Special Release: Thursday, December 02, 2004

Underhanded Anti-Union Maneuvers on Campus at Concordia U.

The Editors

Dear Left Hook readers,

It has very recently come to our attention that the student union at Concordia University has been engaged in some deplorable anti-union behavior, attacking and attempting to intimidate готовая еда на месяц the on-campus union CUPE local 4512 and those supporting them with suspension, firing, and legal threats. We condemn these acts and stand in support of CUPE local 4512. Below is an article on the situation by a Concordia student and the recent press release of the union.

Sincerely,
Derek Seidman and M. Junaid Alam

Student-Union Union Busting?

Macdonald Stainsby

Concordia University is a strange place indeed for a student like myself to attend. Having been involved in anti-imperialist work for years, in particular around the issue of Palestine, the fact that this University was in the only city on Turtle Island that I could see myself moving to -- Montreal-- made it an obvious slam dunk for me over two years ago. Back then, global headlines were made by students and others who shut down an attempt to by Hillel Concordia to bring known war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu onto the campus; this was after years of attacks from right wing Zionists and other neo-liberals on what they dubbed the "bin Laden youth wing" student union and associated student clubs, who held real sway on the hallowed grounds of this institution. I would forgive you if you thought that the only issues brought up by students were around the Middle East, but that's very much not the case.

Forcing a reduction in tuition (through direct action and student strikes) for the first time in many years anywhere in the territory called Canada or Quebec, these students had also worked on union battles and even helped their own staff members become a local of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), now CUPE local 4512.

After the physical denial of Bibi, the former Israeli PM declared that the school needed to "clean up" the students; expel and attack, fight dirty, do anything to destroy all aspects of this powerful left. And, sadly, much of that has succeeded. Yet, thanks to the work of the old Concordia Student Union, workers at CUPE 4512 have still maintained their jobs (that's what unions do). Recently, the new CSU has begun taking on the little union on campus and attacking them in the most vile manner. The CSU does not extend proper notice of work hours that need to be done, is in constant consultation with its lawyers to find ways to skirt labour law, and more recently has even begun to illegally suspend union leaders for carrying out their duties.

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CUPE 4512 Resolution

CUPE 4512

The following message was passed unanimously at the largest ever Special General Meeting of CUPE 4512:

The CUPE 4512 membership (CSU staff) vigorously condemns the recent heavy-handed and completely unjustified disciplinary measure imposed on CUPE 4512 President Christina Xydous by the Concordia Student Union.

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Latest Release: Friday, November 26, 2004

How I Became a Threat to National Security

Margaree Little

Over the last four years, of course, social organizers and war-dissenters have joined the ranks of those included in the definition of "potential terrorist." We've all heard stories from activists who've been illegally arrested, or detained, or mysteriously placed on "no-fly" lists. But, still, I never thought that it would happen to me. Last year, I did most of my organizing by way of an internship at the American Friends Service Committee-you know, the peace and justice organization founded by those terrifying pacifist folks, the Quakers. And arguably the most dangerous thing that I've done this year is open a can of tomato sauce with what looked to be a medieval can-opener at the soup kitchen where I work. My organizing, it seemed, was fated to be pretty much in accordance with the pinchability of my cheeks.

This was, however, all about to change.

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"I Hope You Get Struck by Lightning and Die." : Quotes from a Campaign Trail

Chris Goldberg

Why did millions of Americans choose Bush? We've heard all the theories for weeks, but those of us that were on the ground in swing states have our own ideas.

We knocked on over 80,000 doors in Florida and we kept a journal for the entire campaign. We listened carefully. We wrote it down.

And what we heard from our Republican friends was not always pretty.

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Resistance is Warranted

Macdonald Stainsby

The warrants are being drawn up, and the people are all a buzz. The seats on the buses are being reserved to converge on Ottawa, Ontario in the North-Eastern half of Turtle Island to meet American President George W Bush. People whose passport reads as Canadian-- every bit as affected by the recent election in the United States but like the rest of the planet were denied a vote-- have other means and methods to express themselves dancing in their heads now. It has been almost exactly seven years since the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation arrived in Vancouver, in what was later to come to be known as "Spraypec".

