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SEIU Union Office Attacked 5/23
On May 23, some anonymous actors left acid on a window of the SEIU union office on Mission St in Santa Cruz, and spraypainted the walls red and black with anarchy signs and revolutionary slogans:
"Solidarid@d Puerto Rico" SEIU is currently engaged in trying to break and control a nation-wide teachers' strike against the puppet government of Puerto Rico, a US colony. This is a perfect example of the role unions inevitably play in co-opting, selling out, and even crushing real strikes and revolutionary upsurges. For more documentation of this treachery, visit pr.indymedia.org en espanol, or simply search the internet for "puerto rico teachers."
"Support the janitors" on strike in San Jose, "not the union" that will order them back to work for a few dollars. May you never have to clean up after technocrats (the "little Eichmanns" of America) again. In this vein, we support the University of California service workers who will be striking on the 4th and 5th of June (unfortunately represented by AFSCME), and encourage them to "wildcat" strike when the two-day strike proves unsatisfactory. May you never have to clean up after and take care of drunken frat boys and sorority girls again.
"Hang the bosses by the guts of the bureaucrats!"
P.S. We forgot to add, fuck you city councilmember Tony Madrigal, and "professor of negotiaton" Bill Monning too. There's no such thing as a working class politician, and we would hate them even if there were.
"Support the janitors" on strike in San Jose, "not the union" that will order them back to work for a few dollars. May you never have to clean up after technocrats (the "little Eichmanns" of America) again. In this vein, we support the University of California service workers who will be striking on the 4th and 5th of June (unfortunately represented by AFSCME), and encourage them to "wildcat" strike when the two-day strike proves unsatisfactory. May you never have to clean up after and take care of drunken frat boys and sorority girls again.
"Hang the bosses by the guts of the bureaucrats!"
P.S. We forgot to add, fuck you city councilmember Tony Madrigal, and "professor of negotiaton" Bill Monning too. There's no such thing as a working class politician, and we would hate them even if there were.
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Just so you know, Santa Cruz city council members get paid about $1000 per month for their trouble and Mike Rotkin once commented that he works about 100 hours per week. SEIU union reps work 50-60 hours per week including weekends and evenings, with weekend and evening shifts scheduled on as little as 24 hours notice, while the people they represent often work 40 hours 9-5 M-F. Yes the union brought you the weekend, but often the leaders and reps we are so quick to criticize are working like dogs so you can have a beer and watch TV on Saturday. Go ahead and attend the union meetings for the SEIU and see if you can get a resolution passed to support your cause. A sleepy San Jose group of union rank and file unanimously passed a resolution calling for impeachment of Cheney, so anything is possible if you put your mind to it. It would have helped if your first action was not to throw acid on the window though.
SEIU is the largest union in the country with 1.9 million members. It is growing the fastest too, up from 1.3 million when I was an organizer there about 6 years ago. I wholeheartedly support efforts at pressuring SEIU to be more democratic and act more like a union. The local chapters have little autonomy in spite of often heroic effort on the part of member activists (rank and file leaders i.e. non-staff member leaders whether steward, local elected leader, or militants) and staff to chart a course toward member democracy. In fact, most locals have been consolidated into regional units to allow easier control from the international and allowing Andy Stern (the democratic center of the union) to eliminate local leadership and select the new bureaucrats that will administer the locals. I salute the rank and file leaders and many of the democratic minded staffers who are trying to foster union democracy and exhort them to stand up publicly and loudly condemn the union busting that SEIU international is practicing in Puerto Rico as well as calling out the people in SEIU who advocate unilateralism and undemocratic practices that undermine the vision and passion of the rank and file. The rank and file would fight against those practices if they knew about them, but they don't because SEIU (and all the major business unions) are undemocratic in practice due to the labor laws that they conform to in order to remain legal and legitimate and the fact that most contracts in this country surrender the right to strike, the greatest power of workers.
Check out this SEIU rank and file site maintained by members who are fighting to control their union:
http://www.reformseiu.org/
Business unions are most of what is left of the labor movement in this country and much of the dues money is spent on paying off politicians to get them to pressure corporations. SEIU in particular focuses their organizing efforts on getting partnership agreements with bosses of companies where employers agree to allow "card check neutrality" (a simple 50%+1 vote instead of an inefficient NLRB government mediated election) in exchange for SEIU lobbying the politicians (who have received so much dues money) to give those employers sweeter contracts (of taxpayer money). This is all done without talking to the rank and file members of SEIU and totally independent of the workers at the "new organizing targets."
