transportation workers

By anonymous - Freedom, January 15, 2017

Freedom has received the following, written by an anonymous railway worker with the RMT union

At the beginning of this year the RMT elected Andy Littlechild (pictured right), a longstanding anarchist and member of the Solidarity Federation (Solfed), to the RMT union’s National Executive Council as its London transport representative.

The role, which lasts for three years, takes responsibility for the entire battlezone of London Underground including trains, stations, engineers, all ancillary staff and contracted companies, along with Transport for London, Docklands Light Railway, Black Cabs and even Boris Bikes.

Andy, who’s worked for many years as a Tube track worker and union rep, stood unopposed for the position and was duly elected after receiving nominations from every RMT branch in the constituency. His unopposed win was generally linked to Andy’s perceived militancy and non-sectarian approach to organising, which endeared him to RMT’s London activist base and gave him a clear run.

Being elected in this way is not without its downside as it meant there was no election involving the members; and is equally controversial given a general trend of anarchist disdain for full-time union positions, not least within SolFed itself, which bars full-time union officers from membership.

Ed’s note: SolFed, and other anarchist groups, see trade union bureaucracy as taking agency out of the hands of workers and transferring it to people who are not at the site of, or affected by, the struggle taking place. The full-timer’s wages and community ties are linked to a national-level body removed from direct struggle, and their role is therefore based on what’s best for the institution, rather than the workers.
(For more on SolFed and anarcho-syndicalist thinking, try Fighting For Ourselves online|book)

Whether Andy’s decision to engage with the RMT’s executive will be productive or not is yet to be seen. The test will be in how and whether he manages to preserve his class-based anarchist politics in practice against the relentless industrial and political warfare in London, especially on the Tube where he has walked straight into the bitter, escalating dispute and strike activity around staffing stations, as well as several smaller skirmishes which are developing there as I write — and how Andy preserves his politics likewise in his dealings within the hierarchy of the RMT.

One thing we can say is only the RMT would put a known anarchist in charge of London.

Edit: There is one other union which has elected an openly anarchist member to a major position in recent times — Donnacha DeLong was president of the National Union of Journalists from 2011-12 and still sits on its NEC.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, May 31, 2016

A special supplement to Eco Unionist News #106:

• French unions threaten to disrupt Euro 2016 with strikes - By Kim Willsher, The Guardian, May 29, 2016
• France General Strike 2016 - By staff, A-Revolt, May 27, 2016
• France In Blackout As Strikes Cause Total Chaos - By Sean Adl-Tabatabai, Your News Wire, May 27, 2016
• Protests Intensify, Spread Across France as Workers Refuse Submission - By Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, May 26, 2016
• Scuffles and smoke bombs as protesters step up fight against French labour bill - By Associated Press, The Guardian, May 26, 2016
• Thousands of French Port Workers Protest Labor Reforms in Le Havre - By staff, Sputnik News, May 26, 2016
• French government seeks to crush strikes against labor law - By Alex Lantier, World Socialist Website, May 25, 2016
• French unions to switch protests to electricity supplies - By staff, The Local, May 25, 2016
• France set to grind to a halt as strikes spark fuel shortages and air and rail blockages - By Henry Samuel, The Telegraph, May 24, 2016
• French labour dispute: Strike hits all eight oil refineries - By staff, BBC, May 24, 2016
• French strike hits refinery output in labour reform showdown - By Marc Leras and Brian Love, Street Insider, May 24, 2016
• Strike hits French oil refineries as police break up Marseille picket - By Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, May 24, 2016
• What stirred the stormy seas in France? - By Léon Crémieux, Socialist Worker, May 24, 2016; [related]: Strong headwinds are making France a stormy sea - By Léon Crémieux, International Viewpoint, May 24, 2016
• French Labour Law: The decisive battle has begun! - By Jerôme Metellus, In Defense of Marxism, May 23, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

By ReelNews - YouTube, August 10, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

Don't believe the lies from London Undeground management - this strike is about safety and work-life balance, as all four tube unions take unprecedented joint action against the imposition of night tube shifts which will endanger passengers and drastically reduce the time workers can spend with their family and friends.

By Paul Le Blanc and Jonah McAllister-Erickson - Socialist Worker, August 5, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The authors of this article are long-time members of Pittsburghers for Public Transit; views expressed here are not necessarily those of the organization as a whole.

SINCE PORT Authority of Allegheny County (PAAC) cut 15 percent of its service, residents of Baldwin, Mooncrest and Groveton--working-class suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania--had to walk two miles, over roads with no sidewalks, just to catch the bus.

But on September 8, Baldwin residents active in the struggle of "Buses for Baldwin" and Groveton residents who pushed for service in their county housing authority will be riding the first restored buses, celebrating the sweetness of the victory.

