From 73174.77@compuserve.com Sun Sep 25 20:03:54 1994 Received: from dub-img-2.compuserve.com by fido.wps.com (8.6.5/wps.com-hackery) id NAA06062; Sun, 25 Sep 1994 13:03:52 -0700 Received: from localhost by dub-img-2.compuserve.com (8.6.4/5.940406sam) id QAA20686; Sun, 25 Sep 1994 16:03:00 -0400 Date: 25 Sep 94 15:59:51 EDT From: Fred Chase <73174.77@compuserve.com> To: Deke Subject: Upcoming Funding Proposals Message-ID: <940925195950_73174.77_DHI38-1@CompuServe.COM> Status: OR Hi Deke, The idea of a specifically IWW email network is great. Here's my first contribution, to be printed in the next GOB. Reaction and input welcomed and appreciated. Solidarity, Fred Chase ************************************************************************* Fred Chase 1137 S. 7th #2 Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ph: 313-662-1529 email: 73174.77@compuserve.com 9/23/94 REGARDING UPCOMING FUNDING PROPOSALS Proposals for funding a Black/People of Color organizing drive, a poor peoples' survival movement, and an organizing drive among film workers in L.A. will be before us in the near future. The combined cost is $31,000, 62% of all funds we have earmarked for organizing. We're being asked to give money to fight racism, organize the poor, and organize the unorganized. No one can argue with the intent. But we need to ask ourselves how the proposals stand up against some basic questions so we can be assured we aren't just throwing money away once again on well intentioned wishful thinking. Most of this letter deals with the B/PoC Organizing Project, but the same questions should be asked of all funding proposals brought before the Union. And if the answer isn't a clear yes to all of the questions, then the proposals should be rejected until they are changed to meet the criteria. ARE THE PROPOSALS CONSISTENT WITH IWW PRINCIPLES? The B/PoC proposal promotes an anti-political sect in contradiction to IWW principals. As an anarchist, I welcome the attempt to build a Black/People of Color anti-authoritarian tendency within Anarchism and would be happy to see a Journal of Anarchism and the Black Revolution; but I think it is very inappropriate for the IWW to fund such an effort. We are a syndicalist Union. Many members are anarchists, but some are socialists, and many aren't interested in political labels. Part of the first resolution at the end of the IWW constitution reads: "..to the end of promoting industrial unity..the IWW refuses all alliances, direct and indirect, with existing political parties or anti-political sects." To fund a project with specific anarchist objectives is contrary to a principle which has been crucial in allowing this Union to survive the sectarian purges which have destroyed most left political organizations in the U.S. WILL THE PROPOSALS BUILD THE IWW? The union has funds because of the trust of deceased fellow workers that we would use the money they left us to build the IWW. To give that money away to the people quickest to ask for it as we have done before, is a betrayal of that trust. We can't be certain beforehand whether a particular project will succeed. But we need to establish criteria for funding which will offer a reasonable chance of success. We shouldn't be funding projects which just look good on paper. To all people asking funds I'd have us say: Start something. Show us you have the skills to make it work. Bring us a significant number of new members to demonstrate that this is a project which will benefit the IWW. Then come to us for funds to help your project grow faster and better. The L.A. Film Worker organizing drive is in its early stages. Once it shows some chance of success, I'll support funding it. But we've had drives in just about every industry imagineable and haven't generated enough new members to support more than one or two 25 member industrial unions. Please, show us it is working before you ask for funds. The B/PoC proposal specifically says it is "not just contemplated as an IWW recruitment project, but.. with fighting for the rights of the working class in the U.S." Hopefully we're all engaged in that fight. But we are too small and too poor to fund it. Ask us for the funds needed specifically to organize workers and the unemployed into the IWW. The rest should be gotten from foundations with a lot more money than the IWW. Two of the proposed staff members were trained at Highlander