Vestival – Because Vestas Workers need our Support and BGG is Cancelled

Start Time: Wed 29 Jul 09 at 08:00
End Time: Sun 02 Aug 09 at 12:00
Location: Camp outside Vestas Blades UK factory occupation, Newport, Isle of Wight
Address:  Vestas Blades, Monks Brook, St. Cross Business Park, Newport, PO30 5WZ, Isle of Wight, UK
Location Map: http://tinyurl.com/Vestival-map
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107047038866
More Info: for more information about the campaign on the Island and what you can do, please contact:
• Patrick Rolfe – 07 905 352 751 – pat.rolfe64@googlemail.com – http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=36918891

...incorporating...

Support Vestas workers in Newport! – Let the courts know what we think of the 'posession order'

Date: Wed 29 Jul 09
Time: 10:15 - 13:00
Location: Newport County Court
Address: The Law Courts, 1 Quay Street, Newport, PO30 5YT, Isle of Wight, UK
Location Map: http://tinyurl.com/Vestas-court-map
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107047038866

The Vestas workers have been served with a 'posession order' which means they, or their representatives must present themselves at Newport County Court this Wednesday, and will face forcible eviction by police if the order is upheld. Come and show your support for the Vestas occupation!

Following the path of the recent protest actions made by the staff of “Musei Civici di Venezia” (Venice´s Museum System) and “Ca´Foscari” (University of Venice), also the 53rd International Art Exhibition is closing today due to the strike of the crew assigned to many different tasks (non armed wards, museum attendants, customer service).

During the week a group of activists from the London Neighborhood of the Camp for Climate Action travelled down to the Isle of Wight to support the workers of the Vestas who have occupied their factory in protest at the companies decision to close the factor, export the production and dump over five hundred jobs. I went down with them to document their visit...

Dateline: ‘Victory to the Vestas Workers Occupation’ Solidarity Demonstration, Department of Energy and Climate Change, No.3 Whitehall Place, London, UK, 18:00, Wed 22 Jul 09 – Scores of sane people protest against the insanity of the UK’s first ever Energy and Climate Change Minister Ed Miliband spouting pious promises on greenhouse gas emissions reductions in Parliament while allowing the UK’s only wind turbine factories to be scrapped on a bosses’ bean-counting whim.

More pics of London protest 1 and 2 | Photos of Vestas factory occupation | Vestas situation update

Department for Energy and Climate Change, No 3 Whitehall Place (off Whitehall, Charing Cross tube)

Dateline: Climate Camp UK National Gathering, London, UK, 18:00 Sun 19 Jul 09 – At the end of an intensive weekend of planning for the forthcoming Climate Camp in Greater London, campers express their solidarity with the 600 wind turbine manufacturing workers threatened with factory closures by Vestas on the Isle of Wight.

www.dissidentisland.org

London Metropolitan University came to a halt on Tuesday 14th of July as hundreds of workers went on a UCU/UNISON coordinated strike in protest at continued job cuts and outsourcing. Workers and students set up picket lines at every building of North and City campuses.

At around midday a lively rally of over a hundred pickets and supporters was then held at the Central House building. Several speakers lined up to condemn the government, HEFEC and the local management for their failure to keep London Met’s finances in order – and trying to make staff and students pay the price. Following the rally a delegation then went to hand in a letter and petition to Peter Mandelson urging him to step in and save London Met University. at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

We are asking the Prime Minister to ensure that NHS service provisions and funding arrangements for services for adults with ADHD are reviewed and revised urgently

A liberated venue somewhere in London
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LATEST: Reclaim The Future 5 is GO

Call 07758119655 or 07729178836 tomorrow for location

Sat 5 sept...workshops start at 1pm then party til dawn

http://rts.gn.apc.org for latest info

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Venue announced:

454-490 Mile End Road (old car showroom)
London E1 4PE (map) opposite St Mary's university, just West of the Regent Canal, on the south side of Mile End Road

Students and staff of the London Metropolitan University lobbied the Chair of LMU’s Board of Governors, to protest against job cuts on Thursday 2nd July. London Met Board of Governors approved the plan to make 550 redundancies last month, refusing to consider union proposals to ease the damage done to the staff at London Met.

The protest was aimed at Peter Anwyl, Director of International Student House (ISH), who has consistently refused to meet or talk to the unions. A delegation from both UCU and UNISON went to present a letter protesting at the cuts in staff at LMU. Read more here.

Informative article on the march of Ingenio San Antonio and Compañía Licorera workers and main union leaders to reject discrediting campaign and boycott initiated by ANAIRC and UITA.

Join the picket this Friday in Canary Wharf in solidarity with vicitmised cleaners campaigner Alberto Durango and against the use of immigration status to attack workers organising. Come along show your solidarity in protest at this victimisation of a leading trade union activist:

Lancaster Docklands Office
31 Beaufort Court, Admirals Way
London, E14 9XL
Meet 10.30am outside Canary Wharf UNDERGROUND exit

Join the picket this Friday in Canary Wharf in solidarity with vicitmised cleaners campaigner Alberto Durango and against the use of immigration status to attack workers organising. Come along show your solidarity in protest at this victimisation of a leading trade union activist:

Lancaster Docklands Office
31 Beaufort Court, Admirals Way
London, E14 9XL
Meet 10.30am outside Canary Wharf UNDERGROUND exit

Seventy people demonstrated outside Communications House in London on Saturday afternoon (27 June 2009) in a protest organised by Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! in support of the SOAS workers who were detained there, the protesters at Yarls Wood and all migrants in struggle against Britain's racist immigration laws.

