Tuesday, January 26, 6:30pm
In this special meeting to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., a multiracial panel of public-sector unionists examines the history and current struggles of Black, Indigenous and other workers of color in fighting systemic racism, while also demanding good jobs, justice for all workers, and expanded public services. Panelists also report on an exciting campaign initiated by OWLS, to Root Out Racism in the County named for the civil rights leader.
Speakers: Annaliza Torres, Filipina socialist feminist and member of OPEIU 8;
James Pratt, Anti-racist activist and one of the few Black Mechanics at King County Metro;
Adam Arriaga, Latino militant in ATU 587 and member of OWLS Steering Committee
Join the meeting by going to bit.ly/Register4OWLSMeeting
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Gearing up to Raise Good Trouble in 2021!
OWLS Solidarity Check-in
Friday, January 8, 6:30pm
OWLS reports on plans to participate in Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year’s celebration includes zoom workshops, a youth event, and culminates in a march and rally to be held on Monday, January 18. Help lay plans for OWLS participation. Also learn the latest on local labor battles, or bring news of yours! Join the meeting by going to bit.ly/Register4OWLSCheck-In
And mark your calendar for Martin Luther King Day …
JANUARY 18: RALLY AND MARCH ON MLK JR. DAY
This year’s MLK Jr. Day is themed “Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble.” Join the OWLS contingent and bring your union colors! For more info also go to: https://www.seattlemlkcoalition.org/
Meet at Garfield High, 23rd and Jefferson. Gather for the rally at 11:00am
March at 12:30pm
Racial Justice – It’s a Labor Issue!
Tuesday, November 24, 6:30pm
Despite the raging nationwide movement for racial reckoning, too many workers of color still confront bigotry and discrimination on the job. Often our unions fail to defend those on the front lines. How can we turn it around? Amalgamated Transit Union members Cheryl Jones and Adam Arriaga lead a discussion about revitalizing our unions and the OWLS battle to root out racism at King County.
Join the OWLS meeting by going to bit.ly/Register4OWLSMeeting
Elections 2020: The Battle at the Ballot Box and Beyond
| In the run up to the election the Trump Administration, white supremacists, and ultra-rightists have mounted an unprecedented attack on democratic and civil rights, including the right to protest. To stop the assault, the labor movement has called for mass action, including a general strike. (see MLK Labor resolution below)
Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS) is part of the mobilizing effort. Please join other labor and community activists at the protests! Bring picket signs and wear your union colors. Look for the big yellow OWLS banner at the gatherings below. Actions to Stop Trump from Stealing the Election Sunday, November 1 – 3pm – Action Assembly Wednesday, November 4 – 5pm – March and Rally Also mark your calendar for upcoming meetings: OWLS Solidarity Check In See the resolution passed by MLK Labor calling labor and community to action to defend democratic rights http://mlklabor.org/ |
Labor Unites to Defend Democratic Rights
| OWLS Meeting Tuesday, Oct. 27 – 6:30pmWith Election Day less than two weeks away, unionists are mobilizing to protect the basic freedoms of all workers, including the right to vote and protest without intimidation. At this meeting OWLS reports on efforts to build a United Front with Left and labor forces across the U.S. to fight Trump Administration attacks on democratic rights.OWLS also celebrates the Martin Luther King County Labor Council passage of a resolution – with 97% approval – to “take whatever nonviolent actions are necessary up to and including a general strike” to stop Trump and his ultra-right allies from stealing the election or trampling civil rights and liberties. OWLS members wrote resolutions, made calls, and otherwise urged action and leadership from county and state labor councils. Join OWLS in discussing developments and next steps as the fight to defend democracy and the right to organize heats up! The full text of the resolution is below. Meeting via Zoom: To participate by computer or smartphone register at: bit.ly/ To participate by phone dial (253) 215-8782 enter meeting ID 851 2769 9070 * * *
Below is the resolution passed by Martin Luther King Jr Labor on Wednesday, 10-21-2020. Thanks to all the union members and council delegates who worked to get this passed!
LABOR MUST DEFEND DEMOCRACY RESOLUTION |
Racism is a Public Health Crisis at King County!
PICKET & SPEAK-OUT!