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Special Pre-Election Release: Monday, November 1, 2004

A Community Unites Against the War: Report from Scotland

Nick Tarlton |

On Saturday the 30th of October around 700 people marched through Pollock, a working class housing scheme in Glasgow, Scotland. The demo, organised by the Campaign for Justice for Gordon Gentle, demanded the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Gordon Gentle died, aged 19, in June 2004 whilst serving with the Royal Highland Fusiliers in Iraq. He joined the army when approached by recruiters whilst signing on for his unemployment benefit. He was told he would be able to learn the skills for a decent trade if he joined up. After six months basic training he was sent to his death.

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Latest Release: Friday, October 22, 2004

Palestine Takes Center Stage at the European Social Forum

Victor Kattan |

"End the oppression, end the occupation" was the rallying cry at the European Social Forum in London last weekend, where thousands of delegates from all walks of life descended on Alexandra Palace united in the belief that "another world is possible." Delegates spent three days discussing issues ranging from Palestine, Iraq and the Basque country to privatisation, animal rights and globalization.

In the Great Hall, Cubans sold Che Guevara books, badges and mugs. Communists distributed Marxist literature. Palestinians sold olive oil. Persians protested the Ayatollahs. Feminists campaigned for women's rights, greens for the environment and Iraqis for Iraq. Activists drew attention to the plight of political prisoners throughout the world, and artists protested against the war. "It's not who you are against but what you're for" declared one banner.

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Should Concordia invite Al-Qa'ida's Zarkawi?

Samer Elatrash

�Today, I feel very alone, very concerned and very sad.� With these words, Gil Troy, a tenured professor at McGill University, prefaced a commentary that was published in the National Post � that impoverished flagship of the marginalized and demoralized � decrying Concordia University's decision to bar former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak from speaking at Concordia.

Jason Portnoy, co-president of Hillel, invited Barak to lecture at Concordia. Alas, Troy wrote, the University's decision �discriminates� against Portnoy's �basic right.� Portnoy invited the famously taciturn Barak because he �wanted to stretch his education by inviting Barak to speak.� Driven by the University to the throes of ignorance, Portnoy issued an appeal for the �FREEING of free speech� in an open letter to the community.

Concordia's decision to deny Barak a venue leaves one fearing a slide �down that slippery slope of intellectual totalitarianism�, wrote Troy. Yes Sir! echoed the editorials of The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, the Montreal Gazette, and the National Post.

I should take advantage of the odd consensus that is reflected in the pages of our country's diverse media outlets, and will ask the reader to allow me this opportunity to make a proposal.

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Latest Release: Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Elections Will Not End the Fighting in Iraq

Patrick Cockburn |

American generals in Iraq triumphantly announced at the weekend that they had successfully taken over Samarra and killed 125 insurgents. They failed to mention that this is the third time they have captured this particular city on the Tigris river north of Baghdad in the past 18 months.

The campaign to eliminate the no-go areas under rebel control in Iraq is getting into full swing. Fallujah is being bombed every night and may soon be subjected to ground assault. Najaf was recaptured from Shia militiamen in August and much of the city is in ruins.

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Last Release: Tuesday, September 14, 2004

The Day We Fought the Military Recruiters and Won

Richard Moreno |

On an early campus morning at Mt. San Antonio College, I received a phone call from the local Campus Greens saying that there were some seven Marines armed with military props recruiting on our campus. At first, this was a shock since we made it a priority to exact the schedule military recruiters would be on our campus from the Student Life Services, which posts such things on our monthly campus calendar.

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Last Release: Friday, September 10, 2004

Report and Reflections on the RNC Demonstrations

Yves Engler |

Last week I took an activist-organized bus from Montreal down to the Republican National Convention protests in New York City. Surprisingly, everyone aboard was allowed to cross the border without even stepping off the bus. The only disruption was a border guard who asked, "Why on Earth would you want to protest? George Bush is the greatest president since Ronald Reagan and George Washington."

Sunday's demonstration was gigantic - 500 000 people according to organizers, at least that many by my estimation. While the numbers were huge, at points, the politics were wanting. Instead of chanting "peace now" at the front of the demonstration, I would have preferred "end the occupation" or "occupation is a crime from Iraq to Palestine." (Should we be supporting vague notions of peace during a time of occupation?) Towards the end of the march an anti- imperialist people-of-colour contingent brought some clarity to the event. Their chant, "1, we are the people, 2, a little bit louder, 3, we want justice for the third world," was something I could wholeheartedly endorse.

