INDUSTRIAL OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER oF T H E I NDUS T R I A L Wo R K EWORKER R S O F T H E Wo R L D A pril 2010 #1724 Vol. 107 N o . 3 $1/ £ 1/ €1 Obituary: A Bangladesh Special: Int’l. Update on FAU’s personal reflection Garment Workers Women’s Day struggle at Babylon on Howard Zinn 5 speak out 6 Report 7 Cinema 12 German IWW Campaigns Against Ford Motor Company First “Eurest Day of Action” for Canteen Workers’ Rights By Elmar Stuhlfauth the canteens run by the subcontractor The four millionth Ford car pro- Eurest are paid minimum wages and duced in Germany rolled off the assem- are severely harassed and bullied. The bly line on Feb. 5. The car was a silver canteen managers try to kick the work- Ford Fiesta, and the assembly hall in ers’ council representatives out of the Cologne was prepared for a big celebra- canteens by means of legal and illegal tion. The German Minister of Economic tricks, such as false accusations, threats, Affairs, Rainer Bruederle, was present, and psychological terror. as was Ford Europe boss John Fleming, The protesters spread about 1,100 who praised the Cologne plant as the leaflets to the Ford workers demand- biggest Ford facility for production and ing that Ford immediately fire Eurest as development outside of the U.S. In com- their catering subcontractor and urging bination with the Belgian plant in Genk, the workers to not eat Eurest meals until the German Ford locations in Cologne humane working conditions are estab- and Saarlouis produce about one mil- lished. They carried a banner and gave lion cars a year, 80 percent of which are away stickers saying “Compass leaves a exported to about 60 countries. foul taste!” referring to Compass Group Only three days later, before sun- PLC, which owns Eurest. rise on Feb. 8, Cologne Wobblies and Eurest is the largest canteen and friends from local social movements and catering company in Europe. In Ger- anti-fascist groups hit the scene. They many they employ 8,400 people at about gathered at the parking lot in front of the 700 locations. The Compass Group PLC, Ford Development Center in Cologne- listed on the London Stock Exchange Merkenich with the goal of illuminating amongst the Top 100, has an estimated the dark side of the Ford success story 388,000 employees around the globe. Photo: x 355622 in Cologne: that the people working in Continued on 7 Feb. 8: London IWW picket at University College Hospital’s Eurest staff location. What’s Next For The British Royal Mail Dispute? By X365825 millionaire Football Association failure Brownie points and brown tongues were over the deal they will be asked to vote When Communications Work- and Royal Mail Chief Executive who said once again the order of the day for the on in four months. Rumors abound that ers Union (CWU) members voted for postal workers were underworked and Communication Managers Association extra payments for delivering unad- industrial action last summer, many of overpaid; and local delivery office man- section of the Unite union. Royal Mail al- dressed leaflets will be abolished and us were surprised by the level of sup- agers who had spent the two years since ways uses its managers as a pool of scabs that later start times will be introduced, port given the total letdown by the union the previous strikes honing their bully- during disputes. At vast expense it flies meaning mail will be delivered up to tea hierarchy after the 2007 strikes. Most ing and harassment skills. As one CWU these people around the country and time including Saturdays. Considering of us knew the leadership would let us representative put it, “I don’t have to say puts them up in hotels for days on end, there used to be a Royal Mail standard down again, and we were not wrong. As anything. The way the DOM [Delivery so they can clear any backlog of mail that of delivering the last letter of the first they had done in 2007, the Executive Office Manager] treats people will make has built up during a strike and prevent delivery by 9:30 a.m., this is quite a slide Committee called off the strikes just as sure they vote for industrial action.” any postal worker from booking an hour in performance. The Executive Commit- they were taking effect. In one sense, the Royal Mail played its usual trick of or two in overtime. tee of the CWU and their “partners” at 2009 letdown was worse because, with telling the media that the strikes were Picket lines were well supported, as the top of Royal Mail management don’t Christmas on the way, Royal Mail were not well supported by counting work- photographs on various internet sites work Saturdays. They’ll still be able to really coming under pressure. ers off as