Lithuanian Government Declares Beer an Essential Service to Halt Brewery Workers' Strike

Striking brewery workers in
Carlsberg, Lithuania (photo
copyright International Union
of Foodworkers)

In what's promising to be the most hilarious case of union-busting in recent history, the baltic nation of Lithuania recently declared beer an essential service to bring an end to a brewery workers' strike.

This ongoing legal débâcle started June 2011, when workers at the Švyturys–Utenos Alus Carlsberg Brewery voted in favour of a strike. Nearly immediately, the Klaipeda Regional Court suspended the strike for 30 days on the premise that beer was "vitally essential" to the Lithuanian people during the summertime.

Though the strike was allowed to continue after the 30 day ban, on August 30th the court declared the strike illegal because, in the words of the presiding judge,

"The collective agreement is in compliance with the Labour Code because the wages of Carlsberg employees are above the market level, jobs are maintained and wages are not reduced."

Apparently an education in law in Lithuania doesn't provide one with a basic understanding of economics. The striking workers were fighting against a proposed 3 wage freeze. Though currently the workers may be paid "above market level", not increasing their wages to account for inflation effectively reduces wages. Regardless, we can go out on a limb and assume that Lithuania's Labour Code doesn't say "if you make a lot of money, you can't go on strike".

UNITE, Great Britain's largest labour union which organizes around 1000 Carlsberg employees in the British Isles, had quite a bit to say to The Telegraph on the subject,

Unite, Britain's biggest workers union, was drawn into the row, with Jennie Formby, the national officer, calling the situation "ridiculous".

"This is probably the most ridiculous decision in the world. Of course many people think beer is great but it does not save lives," she told The Daily Mirror newspaper.

Another statement from the union, which has 1,000 members who work at Carlsberg in the UK, said: "The decision cannot be allowed to stand". 

The workers are currently appealing the regional court's decision and hope to be back at the bargaining table with their employer soon.

Facebook Censors Breastfeeding Moms

Photos such as this are being
censored on Facebook for
"indecency" (photo copyright
Corbis Images)

After Facebook's L'Homme du Jour censorship fiasco in January, you would think the social networking giant would have deciphered the difference between "indecency" and innocent, non-pornographic images.

Apparently not. Facebook has been taking flack over widespread censorship of photos of breastfeeding mothers.

Censorship has been widespread. In Belleville, Ontario, the Facebook page of a support group breastfeeding mothers hosted by the local Ontario Early Years Centre has had its pictures deleted by Facebook's administration. As one member of the group had to say,

"It's the most natural thing to do for your baby, and Facebook says its indecent? We're just a small group, but Facebook is still censoring some of our images. Even though its a page specifically about breastfeeding."

Individual accounts have also been suspended for uploading photos of their children breastfeeding. Emma Kwasnica, a breastfeeding mother of three, had her account suspended over the weekend. As she told the Huffington Press on Sunday, she can stand Facebook's hypocritical stance over her choice to breastfeed,

"It's such a double-standard: if you type in 'breasts' on Facebook, you can see pages with thousands of members where there are naked breasts. How is that happening, when at least 30 women I know have had accounts shut down for a single breastfeeding image?"

Facebook's hypocrisy continued with the official press statement released by Canadian Facebook publicist Reena Dacdo, also published by Huffington Post on Sunday,

"We agree that breastfeeding is natural and we are very glad to know that it is important for mothers, including the many mothers who work at Facebook, to share their experience with others on the site. The vast majority of breastfeeding photos are compliant with our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Facebook takes no action on such content. However, photos which contain a fully exposed breast, do violate our terms and may be removed if they are reported to us. These policies are based on the same standards that apply to television and print media. It is important to note that photos upon which we act are almost exclusively brought to our attention by other users who complain about them being shared on Facebook"

Facebook has shown no signs of relenting on its censorship crusade, despite a nurse-in protest at Facebook offices worldwide earlier this week.

#OpElectricGate: The Environmentalism of Occupy

Occupy Montréal, November 26th.
Solar panels are visibly in the
bottom right (photo copyright
Nathalie Et Cetera)

When the original Occupy encampment was constructed in Kingston’s Confederation Basin, we received all of our power through an outdoor socket on a public bandstand. Between October 15th and October 28th, this powered a string of Christmas lights, a small LED lamp, and a laptop PC. Around 9pm on October 28th, City Hall cut the power.

The next day, the lights didn’t turn back on. Same the next day. City officials ensured us that the power would return soon, yet their promise never seemed to materialize into hydro. At our next General Assembly on the 29th, we decided that an alternative, green energy system would need to be devised. On Twitter, a discussion circulated under the hashtag “#OpElectricGate,” Operation Electric Gate.

By the 5th of November, we had several electricians volunteer for the idea. The plan was to construct a small solar installation that would sever us from our dependence on the City’s electricity. Several individuals promised to cover the cost of the installation.

