How do we win the Living Wage?
On July 6th, Living Wage campaigner Deborah Littman spoke to an assembly of faith groups, unionists, students and other activists gathered at Saint Peter’s Church in Wellington. Much of what Littman presented was encouraging. Her experiences as part of successful living wage campaigns within London and Vancouver offer hope to New Zealand activists struggling to […]
Workers can run the world
Gowan Ditchburn gave this talk to the Auckland branch of the International Socialists in May. Let us examine on of my favourite things on Earth, Democracy. No, not that silly parliamentary kind where you vote every few years. I mean real democracy. Control by the people. Actual control not sending people to parliament to argue […]
French workers rise up against attacks on labour rights
Clément is a university professor in Paris. He is 32 years old and has been an activist in the New Anticapitalist Party (NPA) since it was founded in 2009. He responds to the ISO’s questions on about the social movement against the labour law in France. Translation was provided by Brittany Travers and Cory Anderson. […]
The language of the unheard in Bengaluru
“A riot is the language of the unheard” is one of the less frequently cited sayings of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, but its truth has been illustrated in the recent textile workers’ strike in the Indian city of Bengaluru. The Garment and Textiles Workers’ Union planned the protests over the government’s new laws stating […]
Stop the Slop – Protest at Dunedin Hospital
Andrew Tait gave this speech at a protest outside Dunedin hospital on Friday: Nga mihi nui ki te tangata whenua o tenei rohe Kai Tahu whanui. Ki tewhare e tu nei, tena koe. Ki a koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa. That’s my hospital. I pay for it. My family and friends work there, […]
Review: Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell)
Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell): My Decade Fighting for the Labor Movement by Jane McAlevey, Verso, 2014. Workers today, in more cases than not, bear passive witness to a world where we have less power and a smaller share of society’s wealth than in generations. It’s rare for us to see any substantial challenge to […]
Invercargill Pak’n’Save workers protest!
On Saturday and Sunday workers at Pak ‘n’ Save Invercargill protested outside their workplace against low wages and workplace bullying. To a chorus of supportive car horns and megaphone siren blasts, the workers led a noisy picket alongside trade unionists, socialist activists and supporters from throughout the community. The issues at stake are simple. Some […]
Defeat the Bill! The struggle against the Employment Contracts Bill, 1991
‘We’ll need to go on strike, an ongoing strike.’ That’s how Jane Otuafi, a delegate in the Engineers’ Union, responded in March 1991 to the recently elected National government’s plan for an Employment Contracts Act. [1] ‘A general strike is the only answer,’ job delegate Sa Leutele of the Northern Distribution Union agreed. ‘I’ve had […]
We Back the Bus Drivers!
Gowan Ditchburn and Josh O’Sullivan joined bus drivers at yesterday’s strike in Auckland. Stress and Fatigue at Central Depot I got to the bus depot just before 9am. A few workers stood outside the gates blocking the exit with their cars, a dozen or so placards on the fence. I ask one worker how the […]
Blockading the TPPA
It was inspiring to be a part of the TPPA blockade at Sky-City on February 4th 2016. The numbers of those who turned up, from near and far, were more than I had expected. We gathered in Aotea square, from all walks of life and prepared for what may lay ahead. Real Choice, the organisers […]
