Submitted on Sat, 08/13/2011 - 8:21pm

October 21, 22 & 23, 2011 : Portland, Oregon - Hosted by the Portland General Membership Branch of the I.W.W.

The I.W.W. Food and Retail Workers Union is an organization of workers at every link in the supply chain of food and retail products- from processing facilities to warehouses to restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, strip malls, big box stores, and other retail shops. We have come together to fight for fundamental change in our industries. In the short term, we seek to build power with our coworkers to win improved wages, guaranteed hours, healthcare, and other crucial improvements to our working conditions. In the long term, we aim to establish industrial democracy through worker self-management of production for human needs, rather than capitalist

The convention will lay the organization’s structural foundation, develop an organizing and outreach strategy based on our approach of solidarity unionism, and plan for the building of industrial unionism in the food industry.

I.W.W. Food and Retail Workers Union

Convention Schedule:

Friday, October 21 : Welcoming Evening Dinner and Discussion Panel

: Welcoming Evening Dinner and Discussion Panel Saturday, October 22 & Sunday, October 23 : Convention

Attendance:

Attendance is open to all I.W.W. members, though voting is limited to I.W.W. members of Industrial Unions 460, 640, and 660. All I.W.W. members working in food service, processing, and distribution are invited to attend.

Registration:

Registration is required and can be done online at PortlandIWW.org . Deadline for registration is August 31.

Travel and Accommodations:

The Portland GMB is coordinating both needed accommodations and travel assistance. To request a stipend to assist in covering the cost of travel costs, please complete the Travel Reimbursement Request form (available online) and a convention organizer will contact you.

Donations:

Organizers from around the United States and Canada will be traveling to Portland for this Convention. In order to ensure all interested members are able to attend regardless of financial circumstances, all donations made to the Founding Convention will go towards assisting our fellow workers with their travel expenses.

Contact:

To receive more information about the Founding Convention or the I.W.W.’s organizing within the food and retail industries, please contact us at by email at [email protected]