Upcoming Events 📅
Why should I join a union? What does union membership entail? Join us on Tuesday, July 13, at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) for EWOC’s event “What is a Union?” We’ll hear from a panel of union organizers about the nuts and bolts of unions today, including how militant workers and union staff navigate their unions, and define some common language like dues, arbitration, collective bargaining, authorization cards, concerted activity, boycotts, lockouts, strikes, etc. Don’t miss it! Register here.
Join us for EWOC’s general meeting! We’ll be talking about our 2021 organizing goals, various components of EWOC, and ways to get involved. The meeting will be held July 15 at 8 p.m. ET. Register here.
Over the last few weeks, large parts of the United States have been hit with severe weather conditions, including a record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest that has killed 800 people so far. This is not a random event. Climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, made the heat wave at least 150 times more likely, and increased peak temperatures by about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, according to one study. And it’s not an isolated event either. Heat waves were the world’s deadliest climate disasters in 2019 and 2020, and right now another dangerous heat spike is building near California.
Climate disasters have and will continue to have a disproportionate effect on working class people, and will make life impossible for those living in poverty, while the rich contemplate going to space. In 2019, Kim Kelly makes the necessary claim that climate change is a labor issue, and dissects aspects of The Green New Deal that protect the working conditions of workers affecting and affected by climate change. For the “coal miners and oil riggers, whose jobs have been and will continue to be impacted by a national pivot away from extractive industries, the Green New Deal promises to create “high-quality union jobs” while protecting the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain.” Kelly mentions pushback from those within the labor movement, but ultimately believes that labor should take the climate crisis into their own hands. “The union leaders were right to worry about the future, but their vision is too clouded by oil to see the burning forest.”
The climate crisis is already here, and nothing but a mass movement of organized workers of all trades, fighting for better living conditions, will be able to stop it.
World of Work 🌍
USA: Last month, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voted to pass a resolution to support Amazon workers as they build power across the country. The resolution sets forth a unified approach to mobilizing the union, and the creation of a Division structure to fund and supply necessary resources. Read the full text of the resolution here.
Peru: Thousands of workers walked out of work this past Wednesday, demanding that Pedro Castillo be formally declared president-elected. Castillo, a union leader and self-described Marxist-Leninist, defeated right wing incumbent Keiko Fujimori in Peru’s general election three weeks ago, however Fujimori has thus far refused to concede, citing unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. The action was called by the Worker’s General Confederation and Free Peru party, with the support of Peru’s Front For Democracy and Governance.
IL: 2,500 Cook County workers remain on strike this week, fighting for better healthcare, and for basic dignity and respect on the job. Read an interview with the striking workers here and support them by donating to the strike fund.
From Our Blog 🗣
The pandemic has been brutal for graduate workers, but many have been able to organize and fight back, including workers at Colorado State University. EWOC’s Wen Zhuang and Samuel Fleischman talked to some of these workers about their campaign for decent pay and treatment.
