Miner’s Memorial Day Cumberland
On June 25th seven members of the Vancouver Island GMB marched to the Cumberland Cemetery to honour not only the labour martyr Ginger Goodwin but also those Cumberland miners who died in the mines.There was also a lit table and Wob singers sung labour songs including Solidarity Forever (with its original verses) and the Internationale.
Noam Chomsky on Madison, WI.
This video was sent to the Industrial Workers of the World by Noam Chomsky himself. (He is also a member of the IWW)
On Thursday May 26 a committee of organizers and members from the Vancouver Island General Membership Branch took off on a road trip to Edmonton, Alberta, to attend the annual IWW Organizing summit. This year’s summit coincided with the chartering of the Canada Regional Organizing Committee (CanROC) and there was excitement and discussion about the opportunities open for cross-Canada organizing now that we have a more localized organizing setup.
Upon arriving in Edmonton early Friday morning the members found their billets and slept off the drive before attending a casual social at the Playhouse, a local anarchist community centre, where beers & battle stories were shared over a fire in the backyard as the sun went down. IWW members from as far as Regina were in attendance.
Saturday commenced at 10:30 am with introductions & a timeline for the discussions and roundtables that were planned for the next two days. There was time for sharing our successes & failures and we had time to learn about what the IWW is up to across Canada. Lunch was provided by members of the Edmonton GMB and was followed by discussions of organizing strategy. After a long day of interesting discussion, a barbeque dinner/party was held and even more Wobblies showed up (some had been unable to attend the conference due to work or time constraints but were able to make it in the evening for the dinner). A short acoustic set by one of our musically inclined Wobs was followed by good eats & great conversation.There was a great mix of folks at the party and we only suffered one injury from an overzealous knife.
The next day and seven stitches later, the Wobblies were back in the classroom (the summit was held in the U of A campus) and mostly ready to get back into the circle discussions. Topics of the day included: regional organizing strategy, considerations about organizing students & student workers, discussions on specific campaigns and updates on Canadian labour laws (especially a recent court decision suggesting that non-certified unions require bargaining in good faith). The meeting was wrapped up by 4pm and the wobs scattered around Edmonton with their hosts to get into some trouble before they had to return.
Early on Monday morning the ragged crew from Vancouver Island packed back into their ride and made a speedy return back to the coast. They were able to catch the evening ferry back to the island. The crew was happy to have had such a great road trip but were happier still to see the ocean and to get to sleep in their own beds that night.
Canadian Labour Martyrs Booklet
Hot off the press! THEY DIED FOR YOU – A Brief History of Canadian Labour Martyrs, 
by D.J. Alperovitz and Larry Gambone. When we started this project we thought we would have maybe 8 or 9 martyrs and a 10 page pamphlet. Doing research we found twenty-five of them. Read their stories in this 37 page booklet. Full of illustrations. Available from iwwvi@telus.net for $4.00 per copy plus postage.
Little Red Song Book Blog
Fellow Worker Smokey has been busy putting together a Little Red Song Book Blog. He has about a dozen song lyrics – plus chords – listed so far and intends to fill it up with lots of good rebel songs. Check it out at http://littleredsongbook.blogspot.com/
May Day Marches – Victoria and Nanaimo
The Van Isle IWW Branch in conjunction with other community and labour activists managed to pull off simultaneous May Day Marches in Nanaimo and Victoria. For the story and photos go to http://maydaymarch.wordpress.com/
Earth Day March
Van Isle IWW Branch took 
part in the April 16 Earth Day March in Victoria. Wobs also provided songs and even got a plug from the featured speaker, Cindy Sheehan.
Nanaimo May Day March
Sunday, May 1. Meet at the Library at Diana Krall Square 12:30 – 1:00 PM, we will then march around downtown, arriving at the China Steps by 2:00 or so. There will be chili and a potluck as well as speakers & music. 
The Wobblies Movie Complete on You Tube
The Wobblies is now on YouTube as one piece rather than a bunch of shorts, as it was previously.
Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLWHXzeg5Ho
MASS PICKET AT VIU
Nanaimo, Monday March 14 – About a hundred faculty, students and supporters turned out today in a mass picket in support of the striking VIU faculty. 
There was an enormous amount of public solidarity as well – a regular cacophony of car horns and cheers. Unions not represented at the university, such as the Canadian Auto Workers were there with their banners. CUPE and BCGEU members working on campus are refusing to cross the picket line. Several of us from the Vancouver Island IWW Branch were there too with our flags. 
More and more students kept coming in spite of the rain and as a show of cosmic solidarity a beautiful rain bow arced across the campus as the sun came out. There is a high level of spirits among both students and faculty and they are ever so appreciative of support from other workers.
Solidarity is the One Big Union in practice!
