We know which Griffin we prefer!

Fuck the BNP!

www.afed.org.uk

Bristol Posties Refuse to Deliver BNP Hate-Mail

About 100 workers have told Royal Mail bosses in Bristol and Somerset that they refuse to deliver BNP leaflets. A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Where possible we will try to be flexible and sensitive to individual personal circumstances or beliefs. However, we need to balance this with Royal Mail’s legal obligations under the Representation of People Act, to deliver election material.”

BNP also attack black solider and Gurkhas

 

With Bristol posties refusing to push their leaflets and people cutting down their posters, resistance to the BNP is growing in Bristol and the South West; but the prospect of the BNP in power remains and needs to be resisted.

The true colours of the BNP are starting to run; and it’s not red, white and blue. It’s just red; blood red. The party has its party ‘advisor’ and ‘philosopher’ Arthur Kemp was speaking in an online video and offering this cryptic and very scary message for the ‘tyrants’; “We promise when we come to power we will put these people on trial for treason. The only issue is whether we will bring back the death penalty for treason before or after the trials.” Which people? Those who voted against you? Non-white people? Far from being a ‘real’ political party, the BNP have shown themselves to be out and out fascists and they want lots of blood spilled when they get into power.
See: http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2009/05/vote-bnp-for-b….html

To pile onto the blood-lust, a health dose of racism, the BNP are now claiming that a solider who won a Victoria Cross only got it ‘cos he was black. Here’s what the medal recipient Johnson Beharry did;

Despite this harrowing weight of incoming fire Beharry continued to push through the extended ambush, still leading his platoon until he broke clear. He then visually identified another Warrior from his company and followed it through the streets of Al Amarah to the outside of the Cimic House outpost, which was receiving small arms fire from the surrounding area. Once he had brought his vehicle to a halt outside, without thought for his own personal safety, he climbed onto the turret of the still-burning vehicle and, seemingly oblivious to the incoming enemy small arms fire, manhandled his wounded platoon commander out of the turret, off the vehicle and to the safety of a nearby Warrior. He then returned once again to his vehicle and again mounted the exposed turret to lift out the vehicle’s gunner and move him to a position of safety. Exposing himself yet again to enemy fire he returned to the rear of the burning vehicle to lead the disorientated and shocked dismounts and casualties to safety. Remounting his burning vehicle for a third time, he drove it through a complex chicane and into the security of the defended perimeter of the outpost, thus denying it to the enemy. Only at this stage did Beharry pull the fire extinguisher handles, immobilising the engine of the vehicle, dismounted and then moved himself into the relative safety of the back of another Warrior. Once inside Beharry collapsed from the sheer physical and mental exhaustion of his efforts and was subsequently himself evacuated.

Now whatever your stance on the Iraq war, this was a guy who risked his life to get his comrades to safety.

Also Angry Joanna Lumley last night blasted a British National Party leaflet targeting a Gurkha recently killed in action. The Ab Fab star branded as “disgusting” the racist party’s use of a picture of Corporal Kumar Pun with a cross through it. Thousands of the hate-filled leaflets also demand: “Stop this illegal Gurkha immigration.”

The BNP’s accusations a racist and wrong.
See: http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2009/05/zeroes-blast-h….html and http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2009/05/lumley-bnp-sic….html

The BNP’s support in recent polls has been slipping a bit as their true face appears; they can be stopped, but we still need to stop them. Remember the MEP elections are proportional representation; all votes count – and all absent votes count. Think of a room of 100 people. Let’s say 5 are BNP supporters. They are only 5% – not enough to get the 8% they need to get an MEP. Now consider the last turn-out; 40% – so now consider what happens if only 40 of the group vote but the BNP get their 5 supporters to vote; suddenly they are 12.5% of the vote and have got an MEP and around £2 million in tax-payers money to fund their party. Scary thought.

If you are not registered to vote; now is your last chance – see here for info:
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2009/05/sticky-last-ch….html

Please email this on to your friends and colleagues: together we can stop the hate.

