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By Sushmita Verma, Jenny Sulfath The Muzzafarnagar riots of 7th September, 2013 have been talked about and covered as communal riots, the most intrinsic and brutal one in recent past. However, the questions of women and children have been conveniently sidelined as in any other riots. Where attention was given it was in the cases […]

MSWU congratulates the Spirited Struggle and success of Autofit Workers Union (Dharuhera) after 59 days of strike in defence of their Union rights and rights of contract workers We salute the spirit of exemplary struggle of workers of Autofit factory, Dharuhera, Haryana in defending their Union rights, achieving a fair settlement, and forging and standing […]

Jacksonville, FL – Over 35 protesters gathered here outside of the Duval County Courthouse, Feb. 4, for the first day of jury selection in the trial of Michael Dunn, the racist killer of 17-year-old African American youth Jordan Davis. Holding signs and chanting together, the crowd demanded “Justice for Jordan” and the conviction of Dunn.

The case has drawn national attention for its similarities to the murder of Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Dunn shot and killed Davis in November 2012 at a Gate gas station in Jacksonville, for Davis allegedly playing loud music from his car. Prosecutors charged Dunn with first-degree murder after his arrest.

Members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the New Jim Crow Movement and the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition attended the protest, along with other concerned members of the Jacksonville community.

“The sentiment of the people out there was, enough is enough,” said Wells Todd, an organizer with the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition and one of the protesters. “The theme was that we need to get rid of Angela Corey, stop stand-your-ground [laws] and win justice for Jordan Davis.”

Todd’s quote speaks to the continued outrage by African Americans and others in Florida at state attorney Angela Corey’s role in the botched prosecution of George Zimmerman and her racist prosecution of Marissa Alexander, the 33-year-old African American mother whose conviction for resisting domestic abuse was recently overturned.

Corey’s office, which is prosecuting Dunn, drew criticism from the Jacksonville community when she filed a motion to limit the public and the media’s access to the trial. Judge Russell Healey, who is handling the Dunn trial, agreed with Corey’s stance and ordered to prevent the public from accessing evidence and case materials for 30 days. A First District Court of Appeals decision overturned Healey’s decision, allowing the public and the media greater access to the trial.

At one point in the protest, local police from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office instructed protesters to leave the courthouse on orders from Judge Healey.

“A police officer gave me a court order from the judge that forced us to move from the courthouse onto the grass,” explained Todd. “If there was a large enough turnout from the community, there’s no way they could control where we stood.”

The trial has drawn international attention and controversy. An English documentary crew was present outside the courthouse and interviewed protesters about the issues at play in the trial.

Although the fact that Dunn shot and killed Davis unprovoked is not in dispute, protesters still doubt that the legal system will deliver justice for Davis and other African American youth victimized by police and racist vigilantes. Most of the people at the protest were active in the Justice for Trayvon Martin movement that erupted across the country when the court failed to convict George Zimmerman last July.

“With the atmosphere the way it is, it could go either way,” said Todd. “I don’t see a slam dunk. I think people saw a slam dunk with Zimmerman too. The reason I say that is because the pressure has to come from outside, and from what I see, it’s not there yet. The fear that’s been out there for so many years, brought on by the mass media and the politicians, has really divided the white and black communities [in Jacksonville].”

The prospects for a larger movement demanding an end to the racist killing of African American youth are not without hope, though. Todd continued, “What I thought was interesting yesterday is that the people who walked by the signs we were holding – whether they were white or black – agreed with what we were saying. People who walked by made supportive comments – white or Black. But we don’t know what the courts are going to do. The courts are this racist institution that’s hell-bent on oppressing and demoralizing the African American community. It’s something the African American community needs to understand.”

Jury selection concluded on Feb. 5 and the trial will begin on Feb. 6. Another courthouse protest is planned for the morning of Feb. 6 to coincide with the first day of the trial.

Organizers from the SCLC, the New Jim Crow Movement and the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition plan to hold events throughout the trial to pressure the criminal injustice system into delivering a guilty verdict.

 

Demonstration at Delhi Sachivalaya to demand implementation of electoral promises made by AAP to workers, Feb 6 6 February, 11am Main Demands: 1) Give permanent work to all contractual labourers in private and public sector 2) Impose minimum wage and other labour laws in organised and unorganised sector 3) Announce a time frame by which […]

MARUTI SUZUKI WORKERS UNION

(Registration No. 1923)

IMT Manesar, Gurgaon

Ref. No… IN5/2/2014                                                                                                 Date…5/2/2014

 

MSWU congratulates the Spirited Struggle and success of Autofit Workers Union (Dharuhera) after 59 days of strike in defence of their Union rights and rights of contract workers

 

We salute the spirit of exemplary struggle of workers of Autofit factory, Dharuhera, Haryana in defending their Union rights, achieving a fair settlement, and forging and standing by unity of permanent and contract workers at all costs, and congratulate them on their success. Today in the day-time, on the 59^th day of their long-drawn strike since 8^th December 2013, they have achieved success and management has been forced to backtrack on their coercive tactics. We also congratulate the Munjal Kiriu workers who won their demands in a negotiation last month after a massive show of unity among workers here, and also justfully got cases registered against management officials who sent goons to beat up workers.

