Editor’s Note From Rivera Sun
Here’s a little good news on US Labor Day Weekend: big companies often resort to sneaky – and scary – tactics to keep workers from forming unions. A new ruling from the US National Labor Relations Board might make them think twice. The recent decision ruled that companies caught engaging in union busting tactics will be forced to recognize the very unions they’re seeking to thwart. (Starbucks, this may have been about the Cemex v. Teamsters dispute, but we’re looking at you.) Such comeuppance is rare, and much-needed. It’s a welcome ray of hope for the thousands of workers who are striking, picketing, and organizing across dozens of industries from hotels to healthcare, screenwriting to steelworking.
In other Nonviolence News, hundreds of prisoners in Bahrain are on hunger strike over conditions. Libyans are opposing the “normalization” of diplomatic ties with Israel, reiterating longstanding support for oppressed Palestinians. Mass protests in Niger are demanding the withdrawal of French troops from the region. (Be aware as you read the reports on this conflict that the complexity of anti-colonial sentiment is being reduced down to “coup supporters want France to leave”. The reality is more divergent than that, with mixed feelings about the coup, a demand for a transition to civilian government within months, a longing for self-determination, and widespread opposition to France intervening with military power.)
The ocean transcends borders … and so do the Fukushima protests. The first release of the nuclear plant’s wastewater discharge from its catastrophic meltdown has prompted protests across the Pacific from Fuji to South Korea (pictured above). Citizens are demanding that the Japanese government desist and halt their series of scheduled releases. There’s enough wastewater to fill around 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, so the protesters still have time to stop the decades-long release process.
On a brighter note, when it comes to do-it-yourself solutions that address injustice, people have been boldly defiant and wildly creative. This week’s Nonviolence News features a number of stories about how people are taking matters into their own hands to deal with the problems they’re facing. For example, as consolidation shut down grocery stores across Iowa, locals decided to open their own small stores. In Baltimore, Maryland, when a much-loved coffee shop unexpectedly closed, the workers took it over and turned it into a co-op. On Navajo Nation, a local group is setting up an address system to the thousands of numberless houses and nameless roads to provide emergency services, voter registration, and mail delivery. New Orleans workers have put together the first ride-share bike union. Thematically, in our Knowledge Section, you’ll also find a history and overview of mutual aid which shows the many ways people support people as we challenge injustice and create solutions.
A favorite story? A climate group made a great short video calling out TotalEnergies for sponsoring the Rugby World Cup. In the video (which you can find in the Creative Action Section), they fill the stadium with black, oozing oil. The best part? The factoid that reminds you that the fossil fuel industry produces enough oil to fill a stadium that size in 3.3 hours. It’s a visual you’ll never forget.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun
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From Montana to the Amazon, Let’s Remember to Celebrate Climate Victories: Climate advocacy is arduous, thankless work. But recent wins in the courtroom and at the ballot box offer hope. Read more>>
Campaign Stops New South Wales Forestry From Logging Australian Forest: After a month of protest, logging was halted in Newry State Forest, west of Valla between Urunga and Macksville on August 22. Six machines departed on August 25 in what Gumbaynggirr custodian Sandy Greenwood described as a “historic moment”. Read more>>
Companies That Try to Union-Bust Will Be Forced To Recognize Union: The National Labor Relations Board just made it a whole lot harder to union-bust. The new unionization process framework is part of a decision in a case between Cemex Construction Materials Pacific and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. If a majority of workers ask a company to recognize their union, under the new rules, the company must now immediately either recognize the union or petition the NLRB to hold a union election. Read more>>
After Beloved Baltimore Coffee Shop Abruptly Closed, Workers Reopened As Co-op: Common Ground Bakery Cafe suddenly closed this summer, but workers have now revived it as a co-op that will soon reopen in the same building. The date hasn’t been set yet, but they’re aiming to return in early September with a similar menu. Nineteen people will be worker-owners, and another three will return temporarily. Read more>>
Facing Consolidation, Communities Open Their Own Grocery Stores: When the longtime owner of Hometown Foods in tiny Conrad, Iowa announced in 2019 that he was closing the community’s only grocery store, some residents quickly mobilized to buy the business and keep it open. A few of them pooled their money to buy the building; one bought the fixtures; another bought the store’s inventory. They then approached Andy Havens, who owns two small grocery markets in nearby towns, about managing the store. He agreed to do so – and he is now gradually buying out the initial investors. Read more>>