Institute. It provides assistance in obtaining funding from foundations. Use them. I have a contact with extensive experience in obtaining grants for organizing projects. Contact me and I'll put you in touch with her. WILL THE IWW HAVE CONTROL OVER ITS MONEY? Giving lump sum grants has been proven to be a drastic mistake in the past. If the people receiving the funds don't do what they promise, we have no recourse. If we are going to fund an organizer, something we've voted against in the past, we should be dispensing the wages monthly rather than just giving a block of money to pay a years wages in advance. Then if the organizer fails to live up to the terms under which the money was granted, the balance can be withheld. The same goes for office rent, whatever. Disperse the funds as they are needed, not in advance of the need. And end the dispersal if the funds are not being used as promised. The B/PoC proposal speaks of semi autonomy. But nothing in the proposal indicates the IWW will have any control if the proposal passes. I think we have a right and an obligation to oversee the expenditure of the funds entrusted to us. CAN WE AFFORD IT? Can we afford to dispense over 60% of our organizing funds in one year? If all of the projects fail, we won't have much left for the next fantastic idea that comes along. If we truly believe in the principles of the IWW and wish to see it survive, we need to think in terms of maintaining it over the long haul. That will require spending our money judiciously. I don't believe we can afford to spend any money on projects which don't have an excellent chance of success. So money seekers, show us your stuff; then seek money. Until that happens I'll be voting no on all of the above and encourage my fellow/sister Wobs to do the same. Fred Chase X331591 From freevoice@igc.apc.org Sun Sep 25 23:46:42 1994 Received: from mail.igc.apc.org by fido.wps.com (8.6.5/wps.com-hackery) id QAA06539; Sun, 25 Sep 1994 16:46:40 -0700 Received: from igc.apc.org (igc.apc.org [192.82.108.1]) by mail.igc.apc.org (8.6.9/Revision: 1.47 ) with SMTP id QAA23355; Sun, 25 Sep 1994 16:45:43 -0700 Received: (from freevoice@localhost) by igc.apc.org (8.6.9/Revision: 1.179 ) id QAA10178; Sun, 25 Sep 1994 16:45:42 -0700 Date: Sun, 25 Sep 1994 16:45:42 -0700 From: Freevoice Message-Id: <199409252345.QAA10178@igc.apc.org> To: iww@igc.apc.org Subject: for submission to GOB Cc: deke@fido.wps.com, kevin.brandstatter@afrc.ac.uk, maile@fido.wps.com, mdamore@moose.uvm.edu, vad@fido.wps.com Status: OR for submission in the GOB ON THE ROAD FOR THE REVOLUTION Hello, Fellow Workers! I had the pleasure this last General Assembly to get to see a lot of what's going on in our resurgent IWW. While I am sure that there were many things that I did not hear about, the Assembly is never very well representative geographically, after all, what I did see happening was impressive indeed. What struck me as most important was not that the IWW is getting back on its feet, rather it is that the IWW is on its feet and now taking its first steps on its new (and old) road. Refreshingly, the past few weeks have continued this resurgent spirit and built on it, and auger well for the 90th year of the IWW. I'm writing to support several initiatives that came out of the Assembly: 1) FW Lorenzo's proposal for a Black/People of Color Organizing Drive based in the South East. 2) The Film Workers Organization's funding request to organize the unorganized in the Film Industry. 3) The initiative for a Decentralized Archive. 4) The proposal for the 1995 General Assembly to take place in Philadelphia. FW Lorenzo's proposal is so singularly important for the IWW that I do not feel it is necessary to enumerate its merits. I encourage everyone to read Lorenzo's collection of pamphlets that Monkeywrench Press is printing in Philadelphia, and especially "Anarcho-Syndicalists of the World--Unite!" wherein he more fully describes his ideas on Anarcho-Syndicalism and the IWW (Monkeywrench Press will also be printing the pamphlets separately, but publication dates have not yet been set.) Please contact the Philadelphia GMB for copies or info. As to the Film Workers Organization Proposal for funding, I will only comment briefly as we will be sending out a more comprehensive prospectus for the project in the coming few weeks. Two aspects of the drive should be of interest to the IWW membership