Texas Labor Against the War

(TxLAW note:  U.S. Labor Against the War played an active role in this conference, partnering with Iraqi union reps in a workshop on what’s going on in the Iraqi labor movement and its struggles with the Iraqi government.  Check out labourstart.org.)

Online Activists Gather from Around Globe to Jumpstart Labor Movement

By Stuart Elliott, from In These Times, July 13, 2010

Benedicto Martinez Orozco marches in support of McMaster University workers during the LabourStart conference, held from July 9 to 11 in Ontario, Canada.   (Photo by Stuart Elliott)

More than 200 people from 28 countries attend LabourStart’s first public conference

HAMILTON, ONTARIO—Sometimes it’s hard to understand the importance of an event or an organization when you’re involved in it. As a volunteer correspondent for LabourStart.org and a participant in its “Act Now”  campaigns, I obviously think LabourStart an important project. But I really didn’t really comprehend its potential until I attended the first public LabourStart conference at McMaster University’s School of Labour Studies in Hamilton, Ontario.

“As unions confront a 21st century global capitalism, which is imposing a race to the bottom to union-free environments, unions must use new technologies to create a new labor internationalism,” said Eric Lee, founding editor of Labour Start. “The mission of LabourStart is to promote those technologies and to practice a consistent internationalism.”

LabourStart is an international labor news and campaigning site, run on a shoestring and powered by nearly 800 volunteer correspondents. Every day  the site publishes links to labor news in 23 different languages, and its news feeds appear on more than 800 union websites. It conducts e-mail campaigns in eight different languages.

There was some trepidation among LabourStart leaders about whether an Internet-based, low budget union news and campaigning site could attract an audience of union activists oustide its most committed corespondents. Particularly since, unlike the recently concluded ICTU conference, this was not a delegated meeting.

But the conference was able to attract over 200 participants from more than 28 countries. Attendees ranged from presidents of national unions, to representatives of Global Union Federations, to local union officers, to staffers, to grassroots activists.

Adam Lee of United Steelworkers International thanked LabourStart for its “tremendously effective” campaign on behalf of Vale nickel miners strikers, who settled a year-long strike just days before the conference began. On the first morning of the strike, which began in July 2009, more than 1,000 emails were sent to the Brazil-based multinational company. Two-thirds were from outside Canada, in eight languages from 80 countries, Lee said, It provided a “real boost” to the workers. And Brazilian workers for Vale were able to win a better than expected contract because the company didn’t want to take on two international campaigns at the same time.

Robin Alexander, director of international affairs for the United Electrical workers union, said that when she got an appeal from workers at PEMEX, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, the first place she turned for help was LabourStart.

As Lennon Ying-Dah Wong, a union leader from Taiwan, spoke on a panel about China, I loooked to my left and saw Benedicto Martinez Orozco, co-president of the Frente Auténtico del Trabajo. Michael Eisenscher of US Labor Against the War, Amjad Ali of the General Union of Oil Employees in Basra (Iraq), and Erin Radford of the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center spoke on a panel about unions in Iraq. Other panels were devoted to Mexico, Eastern Europe, and Iran.

Unfortunately, some people were unable to attend the conference—but the reasons why are enlightening. A leader of Bangladeshi textile workers union canceled his visit because of a monumental campaign in his home country—more than 50,000 workers there are on strike, protesting the lowest wages in the textile industry.

Representatives of independent unions in Egypt and Algeria were, at the last moment, denied visas by Canada. (AFL-CIO Solidarity Center representatives  ably filled in at a workshop on the revival of unions in those countries.) The ham-handness of Canadian authorities may backire. Derek Blackadder, national representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said that there was so much outrage at the exclusion of the Egyptian and Algerian unionists and so much excitement about their pioneering work that Canadian unionists will be exploring ongoing solidarity work on their behalf.

Of course, connecting disparate unionists, spread across different levels of different unions, to unite in international solidarity is no easy task. But LabourStart’s global network of 800 correspondents and 70,000 Act Now e-mail activists will continue to be a part of that effort, which must be a central component of the future of the labor movement.