EXECUTIVE CONSTANTINE DO YOUR JOB! RACISM IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS AT KING COUNTY!
Since July, Dow Constantine has refused to acknowledge or meet to discuss demands that address the epidemic of racism at King County’s worksites. Since he has refused to meet, OWLS is bringing the meeting to him.
Tuesday, October 6, 4pm
Offices of King County Executive Dow Constantine
Chinook Building, 5th Ave & Jefferson St., Seattle
We Demand:
- Immediate action to stop racist threats and harassment at King County worksites
- Restitution for all who have filed complaints on racism without satisfactory resolution; establish an independent office of equal rights for complaints
- Affirmative Action in hiring, training, promotion. End nepotism!
- Healthy worksites and PPE for frontline workers
- Stop lay-offs and service cuts by taxing King County’s super wealth
- Stop union-busting, honor workers’ rights
Sponsor: Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity
To endorse or for info: email OrganizedWorkersls@gmail.com Or call 206-819-2279.
OWLS Meeting on Friday, October 9 will discuss this campaign and next steps. To attend, register at bit.ly/Register4OWLSCheck-In.
Rooting Out Racism in King County
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September OWLS Meetings will highlight ongoing work to confront racism, bigotry, and austerity cuts in King County.
Friday, Sept. 11 – 6:30pm — owls solidarity check-in
Protesting Racism & Austerity On the Job!
A shop floor activist tells how he organized a mini picket at work to protest racism and layoffs – and scored a victory for free speech. Other reports include plans for meeting with the County Exec to wipe out bigotry on the job, and news of recent strikes!
To participate by computer or smartphone register at: bit.ly/Register4OWLSCheck-In. By phone call 253-215-8782; Meeting ID: 821 2302 5613
Tuesday, Sept. 22 – 6:30pm — owls monthly meeting
Where’s the Social Justice and Equity at King County?
OWLS reports on plans to meet with the County Executive as part of an ongoing campaign to demand accountability from management in living up to its promise of a workplace free from discrimination, bigotry, and racial harassment. Join the discussion and help prepare for plans to keep the heat on elected officials until justice is won.
To participate by computer or smartphone register at: bit.ly/Register4OWLSMeeting. By phone call 253-215-8782; Meeting ID: 851 2769 9070
All OWLS Meetings are being held via zoom in compliance with guidelines for the Coronavirus pandemic.
Labor’s continuing struggle for Safety and Racial Justice on the Job
OWLS Membership Meeting
Tuesday, August 25, 6:30pm (note earlier meeting time)
Hear about the over 600 strikes that have taken place across the US since the COVID pandemic. Plus join discussion on plans for the next step in the ongoing campaign to root out racism and bigotry on the job at King County.
To participate by computer or smartphone register at: bit.ly/Register4OWLSMeeting. You will receive an almost immediate email in reply with the meeting link.
By phone call 253-215-8782.
The Meeting ID : 851 2769 9070
Solidarity Check In -Friday, August 14, 6:30pm
Solidarity Check In – Friday August 14 – 7pm
The Zoom Room opens 6:30pm social “hour”
Discuss the ongoing campaign to root out racism and bigotry on the job at King County and beyond! Help plan actions to follow up the July 20 picket at the offices of County Executive Dow Constantine. Protest demands for equity have not been answered.
Plus, “news from the shop floor labor” where anyone can share briefs of their organizing campaigns and struggles from the job.
By computer or smartphone register here: bit.ly/OWLS-August-Zoom. You will receive an almost immediate email in reply with the meeting link.
By phone call 253-215-8782.
Meeting ID is 870 8015 5053.
“Strike for Black Lives” Action Wins Victory for Seattle Transit Workers
By Steve Beck and Linda Averill
Rallying in sync with the July 20 “Strike for Blacks Lives,” over 250 union and community activists picketed King County Executive Dow Constantine’s offices in the heart of downtown Seattle. They called for immediate action in response to racist incidents at Metro transit bases and other county worksites, and the rollback of layoffs and wage freezes that hit hardest a workforce that is overwhelmingly people of color, immigrants, and women.
The action, called by Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity (OWLS), chalked up a victory the very next day. The County Council voted 8-1 to fund promised raises recently negotiated by Amalgamated Transit Union 587. Constantine had announced plans to renege on the agreement and asked the Council to vote down the raises.
