Short updates on three victories at the grassroots in the class war.

SEATTLE SOLIDARITY NETWORK:

“We won the Meniz wage-theft fight!! After months of making trouble for the Meniz Company (and their client, CWD) in every way we could think of, we have finally forced the bosses to pay Jose, in full. He got his money this afternoon.

“This win belongs to everyone who came to the demand actions, sat in the planning meetings, marched on the condo management offices, made a righteous racket to wake up condo residents at 7:30am on a Sunday, and would have come out for more if the bosses hadn’t caved and paid up today.

“We really had to earn this one. Jose had to earn it twice. But as he said today, it was worth it. I don’t know about you all, but I really enjoyed every minute of it. So, let’s revel in it, have a party, and then get ready to make more trouble.”

Video here.

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD- (Holyoke, MA) Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School workers have organized with the IWW; The following was read by several workers at the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, 05/11, as a means of publicly informing the board and administration of our forming a union:

“Whereas, we come to you today as an intergenerational community that has chosen to collectively act upon its longstanding concern about the disconnect between the principles of Paulo Freire and the practices of the social justice charter school we have come to love that bears his name. And as such, we appreciate this opportunity to be heard, because as Freire said, “Any situation in which some men prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence;… to alienate humans from their own decision making is to change them into objects.”

LAUNDRY WORKERS CENTER- The Hot & Crusty Campaign is an example of independent organizing to fight for better terms and conditions of employment. The mostly immigrant workers at Hot & Crusty won a historic contract through 11 months of intense organizing and almost two months on the picket line, demonstrating that real changes are possible when workers decide to fight together in the workplace. These workers organized outside the structures of traditional labor unions and were backed by a variety of community organizations, including Laundry Workers Center. The Hot & Crusty Workers Association has been a source of inspiration for other fast food campaigns.

For a more detailed timeline, see the NY Times documentary on Hot & Crusty.