generally. First that the film industry workers are very pro-union, and that they are being kept out of the current guild style unions as a matter of union policy. In an industry that typically 90% and up of the workers will sign cards when approached and who often work 18 hour days it would be pure negligence and idiocy on the part of the IWW assist these workers in their desire to unionize. The LA Wobs have made an incredible start on the project and is will be important to build and support this drive as the Spring cycle of the Film Industry takes off. The second aspect of the drive that is highly interesting is the possibility of Wobs from around the country assisting in the drive. Given that 18 hour days are not unusual in the Industry, the film workers need as many extra hands to help out (the film workers have enough trouble finding time to eat and sleep.) The FW's in LA have expressed considerable generosity in hosting itinerant Wobs, and people interested in becoming involved should contact the GMB to arrange for visits. We are currently planning a "Wobbly Pageant" for the month of April, when the Film Industry will be in full swing, to support the drive, and also to showcase many of the organizing drives we are doing in other areas, and culminating in May 1 activities. I expect to be in LA from February through May and will be working jointing on the Film Workers Organization and kinko's, which is based in Southern California. Watch your mailboxes for more info on the Film Workers. One of the most exciting aspects of the Assembly is finding out what other groups and branches have been doing. Unfortunately, as many of the things we do as Wobs are not headline material we often do not hear about the many smaller expressions of Wobbly-ness that we participate in. In order for a more democratic distribution of much of this material we are, in Philadelphia, sponsoring what we call the Decentralized Archive. The Archive works in this fashion. You send us 50 copies of pamphlets, flyers, silent agitators, songs, cartoon, or whatever represents your local expressions of Wobbly-ness, and once a quarter we send to the IWW list of groups and Branches one copy of each of the items we receive. It will be funded entirely by assessment stamps (that have already been printed by us) so as not to further burden the general funds of the union. In this way we hope to maximize the cross-fertilization of the IWW. Watch you mailboxes for stamps and cards. On the 1995 General Assembly in Philadelphia, we have one very compelling reason: It has been a long time since the Assembly was on the East Coast of the US. Among other supporting reasons are the following: 1) We will fundraise the necessary funds for the Assembly. That is the Assembly will cost the General funds $0. We will also be fundraising to help subsidize Wobs from farther away to make it to the Assembly as well, and we encourage the odd potluck fund-raiser, or concert in your own locality to help with travel expenses. 2) We are planning a 5 day lead into the Assembly with workshops, concerts, actions, and networking meetings. These are designed to showcase much of what is happening with the IWW, radical labor, solidarity, and mutual growth, and to consolidate the IWW on its growth and success. We are giving everyone 11 months to plan their vacation time to coincide, or to save up some money to get here. 3) In 1993 we hosted approximately 800 people during the Mid-Atlantic Anarchist Gathering, and so we feel confident that we could easily handle as many as Wobs should they choose to attend the events. I will be writing more in future on all these topics and more, and if you wish to contact me you can reach me care of the Philadelphia GMB, 4722 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19143 (215) 747-0855. By the way, keep your eye out for the many new assessment stamps. x341890 From 73174.77@compuserve.com Thu Sep 29 20:24:07 1994 Received: from arl-img-2.compuserve.com by fido.wps.com (8.6.5/wps.com-hackery) id NAA12171; Thu, 29 Sep 1994 13:24:06 -0700 Received: from localhost by arl-img-2.compuserve.com (8.6.4/5.940406sam) id QAA16354; Thu, 29 Sep 1994 16:23:08 -0400 Date: 29 Sep 94 16:19:56 EDT From: Fred Chase <73174.77@compuserve.com> To: Deke Subject: Fred Chase: GST Nomination Statement Message-ID: <940929201956_73174.77_DHI71-1@CompuServe.COM> Status: OR Fred Chase 1137 