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Indybay Feature
Craig Rosebraugh, ALF spokesman, tried to bust union
Craig Rosebraugh is the former spokesman for ALF and ELF. He owns a vegan restaurant chain, with one main restaurant on SE Hawthorne Portland which has high-middle prices and is typically filled. He fired several striking workers and this has brought his ethics under question.
During this past year, he has traveled on a speaking tour, giving talks encouraging people to go beyond nonviolent action. The Dept. Homeland Security and California Antiterrorism Information Center (CATIC) like to follow him around because he sticks his neck out a lot, and this is evident in memos they have sent around to police departments about his talks at Fresno State and so forth.
Statement Regarding the Striking Calendula Workers
author: Industrial Union No. 640, Industrial Workers of the World
This is a statement by the IWW clarifying a strike by four servers at Calendula Cafe. It describes events in the course of the strike, issues the strikers are bringing forward, and clarifies the IWW's role in the strike.
Labor law in the United States is not a worker friendly system.
Typically,when an employer has actually violated the rights of workers as they
exist on paper in the United States, they have engaged in rather agregious
practices. The National Labor Relations Act states that collective
activity is protected activity. This means that any group of workers, union
members or not, have the right to protest, strike, and organize unions without
retaliation from their employer.
When the four servers currently on strike at Calendula notified the
owner that they were witholding their labor, they were immediately fired.
Many of these workers have worked at Calendula since its inception, and have
spent close to a year trying to be a part of building what they hoped would
be something different, something that lived up to its mission of being
a socially responsible workplace. These same workers had repeatedly
attempted to engage the ownership of Calendula in dialogue around what they
considered to be a disrespectful and at times hostile work environment.
Since its opening, Calendula had repeatedly fell back on promises made to these
workers upon hiring, and they had already accepted a round of wage
cuts that brought them from $8 to $7.20 an hour. When Calendula notified the servers that their wages would be cut a second time, down to minimum wage, with no discussion or debate, the workers protested to Craig himself. After hostility, threatening responses, and an absolute refusal to
discuss the issue, the workers determined they could take no more.
After being fired for striking, these workers came to the IWW requesting support.
The IWW did not organize the strike, but we support workers' efforts to gain democracy in the workplace. The IWW has agreed to assist the workers in negotiations with the restaurant.
Three days after being fired for striking, a delegation of the striking workers
and negotiators from the union came to the restaurant to set up a meeting
with Craig Rosebraugh, to notify him of the worker's demands and attempt to
settle the dispute. Craig's response was to notify the strikers and
the union representatives that he was not even interested in hearing the
worker's demands, and that if they did not leave he would call the police.
Since then, Craig his refused to communicate with the strikers or the union
other than through his lawyer, and has refused to meet to discuss what could
be done to remedy the dispute.
The IWW has not requested a boycott of Calendula, and hopes that the
ownership will hold to their mission of being a socially responsible
establishment by meeting these worker's demands.
Both the IWW and the strikers gave Craig repeated opportunity to sit and
talk about their demands before filing legal claims or making their
claims public. Only when Craig repeated that the workers were fired and stated
that he had no intentions of even hearing their demands did the union file
charges or the workers begin to contact the media regarding their case.
When the IWW filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor
Relations Board, Craig hired a lawyer, and through his lawyer expressed
that he was still unwilling to meet the workers to discuss what their demands
might be. For an employer to claim financial hardship, but then to hire
a lawyer to fight worker's organization before he has even been willing to
negotiate or hear the demands of the workers seems less than economically
responsible, to himself, or to the workers still employed inside. Craig
has the option not to fight the legal charges, but to negotiate their
settlement with the workers directly at any time, thereby saving himself the
expense and salvaging the name of his establishment, but has chosen not to do
so.
We encourage Calendula to swiftly negotiate a settlement with the fired
strikers, thereby salvaging the reputation of a restaurant committed to
social justice.
