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The Heart of Unionism: One Local Union’s Story of Solidarity

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May 18, 2012
Solidarity Forever Featured Image

Many times in my life I have been proud to be a member of a Labor Union, specifically a third generation member of Sheet Metal Workers’ Local 19 in Philadelphia. We Sheet Metal Workers (AKA Tin Knockers, Tinners, etc.) have always had a long-standing reputation of being tough, no-nonsense types that don’t pull too many punches. Most importantly though, we always try to look out for each other, as those that came before us have in the past. This is at the very core of what it means to belong to a Union. We hear it every day: “Unions have outlived their usefulness,” “What have they ever done for us?” and the infamous, “Unions steal from their members and are run by criminals.” That last blatant lie always gets me fired up. Look throughout not just history, but our present, and you can see all the good Organized Labor has done (and continues to do) for this nation and the entire industrialized world. But for this piece I want to scale back the scope a bit and focus on what I feel is the perfect example of what a Local Union should be and how it takes care of its
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Occupy the Labor Movement

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May 18, 2012
Happy May Day Featured Flag

Mayday in New York City was a force to be reckoned with. On that overcast and dreary morning, thousands of protesters who consisted of #Occupiers, labor unions, musicians, artists, immigrants, students and concerned citizens alike, embarked on a journey dedicated to worker’s rights around the world in celebration of International Labor Day. Bryant Park was alive with music and free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, while mic checks ran wild to inform the rather large group of the planned events for that afternoon. The police were out in droves (some in riot gear) and onlookers peered out of highrise windows. Some New York City residents showed support by holding up fists as they walked by, others cursed at us as they tried their best to weed through the crowd to get to their favorite spot on their lunch break. The march from Bryant Park to Union Square could only be described as epic. Trucks and taxis blocked city streets in solidarity, protesters chanted and held their signs and flags high as they made their way through the bustle of the city that never sleeps. When asked by my family and friends about a protest on a rainy Tuesday, I explained to them the significance of that day in history. May first is celebrated in over 80 countries
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Why All the Smashy-Smashy? A Beginner’s Guide to Targeted Property Destruction

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May 18, 2012
Valentin de Boulogne [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

First: I ripped off that headline from the Seattle anarchist gazette Tides of Flame, but it neatly summarizes the big question of the day. In a post, Paul Constant decries the May 2nd targeted property destruction for upstaging the structural-economic reasons behind the Seattle May Day protests—the wealth gap, the E-Verify and “secure communities” programs that are tearing apart immigrant communities, how Wells Fargo profiteers in the privatized prison industry, etc. People like Paul call window-smashers “know-nothing nobodies” and “thugs” and “idiots.” This is not necessarily true. There are reasons why thoughtful people sometimes smash windows. But first, let’s clear something up: Reporters on KOMO and Slog and beyond have made the mistake of calling May Day’s targeted property destruction “violence.” There is an enormous moral distinction between smashing a bank window and smashing a person. Lumping the two under the umbrella of “violence” is linguistically lazy and politically irresponsible. It is worth noting that in the dramatic property-destruction campaigns of groups like the Earth Liberation Front (ELF)—burning SUV lots, ski lodges, and in one of their stupider and more infamous moments, a botanical research facility at the University of Washington—people don’t get hurt. In fact, the only “violence” I saw
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A City Gripped by Fear and Defiance in the Face of the Threat of Police Violence During NATO Summit

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May 18, 2012
Image by Occupy Western New York

Chicago, IL, May 12, 2012 – As the windy city declares martial law and attempts to  justify the fear-mongering and millions spent militarizing the city, Occupiers have declared their willingness to put their bodies on the line at NATO. “The police will do what they will do and we will rise up and put our bodies on the line for the people of the world;” said Rachael Perrotta a participant of Occupy Chicago. “We’ve begun our ten days of action today with the People’s Summit. Street protest will begin on the 14th of May.” Events will culminate on the 21st when Occupy Chicago intends to surround Boeing and shut down operations in protest of the company’s war profiteering that organizers have called tantamount to “War Crimes.” The city of Chicago has spent millions of dollars in recent months in preparation for the potential of civil unrest during the NATO summit. They have purchased a million dollars’ worth of riot gear for their officers and police animals with tax payer’s dollars, including new face shields, helmets, gas masks, and shock shields to be used for protests during the summit instead of fully funding schools, clinics and city-workers’ pensions. They have also purchased at
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Rick Smith Files | Darrin Kelley of International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1 in Pittsburgh, “We’re Done, We’re Fed Up, We’re Not Going to be Pushed Around and Stepped On”

