OMNI
MAY
DAY/UN INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY/INTERNATIONAL LABOR DAY COMMEMORATION, MAY 1,
2014.
Compiled
by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology.
Newsletters
Index:
Contents
May Day, May 1, 2014
Dick: Adolph
Reed, Jr., “Nothing Left”? the Union Struggle
UN
International Workers Day, Google Search
UN
International Labor Organization (ILO)
AFL/CIO
Global Union Movement
Unions
in Arkansas
NWA Workers
Justice Center
Rinku
Sen on Saru Jayaraman’s book Behind
the Kitchen Door
UUSC
Supports ROC United
Restaurant Opportunities Center
SumofUs,
Fast Food Strikers in Detroit 2013
Amy
Goodman, Worker Safety
Ashbaugh,
Lucy Parsons, Militant Labor Leader
Ness
and Azzelliai, History of Workers Control
PROFESSOR ADOLPH REED, JR.
Several years ago, around the time of
Senator Obama’s first “We Can Do It!” campaign for the presidency, Reed was the
OMNI Center ’s
speaker at an event in Fayetteville
Recently his article, “Nothing Left,”
appeared in Harper’s (March 2014), decrying the decline of the
US
But because Reed is energized by
challenges, he ends with a call to left remnants to make rebuilding their
central purpose.
In fact, resistance and rebuilding are
occurring. The editors of Monthly Review (May 2014) tell about
strikes and other resistance by K-12 educational workers against the
privatization of the public schools.
“Precisely because teachers, supported by parents and community members,
are now fighting not just for their jobs, but also for children, society, and
community, they constitute, in our view, the heart of a new social
unionism.” Similarly, two of the
following essays reveal heartening news of such a rebuilding by restaurant
workers. Let us all greet MAY DAY 2014 with Mother
Jones: Don’t mourn, Organize --Dick
UN INTERNATIONAL WORKERS
DAY, MAY 1, 2014 (GOOGLE SEARCH April 17, 2014)
1.
The ILO Library
commemorates May 1st - International ...
International Labour Organization
Apr 23, 2013 - ILO is a specialized
agency of the United Nations ... May 1st is international labour
day,
a day which commemorates a time of civil unrest in the ...
2.
International Workers' Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikipedia
International Workers' Day is a celebration of the
international labour movement that occurs on May Day, May 1, a traditional
Spring holiday in much of Europe .
3.
International Labour Organization - Wikipedia, the free ...
Wikipedia
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency dealing .... A
proposal to require an eight-hour work day was amended to require
the ...
4.
International Workers' Day - ACPP
There is much to study on the history
of International Workers' Day. ... 2001, in
comemoration of the United Nations International Day for
the Abolition of Slavery.
5.
International Labour Organization (ILO) (United Nations ...
Encyclopaedia Britannica
ILO specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) dedicated to improving
... National representatives meet annually at the International Labour Conference. ... and
professional staff, handles day-to-day operations under the
supervision of an ...
6.
International Labour Day 2014, International Workers' Day ...
Find information about International Labour
Day also called International ... in theUnited Nations, established to deal
with labour issues on international level.
Searches related to UN International Workers Day
UN International
Labour Organization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Labour_Organization
"ILO"
redirects here. For other uses, see ILO (disambiguation).
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International Labour
Organization
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ILO
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1919
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UN agency
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Active
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Headquarters
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Geneva,
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Head
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Website
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The International
Labour Organization (ILO)
is a United Nations agency dealing with labour issues,
particularlyinternational labour standards and decent work for all.[1] 185 of the 193 UN member states are
members of the ILO.
In 1969, the organization received the Nobel Peace
Prize for improving
peace among classes, pursuing justice for workers, and providing technical
assistance to other developing nations.[2]
The ILO registers complaints against
entities that are violating international rules; however, it does not impose
sanctions on governments.[3]
Contents
·
4 Issues
MORE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Labour_Organization
Global Unions
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Across national boundaries, union
organizations reach out and collaborate on issues that affect the working
people in multiple countries. This international solidarity of working people
is vitally important as corporations have spread their reach globally and jobs
and whole industries are transplanted with the click of a mouse.