Also, SEIU lied to its rank and file saying that the Labor Notes conference this year (the biggest organized institution of lefty rank and file labor activists in the U.S.) was a union busting group hosting a leader from the California Nurses Association (who SEIU is in a territorial dispute with) and sent two busloads of SEIU rank and file activists to disrupt the conference. When labor notes organizers blocked the entrance to the SEIU bloc, there was a scuffle, the cops got called, and a homecare rank and file leader from within SEIU had a heart attack and died.
http://www.labornotes.org/node/1604
SEIU and business unions routinely betray of the principles of mutual aid, solidarity, and self determination that spawned the labor movement and inspire every new struggle against the bosses. That is why the working class movement in this country is so tiny, so silent, and so ineffective. There was no general strike in 2003 to stop the invasion of Iraq. There was only lip service for respecting the rights of migrant workers when the largest general strike and largest demonstration in the history of this country was pulled off by the Immigrant Rights movement on May Day 2006. The business unions did not join the general strike because they cannot allow workers to vote on things like that that would lead to illegal strike action or else they would lose their charters from the government (and their money) and sadly, because the business unions do no member education to counter the racism of the fascist media, except on who to vote for in electoral politics, few members joined the strike.
Holding SEIU's feet to the fire is a solid contribution to the labor movement, which is bigger than any one union or union federation. The labor movement is the idea that everyone has a right to fight for a better life and mutual aid and solidarity make that self determination possible.
For a world free of bosses and bureaucrats,
Anarchism
Check out this SEIU rank and file site maintained by members who are fighting to control their union:
http://www.reformseiu.org/
Business unions are most of what is left of the labor movement in this country and much of the dues money is spent on paying off politicians to get them to pressure corporations. SEIU in particular focuses their organizing efforts on getting partnership agreements with bosses of companies where employers agree to allow "card check neutrality" (a simple 50%+1 vote instead of an inefficient NLRB government mediated election) in exchange for SEIU lobbying the politicians (who have received so much dues money) to give those employers sweeter contracts (of taxpayer money). This is all done without talking to the rank and file members of SEIU and totally independent of the workers at the "new organizing targets."
Also, SEIU lied to its rank and file saying that the Labor Notes conference this year (the biggest organized institution of lefty rank and file labor activists in the U.S.) was a union busting group hosting a leader from the California Nurses Association (who SEIU is in a territorial dispute with) and sent two busloads of SEIU rank and file activists to disrupt the conference. When labor notes organizers blocked the entrance to the SEIU bloc, there was a scuffle, the cops got called, and a homecare rank and file leader from within SEIU had a heart attack and died.
http://www.labornotes.org/node/1604
SEIU and business unions routinely betray of the principles of mutual aid, solidarity, and self determination that spawned the labor movement and inspire every new struggle against the bosses. That is why the working class movement in this country is so tiny, so silent, and so ineffective. There was no general strike in 2003 to stop the invasion of Iraq. There was only lip service for respecting the rights of migrant workers when the largest general strike and largest demonstration in the history of this country was pulled off by the Immigrant Rights movement on May Day 2006. The business unions did not join the general strike because they cannot allow workers to vote on things like that that would lead to illegal strike action or else they would lose their charters from the government (and their money) and sadly, because the business unions do no member education to counter the racism of the fascist media, except on who to vote for in electoral politics, few members joined the strike.
Holding SEIU's feet to the fire is a solid contribution to the labor movement, which is bigger than any one union or union federation. The labor movement is the idea that everyone has a right to fight for a better life and mutual aid and solidarity make that self determination possible.
For a world free of bosses and bureaucrats,
Anarchism
Not the organizing fund.
I hate to break the news to this daring band of Anarchists that attacked a Workers organization office but the teachers in Puerto Rico also belong to a Union !
Would you attack their bldg in the name of '' Wildcat Anarchism '' ? If so you would be understandably regarded as pro- govt. provocateurs .
I personally don't think you are. i think you're well meaning but stupidly ultra left idiots !
By the way do not even remotely consider trying a stunt like that at some Bay Area Union halls in particular . Believe me if you did and some rank and file members who, despite how much they might oppose this or that official see the Union hall as THEIR hall, caught you in the act--- well lets just say you might actually be glad when the cops arrive !
