Capitalism in miniature

Typically, I try not to be regional with my news, but this is an exception. In Northeast Wisconsin there's a popular pizzeria called "Sammy's Pizza" located next to the legendary Lambeau Field. Their pizza, to put it mildly, is a staple of the area. People love Sammy's. However, recently I've learned this business has been steadily raising their menu prices (even before $100-plus barrels of oil) and slashing workers' benefits and wages, all the while the owners purchase gaudy jewelry and buy some of the most gorgeous mansions in the wealthiest neighborhoods.

This information comes from my brother, an employee of Sammy's Pizza for 7 years. He discovered the company hired a person two months prior and had been given a higher wage than him. He confronted his boss.

Now, Sammy's employees do not get health or dental insurance. They only receive a week of vacation regardless of how long they've worked for the company (in some cases, just under two decades) and management steals a portion of the waitress' tips. My brother demanded an adequate increase in his wage along with an extra week of vacation. The boss refused, resorting to intimidation. He pointed to a stack of applications and told my brother he was replaceable. This is untrue, and the manager knew it. Over the course of 7 years my brother had been training new employees, became the night lock-up manager, became one of only a handful of trusted employees who were allowed to make Sammy's famous sauce, obtained his bartending license and had only called in sick once. Still, the boss refused to meet his demands. According to the manager, he was buying a commodity (my brother's labor) and wasn't going to get anything more from a wage increase. The problem, clearly, to even the most cynical observer is that Sammy's needed to catch up to my brother's acquired skills and compensate him for those skills.

This is far from Sammy's first time using worker intimidation. On at least one occasion the manager had shouted across the kitchen that every worker was expendable. Another time, an employee of over 10 years had bought a restaurant of her own. When she told management about her business venture and gave them her two week notice they fired her on the spot saying she was now "the competition". The next day when a local newspaper ran a story about the ex-employee's new restaurant Sammy's clipped every mention of the new business out of each issue.

Between high prices and low wages the family who owns Sammy's lives handsomely off their profits. They own some of the finest jewelry, flashiest cars and choicest property. On the other hand, my brother had been sick for two days before confronting his boss. He told his boss in a moment of complete candor that he couldn't afford to see a doctor on the meager health insurance he was forced to buy due to the pittance the company paid. This did not change the manager's mind. My brother was offered one last deal. He would be promoted to supervisor only if he would conduct surveillance on all the other employees. Let the owners know if anyone steals or isn't working hard enough. My brother denied the offer and turned in his two week notice.

Moments after leaving the manager's office my brother started letting every employee at Sammy's know how badly they are being treated. Four more people are quitting in the following weeks, leaving only one longtime worker left. Everyone who lives in Northeast Wisconsin, I urge you not to tolerate this type of draconian labor practices. Let Sammy's Pizza know you have solidarity with these workers. And please do not patronize their restaurant any longer.

Attack on IWW Solidarity March in Providence, RI

Do you think maternity leave, overtime and the 40 hour work week are good ideas? Me too. All of these rights were earned over decades by striking workers who fought and died for a better quality of life, enduring such brutal attacks by the police as seen recently in Rhode Island. That's right, the struggle continues. It's not some dusty memory contained in a Woody Guthrie song, the fight is very real and very imminent. The police state, contrary to what many believe, isn't materializing out of the ether it's always been here. Since the founding of the nation. We just have faster, more accurate reporting, ways of circumventing mainstream propaganda mills, etc..so, we're much more aware of this type of suppression. And it's interesting how the Police always side with the rich and mighty, never the little guy. We owe a huge debt to the IWW, their vision of "One Big Union" and the Socialist movement tied to it at the turn of last century helped workers win their rights, providing for a blueprint for future thrusts forward.

AUG/11/07 - Providence RI, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) march on Jackies Galaxy, a local restaurant chain supplied by HWH/Dragonland in NYC, a supplier notorious for slave labor conditions and a lack of basic labor rights. A few blocks before finishing the march North Providence police brutally tackled two of the marches after they moved to the sidewalk too slowly, both were arrested and one suffered a badly broken leg in the attack

Attack on IWW Solidarity March in Providence, RI-Support Needed!

Today at 12pm EST the Providence wobblies organized a march on Jackies Galaxy, which is a restaurant chain that is being supplied by HWH in New York City, a supplier who is notorious for its slave labor conditions of up to 110 hours per week without basic labor rights (minimum wage and overtime).

Roughly 30-40 wobblies and supporters were marching towards a restaurant in North Providence when the police began following them en mass. They told the marches to move to the sidewalk, while this was initially ignored, the marchers listened to the police and began slowly moving to the sidewalk.

The police then surrounded the marchers in their squad cars and began getting out. With the police in full force, they began attacking the marchers, one fellow worker, Alex Svoboda, was pinned down by the police during her arrest and suffered a dislocated leg. Jason, another wob, was also arrested in during the police' attack.

Despite this, the marchers continued on to Jackies Galaxy and eventually spoke with the owner who denies doing business with HWH although he has no documentation to prove this.

The Providence wobblies will continue their pressure on Jackies Galaxy until they stop doing business with the slave labor shop HWH and until their basic rights, including the right to organize, are instated.

In the meantime they need your support! Alex Svoboda is without any health insurance and they need bail for Jaso, so please send in any donation that you, or your branch can afford to the Providence General Membership Branch (address below) or contact Mark Frey at 201-669-0714 or Billy Randel at 646-645-6284.

You can also do your part at pressuring the Mayor and Police Chief of North Providence to at the very least, formally apologizing to the marchers, dropping all baseless charges and paying for the injuries that were unjustly caused, contact info below. We must continue the solidarity as a union so slave shops like HWH don't get away with their practices. For the One Big Union!

Providence GMB:
PO box 5795
Providence R.I.
02903

Email-ProvidenceIWW@riseup.net

North Providence Mayor:
Charles A. Lombardi
North Providence Town Hall
2000 Smith Street
North Providence, RI 02911
Telephone: (401) 232-0900, ext. 226
Fax: (401) 232-3434

Police Chief:
Ernest C. Spaziano
North Providence Police Department
1967 Mineral Spring Ave.
North Providence, R.I. 02904
Business line: 401-233-1433
Fax number: 401-233-1438