S. 7th #2 Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ph: 313-662-1529 email: 73174.77@compuserve.com I accept nomination for the position of General Secretary Treasurer of the IWW. I joined the IWW in 1978 and participated in organizing and maintaining the University Cellar Job Branch with its 60 plus members from then until the business closed in 1986. I was one of the people contacted about organizing the People's Wherehouse Job Branch and served as an advisor to its 20 plus members whenever asked from 1984 until it closed in 1992. I've been active in the Southeastern Michigan General Membership Branch since its inception in 1978. At its peak, when the Cellar, Wherehouse, and Ann Arbor Tenant's Union Job shops as well as the GMB were active, we had approximately 110 Wobblies in good standing in this area for several years. I've also been involved in numerous other IWW organizing drives which met with less success including organizing among the unemployed. Experiences both at the Cellar and at the People's Wherehouse have made me familiar with the workings of the NLRB and have also convinced me to avoid it like the plague whenever possible. I've served many times as job shop and general membership branch delegate, secretary treasurer, recording secretary, and shop steward. At the Cellar I participated in negotiating 8 contracts with some unique clauses. We believe we had the first contract anywhere, in 1985, which protected the rights of workers with AIDS on the job. We had safety clauses protecting workers using computers from 1984 on. Sexual harrassment was prohibited from early on. All of our contracts prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Each contract improved wages, benefits, and working conditions. We never negotiated a concessionary contract. I'm presently serving on the General Executive Board for the second time and have been Board Chair for the last few months. I'm also presently engaged in support activities for workers involved in labor struggles through Jobs With Justice, doing publicity, walking picket lines, etc. And I'm taking training in production, film editing, and camera work which will lead to producing a regularly scheduled local cable t.v. program to present a militant perspective on labor issues. From 1968 to 1970 I ran an office much like our GHQ, as an organizer for the Detroit Resistance. That job led me to destroy some draft files on the south side of Chicago in 1969 and resulted in a couple of years in prison. I've had 12 years of computer experience, both at home and on the job. I served on the IWW committee which selected the first computer for GHQ. I've been using the same database software used at GHQ both at home and at work for the past 4 years. I'm comfortable with email which should enable us to speed up communications and decision making in the union in the future. My work experience in the last 20 years has been largely in purchasing, inventory control, expediting, computer operations, and office procedures, all skills which could be useful in running GHQ for the Union. Earlier work experience included everything from gas station attendant and grocery store clerk to assembly line worker. I'm very concerned about process and committed to being even handed. If I'm chosen for this position, the membership can expect that I will play no favorites. And I intend to be a full time GST; so the membership will know exactly where the buck stops. I've always been proud to be a member of the working class and the IWW and have done everything in my power to improve the condition of both. If chosen, I'll continue to do so as GST. Solidarity, Fred Chase X331591 From 73174.77@compuserve.com Fri Sep 30 15:08:14 1994 Received: from arl-img-1.compuserve.com by fido.wps.com (8.6.5/wps.com-hackery) id IAA14680; Fri, 30 Sep 1994 08:08:13 -0700 Received: from localhost by arl-img-1.compuserve.com (8.6.4/5.940406sam) id LAA10970; Fri, 30 Sep 1994 11:07:32 -0400 Date: 30 Sep 94 11:01:55 EDT From: Fred Chase <73174.77@compuserve.com> To: "INTERNET:deke@fido.wps.com" Subject: Re: Fred Chase: GST Nomination Statement Message-ID: <940930150154_73174.77_DHI27-1@CompuServe.COM> Status: OR Hi Deke, Yeah, they're going out to the GOB and GEB members. But I did mean to share them with the IWW network too. I'll address future stuff correctly. Didn't know about the difference. Thanks. Solidarity, Fred Chase