IAFF Featured Image

Editor’s Note: from March 27-29, the Rick Smith Show provided exclusive coverage of the 2012 PA AFL-CIO conference, on the ground in Philadelphia.  Raging Chicken Press strongly suggests you check out all of the Rick Smith Shows from that week…it was a pretty amazing set of interviews. We’ve chosen to include this interview with Darrin Kelley of the International Association of Fire Fighters because of the range of issues raised in the interview that speak directly to the struggles Pennsylvania progressives are facing right now–from attacks on working families to insidious legislation passed to protect the Natural Gas industry–and for Kelley’s unyielding fight-back spirit. Check it out! Thanks again to Chelsea Terwilliger for transcribing!   I’m here at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and look, the reason I love coming to these things is all of the great people you get to meet, the issues that you get to talk about; and you know, one of my favorite, firefighters. We were in Wisconsin, one of the great moments of that whole occupation was seeing Mahlon Mitchell and the firefighters—who’s now running for Lieutenant Governor there in Wisconsin—had him on the program the other night. Fantastic guy,
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Money Runs Through It

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May 7, 2012
What the Frack Featured

Franklin, Dimock, Leroy, Lenox, Butler – a few of the Pennsylvania towns where clean and safe water has become an issue in the past year. Families who once thought they would find their American Dream in Pennsylvania are now living an American Nightmare. But, this is not a story about those towns and those families. This is a story about another town and other families who are being forced from their homes – not because their water is bad, but rather because of the good water. Earlier this month, 32 residents of the Riverdale Mobile Home Village in Piatt Township received notification the park had been sold to Aqua PVR LLC. They have until May 1, 2012 to vacate the park. Why did Aqua PVR, LLC buy the park? Aqua PVR, LLC plans to eliminate the park and build a water withdrawal facility to be used by the natural gas industry. The company received permission from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission on March 15 to withdraw up to 3 million gallons of water per day from the site. The water will be transported via pipeline to gas drilling sites located to the north of the township.     Who is
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Fracking: Pennsylvania Gags Physicians (Part 1)

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May 7, 2012
Frack Corbett

A new Pennsylvania law endangers public health by forbidding health care professionals from sharing information they learn about certain chemicals and procedures used in high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing. The procedure is commonly known as fracking. Fracking is the controversial method of forcing water, gases, and chemicals at tremendous pressure of up to 15,000 pounds per square inch into a rock formation as much as 10,000 feet below the earth’s surface to open channels and force out natural gas and fossil fuels. After drilling down vertically, the natural gas company will create a lateral borehole that will fracture the shale and rock for up to about 6,000 feet. Advocates of fracking argue not only is natural gas “greener” than coal and oil energy, with significantly fewer carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur emissions, the mining of natural gas generates significant jobs in a depressed economy, and will help the U.S. reduce its oil dependence upon foreign nations. Geologists estimate there may be as much as 2,000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas throughout the United States. If all of it is successfully mined, it could not only replace coal and oil but serve as a transition to wind, solar, and water as
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State-Codified Avoidance of Accountability and Genocidal Profiteering: Gag Orders, Compressor Station Explosions, Children’s Art Projects, and Fracking

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April 20, 2012
WLee Featured Graphic April 2012

When the Friends of Vestal sponsored an anti-fracking art contest in Broome County’s Vestal Central School (Vestal, New York) which included a sketch of a baby laying on its back sucking from a gas can, caption underneath: “How will fracking effect you?” Rachael Colley, writer for fracking propaganda machine Energy In Depth felt compelled to register her offense. She writes: One particular mother questioned the school about the art exhibits and was told the students were given a choice and could do their art projects on this topic or choose from a separate short list.  However, the poster contest was to be judged by the Friends of Vestal, whose Facebook page says its purpose is “o preserve Vestal’s quality of life by providing information on the possible impacts of natural gas and the ways we can protect ourselves…Clearly this isn’t fair,” explained this mother. “If these kids draw anything positive they won’t stand a chance in the contest. The schools are allowing individual private interest groups to brainwash the students…Well, judge for yourself.  Was it fair?  As a mother, would you want your young daughter, a future mother, viewing images of a
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Rules for Frackers: A primer on strategies the Gas Industry uses to become unwanted neighbors.