The IWW supports workers in their struggles to establish democratic
workplaces, and supports the right of workers to organize and even to
strike. This is based in a sincere belief that it is the workers themselves
who must begin to develop and envision alternatives to the problems we confront
as a society. We encourage workers in any industry to call us with questions about
the union and ways we can establish democratic workplaces, and work to build the
new society.
Sincerely,
J.L. Speed
Industrial Union No. 640
Industrial Workers of the World,
503-231-5488
repost of strikers' statement 17.Aug.2004 15:26
servers fired for striking link
originally posted on 16.Aug.2004 14:28
Please take notice that we(the servers) were organizing together before we actually went on strike.
Mission Statement for Calendula Café:
"At Calendula, we are committed to a healthy and ethical business for you (the customer), for the environment, and for our staff. Beyond our menu, we are committed to responsible business practices... .we believe in health and longevity not only for our customers and our staff, but also for the natural environment."
There is a reason why we all wanted to work at Calendula and to be a part of what we thought the restaurant is trying to create, it is because of statements exactly like the one shown above promising things to us (the employees) and to the community. But as far as wait staff at Calendula Café are concerned all of those things have become a façade. The things that were promised to the employees are thing that we feel every employee should have such as health care, competitive wages, a voice in the work place, good working conditions, and a safe and healthy work environment. At one point or another during the last six months all of these elements have felt lost to the wait-staff at Calendula Café.
The last six months have been spent helping Craig to build Calendula, meanwhile as Calendula seems to be getting more and more popular we have noticed the lack of respect for our hard work growing more and more present. Craig has not come through with any of the things he has promised to us. In return for our hard work he has lowered our wages, with the expectation that we will do more work for lower wages. He has also decided that he cannot afford health care benefits for his employees, even though it is stated in our handbook that we would be eligible after ninety days. Craig has also proven that he wants to profit off of us by taking away our free shift meal and beverage. He is now offering 25% off a meal and beverage while on shift.
This is not an attack on Craig Rosenbraug as a person or his political perspectives. This is a statement to address our right as community members to be heard by our community and by our employer. Any time we have tried to voice our concerns to Craig individually it has been met with disciplinary action or with simple disregard. More than anything we want to negotiate with our employer to make Calendula a truly great place to be for the employees and the customers. After all if the servers at Calendula are not happy in the work place this will indeed influence the customers. We are asking that Calendula hold to the promises that it has made to the community, its customers, and most of all, to us, those who do the work and have invested interest in the success of the business.
We realize the financial borders may make it difficult to fulfill the promises he made to us. However our greatest issue lies in the lack of respect that Craig has given to us. We are willing to talk with Craig about these respect issues, we have in fact already made a strong effort to do so. Our efforts have been met with Craig's irreverence to the issue. So we have been forced to take collective action to get Craig's full attention to help him understand that this issue will not just go away and that we as a group are interested in Calendula's future. We are asking that Craig do the right thing; negotiate with us, the people that have help build up his restaurant. We are hoping that we can move past these issues and prove to the community and ourselves how strong Calendula Café really is. Something needs to be done to develop camaraderie and morale in a restaurant that's main objective is to promote a health conscious community. We are asking your help in this issue to support us on our mission to improve Calendula Café.
Rosebraugh Calling the Cops - A Dramatization 17.Aug.2004 18:01
Father Time link
[Fade in to a dimly lit room and a middle aged man wearing sweats and a headset, as a light and buzzer on the console situated in front of him announce a call:]
911 Dispatcher: "911, How can I help you?"
CR: "I want the Police to come right now and remove some annoying people who are tresspassing in my restaurant!"
911: "And your name?"
CR: "Craig Rosebraugh, at the Calendula Cafe!"
911: "Uh, Craig Rosebraugh (chuckle)? Uh, yeah, uh, sure Mr., uh, Rosebraugh (muffled snickering)... The police will be, uh, right there (snort) to assist you with your problem (chortle)..."
THE END.
Statement Regarding the Striking Calendula Workers
author: Industrial Union No. 640, Industrial Workers of the World
This is a statement by the IWW clarifying a strike by four servers at Calendula Cafe. It describes events in the course of the strike, issues the strikers are bringing forward, and clarifies the IWW's role in the strike.
