The Pret a Manger Staff Union, formed in London when a group of workers got sick of management mistreatment, has been standing up for Pret employees for a number of months now. As part of the increasing momentum enjoyed by the campaign, the PAMSU website is now live. And on it is the announcement that PAMSU will be fighting for a living wage for all Pret workers.
Check it out and send it along to any Pret workers you know.
http://www.pamsu.org/
Pret worker wanting to know more about the union? Supporter wanting to get involved in the campaign?
PAMSU: pret.staff.union (a) gmail.com North London Solidarity Federation: northlondonsf@solfed.org.uk
Friday the 23rd of November will see Wal-Mart, which owns UK chain ASDA and which has an entirely non-union workforce, hit with coordinated strikes and protests. The date of these strikes is not arbitrary. It's “Black Friday”, the busiest shopping day of the year in the US.
This article, written by a American-born SolFedder who's worked retail in the past, seeks to explore the strikes: their roots and their implications for the American working class.
Following a successful picket on Monday, the Pret a Manger Staff Union received has received a write-up from Morning Star daily paper. Continuing to build on the success and energy of that picket, PAMSU has created a short YouTube video which explains the reasons behind the action, interviews supporters of the union, and shows members and supporters marching into St. Pancras Station and confronting management about their union busting and victimization of workplace activists.
PAMSU activists were today joined by members of the North and South London locals of the Solidarity Federation and some 25 other supporters in a vocal and mobile picket of Pret a Manger shops in central London. Our message to Pret was no doubt loud and clear: end victimization of all union members and full reinstatement for PAMSU founder Andrej.
If today's numbers and energy are any indication, the Pret a Manger Staff Union is on the march. Keep watch on this space to find out about upcoming actions and how you, as a Pret worker or union supporter, can get involved in the campaign.
Tens of thousands took part in demonstrations in about 100 Italian towns as part of the 14 November European general strike. Strikes affected many sectors including, amongst others, schools, railways, public transport and healthcare while students demonstrated around the country, leading to fighting with police.
The biggest protests were in Rome, where an estimated 50,000 people joined the demonstrations and which saw bitter fighting between police and protesters. Milan saw three different demonstrations with total attendance at around 10,000. One was from the CGIL (the largest of the mainstream unions), who had also called a four-hour strike for the day. The students held the largest demonstration in Milan, estimated at around 5,000, which also saw clashes with police. Sticks, eggs and flares were thrown at police, banks and an elite private university.
Today saw members of the North London Solidarity Federation join civil service workers, lay reps, and members of the newly formed Civil Service Rank-and-File Network (CSRF) in a two hour informational picket outside the London passport office.
Officially called as part of a series of lunchtime protests against government attacks on civil service terms and conditions, the demonstrations have been timed to coincide with the European general strike happening today in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy and a number of other southern European countries.
As workers are on general strike in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain today, we will have updates throughout the day. Here are ongoing strike reports from Spain.
[update 14:00] Barcelona: a large roving picket, composed of pensioners, is blocking roads!
Violent police charges reported now in Valencia.
Caixa banks, responsible for the eviction of Emaya Egana who threw herself to her death just before the eviction, are covered in red paint all over Spain today.
Reports of evictions stopped today by force of numbers blockading the doorways.
Castro Urdiales, a small town, reports CNT demonstration of 400 people.
No trucks went in at MercaCordoba due to mass pickets.
Ferrol: number of workers on strike exceeds all previous general strikes. City completely shut down, nothing open anywhere in the centre of town, demonstration is too big to fit in the central square.
As part of an ongoing campaign, cleaners at a South London John Lewis have entered into a pay dispute with their employer. Although John Lewis purports to run on a socially responsible cooperative business model, the men and women who clean its shops are locked out of this “partnership”. Instead, they are hired through subcontractors who pay, at best, slightly above the national minimum wage.
Coming on the back of other successful living wage for cleaners campaigns, the John Lewis cleaners are demanding an immediate increase.
As the Spanish government announced a two year halt on evictions in “the most urgent cases” today, following two suicides by people evicted from their homes, more than a hundred people have demonstrated this evening outside the headquarters of the PP. Rejecting a “whitewash” and calling for a stop on all evictions they occupied various banks, including the Banco de España. Inside the banks people shouted “how many more will you kill?” and “these are not suicides, they are murders”. The government made the announcement following mass anger when a woman in Barakaldo threw herself from her window just before eviction, and a man in Granada was found hanged in his flat when the police came to evict him. Evictions are running at 500 a day in Spain.
Where: Entrance to St. Pancras Station When: Monday 19th November, 12:00 – 2:00 Contact: pret.staff.union (at) gmail.com or northlondonsf (at) solfed.org.uk
Since being formed earlier this year, the Pret a Manger Staff Union has faced harassment and victimisation. In an all too familiar scenario, activists from the union have faced a series of trumped-up disciplinary charges.
Join North London SolFed in standing up to union-busting by helping us picket the Pret shop where the union was formed and where two members are in the process of fighting victimisation.
Solidarity is going to be key to fighting fast food exploitation, so spread the word.
SolFedNL@riseup.net | twitter.com/nlsolfed | facebook.com/northlondonsf | network23.org/solfednl and find us on radar.squat.net
The Pret a Manger Staff Union, formed in London when a group of workers got sick of management mistreatment, has been standing up for Pret employees for a number of months now. As part of the increasing momentum enjoyed by the campaign, the PAMSU website is now live. And on it is the announcement that PAMSU will be fighting for a living wage for all Pret workers.
Today saw members of the North London Solidarity Federation join civil service workers, lay reps, and members of the newly formed 