However, by the 9th of November, the city capitulated and turned on the lights. Though still officially in place, #OpElectricGate was put on the back burner in the face of persistent City interference. Emergency phone trees had to be set up, shifts for security purposes created. Parallel with many of the other Occupy movements, Occupy Kingston became less about the issues that had sparked the movement and more about defending the occupation itself from harassment.

An eviction notice issued by the city on December 3rd, and the few remaining occupiers vacated the park December 4th. #OpElectricGate was permanently put to rest December 9th, 2011, after our last ditch attempt to re-occupy Kingston at Boucher Park was evicted by the Kingston Police.

Despite its failure to materialize, as an environmentalist the solar panel project was an interesting endeavour. Occupy, to me, is a people’s movement for a social alternative to the massive economic injustice in our society. It is amazing how quickly the environment became entangled in Occupy’s economic vision for a free society, and not solely in Kingston.

In Toronto, a movement called “Occupy Gardens Toronto” was created out of the Occupy Toronto encampment. It’s goal was to foster urban agriculture via community gardens and individual backyard vegetable gardens. In Québec, Occupy Montréal received a donation of solar panels early into its second week of existence. South of the border, the group Solar Mosaic has started a campaign it calls “Occupy Rooftops” to pressure municipal government into building solar installations by “occupying” a certain rooftop with solar panels.

Such projects are myriad. What is it about Occupy that gets us Occupiers thinking green? It could be argued that Occupy is just “left-wing”, and that us “left-wingers” are just typically environmentally conscious - however I believe that’s both an oversimplification and a misnomer. I’d like to think instead that there’s a direct correlation between the exploitation of the environment and the exploitation of people.

One of the main critiques generated by Occupy that there is an immense amount of power wielded by large corporations over public policy. This includes the lobbying power possessed by energy giants such as Enbridge, a corporation that’s been receiving flack from environmentalists for its proposed crude oil / natural gas pipeline stretching from Alberta to the Pacific ocean. Currently, Enbridge has a small army of in-house lobbyists pressuring B.C.’s Office of the Premier, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Minister of Forests and Range, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and Minister of Environment over its proposed pipeline.

And Enbridge isn’t alone. In December of 2011, 22% of lobbyists registered with the government of B.C. in that month were employed by energy corporations. An additional 11% are employed by mining and logging companies.

Only 1 lobbyist registered with the government of B.C. was employed by an organization dedicated to the protection of the environment - the Silvicultural (related to the growth and maintenance of trees) contractors’ association.

These corporations exercising unprecedented amounts of power over our government are the same corporations poisoning the planet. Enbridge’s pipeline poses a constant risk to many communities in its path, including the community of Kitimat, BC, which sits along the 70km long Douglas Channel. The proposed pipeline would transport about 525,000 barrels of oil per day down this channel. What effect would half a million barrels of oil have on the pristine west coast? Consider the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill - in total 4,900,000 barrels of oil were leaked into the ocean over a period of 46 days. The Northern Gateway pipeline could let lose the same quantity of oil in just over 9 days, 5 times as fast as the crude that poured into the gulf. That’s not to mention the human impact. Towns like Kitimat rely on the fishing industry for employment.

In this way I’d like to think of Occupy as an environmentalist movement. That is, the Occupy critique of the right to profit goes hand in hand with a critique of the right to pollute. As Canada gears up to re-occupy for the spring, I hope we do so bearing in mind the lessons of 2011. I hope we remember #OpElectricGate, the synthesis of environmental protection and the people’s self-emancipation.

Queer Youth, Teachers Threatened By Catholic School Officials

Leanne Iskander (photo copyright
Michael Erickson)

Jeff Quenneville, the school’s principal, was frank. Iskander was told unequivocally that “an LGBT support group or GSA (Gay-Straight Alliances) will never be permitted in any Catholic school because the bishops forbid them”. As well, Iskander was threatened that if she continued to advocate for a Gay-Straight Alliance within her school, she would face “disciplinary action”.

As Xtra! reported September 1st, despite laws declaring support for GSAs mandatory by all school staff, the struggle for a GSA in Iskander's school has reached a critical point,

“I was told a gay-straight alliance will never happen,” she says. “We are allowed to have a group called ‘Open Arms,’ a general equity group, nothing specific to LGBT. And he said it will not be student-run, either.”

Quenneville then threatened Iskander, she says, telling her she will face “disciplinary action” if she continues to promote and advocate for GSAs at her Mississauga school.

The principal went on to say that “Catholic schools are not permitted to allow LGBT-specific groups because the bishops forbid them, so none of the schools are allowed.”

In February 2010, a change in Ontario’s Education Act came into effect that mandated all publically funded schools support the efforts of students to found Gay-Straight Alliances in their schools. While the province’s Public School Boards were quick to comply, Catholic School Boards resisted.

The Halton Catholic District School Board made national news when it banned Gay-Straight Alliances, and recently the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board have taken the same stance.