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Report of Starbucks' Workers Protest During RNC

Mike Schwartz |

During the week of the Republican Convention, New York City arrested over 1,800 protestors who dared to believe that the First Amendment is for real; that.s three times as many arrests as Chicago had back in '68. The courts were overwhelmed, Bloomberg set up a Guantanamo on the Hudson., and eventually a judge had to fine the city hundreds of thousands of dollars just to ensure the right of habeas corpus. At times it seemed like we were living in the shadow of a dictatorship.

Tens of millions of people watched and listened to Zel Miller, the GOP, and Bush foam at the mouth about the ever lasting freedom of America while defending the slaughter of tens of thousands across the globe. Simultaneously the real America was out in the streets where hundreds of thousands of people were singing about, marching for, and demanding a more humane world. Among the numerous protests took place in the backdrop of the convention was a small demonstration at a Starbucks on the corner of 36th and Madison, which went by relatively unnoticed but was undoubtedly one of the most important to occur.

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Last Release: Sunday, September 5, 2004

At Labor Rally, Union Voices Shake Up an Empty City Street

Michelle Chen |

New York City, September 1

A few blocks from Madison Square Garden, overlooking a hundreds of workers who had taken off early from work and taken to the streets, labor activist Reverend Scott Marks shouted, "Enough is enough. It's time-say it with me-to put Bush out!" The crowd chanted along as police looked on and television news vans parked sleepily in the shade, some half-heartedly taping the event but most just waiting for the evening's convention.

The eerily deserted streets outside the site of the Republican National Convention now echoed with the cheers of a sea of colored union t-shirts and picket signs. Police barricades could not contain the roars of the crowd as union leaders took the stage and called for a new political regime that supported America's working families.

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Last Release: Thursday, August 26, 2004

Campaign for Renters' Rights: Direct Action Saves 238 Alameda Section 8 Vouchers

Jeremy Prickett

"The Housing Authority dropped a bomb on us. They told us our housing was to be 'terminated'. They issued us vouchers for selected areas that were supposedly absorbing us. We found out that they were not. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was either fight to stay here, or be ass out- kicked out, evicted, homeless. The only logical answer for me was to fight, so that's what I did." Sheila, a single mother, who works full time in an office by day and as a student by night.

On June 5, 2004 the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda sent termination notices to 238 Section 8 Housing Assistance Program recipients. This would mean eviction when July rents came due. The federal funds for the program had been cut. For the nation's poor, the escalating cost of "War on Terrorism" would mean the terrorism of homelessness. Alphonso Jackson, the new H.U.D. Secretary, stated in a May congressional hearing, "Being poor is a state of mind, not a condition." Alameda was the first local Housing Authority to enforce this cut.

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Last Release: Thursday, August 20, 2004

Witnessing Police Brutality in Los Angeles

Josh Saxe |

I have known for a while that police brutality is commonplace in Los Angeles, but last week I witnessed an incident that really put a human face on it. I am one of the only white/middle-class people in my neighborhood (maybe the only one!-- I'd say it's 60% latino and 40% black). For those of you who know LA it's right where the 10 Freeway and La Cienaga intersect. People in the neighborhood work low wage jobs, and there is a good deal of gang activity and sometimes violence. The cops are always around, more during the summer, and lately the police helicopter comes by a couple times a week and circles around for 20 or 30 minutes. Cop cars swarm in and they try to apprehend the suspect. The other day, for example, they sealed off three blocks trying to catch a "burglar."

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The Venezuelan Referendum Comes to Montreal: Opposition Violence on the Street

Macdonald Stainsby |

Having called what was to be a fairly small picket of support for the Bolivarian Revolution on Sunday August 15, I did something I normally don't: I made up several placards for myself and several comrades to hold, making us easily identifiable to one another. There were only six: My favourite being "Chavez, NO se va!" among others. We headed for the Venezuelan Consulate after learning that each Consulate and Embassy around the world was also a polling station. Upon arrival, I was merely holding my placards and walking towards the lineup of people queued to vote. This crowd was primarily made up of wealthy and light-skinned Venezuelans who could afford to travel to a place like Montreal, so the fact that the line-up was mostly opposition supporters was of no surprise at all. Within 20 seconds I personally was surrounded, as several people began to yell, boo and hiss at me in the most ballistic fashion.

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Revolution and Education: the Opening of the Fundaci�n Peter McLaren de Pedagog�a Cr�tica at the Universidad de Tijuana, M�xico.