Would you attack their bldg in the name of '' Wildcat Anarchism '' ? If so you would be understandably regarded as pro- govt. provocateurs .
I personally don't think you are. i think you're well meaning but stupidly ultra left idiots !
By the way do not even remotely consider trying a stunt like that at some Bay Area Union halls in particular . Believe me if you did and some rank and file members who, despite how much they might oppose this or that official see the Union hall as THEIR hall, caught you in the act--- well lets just say you might actually be glad when the cops arrive !
The above commenter shares many similarities with a pro-government provocateur. I personally don't think they are, however. But if you were looking for a good example of counter-intelligence and psychological warfare being used by a hostile entity, look no further than the above comment.
Was the comment by '' Warning '' directed at the person '' Bust Union misleaders not Unions '' or the "'Wildcat Anarchists '' ?
If it's the former i don't understand what's so sinister about stating the obvious , if you attack a Union hall most workers of that union are going to see it as a attack on them (and react accordily )
If it's the former i don't understand what's so sinister about stating the obvious , if you attack a Union hall most workers of that union are going to see it as a attack on them (and react accordily )
What the hell good did that do? Besides make anarchists look silly? It's about more than spraypaint and breaking windows you know.
seiu's likely got plenty of corruption, but this seems pretty foolish when theres cops, destruction vehicles on the university, more corporate sprawl spreading over the county and plenty of more worthwhile targets around.
go smash a mcdonalds or something you nitwits, if national seiu's got your undies in a twist try subverting it, or attacking the specifically known to be corrupt members, or something a teeny fraction more thought out than etching the windows of a small local branch.
if you wanna go do that kind of stuff, you also know where the recruiting station is.
i mean fuck, priorities?
people down with the (A), wise up and burn the briges to your sworn enemies, not your potential allies.
go smash a mcdonalds or something you nitwits, if national seiu's got your undies in a twist try subverting it, or attacking the specifically known to be corrupt members, or something a teeny fraction more thought out than etching the windows of a small local branch.
if you wanna go do that kind of stuff, you also know where the recruiting station is.
i mean fuck, priorities?
people down with the (A), wise up and burn the briges to your sworn enemies, not your potential allies.
Whoever these alleged '' Wildcats '' may be i hope they are reading these comments . These are just the tip of the iceberg . I was at a liitle house party today where several rank and file SEIU members were present . None were full time officials . Two are shop stewards . All are opposed to what the "' Stern Gang '' is doing, including in Puerto Rico . But all thought the '' Wildcat Anarchists '' were at best , fools . at worst., agents .
Like some earlier said i think the former . But those guys need to think hard about their actions .I doubt if very many if any of the Union janitors they claim to support back their raid .
Like some earlier said i think the former . But those guys need to think hard about their actions .I doubt if very many if any of the Union janitors they claim to support back their raid .
i am a former member of the SEIU and before that the Laborers Union. Due to corporate ''downsizing '' i'm currently at a Non union job, doing the same work but at only 70% of my previous pay .
Benefits are very limited and grievance procedures don't exist . Unions are worthless? Not in the real world .
Benefits are very limited and grievance procedures don't exist . Unions are worthless? Not in the real world .
Whoever did the "Wildcat Anarchist" spray painting were either in the employ of a Pinkerton-type anti-labor agency or the local cops, but clearly acting in the interests of the ruling class. Or it might be some new COINTELPRO formation. The FBI perhaps?
Or simply the immature act of Social Fascists. If so, should rank and file members ever catch them, they should take them to their parents and demand that their allowance be used to repaint the union hall AND that their Playstation be taken away until they learn to read.
Big Bill
Or simply the immature act of Social Fascists. If so, should rank and file members ever catch them, they should take them to their parents and demand that their allowance be used to repaint the union hall AND that their Playstation be taken away until they learn to read.
Big Bill
Accept the reality that some overly zealous and self-satisfied in their opinion individual did it.........the feds and cops do not care that much about SEIU.
>
How do you know, officer?
Spoken like a true agent of the state!
How do you know, officer?
Spoken like a true agent of the state!
i do not think the ''Wildcats'' are a false flag cover for some sort of Police action . I echo the other commentators who think that they are a group pf politically childish activists who reacted badly to a real crisis and some outrageous actions by some SEIU tops .
