New York

Twenty New York IWW members fired

Twenty IWW members have been fired from a food distributing warehouse in New York.

May 28, 2008

Flaum Appetizing, a kosher food distributor, terminated 20 IWW members last week. The IWW had a strong presence at Flaum, with about two-thirds of the warehouse being union members. Workers had been struggling for respect from the boss for almost a year before the firings occurred.

Remembering Ralph DiGia

An obituary for Lifelong New York activist Ralph Digia (December 13, 1914 - February 1, 2008). The Ralph DiGia Fund for Peace & Justice was set up in his honour in 2008.

On, February 1st, I got a call from Ruth Benn that Ralph DiGia, 93, had died at St. Vincent's in New York City. I had visited him recently and sensed he was losing his battle - he had fallen and broken a hip about two weeks before, got an infection in the hospital (hospitals in the US are notoriously dangerous places for the sick and .wounded to go!), and despite rallying several times, died.

Up Against The Wall Motherfucker! - Interview with Ben Morea

Morea talks of the 1960s Black Mask and Up Against The Wall Motherfucker! groups and their activities - such as busting into the Pentagon during an anti-war protest, and "assassinating" a famous poet. He also discusses friendships with various characters, including the late Valerie Solanas - who shot Andy Warhol and wrote the SCUM Manifesto.

Anti-war statement from Antithesis (NYC-NEFAC)

Leaflet against the Iraq war written by the Antithesis collective (NYC-NEFAC) and distributed at an anti-war rally in New York City on October 27th.

Workers, not politicians, will end this war
Build Our Solidarity, Not Their Elections

Mollie Steimer, 1897-1980 - Paul Avrich

The life of Mollie Steimer, a Jewish anarchist in New York who opposed the First World War, and later lived in exile in France and Mexico.

Mollie Steimer: An Anarchist Life
By Paul Avrich

New York: Cab strike on the cards

Up to 7,000 taxi drivers in New York are scheduled to stage a two-day strike on September 5-6.

Cabbies opposed to plans to install credit card and video devices in cabs across the city’s fleet are planning to stage a two-day stoppage. The hi-tech video screens, which the city authorities want to have installed in every yellow cab, will allow passengers to watch TV, make payments with credit cards and watch the progress of their cab journey via a global satellite link.

The Many Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, and the Atlantic Working Class in the Eighteenth Century

Article on class struggle and compositon in the period leading up to and during the American revolution, showing how the struggles of sailors and slaves drove the movement to national liberation.

Introduction

Anarchy, precarity, and the revenge of the IWW: An interview with Starbucks union organiser Daniel Gross

Interview with IWW organizer Daniel Gross where he discusses 'solidarity unionism,' the innovative organizing model that has made gains for Starbucks workers where bureaucratic unions have failed.

In this wide-ranging interview with IWW organizer Daniel Gross conducted by the UK-based Now or Never!, Gross discusses the innovative worker-controlled organizing model, known as solidarity unionism, that has made gains for Starbucks workers where the bureaucratic union model has failed.

Isca, Valerio, 1900-1996

A short biography of Italian-American anarchist and co-founder of the New York Libertarian Book Club, Valerio Isca.

The Last of the Anarchists: A working-class hero passes away.
By Paul Berman

Blackwell, Russell, 1904-1969

A short biography of American Communist-turned anarchist Russell Blackwell who travelled to Spain during the Civil War.

Russell Blackwell
Born 1904 - USA, died 1969 - USA

Born in 1904 in the Northern United States, a Yankee, Russell Blackwell learnt the profession of cartographer. He joined the Communist Party of the United States of America in the 1920s. He was sent to Mexico by the CPUSA to help organise the Communist youth movement there, under the name of Rosalio Negrete.