Anarchy in Wisconsin!

1. The ability of the Palermo’s workers to act for the immediate improvement of their working and living conditions is severely limited by the threat of deportation and other serious forms of repression. If decisive action is to be taken, it must come from an organized force other than the workers themselves. Unfortunately, it is not immediately obvious that intervention into the strike would be particularly beneficial to any outside party.

2. Until the above limitation is overcome either by decisive outside intervention, exceptional action on the part of the workers, or some combination of the two, the Palermo’s strike will remain firmly situated within a statist political paradigm. This paradigm is defined by the placement of the state in the position of mediator of all conflict between social antagonisms. The appeal to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to force the Palermo’s management to accept at least some of the workers’ demands is a prime example of this paradigm.

3. But management has a point. After the NLRB hands down its decision, undocumented workers will still be undocumented workers. Thus, there is space for a continuing antagonism which can stretch far beyond the walls of the Palermo’s factory.

4. In order to articulate that antagonism, the valorization of citizenship must be overcome among both the workers themselves and the leftists who have come out in support of them. It must be immediately made clear that integration into White America, if that is even possible for Latinos on a large scale in a time of crisis, is a betrayal to all oppressed people.

5. A through critique of the Left must also be put into action. The irrelevance of demands-based struggle must be demonstrated. Direct action must actually get the goods. The manipulations of leftist organizations must be exposed, especially those organizations which appear to be most closely aligned with those seeking the generalization of social antagonisms.

From Freedom’s Progress

I just got back from the Palermo’s plant, where workers have been on strike for better working conditions since June 1st. The picket is still as lively as it was when I was able to make it over there last weekend. Other unions at the picket line in support were the Industrial Workers of the World and United Steelworkers.

This has been a new addition to the Palermo’s plant. Management seems to now be stating that the strike is only in regards to immigration. At about 4:30, while myself and a fellow worker were standing in the median showing signs to traffic saying “no justice, no pizza” and “boycott Palermo’s”, a dude in a shiny new-looking Lincoln Navigator showed up asking if we knew what they were striking over. Upon my stating that it’s over poor working conditions and a lack of sick days, he started informing me that every one of the strikers was undocumented and it was purely a matter of immigration status, something we all knew to be false. He didn’t seem to pleased when I said I didn’t give a flying fuck about their immigration status and I stand with any worker in the fight for better working conditions, sarcastically adding that it was nice hearing managements opinion. He did admit that he was a manager, something that was clearly given away by the fanciness of his vehicle.

Palermo’s Pizza Workers Speak About the Strike

interview

Beginning on Friday, June 1st, 2012, approximately 120 workers at Palermo’s, a frozen pizza factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, went on strike demanding that their union, the Palermo’s Workers Union, be recognized so that they can obtain higher wages and benefits. At 8 am. that morning, the Palermo’s management locked the first shift workers in the factory so that they could not join their second and third shift co-workers on the picket line. Police arrived on the scene, though did not intervene to stop the lock in or press charges against the owners of the factory.

As of June 4th, a picket line has been outside the factory round the clock and management has called in scabs. Palermo’s is threatening to fire striking workers. In addition, management has threatened to call immigration services on the striking workers who are predominantly Latino. The local media has either completely ignored the strike or is providing false information about it. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – a large and generally conservative local media outlet – even claimed that “there’s no action being taken against the company” and production was not effected* despite the fact that Palermos’ profits have significantly decreased because of the strike, according to one striking worker and given that fact that the great majority of the workers are currently striking.

The Palermo’s workers are requesting solidarity in the form of boycotts and material support in the form of water, food and other resources. As part of the boycott, the workers have requested that supporters of the strike call Palermo’s at (414) 643-0919 to express their solidarity with the strike and their intent to boycott the company.

All information above was obtained by talking to striking workers on the picket line.

*http://www.jsonline.com/business/pickets-at-palermos-pizza-protest-immigration-probe-5i5knke-156426405.html