Notes for Derby Weekend

A lull in communication but the KY IWW keeps trucking along.

A few weekends ago FW Kate and I held down tabling duties at the Mighty Kindness festival on the waterfront. We met several wonderful people and made good contacts with workers in the area, including one who greeted us with "I haven't seen you guys since 1910."

And it's in that spirit that we recommit ourselves to active, direct engagement with our city and beyond as we roll into the summer months. With Baltimore rising up, the political class looking to 2016, the wage fight continuing, and as much discrimination in our workplaces as ever, now is as good a time as any for the Wobblies and workers to start the summer with a surge in action and activism toward equal representation, solidarity and dignity in our workplaces and communities.

Here's what's on tap on our end moving forward:

• Fellow Worker J.P. Wright has headed out to spread the good word of Joe Hill, and will be performing at a Chicago stop on the Roadshow tomorrow, May 1. You can support the tour on its GoFundMe page, and read all about it at their website and Facebook page. Rumor has it Louisville will be a fall stop on the tour, so stay tuned for that.
• Patrick, Kate, and FW Virginia will be tabling the Louisville Socialist's May Day Launch Party at the Cure Lounge tomorrow night, May 1, at 7 p.m. Our own secretary-treasurer FW Mick Parsons will be speaking. Minimum $5 donations will be accepted at the door, and plenty of IWW books, posters, and pamphlets will be available. You'll be able to see IWW folk at flea markets, fairs, and events throughout the city this summer. With a new outreach network in place, we expect to be vocal and visible in the coming months.
  
• In the works is a budding Louisville Solidarity Network, co-organized and operated by the Louisville Socialists and KY IWW. The Network will be in place to assist with direct and indirect action any worker or tenet with a grievance against the managerial and landlord classes. We look forward to working alongside, and with, the Socialists in this major community endeavor.
• Our space at the Mammoth is a few tweaks away from being finished. We'll be running it as a real labor temple in the city, open to lefties of all stripes and opinions, as long as community engagement and the dignity of the lower classes are the primary causes championed in that space.
• As one of our first actions in the new meeting space, we're working toward putting on an organizing seminar sometime toward the end of this year. Fellow Wobs from Indiana should be in attendance -- but more on that as the details roll in.
• And finally, the Woblog is set to be relocated to another site soon and very soon. I'm putting out a general call for content (opinion pieces, poems, essays, cartoons) for anyone who would like to contribute to that site. Simply e-mail me at patrick.a.danner@gmail.com.

The next meeting of the KY IWW GMB is scheduled for Friday, May 22nd. There we'll address space use, the solidarity network, and ongoing projects within our community and in solidarity with other organizations. Stay tuned and I hope to see you all on the 22nd.

Cheers,

Patrick Danner

Press Officer

KY IWW GMB

Notes from the Mammoth: KY IWW Tabling Events and our Latest Resolution

Despite the recent cold snap the KY GMB has been soldiering on. At our most recent meeting, FW Patrick Danner presented a motion in solidarity with his NJ contacts to support the upcoming demonstrations for a $15/hr minimum wage. See the resolution below:

Having seen the successes across the nation (most prominently in Seattle) as well as in the city of Louisville, the KY IWW has re-committed itself to supporting this fight wherever and whenever possible. So, in solidarity:

"From KY to NJ: $15 and a Union!"

We also have a few events coming up where you can come out and talk shop (and maybe even buy a book or two) with some real life Wobblies. First, FWs Patrick and Kate will be tabling the Mighty Kindness Earth Day festival, which just so happens to fall on the same day as GonzoFest, April 11th. This will be a can't-miss convergence of Thompson-ites and Greens that I personally can't wait to be a part of--don't miss out!

You’ll also find us tabling the Louisville Socialist’s Benefit Show, May 1st, at the Cure Lounge on Shelby (plugged in our last post as well), at which our branch secretary Mick will be speaking. Again, we hope to have a critical mass coming out to support this event, the proceeds from which will go to assist in building a solidarity network across the city as well as ongoing activist efforts from the Louisville Socialists (such as the ongoing minimum wage fight, among others).

Finally, one last plug for the Joe Hill Tour. The Indianapolis date, sponsored by our comrades in the

Indiana IWW GMB, has been tentatively set for May 2nd, though the final lineup for that particular date is TBD. Our delegate, FW J.P. will be there, however, so anyone who can make the trek and wants to hear some great folk and labor singers (and storytellers) should do so.

Stayed tuned for notes from Earth Day, as well as updates on the Joe Hill Tour and the May Day Benefit Show.

KY GMB Meeting - Thursday @ 8 p.m.

As the members of the KY IWW regroup after a week of summits out west and in Louisville, we’re set to hold our next meeting at the newly renovated space at the Mammoth. Come on out, Thursday at 8 p.m., and discuss the upcoming Joe Hill Tour (dates for the first legs--midwest and west coast--of the tour have been announced) as well as our organizing and networking strategies for moving forward.