The
AFL-CIO is affiliated to the International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC)—the worldwide union network. Based in Brussels , Belgium
International Labor Organizations
Global Union Federations
Ten Global Union Federations (GUFs) are the
international representatives of unions organizing in specific industry sectors
or occupational groups. Most AFL-CIO unions belong to the GUF for their
sector.
National Centers
Trade Union Development Cooperation
Labor unions are a fundamental institution
for democracy and economic development. The following organizations
support stronger unions in developing countries through training, research and
advocacy programs.
MORE http://www.aflcio.org/About/Global-Unions
UNIONS IN ARKANSAS
http://www.unions.org/unions/arkansas/4
WORKERS’
RIGHTS
1.
NWAWJC | Northwest
Arkansas Workers' Justice Center
www.nwawjc.org/
As par of our leadership development,
the Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center (NWAWJC) engages worker
members to participate in leadership ...
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(479) 750-8015 |
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Contact
Information
Our
Accomplishments Contact Information. Contact NWA ...
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Staff
Staff. Jose
Luis Aguayo / Executive Director Jose Luis Aguayo ...
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Contact us
Contact us.
Address:
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About us
About us.
NWAWJC. Who we are: The Northwest Arkansas ...
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2.
Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice
Center ... - Facebook
Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center , Springdale
Going Behind the Kitchen Door to
Inspire A Different Kind of Foodie
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On Wednesday, Saru
Jayaraman’s book Behind the Kitchen Door drops, and this is
going to be a piece of shameless friend promotion. The book will be released
that night at Busboys and Poets in Washington ,
D.C.
Writing from the
perspective of a restaurant diner, in Behind the
Kitchen Door, Jayaraman translates the great research ROC United
has done, including the largest ever survey of restaurant workers nationwide.
She tells the often-heartbreaking stories of workers who give everything they
have to their workplaces, only to encounter wage theft, untreated on-the-job
injuries, and rigid racial and gender hierarchies that prevent them from
advancing within the largest private sector industry in our country.
We meet Daniel, a
Latino runner at Del Posto, a four-star restaurant in New York City
Most importantly,
Jayaraman’s book brings together two ends of an industry — diners who want to
eat ethically, and workers who want to be able to feed their own families. She
explains some basic things, like why tipping is critical to workers whose
federal minimum wage is only $2.13 per hour, how it happens that prep cooks,
servers and runners are forced to go to work sick, and the mechanisms by which
racial and gender discrimination is allowed to run rampant. You can watch her
explain some of these issues during an appearance on CNN last week.
Jayaraman’s goal is to redefine the “foodie” identity,
making it include as much concern about the people who put your food on the
table as it does about whether the food was locally sourced or organically
grown.
In his foreword, Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation,
writes, “The abuses endured by American farmworkers, meatpacking workers and
restaurant employees violates even the most watered-down definition of
‘sustainability.’ Our food system now treats millions of workers like
disposable commodities… When people ask
what are the most important changes that we could make to our food system right
away, I reply: Enforce the nation’s labor laws and increase the minimum wage.”
This week, ROC United will be asking Congress to make
the most basic change, to raise the federal minimum wage for tipped workers,
which has been stuck at its current rate for some 22 years as a result of
relentless lobbying by the National Restaurant Association. Please buy the book this week, on Valentine’s Day if you can, to
help these workers leap into the public consciousness as they carry out actions
in Washington
The book’s website
includes an invitation to join the Welcome Table, ROC
United’s new effort to organize diners as successfully as it has workers.
In addition to joining, you can download the national Diners’ Guide that will help you determine the best places
to eat from a labor standpoint and what to do if you eat elsewhere and don’t
like what you see. You can also watch beautiful profiles of workers created by
Louverture Films, the company that is also developing a fictionalized film
version of The Accidental American. Jayaraman is starting a 13-city book
tour that includes Detroit , Los
Angeles and Chicago
Restaurant Opportunities Centers
United (ROC-United),
UNITARIAN
UNIVERSALIST SUPPORT FOR RESTAURANT WORKERS’ RIGHTS
With the launch of our Choose Compassionate Consumption
campaign this fall, UUSC supporters joined together to form a powerful block of
consumer advocates.