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April 20, 2012
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Author’s Note:  The Rules for Frackers will be a series that highlights the tactics the Natural Gas Industry uses to gain access to shale plays across the country.  The series will focus on the economics, politics, profiteering and media and academic manipulation that is occurring in the Marcellus Shale Play and have been occurring in other shale plays around the country. “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes (truth) politics” – Banksy  There is damning evidence that the natural gas industry is harmful for the environment.  Since 2009, residents in Dimock, PA have been holding to their claims that their tainted groundwater was caused by locally owned Cabot Oil and Gas wells, and those claims were vindicated when water testing results were released last month.  In what looks to have been a political stunt by EPA Region 3 Chief Lisa Jackson, the EPA prematurely released the water sampling data that was collected from over 60 homes, and in a report by Propublica, the EPA only looked at 10 samples of the whole data set.  The EPA reported there were safe levels of methane combined with ethane  inside some of the residents’ water wells, which proved that the methane migration
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More from Front Page

Happy Birthday to Rick Smith!

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May 10, 2012

Editor’s Note: Transcripts of Rick Smith’s radio interviews are regularly featured here at Raging Chicken Press. But more importantly, Rick has been one of the most important voice in Pennsylvania for working people, students, educators, and the 99%. I listen to Rick’s show on my hour commute to work everyday and I have learned more from him about PA politics than any single source. So, take a little time today to get on Rick’s Facebook page or his website and wish him a happy birthday! Happy birthday from all of us at Raging Chicken Press!

Tragedy at the Pittsburgh Opera: The Political Connections Between Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh Opera

2
May 9, 2012

“What the fuck?”  Those were the first three simple words that came to mind when I read about the decision the Pittsburgh Opera made last week.  The opera, in their infinite wisdom, decided to give Governor Tom Corbett and his wife a “Joint Lifetime Achievement Award” in education. Did you get that? IN EDUCATION. In an attempt to quell the public relations firestorm this decision made, the Pittsburgh Opera published the following on their...
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Public Response to Corbett’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Pittsburgh Opera

Editor’s Note: these represent some of the Facebook comments on the Pittsburgh Opera’s Facebook page. I think it would be safe to say that this is a Pittsburgh Opera FAIL. What do you think about the Pittsburgh Opera’s decision to give Corbett this award? Is he a strong proponent of the Arts and Education? What does his budget have to say about the Arts and Education? Got something to say? Add your voice to...
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ALERT: Luzerne County Gas Pipeline Mud Blowout by Dallas, PA

1
May 8, 2012

Editor’s Note: Dallas, PA is just West of Wilkes-Barre, PA on Route 309. This is the kind of on-the-ground reporting we’d love to see more of in Raging Chicken Press. Kudos to Scott for getting out there and checking out what’s going on for himself. 

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Scott Cannon | Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition video series on gas drilling reality

 

My Body of Water

Marcellus Shale Reality Tour Part 3: EPA Comes to Dimock

Editor’s Note:  The Marcellus Shale Reality Tour comes to us by way of Scott Cannon of Luzerne County, PA Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 posted in previous editions of Raging Chicken Press. A huge thanks to Scott for doing this amazing work. With recent revelations of ethical and legal of gas companies such as Chesapeake Energy, this kind of work is critical. People in Shale Country are getting frustrated. To put it in the words of one of the interviewees – Dave Buck of Endless Mountains Outfitters – “You get to the point where you want to just throw rocks at people.”

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Scott Cannon | Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition video series on gas drilling reality

Occupy Ron Paul?

9
April 20, 2012

Through my travels to numerous big city occupation sites on the East Coast, including Wall Street itself,  I have noticed a bizarre phenomenon that has me completely baffled and, on occasion, has actually left me sleepless : Ron Paul fans. Really? Seriously?  Libertarian supporters of #Occupy? I thought no 1%, well established-in-the-political-system “leader” could or would change the policies of America for the better. And let’s face it, Ron Paul has been on and off in Congress for over...
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Marcellus Shale Reality Tour | Part 2

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April 20, 2012

Editor’s Note:  The Marcellus Shale Reality Tour comes to us by way of Scott Cannon of Luzerne County, PA Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition. Scott got in touch with us back in March to see if Raging Chicken Press would be interested in running his videos. Two minutes into Part 1 (Raging Chicken Press, March 2012) we were on-board 150%. Raging Chicken Press will run one episode of the Marcellus Shale Reality Tour each issue and each early edition. A huge thanks to Scott for doing this amazing work. This kind of work is all that more critical as tensions around fracking and unregulated drilling mount. People in Shale Country are getting frustrated. To put it in the words of one of the interviewees–Dave Buck of Endless Mountains Outfitters–”You get to the point where you want to just throw rocks at people.”