And Iskander wasn’t the only one who was threatened, as Xtra! also reported,

A teacher at the school who asked to remain anonymous to protect his job says Quenneville had a clear message to staff about GSAs: “The principal said, ‘Our job is Catholicism first, curriculum second. The secular world may look at our beliefs and say we are bigots, but it is our beliefs and they are protected.’”

The teacher says Quenneville also made it clear that "if you didn't agree, then find another job."

At St. Joseph Secondary, the divide between the policy of Catholic School administration and that of Catholic School teachers is deep on the issue of queer rights. The Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) has released many statement pledging support to students who wish to form GSAs. In a statement on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the OECTA stated that “OECTA will continue to support anti-homophobia education programs, groups and clubs in Catholic schools that have the elimination of homophobic and transphobic bullying as their goal”. This is directly opposed to the official policy of Catholic Schools as determined by Principals, Trustees and others in management.

Among high school students teachers are often seen as the agents of reactionary school policy. But it is important to remember that these teachers, as workers, are often victims of those same policies. Intimidation of students and as well as teachers by those in management is routine to enforce reactionary decisions such as the ban on GSAs. Broad movements against homophobic policy in our schools must consist of an alliance between student-run organizations and our teachers, through teachers unions such as the OECTA.

Councillor Mammoliti Smears Concerned Torontonians As "Layabouts and Communists"

Giorgio Mammoliti, Rob Ford exec,
referred to those who spoke out
agaisnt Ford's budget cuts as
"layabouts and Communists".
(photo credit Vince Talotta)

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, member of Rob Ford's Executive, recently started the Facebook group "Save the City... Support the Ford Administration" in response to the over 300 individuals who voiced opposition to Rob Ford's budget cuts July 28th and 29th.

The purpose of the group, in his own words, is "to give voice to the silent majority of working-class Torontonians who don’t have time to speak out at all-night City Hall meetings alongside layabouts and “communists.”"

At various points Mammoliti described these "Communists" as either "anyone who is able to work, doesn’t want to work and wants everything for free," or "working people, but they’re only working off the dime of taxpayers". He also insisted Communists attempted to brainwash him as a child, and that they in fact, had a distinctive odour.

As the Globe and Mail reported on August 9th, the ridiculousness doesn't end there,

Mr. Mammoliti said started the site on Monday and has so far only kicked off one commenter after they voiced support for Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, a group Mr. Mammoliti has characterized as a hate group and worked to bar from the annual Toronto Pride parade.

“I don’t want to hear from communists,” he said. “I won’t be calling them communists on the site, but I will be using the word ‘whatever’ to reply to them. If you see that word you can be pretty sure they’re a communist and I’ll be cutting them off of the site.”

In the 1980s, Mr. Mammoliti served as a leader for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Later, he served as an MPP for the NDP, where he became something of a pariah for opposing same-sex benefits.

“That’s where I learned how communists smell,” he said. “They are the ones who tried to brainwash me then at a younger age. It was 25 years ago. I know how they think and feel and speak. I just don’t have the time for them. Their attempt to brainwash me back then didn’t work then and won’t work now.”

He maintains a broad definition of the term “communist” as “anyone who is able to work, doesn’t want to work and wants everything for free,” he said.

Meanwhile, the city's actual Communists are considering legal action against Mammoliti. The periodical of the Party's youth wing, Rebel Youth, had this to say about Mammoliti's Facebook group in an article published August 16th,

Mamoliti has attacked more than 300 City Hall deputants, asserting they were members of the Communist Party, after they stayed through the night and into the early hours to oppose the KPMG proposals to eliminate ‘gravy’, including the closure of libraries, old age homes, 2,000 subsidized child care spaces; ending funding to cultural and arts groups including Caribana and Pride events, ending AIDS related funding, increasing transit fares and reducing service, and more.

Mamoliti has attacked Councillors who also oppose the cuts, alleging they are members of the Communist Party and that opposition to the KPMG cuts stems from Communist Party membership.

While the Communist Party is opposed to the cuts and is fighting them, opposition to this agenda includes members of almost all parties, save the Tories, and people who are not members of any party. Suggesting otherwise is a smear – something Mamoliti is expert at.

This is a witch-hunt aimed to intimidate widespread and growing public opposition to the levelling of public services and programs in the city, and to frighten Councilors into silence and stampede them into voting for deep cuts and privatizations against the demonstrated wishes of the public....

...It’s a dangerous combination that threatens all Toronto residents, and must be challenged.
With this in mind, the Communist Party is exploring legal action including a complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, and is urging the labour and democratic movements and all those who support democratic and civil rights to speak up and demand an end to the witch hunt.

So far the group has attracted nearly 1000 members, most of which are touting opposition to Mammoliti's scare tactics, as well as the Ford administration's budget cuts. Despite Mammoliti's promises, however, these people are openly being labelled as Communists and Pinkos whenever they post or comment in the group.