In October, we targeted
Hershey and the use of child labor in chocolate production, sending more than
1,100 letters to Hershey, along with samples of a competitor’s fair-trade
chocolate. In November and December, UUSC supporters generated approximately
$15,000 in sales for the Southern Agricultural Alternatives Cooperative, a
socially responsible pecan-processing cooperative that creates jobs in
southwest Georgia
Now let’s use our power to
make a positive difference in the lives of restaurant
workers, by choosing where to eat based on how restaurants treat their
employees!
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Dear Dick, Thank you for downloading the diners' guide from the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United) and for using it to make your dining choices. To share the diners' guide with your friends, please e-mail them this link and post it on social media: uusc.org/dinersguide In addition, the diners' guide is available as an iPhone or Android app and you may request paper copies of the diners' guide. If you are interested in learning more about ROC-United, please visit the ROC-United website. With gratitude,  Kara Smith Associate for Grassroots Mobilization  |
ROC UNITED
The U.S. restaurant industry employs over 10 million
workers nationwide and is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the
U.S.
That’s why the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC-United) has released the ROC National Diners’ Guide 2014: A
Consumer Guide on the Working Conditions of American Restaurants. The guide
rates restaurants throughout the country based on how they treat their workers,
listing responsible restaurants where you can eat knowing that your server can
afford to pay the rent and your cook isn’t working while sick.
Download
the restaurant guide today — and use it
to choose compassionate consumption when you dine out!
GOOGLE
SEARCH 4-30-14 (--Dick)
1.
National Diners Guide | ROC
Dec 17, 2013 - Our National Diners' Guide provides information on
wages, benefits, and the ... New for 2014 – share your experiences
using the guide here!
2.
ROC National Diners' Guide Mobile App | ROC
A consumer guide on the working
conditions of American restaurants –. [nggallery id=15]. DOWNLOAD NOW: iPhone
version or Android version. The ROC National Diners' Guide mobile app provides
information on the ... Created by ROC United, App developed by Clay
Ewing ... Copyright © 2014 ROC • Login • Site
Credits.
3.
[PDF]
Download the guide as a PDF here - Restaurant ...
1. 2014 ROC NATIONAL. dI. NeRs' GuIde. TO. eT. hICAL eATING. ResTAuRANT
OPPORTuNITIes CeNTeRs uNITed. A consumer guide on the working.
$15 an hour and a union
Kaytee Riek,
SumOfUs.org [us@sumofus.org]
Actions
To:
James R. Bennett
Saturday, May 11, 2013 5:25 PM
James,
WHOA. Yesterday,
something huge happened: Hundreds
of Detroit
And guess what
happened then? SOLIDARITY, that’s what. The replacement workers saw the picket
line -- and decided to go on strike too!
Since last
night, thousands of people have already shared this image on Facebook. Click the image below to join them
and share it now to show mad respect for these workers who are standing up for their rights
-- and for each other!
As Joe Biden
might say, deciding to go on
strike is a Big Eff-ing Deal. Some
workers who strike face illegal retaliation, even though they have every right
under the law to organize and fight for better working conditions. But in the
past year, low-wage fast food
and retail workers -- from Burger King to JCPenney to Walmart -- have gone on
strike in dozens of cities.
These workers
have jobs where they are paid as little as $7.25/hour, even after years of
reliable job performance. And they often have no control over their hours. No
one can support a family on that.
But the thing
about solidarity -- like the solidarity shown by these McDonald’s workers in Detroit
In solidarity,
Kaytee,
Claiborne, Taren, Rob, Tara , Angus,
Marguerite, Anthony, and the rest of us
P.S. The
strikes are getting big national press coverage. Read more:
Salon: Fast food strikes spread to Detroit, 10 May, 2013
Washington Post: Fast-food workers in Detroit joining a growing wave of walkouts over wages, 10 May, 2013
Huffington Post: Fast Food Strike: Detroit Walkouts, Protests Continue National Movement For Higher Wages, Union, 10 May 2013
Washington Post: Fast-food workers in Detroit joining a growing wave of walkouts over wages, 10 May, 2013
Huffington Post: Fast Food Strike: Detroit Walkouts, Protests Continue National Movement For Higher Wages, Union, 10 May 2013
SumOfUs
is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold
corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path
for our global economy. You can follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook. Was this email forwarded to you? Click here to add yourself to SumOfUs.
Fri Apr 26, 2013 11:35 am (PDT) .
