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THE ORGANIZER
August 2008 • Issue #10.
Mall of America Baristas Go Union!
At 10am on Monday July 21, the workers at the Mallof America Starbucks put on union pins and broughta demand letter to our store manager. We set up ameeting with Management to discuss store-level con-cerns, including the unhealthy heat and noise level inthe store, inconsistent scheduling, understaffing, andother issues. By coming together as a Union, we areable to ask for change in a way that is taken seriously.We are now calling on baristas and shifts from storesacross the city to come together to bring about thebig changes that can make our lives better.
Wobblies WelcomeMall of AmericaStarbucks Baristasto the Union!
Saturday June 26 was like anyother busy Saturday at the Mall of America 1 Starbucks. A baristahad called in sick during themorning shift, another had walkedout in disgust the weekend prior.A Manager from another storewas covering the shift of a baristawho had been fired for unionactivity two weeks before. Thestore was shortstaffed, and thelines of customers were long.But this Saturday was different. By3:00, the grinding cacaphony of the frappuccino blenders dieddown, as a chorus of SolidarityForever echoed through the Mall.
Continued on page 5Free Speech in theMall of America
How Capital controlspublically-funded spaceand what that means for organizing.
Page 2Wobblies, Too, Say Enough to War!
A wobbly perspective onthe actions at ATK Systems.
Page 2-3D’Amico and SonsRECAP
Actions undertaken and lesson learned in theD’Amico and Sonscampaign.
Page 4Wobblies WelcomeMOA StarbucksWorkers to the Un-ion
Deliver cake, party.
Pages 1 & 5Upcoming Events
What is happening in theTwin Cities’ Fighting Union.
Page 6
Our core demands:-fair severance pay for workers atclosing stores-a living wage-an automatic annual cost of living increase-guaranteed hours-an end to understaffing -meaningful tuitionreimbursement
A bi-monthly publication of the TwinCities General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World.The IWW is a union for all workers,dedicated to organizing on the job for better conditions today, and a world without bosses tomorrow.You are invited to contact the BranchSecretary-Treasurer or any Delegatelisted below for no-pressureconversations about your issues onthe job.
Branch Contacts
Twin Cities IWW P.O Box 14111 Minneapolis, MN 55414Tel. (612) 336-1266email. twincities@iww.org web. twincities.iww.org
Branch Secretary-Treasurers
Editors
Errico Hedake Alexander Graham
Policy
Stories, letters to the editors, and belly-aching can be addressed totc-organizer@riseup.net Unless otherwise stated, the opinionsexpressed are not necessarily theofficial position of the local branch or the union as a whole. Many of our members are engaged inactive organizing campaigns, and some use an alias, occasionally their union card number, or ‘x’ number. Weprefer transparency over secrecy whenever possible, but will alwayshonor requests for anonymity .
Regarding Free Speechat the Mallof America.
What is the free speech policy inthe Mall of America, I asked a fel-low worker?
“There is none,” hesaid.
After a bit of research I dis-covered that my comrade wasright: a 1999 ruling by the Minne-sota Supreme Court (State v.Wicklund) declared that althoughthe MOA receives public subsidiesthey are not required to protectthe right to free speech.
Publicfunding aside, the court arguedthat "the clear state of the lawthen is that property is not some-how converted from private topublic for free speech purposesbecause it is openly accessible tothe public."
Therefore in compli-ance with state law, MOA ruleslisted on their website ban “pick-eting, demonstrating, distributinghandbills, soliciting and petition-ing… [without] the prior writtenconsent of Mall of America®management.”
Organizing efforts within certainretail outlets in the MOA may beusefully supplemented with a freespeech fight.
Why?
Prohibitionson public demonstration effec-tively prohibit workers from pick-eting and other public actions toforce bosses to makeconcessions.
A ban against speechis a ban against organizing—or atleast in the mall, a ban against or-ganized public action to disruptthe mindless flow of consumers.
In other words, public organizingefforts might mean a free speechfight, whether we like it or not.
The IWW has long recognizedthat vague appeals to constitu-tional freedoms mean nothing tobosses who have the backing of repressive state forces.