The battle for public transit has been often been an uphill struggle under both Democratic and Republican administrations at the city, county, state and federal levels. Lessons from the Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) campaigns might be useful for others struggling for economic justice today and tomorrow.

Amalgamated Transit Union President Larry Hanley has pointed to Pittsburghers for Public Transit as a model for those defending public transit throughout the country, especially for the ways the organization unites transit riders and workers in its campaigns.

Since the 1980s, business interests and the right wing have crusaded for even more aggressive policies of laissez-faire capitalism (sometimes called neoliberalism). Public services--won over the years through struggles by working people--have been the target of late. Their successful efforts have cut funding for public transit systems, public education, public housing, public parks and libraries, the public postal service and more.

This, combined with a push to lower taxes for the rich and stagnant or diminished wages of working people, resulted in a shrinking tax base that often made public services shabby and inadequate. Right-wing ideologues create the problem, then insist that "privatization" and "market mechanisms" are the solution. But this makes things worse--capitalism functions not to meet the needs of the majority of people, but to maximize profits for private business owners.

The Pittsburgh Port Authority, in consultation with an "economizing" Democratic County executive, Dan Onorato, had already made severe cuts in 2007, and in 2010 approved a new 15 percent cut in service. In autumn 2010, Tom Corbett, a conservative Republican candidate promising pro-business tax cuts and budget tightening, ran for governor of Pennsylvania. His Democratic opponent was the very same Allegheny County executive who had twice cut public transit service. The Republican won.

In January 2011, budget proposals by Gov. Corbett projected an additional 35 percent cut in Pittsburgh's transit service. Right-wing elements argued that transit workers had been too greedy, that public transit was inefficient and unsustainable, and that privatization would provide a solution.

Announcement - Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, August 7, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The Japanese Abe government is working to crush all political opposition. It is reopening NUKE plants such as the Sendai nuclear plant, passing secrecy laws and also is attacking labor and all working people with economic attacks and increased repression. Doro-Chiba is a militant railway union based in Chiba,, Japan that has been fighting privatization of Japan rail for decades, opposing nuclear power and also linking up with Korean workers including the Korean Railway Workers Union who had a national strike against privatization of the Korea Rail.

The US government and US politicians both Democrat and Republicans are pushing for militarization of Japan and the elimination of clause 9 which prohibits offensive wars. Despite mass opposition of the people of Japan the government continues to push ahead with reaming, selling weapons to other countries and towards war with China and other countries of Asia. The revision of Japanese textbooks to censor the role of the sex slaves by the Japanese government and military during the 2nd WW is part and parcel of encouraging nationalism and a racist campaign against the people of other countries in Asia.
This delegate of the Doro-Chiba International Support Committee will report on the struggle of the railway workers, the fight against nuclear power and against a new imperialist war in Asia.

The need for US railway and transportation workers as well as all working people to oppose the opening of Japan’s 48 nuclear plants, the continued attacks on Japanese workers and war in Asia is critical. The working people have the power to halt these growing threats.

Sponsored by Transport Workers Solidarity Committee and United Public Workers for Action.

Reposted by Karetelnik - Libcom.Org, July 31, 2015; original in Spanish at Notas

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

Bus drivers of the #60 line of Buenos Aires, which includes 10 popular bus routes, carried out a protest action on July 27 2015, disrupting traffic on a number of arterial roads. Helping the drivers to block roads were workers acting in solidarity, including activists of the FORA (Argentine section of the IWA-AIT). The picket on the Pan-American Highway at the intersection of Highway #197 was brutally dispersed by the National Police, injuring at least 18 people.

Workers of the #60 bus line have been fighting for more than a month with the company owner. They had previously announced that they were going to block the La Noria Bridge and the Pan-American Highway at General Pacheco (a city in Buenos Aires province). The first picket was held without major incidents, but the second, in the northern part of the capital region, was met with repression by the police.

The forces of “order” attacked the protesters around 7:20 a.m., and the drivers answered with a hail of rocks. Three workers were arrested. At least 18 people were injured, including journalists.

Around 10:00 a.m., the scene was repeated at the La Noria Bridge. The police used tear gas and rubber bullets, while the workers defended themselves with whatever they could get their hands on.

One of the workers’ delegates, Santiago Menconi, explained that the protest was held because “currently there is no dialogue” with the company and the Ministry of Labour. “Fifty-three comrades are still fired.” He demanded a signed agreement on working conditions and the rights of workers’ delegates, and also payment to the workers for all idle time since the beginning of the conflict.

The protesters blamed the clashes on the police and demanded the immediate release of three persons who were arrested.