The recent IVAW National Convention in Austin, and additional events in Killeen were a big success! IVAW kicked off its convention in style with a protest at the gates of Fort Hood.  But that was just the beginning.  On Friday, after a great day of meetings, discussions and presentations, an appreciation dinner was held at 5604 Manor.  Veterans and supporters had an opportunity to talk and enjoy a great meal together.  Last, but certainly not least, IVAW members returned to Under the Hood Saturday night for a barbecue, concert and fundraiser.  The concert was originally scheduled at a venue in Harker Heights, but after the venue management cancelled the event, Under the Hood offered to step in as the new concert location.  The evening was a big success.  Under the Hood would like to take this opportunity to thank IVAW and everyone at the concert who made donations so that we can continue our important work to support soldiers and veterans!

Under the Hood needs YOUR assistance now!  This is a critical time and we can’t keep our doors open without your ongoing support. Please consider signing up for a recurring donation today. If you believe in the work we do at Under the Hood, show us your support by considering a monthly donation.  As little as $10.00 a month can go a long way toward making Under the Hood sustainable.   Two hundred supporters contributing $10 a month will help us ensure that we can continue to provide these important services.  It’s easy to become a sustainer through PayPal.  The first 100 supporters to sign up for a sustaining donation will receive their choice of a poster or 12 oz. bag of Under the Hood coffee!   We would like to thank our most recent UtH supporters. A special thanks to our newest sustaining donors. Two months into this campaign, we have 38 sustaining donors toward our goal of 200!   We would also like to again thank IVAW for their recent donation and support.    The Fort Hood Support Network (FHSN) operates Under the Hood Café and Outreach Center.  FHSN is a Texas non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Donations may be treated as tax-deductible.

Under the Hood has an update regarding the military spouses who recently contacted us for assistance. Last month we told you about a group of military spouses who were seeking assistance in speaking out against combat training for soldiers with no-deployment profiles.  Dahr Jamail’s interview and subsequent press that the spouses received seems to have had some positive impact.    Immediately following the release of Dahr Jamail’s article on multiple national websites, the Fort Hood Sentinal published a news release entitled “Policy changes affect Soldier deployability, readiness; regulatory guidance provided”.  Additionally, according to the spouses who spoke out, four of the soldiers deemed non-deployable were notified that they would have a Medical Evaluation Board initiated and one was informed that he would be chaptered out.         (Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: AfghanistanMatters, assbach)

Check out the new ResiStore! Now you can purchase great items and support Under the Hood at the same time. Check it out here.      Under the Hood Update is on Facebook. Become a fan! You can find archived issues and connect with other fans of Under the Hood.  Visit our Facebook page by clicking here.

P.O. Box 16174 | Austin, TX 78761-6174 US

Peace Camp is a day camp, 9:00am until 3:00pm, for children ages K through 5th grade. Peace camp is going into its 11th year. For the last seven years we have been holding camp at the Cameron Retreat Center on the grounds of the Dominican Properties at Holcombe near Almeda. Peace Camp is not religious and welcomes all children. Camp has usually taken place in July after summer school.

IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR CONVENTION KICK-OFF
Friday, July 9, 7pm, 5604 Manor Road

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is holding its 2010 national
convention July 9-11 in Austin, and supporters of IVAW will have a chance
for informal discussion and socializing with the group’s members. Tickets
for the event, which will include a buffet catered by Mamas of Color
Rising, will be $15 at the door. In addition to an awards presentation,
the evening will feature a talk by Antonia Juhasz, director of the Chevron
Program at Global Exchange and author The Tyranny of Oil: the World’s Most
Powerful Industry, and What We Must Do To Stop It. Juhasz is a member of
the advisory board of IVAW. The panels and workshops for the IVAW
convention will be on Saturday, July 10, at Huston-Tillotson University,
900 Chicon St. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is a national
membership organization of veterans and active duty troops who have served in the “Global War on Terror” since September 11, 2001. Founded in 2004 by nine Iraq veterans, IVAW is now made up of 65 chapters comprised of close to 2,000 members, including chapters on military bases. IVAW is building a national GI and veterans’ resistance movement to 1) end the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2) attain quality health care and other benefits for returning troops, and 3) win reparations to rebuild a sovereign Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information visit the IVAW website.

http://www.ivaw.org

War Resister Speaks Out on Afghanistan and showing of film “Rethink Afghanistan”

Date: Friday, July 2nd
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: 5604 Manor Road, Austin, TX 78723 (http://5604manor. org/)
Admission: $10 donation recommended (*)

Victor Agosto will speak on his refusal to deploy to Afghanistan and other experiences as a war resister while stationed at Ft. Hood. He will also discuss his experiences at “Under the Hood” Café & Outreach Center (www.underthehoodcafe.org).

