Saturday, September 22, 2012

An Organizing Attempt

I just withdrew my case against my employer. That officially closes my attempt to unionize the Dillons within Wichita, KS I had worked at. I didn't want the case to move onto the appeal process and put a scar on possible uses of the NLRB within Kansas, so that's why I didn't go through it. I'm a fairly young organizer, and this was my first serious attempt at using the law in practice.

I had kept a work journal. I can't emphasize enough how useful this was to me in the process of filing. There was no way I would have been able to remember all the information which the NLRB lawyer had asked for without it. I used a format suggested by the Kansas City IWW Branch which recorded who worked, what their shift was, and their duties that day. I also recorded my scheduled time as well as my actual clock in/out times. In my notes I recorded the general mood of the day, whether or not I got breaks, infractions which other workers performed, interactions between myself and the boss, interactions between the boss and other workers, and sometimes some closing thoughts on the campaign. I don't know if I should have recorded all of this, because I never went to court and so didn't get to admit my worker journal as evidence. But it did help in filing a great deal.

I learned that the work conditions make it difficult to organize in service sector jobs. That isn't to say that it's not possible, but that the work conditions as well as the social conditions of Kansas make it so workers tend to sympathize with power -- the boss -- and don't believe in themselves. If they do believe in themselves, they don't see the value in collective action. This made me think that the union battle in conservative states is more than a shopfloor battle. It's a cultural one. There needs to be a culture of resistance established so that people have the thought in their heads that they can collectively fight worker oppression.

I've also been organizing with Occupy Wichita. Not sure if any of y'all have hopped on that bandwagon, but the efforts being made there have been fruitful for Wichita, so I've layed off of the IWW organizing to some degree. I'm still kind of the "contact" guy, but I only have so much time. As of right now I use the IWW as an educational body, mostly. If I'm hired into a workplace, I'll be right back at it. (Oh, I was fired from Dillons for insubordination, attempting to use Sec. 7 in a creative way to throw away food in protest, but the lawyer thought that while I may have a case for concerted activity, that that activity would most likely be voted down as "protected". Just fyi. Live and learn, right?)

While this doesn't relate as much to feminism in the worker movement, it is a bit of news from one of the fronts in a conservative state. Thought I'd try to keep people up to date on activities like that. I feel much more prepared from the experience, and know that I'd spend more time building the social network prior to acting on my own. However, I'm uncertain -- in Kansas -- how that would be possible without a culture of resistance, and that is something I'm working on building through Occupy.

Hope things are well with others in their organizing efforts.

1 comment:

Lee Roberts said...

Hey everyone! I came across this filmmaker, Kenneth DelVechio, and think that his new documentary sends the message that we are all looking to send. Here is some information:
From the Mind of Controversial Filmmaker and
Best Selling Novelists
Kenneth DelVechio

THE LIFE ZONE

Will be release on VOD on December 4, 2012
DVD available on December 11, 2012

Controversial filmmaker, bestselling author and former judge, Kenneth DelVecchio’s pro-life thriller, THE LIFE ZONE will be available on December 4, 2012 on VOD (DVD available on December 11, 2012).

THE LIFE ZONE follows three women have been kidnapped from abortion clinics and held for seven months – until they all give birth. Cutting right down the middle of the hotly debated issue, THE LIFE ZONE examines the topic of abortion from both sides but, as The Los Angeles Times reports, The Life Zone is“a psychological thriller bringing an emphatically anti-abortion slant to the hot-button issue.” “The Colbert Report”adds, “Just like all great horror films, Del Vecchio’s movie has a shocking twist.” And Newsweek/The Daily Beast headlined with “The Life Zone has caused an uproar”.

The movie stars Robert Loggia (Academy Award nominee; Scarface, Big), Lindsey Haun (Broken Bridges, True Blood), Martin Kove (The Karate Kid; Rambo), and Blanche Baker (Emmy winner; Sixteen Candles).

SEE TRAILER HERE: http://www.justiceforallproductions.com/lifezone.php

YOUR COVERAGE IS APPRECIATED. REVIEW SCREENERS ARE AVAILIBLE

Kenneth Del Vecchio (writer/producer) is a critically acclaimed writer/director/producer of over 15 feature films: The Great Fight, The Life Zone, An Affirmative Act, Scavenger Killers, iMurders, Kinky Killers, The Grand Theft, Fake, Snapshot, O.B.A.M Nude, Three Chris's The Drum Beats Twice, Pride & Loyalty, Alone in the Dark 2 , Tinsel Town, Rules For Men, The Crimson Mask, and Here and There. Author - Best-selling author of national criminal codebook, Code of Criminal Justice: A Practical Guide to the Penal Statutes(Prentice Hall), New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice (New Jersey Law Journal Books), Test Prep Guide to Accompany New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice (New Jersey Law Journal Books), New York Code of Criminal Justice(Prentice Hall) and upcoming works. Novelist - Penned three published fiction novels: The Great Heist (Transit Publishing, 2011, Pride & Loyalty (Bestseller - Commonwealth Publications, 1997), Revelation in the Wilderness (Celebrity Author Contract -Authorhouse, 2000). He is also founder and chairman of Hoboken International Film Festival and publisher of the New Jersey’s daily newspaper, Garden State Journal. He is a Criminal Law Instructor – and owner of The Criminal Law Learning Center and has taught criminal law to over 1,000 police officers and attorneys. As an attorney he has tried over 400 cases and was one of the youngest judges in state history. www.JusticeForAllProductions.com. For more information about Kenneth Del Vecchio, including critical reviews, please visitwww.justiceforallproductions.com and www.hobokeninternationalfilmfestival.com.
To speak with Mr. Del Vecchio please contact
Springer Associates PR / Joe Trentacosta at 212 354 4660/ joe@springerassociatespr.com