Blackscare
28th February 2011, 04:26
This thread is for sharing links and guides/advice for workplace organization. Please keep commentary to an absolute minimum (simple posts providing off-site info are preferred, but if you have first hand advice please do share).
Mod's note:
Alright, I created thread to merge two others and consolidate, as of the time of this post labor struggles are heating up in the US and this (formerly quiet) subforum needs some tidying up.
Thanks to August West et al for contributions, rather than including all the old posts I'm going to just take any relevant links from previous posts and collect them in this one, leaving only first-hand advice posts (it would be too confusing to take them out of context).
If you see your post deleted, fear not, I have most likely taken the relevant information in it and added it to the OP to make it more readable and efficient. That way, the new posts can serve as a reminder to skim through and update the thread.
I really butchered the threads that this info came from, my apologies.
List of general links:
Labor Start (http://www.labourstart.org/) - an excellent resource for international labor movement news.
Iran Labor Report (http://iranlaborreport.com/)
Labor Notes (http://www.labornotes.org/) - Perhaps the best resource on the Internet for rank-and-file labor revolt, especially in the US and Mexico.
The Labor Site (http://www.thelaborsite.com/), with it's very helpful list of unions (http://www.thelaborsite.com/uniondirectory1.cfm).
workers.org (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.workers.org)
marxist.ca (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.marxist.ca)
libcom.org newswire (http://www.anonym.to/?http://libcom.org/news)
Union Plus (http://www.unionplus.org/)
LaborNet (http://www.labornet.org/index.html)
Organizing Guides:
YSR's organizing guide. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1383691&postcount=17)
IWW's Organizing resource page. (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.iww.org/en/organize)
IWW page on the practice of salting. (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.iww.org/organize/strategy/salt.shtml)
A guide from Red Pepper. (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Unionising-your-workplace)
Misc Links:
Are you a union member? Poll. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/you-union-memberi-t92310/index.html)
Name and shame thread. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/name-and-shame-t104478/index.html)
Any links from past threads that are not here were either broken (in the case of the link to WIIU), or not immediately relevant.
Because I am a terrible mod, I can't figure out how to merge threads at the moment and get Pastradamus' advice post in here, so I've included it in the spoiler for now:
If anyone has questions on Trade Unionism I believe I can be of assistance. if your looking for a trade union to join I feel the best way of going about it is to Just shop around and meet Trade Union officials by actually going into their offices and talking to them personally. The first trade union I was part of was SIPTU. Though I actually never met personally with any of their members and SIPTU eventually sold me out and I lost my Job with no compensation as they simply took care of their senior members, but thats another story.
I looked around at unions that appealed to me on the advice of some fellow leftists and eventually I joined the IWU which at the time was lead by members of the Irish communist party and Independant Socialists. I learned that my new Union despite its then small size was actually involved in 35 Labour Court claims against my former Employer and even in a claim against SIPTU. I was made feel part of the Union from Day 1 when they gave me a Manifesto (which should be asked for upon joining any union) and I recieved weekly visits from the guy who collects Union Dues who kept me up-to-date on union events. So it was that very Involvement and interaction between myself and the Union which made me feel like a team player.
After being involved and attending meeting from about 9 months one of the Senior members who was also a marxist gave me various pamphlets and I even wrote one for him myself. From there I was given the Task of Shop Steward where I work and after that I became a full representive for security workers and Stone Workers and now I basically get involved with any trade.
It is vitally important to those comrades who want to unionise a small group of people that they educate themselves on labour laws and Health and safety policies - I cannot stress this enough.
In reply to the OP, I would like to say there is extra labour laws covering night workers in most countries and you would be representing a special group of people. Also I believe you should keep matters of the Union private from your manager and your employer as it can be detrimental to the early days of the organisation itself. I believe everyone should be in some union, even if unemployed (fees are free for unemployed)
Mod's note:
Alright, I created thread to merge two others and consolidate, as of the time of this post labor struggles are heating up in the US and this (formerly quiet) subforum needs some tidying up.
Thanks to August West et al for contributions, rather than including all the old posts I'm going to just take any relevant links from previous posts and collect them in this one, leaving only first-hand advice posts (it would be too confusing to take them out of context).
If you see your post deleted, fear not, I have most likely taken the relevant information in it and added it to the OP to make it more readable and efficient. That way, the new posts can serve as a reminder to skim through and update the thread.
I really butchered the threads that this info came from, my apologies.
List of general links:
Labor Start (http://www.labourstart.org/) - an excellent resource for international labor movement news.
Iran Labor Report (http://iranlaborreport.com/)
Labor Notes (http://www.labornotes.org/) - Perhaps the best resource on the Internet for rank-and-file labor revolt, especially in the US and Mexico.
The Labor Site (http://www.thelaborsite.com/), with it's very helpful list of unions (http://www.thelaborsite.com/uniondirectory1.cfm).
workers.org (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.workers.org)
marxist.ca (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.marxist.ca)
libcom.org newswire (http://www.anonym.to/?http://libcom.org/news)
Union Plus (http://www.unionplus.org/)
LaborNet (http://www.labornet.org/index.html)
Organizing Guides:
YSR's organizing guide. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1383691&postcount=17)
IWW's Organizing resource page. (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.iww.org/en/organize)
IWW page on the practice of salting. (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.iww.org/organize/strategy/salt.shtml)
A guide from Red Pepper. (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Unionising-your-workplace)
Misc Links:
Are you a union member? Poll. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/you-union-memberi-t92310/index.html)
Name and shame thread. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/name-and-shame-t104478/index.html)
Any links from past threads that are not here were either broken (in the case of the link to WIIU), or not immediately relevant.
Because I am a terrible mod, I can't figure out how to merge threads at the moment and get Pastradamus' advice post in here, so I've included it in the spoiler for now:
If anyone has questions on Trade Unionism I believe I can be of assistance. if your looking for a trade union to join I feel the best way of going about it is to Just shop around and meet Trade Union officials by actually going into their offices and talking to them personally. The first trade union I was part of was SIPTU. Though I actually never met personally with any of their members and SIPTU eventually sold me out and I lost my Job with no compensation as they simply took care of their senior members, but thats another story.
I looked around at unions that appealed to me on the advice of some fellow leftists and eventually I joined the IWU which at the time was lead by members of the Irish communist party and Independant Socialists. I learned that my new Union despite its then small size was actually involved in 35 Labour Court claims against my former Employer and even in a claim against SIPTU. I was made feel part of the Union from Day 1 when they gave me a Manifesto (which should be asked for upon joining any union) and I recieved weekly visits from the guy who collects Union Dues who kept me up-to-date on union events. So it was that very Involvement and interaction between myself and the Union which made me feel like a team player.
After being involved and attending meeting from about 9 months one of the Senior members who was also a marxist gave me various pamphlets and I even wrote one for him myself. From there I was given the Task of Shop Steward where I work and after that I became a full representive for security workers and Stone Workers and now I basically get involved with any trade.
It is vitally important to those comrades who want to unionise a small group of people that they educate themselves on labour laws and Health and safety policies - I cannot stress this enough.
In reply to the OP, I would like to say there is extra labour laws covering night workers in most countries and you would be representing a special group of people. Also I believe you should keep matters of the Union private from your manager and your employer as it can be detrimental to the early days of the organisation itself. I believe everyone should be in some union, even if unemployed (fees are free for unemployed)