The Times They Are A-Changin'

Another traditional handicraft is threatened with displacement.

Taylor Luck reports on the plight of Amman dagger makers for The Jordan Times. These craftsmen forge a dagger called a shibriya -- a traditional Bedouin dagger, double-edged with a curved blade.

AMMAN - As he finished design work on his last shibriya, Zaid Abu Mohaisen said he could not help but feel that this was the end of an era.

“I really hope I can do this again one day,” he said.

For over 20 years, he and his brothers have crafted shibriyas, traditional Hashemite and bedouin daggers, a Jordanian symbol of nobility and a family business that dates back generations.

Their work came to an end when their business, along with others located across from the Roman Amphitheatre, was evicted by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) in order to carry out a project to renovate the area and upgrade tourist services.

While there have been offers forthcoming to move the shop, the brothers are apprehensive about their prospects and lukewarm to change. Yet, they remain defiant in the face of seemingly long odds. Tradition can be a heavy burden.

“It took 200 years to build our reputation. Now we have to build it from scratch, but we will do it again,” he vowed, noting that his family faces yet another obstacle.

The proposed space will not be ready until February 2010, forcing the Abu Mohaisens to put their lives on hold, hoping that their new venture will succeed.

“I have only taken three days off from work in my life. My wedding, my brother’s wedding and the death of my father. I cannot imagine a year,” he said, noting that there is little room for a workshop in his family’s apartment, which he, his brothers and their families all call home.

The brothers said they will do everything in their power to keep their craft alive, but admitted that their future, along with the future of the Jordanian shibriya, is rife with uncertainty.

So, how far back in time does this family tradition date?

The family tradition dates back to his grandfather's grandfather, Mohammad Mohaisen, who was conscripted into the Ottoman army in the mid-19th century and learned the arts of metalwork in modern-day Turkey.

He crafted decorative knives for nomadic residents of Transjordan and historic Palestine to assist in their rugged daily lives, daggers which soon became symbols of nobility among the bedouin community.

From Oriental Arms:

A typical good example of the Bedouin side dagger locally known as Shibriya. All men carry it and it is very popular between the Bedouin tribes residing in Israel and in Jordan. The blade is short, 6 inches, re-curving and double edged with an acute tip. The blade is engraved in Arabic inscription and dated to 1947.

Guam: Hearings on Bill to Repeal 'Right to Work' Legislation

Bill 20, a bill that would repeal Guam's "Right to Work" law passed in 2000, has been introduced by three Democratic senators --Respicio, Cruz and Guthertz. Hearings are scheduled for the beginning of this week.

"Right to Work" legislation is permitted under the provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, which was passed by Congress in 1947 over President Truman's veto. The Taft-Hartley Act reversed many of the gains that organized labour had secured under the depression-era Wagner Act (1935). Where the Wagner Act protected craft and industrial unions from "unfair labour practices" by employers, the Taft-Hartley Act addressed itself mostly to "unfair labour practices" by unions.

Chief among the Taft-Hartley reversals was the prohibition against the "closed shop." Under the prior terms of the Wagner Act, unions could negotiate a "closed shop" contract with employers. New hires would be required to join the union as a condition of their employment. And, all employees in a bargaining unit would be required to contribute to the union through a mandatory "check off" of dues from their pay envelopes. Taft-Hartley, on the other hand, empowered states to pass laws that would mitigate, or even prohibit, contracts that make union membership or the payment of dues a mandatory condition of employment.

Taft-Hartley does give states a fair bit of 'wiggle room' here. Individual states could uphold the provisions of the Wagner Act (1935), or adopt any number of alternative models permitted under the Taft-Hartley Act (1947). While "Right to Work" legislation was perhaps the most anti-union alternative permitted under Taft-Hartley, other alternatives such as the "Union Shop" (required union membership only after a period of probation) and the "Agency Shop" (required dues without required membership) were also allowed.

In addition to the American territory of Guam, twenty-two states have passed "Right to Work" legislation, reflecting a cross-pollination of freedom of association ideals with anti-union biases.