Labor law in the United States is not a worker friendly system.
Typically,when an employer has actually violated the rights of workers as they
exist on paper in the United States, they have engaged in rather agregious
practices. The National Labor Relations Act states that collective
activity is protected activity. This means that any group of workers, union
members or not, have the right to protest, strike, and organize unions without
retaliation from their employer.
When the four servers currently on strike at Calendula notified the
owner that they were witholding their labor, they were immediately fired.
Many of these workers have worked at Calendula since its inception, and have
spent close to a year trying to be a part of building what they hoped would
be something different, something that lived up to its mission of being
a socially responsible workplace. These same workers had repeatedly
attempted to engage the ownership of Calendula in dialogue around what they
considered to be a disrespectful and at times hostile work environment.
Since its opening, Calendula had repeatedly fell back on promises made to these
workers upon hiring, and they had already accepted a round of wage
cuts that brought them from $8 to $7.20 an hour. When Calendula notified the servers that their wages would be cut a second time, down to minimum wage, with no discussion or debate, the workers protested to Craig himself. After hostility, threatening responses, and an absolute refusal to
discuss the issue, the workers determined they could take no more.
After being fired for striking, these workers came to the IWW requesting support.
The IWW did not organize the strike, but we support workers' efforts to gain democracy in the workplace. The IWW has agreed to assist the workers in negotiations with the restaurant.
Three days after being fired for striking, a delegation of the striking workers
and negotiators from the union came to the restaurant to set up a meeting
with Craig Rosebraugh, to notify him of the worker's demands and attempt to
settle the dispute. Craig's response was to notify the strikers and
the union representatives that he was not even interested in hearing the
worker's demands, and that if they did not leave he would call the police.
Since then, Craig his refused to communicate with the strikers or the union
other than through his lawyer, and has refused to meet to discuss what could
be done to remedy the dispute.
The IWW has not requested a boycott of Calendula, and hopes that the
ownership will hold to their mission of being a socially responsible
establishment by meeting these worker's demands.
Both the IWW and the strikers gave Craig repeated opportunity to sit and
talk about their demands before filing legal claims or making their
claims public. Only when Craig repeated that the workers were fired and stated
that he had no intentions of even hearing their demands did the union file
charges or the workers begin to contact the media regarding their case.
When the IWW filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor
Relations Board, Craig hired a lawyer, and through his lawyer expressed
that he was still unwilling to meet the workers to discuss what their demands
might be. For an employer to claim financial hardship, but then to hire
a lawyer to fight worker's organization before he has even been willing to
negotiate or hear the demands of the workers seems less than economically
responsible, to himself, or to the workers still employed inside. Craig
has the option not to fight the legal charges, but to negotiate their
settlement with the workers directly at any time, thereby saving himself the
expense and salvaging the name of his establishment, but has chosen not to do
so.
We encourage Calendula to swiftly negotiate a settlement with the fired
strikers, thereby salvaging the reputation of a restaurant committed to
social justice.
The IWW supports workers in their struggles to establish democratic
workplaces, and supports the right of workers to organize and even to
strike. This is based in a sincere belief that it is the workers themselves
who must begin to develop and envision alternatives to the problems we confront
as a society. We encourage workers in any industry to call us with questions about
the union and ways we can establish democratic workplaces, and work to build the
new society.
Sincerely,
J.L. Speed
Industrial Union No. 640
Industrial Workers of the World,
503-231-5488
repost of strikers' statement 17.Aug.2004 15:26
servers fired for striking link
originally posted on 16.Aug.2004 14:28
Please take notice that we(the servers) were organizing together before we actually went on strike.
Mission Statement for Calendula Café:
"At Calendula, we are committed to a healthy and ethical business for you (the customer), for the environment, and for our staff. Beyond our menu, we are committed to responsible business practices... .we believe in health and longevity not only for our customers and our staff, but also for the natural environment."
