Battle in Seattle is the film Big Hollywood does not want you to see, starts tonight!

50,000 union members led the charge
Even after receiving great reviews, no big movie corporation would distribute this film. An independent studio, Redwood Palms Pictures, picked up the film and is working hard to get it seen broadly.

I recall the Main Stream painting the protesters as a bunch of lunatics, while according to my recollection there were well look at where we are now thanks to the WTO's war on the majority of the worlds population.

DEMAND Showings in you area

I would like to thank Donna from Teamsters Local 237 here in New York for getting me this info, I desperately would like to see this film, you can help by demanding that it be shown in you area

Trailer



From the Who controls the world:

When 50,000 union members led the charge on a rainy November 30, 1999 in Seattle to speak truth to the power of the world’s biggest corporations, history was made. A devastating plan to expand the WTO’s power and the reign of corporate globalization over our lives was derailed.

Common Sense on Media notes:

Families can talk about the many social, political, and economic topics that the film raises, from concerns about corporate control of the media to the environmental ramifications of modern industry. Families can also discuss whether a film like this is made to provide answers or provoke questions. Do you think the filmmakers are playing favorites in their arguments and scenes? Is it OK for movies based on real-life events to have a particular bias toward one "side" or the other?

Battle in Seattle opens in select cities on September 19. If the opening theaters are packed for the film’s first two weeks, it will get a national distribution - turning on a new generation to the joy, fun and power of the Seattle Spirit through the pleasures of a great film. You can show Hollywood that there is a real interest in films that celebrate the fighting spirit of working people.

Here's what Union City, The Metro DC Labor Council has to say:

“MOVIES CAN CHANGE THE WORLD”: “I’m not sure that a single movie can change the world, but movies can change the world,” actor-turned-director Stuart Townsend tells Union City. His new film Battle in Seattle, a drama about the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization, opens tonight in Washington. The film, which stars Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Andre Benjamin and Michelle Rodriguez, is being independently produced and distributed. “I wanted to make a film that will inspire people,” Townsend told Union City in a recent phone interview from California. “This film is not about politics, it’s about people; people who want good jobs, a clean environment and a economic system that puts people above profits. It’s about a moment when ordinary people stood up to the powers that be, and won. Seattle was a rare victory; it’s not often that the little guy wins, and for a whole week the world was watching.” Townsend’s pleased that the DC Labor FilmFest has included the local Battle screenings in this year’s line-up, noting that his effort is designed “to show Hollywood that there is a real interest in films that celebrate the fighting spirit of working people.” Click here for the full interview with Townsend.

Here's some classic footage

Battle in Seattle showtimes for New York, NY - Trailer ‎1hr 38min‎ - ‎Rated R‎ - ‎Action/Adventure/Drama‎ - 8 reviews:
	Lincoln Plaza Cinemas - 30 Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY - Map 11:05am 1:05 3:10 5:30 7:50 10:05pm Angelika Film Center - 18 West Houston, New York, NY - Map 11:00am 1:15 3:30 5:45 8:00 10:35pm

You can read more at Who Controls The World

Seattle, WA: Fighting for the next generation, Sprinklerfitters Local 699 go on strike

A member of the local floor coverings union pickets Wednesday, along with members of the Sprinkler Fitters Union Local 699.-DEAN J. KOEPFLER/THE NEWS TRIBUNE

From Gangbox "SEATTLE SPRINKLER FITTERS LOCAL 699 GOES ON STRIKE - contractors will ask other trades to work behind their picketline next week" (7/3/08)

“We’ve gotten as many phone calls from other trades supporting us, telling us they’re right behind us and they’re going to stick with us as long as it takes, so that’s what’s going to make this go sooner,” Collins said. “The contractors want us to go backward as far as our contracts go, and we’re not accepting that. With inflation going on the way it’s gone in the past few years, we’re way behind the eight ball.”

The sprinkler fitters earn about $24 to $30 an hour, and apprentices start out at less than half of those wages. That wage doesn’t include holiday, vacation or sick pay. Apprenticeships last five years, and apprentices receive health benefits in their third year, Collins said.

Mike Dahl, union business manager, said a big issue was the wages of apprentices.

“We’re looking to have not a great standard of living but just that they can afford to live,” he said. “We don’t like the economic impact on the economy here of what we’re doing. We hope this settles very soon.”

SocialistWorker.org adds in "Strike shuts down Seattle building sites"(7/4/08):

The strikers know what they are up against. Sam Bond, a member of Local 699 for nine years, said in an interview, "We have got to keep up with what's going in the world. As prices go up, we have to stay up on it, so we can afford the lifestyle we want to live. This strike is really important for us, and for future generations of sprinkler fitters."

Ironworkers, electricians, laborers, operating engineers, as well as delivery drivers like UPS workers are just some of the union workers who have refused to cross the picket lines.

At the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., the strike has shut down completely nine huge tower cranes, with upwards of 800 workers getting an unexpected extra long holiday weekend.

The union is reporting that not a single member has crossed the picket line so far. A unanimous strike authorization vote and the "last, best, and final" offer from the employers' organization, the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), was voted down 219 to 14.

It's been nearly two years since a major construction workers strike hit the Seattle area. In August 2006, concrete workers who were members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 paralyzed most of the industry for a month. Those workers won a contract that included pay raises of $3.95 an hour over three years and, crucially, allowed them to honor strike picket lines held by other union trades.

The importance of that strike victory is now magnified. The basic labor idea of "an injury to one is an injury to all" has been highlighted by the solidarity of all the building trade workers refusing to cross the sprinkler fitters' picket line.

As one Local 699 striker put it, "The support we're getting is unbelievable. To be able to have all the trades honor the picket line also helps them out more when their contract times come up."

Heads high brothers, hope you get the $14 over 3 and the better apprentice package, to those that do not know the $14 is cumulative of all health, welfare, pension, etc., meaning it doesn't go into the pocket, the majority usually gets invested in other necessities.