Delivering Addresses (and Access) to the Navajo Nation: Emergency healthcare, mail delivery, broadband internet, government-issued IDs, and the right to vote often require a physical address. Across Navajo Nation—the largest and most populous Native American reservation in the country, spanning 27,000 square miles and three states—formal street addresses are a rarity. Out of the more than 60,000 structures, fewer than 500 are on roads with names and house numbers. Now, the people are creating physical addresses. Read more>>
New Orleans Workers Organize First E-Bike Ride Sharing Union in US: Led by trans mechanics, Blue Krewe United received union recognition this month. Read more>>
Hundreds of Prisoners In Bahrain On Hunger Strike To Protest Poor Prison Conditions: This is the largest ever hunger strike in the country’s history and is being supported by common Bahrainis who have been staging protests in solidarity with the striking prisoners. Read more>>
Retirees Win Battles Against Medicare Advantage: In a country inundated with Medicare Advantage ads falsely praising the benefits of ‘Egg-Whip’ middle-manager plans, grassroots organizations of retirees have cut through the gibberish, exposed the lies, and are fighting to keep their traditional Medicare with promised supplementary coverage. And they’re winning, too! Read more>>
Mass Protests Against French Troops Intensify In Niger As the Deadline For Their Withdrawal Nears: France refuses to withdraw its ambassador and troops from Niger, and reiterates its threat of supporting military invasion by ECOWAS. France’s 1,500 troops-strong military base in Niamey has become a site of frequent demonstrations, with people demanding that Niger’s former colonizer withdraw its troops. Thousands gathered outside this base on Sunday, demanding that its ambassador and troops leave the country. Read more>>
Protests Break Out In Libya Over Rumors of Normalization With Israel: Protesters in cities such as Al-Zawiya, Tajoura, and Tripoli, among other places, blocked roads and burnt the Israeli flag while shouting slogans against the GNU and Israel. Some of the protesters stormed the foreign ministry office in Tripoli. The protesters expressed solidarity with Palestine and warned that if the government goes ahead with the so-called normalization, they will escalate their protests and block the railways, Al-Mayadeen reported. Read more>>
‘Breaking Bad’ Stars Reunite On Picket Line To Call For Studios To Resume Negotiations With Actors: The cast of “Breaking Bad” has reunited to call upon Hollywood studios to resume negotiations with striking screen actors. “We want you to come back to the table with us,” Bryan Cranston said in a plea to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers outside Sony Pictures Studios on Tuesday. Read more>>
Kentucky Auto Workers at Ford Are Preparing For a Strike: Five hundred Auto Workers (UAW) from Local 862 held rallies in Louisville, Kentucky, August 24 and 25, part of a wave of practice pickets and rallies around the country. Class struggle was on everyone’s lips. A variety of issues brought them to the picket, but the auto workers there were unanimous about turbocharged wealth inequality leaving workers behind. Read more>>
Truckers’ Movements Announce International Alliance: Tamexun and Truckers Movement for Justice will formally meet in person for the first time, and are publicly announcing their historic international alliance. Tamexun, based in the United Mexican States, is an association formed to stop the exploitation of truckers. Truckers Movement for Justice (TMJ), based in the United States of America, is a grassroots organization focused on economic issues affecting truckers and the trucking industry. Listen to the interview (begins around 47 minutes in). Learn more>>
Pipeline Resister Stops Mountain Valley Pipeline Work For Seven Hours: Early Saturday morning, a pipeline fighter locked herself to construction equipment at a Mountain Valley Pipeline work site in eastern Montgomery County, VA. The site is where MVP is preparing to bore under Bradshaw Creek and Road. Banners at the site read, “Doom To The Pipeline” and, “Only You Can Prevent Pipelines.” Nearby, a rally of nearly 30 people gathered to show their support for the protest. Read more>>
Climate Activists Target Emissions-Spewing Lifestyles of the Ultrawealthy: Climate activists have spraypainted a superyacht, blocked private jets from taking off and plugged holes in golf courses this summer as part of an intensifying campaign against the emissions-spewing lifestyles of the ultrawealthy. Climate activism has intensified in the past few years as the planet warms to dangerous levels, igniting more extreme heat, floods, storms and wildfires around the world. Tactics have been getting more radical, with some protesters gluing themselves to roads, disrupting high-profile sporting events like golf and tennis and even splashing famous pieces of artwork with paint or soup. Read more>>
