General Strike! It's about time! Can we try this, too? Lesson Day for BC Premier Gordon Campbell!

The Globe and Mail: Striking B.C. teachers face criminal contempt probe


..Even as trade unionists shut down much of the city of Victoria yesterday in a strong show of support for the teachers, a special prosecutor was appointed to determine whether criminal contempt charges should be laid against the B.C. Teachers' Federation and its members....

Teachers will not be deterred by external threats, Ms. Sims told a huge, cheering crowd that braved drenching rain to attend an anti-government protest rally outside the legislature in Victoria.

"Mr. Campbell, stop threatening us. Stop trying to divide us. It will not work. We will not be broken," declared the 53-year-old Nanaimo high-school teacher, who has said she is prepared to go to jail in defence of the union's strike.

The dispute is beginning to spread beyond the teachers' picket lines into a confrontation with the province's entire labour movement.

B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair called yesterday's organized-labour protest in Victoria, which shut bus service, mail delivery and many other government services, just the taste of things to come if the conflict is not resolved.

At least one other single-day, regional labour shutdown is expected to take place this week. Meanwhile members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees are launching their own job action. They are expected to be off the job today at work sites in Prince George and other northern cities.

The teacher's federation launched its illegal walkout Oct. 7, after the government extended the teachers' existing contract by legislation for two years, providing no wage increase and no improvement in working conditions.

Since then, the government and the union have been locked in a grim stalemate

BushSpeak

I know, I know, it's not about how dumb he is ... but this video is a howl!Bush's Speechialist

Bush in Freefall

This is a surprisingly satisfying site! Bush in Freefall Check it out.

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - OCT. 2005: VOLUME ONE, #7

Thanks for being on my mailing list! It's the best way I've found to stay in
regular contact with my friends and family and activist heroes. Let me know
what you're up to... I love it when you write back! Please feel free to forward this to your friends and relations! You can subscribe by clicking here.

IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:

The Great Midwest - Indianapolis; Richmond, IN; Kansas City; Grinnell, IA;
Cedar Falls, IA; Winona, MN; Minneapolis, MN; Beloit, WI; Chicago, IL;
Springfield, IL; Meredosia, IL

and then... Detroit, Ann Arbor & Lansing MI

and then ... Lexington, Louisville, Terre Haute & Cincinnati

and THEN ... Florida, Georgia, Sweden & Mexico

all the details at my tourdates page

Please check out my CDs at CDBaby
Proceeds from the sale of Heartland, Vote in November and the Great Peace March are all benefiting the Red Cross this month.

Fellow Travelers' Advisory from Anne Feeney - OCT. 2005: VOLUME ONE, #7

Greetings from the "Show Me" state... that's a moniker that has always
puzzled me -- (and, while I'm on the subject, what's a 'Sooner?' -- and a
'Hoya"?) -- So tonight my tourmate Evan Greer asked our fabulous Cape
Girardeau, Missouri hosts what the heck "Show-Me" means... As some of you
have probably guessed, it means Missourians are skeptics and don't accept
anything as true until it is proven to them.

Well, I don't know how much more proof we can possibly endure before we
concede that this President doesn't have a clue how to run this country. Now
we know that FEMA was being run by his incompetent fratboy buddies... who's
running the rest of the country, and at what risk to all of us???? (I saw a
handpainted sign in someone's yard that said, "Homeland Security My Ass.")

As the inept series of spokespersons for the White House were offering up
ridiculous excuse #771 - "Uh, we think it was a state problem... or a local
problem... we didn't think it was a federal problem... uh, we couldn't act
until the state asked us, or the local authorities asked us ... or
whatever..." I did laugh out loud at Jon Stewart's observation on the Daily
Show -- "Yes, far be it from our federal government to interfere with state
and local affairs... why, the federal government would NEVER usurp the powers
reserved to the state and local government... *unless* ... *unless* New
Orleans were to drift into a persistent vegetative state."

But laughs are hard to come by these days. My anger and my sadness battle
each other daily as the agonizing details of this hopelessly bungled fiasco
unfold.

Today I saw a mural in Cape Girardeau, MO - another river town named by the
early French explorers - and while many aspects of this town's history are
depicted, slavery is not even mentioned!!!

And it's not just because this is Rush Limbaugh's hometown ... our entire
American identity is based on crazy mythology. We are *not* and never were
an all-white nation. We do *not* and never did all speak English. And most
of us are really *not* doing well in this free market economy.

American history is bloody and murderous ... our nation's wealth is built
upon the genocide of the indigenous people of this continent, and the chattel
slavery of the people of another continent, and the ongoing brutal
exploitation of immigrants.

