IE Wobblies Deny Fascist Platform

On November 19th community members and fellow workers organized to counter a proposed demonstration by a White Lives Matters group in San Bernardino, California. Fellow workers and anti-racist groups were successful in shutting down the White Lives Matters group – their rally did not materialize and only a few sympathizers drove by to see fellow workers and community members stand together against a misdirected and a passé ideology. The country has erupted in anti-Trump protests, but also has embolden some misguided individuals to celebrate the “triumph” of white supremacy. However, just like the anti-Trump protesters, many which are new to protesting, so are many reactionary individuals new to the political scene. This particular individual that planned the rally was painfully unaware of the time, dedication, and passion that mobilization requires. This individual believed that having a platform on social media to spew reactionary politics and by creating an event page that it would mobilize people. In the past fellow workers have encountered more disciplined reactionary organizations i.e. the National Socialist Party aka Neo-Nazis. Nonetheless, fellow workers have been successful in organizing and mobilizing against these forces.

Mr. Trump was successful in tapping into the most reactionary feelings of the white working class and poor. The white supremacists that will soon occupy influential government positions will more likely than not enact divisive and reactionary policies – repression of undocumented fellow workers and of fellow workers of the Muslim faith. However, this does not change the fact that the white working class has the same interest as their fellow undocumented, Muslim, and black workers. The enemy to the poor and white working class is not the immigrant or black Americans. It is the capitalist that seeks to divide the working class and to implement reactionary politics which in turn further fracture the working class. After all it was the capitalist, like Mr. Trump himself, that decided that union jobs in the Appalachian were eating too much into their profit and moved the factories to exploit fellow workers in Asia or Latin America.

It is also understandable the amount of distrust and disenchantment the white working class and poor feel toward the state. The state has facilitated the dismantling of the white working class. And this is where there are so many parallels that highlight how the marginalized poor and white working class has interests that aligned with their fellow undocumented, black, and Muslim worker. It is in the interest of the state and capitalist to dismantle the working class as a whole – the attacks are not just directed towards black or undocumented fellow workers even though they are more violent. The dismantling of the white working class was a long subtle process - the capitalist and state were successful in convincing them that their fellow workers caused their destruction. The state apparatus is there to undermine any organizing of fellow workers because they are aware that an organized working class can challenge their power and that of the capitalist.

Make no mistake: Neo-Nazis, racists, and fascists are dangerous – especially if they are organized, disciplined, and armed. Some of these individuals cannot be reasoned with – especially those in positions of power and in the ruling class. But the I.W.W. seeks to create One Big Union and this union needs to engage and include all the marginalized and unorganized groups. The Inland Empire has been devastated by the recent recession – especially San Bernardino. And the ugly face of fascism has shown itself in the Inland Empire. The Minutemen and the National Socialist Party have tried and failed in their campaigns. These groups have failed because fellow workers have organized and shown to the community that their politics are divisive, reactionary, and only result in state repression. Fellow workers in the Inland Empire and in the world have much work to do. Unlike the individual trying to organize the White Lives Matter rally, the I.W.W. has fostered and trained seasoned organizers who can rise to any challenge.

Solidarity Forever,
FWs X364783 and X383349

Endorsement of Ashraf Fayadh's campaign for freedom

Whereas the Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh has been sentenced to death by the government of Saudi Arabia for his poetry, and in solidarity with the World Poetry Movement, Revolutionary Poets Brigade, and Amnesty International, the LAGMB endorses the campaign for his freedom, and has sent a request to the national committee of the IWW for national and international support of his campaign.

Further reading:

Wikipedia page on Ashraf Fayadh

Report: The Ballad of Ricardo Flores Magón

The Los Angeles Branch of the I.W.W. and community members filled Beyond Baroque in Venice on Aug. 9 for an evening of music and drama honoring the branch’s namesake, Ricardo Flores Magón.

Opening the show, song-fighter Ross Altman performed “The Rebel Girl,” “There is a Power in the Union” and “The Preacher and the Slave”—all written by Joe Hill, the legendary Wobbly singer and songwriter. It was in Ross Altman’s home town of San Pedro where Hill, a 30-year-old migrant laborer, joined the I.W.W. in 1910. These songs were particularly relevant to the theme of the event, since they highlighted the solidarity that existed between the I.W.W. and Mexican revolutionaries in Los Angeles in the second decade of the twentieth century.

Ross then performed international songs of struggle—“A Las Barricadas,” a revolutionary song from the Spanish Civil War, “Guantanamera” and his own original song about the Mexican Revolution.

Next, Rubén Martínez took the stage with Chicano Son artist Marco Amador. They performed music and readings from his show (which aired on PBS last year), “The Ballad of Ricardo Flores Magón,” a tribute to the revolutionary anarchist who lived and struggled in Los Angeles from 1904 until he was arrested for the last time in 1918. Martínez wrote this work in order to unearth the radical roots of the Occupy movement, taking us back to a time when Los Angeles was one of the “reddest” cities in America.

As Martínez wrote in the Los Angeles Times, just days after the LAPD had brutally removed the Occupy LA encampment from Solidarity Park:(*)

“The scene Magón joined in Los Angeles was an early 20th century version of the Occupy movement. There were raucous rallies at the plaza, festive fundraisers at the Italian Hall and plenty of run-ins with the LAPD.”

