Plawiuk Pontificates

VOICE OF THE REBEL WORKER

"There is a new spectre haunting the Internet - a new international workers' movement being birthed in cyberspace. The Internet and World Wide Web have become a new battle front in the age-old class war between workers and bosses. Globalization has created its own opposition."
The World Is Our Picket Line: Labour Uses the Internet to Challenge Globalization

LABOUR WEBSITE OF THE WEEK, MAY 8, 1997
"a website that would be the envy of major international trade union organizations --
if they understood the web well enough to be envious.
When you visit this site, set aside some quality time for your PC.
Relax into a comfortable chair. There's lots of good reading here."

Plawiuk pontificating at 1997 May Day rally in Edmonton
Eugene Plawiuk Bio

Le Gauche Revue: The Writings of Eugene W. Plawiuk
A complete list of articles posted on the web, both on my own pages and links to articles published elesewhere in print media and on the web. Some of these articles contain midi files. And here you will find a shameless plug for some of my articles that have appeared recently.

Who I am , where I work and why I am doing this.

For the past twelve years I have been the Head Custodian at Old Scona Academic High School,
with the Edmonton Public School Board in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Old Scona is one of top academic IB schools in the world.

Old Scona was originally built in 1907 and underwent a major restoration in 1997. To see how the restoration was done click here .

I am an executive member of Canadian Union Of Public Employees (CUPE) LOCAL 474.
Currently the Local does not have its own website so I have created a page here.
The local represents the 600 custodial workers in Edmonton's Public Schools.
We have been actively fighting back against attempts to contract out our jobs for the past six years, as well as fighting back against the current trend of right wing education reforms.
We have also been active in trying to make violence in the workplace a health and safety issue.
I have done a wide variety of research, press releases, and briefs for our union. Some of these are included here.

The Crisis In Public Education
Privatization Or Democratization My articles on the attempts to privatize public education in Alberta and across Canada as well as news links and campaigns.
I am a member of the Alberta Federation of Labour Education Committee. The committee deals with organizing trade union education across the province. Over the past six years the right wing government of Ralph Klein and his provincial Progressive (sic) Conservatives have attempted to privatize all aspects of education in Alberta in accordance with the so called educational 'reforms' being implemented in the United States, Britain and New Zealand. I have written the AFL response to these reforms. They have been adopted by the Federation as policy papers.

I am also a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which I first joined in 1972. We have recently formed an Edmonton General Membership branch, which is focusing on organizing Whyte Avenue workers. The wobblies are a union for the rest of us. To find out more check out my report and links from the LABOUR DAY IWW GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN WINNIPEG the first assembly ever held in Canada on the 80th Anniversery of the Winnipeg General Strike

ALBERTA ELECTION 97

After being wiped out in the provincial election in 1993, on March 11, 1997 the Alberta New Democrats returned to the Alberta Legislature with two seats. Leader Pam Barrett won Edmonton Highlands. Dr. Raj Pannu won Edmonton Strathcona. I worked on the central campaign as co-chair of Strategy and Communications
During the campaign I was Co-Director of Communications.
I am now the current Chair of the Strategy and Communications Committee for the Election Planning Committee (EPC) for the 2000 Election.

MY LABOUR PAGES

Memories of the IWW By Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
The new Web Edition of the transcription of her 1962 university meeting speaking about the Wobblies.
It was her last public lecture before she died. Web page design by Way Cool Communications.
General Strike!
In 1919 workers across Western Canada shut down their cities in sympathy with the Winnipeg General Strike. 1994 was the 75th Anniversary of the General Strike, included here are two articles on the General Strike in Edmonton and Calgary published in Labour News.
In November of 1995 a small group of laundry workers threatened to shut down Alberta in another General Strike. Read about it here. These articles were published in both the Industrial Worker and Labor Notes, in edited form. These are the original unedited articles.
Updated articles and links on the General Strike are posted here.

Labour History On The Web
A series of my articles on labour history, both local and general. Links to other labour history sites. My history of The Edmonton District Labour Council and Municipal Politics 1903-1960 is here!

Workers On The World Wide Web Unite!
Cyber Resources and Links For Activists to labour, left and progressive sites using the web for organizing. Articles on the Labour Movement On Line, Critiques of corporate domination of the WWW and Information Wars.

Labour Net Canada
Computer communications for labour activists
Alberta Labour News
Updated daily, news for trade unionists and activists from newspapers and press releases across the province.
Alberta Strike Support
News on Strikes in Alberta and email address to send solidarity messages, Minimum Wage and Anti-Scab legislation campaigns, links.
Canada Labour News
Updated daily, news for trade unionists and activists from newspapers and press releases across Canada.
"CANADA LABOUR NEWS is probably the single most important internet source of news and links for Canadian labour activists. It's just one of the volunteer projects by Edmonton web activists Eugene Plawiuk and Donalda Cassel."
Julius Fisher,
Working TV

Labour Website of the Week
June 4, 1998
"Canada's Eugene Plawiuk never rests -- I mean, when does he find time to eat? Eugene's latest project is the superb Canadian Labour News site. I check it out every day and I'm not even Canadian. An invaluable resource -- and further evidence that "Eugene Plawiuk" is actually a pseudonym for a vast organization of net-savvy labour activists . . ." Eric Lee

Labour Left Canada
The left caucus in the Canadian Labour Movement.