On the topic of organizing and networking, I want to send a big "thanks" the members of the Louisville and Philadelphia Socialists, as well as our fellow activists from Lexington and West Virginia, for coming out and holding an amazing organizing summit last week. A few wobblies attended and formed great working relationships with organizers throughout the Kentuckiana region and beyond. Seeing so many lefties in one place solidifies the notion that the way forward is through building these networks--both within your community and beyond it.

So keep an eye out for updates, and new events after the meeting. And also have both ears open for details on the May Day benefit concert being held by the Louisville Socialists (an answer to all the decadence and depravity of Derby, if you will). The group is raising funds for a city-wide solidarity network for Louisville, which is a project that's worth more than a little of our support.

Louisville IWW: Big Plans Ahead

Fellow workers,

Spring's around the corner and can't come soon enough. Soon we can canvas and recruit and promote our collective causes out in the open and unimpeded by feet of snow.

In that spirit I wanted to take the chance to announce some changes for the KY Branch of the IWW, as well as our upcoming and ongoing projects.

During our February meeting two new Fellow Workers were elected to serve executive positions. Fellow Worker Kate Lafferty will be spearheading organizing activities, a task she has proven to be more than capable of given her work on the recent National Adjunct Walkout Day teach-in at the downtown campus of Jefferson Community and Technical College, as well as her organizing activities with the newly formed Kentucky College Faculty Association. I, Fellow Worker Patrick Danner, have been elected to take over our press, a job which I believe--judging by my verbosity here--I am capable of doing to the highest standard. Fellow Worker Mick Parsons remains in his position as secretary-treasurer and Fellow Worker JP Wright remains our delegate and fearless leader. I think I can speak for Kate as well when I say that we look forward to working with and learning from these two veterans of the cause.

The meeting space for the KY General Membership Branch is also undergoing some spring cleaning and renovation, spearheaded by our delegate, FW Wright. The space will house not only our regular meetings but also be open to hosting other community groups, as well as a free labor library. In the future we'll set aside a space pay homage to railroad unions and organizers past and present. So not only do we plan to operate the day-to-day of the KY GMB out of this space, but we also hope to provide a home to all those active in the community, working for the common causes of organizing workers, raising the wage, and protecting the exploited whenever and wherever possible.

The space (you can see to the left) is a renovated section of The Mammoth, which is home to a number of local artists that we look forward to working alongside. The Mammoth has also become a staple in the artisan community of Louisville, hosting regular craft fairs and events where we have the chance to mingle with the creative crowd. The building has a long history of industry, having been built in 1865 and home to a pork-packing plant. We're especially excited to be putting down roots in a part of town where the biggest markers are railroad tracks, factories and warehouses. It reminds us what we organize for.

Next week, FWs Wright and Parsons will be heading out to Richmond, CA, for a conference on the Future of Railroads. Sponsored primarily by Railroad Workers United, the conference will include speakers and summits with groups such as Greenpeace USA, the Bay Area branch of Socialist Alternative, the Sierra Club, and the Aboriginal Alliance of Northern Alberta. The confluence of labor, community, and environmental activists will give us new steam to reach out to the community and build on alliances locally and nationally. To whoever thought that environmentalists and unions couldn't work together, you can read their resolution here.

While our delegate and secretary-treasurer set out for the sunshine of California, FWs Lafferty, Reagan Sova and myself are set to meet for a summit and organizing workshop with our local Louisville Socialist group (who were instrumental in raising the minimum wage for the city of Louisville last year) as well as the Philadelphia Socialists. Emphasizing community outreach and organizing, the summit promises to energize our efforts in the coming months as well as build on the working relationships already formed between the two cities.

Finally, the Joe Hill Tour that was written about last month continues to come together. As will all organizing efforts, it takes time and patience. Trust you'll hear more on that soon.

The next meeting of the Louisville GMB will be on March 26th at our new space at the Mammoth, 8 p.m. We'll all have updates, ideas, and energy. Hope to see you there.

Cheers,

Patrick Danner
Press Officer
KY IWW

The Joe Hill Road Show... TBA

The “Joe Hill Road Show” 2015 

In January, Wobblies and friends began to meet via conference call to organize what has now become known as “The Joe Hill Road Show”. To our delight, there seems to be unbounded enthusiasm and optimism about such a tour, with musicians both local and national poised to play and sing the songs of Joe Hill at locations across the continent. Each local sponsoring IWW Branch (or other grouping) will have relative autonomy to plan each event. Some will be larger than others, some will have more audience participation, some will inject other activities – poetry, readings, theatre, etc. However, each sponsoring group will be asked and expected to meet certain basic criteria, such as responsibility for local publicity, booking the venue, providing accommodation for the travelling musicians, etc.