Mike Alexander Pozo & Peter McLaren |

On Friday July 31, 2004 a group of students, professors and administrators from Mexico, Cuba and the United States gathered at the University Of Tijuana, Mexico for the opening of a school dedicated to examining social and political issues through the practice of critical as well as revolutionary pedagogy. The school carries the name of one of the world's leading advocates for critical pedagogy and a champion for education and social justice, Dr. Peter McLaren.

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Last Release: Monday, August 16, 2004

Poems from Two Soldiers in Iraq

I never knew the man I killed
on that Arabian summer day.
I never knew the pain he felt
as his life had slipped away.
I never knew his children lost
by bullets aimed astray.
I never saw his crying wife
when she heard the news that day.

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Last Release: Thurdsay, August 05, 2004

Iraq About To Implode

Robert Fisk

Bagdhad: The war is a fraud. I'm not talking about the weapons of mass destruction that didn't exist. Nor the links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida which didn't exist. Nor all the other lies upon which we went to war. I'm talking about the new lies.

For just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America's puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told. Hundreds of attacks are made against US troops every month. But unless an American dies, we are not told. This month's death toll of Iraqis in Baghdad alone has now reached 700 - the worst month since the invasion ended. But we are not told.

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Last Release: Sunday, July 12, 2004

A Visit to Shatila

Bilal El-Amine |

On a recent visit to Lebanon where I�m from, a friend who works with Palestinian refugees arranged for a group of us to visit Shatila camp in Beirut. I had seen some of Lebanon�s camps from the outside�one boarding school I attended when I was young was close to the Ein Hilweh camp, the largest and most militant camp in Lebanon. Another, Borj el-Barajneh camp, greeted you just outside the airport on the main road, there was no avoiding it.

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Last Release: Friday, July 2, 2004

Photos: Palestinians Punished for Existing

Musa Alshaer |

Click here to view photos

Caption for first two photos:

This house belonged to Bassam Abu Akkar, an Islamic Jihad activist, from Bethlehem. Akkar was arrested on the 1st of June, and his house was blown up on June 25th. The explosion also completely demolished two adjacent apartments in the building. One cannot distinguish between the target apartment and the other two - all were demolished to the same degree. Three extended families are homeless.

Caption for second two photos:

In the path of the "isolation wall" (the term used by Palestinians when referring to the wall), one house demolished, and villagers praying on land that will be soon confiscated and destroyed.

Last Release: Saturday, June 06, 2004

Free Speech vs. Orange Jackets

Derek Medley |

Accoutered in conspicuous orange jackets, Massachusetts state police officers were deliberating their intentions while filming and pointing at the three of us as we sat quietly among the audience at this year�s Suffolk University commencement ceremony, which we were attending in order to protest the �Honorable� Governor/bigot Mitt Romney who would be speaking in a moment.

After having been allowed in carrying Socialist Worker placards reading �Separate is not equal� and �gay marriage is a civil right,� the same orange-clad cops had forced us to remove them from the grounds of Boston�s Fleet Center Pavilion. This they did without offering any explanation whatever. As we sat in defiant silence while the national anthem was sung, an older man behind us urged us to stand. Receiving no response he proceeded to inform us that we were �ignorant, rude�and stupid.� I turned and asked, �Are we ignorant and rude?� This prompted a similarly aged woman to offer a most sophisticated argument - �shut up!�

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Last Release: Sunday, May 14, 2004

Class Struggle on Campus: Victory to the Columbia University graduate strikers!

Derek Seidman |

On Thursday, May 6, over 300 striking graduate students and their supporters rallied at Columbia University, marching through campus with resounding chants and makeshift drums thumping away. The atmosphere was all the more festive with the show of solidarity by other unions, including a diverse contingent, forty strong, of TWU local 241, Columbia's Facilities Management. Chants and slogans such as "Union Now", "UAW on strike for recognition", and "The unions united will never be defeated" were complimented by creative pickets, such as "Philosophy Hall on strike-Derridians make the diff�rence". Students marched through some of the same areas and building where, only about 35 years ago, the most historic student occupations of the Sixties had taken place.

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Last Release: Sunday, May 9, 2004

Just Go...

