Grand Rapids IWW at the "We Are One" Rally

Read the full GRIID article

There were people representing the teachers unions, firefighters, environmental groups, UAW, SEIU, government employees, the Kent-Ionia Labor Council, students and faculty from GVSU and the IWW.

Another flyer was being circulated by the Grand Rapids branch of the IWW. Their flyer provided some analysis of the anti-worker policies being enacted by Governor Snyder. In addition, the flyer was advocating for a General Strike to take place as a means of making our demands and fighting against the draconian policies of the government and its corporate paymasters.

Grand Rapids Labor Rally April 4

The Grand Rapids IWW will be joining the We Are One march on April 4, taking place in front of Grand Rapids State Office Building at 350 Ottawa NW from 4:30 to 5:30 PM.

We encourage all workers and concerned citizens to join us in protesting Governor Rick Snyder's ongoing class war against Michigan's workers and poor.

Stop by and say hello, we will have signs and pamphlets, and we'll be giving out information in addition to joining the general protest.

IWW holds Solidarity picket in Grand Rapids for Jimmy John’s workers

Originally posted on GRIID

by Jeff Smith (GRIID)

Today, 10 members of the local chapter of the IWW and a few supporters stood in the rain outside of the Jimmy John’s restaurant in Eastown today to show support for a new national effort to unionize fast food restaurant chain in the US.

IWW members received primarily positive responses from people walking and driving by the Jimmy John’s location on Wealthy Street near the intersection of Lake Dr and Wealthy.

Despite sending out a Media Release to dozens of local news agencies, the only coverage of the solidarity picket came from Indy media sources, GRIID and a citizen journalist with the Rapidian. WZZM 13 did run a story about the planned picket yesterday, but no commercial news agencies showed up today, despite the obvious tie in to Labor Day.

We had a chance to interview IWW member Cole Dorsey after the solidarity picket and asked him about the campaign to support Jimmy John’s workers and related matters.

I.W.W Union to picket in front of Wealthy St. Jimmy John's on Labor Day

This originally appeared at WZZM13

Grand Rapids, Mi. (WZZM) - Demands for improvements to working conditions have some Jimmy John's employees unionizing around the nation. One West Michigan location will be a test-ground on Labor Day.

About twenty I.W.W (Industrial Workers of the World) members, from the Grand Rapids chapter, will picket in front of the Wealthy St. Jimmy John's Monday from noon to 1pm, representing the franchise's employees across the nation who feel they're underappreciated in the workplace, in support of the Jimmy John's labor dispute in Minneapolis which started it all.

"A lot of Jimmy John's workers are asked to work one and two hour shifts, or are expected to put wear and tear on their vehicles without compensation," says Cole Dorsey, Grand Rapids organizer of the I.W.W. "It's difficult to get sick days or to get job-related workman's compensation [from Jimmy John's management]."

So, Dorsey and the rest of the Grand Rapids I.W.W. will represent area Jimmy John's employees in protest Monday. Leafleting and picketing is planned for 32 of the 39 states in which Jimmy John's operates.

Minneapolis Jimmy John's co-owner, Mike Mulligan said in a statement last week: "We are very proud of our employment record in Minneapolis and take issue with the claims of the I.W.W. We value our relationship with our employees and offer competitive wages and good local jobs. We are dedicated to providing a fair, equal and diverse workplace environment."

Dorsey, and his I.W.W. members, don't see it that way.

"Sexual harrassment, better pay, benefits for non-managerial employees - that's what the union workers, the sisters and brothers in Minneapolis, want from us on Labor Day," says Dorsey.

Jimmy John's workers in Grand Rapids are not members of the I.W.W., but Dorsey hopes that changes after Monday's picketing.

"We've had contact with the [Jimmy John's] workers all across Grand Rapids," says Dorsey. "We're going to continue to work with them and organize them."

Despite the protest, it will be business as usual at the Wealthy St. Jimmy John's Monday.

"We are not trying to hinder business," says Dorsey. "We hope at some point in the future these workers will be coming together along the same demands as the Minneapolis workers, but they will not close down shop and be out here with us."

WZZM attempted to contact a member of the Wealthy St. Jimmy John's management for comment, but our phone call wasn't returned.

Know Your Rights in the Workplace

The Grand Rapids Free School has a series of classes titled "Know Your Rights". The next class will be on workplace rights and will be 2pm September 18 at Steepletown: 671 Davis Avenue Northwest Grand Rapids, MI 49504

IWW Reclaims May Day in Grand Rapids

Organell Williams and the Bottom Line Band

Reverend Pinkney - President Black Autonomy Network Community Organization, President NAACP (Benton Harbor), Vice Chair Michigan Green Party


Article originally posted on GRIID

Yesterday, about 200 people came to a May Day event at Martin Luther King Park, hosted by the Grand Rapids Chapter of the IWW. Reclaiming the original day when working people gathered together to build solidarity and community, the IWW invited a variety of organizations to come and talk about their work, enjoy some food and live music throughout the day.

There were representatives from Stop Targeting Our Kids (STOK), the Bloom Collective, a new socialist student group at GVSU, Our Kitchen Table, an anti-foreclosure group and the West Michigan Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

In addition to the speakers there were children’s activities, a community potluck, information tables and the Really Really Free Market. All of this combined provided an atmosphere of solidarity and a chance for people to build community.

The IWW also passed out a document reflecting their core beliefs and current position on issues of importance to working people and their families. The document read:

* We believe that that this economic system of exploitation, capitalism, where profits are valued more than people, is inherently unjust. The IWW wants to replace Capitalism with an economic model where everyone’s needs are met. We envision a society where workers take possession of the means of production, abolish the wage system, and live in harmony with the Earth.
* We believe that all workers have the right to organize. The IWW has a history of organizing everyone in the working class, even students and the unemployed. In Grand Rapids we have organized Starbucks workers and are planning a new organizing campaign of bar and restaurant workers.
* We believe that until Capitalism is replaced with a better economic system that all workers have a right to a livable wage. Right now in the US according to United for a Fair Economy, the average CEO makes 344 times more than the average worker. CEOs are not more valuable than workers and we will work with anyone on a campaign for a livable wage ordinance for Grand Rapids and Kent County.
* We believe that the US government has misused taxpayers’ money by bailing out Wall Street, which has done nothing more than reward institutions engaged in criminal behavior. Hundreds of thousands of people are losing their homes to foreclosure and unemployment and while underemployment affects millions, the rich are rewarded. The IWW condemns both the bailout and the so-called federal economic stimulus. Imagine what would have happened if the money the government gave to Wall Street Bankers went to the American public to pay off all our mortgages and to pay workers a livable wage. That would have been a real economic stimulus!
* We believe, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that a nation that spends more on war than it does on the well being of its citizens is deplorable. As of today, the US has spent $989 Billion of taxpayers’ money on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, $518 million from Grand Rapids alone. The IWW condemns these wars and the use of the working class to fund and fight them.
* We believe that no human being is “illegal”. We are firmly opposed to SB 1070 in Arizona, which disenfranchises and criminalizes a whole race of people. As a union formed by immigrants we stand in solidarity with all immigrants. Liberal “free trade” policies like NAFTA and CAFTA create a race to the bottom at the expense of ALL workers.