To date, musicians that have committed to playing at least one show include: Anne Feeney, Mark Ross, Bucky Halker, George Mann, J.P. Wright, Lil’ Rev, John McCutcheon, Si Kahn, Rich Rittenhouse, John James Tourville, Brody Douglas Hunt, Tim Gorelangton, Patrick Dodd, Daryl Cherney, Eddie Jeff Cahill, Charlie Parr, Dave Rovics, Duncan Phillips (Utah Phillips’ son), Len Wallace, Otis Gibbs, Chance McCoy (from Old Crow Medicine Show) and Elspeth Summersgill. 

There are many others who have been suggested as likely candidates. And depending on how this whole thing develops, there is the prospect to attract some “big” names (I will refrain from mentioning names here). To date, we have commitments in locations including: Chicago (where the tour is slated to kick off on May Day), Milwaukee, Madison, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Twin Cities and Fargo for the Upper Midwest “leg”. For the east coast leg, we have hopes for Albany, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C. among others. In the South, Roanoke, VA, Asheville and Charlotte, NC, New Orleans. Out west, Reno and Virginia City, NV, Sacramento, San Diego, L.A., the Bay Area, Nevada City and Weed, CA. In the Pacific Northwest, Bellingham, Seattle, Portland, Eugene, and of course Salt Lake City (where the tour is scheduled to conclude around November 19th).

And really, we are just now getting this thing started! I urge all affiliates of this great organization to step up and sponsor a show in your local area. Not only will it be a great way for local Wobblies and friends to spend an evening, but a local event brings great public relations to the local IWW, and it informs the community of our existence and our ideas. And we will certainly spread good will for the organization and sign up a few members along the way. For more information about the tour, to get involved in the national organizing or to build a local event,

 contact J.P. Wright at railroadmusic333@gmail.com or Ron Kaminkow at ronkaminkow@gmail.com And check out 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Joe-Hill-100-tour/426997447452407

National Adjunct Walk Out Day

See the press release here.

Two of our Fellow Workers, Kentucky GMB Branch Secretary-Treasurer Mick Parsons and FW Kate Lafferty are working to organize educational workers around this event. Spread it around. Support your Fellow Workers!

IWW Kentucky passes resolution of endorsement at their January Meeting! 

Delegate FW JP and Branch Secretary FW MP to attend.... the...

Conference: “The Future of Railroads: Safety, Workers,Community & the Environment”

Whereas, railroads are an invaluable national asset that must be managed wisely, efficiently and safely; and

Whereas, railway workers, pedestrians, motorists, track side communities, and society at large have a vested interest in railroad safety and in insuring that railroad companies live up to their full potential to operate responsibly and safely; and

Whereas, a series of disastrous train derailments in recent months has alarmed and outraged the public

because of the potential danger to communities from railroad operations; and

Whereas, railroad carriers have all too often failed to provide a safe workplace environment for their

employees, refusing to address safety sensitive issues including but not limited to: crew fatigue;adequate

off duty time for crew members; fair and just availability policies; accurate reliable "train line-ups";sufficient staffing levels; safe train crew size; proper and adequate training of new employees; and establishing minimum standards of rail operational experience as a qualification requirement for federal certification, and

Whereas, railroad is a critical part of a sustainable transportation infrastructure with a history of serving

communities and invigorating regional economies in the US and around the globe, where much of it is

electrified, providing a yet cleaner and more efficient method to move passengers and freight; and

Whereas, in our democracy the most effective way for the people to be heard is to unite around common interests and goals; and

Whereas, railroad workers, community members, environmental organizations, emergency responders,

shippers, governmental entities and the general public should unite around our common interests to insure safe railroad operations that meet the needs of and operate in the best interests of the public;

Therefore, Be it Resolved that Railroad Workers United and the Backbone Campaign do hereby commit to jointly sponsor a series of conferences to be entitled, “The Future of Rail: Safety, Workers, Community and the Environment”; and

Be it further Resolved that we extend an invitation to labor, community, governmental, environmental

organizations and other interested parties to join us and participate in this endeavor; and

Be it further resolved that, provided these initial conferences on the West Coast prove successful, we seek to expand these events to other towns and cities across North America; and

Be it Further Resolved that the objective of these conferences is to bring together and educate railroad

workers, the general public and interested parties to better understand and coalesce around our common

interests of safety and security on American railroads; and

Be it finally resolved that the ultimate goal of these conferences is to forge an alliance of railroad workers, community members, interest groups, and the public that will develop the influence necessary to mandate that the rail industry become responsive to the needs and wishes of the American people for whom they serve.

Resolution of endorsement passed by the Kentucky IWW GMB on 01/13/2015

Contact the KY IWW

Branch Secretary

Mick Parsons

papamick.iww@gmail.com