Category Archives: Activism

The social, political side of Do it Yourself

A Restaurant Worker’s Survival Guide

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On this site I hope to provide reviews of a variety of publications and other work of interest to the DIY community.  If you have a zine or other related work you’d like reviewed, feel free to send a copy.

Know Your RIghts!

From the Portland Restaurant Workers Association

For my first review, I am recommending Know Your Rights!: A Restaurant Worker’s Survival Guide.  This publication was recently published by the Portland Restaurant Workers Association (PRWA), which describes itself as “a community group of workers committed to promoting Solidarity, Support, & Education among food service workers in our city.”  The PRWA also recently teamed up with the Portland Central America Solidarity Committee to offer low-cost, highly interactive Spanish Language/Conversation classes, which you can learn more about here.

The small guide makes a handy resource to refer to, whether you’re unemployed, going through the hiring process, on the job, or getting fired.  At 1/4 page size, it’s also almost small enough to store in your back pocket.

Inside, the restaurant workers who wrote the zine present some resources for employment, legal services, and heath care, both local and national.  It also offers legal information that your employer is less likely to inform you of, such as your rights to be paid, and the terms for taking leave when you or a family member has a serious health condition or is the victim of a crime.  Of particular interest to restaurant workers is the issue of tips.  The guide points out that Oregon law does not address tips and even the U.S. Department of Labor fails to enforce federal regulations in the state.  The PRWA wants to hear more from restaurant workers about their experience with tips.  You can send your story to them at contact@pdxrwa.org.

Know Your Rights!: A Restaurant Worker’s Survival Guide is available to view at the Independent Publishing Resource Center.  You can also contact PRWA at contact@pdxrwa.org to get your own copy.  They plan to hold discussion forums this year to distribute, discuss, and receive feedback about the pamphlet.

Styrofoam Flowers and Toilet Paper Knives

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Former Portland resident Chris Arendt recently released a limited-edition zine with the paper made from a unique material: military uniform.  It wasn’t just any uniform, it was his own.
The Independent Publishing Resource Center‘s director, Justin Hocking, recently explained:

After a tour of duty as a military police officer in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Chris moved to Portland and became a local organizer for the Iraq Veterans Against the War. He soon found his way to the IPRC and created his first zine, “Paper Birds: Styrofoam Flowers,” which, as he puts it, explains “how one goes about becoming a concentration camp guard without ever having really made any decisions.”

The zine’s title refers to the styrofoam cups that prisoners at Guantanamo etched into with their fingernails, despite retribution, in a defiant act of creativity.  Through writing his thoughts upon what was once his uniform, Chris transformed the work into a cathartic form of art.  On recent post of his blog he describes purifying “this fabric of the whole goddamn mess. I will reintroduce the both of us, my uniform and I, back into innocence.”

Last month, Chris was on hand to present his zine at the IGLOO gallery, a space that hosts a variety of DIY projects and events of its own.  Chris was presenting his zine with Motorcycle Awesome, a developing collective of soldiers and civilians who aim to “increase awareness of wartime actions through art-making while breaking down the boundaries between soldier and civilian.”

Photo: Sarah Mirk

Recently, the styrofoam flowers story came up again, this time while Chris was having dinner with one of Guantanamo’s former prisoners.  This is because Chris is currently on tour of the United Kingdom with Moazzam Begg, who invited Chris to join him in a speaking mission to share their experiences and advocate human rights.  A portrait of their styrofoam flowers moment is captured on www.guantanamovoices.org – a website following their journey and written by Portland reporter Sarah Mirk. Continue reading →

Tapatio: High-tech Protest Communications

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The Republican National Convention set new standards for conventions and for protests.  Not only was it the largest operation for both the RNC and protestors alike, but it was the largest instance of police infiltration and pre-emptive raids in America’s recent memory.  Eight organizers of the “welcoming committee” (protest coordinators) are facing serious charges.  As the Friends of the RNC 8 website states, they were originally charged with conspiracy to riot in the 2nd degree in furtherance of terrorism, a felony which is the first ever use of Minnesota’s PATRIOT Act.

One of the stories to be overshadowed by the crackdown was the ingenious use of cell phones and social networking to coordinate the mobilizations.  A small collective of tech groups and individuals gathered before the convention to organize the Tin Can Collective.  Among their communications efforts is a program called Tapatio.  Tapatio is a collaboratively-developed, open source computer program described as a communications resource for the radical anti-authoritarian community that was made for the RNC.

Hackbloc

Participating in the Tin Can Collective was Hackbloc, one of many hacktivist groups that use their technological expertise for social or environmental justice.  Hackbloc states their mission is “to research, create and disseminate information, tools, and tactics, empowering people to use technology in a way that is liberating, and facilitate building of affinity groups that will support and strengthen their local communities through education and action.”  Among their points of unity are autonomous organizing, security culture, and internet neutrality.

I spoke with eVoltec, a member of Hackbloc, about their efforts during the RNC and the role technology can play in autonomous organizing.

Continue reading →