by Greg Margolis On March 20, 2012, an estimated crowd of 1,500 teachers and community members, including parents and students, gathered in the Gresham High School gymnasium to rally and march in support of the Gresham-Barlow Education Association, Reynolds Education Association and Parkrose Faculty Association in their efforts to bargain a fair contract with the…
by Jeremy Brecher Based on a talk by Jeremy Brecher to Occupy University, Zuccotti Park. Last December, Occupy Los Angeles proposed a General Strike on May 1 “for migrant rights, jobs for all, a moratorium on foreclosures, and peace – and to recognize housing, education and health care as human rights.” The idea has spread…
By Shamus Cooke How are government budgets created, and in whose interests? In Portland, Oregon, the city recently held the second and last of its public budget forums, where the community could offer feedback to help craft the city’s budget. Over two hundred people attended the Wednesday evening meeting at Cleveland High School, many more…
By Greg Margolis and Adam Rothstein A critical part of the strategy of the corporate campaign to maximize profits has been focused on attacking organized workers and eliminating unions. Over the last forty years this systemic attack on workers has successfully eliminated most unions in the private sector. Today, the emphasis is on public workers.…
By Shawn Fleek A threatened closure of a window factory in Chicago has been delayed 90 days, after workers there occupied their factory for three days. The factory may still close, or a similar occupation may again take place, if the union or management can not find a new owner. The factory closure threatened 50…
by Chris Lowe A contract is a contract… In a previous item in The Occupier, Lester Macgurdy argued that we should not exaggerate the victory achieved by ILWU Local 21 in Longview in their struggle against union-busting and scab labor employed by EGT/Bunge. Nor should we overblow Occupy’s achievement in affecting the outcome, lest we…
This article is from the Occupied Media news wire. It was originally published over at the Boston Occupier. by Julie Walsh On the evening of Thursday, February 16, a circle of about forty picketers marched outside Harvard University’s Lamont Library, chanting and waving signs in an intermittent drizzle. The group had gathered to protest the…
by Adam Rothstein ***We’ve heard conflicting statements about the accuracy of the original article. The article below reflects our most current knowledge. We’re awaiting updates and will report as soon as they are available.*** Sources close to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 21 in Longview, Washington say that West Coast Occupations and all…
by Barbara G. Ellis By a unanimous vote of its executive board last Tuesday the Oregon Progressive Party became the only political party so far to join the Occupy movement in condemning the upcoming use of U.S. Coast Guard ships and helicopters as an armed scab force. The federal action is designed to protect a…
by Adam Rothstein UPDATE:Occupy the EGT has put out a press release, acknowledging the possibility of a settlement. According to the statement, “Anonymous sources indicate that President McElrath [of the ILWU] has negotiated a tentative agreement, which states that no work at the terminal in Longview will be performed until a labor agreement is reached.”…