Young Woman Blogging from Baghdad |

People are so angry. There�s no way to explain the reactions- even pro-occupation Iraqis find themselves silenced by this latest horror. I can�t explain how people feel- or even how I personally feel. Somehow, pictures of dead Iraqis are easier to bear than this grotesque show of American military technique. People would rather be dead than sexually abused and degraded by the animals running Abu Ghraib prison.

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Last Release: Wednesday, April 28, 2004

The IMF and World Bank Celebrate Sixty Years of Infamy

Benjamin Dangl |

Amid belly dancers, jugglers and heavily armed police, activists from around the world converged in Washington DC on April 24, 2004 to wish the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank a very unhappy 60th birthday. While international bureaucrats congratulated each other on one more year of "reducing poverty around the globe", a colorful array of activists in the streets protested against over half a decade of IMF and World Bank structural adjustment programs, undemocratic decision making and destructive free trade agreements.

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Last Release: Thursday, April 22, 2004

The Roots of Iraqi Rage

Khury Petersen-Smith |

Early one January morning, on a road in Jordan, Tareq drove me and two other anti-war activists from the United States toward occupied Iraq. Tareq, an Iraqi, knew enough English for the two of us to have a conversation about his life, his work, and the horrors, indignities, and frustrations of life under the US occupation. At one point, he turned to me and said, "Iraqis will not take this much longer. Maybe four or five more months, and if no change, we will-"

He struggled to find the correct English words. Then, abandoning the search, he held out his hand, palm up.

"We are here," he said.

He raised his hand, slowly at first, then quickly, flipping his palm-side down.

"We will be here."

I didn't understand at first, but after Tareq repeated the gesture several times, it became clear.

"You will rise up."

"Yes." Tareq smiled. Iraqis will rise up. Intifada.

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Last Release: Saturday, April 17, 2004

Bay Areas Grocery Workers Fight for the Future of American Healthcare

Javier Armas |

"UF-C-Double U! Safeway, we're coming through!" chanted hundreds of UFCW members and officials at a meeting held on March 14 at the ILWU Local 10 Hall in San Francisco. This meeting was the first step taken by the Bay Area UFCW locals to prepare for the coming expiration of their contracts that could lead to a strike this fall. Watching the Southern California strike and the lockout unfold last October, nine locals formed the Bay Area Coalition--the organization that engineered the March event. This UFCW meeting was attended by 400 to 1200 (depending on the observer).

The Coalition represents nearly 50,000 workers at Safeway, Albertsons, Ralphs, Cala, Raley's, Andronicos, and several other independent Bay Area stores. Eight of these locals (101, 120, 1179, 373R, 428, 648, 839 and 870) share a master contract that expires September 11, 2004. The ILWU drill team entered the meeting in marching formation unleashing a fresh energy that resonated with the hundreds of clerks and grocery workers present.

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Last Release: Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Happy Anniversary at the Oakland Docks

Ali Tonak |

Yesterday was a different kind of anniversary; the painful memory was lot more real and personal. A year ago on April 7th, a 600 person picket line formed early in the morning at the Oakland Docks to take direct action against shipments to Iraq. The picket was brutally attacked by the police using less lethal weaponry such as rubber bullets, wooden dowels, concussion grenades and beanbag rounds. 50 people were injured and some sustained huge welts that made national news. 600 people met again yesterday to go back to the docks to remake the point they made a year ago but with the specter of police brutality and repression rising tall behind them.

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Last Release: Wednesday, April 7, 2004

UT Shuttle Workers Stand Up to ATC/Vancom

Christopher Hamilton |

A combination of sixty University of Texas shuttle workers and students rallied on the campus last week to demand better pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions for the 225 drivers and mechanics in the University shuttle system, approximately half of whom are members of Amalgated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1549.

The workers have been stalemated for more than two years in a contract negotiation with Capital Metropolitan Transit Authority's subcontractor, ATC/Vancom, who is responsible for the management of labor in the University's transportation system. The workers' wages have been frozen without a single increase in three years. During that time, their health care benefits have been drastically cut in a two-part reduction. Moreover, the buses have caught on fire six times under ATC's watch, a phenomenon never before seen in the thirty year history of the University shuttle before ATC/Vancom's arrival on the scene. The drivers continue to insist that the seven thousand service hour per year cut in maintenance instituted by ATC/Vancom is not acceptable and has culminated into a dangerous deficiency with the buses' brakes. The workers are completely fed-up and it appears that a strike is impending.