But our mythology denies and denies and denies our history. Well, it's this
same mythology that has allowed the vacuous puppet in the White House to
mumble things about "staying the course," and "noble cause" and the rest of
the country to mumble assent.

But then Cindy Sheehan says "What noble cause?????" ... slowly more people
begin to ask the same question... and on Saturday more than 100,000 people -
(check out the photos) -
come to the nation's capital to ask the same question.

Mr. President, please don't show me any more. I've seen enough. If it were
up to me, you wouldn't get to make one more decision that would put one more
person in harm's way. It's time we had some "Truth and Reconciliation" here.

*************************************
EVAN GREER!

Last night was the first night of my midwest tour with Evan Greer.
- It's a joy and a privilege to work with such a
talented and bright young performer, and I look forward to introducing him to
all my midwest friends. Don't miss these shows! Evan will be performing
with me through October 22nd.

*************************************
THANKS!

Many thanks to Jerry Tucker and the St Louis Health Care Education Fund for
making my trip to the inspiring Jobs with Justice national conference
possible. It was great to see so many friends there, and also to meet so
many great folks. Thanks to the Missouri Rural Crisis Coalition for hosting
such a wonderful dinner.

*************************************

CIW TAKES ON BURGER KING

I'm traveling with postcards you can sign to help the Coalition of Immokalee Workers bring its campaign for justice to Burger King.
This is a logical step following the terrific victory with Taco Bell.


*************************************

FAMILY NEWS

My New Orleans cousins were still living somewhere near Austin the last that
I heard. I hope they are safe at home soon!

My daughter Amy is finally back from Mexico and back in school at Portland
Community College.

My son Dan will run a marathon in Washington, DC this month.

My cousins Mary and Paul Grefenstette are in Ireland right now with daughter
Erin & husband Mark.

*************************************

HELP!!!

The lockout of the 156 families employed by Celanese in Meredosia, IL
continues - please read up on this struggle and donate online
or by mail to:

Boilermakers Local 484 Solidarity/Defense Fund

P.O. Box258
300 Main Street
Meredosia, IL 62665

Remember how very difficult it is for other hardhit people to raise money
right now and please be generous. I'll be doing another show for them on
October 9th....

Hope to see you somewhere soon!

FELLOW TRAVELERS' ADVISORY FROM ANNE FEENEY - VOLUME ONE, #6 - SEPTEMBER 2005

Thanks for your support of my music. I sure couldn't do it without you. Please forward this on to anyone you think might like my music. As always, you can order my music at CDBaby. I've also made a gallery of some of my favorite CDBaby artists - Check it out!

In this issue:
LABOR DAY 2005
PITTSBURGH POLICE RIOT & BAKERS AGAINST BRUTALITY
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
HELD OUT OF SERVICE WITHOUT PAY AT UAL
TINY GRAIN OF SAND - NEW FILM FROM JILL FRIEDBERG
A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS
DOWNLOAD MUSIC
CHARIOTS OF FIRE
FAMILY NEWS
CALENDAR

My immediate destinations are: Philadelphia; Meredosia, IL; Central and Northeastern PA; Western MA; St. Louis; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Des Moines; Madison, WI; Springfield, IL; 3 dates in Michigan; Louisville & Lexington, Kentucky; Terre Haute, IN; Jacksonville & Tallahassee FL; Fort Benning, GA. I hope to see you at one of these places!

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LABOR DAY 2005

It's a war on the workers all right. This Labor Day I'll be joining the locked out workers of Boilermakers' Local 484 in Meredosia, IL. When they refused a 33% wage cut in June, these workers were locked out by the fabulously profitable multinational Celanese Corporation. They are being terrorized by Special Response Corporation based in Hunt Valley, MD. (I wonder if the nice people of Hunt Valley know what creepy corporate neighbors they have? they've got every union in their sights, too... check out this page!

Meredosia, IL is now an armed camp police state, with workers and their families subjected to surveillance and intimidation.
Donate to these brave workers online ... or

To donate in person or by mail, please visit or send donations to:

Boilermakers Local 484 Solidarity/Defense Fund
P.O. Box258
300 Main Street
Meredosia, IL 62665

Meredosia is about 90 minutes from St Louis, 3 1/2 hours from Chicago, an hour from Springfield... Let's have a road warriors' reunion there this Labor Day and show some real solidarity.