Statement of the Starbucks Workers Union on its Fifth Anniversary

May 17, 2009 marks five years since baristas at a Starbucks in New York City announced their membership in the Industrial Workers of the World and launched a campaign open to employees throughout the company. A worker-led organizing effort with the legendary IWW at the world’s largest coffee chain could have been a flash in the pan– brilliant and inspiring, but brief. But a fire was lit and a movement began. The idea that Starbucks workers could organize themselves and speak in their own voice, independent of company executives and union bureaucrats, could not be restrained.

The bosses did their best to defeat us, to bury any indication of our existence under a heap of lies and retaliatory firings. They tried to stamp us out, even as the campaign for secure jobs and a living wage burst from New York into Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and beyond.

While Starbucks used the economic crisis as a pretext for an all-out assault on our already meager standard of living, our struggle gained momentum this year amidst a stark decline of the company’s brand and widespread store closures. Baristas around the country and around the world made the decision to organize and fight back against severe cuts in work hours, chronic under staffing, and a new “Optimal Scheduling” program which forces many workers to be available to Starbucks for over 80 hours a week without being guaranteed a single work hour.

This journey has been full of set-backs and tests of will. Progress has been made yet much remains to be done. But one thing is certain: our voice for dignity is firmly planted and our union’s future is bright.

The biggest battles remain ahead, but every day our ranks deepen. We are confident in our solidarity and could not be more proud to be associated with our fellow workers across the IWW and like-minded unionists around the world. This year, courageous baristas in Chile became the first Starbucks workers in Latin America to raise a union banner.

The corporate-controlled economic, social, and political model has been exposed everywhere as a failure for working families. And everyday workers are bolder and more assertive in the fight against injustice and exploitation. The notion that democracy has no place at work has been exposed as a lie.

To every worker who loves liberty: this is our time!

Together we organize. Together we struggle. Together we win!

Belfast Ford/Visteon workers victory – “10 times old offer”

Belfast Ford/Visteon workers vote to accept deal

Ford/Visteon Belfast workers today (Sunday 3rd May) voted 147 to 34 to accept the deal already accepted on Friday by Enfield and Basildon Ford/Visteon workers.

But workers have pledged that the occupation in Belfast, and 24hr pickets in Enfield and Basildon, will continue until the deal is signed, sealed and delivered to their satisfaction. Certain details of the settlement remain to be clarified.

 

Belfast Visteon workers to vote on new redundancy deal

 Visteon car workers in west Belfast are to vote today on whether to accept a deal and end a bitter dispute over the collapse of the factory.

The Unite union said it had agreed improved redundancy terms with the company. The deal includes enhanced payments for redundancy, as well as compensation in lieu of notice and holiday pay.

Visteon workers in Belfast are expected to call off their month-long occupation at the factory if the offer is accepted. About 200 former employees in Belfast have occupied the site in the city since they were made redundant almost a month ago. Almost 600 jobs were lost at Visteon’s three plants in Belfast, Basildon and Enfield, with staff being given less than an hour’s notice.

Unite spokesman Roger Madison said the deal was “ten times what people were being offered originally”.

“They’ve only been offered this because of the actions taken, especially by the people in west Belfast – to lock themselves in a plant for nearly a month is refreshing – it’s old-fashioned trade unionism.”

The company was formerly owned by Ford, and Mr Madison said it was “the sort of closure package we would see if a Ford plant was closing”.

“Unfortunately we weren’t able to keep these people in their jobs, but in terms of a financial package, we think we’ve done the best we possibly can,” he said.

Donal Murphy, who worked at the Belfast plant for more than 40 years, said there were “mixed feelings” among former workers.

“They have offered a generous redundancy payment, but unfortunately they are still walking away from the pension – we will probably fight for that separately,” he said.

“For some of the younger ones with less service, it’s a great deal for them because the pension was not an issue for them.

“It’s different for the likes of myself, at our age and trying to get another job, because our pensions will be probably more than halved.”