Dateline: National Shop Stewards Network Conference 09, South Camden Community School, Charrington Street, London, UK, 11:00-15:30, Sat 27 Jun 09 – On a swelteringly hot summer Saturday, hundreds of trade union militants and their supporters converged for the third annual National Shop Stewards Network Conference (NSSN-09). Whilst celebrating our class’s recent victories at Lindsey Oil Refinery, Visteon, and Linamar, nevertheless – given “New” Labour’s utter and categorical capitulation to the bankers, bosses, and bomb manufacturers – the calls came thick and fast for the re-founding of a proletarian political party.

* UNISON members vote 71% in favour of strike action
* UCU members to take further strike action in coordination with UNISON
* 2nd July set for combined union day of action
* Pickets all morning set to close down London Met Uni for a day
* Rally at Lunchtime (with this space for details)

A group of locals and housing activists have seized the constituency home of the MP couple who had the highest expense claim of all! Both Labour MPs they were known as "Mr and Mrs Expenses" two years before the MP spending scandal broke; Mrs Keen, a health minister recently admitted making an expense claim for private hospital treatment for a member of her staff. At the centre of their scandal was their double mortgage claim, where they illegally used Parliamentary expenses to pay interest on the mortgages of both their homes - one of which has now been occupied by outraged locals along with activists from all backgrounds and nationalities.

INN ON THE GREEN
3-5 Thorpe Close W10
Ladbroke Grove tube
Buses 7, 15, 23, 52, 70, 295

A week ago, 51 workers at Lindsey Oil Refinery were sacked for their role in January's dispute over the use of overseas companies to undermine union agreed pay and conditions. More than 4,000 joined the LOR workers in a wave of wildcat strikes over the past week. Now Total, their employer, has agreed to offer them their jobs back. A London IWW member, involved in solidarity actions for the strikers reports...

[Read more]

Coverage on libcom.org: [Start of strike] [Day 3] [Strikes spread] [Solidarity across the UK]

IWW construction workers on the Olympic construction site have produced a damning report on the state of the worksite. The report argues for greater worker control of unions and a militant rank-and-file approach.

Excerpt from the summary of the report:

This report documents and critically analyses the working conditions of construction workers on the Stratford City development site of the 2012 Olympic Games. We base our findings entirely on the accounts of anonymous IWW and non-IWW construction workers employed there.

The report documents widespread mismanagement and a lack of resources devoted to ensuring that health and safety standards are maintained. Police intimidation of workers and harassment of union activists is also documented.

Read more | IWW Olympic site report (PDF) | IWW website | IWW Construction Workers Page

Elmira Street
London
SE13 7BN

2 mins from Lewisham Station (overland from London Bridge, or DLR)

Dateline: Royal Mail HQ, Unilever House, 100 Victoria Embankment, London, UK, 11:00-12:00, Fri 19 to Sat 20 Jun 09 – On the day of an opening skirmish in the class war, strikers organised in the Communications Workers Union (CWU) stage a London-wide 24 hour postal strike, and similar in several Scottish areas. Pickets at the massive London South Mail Centre report one extremely solid strike, the Brockley picket line is “almost a street party”, and strikers rally outside Royal Mail’s corporate headquarters – to leave chief executive Adam Crozier and his boss-class cronies in no doubt that if you pick a fight with the posties, there’s a very good chance you’re gonna lose.

ANAIRC mobilizes to demand damages from the Pellas Group. Boycott against Flor de Caña rum grows

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/8108434.stm

"Nearly 900 workers constructing a new plant at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire have been sacked, following unofficial strike action. [...]

One of the sacked Lindsey workers told the Press Association: 'We are asking for support from workers across the country which I am sure will be given. Total will soon realise they have unleashed a monster.'"

Dateline: “New” Labour Headquarters, 39 Victoria Street, London, UK, 13:00, Thu 18 Jun 09 – As the fetid corpse of “New” Labour clings on to power for grim death, staggering zombie-like towards its doom in the next general election, the Government of the Dead bring a little light Death to the pavement outside their HQ, by decapitating, dismembering and defiling the cadaver of Gordon Brown. And as card carrying, recruit-hungry members of THE Labour Party, they executed their gory task with relish (and a little seasoning to taste). Viddy well, little sisters and brothers – ’twas a Real Horrorshow!

Dateline: Housemans Bookshop, Kings Cross, London, UK, 17:00-18:30, Sat 13 Jun 09 – The International School for Bottom-up Organising stages an uplifting, engaging and inspiring book launch for it’s excellent debut publication: “The Bottom Will Rise and Create a New World”, featuring Latin American Polyphonic Singing, a Live Excerpt from the book, why we need A Maloka in Every Community, and Freedom Singing to finish off with. In a nutshell – Best. Book. Launch. EVER!!!

The SOAS occupation ended at 12.30pm on Wednesday, having achieved most of what such an action could have achieved. After several rounds of intense negotiations, the occupiers and the management reached an agreement in which the management agreed to all five demands put forward by the protesters, albeit in a not-very-committing way.

See report and the signed document in which the management promises to “review” the immigration raid and “discuss” the possibility of bringing cleaning services in-house and the “health and safety issues” relating to immigration raids on campus.

Staff and students come together to fight the massive cuts proposed to provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Tower Hamlets College.

http://www.freesoascleaners.blogspot.com/