Monthly Archives: September 2016

Milwaukee, October 6: Wisconsin Day to Reclaim Our Schools

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Be a part of history October 6th! This day of action will be the largest collective mobilization of public school supporters this nation has ever seen. We will unite with hundreds of school districts across the nation to demand publicly funded, equitable, and democratically controlled public schools.

This national action will help shift the public debate and build a national movement for strong public schools for every child.

Here in Milwaukee, we will be organizing one of two powerful actions at each school around public education funding. Each school will hold either a morning walk-in or an afternoon neighborhood walk with parents, students, community members, and educators.

These actions will help us build our movement to expose and reverse the funding inequities that exist in Wisconsin’s public schools.

Begin organizing your school community’s Oct. 6 action today! Talk with your MTEA building leaders and register at mtea.org.

For an up to date list of what schools in Wisconsin are participating click here: https://stopmpstakeover.com/2016/08/26/wisconsin-day-to-reclaim-our-schools/

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Photo: Joe Brusky

NC Public Service Workers Union-UE Local 150 statement: Solidarity with Charlotte Black community!

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Workers Power Needed to End Racist Police Murders! Organize economic and workplace actions – we need a BLACK SOLIDARITY DAY!

Demand our Employers Speak-out Against Police killings. 

No school, no shopping, no work  – We want justice now!  Black Lives Matter!

September 28, 2016

There is” A WAR ON ALL WORKERS” and particularly an on going “WAR ON BLACK AMERICA” !

The police killing of Keith Lamont Scott makes the sixth in Charlotte, NC and with Terence Crutcher, makes the 163rd killing of a Black person in the U.S. in 2016 by law enforcement.

This is not a problem of just a few bad cops, Black-Latino community relations, inadequate training by police, etc. Its the continued systematic racist repression, oppression and exploitation of Black and Brown working people in our communities, workplaces, public schools and government institutions.

As workers, we must all take a closer look at the connection between workplace and police murders/repression. The growing racism with nooses being hung at UPS , private & public service work sites…the lower pay…the lack of worker rights….lack of union and collective bargaining rights and how the big bosses use fear, retaliation and workplace repression. This is a systematic effort by the ruling 1 % and wealthy class in power to keep us in our place. They want us powerless, poor wage slaves and oppressed down.

We must see there is pain, anguish and righteous outrage as yet another Black person is murdered every day!  And working class youth are clear on what we experience every day – workplace/community exploitation, oppression and police occupation of our community.  As Black and Brown workers struggle for so called transparency, community police review boards, community subpoena power for calm, sensitivity training and body cameras for the police. We as workers struggle and call for workers’ rights as human rights, a living minimum wage of $15/hour, right to organize unions, collective bargaining rights, etc. The elite wealthy 1% in power deny us our fundamental human rights demands.

We want workplace and community democracy for working people! We want power to build better communities for working, Black and oppressed people. We deserve a better society and a better world. Police departments and all community institutions must be accountable to the communities they serve.  This can only happen if Black and working people have real power in our community, workplaces and schools.

We stand in solidarity with our Charlotte working class brothers and sisters and all communities resisting police repression.

We call upon all workers to join the union, which is an important organization of workers to push back against the city. We call upon others unions, community organizations and activists to work to end police murders and repression to unite and support the call to study the Freedom Manifesto/ An Assembly for Black Liberation, the Southern Workers Assembly or the various People’s Assemblies. All these efforts must discuss, educate and convene forums for Black, oppressed and working people to craft an agenda/ plank and programs to” END the War On Black America”….”Stop the War On Workers”!  We are joining others in the call to consider “how to move and engage even more unions, workers and Black /Brown and oppressed  people by stepping up our resistance with a One Day Mass Economic Action —A BLACK SOLIDARITY DAY lead by Black working class organizations …. no school, no shopping, no work — to demonstrate to the powers that be that we want real change NOW!

Additionally, we call upon our employers to speak-out against police killings, and call upon other workers and unions to also call upon their employers to speak out, as well.

Approved by the UE local 150, NC Public Service Workers Union Executive Board on September 28, 2016

***URGRENT ACTION NEEDED*** We demand an immediate end to repression of demonstrators in Charlotte!

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 https://charlotteuprising.com/
Call/Email CMPD, Mecklenburg County Sheriff, Mayor Roberts, Attorney General Roy Cooper, & Governor Pat McCrory
 

Jail Liaison – Karla Gary
OFFICE PHONE: 980-314-5550

EMAIL: Karla.Gary@mecklenburgcountync.gov

Public Information Manager – Anjanette Flowers Grube
OFFICE PHONE: 980-314-5170

CELL PHONE: 704-634-5072

EMAIL: Anjanette.Grube@mecklenburgcountync.gov

 

Mayor Jennifer Roberts

Phone: 704-336-2241

email: mayor@charlottenc.gov

 

Governor Pat McCrory

Phone: (919) 814-2000

Phone:(919)733-4240

email: governor.office@governor.ncmail.net

 

Attorney General Roy Cooper

Telephone: (919) 716-6400

info@roycooper.com

 

Since demonstrations began against the police murder of Keith Lamont Scott, police in Charlotte have been mass arresting protesters & legal observers, using chemical weapons, and violating their most basic rights.

 

Jamil Gill (aka King Mills), who many around the country and the world know for his on the ground livestreams from the first nights of protest, has been a particular target of police repression ever since the protests began. He was arrested and issued an outrageous bond of $320,000, which the movement fought and reduced to a still obscene amount of $162,000.

 

He was bonded out early in the day on September 28, and subsequently REARRESTED by police as he ate lunch! This is a clear attempt to intimidate and harass Gill, and an attempt by the state to silence and have a chilling effect on the rest of the movement.

 

During demonstrations on September 21, police attacked the protests and killed 26 year old Black man Justin Carr. Continuing their targeting Black and Brown people and a total lack of transparency by the CMPD, they are falsely accusing Raquan Borum for Justin’s death.

 

The police have continued to violate arrestee’s legal rights by:

  • Instructing the National Guard and police to blockade the jail (at least three times since the uprising began) to prevent the release of arrestees whose bond was paid
  • Using bogus excuses like fire drills, ‘suspicious packages,’ and even characterizing our jail solidarity team gathering at the jail as a ‘protest’ to lock down the jail for hours
  • Intentionally delaying the release of arrestees
  • Not published arrestees’ names online, impeding our ability to provide them legal support

 

We need you to call and email the jail, Charlotte and state officials and demand that they stop violating arrestees’ rights!

 

Script for call or email – 

 

“Hello –

 

My name is _______ and I am a resident of ________. Can I speak to ?

 

I am calling to demand that you stop the repression of demonstrators in Charlotte.

 

  • We demand an end to the attacks on  Jamil Gill! Stop the arrests of all protesters!
  • We demand that an independent investigation of the killing of Keith L Scott and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Dept!
  • We demand that you stop purposefully obstructing the release of arrestees!
  • We demand that all the charges against those who have been arrested are dropped!

 

Hands off #CharlotteUprising! The whole world is watching, and we won’t stop until our demands are met and the people get justice!

Police terror ignites CHARLOTTE UPRISING

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By Workers World staff posted on September 27, 2016, http://www.workers.org/

By Cathey Stanley and Alissa Ellis
Charlotte, N.C.

“We are freedom fighters and we must be in the street with our people!” With this powerful statement, Lamont Lilly kicked off the People’s Caravan from Durham to Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 24. Lilly’s statement foretold of the powerful people’s presence in the national march unfolding that day as part of the Charlotte Uprising.

Lilly is the vice presidential candidate of Workers World Party in the 2016 elections. WWP had scheduled a southern regional conference on socialism, liberation and revolution titled “Hard Times Are Fighting Times” for Sept. 24. After the struggle erupted in Charlotte, organizers decided to cancel the conference and mobilize all participants to join the Charlotte march.

Charlotte Uprising is the movement led largely by The Tribe CLT and the Charlotte Trans and Queer People of Color Collective, which jointly responded to the Sept. 20 shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Scott was a Black man with disabilities killed while waiting for his son to be dropped off from school.

Many organizations pledged support to the Charlotte Uprising and mobilized, including Charlotte SURJ, Ignite NC, Black Youth Project-Durham Chapter, Beloved Community Center, Youth Organizing Institute, Southern Vision Alliance, Durham Solidarity Center, Workers World Party, Queer People of Color Collective GSO, NC TROUBLMakers, Million Hoodies and Black University.

Scott’s murder is not the sole police killing Charlotte is rising up to protest. The CMPD has a history of killing people of color and killed only Black people during 2015, according to Charlotte Uprising. During the first night of the uprising, the CMPD killed protester Justin Carr, shooting him at close range in the midst of a peaceful protest in plain view of the marchers… http://www.workers.org/

The writers are members of the Durham, N.C., WWP branch.

Milwaukee, October 1: Rally Against Military Voucher School in Riverwest

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Education Workers, Neighbors, Parents, Students and all concerned about the future of Public Education are invited to protest the Sale of the Milwaukee Public School building at 500 East Center Street to the Right Step Military Voucher School.

• Right Step is currently under investigation by the FBI for child abuse.

• Neighbors are concerned that the small building is not fit for a school. This type of cutting corners is typical of Voucher schools that put profit before Education.

• Right Step has proposed marching students through the Riverwest Neighborhood. We say NO to military style education.

• The sale of a public building to a private voucher school is an attack on Public Education and a part of the broader Takeover plan. The dismantling of public infrastructure like our Education system is an attack on working people.

Gather at the Parking Lot of Gordon Park at 3:00pm. We will march down Center Street and Rally in front of the MPS owned building at 500 East Center Street.

Defend Public Education * No Unaccountable Profit Driven Voucher Schools * No Military Style Education

Come join friends and neighbors with noise makers, banners, signs and flags to celebrate community, and defend public education.

Download the flyer in PDF.

Milwaukee, October 8: She’s Beautfiul When She’s Angry: feminist documentary 1966-1971

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She’s Beautfiul When She’s Angry: feminist documentary 1966-1971

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry (2014) is a 92 minute documentary of feminist agitation between 1966 and 1971, it explores individuals experiences and collective struggles of people who fought against patriarchal control. On Saturday, October 8, from 2 to 4 PM we will gather to watch it together. Following the film, Wobblie and longtime activist Sue Bietila will lead a discussion, drawing on her first hand experience of this period, and the lessons for present-day struggles. This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by Milwaukee IWW

Boston School Bus Drivers, USW Local 8751: Resolution in Solidarity with Standing Rock

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8751-standing-rock-solidarity-resolution-9-22-2016

“…Be it therefore resolved that the Boston School Bus Drivers Union, USW Local 8751, pledges our wholehearted solidarity to the resistance at Standing Rock;
Be it further resolved that we call on President Obama to permanently halt construction on the DAPL immediately;
Be it further resolved that Local 8751 will forward this resolution to President Trumka, urging that AFL-CIO pledge full labor solidarity to this just struggle and pledge the vast human and material resources of the AFL-CIO towards assisting the occupation at Standing Rock;
Be it further resolved that USW Local 8751 send $1,000 to the Red Warrior Camp at Standing Rock in the spirit of “Solidarity Forever!”.
Passed unanimously by the membership at USW Local 8751 meeting at the Boston Teachers’ Union hall on September 22, 2016.

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Support the Charlotte People’s Rebellion & Resistance

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http://charlotteuprising.com/

https://www.facebook.com/charlotteuprising

Charlotte Uprising is a coalition of community members, local and state organizers committed to ensuring the safety of our communities, and advocating for police accountability, transparency and social and economic equity.

We have been organizing for justice for Keith Scott who was murdered by CMPD as well as all who have experienced brutality at the hands of CMPD. We know that this is not an isolated incident and that in Charlotte, like in much of the country, Black people are being killed at alarming rates.

We are planning a series of events this week to build community and bring folks together to create a vision for change.

There is a community meeting Sept. 27 at Piedmont Unitarian Universalists Church from 6pm-9pm where we’ll share what we’ve been working on and how you could get plugged in. Charlotte Uprising Community Meeting Will you join us?

Also:

FREEDOM FIGHTER BOND FUND: http://durhamsolidaritycenter.org/bondfund/

DONATE FOR NEEDED SUPPLIES: https://southernvision.org/

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Charlotte, NC September 24, 2016

Durham Solidarity Center: Freedom Fighter Bond Fund on our work at the Charlotte protests

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An update from the Durham Solidarity Center
Freedom Fighter Bond Fund on our work at the Charlotte protests

Thank you for your support.
Here’s what’s happening in Charlotte:
Five people from our fund have been in Charlotte this week coordinating legal solidarity work. We have also brought on two local organizers to bottom-line an onsite legal team and secured a space for a legal office. Significant help on the ground is coming from the Black Movement Law Project, Tribe Charlotte, and the Charlotte Queer/Trans People of Color Coalition.
Charlotte has been under curfew and military occupation since Thursday, September 22nd. Law enforcement have shut down the jail 3 times since Friday, not allowing people to leave even when their bonds are paid. There was a heavy security presence in downtown today due to an NFL game, and soldiers are guarding other sites around the clock including banks & hotels. There have been regular incidents of the use of chemical weapons against demonstrations. There are also reports of the KKK mobilizing to oppose demonstrators.

In spite of this repression, thousands of demonstrators have rallied in Charlotte every day and night since Keith Scott was killed (9/20) and many are openly defying the curfew. One protester has been killed and though a civilian has been charged in the case, there are many eyewitness accounts that he was shot in the head with a rubber bullet by the police. Another protester was run over by police in a 4-wheeler, then arrested along with a person who caught the incident on film.
We are in desperate need of help on the ground from people trained in legal support and medics. Legal solidarity training is taking place daily at 11:30am at Mission Gathering. If you are available, please come get trained!
If you know someone in Charlotte who needs legal support, our legal team can be reached at our jail support hotline: 704-769-0243.
There is a new website available – http://www.charlotteuprising.com/ – with an official statement, petition to sign, lists of demonstrators’ demands, and links for donations. Our website is at durhamsolidaritycenter.org/bondfund. please share with your networks!

Thank you again for your support and we will do the best we can to keep everyone up to date on our work as events unfold.

In solidarity,
Freedom Fighter Bond Fund

Also, more information from Charlotte Uprising: http://charlotteuprising.com/

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Charlotte, NC September 24, 2016