There is a reason why we all wanted to work at Calendula and to be a part of what we thought the restaurant is trying to create, it is because of statements exactly like the one shown above promising things to us (the employees) and to the community. But as far as wait staff at Calendula Café are concerned all of those things have become a façade. The things that were promised to the employees are thing that we feel every employee should have such as health care, competitive wages, a voice in the work place, good working conditions, and a safe and healthy work environment. At one point or another during the last six months all of these elements have felt lost to the wait-staff at Calendula Café.
The last six months have been spent helping Craig to build Calendula, meanwhile as Calendula seems to be getting more and more popular we have noticed the lack of respect for our hard work growing more and more present. Craig has not come through with any of the things he has promised to us. In return for our hard work he has lowered our wages, with the expectation that we will do more work for lower wages. He has also decided that he cannot afford health care benefits for his employees, even though it is stated in our handbook that we would be eligible after ninety days. Craig has also proven that he wants to profit off of us by taking away our free shift meal and beverage. He is now offering 25% off a meal and beverage while on shift.
This is not an attack on Craig Rosenbraug as a person or his political perspectives. This is a statement to address our right as community members to be heard by our community and by our employer. Any time we have tried to voice our concerns to Craig individually it has been met with disciplinary action or with simple disregard. More than anything we want to negotiate with our employer to make Calendula a truly great place to be for the employees and the customers. After all if the servers at Calendula are not happy in the work place this will indeed influence the customers. We are asking that Calendula hold to the promises that it has made to the community, its customers, and most of all, to us, those who do the work and have invested interest in the success of the business.
We realize the financial borders may make it difficult to fulfill the promises he made to us. However our greatest issue lies in the lack of respect that Craig has given to us. We are willing to talk with Craig about these respect issues, we have in fact already made a strong effort to do so. Our efforts have been met with Craig's irreverence to the issue. So we have been forced to take collective action to get Craig's full attention to help him understand that this issue will not just go away and that we as a group are interested in Calendula's future. We are asking that Craig do the right thing; negotiate with us, the people that have help build up his restaurant. We are hoping that we can move past these issues and prove to the community and ourselves how strong Calendula Café really is. Something needs to be done to develop camaraderie and morale in a restaurant that's main objective is to promote a health conscious community. We are asking your help in this issue to support us on our mission to improve Calendula Café.
Rosebraugh Calling the Cops - A Dramatization 17.Aug.2004 18:01
Father Time link
[Fade in to a dimly lit room and a middle aged man wearing sweats and a headset, as a light and buzzer on the console situated in front of him announce a call:]
911 Dispatcher: "911, How can I help you?"
CR: "I want the Police to come right now and remove some annoying people who are tresspassing in my restaurant!"
911: "And your name?"
CR: "Craig Rosebraugh, at the Calendula Cafe!"
911: "Uh, Craig Rosebraugh (chuckle)? Uh, yeah, uh, sure Mr., uh, Rosebraugh (muffled snickering)... The police will be, uh, right there (snort) to assist you with your problem (chortle)..."
THE END.
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(Hide Comments)
author: Craig Rosebraugh e-mail:e-mail: craig [at] arissa.org
I decided to post this here not to provoke another round of anonymous arguments, but to alert various aspects of this community to attacks against the Arissa organization and myself.
On Monday, April 19, 2004, I arrived at work to find someone has glued an Arissa "anti-war movement" poster on to our front business street sign. Scrawled across the front of the large poster in black in were the words "Craig Rosebraugh is a scab" At the bottom of the poster the address "1914" was also written. Instantly I suspected that someone involved with the 1914 Burnside space had been involved. This morning (Tuesday) there was an attempted arson attack at Calendula. Sometime between 5:00am and 6:00am our recycling dumpster was lit on fire. This dumpster was full of paper and sat next to others that were also full of paper. They were sitting next to the restaurant at 3257 SE Hawthorne when set aflame, which if it hadn't have been for the fire department could have easily lit our entire building on fire as well as the adjacent house.
I consider this attack a response to the political work Arissa is conducting in Portland. I would like to believe that this attack wasn't from anyone associated with 1914 Burnside or anyone else in the local political community. However as of this time, we have no way of knowing.