If that's impossible for you, try this -- Celanese runs an ethics hotline (really) - Call 1.866.384.4223 and tell them that Meredosia could be another Bhopal if they don't get those inexperienced untrained scabs out of the plant. Tell them to call off their SRC goons. Tell them to negotiate in good faith with Boilermakers' Local 484. I called and a personable woman interviewed me and wrote down everything I said.

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PITTSBURGH POLICE RIOT

"I was taken to the ground by a police officer during that time
I was pepper sprayed. The officer picked up my glasses, sprayed my face
with the pepper spray. Once I got to the ground I was then tasered in
the thigh for what felt like an eternity. It was the most excruciating
pain I have ever felt. I felt like I was burning. My hand reached
down to feel what was on my leg and I felt an electrical shock running
through my entire body. I could not stop myself from screaming. It was
horrifying. I could not believe that after I had already been sprayed
and on the ground they would then proceed to taser me."

-- Merton Center intern and activist, Deanna Caligiuri,
who was hospitalized following this attack.

That was the scene in my hometown, Pittsburgh, PA on August 20th as a couple dozen friends of mine shut down an army recruiting center in Oakland, where the University of Pittsburgh is located. You can see the shocking video of the police riot at the Pittsburgh Indymedia site. Many of you (all of you, I hope) heard this story on Democracy Now! (did you know you can stream DN online any time day or night??)

This past Saturday, August 27, we called for another demonstration against the war, against military recruitment, and against police violence and repression of civil liberties. Approximately 100 of us gathered with signs, peace flags (thanks, paul!) and songs. The recruitment center remained open, but no one went in! The highlight of the demonstration for me was "Bakers against Brutality." My pal Matt Toups wore a long white baker's apron & brought a box of doughnuts with a sign that said, "COPS - Don't Shoot! FREE DONUTS!" Other signs said "Pastries, Not Pepper Spray!" and "Pastries for Peaceful Police" -- They chanted "Whose Treats? Your Treats!" See the photo - Abby Hoffman presente!

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SOMETHING IN THE AIR

Chandler's on a roll. Check out his amazing DVD There's Something in the Air (But It's Not on the Airwaves)

***********************************************************************

HELD OUT OF SERVICE WITHOUT PAY

The lyrics I wrote for the machinists and flight attendants at United Airlines were selected as the Labor Notes Song of the Month. Click here for the whole story, or here to listen to the song. Many of you have heard me talk about debuting this song at O'Hare Airport in Chicago on May 14th (the day I sang the song up and down the concourse). Unbelievably, two of my machinist companeras were "held out of service without pay" on August 11 by United Airlines because they uh "refused a direct order of a supervisor." The direct order??? "Make her stop singing!"

***********************************************************************

TINY GRAIN OF SAND

Filmmaker Jill Freidberg, (This is What Democracy Looks Like) recently completed a new documentary film and is organizing screenings around the US. "Granito de Arena" is the inspiring and unsettling story of the Mexican teachers' movement and their grassroots struggle to defend public education from the devastating impacts of economic globalization. Freidberg spent almost two years in southern Mexico documenting the strikes, marches, and direct actions of over 100,000 teachers, parents, and students fighting the privatization of Mexico's public schools. Featuring Eduardo Galeano and Maude Barlow!

"Important...disturbing...Anyone concerned about education, human rights, labor unions, Latin America and globalization will want to see this inspiring film."
Mexican Labor News and Analysis

Distribution begins with a mid-west tour this September! To bring the film to your town or to buy the DVD, visit the website or contact info@corrugate.org.

***********************************************************************

SAVE THE BISCUIT

You may have seen the story about how the Forest Service 'goofed' and allowed loggers into the Babyfoot Lake Botanical Sanctuary in Siskiyou -- Well, here are some pictures that are worth 1000 words. Several of my friends were arrested defending this forest from loggers.

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A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS

This Labor Day send the perfect little thank you to the working class hero in your life -- Union Maid -- 23 songs about unions and working life, guaranteed to fire you up - "War on the Workers," "Which Side Are You On?" "Solidarity Forever" "Whatever Happened to the Eight Hour Day?" "We Just Come to Work Here, We Don't Come to Die" and more! on CDBaby or the Labor Heritage Foundation.

***********************************************************************

DOWNLOAD MUSIC

Here's a list of online outlets that are carrying my music for legal digital download to your Ipod or MP3 Player........