Victor is on the boards of both Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and “Under the Hood” Café & Outreach Center

After Mr. Agosto’s presentation, the film “Rethink Afghanistan” will be shown in its’ entirety. This film has been highly praised by Michael Moore, Oliver Stone and Arianna Huffington.

(*) All donations benefit “Under the Hood” Café & Outreach Center which is a Texas non-profit corporation with 501 c (3) tax-exempt status. Donations may be treated as tax deductible.

–from Heidi Turpin of CodePink Austin

At Under the Hood, Memorial Day 2010 was a day to remember two friends who were mainstays of the Texas peace community. Nick Travis III, 55, passed away suddenly early Monday morning, May 24, in Austin. Lisa Morris, 28, passed away unexpectedly the next day in Copperas Cove.  Nick, a long-time peace activist, was known to show up at Under the Hood with his guitar and infectious smile.  People couldn’t help but be a little happier with Nick around.  Lisa, a regular at Under the Hood, always made sure to stand in protest with fellow soldiers, veterans and family members at the gates of Fort Hood.  She leaves behind many friends.  Both will be missed dearly.  Our work continues on in their memory.

Under the Hood needs YOUR support now!  This is a critical time and we won’t be able to keep our doors open without your sustaining donation. Please consider signing up for a recurring donation today. If you believe in the work we do at Under the Hood, show us your support by considering a monthly donation.  As little as $10.00 a month can go a long way toward making Under the Hood sustainable.   Two hundred supporters contributing $10 a month will help us ensure that we can continue to provide these important services.  It’s easy to become a sustainer through PayPal.  The first 100 supporters to sign up for a sustaining donation will receive their choice of a poster or 12 oz. bag of Under the Hood coffee!

We would like to thank our most recent UtH supporters. A special thanks to our newest sustaining donors.We now have 16 sustaining donors toward our goal of 200!   We also want to thank Lee & Hardy Loe and Sue & Walter Long for their generosity.  Because of these two families, we had two very successful fundraisers in Houston and Austin in May.  We are also very grateful for a $1,000 grant from the Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia in Seattle, Washington.

The Fort Hood Support Network (FHSN) operates Under the Hood Café and Outreach Center.  FHSN is a Texas non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Donations may be treated as tax-deductible.

Under the Hood has had a steady stream of soldiers reaching out to us for support. For the first time, however, a group of military spouses recently contacted Under the Hood for assistance. As the U.S. heads into its tenth year of combat in Afghanistan and continued combat missions in Iraq, the number of soldiers facing multiple redeployments and resulting physical and mental health problems is reaching unprecedented levels. Soldiers and families are increasingly finding that the Army is doing little to address these and other health issues soldiers face. In fact, right here in Fort Hood, the Army is violating its own regulations by training soldiers for deployment despite their non-deployable status.

RISE TOGETHER: IVAW national convention is coming to Austin July 8 – 11, 2010. IVAW and Under the Hood mutually support each other’s efforts to end the war, one soldier at a time!  We look forward to seeing many of our IVAW brothers and sisters this July.  For more information about the IVAW convention, check it out here.

Or visit Under the Hood on the web at

5/30/10, Amjad Ali

A demonstration that began May 7 in Basra intensified today with new threats upon the workers and union leaders being relocated 1000 km from their jobs.

Dock workers rally in Basra (ITF photo)

In response to a call made by the leaders of the general union of harbor workers in Basra (an affiliate union with the General Federation of Worker Councils and Unions in Iraq) hundreds of employees of the Iraqi Harbor Corporation walked off the job on May 7, 2010, demanding better wages and living conditions.
Immediately after being informed, Iraqi Harbor Corporation director sought aid from U.S. troops who quickly arrived and formed a parameter on scene to protect the director, and sent Iraqi troops to surround and intimidate the demonstrators.
In a strange reaction, the mayor of Basra asked to meet union leaders Hirman Kaghim, Ali Khuthayer Abbas and Kadhim Kareem, and told them that they are implementing a foreign agenda and threatened to arrest them if they insist on their demands and continue the demonstration.
The leaders, however, denied links to any agenda except the interests of workers and vowed to continue the strike. In the meantime, the head of the troops asked to meet with union leaders instead of the corporate director, but the leaders rejected his request stating that he has nothing to do with the workers. This stance lead the mayor to back down from his threats. The mayor promised to hold a negotiation in the presence of the director of the corporation who in turn did not attend the meeting that was scheduled for May 28, 2010.
On May 29, 2010, the union leaders met with the director of Iraqi Harbor Corporation who threatened the delegates and vowed them ill fate should they continue. The delegates were ordered relocated to the Iraqi Railroad Corporation in Mosul (1000 km north of Basra).

We extend a plea to all federations and unions around the world to support our delegates in their struggle.

Amjad Ali
General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq
www.workerstoday.com
phone# 1-416-264-1131

Basra: Workers at the South Refineries Company protest Feb. 18 2010. (STAFF/Iraq Oil Report)

Picture–Another case where the government transferred 5 union leaders from Basra to Baghdad.  Refinery workers were demanding bonuses due to them since 2007.

Most of you know about the U.S. Social Forum this year.  Many people from San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and other Texas cities are going.  Some are presenting workshops. USSF’s website is http://www.ussf2010.org/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1828946493&v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=111695722194402&index=1

U.S. Labor Against the War is sponsoring 2 workshops:  “Building solidarity with working people and unions in Iraq and other U.S. war zones” (Thurs., 6/24, 1 – 3 pm) and “Talking to workers and unions about war, military spending and U.S. foreign policy” (Friday, 6/25, 10 am – 12 noon).

Here’s a small excerpt from the USSF’s statement of beliefs:

TxLAW note:  British Petroleum (Biggest Polluter) around the world–is also one of the oil giants trying to take over control of Iraq’s oil reserves: http://txlaboragainstwar.org/wp-content/uploads/stop_pamphlet.pdf

CodePink demonstrators at BP headquarters in Houston, May 24, 2010. Photos from CodePink / Flickr.

Naked truth:
Exposing BP’s criminal behavior

By Medea Benjamin / May 27, 2010

HOUSTON — Diane Wilson, a fourth generation shrimper from the Texas Gulf and a founder of CODEPINK, has been watching the BP spill and the botched clean-up with a mixture of dread and anger. After all, it’s her livelihood and that of her community that’s at stake.

“I’ve lived all my life in the Gulf Coast, in the oil, chemical, and gas hellhole we call an energy corridor,” said Diane Wilson with her Texas twang. “I’ve been fightin’ these polluters for 21 years. But this BP spill is the nail in the coffin of the people who make their living along the Gulf Coast. This is our 9/11 in slow motion.”

Diane has been incensed by the cavalier attitude of BP CEO Tony Hayward, who said that the largest oil spill in U.S. history is a tiny speck in the vast ocean. “He had the nerve to say that those miles upon miles of underwater oil plumes that stretch to who knows where and do who knows what to the fisheries, the ecosystem, and Gulf of Mexico for possibly generations, is really going to have a ‘very, very modest impact.’ Sittin’ there listening to BP’s lies made my blood boil,” Diane fumed. “I realized I better get off my butt and do somethin’ about it.”

This 61-year-old grandmother of five is all about action. To protest chemical companies polluting her bay, in 2002 Diane climbed a chemical tower, chained herself to it and then did a 30-day water-only hunger strike. As a CODEPINK co-founder who tried to stop the invasion of Iraq in 2003, an invasion she knew was all about oil, Diane got arrested confronting Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld at a Congressional hearing. Then she scaled and tied herself to the White House fence (and almost got shot by a sniper). She even traveled to Iraq when the U.S. military was about to attack, putting herself forward as a human shield.