South Korean Protesters Call For Government Action On Fukushima Water: Protesters gathered in the capital of South Korea on Saturday to demand that the government take steps to avoid what they fear is a looming disaster from Japan’s release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Japan began dumping the water from the plant north of Tokyo into the sea on Thursday despite objections both at home and abroad from fishing communities and others worried about the environmental impact. Read more>>
In Fiji, Solidarity March In Suva Opposes Fukushima Waste Water Release Into Pacific: “We are already fighting for access to clean water and food and now we have to fight this nuclear radiation. Decision makers of the day are not thinking about the future or the children.” Read more>>
After Wildfires, Native Hawaiian Farmers Resist Attempt To Shift Blame: The ultra-right and the government are behind a narrative that implies that Indigenous sovereignty and water rights are to blame for the delay in dousing the Maui wildfires. Indigenous Hawaiians are resisting this campaign and have put forward a charter of demands. Read more>>
Japan Protests Release of Fukushima Waters: Protesters gathered outside the Japanese prime minister’s office in Tokyo on Friday to demonstrate against the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. “I want them to realise that they have made a mistake and make them pause the operation and think again,” said Akiko Kobayashi, the organizer of the protest. Read more>>
Just Stop Oil Blocks Roads To Stop Oil & Gas Projects: 31 supporters of Just Stop Oil have taken to roads in Leeds in resistance to the UK Government’s attempts to license new oil and gas projects. Greg Sculthorpe from Doncaster, who is attending the march today said: “We’ve had enough of this government’s lies. We all know that we cannot continue adding carbon into the atmosphere without consequence.” Read more>>
Native Nations On Front Lines of Climate Change Find Knowledge & Support At Intensive Camps: People from at least 28 tribes and intertribal organizations attended this year’s camp in Port Angeles, Washington, and more than 70 tribes have taken part in similar camps organized by the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians at other sites across the U.S. since 2016. Tribes suffer some of the most severe impacts of climate change in the U.S. but often have the fewest resources to respond, which makes the intensive camps on combatting the impact of climate change a vital training ground and community-building space. Read more>>
Campaigners Sued an Oil Major For Climate Deception. Now the Company Is Preparing to Sue Them Back. In May, NGOs and citizens sued Italian oil giant Eni for its decades of lobbying and greenwashing to delay climate action. Barely two months later, Eni has laid the groundwork for a lawsuit of its own, alleging it has been harmed by a “massive campaign” of “serious defamatory declarations.” Eni’s legal threat reflects a growing trend of petro-firms using dubious lawsuits to quash activism, intimidate critics, and dodge accountability. There is a worldwide escalation of using legal tactics intended to cow critics into silence. Read more>>
Taking Lessons From Black Political Prisoners During Black August: In 1979, Black prisoners in California’s San Quentin State Prison celebrated the first “Black August”. Throughout the month, “participants refused food and water before sundown, did not use the prison canteen, eschewed drugs and boastful behavior, boycotted radio and television, and engaged in rigorous physical exercise and political study.” Today, New Afrikan organizer Jomo Muhammad talks about tactics for supporting Black political prisoners and combating state repression. Read more>>
Thousands Gather For 60th Anniversary of March On Washington: Thousands converged Saturday on the National Mall for the 60th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington, saying a country that remains riven by racial inequality has yet to fulfill his dream. “We have made progress, over the last 60 years, since Dr. King led the March on Washington,” said Alphonso David, president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum. “Have we reached the mountaintop? Not by a long shot.” of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington, saying a country that remains riven by racial inequality has yet to fulfill his dream. Read more>>
The Tampa Five: An Assault on Free Speech: A small group of protesters from the University of South Florida is facing charges after police aggressively arrested them. The marchers were mostly young women carrying nothing more sinister than a megaphone, a banner reading “we want increased Black enrollment” and the water bottles ubiquitous among students on Florida campuses. In addition to their demands for higher Black enrollment, they wanted President Law to speak out in opposition to proposed Florida HB999 which banned diversity initiatives, and a meeting with her. Upon entering Patel, the group was quickly confronted by many campus police. Read more>>
