Junior Wobblies May Day Float!

Do you have a kid that might want to make a float for the May Day march?
All ages welcome! All kids welcome!
Parents do not have to be in the IWW for kids to participate.

Junior Wobblies is going to decorate a bike cart for the march, using our imagination and materials from SCRAP.

Please send an email with your snail mail address to:
pdxjuniorwobblies@gmail.com
so we may send an invitation to your child.

 

Fellow Worker Hannah’s Labor Victory Anniversary!

  • Celebrate and educate from 9-11am
  • Friday, December 16th
  • At Starbucks on NE 102nd & Halsey

It’s been one year since Hannah was fired from Starbucks and denied unemployment. Hannah filed an Unfair Labor Practice lawsuit which was determined to have merit and sufficient evidence of a WRONGLY TERMINATED EMPLOYEE. She settled out of court, which meant that the concerted activity charge was dropped, and that Starbucks was no longer required to post notice of the charges in stores.

WHAT WAS HANNAH DOING?
Hannah was a Starbucks worker between licensed and corporate stores for 5 years as a ‘shift lead,’ and in that role supervised Health & Safety standards. She discovered that the first aid kit didn’t have its mandatory bandages, and also learned that fellow coworkers were not receiving proper legally required breaks. She voiced these safety and legal concerns to management.

December 15, 2010: With no prior verbal or written warning, she was pulled aside by her manager and told she was being investigated for ‘fraud’ and suspended ‘until further notice.’ A short day later Hannah was fired via telephone and told to call 1-800-STARBUC if she had questions.

January 2011: Hannah files for unemployment, is denied, appeals, and is denied again.

February 2011: Hannah files an Unfair Labor Practice lawsuit, which is reviewed by the National Labor Relations Board, and is determined to have merit and sufficient evidence of a wrongly terminated employee acting in legal concerted activity.

June 2011: Starbucks settles out of court with Hannah to drop the concerted activity charge and pay some lost back wages. However, due to settling with the company, the charge would no longer be required to be posted and read aloud in the stores.

JOIN US in front of the Starbucks where Hannah worked to let everyone know what happened, and that it is LEGAL to discuss workplace issues with coworkers.

Know your rights! Know what to do and who to contact when you are bullied on the job!

August Music for the Working Class!

It’s time once again for the Portland IWW’s monthly Music for the Working Class!

  • When: Wednesday August 31st at 7pm
  • Where: Red and Black Cafe, SE 12th & Oak
  • Bands: Kory Quinn, I Wobble Wobble, Ryan G, and David Small

No cover charge! Drink discounts for union members and service industry workers! So come on down to Music for the Working Class and enjoy an evening of songs to fan the flames of discontent!

Portland Wobbly Study Circle

A Portland Wobbly Study Circle recently formed as a project of the Education & Outreach Committee. About half a dozen wobblies will soon begin to read and meet a couple of times per month. The first book scheduled, Detroit, I Do Mind Dying: A Study in Urban Revolution, is directly related to the film shown last month about the radical union among African-American autoworkers during the ’70s (Finally Got the News). The study circle will continue in the future with other books on topics of mutual interest chosen by the group. This project is open to any wobbly who wants to drop in, and it aims to be open to equal participation. There is a blog for the meeting schedule and to facilitate further discussion beyond the meetings online at: PDX Wobbly Study Circle.

Stand in Solidarity with survivors of assault in the Olympia City Jail!

Please join us, Thursday April 21st, 7pm sharp @ the Red and Black Cafe, 400 SE 12th Ave, for an evening of amazing, diverse music and Stand in Solidarity with survivors of assault in the Olympia City Jail!

On November 13, 2007, 39 women were arrested during a peaceful demonstration against the war in Iraq. When taken to the jail, many were forced to remove clothing to a point that exposed their breasts, even though the circumstances of their arrest did not warrant probable cause for strip search.

They were told that they would not be allowed to put their clothes back on after stripping. Neither did they receive prison wear or blankets to cover themselves and were left under the watch of male officers in the jail’s Sally port, which is unheated.

Jail policy firmly states that prisoners must be allowed to keep pants, skirts, shirts, dresses, socks and undergarments. Other articles of clothing, such as jackets, jewelry and shoes may be held by jail staff until the prisoner’s release. The city, against their own policies, destroyed the jail’s video tape of that night and maintains that they are completely innocent of any crime. Three of the women filed suit against the city.

In any other setting, holding power over people with the threat of violence while demanding that they remove their clothing is clearly seen as a sexual assault. Why would we tolerate it in this setting?

Posts navigation

1 2
Scroll to top