The conflict began on June 25 2015, when the drivers, as a sign of protest, stopped collecting fares from the 250,000 passengers who use the #60 line everyday. They demanded the re-instatement of Ariel Alejandro Benítez, fired the day before without any explanation.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 4, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Beyond Extinction: Transition to post-capitalism is inevitable (A response to Margaret Atwood's, It’s Not Climate Change It’s Everything Change) - By Nafeez Ahmed, Medium.Com, July 28, 2015
• The Hurricane Katrina Pain Index: 10 Years Later - By Bill Quigley, Portside, July 20, 2015

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flood the System - Fall 2015: Flood, blockade, occupy and shut down the systems that jeopardize our future! | #FloodTheSystem
• People’s Climate Strike - November 26 - December 12, 2015
• Railcon15 - Chicago, Illinois Saturday, September 19, 2015 | #Railcon15
• Trade Union Climate Summit - September 14 & 15, 2015 Paris | #unions4climate

Bread and Roses:

• Strike Suspended in Potosi, Bolivian VP Declared "Persona non Grata" - By EFE, Earth First! Journal, August 3, 2015
• Farmworkers score big in new tomato deal - By Eve Andrews, Grist, July 29, 2015
• Farmworkers Walk Out Again in Organic Blueberry Fields Over Continuing Unattainable Production Standards Under Sakuma’s New Pay Scale - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 24, 2015

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 7, 2015

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Story:

• The impenetrable world of Mark Flores: Yvette Flores unknowingly worked around lead and other harmful substances while she was pregnant; a severely disabled son was the result - By Jim Morris, Center for Public Integrity, July 1, 2015

Bread and Roses:

• Farmworkers at Sakuma Berry Farms Demand Negotiations with Management - Press Release, Boycott Sakuma Berries, July 6, 2015
• ‘Anarchism could help to save the world’ - By David Priestland, The Guardian, July 3, 2015
• The Drought's Scapegoat - By Alastair Bland, East Bay Express, July 1, 2015
• Sakuma Bros. farmworkers walk off the job - By Shelby Rowe, Skagit Valley Herald, July 1, 2015
• Coca-Cola: Damaging the World - Press Release, KillerCoke.Org, June 30, 2015
• Costco Members, Fishermen, Environmental and Labor Groups Demand Costco Say No to GMO Salmon - Press Release, Park Forest ENews, June 26, 2015

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion Leaves 4 Hurt in Texas Town  - By "Admin", Natural Gas Watch, July 3, 2015
• Systems Change, Rainforests, and Racism - By Brad Schenck, Rainforest Action Network, July 3, 2015
• A robot killed a factory worker in Germany; So who should go on trial? - By Rick Noack, The Washington Post, July 2, 2015
• Thousands Of Children Risked Their Lives In Tanzania’s Gold Mines For $2 A Day - By Beenish Ahmed, Think Progress, July 2, 2015
• Derailed train near Knoxville burning; 5,000 evacuated in area - By News Sentinel staff, The Commercial Appeal, July 2, 2015
• Bureaucracy Threatens More Than Just Your Sanity - By Taylor Smith-Hams, Greenpeace Blogs, June 30, 2015
• Rail yard pollution in Kansas City, Kansas, requires a closer look by the EPA and BNSF - Editorial, Kansas City Star, June 30, 2015
• Recology noose update: Daryle Washington rejects settlement without policy change - By Al Osorio, San Francisco Bay View, June 27, 2015; [related] The Hanging Noose And Fighting Racist Terrorism On The Job At SF Recology - By Steve Zeltser, Transport Workers Solidarity Committee, July 2, 2015
• Unions protest in Darwin against closure of Aboriginal communities - By Nadia Daly, A(ustralian)BC News, June 26, 2015

Just Transition:

• Labour speaks out about jobs, justice and the climate - By Ella Bedard, Rabble.Ca, July 6, 2015; [related]: Calgary wants jobs, justice, and climate action now - By Aiyana Lauridsen, Rabble.Ca, July 6, 2015
• Canada Mobilizes Coast to Coast for Jobs, Justice, and Climate - By Staff, teleSUR, July 4, 2015
• Greece’s anti-solar, coal-based energy policies underlie its economic collapse - By Takis Grigoriou, The Ecologist, July 3, 2015
• March for jobs, justice and the climate--as part of the Pan Am Games - By Krystalline Kraus, Rabble.Ca, June 30, 2015

Other News:

• South Africa’s main union rejects gold firms wage offer - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, July 6, 2015
• Transit Strikers Defend Full-Time Jobs and Bathroom Breaks - By Samantha Winslow, Labor Notes, July 2, 2015; [related]
• Milwaukee transit workers shut down bus lines, demanding a fair contract - By Tracey Pollock, Fight Back News, July 1, 2015
• Railroad whistle-blower awarded $1.25M - By Mike Carter, Seattle Times, July 1, 2015
• My friend Brandon Bostian, the Amtrak 188 engineer - By Ryan Smith, Chicago Reader, June 20, 2015

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW