers refused to cross picket lines. The BBC reported that sixteen mechanics and 40 cleansing drivers also came out in ‘wildcat’ support, disrupting refuse collections. Glasgow City Council attempted to brand the strike “unofficial and illegal.” The dispute is centered on the nine workers reluctance to agree to new conditions for the entire mechanic workforce as set-out in a pre-Christmas Workforce Pay and Benefits Review which includes the introduction of non-standard working patterns. Willie McGonigle, branch secretary of the T&G section of the union Unite, said: “I’m always optimistic. Our role as a union is always to resolve such disputes.” A council spokeswoman confirmed further industrial action by the mechanics and refuse workers was planned for next Tuesday but that the council aimed to minimize disruption to refuse collections. (LibCom.org, 01/13/08)
Facebook Bans Union Organizer for Making Too Many Friends: A Canadian union organizer has been banned from Facebook for making too many friends. CUPE organizer/Labour Start correspondent Derek Blackadder’s foray into labor-related social networking was rudely interrupted by a warning from Facebook saying that he was making too many friends. Blackadder ignored the warning. (AlterNet, 01/24/08)
As Congress Talks Stimulus, Labor Leaders Worry They Won’t Have a Voice: Leaders of organized labor are worried that they won’t have a voice in shaping the economic stimulus package as it moves through Congress. (The Washington Post, 01/22/08)
Skilled Workers Unemployed: Long-Term Joblessness Spreads in Middle Class: Joblessness is spreading among the middle class, as long-term unemployment is growing most rapidly among white-collar, college-educated workers with long work experience. Michael Fletcher writes for the Washington Post: “An unusually large share of workers have been out a job for more than six months even as overall unemployment has remained low, a little-noted weakness in the labor market that analysts said threatens to intensify the impact of the unfolding economic downturn. In November, nearly 1.4 million people — almost one in five of those unemployed — had been jobless for at least 27 weeks, the juncture when unemployment insurance benefits end for most recipients. That is about twice the level of long-term unemployment before the 2001 recession.” (The Washington Post, 01/21/08)
This week’s Labor History Spotlight(s):
Anarchism and the Workers Unions: Fernand Pelloutier (1867-1901), educated through the religious schools and then Saint-Nazaire College, had turned his back on the bourgeoisie to throw in his lot with the people. At a very early age he embarked upon a career in journalism. He joined the Parti ouvrier francais (French Workers’ Party) and then, in 1892, he was sent by the Saint-Nazaire and Nantes Bourses du Travail as their delegate to a socialist congress at which — most unusually for such a setting — he won acceptance for the principle of the general strike. At the beginning of 1893, he moved to Paris. It was not long before he had parted company from the marxists to embrace libertarian ideas. In a “Letter to the Anarchists,” he wrote “We are (...) what they [the politicians] are not — full-time rebels, truly godless men, without master or homeland, incorrigible enemies of all despotism, moral or collective, that is to say, of laws and dictatorships, including that of the proletariat.” But at the same time, Pelloutier was urging anarchists to get actively involved in the labour movement. In 1895 he was appointed secretary of the Federation of Bourses du Travail and gave unstintingly of himself in that capacity. In 1897, he launched a monthly review of social economy L’Ouvrier des Deux-Mondes, seeing to the typesetting personally. Pelloutier looked upon the Bourses du Travail as the very paragon of labour organization, the model closest to the people at the grassroots. He saw in them the embryo of the “free association of producers “to which Bakunin had looked forward, as well as the embryo of the workers’ Commune, that essential structure of the coming society. Succumbing to an untimely death as a result of incurable illness, he left behind a posthumous volume, that classic work on revolutionary syndicalism, Histoire des Bourses du Travail. (Infoshop Library, from No Gods No Masters by Daniel Guerin, published by AK Press)
1962: The Novocherkassk Tragedy: An account of the workers uprising in Novocherkassk, USSR, which lasted from June 1-3 and ended in a massacre and mass arrests. (LibCom.org, 07/22/07)
LabourStart: Where trade unionists start their day on the net.
This roundup was compiled by GNN contributor and blogger Nathan Coe. Nathan is a guerrilla journalist and activist residing in the mountains of Southwest Colorado, where he is a senior in college working on his Major in Humanities. He can be contacted at free_world_alliance(at)yahoo.com or via his blog at ShiftShapers.gnn.tv.
For more of GNN’s exclusive roundups of under-reported news from around the world, check out The Rebel Communiqué, East Is East, and If You Knew…
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Congrats. Nice job as always.
Nice job. I look forward to every report you give. Gotta love Tamika Williams from Starbucks. Give em hell girl, I am behind you all the way.