Were there any oppossums laying on the steps? 20.Apr.2004 19:10
Reality Check link
Um, Craig, I know you follow history better than this. Maybe you're just tired or something so I'll help you out. Let's see. Your organization posts flyers all over town calling attention to the fact that the pigs are murderers. You call for an action against police brutality. Suddenly, you are the target of petty vandalism and arson. A "clue" is left at the scene implicating another activist group nearby.
Hmmmmm.
What's on 1914 Burnside? 20.Apr.2004 21:46
what is it? link
?
classic cointelpro 20.Apr.2004 22:30
cops all over portland are loving this shit link
this is an obvious cointelpro false flag operation. only the portland police or the fbi would do something this obvious.
everyone should read this book AGENTS OF REPRESSION by Native American activist Ward Churchill.
http://www.southendpress.org/books/Agents2.shtml
ATTACKS ON ARRISSA 21.Apr.2004 02:42
Iyanna & Da Sistas of The Revolution link
I think we need to assume that there are those who want desperately to stop our opposition to thier disgusting actions, i.e. extra-judicial murder of unarmed civilians in the streets of Portland. Thier orders are coming from near and afar. We must continue to resist, otherwise we will all eventually be silenced. If there is anyone who doubts that the killing fields happening right now in Iraq, Palestine and Haiti can't happen here, think again. It has always happened right here just ask Leonard Peltier & Mumia Abu Jamal. We have a constitutional & moral right to organize and resist. Fear and silence will not protect us.
Strange bedfellows. The israeli-zionist and psuedo-us government & christian-fascists with no-child or animal left alive partnership have resorted to kinky alliances for which corporate weapons manufacturers have provided the accrouetrements- spelling? bush won't know the difference. The marquis-de-sade would surely have wished to join this perverted group in a global menage-an-endless war.
History of Oppossums 21.Apr.2004 09:17
CatWoman link
For those who may not remember the oppossum incident, here's a reminder. In March of 1981, officers Craig Ward and Jim Galloway, both white, threw the rotted corpses of four dead oppossums into the front entranceway of an African American-owned restaurant. Such a blatantly racist act on the part of uniformed police officers, reminiscent of the ridiculous tactics of the KKK, enraged the African American community. They marched on city hall, and eventually succeeded in getting the two officers fired. However, the PPB instituted a counter-protest, which succeeded in getting the officers reinstated 30 days later.
The Portland Police Bureau is racist to the core, and not at all above sophomoric acts aimed at those who displease its officers. Ironically, if they had been caught in the act of arson at calendula, they would likely have faced no more than a short suspension, if that. (Hell, McCollister killed someone and all he got was a few months off.) If they take to vandalizing empty log trucks instead of occupied buildings, though, the penalties become decidedly stiffer....
Huh? 21.Apr.2004 10:25
** link
I will ask too, who or what is 1914 Burnside? I agree this reeks of Portland cops or maybe even more. Why would they use Arissa anti war posters and not either of the more recent ones? Craig, be careful, you have enemies in very high places.
1914 burnside 21.Apr.2004 11:54
jason link
I live accross the street from 1914 E burnside, (it's the house that used to be "Jeans Dean" a vintage denim store with a james dean theme) and as far as I know it's just a group art house with a strong political bent.
They have a gallery space and change the art fairly regularly, and much of what they show is rougly adbusters type propaganda style political art--it is also generally very good, I always get a kick out of checking out their stuff.
I don't know anything else about the political motivations of these folks, but that's what is there.
intimidation tactic 21.Apr.2004 12:22
jemma link
After the attempted arson of Calendula, I luckily ran into a member of the 1914 collective (which is located at 1914 Burnside), and we had a very important conversation.
The word "scab" scrawled across the poster glued to Calendula's sign refers to a disagreement between a member of 1914 and Craig and myself that happened about a year ago. Since then, there's been only a little communication between the two sides. But in talking to this same member of 1914 yesterday, he and I realized that some other party is trying to exploit this division.