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Booed at Vigil as Hundreds Mourn More Racist Killings: Hundreds of people gathered Sunday at prayer vigils and in church, in frustration and exhaustion, to mourn yet another racist attack in America: this one the killing of three Black people in Florida at the hands of a white, 21-year-old man who authorities say left behind white supremacist ramblings that read like “the diary of a madman.” Following services earlier in the day, about 200 people showed up at a Sunday evening vigil a block from the Dollar General store in Jacksonville where officials said Ryan Palmeter opened fire Saturday using guns he bought legally despite a past involuntary commitment for a mental health exam. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis — who is running for the GOP nomination for president, who has loosened gun laws in Florida and who has antagonized civil rights leaders by deriding “wokeness ” — was loudly booed as he addressed the vigil. Read more>>
Police Clash With Protesters at Ben-Gvir’s Home In West Bank: A protester told The Jerusalem Post that there were about 300 protesters that had been bussed in by organizers from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. “Let all the leaders of the coup know: we are moving the fight to their court. Gone are the times when you could promote a revolution from your home in settlements and outposts and know that no one would come oppose it,” said the protest organizers. “ Today we came to Ben-Gvir to draw a line. We will not let you turn Israel into a leprous and messianic apartheid state.” Read more>>
What Is Prison Abolition? What do successful alternatives to policing, prosecution, and prison actually look like? And how would they work? A group of Chicago’s leading public safety, health, and justice innovators gathered at the DePaul Art Museum last summer to provide much-needed clarity on these crucial questions. Read more>>
#NoTechForApartheid: Last night, hundreds of Google workers and Bay Area community members rallied outside the Google Cloud Next conference in San Francisco. In an unprecedented moment, over 30 Bay Area activists chained themselves to each other at the main intersection and pedestrian bridge, effectively blocking off traffic and disrupting Google Cloud’s biggest event of the year to demand Google drop its $1B contract with the Israeli military and government. Read more>>
Taliban Ban Women From National Park In Afghanistan: The Taliban have banned women from visiting one of Afghanistan’s most popular national parks. The ban was announced after the acting minister of vice and virtue complained that women visiting the park had not been adhering to the proper way of wearing the hijab.In 2013, the park became a potent symbol of change after it was announced that four female park rangers had been hired, in a first for the country. More than two years after the Taliban’s return to power it has become the latest plank in their systematic effort to push women out of the public sphere. Read more>>
The #MeToo Moment Of Spanish Football: Spain’s women’s soccer team has not only garnered international attention this week for winning the World Cup but has now become the center of controversy after a player accused a high-level official of planting an unwanted kiss on her. Read more>>
The Patriarchy’s War on Women: The backlash against feminist progress that’s overtaking the U.S. is part of a global trend. Free and empowered women are a threat to authoritarianism worldwide—and the autocrats know it. The United States was officially designated a backsliding democracy in late 2021—a full six months before the fall of Roe v. Wade. Read more>>
LGBTQ+ Rights Advocates Mourn California Store Owner Killed Over Pride Flag: “The tragic, targeted killing of Lauri over the Pride flag displayed at her Lake Arrowhead store was senseless and, unfortunately, part of a growing number of attacks on LGBTQ people and our allies”. Read more>>
A New Approach to Help Women Trapped by Violence in Honduras: In response to high rates of gender-based violence (GBV) in Honduras, in 2019, Cure Violence Global and UNICEF collaborated to adapt the Cure Violence approach to reduce GBV. Since then, the approach has been implemented in five cities, successfully interrupting GBV conflicts, helping to relocate women and children to safety, and changing norms around GBV. Read more>>
Welfare Not Warfare, Australian Protesters Say: On August 23 students and peace activists gathered outside the the University Club to protest the two-day “AUKUS Masterclass” hosted by the University of West Australia Defence and Security Institute. The protest was organized by Welfare Not Warfare and sponsored by Stop AUKUS WA and the NUS Education Department. Read more>>
20 Groups Demand Passage of Bowman Amendment to Disclose Cost of US Military Footprint: “This amendment is crucial as taxpayers and other citizens remain concerned—and inadequately informed—about the cost to U.S. taxpayers of the wide range of U.S. military activities abroad.” Read more>>
War Abolisher Awards – And Why They’re Needed: Alfred Nobel’s will left funding for a prize to be awarded to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” Yet, you couldn’t pay most recent Nobel Peace Laureates to say they support the abolition or reduction of standing armies. Some of them are actual advocates for or participants in warmaking. World BEYOND War’s War Abolisher Awards seek to uplift people who are actually fulfilling the specs that the Nobel Prize was designed on. Read more>>