So Diane put out a call for people to join her in Houston on Monday, May 24, to protest at the BP headquarters. Looking for a creative way to expose the company’s criminal behavior (and entice the media, who rarely cover protests in Texas), Diane was inspired by the example of a group of women from Nigeria who took over a Chevron oil rig and threatened to strip naked if the company didn’t hire more local workers and invest in the community. Faced with just the threat of nudity, Chevron gave in.

“If the Nigerian women could use their bodies on the Niger Delta, why can’t we do it in downtown Houston?” Diane reasoned.

Diane doesn’t take nudity lightly. She didn’t grow up in a hippie commune, but in a fundamentalist Pentecostal family in rural Texas.

I was taught that flesh is sinful, it’s the devil. I was so modest that if my sister said the word ‘bra’, I would climb under the table. I was horrified by anything intimate. So for me, using nudity to expose the truth about BP was WAY outside my comfort zone. But I realized that it’s the destruction of our ecosystem by corporate greed that’s obscene, not a woman’s body.

To prepare for the action, Diane got 100 pounds of fish from her fishing buddies, old fishing nets to drag the dead fish and fake oil to dump on them. She and one of her daughters made beautiful signs saying “Expose BP” and “The Naked Truth about Drill, Baby, Drill” and put them on big sandwich boards. “You could say we was cheatin’ because we decided to use sandwich boards to cover our private parts, but that’s about as nude as those of us from Texas can get,” laughed Diane. “We’ll leave the full-on nudity to the women from California.”

The action was superb. About 100 people showed up from all over Texas and six other states — including California. Some people wore pasties that said “No BP,” some dressed as fishermen, oily birds, and fish. Diane put on her white rubber fishing boots, smeared herself with oil and wore a sandwich board that read “Expose BP’s Obscene Side.”

Two imposter oil workers in BP uniforms doused the group with fake oil, causing the birds and fish to recoil and die on the sidewalk. The police and BP security stood by watching, as nice as could be. It was obvious that BP higher ups had the good sense to tell them that arresting protesters would not help their image.

The group was having fun mocking BP, but when Diane took the megaphone to speak, the tone changed. “I am here because I’m outraged,” she said, her voice shaking. “My family has lived on this gulf for 100 years, we’ve been fishing these waters for generations and now we’re seeing it decimated. All we’re getting from BP is lies. We’re not getting any answers from the government. That’s why people have to hit the streets to demand solutions.”

After the action, I sat down with Diane to hear her solutions and ideas for future actions. “BP should be shaken down like a rotten fig tree,” she said.

The government should seize their profits and use them for the clean up and then to invest in clean energy. We should shame those senators who want to stop the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act legislation that would raise oil companies’ liability from a pitiful $75 million to $10 billion. And we should demand that our government stop offshore drilling. No new permits, period. We have to seize this moment to move our country away from fossil fuels that are responsible for environmental devastation and wars.

CODEPINK has asked supporters to email letters to Senator Murkowski, asking her to stop blocking the Big Bailout Prevention Act. It’s time to protect the fishermen, the coastal residents and the wildlife, not the corporation at fault for the disaster.

But for Diane, sending emails is not enough. She is calling on people throughout the country to boycott BP — not just passively, but by getting out to BP gas stations to protest and educate their communities on the company and the catastrophe. CODEPINK supports her call to action and is providing resources for action on our website. We’ll also be bringing Diane to Washington, DC, to confront Congress, the White House Administration, and BP executives with the crude awakening about Big Oil.

“Pass out fliers to drivers. Ride your bikes around the stations. Get creative. Hey, maybe you even want to do your own nude protest,” she grins. “Expose BP. Expose that Drill, Baby, Drill means Spill, Baby, Spill. After all, what’s at stake is nothing less than our planet. And that’s the naked truth.”

[International peace activist Medea Benjamin was a founder of CODEPINK.]

Thanks to Fran Hanlon

For lots more photos, see the Rag Blog:

http://theragblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/medea-benjamin-getting-naked-in-houston.html

See also CODEPINK: Women for Peace at http://www.codepinkalert.org/

and CODEPINK Austin at http://www.codepinkaustin.com/