The member of 1914 denies that he had ANYTHING to do with either action. We have reason to believe, based on our understanding of this person's politics, that he would not use arson as a tactic, in any case. He said that if someone is trying to frame him like this, we should call a truce on the old issues. So there it is.
What does this leave us with? Either the member of 1914 is lying (which I really don't think is the case, and none of us are promoting this as the truth); someone else did it in "sympathy" with this person; it was a "random" act of vandalism (which we think is unlikely due to the timing and political circumstances); or it was a a pre-meditated attempt at intimidation (because they could have done something more immediately destructive if they had wanted to- like lighting the actual building on fire).Or perhaps it was an attempt at arson that looks unprofessional. I don't know. What we do know is that the cops are taking the upcoming "March for Justice and Police Accountability" personally, as was evident in the arrests of Craig, myself, and my friend, for allegedly putting up fliers (or intending to do so) for the event. The most obvious conclusion would be that the cops or FBI are invloved in this newest bit of intimidation, because they would have access to surveilence records and such, to use to exploit these personal arguments. But nothing is clear.
The fact is, in any case, these actions reeks of tactical intimidation, by someone, or some group.
I decided to post this here not to provoke another round of anonymous arguments, but to alert various aspects of this community to attacks against the Arissa organization and myself.
On Monday, April 19, 2004, I arrived at work to find someone has glued an Arissa "anti-war movement" poster on to our front business street sign. Scrawled across the front of the large poster in black in were the words "Craig Rosebraugh is a scab" At the bottom of the poster the address "1914" was also written. Instantly I suspected that someone involved with the 1914 Burnside space had been involved. This morning (Tuesday) there was an attempted arson attack at Calendula. Sometime between 5:00am and 6:00am our recycling dumpster was lit on fire. This dumpster was full of paper and sat next to others that were also full of paper. They were sitting next to the restaurant at 3257 SE Hawthorne when set aflame, which if it hadn't have been for the fire department could have easily lit our entire building on fire as well as the adjacent house.
I consider this attack a response to the political work Arissa is conducting in Portland. I would like to believe that this attack wasn't from anyone associated with 1914 Burnside or anyone else in the local political community. However as of this time, we have no way of knowing.
Were there any oppossums laying on the steps? 20.Apr.2004 19:10
Reality Check link
Um, Craig, I know you follow history better than this. Maybe you're just tired or something so I'll help you out. Let's see. Your organization posts flyers all over town calling attention to the fact that the pigs are murderers. You call for an action against police brutality. Suddenly, you are the target of petty vandalism and arson. A "clue" is left at the scene implicating another activist group nearby.
Hmmmmm.
What's on 1914 Burnside? 20.Apr.2004 21:46
what is it? link
?
classic cointelpro 20.Apr.2004 22:30
cops all over portland are loving this shit link
this is an obvious cointelpro false flag operation. only the portland police or the fbi would do something this obvious.
everyone should read this book AGENTS OF REPRESSION by Native American activist Ward Churchill.
http://www.southendpress.org/books/Agents2.shtml
ATTACKS ON ARRISSA 21.Apr.2004 02:42
Iyanna & Da Sistas of The Revolution link
I think we need to assume that there are those who want desperately to stop our opposition to thier disgusting actions, i.e. extra-judicial murder of unarmed civilians in the streets of Portland. Thier orders are coming from near and afar. We must continue to resist, otherwise we will all eventually be silenced. If there is anyone who doubts that the killing fields happening right now in Iraq, Palestine and Haiti can't happen here, think again. It has always happened right here just ask Leonard Peltier & Mumia Abu Jamal. We have a constitutional & moral right to organize and resist. Fear and silence will not protect us.
Strange bedfellows. The israeli-zionist and psuedo-us government & christian-fascists with no-child or animal left alive partnership have resorted to kinky alliances for which corporate weapons manufacturers have provided the accrouetrements- spelling? bush won't know the difference. The marquis-de-sade would surely have wished to join this perverted group in a global menage-an-endless war.