But make no mistake , the people that manage the Govt. of behalf of their corporate sponsors DO care about the SEIU, Teamsters and the other unions . Especially their potential . Look at the threats the then Attorney-General Ridge directed at the much smaller (but powerful ) ILWU during their lockout in 2003 .
Look at the reactions of the govt. most closely allied to the US , The British, during the 1984 British Miners strike . Practically every cop in England, Wales ,and Scotland were mobilized to break that strike . MI5 and Special branch did their best to infiltrate the Union's and strike planning leadership. And it's a safe bet that their American ''cousins '' lent a hand .
On a smaller scale there are literally of dozens of union busting law firms and ''security ' agencies (usually staffed by ex , and not so ex. cops and FBI agents )
So yeah I don't think real union busters were involved in what happened on May 23 , but that doesn't mean they aren't watching !
But make no mistake , the people that manage the Govt. of behalf of their corporate sponsors DO care about the SEIU, Teamsters and the other unions . Especially their potential . Look at the threats the then Attorney-General Ridge directed at the much smaller (but powerful ) ILWU during their lockout in 2003 .
Look at the reactions of the govt. most closely allied to the US , The British, during the 1984 British Miners strike . Practically every cop in England, Wales ,and Scotland were mobilized to break that strike . MI5 and Special branch did their best to infiltrate the Union's and strike planning leadership. And it's a safe bet that their American ''cousins '' lent a hand .
On a smaller scale there are literally of dozens of union busting law firms and ''security ' agencies (usually staffed by ex , and not so ex. cops and FBI agents )
So yeah I don't think real union busters were involved in what happened on May 23 , but that doesn't mean they aren't watching !
O.K. everyone, cool down.
Take a look at where the graffiti is located. Then look at the pallets and chairs. Whoever did this probably stood less than 4' 6". They used the pallets and chairs to attempt to reach higher, hence the incredibly sloppy handwriting. They obviously are elementary school kids doing this as a prank. No adult claiming to be an Anarchist would be so foolishly anti-working class.
Weigh the evidence yourself.
Take a look at where the graffiti is located. Then look at the pallets and chairs. Whoever did this probably stood less than 4' 6". They used the pallets and chairs to attempt to reach higher, hence the incredibly sloppy handwriting. They obviously are elementary school kids doing this as a prank. No adult claiming to be an Anarchist would be so foolishly anti-working class.
Weigh the evidence yourself.
Yeah, I hear it's all the rage these days; 10 year old kids go out and do graffiti based upon obscure political and labor related issues.
Way to break the case, Forensic Expert Clouseau!
Way to break the case, Forensic Expert Clouseau!
Looking at the photos of the graffitti at SEIU, I was sickened. The slogan "support janitors not union" is just puzzling beyond belief. For many years, janitors have struggled to gain higher wages by linking the work they do to incredible corporate profits, asking only to share in a teeny piece of that pie.
They chose to gain better wages and working conditions by unionizing, in this case, with SEIU.
So what's wrong with these pictures? The arrogance of alleged anarchists who seem comfortable destroying the exterior of a union hall, where workers gather to seek and plan power for themselves struggling against intractable employers and bosses.....
Alleged anarchists, whose lashing out has no discipline or analysis behind their actions, in a free-for-all of paint sprayed misguided expressions...
The pictures feel violent and out of control and just so far off-base. I work in the area and now feel nervous about going to work tomorrow.
In closing, the attack on Tony Madrigal and Bill Monning was the clincher in how ridiculous the message and messengers are. Stop and think: one, only the second person of color ever elected to the Santa Cruz City Council, suffering the attacks for calling out police profiling of people of color, and the other, Bill Monning, a candidate for the Assembly, having worked with the United Farmworkers Union to stop the use of toxic chemicals being sprayed on farmworkers.
Attacking a union hall in the name of what? This isn't anarchy, it's random property violence. To attack a union hall insults all workers everywhere struggling for a better life for themselves and all of us.
They chose to gain better wages and working conditions by unionizing, in this case, with SEIU.
So what's wrong with these pictures? The arrogance of alleged anarchists who seem comfortable destroying the exterior of a union hall, where workers gather to seek and plan power for themselves struggling against intractable employers and bosses.....
Alleged anarchists, whose lashing out has no discipline or analysis behind their actions, in a free-for-all of paint sprayed misguided expressions...
