Continuing struggle: post climate week action

So what now the weeks over? It was certainly very intense at times..the end of the week means little in itself.

Action on campus is ongoing students are organising and fighting for justice in many shapes and guises, The week was only as good as it was because these groups came together and it is only through sustained collective action that we can continue to have the same level of impact.

The grassroots network we formed organised the week needs to be sustained. By grassroots I mean a network based on collective action and solidarity and support for each other’s initiatives.

I have a few idea of how we can do this however; I would like to discuss it openly at the E&E forum this Friday at 8pm in the guild council chambers. I think good ground to cover would be “Network building, how will our networks work, what relationships will they have with the guild and uni?” it is on the agenda so come armed with ideas.

The rest of the agenda can be found here


Don’t forget the wave on November the 5th part of a global day of action and what is shaping up to be one of the biggest rallies in Britain in recent years. If you are interested in getting a coach to London for wave contact asap .... oxfamoutreach@guild.bham.ac.uk

If you want to go to Copenhagen the cheapest way to get there at this point is the coaches climate camp are organizing here

Also coming up this week:
Movie night: 'Waltz With Bashir
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Time: 19:30 - 21:30
Location: UG33, Education Building-Filmsoc, JSoc and UN Society are showing 'Waltz With Bashir': an animated film discussing the 1982 Lebanon war. IMDB Review

And

Fruit of the Loom boycott: STITCHED UP IN HONDURAS!
Date:
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Time: 19:00 - 21:00
Location: Guild of Students Council Chambers
People and Planet Society and the Guild of Students have helped tackle the exploitation of the factory workers who make clothing often bought in bulk by organizations, including Universities. After making thousands of workers unemployed from a factory in Honduras after attempting to unionize, Fruit of the Loom have become targets of a global boycott. The Guild of Students was quick to respond in solidarity and a motion was passed at Guild Council for the Guild and student groups to boycott Fruit of the Loom products. This was followed by many other UK unions.

This is significant victory for the student movement as reported in the new York times; “Additionally not only did Russell agree to reinstate the dismissed workers and open a new plant in Honduras as a unionized factory, it also pledged not to fight unionization at its seven existing factories there.”

This Wednesday at 7pm in the Guild Council Chambers, come and hear Reyna Martinez tell her story of mistreatment, death threats and illegal firings that accompanied her attempts to unionize and get better conditions for the workers at Fruit of the Loom’s Jerzees de Honduras factory. Reyna and Rod from United Students Against Sweatshops will be available for further discussions.