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Last Release: Friday, April 2, 2004

Chasing Out Israeli Arrogance: Victory At Simon Fraser University

Macdonald Stainsby |

On March 15, 2004 Vancouver dealt a minor but important blow against racism and colonialism on Simon Fraser University campus. Mr. Ya'acov Brosh, an Israeli Consul General, was slated to give a speech to a small group of Zionists and supporters at an event held by student groups Hillel and the Israel Advocacy Committee beginning at 1:30pm.

For those of us in the audience who had never been through the daily humiliation that people in Palestine endure, we were treated to a checkpoint at the entrance door, having to open up our coats, where each person had their bags checked through by police who were there to protect the diplomat of the settler-state. Once inside, the final checkpoint was where the front row was reserved, to quote, "for Jews only".

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Report from occupied Iraq: "We don't want the Army USA"

Khuri Petersen-Smith |

From Amman, we had a 13-hour drive to Baghdad, since no commercial airlines are flying into Iraq. On the road, our driver Tareq told us of the frustration and anger that he and other Iraqis feel toward the U.S. occupation of their country. Like many other Iraqis I would meet, Tareq initially felt hopeful that the U.S. invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime would bring an end to years of war and suffering.

Since the invasion--in which one of Tareq's brothers was killed--he has become bitter and angry as the U.S. failed to reconstruct the infrastructure, bring work, provide stable access to electricity or clean water, or create any security for Iraqis. Tareq told me that he and other Iraqis "just want to live."

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Last Release: Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Anti-War Protest Reports from Youth in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Francisco

Left Hook Exclusive |

March 20, 2004, marked the first year anniversary of America's illegal war of aggression against the Iraqi people. Prior to the war, people across the globe organized and participated in the largest concurrent worldwide demonstrations ever to protest the impending travesty which has now killed thousands of Iraqi civilians and hundreds of U.S. soldiers. The anti-war position taken by millions has been proven undeniably correct in the past year, from non-existent WMDs, deception in the White House on war intelligence, resistance to occupation in Iraq, and utter lack of real post-war planning by the Bush administration. On March 20, 2004, many thousands marched again to illustrate their continued opposition to the war and the ongoing occupation. Several Left Hook contributors across the US give us their thoughts on these demonstrations.

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Last Release: Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Rural Midwesterners Stand Up to Power Monopoly

Carl Sack |

As American capitalism continues to expand and exhaust itself, it sacrifices the living conditions of more sectors of the working class and the remaining integrity of the environment. Corporate profits can be the only goal, and nothing else is sacred. But when the destructive force of capitalism collides with the lives of ordinary people, it can galvanize even the least political into solidarity and decisive action.

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Last Release: Wednesday, March 03, 2004

A Night of Inspiration: The Oakland Benefit for Grocery Strikers

Javier Armas

Sheldon Curtis, an African-American worker locked out of his Albertsons job from the Orange county area, spoke about the hardships of the strike on his family and the difficulties of paying for his house, nevertheless stressing that he believed his main obligation was to continue fighting no matter what.

The microphone was then passed to Gary, who moved the audience to tears when he spoke about a conversation he had with his son, who asked if he should drop out of college because of the financial problems that arose from the strike. Gary then started crying and said the impact of the strike has challenged his importance and social role as a father. As Gary spoke about the deep psychological effect the strike has had, he still exemplified the notion of being firm and militant about continuing the strike.

As the mic passed, a warm sensitive applause was given to Gary.

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Last Release: Wednesday, February 25, 2004

What do we want? U.S. Out!

Keith Rosenthal |

BURLINGTON, VT-Close to 75 people marched through the center of Burlington this past Sunday, February 15, despite temperatures well below zero. The protest was against the continued U.S. occupation of Iraq, and in commemoration of the 10 million-person-strong global anti-war demonstration that occurred at the same time last year.