The pictures feel violent and out of control and just so far off-base. I work in the area and now feel nervous about going to work tomorrow.
In closing, the attack on Tony Madrigal and Bill Monning was the clincher in how ridiculous the message and messengers are. Stop and think: one, only the second person of color ever elected to the Santa Cruz City Council, suffering the attacks for calling out police profiling of people of color, and the other, Bill Monning, a candidate for the Assembly, having worked with the United Farmworkers Union to stop the use of toxic chemicals being sprayed on farmworkers.
Attacking a union hall in the name of what? This isn't anarchy, it's random property violence. To attack a union hall insults all workers everywhere struggling for a better life for themselves and all of us.
No, not 10 years old. Based on the spelling mistakes, I'd say 11 or 12. Still kids. Probably just copied the slogans off their older sister or brother's middle or high school notebooks. Crimethinc is reaching lower and lower in its recruiting these days.
SEIU Local 521 is one of the most member run democratic Unions in the country. These little kids should have don't a little investigating prior to attempting to destroy the hall that workers build. In case some of you didn't know. Unions are last organized progressive movements left in the country.
To whomever did this come by tuesday morning and do it in public, don't worry I won't call the cops.
To whomever did this come by tuesday morning and do it in public, don't worry I won't call the cops.
How is it that bradley at riseup was there to take pictures of this crime against workers? Does he record this stuff in the name of "solidarity"? Is he part of the group that sprayed SEIU or was he just along for the ride?
He's the same photographer for many worker and student actions on the UCSC campus. So we somehow know him, right?
Maybe Bradley can put us in touch with the folks who did this and they can explain to us how they thought they were justified in destroying union workers' property......
Is it just a coincidence that a photographer was at SEIU, in a private alley that doesn't show to the public, just happened to be there at the same time as the grafitti vandals?
Does Bradley have the courage to post a comment helping me understand his place in all this?
He's the same photographer for many worker and student actions on the UCSC campus. So we somehow know him, right?
Maybe Bradley can put us in touch with the folks who did this and they can explain to us how they thought they were justified in destroying union workers' property......
Is it just a coincidence that a photographer was at SEIU, in a private alley that doesn't show to the public, just happened to be there at the same time as the grafitti vandals?
Does Bradley have the courage to post a comment helping me understand his place in all this?
bradley is a contributor who publishes his fotos, video, audio, and writing frequently. My understanding is that if there's news posted on the newswire, for example as this anonymous post was published on a Saturday at 11:30 am, anyone is welcome to follow up, or maybe even photograph what was written about, then post the fotos to the web, in this case for example more than ten hours later. Lots of people might have visited the Union hall that Saturday, and anyone who keeps a close eye on this site can easily notice a press release and act like the press to post pictures of the action.
If Bradley doesn't condone attacks on the working class, perhaps he can use his photos for an appeal to help raise money amongst other working class groups (i.e. IWW, Labor Councils, etc.) to paint over the immature, anti-working class graffiti. We can all help our sisters and brother in Santa Cruz with solidarity and mutual aid: An Injury to One is an Injury to All!
I agree with the above post that it had to be the work of bosses or cops. Whoever did it had zero working class consciousness!
I agree with the above post that it had to be the work of bosses or cops. Whoever did it had zero working class consciousness!
witnessing the aftermath of a car accident does not make one responsible.
witnessing the aftermath of political graffiti does not make one responsible.
witnessing the aftermath of political graffiti does not make one responsible.
Bradley does use his photos *regularly* (and has for many years) to advance the various causes of the underclasses, including worker's struggles. He is a photojournalist. I understand you are upset at the responsible parties for this anonymous "wildcat action" against the union hall, but please do not go blindly lashing out at someone who has a long standing public record in this community of being FOR worker's struggles.
For the record, I've seen Bradley's photos reprinted in various labor publications, so BTFO...
I was very disappointed to see such ultra-left vandalism on SEIU property. Not because im against the politics of message. I worked with SWCJ in the 2005 strike. I also believe that the union leadership will betray the interested of the rank-file. But anyone who really tries to build a rank-file movement will see first hand how difficult it is in this historical time period. Those who want to express such rank-file anti-bueacrat politics in that way does incredible harm for those who are actually trying to organize in the labor movement with those politics. What would Lucy Parsons, Big Bill Haywood, and John St Vincent do in such a situation?
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