 

After Autofit Workers Union (Reg. no. 1958) got registered in June 2013 and submitted a charter of demands demanding a fairer wage settlement, the management retaliated at this ‘audacity’ by suspending 17 worker leaders including the whole Union body, and imposed a Good Conduct Bond. It increased repression by continuous harassment and taking back facilities. More suspensions, terminations, good conduct bonds, false criminal cases of misbehaving and stoppage of raw material entry, threats and abuses became the rule. Workers refused to sign the Good Conduct Bond, resisted the move to divide the permanent and contract workers and struck work from 8^th December 2013 to effect a complete halt at production, affecting the factory production in Hero Motorcorp and other factories, continued a sit-in at the factory gate, and gave solidarity calls to workers in the region who participated in large numbers. After threats and coercion failed to deter the struggling workers, the management came down to the proposal in the tripartite negotiations on 28^th January 2014 in ALC Office Gurgaon, that all contract workers and four Union body members will remain out of the factory, and only permanent workers will be retained. The Autofit Workers Union resisted the move, and continued the struggle with the demand of taking back the contract workers. 28^th January was also when MSWU’s Jan jagaran Padayatra (15-31 January 2014 ) had reached Gurgaon, and we were enthused by the joint show of solidarity among workers near the ALC’s office.

 

Today 5^th February 2014, the management has been forced to backtrack on its insistence of terminating the services of striking contract workers, and has agreed in the settlement to take back all the suspended and terminated workers, while only four permanent workers are to be taken back in one month. They have also forced the management to effect a wage settlement with an increase of Rs.7300 in CTC in next three years. This has been possible only because all through the biting winter and wage-less nights of December and January, our worker brothers sat on strike at the factory-gate, and fought tooth and nail to defend their Union rights, and to establish and retain the unity among the permanent, trainee, casual and contract workers. The MSWU also congratulates the striking workers of Munjal KIRIU Manesar who won their demands after 26 days of strike in front of the factory gate through the united might of permanent and contract workers. All workers, contract trainee and permanent were taken back and the management was forced to give in writing that ten permanent would be taken back on duty in a time-bound manner. More than that, it was after many years that the police had to take some action against the guilty management and file an FIR against company three management officials who had sent goons to beat and seriously injure peacefully striking workers at the factory gate two days earlier in an open display of the repression that is the law in the region. This happened when Munjal Kiriu workers along with over 4000 workers of the area gheraoed the Manesar Police Station on 14^th December 2014 in the daytime. Management here act as though they are completely immune to the law system. The workers of Autofit and Munjal Kiriu fought the imposition of horrendous working conditions, while the management got away by paying peanuts to workers. They fought the authoritarian and illegal practice of throwing out contract workers every six months. They have fought another instance of company management arrogance, of exploitation of workers toil, divisive policies and repression of legitimate demands. They fought and won today on the strength of their independent fighting spirit, with the solidarity of mass of workers in the region.

 

This struggle comes in the backdrop of the repressive machinery unleashed on workers’ rights and workers struggles in the industrial belt of Gurgaon-Manesar-Dharuhera-Bawal, particularly after the 18^th July 2012 incident in Maruti Suzuki Manesar, which was done first to suppress our own struggle which raised these uncomfortable questions about workers rights, central to which was the issue of contract workers. This struggle has inspired us, and we hope the success of their struggle will inspire all struggling workers and Unions not only in this industrial belt but workers struggling in other parts of India to defend their Union rights, and forge and fight with the combined might of permanent and contract workers. In the coming days, we also hope that workers of Autofit will continue to stand with every voice of struggle of workers in the belt and beyond.

 

 

With struggling greetings,

Provisional Working Committee

Maruti Suzuki Workers Union

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PRESS STATEMENT :: Association for Protection of Democratic Rights GUILD’s POLITICAL CENSORSHIP AT BOOK FAIR Kolkata, 4 February 2013 APDR condemns the withdrawal of permission by the Kolkata Book Fair authorities to release the book ‘Parijayee Nari’ written by Jashodhara Bagchi at the fair. The so-called technical reasons provided by the Guild for the cancellation […]