Apple iTunes * Bitmunk * Etherstream * MSN Music * MusicMatch * MP3tunes * Rhapsody * LoudEye * MusicNow * MusicNet * Sony Connect * NetMusic * BuyMusic * PassAlong * Chondo

***********************************************************************

CHARIOTS OF FIRE

My longtime friends will be flabbergasted to know that I ran a 5K Race a couple weeks ago. It was 94 degrees and very humid. The course was quite challenging (as most Pittsburgh courses are... lots of hills). This was my first race... well, actually my second, but the first one was a 3K race in 1975. (and I wasn't able to finish that one!) This time it took me 42 minutes, and I finished dead last, but I finished! When I fell 1/3 mile away from the finish line, the Edgewood Police car offered me a ride to the finish line. But I opted to run it, skinned knees and all...

***********************************************************************

FAMILY NEWS

Thank goodness my sister Kate escaped with only minor injuries when she was thrown from her brand new Harley Davidson motorcycle in Sturgis, SD! She's at home in New Jersey recovering from a broken ankle and some road rash.

My cousin Peggy McCahill Duncan just had triplets!

My cousin Karen McCahill just performed at Davies Hall in San Francisco!

Bill Feeney and I went to see "Broken Flowers" on Wednesday - great film.

***********************************************************************

CALENDAR - Click here

Bakers Against Brutality

Thanks to quick thinking by Bakers Against Brutality, another police riot was avoided. The bakers fearlessly chanted to the police, "Whose treats? Your treats!" Anyone agreeing not to use a taser or pepper spray on peaceful protesters was allowed to have a donut.

Triplet cousins!

Here they are! My cousin Peggy McCahill Duncan delivered these gorgeous babies last month while I was out on my West coast tour - John Duncan is the proud papa and Connor is official big brother. Mazel tov! Here's what Grandma Mardy says: "It honestly takes two adults on their feet 24/7, to feed, tend, and do all the preparations. Jim (Grandpa) has been very busy also, doing a lot with the babies, and also doing nearly all of the cooking, most shopping, & running errands for both households. It's funny, when one of the babies went for a doctor's appointment, it was just so easy taking care of 'only' two of them - twins would be a piece of cake, & three is indeed a major event!" Congratulations to all!

Karen at Davies Hall!

Sixth from the right in the third row up is my cousin Karen McCahill, singing Carmina Burana! Mazel tov!

The Seattle Times: Local News: Forest Service admits "serious" mistake in logging reserve

Looks like my friends who were arrested trying to stop the logging in "The Biscuit" of southern Oregon were right. Today's Seattle Times reveals that the loggers completely disregarded public policy and invaded a rare tree reserve. Let the forest defenders back into Siskiyou! Siskiyou Project counted 290 stumps inside the botanical area, including one that measured three feet in diameter that was 234 years old, said Ullian.

The Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area was established by the Forest Service in 1963 to protect Brewer spruce (Picea breweriana), a rare, ancient conifer tree that have existed in the area since before the last Ice Age. Brewer's spruce are among the rarest conifers in North America, and were the last to be discovered and described by western science on the continent. The Babyfoot Lake Botanical Area was also created to protect other sensitive endemic plants such as the Tracy's desert parsley (Lupinus tracyi) and Purdy's Lewisia (Lewisia cotyledon ssp. purdyi). Botanists come from around the world to visit the Botanical Area.

Lots more info at the Siskiyou Project's Website.

Shut 'Cha Down! - Labor Notes - Song Of The Month

This ought to be against the law!

I'm thrilled to report that my little parody slamming Glen Tilton is now the Labor Notes - Song Of The Month

Shut 'Cha Down


Anne Feeney, on receipt of Labor Heritage Foundation's 2005 Joe Hill award, introduced the song this way:

I was just at the Regina Polk union women's leadership conference in Chicago where fully a third of the women attending worked for United Airlines.


I don't how many of you followed what went on, but most of them had put $60,000 to $100,000 of their salary into the employee stock option plan, and when United's stock became worthless they said "Well at least we have the wonderful pension that the union has negotiated for us."

And while we were at this conference the federal bankruptcy court set aside United's pension obligations and funneled it all over to the PBGC [Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation].

And at the same time Glenn Tilton the obnoxious CEO -- there are no words to describe this man -- well maybe there's one -- anyway he was awarded a $450 million guaranteed pension in rocognition of his resolute handling of this crisis.

So this was the biggest hit on Concourse C at O'Hare after the conference. We went from counter to counter singing this.

Actually, Anne was off by a couple of decimal points. Tilton's guaranteed pension is only $4.5 million. Still, when compared to the average United employee's guaranteed pension through PBGC, he is flying high.

Personnel: Anne Feeney, lead vocal, guitar; Steve Jones, piano; Rafael Herrera, Pam Parker, Janet Stecher, harmony vocals