Bake a cake for the LWR workers

Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, May 17th, 2009 - 11 comments
Categories: activism, workers' rights - Tags: , ,

A great initiative from the National Distribution Union:

With the bank (Westpac) leaving Lane Walker Rudkin workers out in the cold without their redundancy pay and the Government failing to respond to calls for funds to establish a worker-led support centre we are running cake stalls to help the workers help each other.

The first cake stall is on Monday in Wellington (that’s tomorrow) – outside westpac House, Willis St at 12 noon. Bring a cake if you can.

There are more cake stalls planned right around the country, but if you’re in Wellington why not donate a bit of your Sunday afternoon to bake a cake and help the LWR workers?

Updates are available at the Facebook page here.

11 comments on “Bake a cake for the LWR workers ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Bill 1
    17 May 2009 at 3:19 pm

    LWR workers are not getting redundancy until the plant and machinery is sold. If ever there was a situation begging for ideas about how workers could take over their workplace, this was it. Fuck giving workers (part) proceeds from the sale of their workplace. Cut out the middle man and take the plant and machinery as payment.

    That leaves outstanding debts? Make arrangements to pay them off from future production.

    In the US,UK and elsewhere, factory occupations are becoming not infrequent occurrences. While most have been occupations/sit-ins designed to secure redundancy/ holiday payments, it is a small step from sit-in to take-over.

    Meanwhile. In NZ. Let them eat cake?! That’s some initiative.

  2. Doug 2
    17 May 2009 at 5:10 pm

    Not very clever thinking it will just force other businesses offshore, and the employment chances for lower income Kiwis will become much harder.

    • Bill 2.1
      17 May 2009 at 8:31 pm

      When they attempt to go off-shore, guess what Doug? They get taken over. You see a problem?

  3. Ron 3
    17 May 2009 at 6:21 pm

    Actually – given the dreadful management and Westpac’s culpability why isn’t their union doing just that – organising a take over and sit in.

    It worked to get workers their entitlements as recently as 2008 in Chicago at a door and window factory.

    It really is time that workers in this country kicked some arse. The MBAs have been screwing them over for a couple of decades now.

    • Bill 3.1
      17 May 2009 at 8:26 pm

      Sad as it is, I’m coming to an understanding of where Roald Dahl got his inspiration for the Oompa- Lumphas.

      Happy jolly take it up the arse and if we can’t afford to live anywhere we’ll be happy in a chocolate lolly gingerbread cake house…..just talk to our reps and they’ll fill you in on the details.

      F-U-C-K-!-!

      Maybe Kiwi workers deserve what’s coming…dooopa- de- day.

  4. rave 4
    17 May 2009 at 9:19 pm

    Don’t give up yet Bill, things are just getting started.

    There’s an interview with Naomi Klein et al on Democracy Now called Fire the Boss
    It looks at Argentina and a number of other occupations in Britain and the US.
    Most of these started off in desperation with workers pretty demoralised but once they get underway it takes off.
    All it needs is a few brave ones to take a stand at LWR.
    If they start off keeping the plant intact in exchange for the redundancy, (unions in Aussie did this with Pacific Brands) they might even aim higher and keep it going.
    Give it a shot.

    As for other companies heading off, what’s new?

    http://www.democracynow.org/2009/5/15/fire_the_boss_naomi_klein_avi

  5. DeeDub 5
    17 May 2009 at 10:25 pm

    Didn’t our beloved leader get his start working for that company? Surely he could donate his tax cut to the workers ’cause? Even just for old times sake?

  6. Lew 6
    17 May 2009 at 11:00 pm

    Dude … what?

    L

    Captcha: `hindmost power’

    • Duncan 6.1
      17 May 2009 at 11:10 pm

      John Key worked at LWR as a young’un.

      • Lew 6.1.1
        18 May 2009 at 12:37 am

        Question was to Bill but got munged by threading.

        Oompa-loompas? WTF?

        L

        • Bill 6.1.1.1
          18 May 2009 at 9:32 am

          Put it down to astonishment and anger Lew which should more properly have been directed at the union hierarchy in this instance and not the workers.

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.