New Tool Creates Personalized Legal Memo Asking Education Department to Cancel Student Debt: “President Biden says he is going to use every tool he can to cancel student debt, but there is still much more he can do,” said a co-founder of the Debt Collective. “With this new tool, we are calling his bluff.” Read more>>
Greenpeace Releases Animated Video in Campaign Against Fossil Fuel Sponsorship of Rugby World Cup: Environmental group Greenpeace released an animated video showing a massive amount of oil flooding the field for the upcoming opening game of the Rugby World Cup in a campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship of big sporting events. The video takes aim at energy giant TotalEnergies, a sponsor of the event in France. Read more>>
A Portuguese Street Artist Installed a Carpet Made From Oversized €500 Bills in Protest of the Pope’s Visit: The guerrilla artwork is called “Walk of Shame and protests the cost of the papal visit. Read more>>
Washington Square Artists Protest Crackdown On Vending: As police and Parks Department officers have recently been focusing on pushing vendors away from the Washington Square Park fountain — and telling them to ditch their oversized beach umbrellas — artists, in turn, have been pushing back. Read more>>
Mutual Aid 101: History, Politics, and Organizational Structures of Community Care: Ride shares, free food and other survival items, community fundraising, prison letter-writing campaigns, and more can all fall under the umbrella of mutual aid. But more than this, mutual aid is about mobilizing communities to address a shared injustice and working together to collectively find solutions that don’t rely on any one person, corporation, or government entity. Read more>>
What Is a Scab? The Do’ and Don’ts of Picketlines: What is a “scab”? A scab is a worker who crosses a picket line in violation of a planned work stoppage or strike and it’s the most contemptuous term that could be leveled against you within the labor movement. From striking Hollywood writers and actors to unionizing Starbucks baristas, here’s what you need to know about scabs and the dos and don’ts of the picket line. Read more>>
How To Get Decarceration In Our Lifetimes: Former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin share reflections on accountability, abolition, and the reality of San Francisco politics. “We have created a culture where people expect, as the only possible response to harm that occurs in the community, a punitive carceral response. Changing that requires not only doing the political, organizing, and education work, but it requires shifting culture and building out alternative infrastructure.” Read more>>
Rising Up For Cultural Transformation — Campaign Nonviolence Action Days 2023: Campaign Nonviolence launched 10 years ago with the understanding that the relentless violence of our culture was neither inevitable nor natural. If we want to break this culture of violence, we need to build a culture of nonviolence, starting with Campaign Nonviolence Action Days 2023. Learn more>>
Worldwide Rallies For Julian Assange At Australian Embassies: A group of pro-Assange Australians has asked activists worldwide to organise sit-ins or demonstrations on September 2nd outside Australian embassies and consulates, to say to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in no uncertain terms: ‘Dear Albo, enough of your promises to put pressure on the US, now we want to see you visibly on the offensive. (Sept 2) Learn more>>
End Fossil Fuels March: On September 15th and 17th, climate warriors, internationally will be gathering to demand an end to the fires of the climate crisis and a beginning for a sustainable future. Go to Fight Fossil Fuels to learn how to endorse the gathering and bring your coalition into the upcoming global day of action. (Sept 15 & 17) Learn more>>
Campaign Nonviolence Action Days: From Sept 21 to Oct 2, 2023, (Int’l Day of Peace to Int’l Day of Nonviolence), join tens of thousands of people in calling for a culture rooted in nonviolence. Last year, people held over 4,600 actions, events and marches across the USA and in 20 countries. Over 60,000 people participated in these events. (Sept 21-Oct 2) Learn more>>
#NoTechForApartheid: Click here to add your name in solidarity with activists and workers who put their bodies on the line last night. Tell Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian: #NoTechForApartheid. Learn more>>
Pledge #NeverVanguard: Vanguard’s ongoing failure to attend to climate risk is why we’re ending our complicity in Vanguard until it changes course. Please join us in pledging “Never Vanguard”: a commitment to move savings invested with the asset manager or in its funds, to not work for Vanguard. Or, you can help publicize the negative effects of its investments on social media or in an op-ed. By doing so, you’ll join the growing tide of people moving their money out of Vanguard or pledging to not work with the asset manager until it deals with its climate problem and invests for a livable future! Learn more>>
