Madison IWW General Defense Committee Local 100

614 E Gorham, Madison, 12-2 P.M.

On Wednesday September 20th, it was discovered that the monument to the international brigades at James Madison park, installed to honor those who fought against Franco and his fascist squads in the Spanish Civil War, was desecrated by hateful symbols of mass genocide. The swastika graffiti was put up only a hundred feet from the Gates of Heaven synagogue – one of the oldest synagogues in the US. on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which is a major holiday.

Stand up and let these Nazis know that the few monuments that the left has in this country will not be attacked without a response. Let them know that we will not back down as our fellow community members are terrorized next to their places of worship and solace.

Sponsors:
International Marxist Tendency Madison
Madison General Defense Committee of the IWW
Worker’s World Party Wisconsin
Wisconsin Debate
Socialist Party Of Madison and Dane County
Madison Degenderettes
Madison Socialist Alternative, Wisconsin Bail Out The People Movement

https://wicuba.wordpress.com/

631 N 19th Street, The Coffee House, Milwaukee

Fundraiser for Cuba after Hurricane Irma.
Speakers and Entertainment TBA

Much of Cuba has been devastated by Hurricane Irma, the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in Cuba’s history. Thousands of homes, agriculture, electrical plants, the infrastructure, have been seriously damaged. The Cuban people, government, and mass organizations are working hard in the recovery efforts. Even more damaging than natural disaster is the U.S. economic blockade, which has cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars and hampers its development. Cuba is renowned for extending international solidarity to people around the world with medical workers and teachers; even as Hurricane Irma hit Cuba, Cuba was sending 750 medical personnel to other islands in the Caribbean which had been devastated by the hurricane.

It is our turn to come to Cuba’s aid!
Spononsored by Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations with Cuba

https://wicuba.wordpress.com/

https://wicuba.wordpress.com/

#StandWithHermanBell

http://notowar.net/endorse-no-to-war-2017/

Fill out the form below to endorse the national days of resistance to continuing the US war on Afghanistan. The name of your organization will appear on our list of Rndorsers with a link to your organization’s website if you check the ‘Organizational Endorsement’ checkbox and fill in the ‘Website’ field with the address of your website.

http://notowar.net/

MORATORIUM NOW! COALITION

5920 SECOND AVENUE, DETROIT, MI 48201

313-319-0870 – http://moratorium-mi.org/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 19, 2017

CONTACT:  313-319-0870

1,915 DETROIT RESIDENTS TO LOSE THEIR HOMES DUE TO OCCUPIED TAX FORECLOSURE/AUCTION IN NEXT MONTH

HARDEST HIT FUNDS AVAILABLE TO AVOID THIS CATASTROPHE AND PAY DELINQUENT TAX FORECLOSURE BILLS

In a press statement issued today, Wayne County Treasurer and Mayor Mike Duggan confirmed that 1,915 Detroit families are slated to lose their homes this October as a result of the auction of tax foreclosed homes.

These evictions are entirely preventable.  Pursuant to Michigan law, MCL 211.68m, Wayne County and/or the City of Detroit can prevent these evictions by exercising their right of first refusal to pull these homes out of the auction.

In an August 29 meeting, between the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (administrators of the Federal Hardest Hit fund) and representatives of the Coalition to Stop Unconstitutional Tax Foreclosures, MSHDA committed to submitting a request to the federal Treasury, to amend regulations for use of the federal Hardest Hit funds to allow their use to pay off the delinquent property tax bills on the homes pulled out of the auction by the City of Detroit and/or Wayne County.  MSHDA confirmed that there are $90 million in unspent Hardest Hit funds that would easily cover the approximately $8 million tax delinquencies of the 8,000 occupied tax foreclosed homes.  This would actually put money in the Wayne County and City treasuries, as tax foreclosed homes often sell at a fraction of the delinquent tax bills at auction.