Workers at the Enfield and Basildon plants voted for the new redundancy deal 178 to 5 and 159 to 0 respectively.

May Day

Electronics workers save their jobs in France

After an occupation and strike lasting over six weeks workers at the FCI
Microconnections in Mantes-la-Jolie have saved their jobs.

The strike began on February 24th with workers demanding assurances on their
future. Management refusal to give information on production at an equivalent
factory in Singapore and an announcement that there was ‘overstaffing’ led
workers to believe that the company was planning to shut the factory down
and shift production. Over half of the factory’s 400 workers occupied the
factory to prevent any removal of equipment.

Workers held the factory and picketed for seven weeks, in spite of a legal order
to quit the premises issued on the 26th of March. 100 workers responded by going to the company
headquarters in Versailles and blockading the chief executive in the building for
four hours to demand negotiations.

Management continued to deny that any redundancies were planned until the
CGT uncovered a document detailing a redundancy plan for November on the
3rd of April. This increased support amongst the workers, especially the
non-strikers.

A week later after negotiations between the CGT and CFDT unions and management, mediated by the region’s sous-prefet and the work and employment bureau, an agreement was announced. The workers had succeeded in winning a guarantee that the factory would stay open until 2014 with no job losses before 2011. Workers also won payment for 27 of their 34 strike days.

Police suspension over attack at G20 death vigil

Scotland Yard last night suspended a second officer over brutality allegations after fresh video surfaced showing him striking a woman who was attending a vigil in honour of Ian Tomlinson, the man who died after being attacked by police at the G20 protests.

The officer, a sergeant, was the second person from the Territorial Support Group to be suspended in the last week.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission announced it would investigate the alleged attack by the TSG sergeant, the second time in a week the police watchdog has announced an investigation after media revelations.

The footage and series of photographs were taken at the Bank of England the day after Tomlinson’s death. The latest footage appears to show the officer hitting a woman across the face with the back of his hand, and saying: “Go away.”

The woman, clutching a carton of orange juice and digital camera, remonstrates with the officer. He is then seen drawing a baton from his pocket and striking the woman on her legs. The officer’s badge number was concealed.

“People were there for the vigil out of respect to remember Ian Tomlinson,” said Tristan Woodwards, 25, who caught the incident on film. “Police officers have to be held accountable.”

David Winnick MP, a member of the home affairs select committee, said last night the footage showed “more totally unacceptable” behaviour by a police officer.

He added: “The home secretary should make a statement about events at the G20 protests. That statement should include first and foremost Ian Tomlinson’s death and explain why police made a totally misleading statement about their contact with him.”

The first officer to be suspended came forward after the Guardian last week published footage of his clash with Tomlinson. It is believed the officer suspended last night had not come forward, but Scotland Yard would not say how he had been identified.

The new claims of brutality came as the chair of the IPCC faced renewed criticism after he wrongly claimed there was “no CCTV footage” in the area where police allegedly assaulted the newspaper vendor before he died.

The IPCC said yesterday that Nick Hardwick had been mistaken when he said there were no security cameras around Royal Exchange Passage, a pedestrianised area near the Bank of England where an officer struck Tomlinson with a baton and pushed him to the ground.

Tomlinson, 47, had his hands in his pockets and his back to police when the attack occurred around 7.20pm on 1 April. He collapsed and died moments later.

The IPCC is investigating whether the attack caught on footage obtained by the Guardian last week was an isolated incident or the culmination of a series of unprovoked assaults on Tomlinson. The father of nine had been trying to walk home when he was confronted by police at the G20 protests.

A first postmortem concluded that Tomlinson had died of a heart attack. The results of a second examination is expected within days.

Hardwick said on Thursday there was no CCTV evidence of alleged police assaults on Tomlinson. “We don’t have CCTV footage of the incident,” he told Channel 4 news. “There is no CCTV footage – there were no cameras in the locations where he was assaulted.”

