Kucinich on Leno 9/24/07

more strike bike

take a side

Strike-Bikes

A comrade just sent this:

Staff of occupied bicycle factory in the Thuringian Nordhausen take up production inself-management again. Now they proudly present: The Strike Bike -Solidarity-Bikes from Nordhausen

The 135 colleagues of the bicycle factory Bike Systems GmbH in the Thuringian Nordhausen, who have kept the factory occupied since 10th of July 2007, decided to resume the production of bicycles in self-management. For this aim 1,800 binding orders on bicycles must be received till 2nd of October. So the collegues are working together
with the anarcho-syndicalist union FAU (Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union Free Workers-Union), which formed for this campaign the internetpage www.strike-bike.de . Since more than two month the staff keep the factory in the south of Harz Mountains in three shifts occupied. They want to prevent the definite dismantling and sale of the factory. The file for bankruptcy from 10th of august is against long odds: The factory is exploited and run down, the hall was emptied except for the coating line. The staff receives unemployment compensation and hopes for a new concept and a new investor. In the time of occupation and in the wake of discussions during the visits of solidary people, the colleagues of the factory developed the idea to initially take up the production in self-management for a short time. Because it’s not the point to only prevent the evacuation of the last machines and to wait for a new investor, the idea of an own “Strike-Bike” met with more and more response. Now the opportunity arises to show the ability to develop an own concept and to self-manage production and distribution. If it goes well to collect 1,800 advance orders for the bicycles produced in self-direction, we spread
solidary ideas and bolster the colleagues in similar situations, not to let
themselves easily being restructured to zero. By whomsoever! More Information and
the complete press-release can be received at:
http://www.strike-bike.de/1/index.php?&hl=en_US .
For background informations and history of the occupation (only in German language):
www.labournet.de/branchen/sonstige/fahrzeug/bikesystems.html
Further backgrounds and the history of the conflict in English you can find in the
article The story so far an obvious lie! by anarcho-syndicalist union FAU
(Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union Free Workers-Union)

To get in contact with the staff and to take orders
Bikes in Nordhausen e.V.
c/o. Andr Kegel,
Bruno-Kunze-Str. 39
99734 Nordhausen
Telefon: 03631 – 622 124 and 03631 – 403 591
Fax: 03631 – 622 170
eMail: fahrradwerk@gmx.de

last new wave

Working Class Music

My old man, God bless him, introduced me to AC/DC when I was a whelp and it may have been the most musically influential thing that ever happened to me.

Later, when I was 14 my buddy Palmer and I would play AC/DC in pool halls and it felt like we were tipping at the edge of…well at the edge of the 90s it would turn out. But so what. Here’s to pinball wizard and coors and your mom’s newport menthals, and huffing gas, and acid, and weed, endless railroads, and bringing about Saturday morning detention for the next crop of freshman because we couldn’t get off those tracks and into school before 10:30. Or to ditching because 10:30 wasn’t enough and going to the library at SU ’cause we’d learn our own damn way. Cheers brother! If you’re where I think you are, may some light find you home. If you want, I’ll light a dumpster or convenience.

And in the meantime:

Marcel Marceau 1923-2007

Solidarity with the UAW

The UAW went on strike at 11:00 this morning.  Ron Gettelfinger gave a press conference at 12:00 for the union:

“We were very disappointed in this round of negotiation to discover as we moved forward that it was a one-way set of negotiations. It was going to be General Motors way at the expense of the workers. The company walked right up to the deadline like they really didn’t care.”

This is the first UAW strike since the 1970’s. GM and the UAW will continue to negotiate during the strike. May the workers prevail!!

Food Not Bombs

Busy today with teaching. I never get everything accomplished on the weekend. Rather than taking things off of my plate, I seem ever to be adding. Yesterday I spoke with a comrade from Food Not Bombs, and may be joining that organization soon.

Kucinich, who also happens to be a vegetarian, excerpt of the day on Union rights:

Not a sea change, exactly…

I’m  supporting Dennis Kucinich exclusively for the Democratic primary. Barack has made such a fetish of consensus: “we’re not red states and blue states.” Well, that’s counterfactual. And wasn’t it George Bush who campaigned on the premise that as a compassionate conservative he was a “uniter and not a divider.” The truth is that there’s no compromise with the devil, just as any attempt to compromise with republicans and many democrats betrays and strays from the rights of ordinary Americans.

Kucinich has the courage to take a clear unqualified stand. He reflects my values. I hope you’ll do what you can to support him.