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置いてけぼりの夏の真ん中 ー2021盛夏、コロナとオリンピックの渦のなかでー Midsummer 2021 – Left to be sucked into the corona-Olympic vortex
奥貫妃文の詩。 A poem by Hifumi Okunuki. (English is below the Japanese.) いまは、いったいいつなんだろう。 ここは、いったいどこなんだろう。 東京都新宿区、奥神楽坂の我が家から歩いて3分。 中国人のジャンさんが営む中華料理レストランがあった。 私と夫は頻繁に通っては、裏メニュー「黒酢きゅうり」を頼んでいた。 2021年8月の現在、その店は、もうない。 夜遅くまで客足が絶えず、楽し気な声で満ちていた店は、真っ暗なまま。 がらんどうになった店の入口は、落ち葉の吹き溜まりになっている。 壁には「テナント募集」の張り紙。それもすっかり色褪せ、 今にもはがれそうにカサカサ、カサカサ、と音を立てている。 新しい賃借人が入るのは、いつのことになるだろうか。
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五輪中止オンライン抗議アクション Anti-Olympics Live Stream Candlelit Protest
On Friday 30th July 2021, members of Tozen held a candle-lit online protest calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics.
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Tozen ALTs Enter Dispute with Interac 東ゼン労組のALT支部が、インタラックと労働紛争に突
On May 11, 2021, Tozen Union entered into dispute with Interac. Since our first collective bargaining (CB) in October 2019, Tozen Union and Interac have taken several important steps toward working out a deal. But after twenty-six CB sessions, workplace safety and wage issues remain. Our campaign to improve working conditions at Interac is important…
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Bread & Roses: Covid, Not Olympics, Requires Our National Effort
SNA (Tokyo) — I teach a weekly class on social security theory at a nursing college. When I read comments from the aspiring nurses, I can see their passion for alleviating human suffering, as well as for the class, which is gratifying as a teacher. The Covid pandemic that has spread over the globe over…
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Tozen Union Opposes the Tokyo Olympics
As a labour union we fight for workers’ rights, and worker safety. And the Tokyo Olympics has had numerous counts of worker deaths and injuries, and workers have reported a “culture of fear” that discouraged them from making complaints about working conditions. Another major reason that we do not support the Olympics is that the…
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Shame on Shane – Forty-one Shane workers strike for full corona pay
Few corporations paid full kyugyo te-ate furlough allowance during the emergency shutdown. Shane Eikaiwa (Shane Corp.), however, paid its teachers the full allowance during April and May. At first glance, the company apparently showed respect to its workers, a company anybody would be proud to work at. But this pretty picture has turned ugly, with…
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山本太郎から東ゼン労働組合への手紙 Letter from Yamamoto Taro to Tozen Union
東ゼン労働組合に集う働く仲間の皆様、れいわ新選組代表の山本太郎です。 Comrades of Tozen Union: I am Taro Yamamoto of the Reiwa Shinsen-Gumi. 皆様には、日頃から熱いご支援を頂いています。この場をお借りしまして心から感謝と御礼を申し上げます。本当にありがとうございます。 You have given our political party so much passionate support on a near daily basis. Let me take this opportunity to express my heartfelt appreciation. Thank you. みなさまの結成10周年の記念大会、折からの新型コロナの影響で延期となり、このようなオンラインの開催になったということは、未だ感染拡大が収束せず、厳しい経済状況を反映して居ると思います。本日は、皆様からせっかくのお招きを頂きましたが、党務の都合で欠席となることを心からお詫び申し上げます。 The novel coronavirus delayed your decennial convention and forced it online, reflecting,…
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Shane Corporation and Covid 19
In March, April and May 2020, Shane Corp. took the decision to close schools in response to the novel coronavirus and the declaration of a state of emergency in Japan. Under Japanese law and in line with social norms, companies across the country have been furloughing their employees and paying an allowance (kyugyou teate), or…
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Bread & Roses: Workers of the World! Unite and Stay Home!
SNA (Tokyo) — May Day came into this world on May 1, 1886, with a general strike to win “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what you will.” Three days later, workers gathered in Haymarket Square, Chicago, and clashed with cops sent in to shut them down. At least…
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Tozen Union ALTs win WFH in Sagamihara
[2020.4.12] Assistant language teachers (ALTs) in Sagamihara City will work from home beginning Monday 13th April rather than Tuesday 14th, dispatcher Interac KK told Tozen Union. The ALT dispatch giant had planned to send Tozen members to school this week, even though the city had already suspended classes. The union demanded its members work from home…