Posted by:
"Lane Anderson"
andersonlane47 VIA TRUTHDIG AND VETERANS FOR PEACE
Do we really need the concentrated chemical
fertilizers like ammonium nitrate when organic produce is so much healthier?
Published on Thursday, April 25, 2013 by TruthDig.com
Terror in the West, Texas, Night
by Amy Goodman
The Boston Marathon bombing and its
aftermath has dominated the nation’s headlines. Yet, another series of
explosions that happened two days later and took four times the number
of lives, has gotten a fraction of the coverage. It was the worst
industrial accident in years. But to call it an accident ignores that it
was preventable, and was quite possibly a crime, as is common with so
many dangerous workplaces.
The first call came in to the 911
dispatcher at 7:29 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. A woman at a playground
noticed a fire across the railroad tracks, at the West Fertilizer Co.
facility, in the small town ofWest , Texas , near Waco
volunteer fire department was mobilized. Less than 25 minutes later, a
massive explosion leveled the plant, sending shock waves, debris and
fire across West, ultimately killing 15 people, among them a local EMT,
eight volunteer firefighters and a Dallas fire captain who was visiting
his sons and joined the firefighting effort.
The call came over the emergency radio
system: “We need every ambulance we can get at this point. A bomb just
went off inside here. It’s pretty bad. We’ve got a lot of firemen down.â€
Another call followed, with moaning in the
background: “The rest home has been seriously damaged. We have many
people down. Please respond.â€
A mushroom cloud climbed high into the sky.
The explosion registered 2.1 on the Richter scale, the same as a small
earthquake. 911 calls flooded in, with people reporting a bomb, many
injured and others engulfed in a toxic cloud. Sixty to 80 houses were
leveled.
One week later, the fires are out, most of
the funerals have been held, but major questions remain unanswered. A
team of up to 70 investigators is probing the source of the explosion.
Reuters reported last Saturday that the plant had on site 2,700 tons of
ammonium nitrate. This is 1,350 times the amount that would require a
facility to self-report its stockpile to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). Ammonium nitrate is a fertilizer used in industrial
farming worldwide, and is stable when properly stored. It can be highly
explosive when ignited, especially when mixed with fuel, as Timothy
McVeigh demonstrated with the 1995 bombing of theMurrah
Federal
Building in Oklahoma City
ammonium nitrate to DHS.
The concern with theft of ammonium nitrate
by potential bombers is the basis for this reporting requirement.
Numerous other federal and state agencies are supposed to regulate
fertilizer plants, chemical storage facilities and workplaces in
general. Yet OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
last inspected the facility in 1985. An inspection report filed with the
Environmental Protection Agency in June 2011 listed 54,000 pounds of
anhydrous ammonia, a different fertilizer, but claimed there was no
serious hazard.
The West Fertilizer explosion happened just
a day after the 66th anniversary of theTexas City
disaster, said to be
the worst industrial accident inU.S.
hundred tons of ammonium nitrate bound forFrance
Marshall Plan for European reconstruction and aid, caught fire aboard
the ship, the SS Grandcamp. The explosion that followed killed at least
581 people, wounded 5,000 and destroyed 500 homes. You would thinkTexas
would be sensitive to the potential hazards of this dangerous chemical.
Yet Gov. Rick Perry told The Associated Press, “Through their elected
officials [people] clearly send the message of their comfort with the
amount of oversight.” He recently touted the lax regulatory environment
inTexas while trying to lure businesses there
from states like
California and Illinois
April 28 is Workers’ Memorial Day,
commemorating the 4,500 workers who die on the job annually in the U.S.
Thirteen workers, on average, go to work each day and never come home.
Tom O’Connor, executive director of National Council for Occupational
Safety and Health, said, “As companies decry regulations and emphasize
profits over safety, workers pay the ultimate price.”
Those who died in West,Texas
workers, volunteer first responders, retirees and neighbors. Unsafe
workplaces cause injury and death on a daily basis in this country, but
seem to be tolerated as simply the cost of doing business. Gov. Perry
declared West a disaster area and asked for prayers. But that’s not
enough. As legendary labor organizer Mother Jones said, “Pray for the
dead, and fight like hell for the living."
Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column. © 2013 TruthDig.com
Published on Thursday, April 25, 2013 by TruthDig.com
Terror in the West, Texas, Night
by Amy Goodman
The Boston Marathon bombing and its
aftermath has dominated the nation’s headlines. Yet, another series of
explosions that happened two days later and took four times the number
of lives, has gotten a fraction of the coverage. It was the worst
industrial accident in years. But to call it an accident ignores that it
was preventable, and was quite possibly a crime, as is common with so
many dangerous workplaces.
The first call came in to the 911
dispatcher at 7:29 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17. A woman at a playground
noticed a fire across the railroad tracks, at the West Fertilizer Co.
facility, in the small town of
volunteer fire department was mobilized. Less than 25 minutes later, a
massive explosion leveled the plant, sending shock waves, debris and
fire across West, ultimately killing 15 people, among them a local EMT,
eight volunteer firefighters and a Dallas fire captain who was visiting
his sons and joined the firefighting effort.
The call came over the emergency radio
system: “We need every ambulance we can get at this point. A bomb just
went off inside here. It’s pretty bad. We’ve got a lot of firemen down.â€
Another call followed, with moaning in the
background: “The rest home has been seriously damaged. We have many
people down. Please respond.â€
A mushroom cloud climbed high into the sky.
The explosion registered 2.1 on the Richter scale, the same as a small
earthquake. 911 calls flooded in, with people reporting a bomb, many
injured and others engulfed in a toxic cloud. Sixty to 80 houses were
leveled.
One week later, the fires are out, most of
the funerals have been held, but major questions remain unanswered. A
team of up to 70 investigators is probing the source of the explosion.
Reuters reported last Saturday that the plant had on site 2,700 tons of
ammonium nitrate. This is 1,350 times the amount that would require a
facility to self-report its stockpile to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). Ammonium nitrate is a fertilizer used in industrial
farming worldwide, and is stable when properly stored. It can be highly
explosive when ignited, especially when mixed with fuel, as Timothy
McVeigh demonstrated with the 1995 bombing of the
ammonium nitrate to DHS.
The concern with theft of ammonium nitrate
by potential bombers is the basis for this reporting requirement.
Numerous other federal and state agencies are supposed to regulate
fertilizer plants, chemical storage facilities and workplaces in
general. Yet OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
last inspected the facility in 1985. An inspection report filed with the
Environmental Protection Agency in June 2011 listed 54,000 pounds of
anhydrous ammonia, a different fertilizer, but claimed there was no
serious hazard.
The West Fertilizer explosion happened just
a day after the 66th anniversary of the
the worst industrial accident in
hundred tons of ammonium nitrate bound for
Marshall Plan for European reconstruction and aid, caught fire aboard
the ship, the SS Grandcamp. The explosion that followed killed at least
581 people, wounded 5,000 and destroyed 500 homes. You would think
would be sensitive to the potential hazards of this dangerous chemical.
Yet Gov. Rick Perry told The Associated Press, “Through their elected
officials [people] clearly send the message of their comfort with the
amount of oversight.” He recently touted the lax regulatory environment
in
April 28 is Workers’ Memorial Day,
commemorating the 4,500 workers who die on the job annually in the U.S.
Thirteen workers, on average, go to work each day and never come home.
Tom O’Connor, executive director of National Council for Occupational
Safety and Health, said, “As companies decry regulations and emphasize
profits over safety, workers pay the ultimate price.”
Those who died in West,
workers, volunteer first responders, retirees and neighbors. Unsafe
workplaces cause injury and death on a daily basis in this country, but
seem to be tolerated as simply the cost of doing business. Gov. Perry
declared West a disaster area and asked for prayers. But that’s not
enough. As legendary labor organizer Mother Jones said, “Pray for the
dead, and fight like hell for the living."
Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column. © 2013 TruthDig.com
LABOR
LEADER LUCY PARSONS
Carolyn
Ashbaugh. Lucy Parsons: An American Revolutionary. Haymarket Books, 2013.
One of the most militant leaders
in the history of the radical labor movement.
HISTORY OF WORKERS’
CONTROL
TAKE
ACTION; Contact your local and or state
labor officers, offer your help. Join a
union (some offer associate memberships).
If a college is nearby, locate the professor/instructor who teaches the
about labor history; if none, contact the college appropriate college officer
and ask why.
END
UN INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY, MAY 1, 2014