Even inour free speech fights of long ago,we recognized that organizedpower is better than law.
The so-called right for workers to organ-ize public actions has never beenguaranteed but has only been wonthrough struggle, through takingit.
The very illusion of a neutralpublic sphere is challenged by themall which receives public fundingand regulates its own space as if itwere totally private property:One Big Workplace of intercon-nected shops surrounded by amoat of concrete under 24 hoursurveillance.
A free speech fightin such a place is less a public ap-peal for constitutional freedomand more of an inside strategy atthe point of production.
What would this mean on a prac-tical level?
A free speech fightwould commit participant to di-rect actions that violate theordinance.
Free speech fights arestrongest when local officials (se-curity guards or whatever) arenot equipped to manage the dis-ruption caused by mass violationof such ordinances.
In one sce-nario, affinity groups congregatearound a targeted location as aspeaker stands up to address thegathering audience.
As thespeaker is arrested, anotherstands to take his or her place.
Malls can be playgrounds for crea-tive direct action and variationson the free speech fight tacticshould be worked out by theparticipants.
As always, however,we should proceed with carefulconsideration of all of our optionswhile remaining open to all of theweapons in the workers’ arsenal.
To the streets?
Yes, and to themalls!-FW Matt May
Wobblies,Too, Say Enough ToWar: Les-sons From ARecent Ac-tion
You may have seen it on thenews…young radicals spentWednesday July 2nd locking downthe entrance to a war machinesfactory, and in jail. They were
THE ORGANIZER
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there to prevent the flow of military goods from oneof Alliant Techsystems Incorporated's (ATK) factories, aleading member of the military-industrial-repression of the working class-complex.As a wobbly involved in this non-union action I took part to support my friends, gain experience, and dem-onstrate that when things are fucked up we need todo something about them directly, not through thepoliticians or profiteers that benefit from the situationin the first place.And while you may or may not be moved to do thesame in regards to the present war, direct action issomething you should consider. In this crazy worldwhere the rich own the laws, when people fight for justice arrests often follow. Indeed, there is a long his-tory of working people fighting for free speech in or-der to make workplace gains, or publicly claiming therights they deserve but are denied. Direct action is atool we can use to fight back when forced, or whenwe decide not to take it any more.I also learned a lot. First, do your homework so youknow what will go down. Second, setup support struc-tures so that action builds trust and solidarity withinthe movement. Third, in planning for cops (or bosses)try to think like them. Inthis case, thecops con-fused myrole as me-diator withthat of leader, myticket to afew hours in jail. Fourth,think aboutthe balanceof power. If you’re doinga surpriseaction, try toplan it sothat you, notthose you’reattacking,have thepower. In thiscase thecops were incontrol uponarrival,quickeningour removaland ensuringthe arrests of those locking down.This leads to the insight that the best way to create theproper balance of power and to have an impact, is toconnect direct action to organizing. Direct action canbe used to have immediate im-pact, increaseenergy, buildyour base, andmake gains to-ward your de-mands. Thereare remarkableexamples of thistype of strategythe world over,and we are luckyas wobblies tohave connec-tions to ongoingand historicalexamples of such actionswithin our ownmovement.My last lessonwas the impor-tance of thinkingabout action inrelation to thepresent state of the workingclass. As workingpeople, we needto considerother workers:how they are being squeezed andwhat they are fighting for, indi-vidually and collectively. As part of this we need to identify the pres-sures and privileges that dividethose strugglingfor dignity andliberation fromeach other: menfrom women,whites frompeople of color,citizens fromimmigrants,workers fromthe unem-ployed, perma-nent from tem-porary workers,and so on.In our action Ilearned that thetruckers westopped wereat risk for firing,and that thepolice includeex-veteransopposed to war.How might wehave taken thisinto account? What can we learnfrom our every day of our lives? What common strugglesmight be drawn out and foughtfor? How dowe organize across the linesdrawn out by the bosses, which ishow they keep their power?While these questions are too bigfor this little article, let us keepasking them! Let us continue tolearn through struggle and reflec-tion, and to support each other ingood times and bad…-FW b
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