Jay-Z knocks Occupy Wall Street

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021313360

An environmental hero died yesterday and no one seems to be paying attention.

Last edited Mon Sep 10, 2012, 04:20 PM USA/ET


His name was Larry Gibson... And he fought to raise awareness and stop the practice of mountain-top removal mining until the day he died, even as coal supporters shot up his house, killed his dog, ran his truck off the road, and threatened his life almost constantly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/world/asia/killing-of-bangladesh-labor-leader-spotlights-grievances-of-workers.html?pagewanted=all

Fighting for Bangladesh Labor, and Ending Up in Pauper’s Grave

By JIM YARDLEY
Published online: September 9, 2012
Published September 10, 2012 (print edition, A1)

ASHULIA, Bangladesh — His tiny office was lost among the hulking garment factories that churn out cargo pants or polo shirts for brands like Gap or Tommy Hilfiger, yet workers managed to find Aminul Islam. They came with problems. Unpaid wages. Abusive bosses. Mr. Islam, a labor organizer, fought for their rights.

Security forces found Mr. Islam, too. His phone was tapped, the police regularly harassed him, and domestic intelligence agents once abducted and beat him, his co-workers and family say. More than once, he was told his advocacy for workers was hurting a country where garment exports drive the domestic economy.

And then no one could find Mr. Islam.

He disappeared April 4. Days later, his family discovered that he had been tortured and killed. His murder bore a grim familiarity in a country with a brutal legacy of politically motivated killings, and it raised a troubling question: Was he killed for trying to organize workers?

Five months later, Mr. Islam’s killing remains under investigation. There have been no arrests in the case, and the police say they have made little progress.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/t-magazine/gene-sharp-theorist-of-power.html?ref=todayspaper

The Quiet American
Talk | By JANINE DI GIOVANNI | September 9, 2012

On June 26, The Chicago Teachers Union joined forces with Occupy Chicago in an effort to, according to Occupy Chicago Labor Working Group leader Susan Dirr, begin the process of building solidarity for the CTU. Their reasoning: instead of reacting to a blow, they want to prepare a preemptive attack against CPS and Rahm Emanuel.

CTU members--who include not just teachers, but office staff and aides--are acutely aware that they're taking a stand in President Barack Obama's hometown on the eve of a close election. But rather than being intimidated, they're determined--and the rally gave expression to the same feelings of anger and defiance seen in last year's labor uprising in Wisconsin and the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
(...)
Even so, the effort to keep the schools open linked the CTU more closely with activist networks like Teachers for Social Justice and community groups like the Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization and Occupy Chicago. Together, KOCO and Occupy activists organized a "mic check" that succeeded in shutting down a Board of Education meeting. The school closures, which had been a routine story given perfunctory media attention, became a major issue.
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Two unions stand out for their level of activism. One is Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 241, which represents city bus drivers. Last fall, Local 241 allied with Occupy Chicago to fight attacks on their union.

The other is National Nurses United/National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNU), which represents nurses at Stroger Hospital, the main public health care facility in Cook County, which has also allied with Occupy. When NNU members volunteered to provide medical assistance to Occupy Chicago, Emanuel made an example of them by having them arrested and jailed longer than other activists. Significantly, activists from the ATU, NNU and CTU unions held a solidarity dinner to forge closer ties for the battles ahead.

Another key public-sector union notable for its activism is the Chicago branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers, which has developed ties with Occupy and labor activists in the fight against mass postal facility closures and job losses. A key labor-community coalition, Stand Up Chicago, initiated by the SEIU, has worked closely with the CTU and Occupy, too--as has Chicago Jobs with Justice, the longstanding coalition that's played a pivotal role in local labor solidarity efforts. ARISE Chicago, a religious coalition committed to workers' rights, will be key in reaching out to churches.

All this sets the stage for labor solidarity efforts with the CTU. The potential for such an effort was on display in January, when the Occupy Chicago Labor Working Group hosted a "Workers' Power" labor solidarity conference that drew 250 leaders and rank-and-file activists from a range of unions. It was already clear then that the CTU was heading toward a collision with Emanuel, and support for the teachers' union was a major theme of the event.
(...)