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Common Cause organizes "Black Flame" Ontario book tour

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South African writer and activist Michael Schmidt, co-author of “Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism” will be in several Ontario cities between March 15 and March 21 to promote and discuss this important new book on the global history of anarchist movements and ideas. The tour, organized by Common Cause with support from AK Press and several local sponsors, is scheduled to pass through the following cities listed below.

To promote the tour Common Cause has also produced a short video which can be seen here and set up a Facebook page. Copies of "Black Flame" will be available for purchase at each tour stop.

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¡Llamado para Solidaridad y Fondos para l@s obrer@s de Haití!

Workers in a sewing factory in a free trade area of Haiti where Batay Ouvriye organizes Photo: Piet den Blanken

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14/01/09- Una catástrofe ha caído encima de Haití cuya dimensión solo vemos la superficie en este momento. El pueblo haitiano estará luchando para rehacer sus vidas y sus hogares posiblemente durante decadas en vista del colapso sin precedentes, tanto físico como social. Pero a pesar de la incertidumbre de los terremotos, esta desastre no es natural, una monstruosidad de nuestros tiempos. El alcance de los daños del terremoto es parte de las consequencias de la explotación desenfrenada que en cada paso pone la ganancia por encima de la salud, la seguridad y el bienestar del pueblo haitiano.

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Appel à la solidarité et à l’envoi de fonds pour les travailleurs d’Haïti!

Workers in a sewing factory in a free trade area of Haiti where Batay Ouvriye organizes Photo: Piet den Blanken

Appel à la solidarité

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et à l’envoi de fonds pour les travailleurs d’Haïti !

Une catastrophe naturelle vient de s’abattre sur Haïti, dont nous n’entrevoyons encore que la surface. Les haitiens vont devoir lutter pour reconstruire leur vie et leurs maisons, et ce vraisemblablement pour des décennies considérant cet effondrement sans précédent, à la fois physique et social.

Pourtant, malgré les l’imprévisibilité des tremblements de terre, ce désastre est contre nature, une monstruosité de notre temps. L’ampleur des dégâts du tremblement de terre fait partie du coût de l’exploitation effrénée qui, à chaque moment, met le profit devant la santé, devant la sécurité et devant le bien être du peuple de Haïti.

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Call for Solidarity and Funds for the Working People of Haiti!

Workers in a sewing factory in a free trade area of Haiti where Batay Ouvriye organizes Photo: Piet den Blanken

Joint statement from Miami autonomy and solidarity and the Batay Ouvriye Haiti Solidarity Network

[Français], [Castellano], [Italiano], [Ελληνικά]

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Money Orders/checks:
Payable to Miami Workers Center (in memo write MAS)
Miami Workers Center
6127 Northwest 7th Avenue
Miami, FL, USA
33127-1111

01/14/09- A natural disaster has descended upon Haiti whose scope we only are seeing the surface of at this time. The Haitian people will be struggling to rebuild their lives and their home possibly for decades in light of unprecedented collapse, both physical and social. Yet despite the unpredictability of earthquakes, this disaster is unnatural, a monstrosity of our time. The extent of the damage of the earthquake is part of the cost of unrestrained exploitation which at every step put profit above the health, safety, and well being of the Haitian people. While the world watches on ready to help, power is being dealt an opportunity. The Haitian workers and peasants have been fighting for their rights to even the most basic level of existence for decades, while the UN-occupying force, the state, and the ruling elites maintain the social misery without relenting. Now as Port-Au-Prince is in rubble, new opportunities arise for rulers to rebuild Haiti in their own interests, and likewise for the Haitian workers and peasants to assert their right to their own Haiti, one where they will be not be forced to live in dangerous buildings, and work merely to fill the pockets of elites, foreign or domestic.

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Workers Without Bosses - Speaking Tour

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The popular response to the Argentine economic crisis of December 2001 and lessons for us in Canada - a Québec and Ontario speaking tour presented by the Union Communiste Libertaire (UCL) and Common Cause.

We are going through one of the worst economic crises in the history of capitalism and the answers provided by the state and its lackeys are illusory. In addition, faced with this impasse, our leaders are trying to shift the entire burden of the crisis to workers and their communities.

How can we respond differently to this economic crisis? Can we learn from the experiences of struggles that have happened elsewhere in the world?

To consider these issues, the UCL and Common Cause are organizing a Québec and Ontario speaking tour this winter on the response of the Argentine popular classes in the face of a serious economic crisis that shook the country in the late 2001.

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Linchpin #10 - Labour Day Special Edition

Issue 10 of Linchpin, the newspaper of Common Cause, is now online and available for downloading and printing.

This is a special edition of the paper produced for Labour Day 2009.

In it you can read the reflections of Common Cause member and CUPE 3906 union organizer Peter Marin on the recent successful organizing drive of post-doctorate workers at McMaster University.

There are also ads for upcoming anarchist discussions and conferences in Ottawa, Hamilton, and Toronto.

Download Linchpin now!

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Report: 2009 Common Cause conference

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On August 1 and 2, 2009, in the city of Toronto, Common Cause, an Ontario anarchist organization, held its third annual Ontario-wide conference. In attendance were members from our Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton branches and several new members from London.

The first day began with reports from Ontario officers and local branches giving us a good overview of our second year as an organization. The 2008/2009 year saw us focus on both internal and public education. Internally, highlights included holding our first internal Day School in Hamilton in late June, a big step in developing a common vision and strategy across the organization. We also continued to be active in the international anarchist movement, sending a delegate to Anarkismo.net and to the organizing committee for the North American Class Struggle Anarchist Conference.

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Common Cause stands in solidarity with part-time professors facing lay-offs, restructuring at McMaster University

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June 11, 2008
Hamilton, ON

Local members of Common Cause joined part-time professors at McMaster University as they held an info picket outside the University’s annual convocation ceremonies at the Hamilton Convention Centre on Thursday, June 11. Common Cause members, some of whom are also part of CUPE 3906, helped hand out over 200 flyers to parents and students.

The sessionals, members of CUPE 3906, are protesting lay-offs and trying to raise awareness about major restructuring planned by the University's administration.

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Anarchists call Police report comparing activism to hate crime "chilling"

 A Hamiltonian with a disability talks with AJ Withers a disability-rights activist with DAMN 2025 at the 2008 Ha

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Anarchists call Police report comparing activism to hate crime "chilling"

May 24, 2009

HAMILTON- Local members of the provincial anarchist organization
Common Cause fear Hamilton police are seeking to criminalize local
organizers after a Hamilton police report identified the 2nd annual
Hamilton Anarchist Book Fair as a potential source of hate crime.

While presenting the Year-End Hate Crime report (available online)
to the Hamilton Police Board on May 19, acting sergeant Michael Goch
stated police would be “actively monitoring” the book fair scheduled to
take place on June 6.

Alex Diceanu, Ontario Treasurer of Common Cause responded, "As the
organizers of the annual book fair, and as local anarchists and
activists, Common Cause is deeply disturbed by these statements.

"This is a manipulation of hate crime laws to criminalize activism. At
this time of economic and environmental crisis, alongside increasing