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Last Release: Thursday, February 19, 2004

Chasing Judith Miller off the Stage

Derek Seidman |

When I heard that the New York Times correspondent Judith Miller was going to be speaking at a local campus last week, I was eager to check her out. Ever since I read Pulitzer Prize winner Samantha Power's atrocious review of Noam Chomksy's "Hegemony or Survival" in the Times book review last month, I've been increasingly on the lookout for these intellectual-defenders of an "enlightened" imperialism . Moreover, seeing Judith Miller (also a Pulitzer winner) was especially enticing, as she has been embroiled in controversy for her role in the Iraq war. (Read full)

Rally for Bus Drivers at University of Texas

Matthew Wackerle |

On February 9, disgruntled bus drivers and local activists staged a rally at the Martin Luther King, Jr. statue at UT demanding that the school's administration place pressure on its contractor to provide adequate compensation for its employees. Included amongst those giving speeches were representatives of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1549, the Campaign for a Living Wage, and the International Socialist Organization. Musicians provided rhythm to the event, singing songs calling for social justice and the old American labor hymnal "Solidarity Forever." (Read full)

Last Release: Wednesday, January 12, 2004

"We Must Be Together": Update on the Southern California Grocery Workers Strike Michael Schwartz

For over three months, shoppers and drivers in Southern California have seen them holding their picket signs. They are 70,000 supermarket workers represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and their picket lines extend hundreds of miles across the region. They are on strike against Vons/Pavilions (Safeway) and have been locked out by Ralphs (Kroger) and Albertsons. These workers are fighting three of the largest supermarket chains in the country; the financial statements of these companies show that together they earned $8.3 billion dollars in net profit in the last four years alone. (Read full)

Last Release: Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Solidarity with Montpelier Workers

Keith Rosenthal

Montpelier, VT, Dec. 6 - The citywide union drive in Montpelier, VT is heating up and coming to a head. Workers in the downtown Montpelier area started organizing with the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America (UE) this past July and have already successfully organized in several workplaces. (Read full)

Last Release: Friday, December 12, 2003

Racism at University of Texas, Austin

Matthew Wackerle

The University of Texas at Austin has had its problems with race relations. The University itself has often been on both sides of the fence in the race debate. It was not until the Sweat v. Painter ruling in 1950 that African Americans were allowed access to the University's graduate programs; but, more recently in 1996, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the UT's affirmative action program. As the Supreme Court has ruled affirmative action to be a valid means of ensuring a relative degree of ethnic diversity in public institutions of higher learning, many white Texans feel threatened by what they perceive to be "reverse discrimination." Race relations at the University of Texas itself, no doubt, have not been spotless in the last couple of years. (Read full)

Last Release: December 2, 2003

An Independent Rally for the Striking Grocery Workers

Josh Saxe

"We are engaged in a war," belted the small-framed Grace Regullano through a borrowed sound system mounted on a pickup truck. Beverly Hills sparkled under the midday sun, and Grace's audience - a couple hundred hard-pressed striking workers and ragged activists, jarred against the backdrop of an upscale Pavilions grocery store. A painted LASSO banner fluttered behind her, the translation of the acronym written below in black handwritten letters - "Los Angeles Strikers' Solidarity Organization." (Read full)

Last Release: Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Bus Riders' Strike in Los Angeles

Sergio Jimenez

On Thursday, November 13th, the Bus Riders Union organized a rally protest on the corner of 7th and Figueroa, in downtown Los Angeles, in support of the stranded bus riders and striking mechanics/ bus drivers of the ATU. The event took place at around 5:00 pm in one of the busiest intersections in Los Angeles. (Read full)

Last Release: Friday, November 21, 2003

Noam Chomsky at Columbia: After the War

Derek Seidman

I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to see Noam Chomsky speak yesterday at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. The tickets were sold out over a week ago, and it was only by persistently haggling the event's organizer that I was able to secure a spot. It was well worth the effort, as Chomsky was nothing short of brilliant. The event was dedicated to the late Edward Said, a tireless anti-imperialist and fighter for Palestinian justice, and a close friend of Chomsky's. (Read full)

Launch Release: Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Death Penalty Protest in Austin Texas

Matthew Wackerle

Hundreds gathered at a local park in Austin today to protest the death penalty in a state that leads the USA and much of the world in executions. Protestors marched to the state capital building chanting slogans such as, "You say death row, we say hell no!" as some Austin residents left the sidewalks to join the ranks that included a variety of political and religious organizations as well as relatives of inmates currently on death row who are awaiting execution. The annual march drew participants from all over Texas - particularly from the cities of Houston and, of course, Austin. (Read full article)

The LA Supermarkets on Strike

Javier Armas

Recently, 70,000 supermarket workers from three different companies in Southern California went on strike. It started when Vons/Pavilion attempted to push a new contract that sliced away at healthcare and pensions. In response the workers union, the UFCW, rejected the contract and went on strike to bargain for the same wages and benefits that existed before. (Read full article)