History of Oppossums 21.Apr.2004 09:17
CatWoman link
For those who may not remember the oppossum incident, here's a reminder. In March of 1981, officers Craig Ward and Jim Galloway, both white, threw the rotted corpses of four dead oppossums into the front entranceway of an African American-owned restaurant. Such a blatantly racist act on the part of uniformed police officers, reminiscent of the ridiculous tactics of the KKK, enraged the African American community. They marched on city hall, and eventually succeeded in getting the two officers fired. However, the PPB instituted a counter-protest, which succeeded in getting the officers reinstated 30 days later.
The Portland Police Bureau is racist to the core, and not at all above sophomoric acts aimed at those who displease its officers. Ironically, if they had been caught in the act of arson at calendula, they would likely have faced no more than a short suspension, if that. (Hell, McCollister killed someone and all he got was a few months off.) If they take to vandalizing empty log trucks instead of occupied buildings, though, the penalties become decidedly stiffer....
Huh? 21.Apr.2004 10:25
** link
I will ask too, who or what is 1914 Burnside? I agree this reeks of Portland cops or maybe even more. Why would they use Arissa anti war posters and not either of the more recent ones? Craig, be careful, you have enemies in very high places.
1914 burnside 21.Apr.2004 11:54
jason link
I live accross the street from 1914 E burnside, (it's the house that used to be "Jeans Dean" a vintage denim store with a james dean theme) and as far as I know it's just a group art house with a strong political bent.
They have a gallery space and change the art fairly regularly, and much of what they show is rougly adbusters type propaganda style political art--it is also generally very good, I always get a kick out of checking out their stuff.
I don't know anything else about the political motivations of these folks, but that's what is there.
intimidation tactic 21.Apr.2004 12:22
jemma link
After the attempted arson of Calendula, I luckily ran into a member of the 1914 collective (which is located at 1914 Burnside), and we had a very important conversation.
The word "scab" scrawled across the poster glued to Calendula's sign refers to a disagreement between a member of 1914 and Craig and myself that happened about a year ago. Since then, there's been only a little communication between the two sides. But in talking to this same member of 1914 yesterday, he and I realized that some other party is trying to exploit this division.
The member of 1914 denies that he had ANYTHING to do with either action. We have reason to believe, based on our understanding of this person's politics, that he would not use arson as a tactic, in any case. He said that if someone is trying to frame him like this, we should call a truce on the old issues. So there it is.
What does this leave us with? Either the member of 1914 is lying (which I really don't think is the case, and none of us are promoting this as the truth); someone else did it in "sympathy" with this person; it was a "random" act of vandalism (which we think is unlikely due to the timing and political circumstances); or it was a a pre-meditated attempt at intimidation (because they could have done something more immediately destructive if they had wanted to- like lighting the actual building on fire).Or perhaps it was an attempt at arson that looks unprofessional. I don't know. What we do know is that the cops are taking the upcoming "March for Justice and Police Accountability" personally, as was evident in the arrests of Craig, myself, and my friend, for allegedly putting up fliers (or intending to do so) for the event. The most obvious conclusion would be that the cops or FBI are invloved in this newest bit of intimidation, because they would have access to surveilence records and such, to use to exploit these personal arguments. But nothing is clear.
The fact is, in any case, these actions reeks of tactical intimidation, by someone, or some group.
Screw Craig Rosebraugh. He's finally shown his true colors.
Uh, no. People working in a business without a union contract who "withhold labor" can be fired. It's just like being sick or absent without cause. People with a union contract can strike, depending on the contract. If you work for a busniness or other entity that has a "no strike" clause that is in effect during the contract, you may not strike. It you do, you can be fired. It would be nice if posters didn't put info out there that is incorrect. Go ahead, next time you are mad at your boss, tell him you are withholding your labor. (hint: have want ads handy)
i work at calendula cafe as a server. it is neither opressive nor unhealthy. i make more than a living wage when tips are factored in.i have been shown respect, because i give respect. i think it is important to remember that there is more than one side to this issue.
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