Workers Solidarity Network (WSN)
"The World Is Our Picket Line"
Canadian Rank and File Trade Unionists International Solidarity Network.
Articles by Bruce Allen, Eugene Plawiuk, Neil Fettes, Rhonda Sussman.

CLAC Attack
It's Time For Labour To Fight Back
CLAC is a bosses union formed by the Dutch Reformed Church

JOIN UNION RING HERE
If you have a union web page or are a labour/union activist
with your own home page then UNION RING is for you. Begun in 1997 we now have over 600 members.
"A wonderful initiative"Global LabourNet reviews Union Ring, August 2, 1997.

UNION RING

This Union Ring site is owned by Eugene Plawiuk.

Click for the
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Click here for info on how to join UnionRing.

BOYCOTTS AND CAMPAIGNS
JUST DO IT! Boycott NIKE
Covering the international Anti-NIKE campaign and news from the:
Edmonton and Alberta campaigns. Located at Athens/Acropolis/5232
The Invigilator says: "his is the "Boycott Nike" site, and it is maintained by one lone warrior, labour activist Eugene Plawiuk. While he may have had some financial assistance from the union movement, this page has the look and feel of an independent effort, albeit a very comprehensive and impressive one. This page focuses almost exclusively on accusations of Nike's alleged use of cheap, child or even forced labour in Asia to make its products. In addition to the articles on labour issues, the site also contains links to articles decrying Nike's various marketing campaigns."
The Invigilator Protecting Your Company's Interests On-Line.
We provide corporate issues managers with real-time strategic intelligence about opinion and trends propagating through the Internet.

Power For The People
Cyber-Campaign To Oppose The Privatization Of Edmonton Power (EPCOR) & Water (AQUALTA)
Also background stories on the privatization of EdTel, the municipal phone company.
Mirrored at: (R)EDMONTON.
Good work, Eugene.On behalf of my constituents, I thank you for your website which I believe was instrumental in providing information to Edmonton's citizens and, most of all, your dedication and hard work on this issue. Thanks, again, for helping to secure this important victory. Sincerest regards, Raj Pannu, MLA Edmonton Strathcona New Democrat Opposition

The campaign to keep the Provincial Archives in Edmonton
Personal Web sites bring the world to the screen By Paul DeGroot,
Edmonton Journal October 98
"POWER OF THE PEOPLE The Provincial Archives page is an example of personal home pages used for advocacy"

Abolish The Sentate
A Cyber Campaign launched in the fall 1998 when the province declared a phoney election for an Alberta Senator, during the municipal elections. This site will be updated as pressure is put on to abolish not elect the Senate.

Lotta Continua: The Struggle Continues
Links to the struggles of oppressed peoples around the world. Tupac Amaru Rebels in Peru, Mumia Jamal and Leonard Peltier in the United States. The Zapatistas in Mexico. Their struggle is our struggle. Free All Political Prisoners!

LEFT WING OF THE WEB

(R)EDMONTON
Radical Edmonton Web Page
News and announcements for activists.
Mirrored at: (R)EDMONTON.
"The Radical Edmonton Network (aka Redmonton Network) is a rich source of information for members of the political left.The list of links at this site is enormous. The Redmonton site should be bookmarked in any social activist's browser."
On The Web By Richard Cairney, SEE Magazine, November 5, 1998

Wither Social Democracy: The Crisis of Capital, Labour and the New Democratic Party In Canada
My contribution to the debate on the collapse of social democracy and the New Democratic Party (NDP) of Canada. Whither Social Democracy? Presented to the joint Canadian Labour Congress CLC/NDP Renewal Committee in 1995.

New Democratic Party Left Opposition Web Page
Third Way? No Way!

I am a member of the Marxist Internet Archive Project, where my web page on the Spanish Revolution and Civil War 1936-1939 is mirrored. My page is also at CapitolHill/9820
This site, created by Eugene W. Plawiuk, contains both original articles and one of the most extensive set of hyperlinks to information on the Spanish Civil War available on the Web. Check back regularly, as it is continuously updated.
Jack Corse, Liaison Librarian, Simon Fraser University.

Commodity Fetish Times
Read about the current Crisis of Capitalism and the workers culture of resistance, Marxism, Anarchism, workers councils and links to Ultra Left. In the Heart of the Beast at WallStreet/9973

1998 MANIFESTO MEETINGS

1998 was celebrated as the 150th anniversery of the Communist Manifesto. As part of that celebration a diverse community of the left in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada came together for two meetings. One was to discuss the Manifesto, the other was on the occasion of the Russian Revolution.
Included here are the announcement about the success of the first meeting as well as papers by Eugene Plawiuk, presented at both meetings. A tentative third meeting dealing with working class art and culture is in the planning stages.

Canada Day Communist Manifesto Conference A Success!

The Present Dominates The Past The Communist Manifesto on the Eve of the Millennium

THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AS ALLEGORY: THE STILL BIRTH OF MODERNISM

May Day On The Web
Global Web Page Celebrating the International Working Class Holiday
For 1999 the theme is the 80th Anniversary of the 1919 General Strikes.