Hey! Stop slamming the door of the van, if you don't know how to close it correctly!
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Columbia Grain locked out ILWU Local 8′s grain handlers on May 4 in Portland, accusing them of “engaging in inside game’ tactics, including slowdowns, work-to-rule, and demands for repeated inspections of the same equipment – all designed to negatively impact Columbia Grain’s operations.” Late the next day, twenty...
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw A crowd of over 200 Longshore workers, other union members, and community supporters rallied at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, WA, on March 8 in support of ILWU Local 4 grain handlers locked out of their jobs by United Grain Corporation in late February. After some speeches, the...
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By Mark Vorpahl Second of two parts In the Northwest, at the terminals on the Columbia River, Puget Sound, and Portland, Oregon, the membership of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) are on the defensive against the Northwest Grain Handlers Association (NWGHA). The conflict involves nearly 3,000 workers at terminals that handle a...
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By Mark Vorpahl First of two parts It’s a familiar pattern: those on top of the economic ladder enjoy massive profits while expecting workers to sacrifice even more for the “greater good.” This storyline weaves itself into every justification for anti-worker policies. From Washington’s potential Grand Bargain that would cut trillions from needed social...
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw The contract being offered to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) by the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association (PNGHA) has little effect on wages, but seeks vast changes to workplace rules, particularly those dealing with hiring and safety. Though the contract signing deadline of November 28 has...
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This story originally appeared at the Occupied Chicago Tribune. By Nick Burt News of the Chicago Teachers Union’s declaration of a ten-day strike notice spread across the city’s evening news broadcasts Wednesday. As Chicagoans prepared for the first schools shutdown in twenty-five years, hundreds rallied at the downtown Chicago Temple to build community support for the prospective...
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By Elona Trogub Three members of Pussy Riot, the anonymous feminist group that’s half performance art, half punk band, have been found guilty of hooliganism, motivated by religious hatred. Now Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alyokhina, 24, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30 will spend two years in a medium security prison for their ‘crime’–a one minute...
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by Vargus Pike I’m getting ready for the beat down I know it’s on the way. I’m getting ready for the beat down Just a matter of time. Uppity freedom talkers dare to talk freedom Saying he has a RIGHT to be an individual. She claims the right to determine her OWN destiny They...
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This story is from the Occupied News Wire. It originally appeared in the Occupied Wall Street Journal. YOUR WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF OCCUPY MOVEMENT NEWS By Jennifer Sacks This week in Occupy, the Cruz family was rebuffed by PNC Bank, Rio + 20 was mic-checked and #occupied, Egyptians took to the streets to demand an election...
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By Arlo Watching several hundred protesters bang pots & pans together in solidarity with Quebec on a Monday evening, marching around the square and clamoring loudly in front of both mainstream media and livestream cameras alike, one might be tempted to conclude that Occupy in Portland continues to be a powerful and persuasive force...
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