Rather than bragging about “only” 1,915 families being tossed in the streets, Mayor Duggan and Treasure Sabree should take action to prevent this catastrophe.  Exercise the right of refusal to pull these homes out of the auction!  Join with us in insuring the federal Hardest Hit funds are used for their intended purpose, keeping families in their homes and preserving our communities! http://moratorium-mi.org/

Memo to MSHDA Jerome Goldberg September 18 2017

http://teamsters.nyc/2017/09/13/new-york-teamsters-become-sanctuary-union-following-deportation-union-member/

Union will not cooperate with ICE and will support immigrant members with legal services and advocacy.

Following the deportation of a long-serving Teamster member last week, Teamsters Joint Council 16 today passed a resolution to become a “sanctuary union.” As a sanctuary union, the Teamsters will not assist federal immigration agents in deporting its members and will proactively provide trainings, legal assistance, and organize support for immigrant Teamsters. Joint Council 16 and its 27 affiliate local unions represent 120,000 workers in New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and Puerto Rico.

“Our members can be confident that we stand behind them 100 percent, regardless of where they were born or what kinds of papers they have,” said George Miranda, President of Teamsters Joint Council 16. “Being a sanctuary union means we will do all that is in our power to keep our immigrant members safe and keep their families together. The Teamsters have fought against racism since our first days as a union, and this is the next step.”

The action follows last week’s deportation of Eber Garcia Vasquez, a 26-year member of Teamsters Local 813. The union had circulated petitions, organized members across the country to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for his release, and held a rally outside of ICE’s New York City office.  Despite widespread outcry, Garcia Vasquez was deported on September 6, 2017.

Under the resolution, the union pledges to not cooperate with ICE and to not collect information that could be used in immigration proceedings. The union will hold “Know Your Rights” trainings and share legal services with immigrant members. It will seek to bargain provisions to protect undocumented workers in its labor contracts with Teamster employers.

The Teamsters Union will also continue and expand its support of organizing by New York’s immigrant communities, including opposing the Muslim Ban, the border wall, and the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

“Standing up for immigrants is part of standing up for workers,” Miranda continued. “Companies will take advantage of undocumented workers to drive down wages and safety standards for everyone. Politicians will promote racial resentment in order to divide workers and weaken the working class. Unions know that workers are strongest when we are united and it’s on us to strengthen that shared compassion and solidarity.”

http://www.workers.org/2017/09/17/from-the-people-of-venezuela-to-the-people-of-the-u-s/

https://www.goiam.org/news/territories/midwest/chicago-auto-mechanics-reach-agreement-dealerships-end-seven-week-strike/

Carol Stream, IL, September 17, 2017 – Nearly 2,000 Chicago-area auto mechanics will be back at work tomorrow, bringing to a close a nearly seven-week strike against 130 new car dealerships across the city. The mechanics, represented by IAM Automobile Mechanics Local 701, ratified a new four-year deal with the Chicago New Car Dealer Committee (NCDC) Sunday.

“We did it! You did it!” said Local 701 Directing Business Representative Sam Cicinelli in his opening remarks to the members. “We wrestled them down, defending each of their moves to where they finally tapped out. They waved the white flag and capitulated to our demands.”

The newly-passed offer was the fourth since the mechanics traded in their tools for strike signs in early August. The group overwhelmingly rejected three previous proposals presented by the NCDC because of the association’s consistent failure to address several key issues brought forth by the IAM.

The terms of the final agreement mirror the same offer agreed upon by more than 70 individual dealerships who, throughout the strike, broke ranks with the dealer association and, instead, settled interim agreements with the union directly.

The contract now addresses a number of the union’s key issues, including a significant wage increase across the board and the mechanics’ number one issue of increasing their base pay two additional hours over the term of the agreement.

In addition, the contract addresses the advancement of semi-skilled workers towards a career path, shortens the apprenticeship scale from 10 to 5 years, fixes a break in seniority for a longer period if workers get hurt on the job, provides a more family-friendly work schedule for senior-level Journeymen technicians, maintains the employee contribution for health insurance, and increases tool insurance to cover up to $100,000.

“We improved on each major proposal you originally asked for with the exception of one,” said Cicinelli. “Did we get it all?  No. But we made improvements and moved in the right direction, all while giving up nothing in exchange for those items. We earned them by laying down our tools and taking a stance.”

“The NCDC denied our proposals from day one,” said Cicinelli. “They tried to break this union. They attempted every dirty trick in the book by trying to demoralize you on the line. They tried to fill you with uncertainty while blaming the union for what’s going on.

“They tried to divide you. But we divided them.”

“Congratulations to the members of IAM Automobile Mechanics Local 701, Sam Cicinelli and the entire Bargaining Committee on a job well done,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Philip J. Gruber. “You fought the good fight – and won unequivocally.

“This is what happens when we as unionized workers stick together. When we refuse to compromise our principles. When we resolve to take nothing less than what we deserve. Today you’ve shown other working Americans that we can be successful – even through the most difficult of times. When we come together, we can defeat Big Business. Your union couldn’t be more proud of you today.”

“Our members fought for justice, respect and dignity on the job and they won,” said IAM International President Bob Martinez. “This is a victory for their families and every working man and woman in the auto industry. IAM auto mechanics have shown working people around the world what unity looks like. I am so appreciative of Sam Cicinelli and the Local 701 staff.”

“Thank you for all the community support we received from residents and other labor union members throughout Chicago and the entire country,” said Cicinelli, “from the monetary donations to our health care fund to all those who dropped off food, water and words of encouragement to each of our strike lines. A special thank you to IAM Grand Lodge Representative Rick Mickschl who, on behalf of the IAM Midwest Territory, baked over 300 dozen cookies and delivered them personally to members throughout the strike.”

Local 701 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is the largest mechanics union in the United States, representing more than 6,000 highly-skilled craftsmen in the automotive industry. For more information, visit their website at www.mech701.org.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/assessing-our-role-in-the-struggle-to-defeat-corporate-racism-in-detroit/5609469

Note: This address was delivered at a Workers World Party Detroit branch public meeting held on Saturday September 16, 2017. The gathering was entitled “Topple White Supremacy Do It Like Durham.” There was a report via Facebook from the Durham WWP Branch where 14 leading comrades and allies in North Carolina are facing felony charges for demolishing a monument to the Confederacy on August 15. Other presentations were given by Comrades Jamie Smedley, Mond Jones and Martha Grevatt of WWP Detroit branch. The meeting was chaired by WWP Comrade Kelly Carmichael of Detroit. Two guest speakers from the Detroit Black Youth Project 100, Lynx and Arthur Bowman III, also spoke at the forum.

“…Therefore, the upcoming World Conference of Mayors scheduled for late October [in Detroit] should be viewed as a terrain of ideological and political struggle over the future of the city and its working and poor people. Detroit is by no means a viable model for urban revitalization in the 21st century. The real agenda of the ruling class is the further displacement, disenfranchisement and repression of the African American majority in Detroit.

We need to provide an alternative program which challenges private capital and its control over our lives. We are for self-determination and social justice. Capitalism in its present modern-day form cannot grant these demands. Consequently, our ultimate objective is the realization of a socialist society which is controlled by the working class and the oppressed.

http://www.obs-stl.org/newsevents/

The Organization for Black Struggle stands in staunch solidarity with the family of Anthony Lamar Smith. The Not Guilty verdict is salt in the wounds of the Smith family who sought real justice in the murder of their loved one.  The African American community is full of righteous rage as the ruling of Judge Timothy Wilson represents another douse of gasoline on the perpetual fire of racism and police violence against our community. OBS will not be used to quell the outrage by justice-seeking people to this verdict nor be an apologist for extreme actions by citizens.

OBS worked for over thirty years for local control of the police department to ensure we have accountability to our community. The mayor, the police chief and other city officials must understand there will not and cannot be business as usual in this city when a black life is taken.

OBS believes in non-violent protest and direct action. We also believe that our community must be focused on building alternatives to the police state. This calls for thoughtful education and strategic organizing. When we truly re-envision public safety and how to re-invest our hard-earned tax dollars, old power relationships will change and we are empowered to build something that works for us. We must be creative in our thinking and organizing, such as instituting neighborhood safety patrols, develop mediation centers and creating healing circles.

There is much work to be done as our community grieves its loss. We call for community, faith, civic and labor sectors to come together to plan effectively and to build a powerful racial justice movement in a city and a country that continues to daily engage in anti-black practices and actions. We are the people we have been waiting for.