The Los Angeles Times itself has played a significant historical role in defense of the ruling class, attacking organized labor, socialists, anarchists and Wobblies in its pages. As Martínez wrote,

“Trials of the radicals were heavily covered by The Times, whose general manager, Harrison Gray Otis, seethed against anarchists in general, whom he blamed for the 1910 bombing of The Times Building, and against Flores Magón in particular. Otis owned upward of a million acres of land across the border in Baja California, and an armed contingent of "Magonistas" associated with Flores Magón's Partido Liberal Mexicano briefly took control of Tijuana and other parts of Baja in 1911.”

It was in Los Angeles where Magón, fighting alongside American anarchists, embraced anarchism himself. The aim of the insurrection that he and his brother Enrique lead in Baja was to found a socialist republic. In a show of international solidarity, several Wobblies fought alongside the PLM, among them Joe Hill.

After a rendition of “A Las Barricadas,” Martínez and Amador performed “El Golpe,” a musically complex piece that Amador says was inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. He explained the relevance of the song to Flores Magón, who dedicated his whole life to revolution: “He was more than just an intellectual—he was bringing revolutionary concepts to a revolutionary time.”

Following El Golpe, Martínez spoke about Magón’s life as a political prisoner. Repeatedly imprisoned in Mexico, he was forced to go into exile in the United States, where he was also persecuted, doing a total of nine years in prison. His last arrest, part of the Palmer Raids, was in 1918, for violating the 1917 Espionage Act. He died in Leavenworth Penitentiary four years later at age 49. Martínez performed “I’m Writing You From Inside,” based on letters Magón wrote from Leavenworth which talk about his resolve to continue to resist the oppression of state power, even as he suffers from failing health, exacerbated by neglect by prison staff.

After performing Woodie Guthrie’s “All You Fascists are Bound to Lose,” Martínez and Amador took questions from the audience. Finally Ross Altman joined them on stage and lead the singing of “Solidarity Forever,” the I.W.W.’s anthem.

Beyond Baroque is an independent literary and arts center and public space that has hosted many cutting-edge poets and musical talents through the years.

* http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/09/opinion/la-oe-martinez-the-roots-of-occupy-la-20111209

Intro to the IWW, Sunday 9/8/2013

Is your boss a jerk? Would you like higher pay and more control over your working conditions? Time to get organized! Join the I.W.W.

The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. Our bosses want to exploit us for as much work as possible while compensating us as little as they can get away with. As workers, we want higher pay for less work, we want benefits such as paid sick days and quality health insurance, and we want the dignity and respect that can only be achieved through work place democracy which gives workers a say in their own working conditions.

In short, we want to do away with the bosses altogether and run our workplaces for own benefit. (Students and the unemployed are welcome to attend.)

Intro to the IWW - Sunday, September 8th
The Blood Orange Info Shop
3485 University Ave., #2 Riverside, CA 92501
The Blood Orange Info Shop is on the Lemon Street side of the Life Arts Building at the bottom of the ramp.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/554100551322425/
SoCal IWW Info: http://socal-iww.blogspot.com/

The Ballad of Ricardo Flores Magón, Friday 8/9/2013

The Ricardo Flores Magón Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World is proud to host RUBÉN MARTÍNEZ, who will perform excerpts from his show, "THE BALLAD OF RICARDO FLORES MAGÓN." He will be joined by Chicano Son artist MARCO AMADOR. This show, which Martínez produced and performed at the Ford Theater and which aired on KCET, is a theatrical narrative of the life and times of the Mexican anarchist revolutionary, which unearths the radical roots of L.A. and the I.W.W.

Exiled from Mexico, the Magón brothers came to live in Los Angeles, where along with their participation in the Mexican Revolution, they joined in the working class struggles here alongside the Industrial Workers of the World. I.W.W. members joined a Magonista expedition which took control of Tijuana and other parts of Baja California in 1911.

Also performing this evening will be ROSS ALTMAN, a singer-songfighter who will play classic Wobbly songs for the working class.

Who: The L.A. General Membership Branch of the I.W.W.
What: Rubén Martínez and Marco Amador will perform excerpts from "The Ballad of Ricardo Flores Magón" with additional performance by Ross Altman.
When: Friday, August 9 at 8:00 PM
Where: Beyond Baroque 681 North Venice Blvd. Venice 90291
Phone: (310) 822-3006

Free - Donations welcome
Refreshments

LA General Membership Meeting - 6/30/2013

The next GMB meeting will take place at Corazon del Pueblo in Boyle Heights on Sunday June 30. Dues collected at 12 noon and meeting starts at 12:30 sharp. The meeting is open to IWW members, and all workers are always welcome to attend as guests.

Corozon del Pueblo
2003 E. First St.
Los Angeles, 90033

Bus lines to Corazon del Pueblo are Metro Local Line 30, Metro Local Line 68 and Metro Gold Line (exit Mariachi Plaza.)

Intro to the IWW, Sunday July 14

This introduction to the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is geared towards new members and folks interested in learning more about the union.

Sunday July 14, 12:30-2:30 PM
Corozon del Pueblo
2003 E. First St.
Los Angeles, 90033

The workshop provides an overview of the IWW's history, vision, and methods of workplace organizing, as well as a discussion of what the IWW is up to today and how to get involved at the local level.

Join us and invite a friend!