Yesterday, after pictures were published showing cameras in the area, the IPCC said: “[On Thursday] Mr Hardwick believed that he was correct in this assertion – we now know this may not be accurate. There are cameras in the surrounding area.”

An IPCC spokesperson said while there may have been cameras in the area, that did not mean the watchdog had discovered footage of any alleged assaults.

The IPCC would not comment on why, a week after it said “investigators have looked at many hours of CCTV”.

City of London police manage and control the public CCTV cameras in the area, including at least one that overlooks Royal Exchange Passage.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the rights group Liberty, said she had “serious concerns” about the IPCC’s leadership, whose confusion over CCTV was “very worrying for the investigation”.

“You have to ask the question: Where are they getting their information from? Are they taking [City of London] police at their word?

“If the IPCC can’t grip this investigation and win back the public confidence that was lost in the Jean Charles de Menezes case, then I think patience will run out.”

There were at least two cameras on or beside Royal Exchange Passage. One, on the corner of Threadneedle Street, is a City of London police camera that can turn through 360 degrees.

Protest march climaxes struggle for the liberation of imprisoned December

The protest march of Saturday 11/4 marks a climax for the solidarity struggle regarding
imprisoned insurgents of the December uprising in Athens

On Saturday 11/4 noon a big protest march took to the streets of Koridallos, Athens,
towards the central jail of Greece. The march was in protest to the continuing
imprisonment of last December insurgents against who all evidence are little more than
circumstantial. Demanding the immediate release of the prisoners and pledging their
solidarity to all inmates and to the Katerina Goulioni, the prison activist who was
assassinated during her transfer from Crete to the mainland last month, the demonstrators
stood outside the women’s prison wing chanting prison abolition slogans as inmates put
fire on linen hanging them on their cell windows.

The protest march comes in a climax of solidarity struggle to the imprisoned insurgents
of December across the country including protest marches, concerts for economic help
to the imprisoned insurgents and their juridical expenses. On the previous Friday 10/04
three radio stations were occupied in Athens and were forced to broadcast programmes
on December demanding the immediate release of insurgents.

At the same time, on Saturday 12/4 evening protesters attacked and destroyed the offices of ANEK Lines, the colossal passenger boat company on whose boat Katerina Goulioni, the inmate prison-activist was assassinated on 18/3, putting an end to her struggle for the abolition of physical penetrative vaginal inspection in Greek prisons. Her death led to an uprising in the women’s prison of Thebes last month.

Greek prisoner activist found dead during prisoner transfer

20 March 2009

Early on Wednesday morning, a Greek prisoner actively engaged in defending prisoners’ rights was found dead. Katerina Goulioni and other prisoners were being transferred on a ferry from Thiva women’s prison in Greece to Neapoli prison on Crete.

It is alleged that, during the transport, she was seated at a distance from other prisoners and that her hands were tied behind her back. Other prisoners are reported to have said that she looked as if she had been hit in the face.

Katerina Goulioni contacted Amnesty International on several occasions to report on the inhuman treatment of prisoners and prison conditions for women, including at Thiva prison, near Athens, and at Diavata prison, Thessaloniki.

She informed Amnesty International that she had lodged complaints with the Greek Ombudsperson, including one in February 2009, and the prison governor of Thiva prison. She also appeared in a television documentary just before her death.

Katerina Goulioni had also been actively involved in Amnesty International’s campaigns by collecting petition signatures from Thiva prisoners. She told members of Amnesty International Greece on 17 March 2009 that the organization’s campaigning materials had recently been removed from her cell together with other human rights documents and that some materials had not been delivered at all.

According to information provided by the Greek Ministry of Justice, Katerina Goulioni died of a heart attack. The official coroner’s report is expected next week.
 
Amnesty International is calling on the Greek authorities to carry out a full, prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the full circumstances of the death of Katerina Goulioni; and into the complaints that she had lodged about the treatment of women prisoners.

Visteon factory worker occupations mini documentary