Category: organizing

Scabby the Rat and Sabo-Tabby have long, rich history in the labor struggle

Scabby the Rat is known worldwide as a labor icon, a symbol representing the unfair and unsafe practices of employers and union busters. Scabby, an inflatable rat balloon ranging in size from 6-20 feet, is the brainchild of two union organizers from the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers.

Scabby first took to the picket lines in Illinois in 1990. Since that time, Scabby has appeared at strikes and protests from coast to coast. You may have recently seen Scabby on the line with teachers in Oakland or recall a yellow version of Scabby from the historic Chicago teachers strike of 2012.

When Scabby appears on a picket line, at an informational leafleting, or at a rally, you can be sure labor unrest exists between the workers and management. Scabby sends an unmistakable message that the union is ready to fight the boss for better working conditions.

The courts recently ruled that the use of Scabby is protected free speech.

Employers must learn that if they don’t want negative attention from Scabby, they must respect workers and honor their contracts! Rest assured – when bad management and union busting tactics infest worksites, Scabby the Rat will appear!

The labor mascot representing employees engaged in the struggle for workplace dignity is Sabo-Tabby, or Sabotage. Sabo-Tabby was originally a mascot of the International Workers of the World (IWW), most likely the creation of Ralph Chaplin, author of Solidarity Forever. Sabo-Tabby is a symbol for direct action at the point of production – a work slowdown or strike. Often seen on union buttons, flyers, and posters, Sabo-Tabby’s message is an injury to one is an injury to all. Over the years, bosses and their politicians have portrayed Sabo-Tabby as too radical, but today’s workers of the world, whether baristas, bricklayers, or CSO, know Sabo-Tabby’s message of solidarity is the only way to rid the workplace of Scabby infestations!

CSO and teachers “Stand Up For Students” around state

The Bay Area may be one of the most developed places on Earth, yet there is still an undiscovered frontier in California.

Real justice in education for all students as yet to be discovered here, yet some CSO staff are working hard to help Region 1 CTA members and residents decide what it looks like and, ultimately, find it.

About 40 CTA members and CSO staff met at Westlake Middle School in Oakland Feb. 27 to become Partners in Advocacy in the form of a movement they call “Stand Up For All Students.”

CSO staff Katherine Clarke, Dawn Cova, Larry Spotts, Kathlene Beebe and Becky Flanigan developed and are leading the plan to put the people at the forefront to educational decision-making. They prepared a grant application and a plan to empower CTA members to protect their students’ rights.

And CTA members and the community are rising to the challenge.

“Members came to discuss their ideas for ensuring quality public education for all students and they worked together to develop strategies to help meet their goal ,” said Katherine Clarke, Primary Contact Staff in the Salinas Regional Resource Center. She said that many of the CTA member activists at the meeting have been working for years for educational justice, they simply needed a forum to come together and the coaching required to develop a well-organized “plan to win.”

Their goal is lofty: To Create a Movement to Build a Stronger Union to strengthen Free, Safe, and Quality Public Education for all Students based on Social, Economic and Political Justice. One of the first steps is reaching out to other organizations to build effective alliances in the community.

“Our attitude is “Si Se Puede,’” said Larry Spotts, PCS at the Concord RRC. “Our job as organizers is to empower our members to make change based on their values and priorities. It’s fabulous working with like-minded colleagues who want the same thing, because it made for a fantastic kickoff.”

Another next step are two forums for educators to learn about their rights and how to protect their immigrant students.

In southern California, CSO staff Helen Farias and Lian Shoemake, CSO Retired staff Steve Pulkinnen, and  Region 4 Organizer David Partida are working on a project in South County Teachers United.

South County Teachers United Social Justice Corps, also funded by a CTA Community Engagement Grant, kicked off this past Martin Luther King Holiday. That event brought together about 200 teachers and community partner organizations, ranging from immigrant rights groups to those supporting LGBTQ+ students.

“Several teachers have since partnered with these groups to host workshops on their campuses,” Farias said. “We are currently planning another forum focusing exclusively on immigrant rights, as well as developing an action plan for the May 1 Day of Action.”

Farias, in her first year as CSO staff at the South County UniServ, is leading the project. The goal is to engage members and to increase capacity and parent support, to increase the capacity of the union and involve members who are not typically involved in other union functions.

“There are a lot of new teachers who are passionate about improving public schools, but there is no vacancy for them to get involved in their union,” Partida said. “This is a place for them to get involved.”

There is also some excitement in Orange County – last year they formed a countywide PAC to run a countywide campaign for two County Office of Education Board members. They won one, and they lost one.

“That was ground-breaking and that progressed into what we are doing right now,” Partida said. He said the Orange County Service Center’s Organizing Committee has launched a promising organizing project. The goal is to identify new leaders. Partida conducted a training with about 40 organizing team members from several chapters who role-played one-on-one dialogues and built local plans for organizing.

“They have never been connected in this way,” Partida said. “They usually focus on their chapter’s issues and have not worked together. It’s a new opportunity with potential.”