ill, on holiday or on their day show, but just as the strikes were begin- follow their football team, spend time Three of the best assets the CWU off, and not being on strike. Managers ning to bite, the Executive Committee of with their families, and pursue a hobby had in the buildup to industrial action were shunted around the country in the the CWU called them off for “meaningful of some sort, so this won’t affect them. were Peter Mandleson, who was playing usual massive scabbing exercise despite negotiations.” Royal Mail likes to see itself as “family- the role of mouthpiece for senior Royal being instructed by their own union, As I write this, the membership of friendly,” but the term obviously doesn’t Mail management; Adam Crozier, the Unite, not to break CWU picket lines. the CWU have been kept in the dark Continued on 11 Industrial Worker Periodicals Postage Kati Moore Inspires Starbucks District Managers PO Box 180195 PO Box 180195 PAID Chicago, IL 60618 Chicago, IL 60618, USA Cincinnati, OH To Expose High-Level Sexual Harassment and additional By Starbucks Workers Union a favorite of ISSN 0019-8870 mailing offices In a risky departure from the normal top company ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED chain of command, a group of Star- brass, and state bucks district managers has authored an that they were impassioned letter to top executives in compelled to act Seattle demanding that action be taken after a widely- against a company vice president alleg- watched “20/20” edly engaged in pervasive sexual harass- television seg- ment. ment aired on The letter, which was made available Starbucks barista Graphic: starbucksunion.org to the IWW Starbucks Workers Union, Kati Moore who was repeatedly raped alleges that New York Regional Vice by her supervisor and then subjected President Andrew Alfano has created to intimidation tactics from Starbucks' an unsafe work environment with his lawyers. behavior and is responsible for the de- The SWU has made the letter avail- parture of two female regional directors, able on its website at: http://www.star- among many other troubling charges. bucksunion.org/files/dmletter.pdf. The district managers are demand- For full background, check out “SWU ing disciplinary action against Alfano, Solidarity With Kati Moore” on page 3. Page 2 • Industrial Worker • April 2010 NFL Players Are Not Workers Too ers greedily feed: the groundskeepers, court in January, but the court upheld Howdy Fellow Workers, janitors, concession sellers, etc…do NOT its earlier ruling. The FAU’s lawyer says The decision to publish the series share in the football trough, since it is to they will appeal to the Federal Constitu- of articles entitled “Football Through the players’ advantage NOT to pay them tional Court, if necessary. Labor’s Lens,” which appears on page 9 a fair wage. These “union” football play- Another error in that piece is the of the February/March and April issues ers could show real solidarity with the statement that Berlin has a “red-green” of the Industrial Worker, is significantly fellow workers by refusing to play unless coalition government. In fact the local disturbing on several levels. ALL stadium employees receive fair and government is a coalition of the Social None of these football players, under equitable wages and benefits. But don’t Democratic Party and a socialist party, any circumstances, would be consid- hold your breath for that to happen. Die Linke (The Left). Die Linke appar- Letters Welcome! ered “working class.” They are overpaid Let’s maintain our focus on the ently has connections to the manage- Send your letters to: [email protected] professional celebrities, many of them real labor movement, and no a bunch ment of the theater. Last September Die multi-millionaires, who earn more in of spoiled millionaire cry babies. Brett Linke held its pre-election campaign with “Letter” in the subject. one year than most workers will ever Favre is no Joe Hill. party at the cinema despite the fact that Mailing address: earn in their entire lifetimes. None of Up the revolution! the workers at the cinema had organized IW, PO Box 7430, JAF Station, New them would ever serve as likely role X365465 a boycott. York, NY 10116, United States models for the IWW. Tom Wetzel Furthermore, many of them are of Corrections To FAU Berlin Story May Day Announcements the employer class themselves, rather Dear IW, New IWW Branch Forms In Bristol than being simple union workers. They I see you published my piece on the The IWW, a union for all workers, Announcements for the annual have retinues or drivers, ground keep- FAU Berlin struggle for union freedom, has started a new branch in Bristol.