OWLS mobilized broad support on this national day of action to ramp up the heat and demand that government officials “Root Out Racism at King County and Beyond!” Numerous local unions endorsed. Black Lives Matter activists joined unionists and youth organizations in powerful, multiracial labor and community solidarity. Washington Youth for Climate Justice, which had marched earlier in the day, joined the OWLS picket, swelling the rally into the street. Loud chants of “Black workers lives matter,” and “Union-busting, that’s disgusting,” sprang upwards to Constantine’s office.
Public workers unite with the communities they serve
The July 20 picket was part of an escalating campaign by OWLS to force Constantine, who oversees the transit authority, to address ongoing racist incidents, and to expose his anti-union plans to freeze wages, cut bus service, and lay off more than 400 part-time bus drivers, a majority of them people of color. Such budget cuts diminish social services, the very lifeline for poor people.
Previous OWLS actions included an April news conference where transit workers launched a petition drive demanding Covid-19 protections on the job, followed by a May “Salute to Frontline Workers: Emergency Motorcade for Workers’ Rights.” In June, OWLS protested at a Metro public transit base to condemn a KKK-style death threat there, part of a pattern of racist harassment and bigotry aimed especially at Black workers.
The July 20 rally was endorsed by Amalgamated Transit Union 587, representing Metro employees. Members spoke out against the King County’s layoff plan, its refusal to finalize their contract, toothless “diversity” committees dominated by management, and its inadequate personal protection steps against the COVID-19 pandemic, which had claimed the lives of two Metro drivers.
Concrete demands for change
Cheryl Jones, a Metro bus driver and one of the July 20 organizers, addressed the call to “Stop racist threats and harassment at County worksites.” She pressed Constantine, “Dow, your role in this toxic culture needs to be examined. Everyone responsible needs to be held accountable, including you! The healing cannot begin until this happens.” Gil Veyna, a member of American Federation of Government Employees Local 3197, brought greetings from his union president Beverly Anderson, who sent an endorsement from their Local to “wholeheartedly back the demands” of the rally.
Other labor endorsers included Communication Workers 7800 and President Loretta Gutierrez of Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) Local 304, Paula Lukaszek and Salvador Castillo, President and Vice President of WFSE 1488, and Kevin Allen of Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
Eveline Graff-Mueller, a part-time bus driver at risk of losing her job, spoke to the call to “Stop budget cuts, lay-offs and austerity at city, county, and state levels.” She warned that layoffs at the public transit agency will be “impacting a lot of single women and minority’s worst.”
Workers from Whole Foods carried a banner to support racial justice. They took the mic to tell of harassment and retaliation by management of the Amazon-owned grocery giant for speaking up and wearing face masks in support of Black Lives Matter. Employer retaliation, including firings, is common across workplaces and motivated OWLS’ demand of “Restitution for all who have filed complaints on racism without satisfactory resolution.”
Other demands included: “Affirmative action in hiring, training, promotion, and an end to nepotism” and “Healthy worksites and protective equipment for frontline workers.” Several speakers addressed the call to “Stop union-busting and honor workers’ rights.”
Anna Hackman, member of American Federation of Teachers Local 1789, who works at Seattle Central College, opposed “attacks on our lives and livelihoods.” Christina Lopez, representing the Comrades of Color Caucus of the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women, lambasted the Democrat-controlled city and county administrations, saying “Budget cuts? Layoff? That’s your solution?” Lopez, a member of Teamsters 763 and a city worker, met with cheers from the crowd when she said the “solutions go beyond the county – these are systemic problems of capitalism.”
Several people spoke at the open mic, addressing the need for urgent action, and keeping the movement going. Trae Holiday of King County Equity Now emphasized the need for solidarity. “That’s what the ‘New Normal’ is all about, you guys!”
The upbeat rally ended with photo shot of all the picketers gathered under the day’s banners. Their message to Constantine: “Root out Racism at King County and Beyond!”
Steve Beck is a retired union representative for American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 375 and Linda Averill is a King County/Metro transit worker. Both are members of Organized Workers for Labor Solidarity. They can be reached at OrganizedWorkersLS@gmail.com or 206-819-2279.