 


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Scott Cannon | Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition video series on gas drilling reality

 

You’re a Slave and Here’s Why | Lee Camp MOC #132

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April 20, 2012

 

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Lee Camp is a stand-up comic. …Sometimes people make him write things too. He’s a contributor to The Onion and has performed stand-up comedy at events featuring Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore.

If you like Lee Camp, you’ll be happy to hear that Moment of Clarity is a regular feature at Raging Chicken Press. Please check out all his Moments of Clarity and if you still can’t get enough, why not show your support and pick up a copy of his CD Chaos for the Weary and his new book Moment Of Clarity. Really, this guy’s worth it.

Occupy the Corporations

3
March 17, 2012

It seems that the Occupy Movement has slipped away forever from the media minds that scantily covered them at all in the first place. Fewer and fewer people even ask me about what we have been up to, or have questions concerning it anymore. In all honesty, I would rather have the non-believers of Occupy ask me questions like “What message are you trying to convey”, or, “What are your demands?” than to fall silent and...
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Field Notes

ALERT: Luzerne County Gas Pipeline Mud Blowout by Dallas, PA

Editor’s Note: Dallas, PA is just West of Wilkes-Barre, PA on Route 309. This is the kind of on-the-ground reporting we’d love to see more of in Raging Chicken Press. Kudos to Scott for getting out there and checking out what’s going on for himself. 

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Scott Cannon | Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition video series on gas drilling reality

 

Homeless_Lincoln_+_Hope 1024px

URGENT CALL TO ACTION: Food is a Human Right: Not an excuse for a permit.

 Growing up in Philadelphia and attending high school in center city, I have witnessed...

Lt. Gov. Cawley “Budget Town Hall” @ Kutztown University

Editor’s Note: PA Lt. Gov. Cawley came to Kutztown University on March 1, 2012 in an attempt to justify Governor Corbett’s latest austerity budget. Some students and community members showed up to let him know they were not buying what he was selling.”  3/2/2012: This is rough cut. Problems with audio need to be fixed. Still, I thought it was worth posting asap.

 

 

Progressive Summit 2012 Program Cover

The State of American Liberalism—Thoughts on the 2012 Pennsylvania Progressive Summit

“They’re homogenous, we are not. They’re disciplined, we are not. We got the memo,...

Occupy Wall Street Arrests: The Story of Molly and John Knefel co-hosts of Radio Dispatch

Editor’s Note: A couple of days ago, Gabriel Bly from NYC’s BreakThru Radio got in touch with Raging Chicken Press concerning the arrest of John Knefel, one of their DJ’s and host of BreakThru Radio’s News show, Radio Dispatch. You many have caught John’s sister and co-host, Molly Knefel on the Keith Olbermann show on December 13th about the arrests and attempts by the police to suppress independent media coverage of Occupy Wall Street. Here is a piece of the email from Gabriel:

Our very own DJ John Knefel, stand up comedian and co-host of our news show Radio Dispatch, was arrested on Dec 12 during a peaceful Occupy Wall Street protest. John was taking video of the protesters and live-tweeting the scene, when he was subsequently arrested (with 17 others) for observing the scene and held in jail for an astounding 37 hours. His sister and co-host, Molly, questioned the arrest, and wrote about her experience on Salon.com and also appeared on Keith Olbermann to talk about the arrests.

Hear the story of John’s arrest and his and Molly’s experiences with the NYPD on an all new Radio Dispatch: http://bit.ly/rwYO3V

John and Molly Knefel have been covering the Occupy movement since the beginning on Sept 17 and are strong voices in the OWS community. Let us know what you think, and please feel free to repost these special editions to your sites to share John and Molly’s stories as independent journalists dealing with the NYPD.

Here is the video just released by Molly and John Knefel (yes, you do have to sit through a Navy recruiting commercial):

 

The Free University: Brought to You by Occupy Kutztown

The Free University: Brought to You by Occupy Kutztown

“the Free University” Brought to you by Occupy Kutztown The Free University curriculum is based...

Occupy Allentown Video

Editor’s Note: I want to thank Alice for sending this video our way. Raging Chicken Press made a trip to Occupy Allentown on Friday, Nov. 11th to show our support and deliver supplies: 30 gallons of water, 2.5 pounds of organic fair-trade coffee, and two cases of organic soup cans. Thanks to everyone who was out there on that cold, windy day. And thanks for showing my kids what solidarity is all about. 

 

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Where Have All the Flowers Gone: KU Bulldozes ELC Playground, Axes Alumni Affairs

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