If Bill 20 passes, labour relations on Guam may gradually return to the status quo ante-Taft-Hartley. What is unusual here is that while both the Wagner Act and the Taft-Hartley Act were drafted with craft and industrial unions in mind, most of the unionized workers on the island of Guam actually work in the public sector. According to Pacific News Daily, Bill 20 would affect the following categories of workers:

• public school teachers
• nurses
• school bus drivers
• customs and quarantine officers
• correctional officers'
• Waterworks Authority employees
• Port Authority employees

As a test case for labour law reform in the wake of the mortgage and credit crisis, and in the context of the current 'zeitgeist of stimulus', it will be interesting to see how this plays out in Guam.

At issue for Senator Respicio, is simply this: when employees are part of a bargaining unit, but do not contribute dues to the union, then those employees are getting a "free lunch" on the backs of co-workers who do contribute their share. Such employees, according to this argument, are benefiting from the labour movement without ever contributing to it. [In Hamilton, Ontario, we used to call them Dofasco Kids.] "Right to Work" legislation necessarily places these workers in a 'parasitical' position vis-à-vis their co-workers and the union.

On the other side of the debate rests the argument that the forced payment of union dues, or even the return of the "closed shop", implies an abridgement of fundamental American freedoms. As one commenter puts it (and many echo similar sentiments): "This issue is about freedom, and it’s just not American to force anyone to pay, join a group or union that they don’t want to."

Miners' Memorial Weekend in Cumberland, B.C.: A Tribute to "Ginger" Goodwin

This weekend, from Friday night until Saturday evening, the town of Cumberland, British Columbia, commemorates its mining heritage. The programme for the weekend's events may be found here. The remembrance begins tonight with a concert of workers' music. A workers' breakfast on Saturday morning, a tribute to Ginger Goodwin with entertainment at the Miners' Memorial, and dinner and dancing on Saturday evening round out the event.

The tribute to the memory of Ginger Goodwin is effectively the raison d'etre of this weekend's event. So, a brief background is in order before we get to the entertainment.

On the slopes of Alone Mountain, outside the mining town of Cumberland, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Albert "Ginger" Goodwin was shot dead by a single bullet fired by Special Constable Dan Campbell of the Dominion Police. The date was July 27, 1918.

Ginger Goodwin was a coal miner who very quickly rose to prominence in the labour movement of British Columbia. Born on May 10, 1887, in Treeton, England, Goodwin first entered the coal mines in 1902, at the age of 15. In 1906, he emigrated to Canada, and again took up coal mining at the Dominion No.2 mines in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. In 1909-10, he joined in the United Mine Workers of America strike for union recognition. The strike was ultimately unsuccessful, and many of the strikers found their services were no longer required in the aftermath.

In 1910 Goodwin, like many Nova Scotia miners, headed west. Many found work in the coal fields opening in the Crow's Nest Pass and in the badlands of the Red Deer Valley, although mining work in these fields could be sporadic and seasonal, requiring often only an itinerant workforce. Goodwin continued on to the mines on Vancouver Island, stopping to work as a miner and mule driver for Cumberland's Canadian Collieries Ltd. Again, he became active in mining politics, and participated in another unsuccessful union recognition strike by the United Mine Workers, from 1912-1914.

Unemployed again following the strike, Goodwin began organizing for the Social Party of Canada, and in 1915, he headed off to the Crow's Nest Pass to secure work as a pony driver in the mines there. In 1916, he moved to Trail, B.C. for another mining job, this time as a smelter. He ran unsuccessfully as the Socialist Party candidate for Trail in the B.C. provincial election of that year. However, in 1917, Goodwin was elected Vice President of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

That same year, with the (re)election of Robert Borden's Union Government, conscription was introduced, as a measure to try to shore up Canada's military complement in the Great War, and provide some necessary relief for Canada's battle-weary soldiers. For a socialist and pacifist like Ginger Goodwin, conscription posed a problem. He would not have volunteered to fight of his own accord. But when he received his notice to report for examination and induction into the Overseas Expeditionary Force, his principles could not longer be hypothetical.

Goodwin appealed his induction on the grounds that he was a pacifist, and therefore a conscientious objector. His appeal was heard and summarily rejected. In April 1918, he was ordered to report for military duty. So, rather than fight, he fled. Along with other conscientious objectors, Goodwin went into hiding or, as we might say nowadays, went underground (but not as a miner). Goodwin and his mates hid in the mountainous areas in the vicinity of Cumberland, where local residents often snuck them food and provisions.

Meanwhile, a Special Constabulary of the Dominion Police was established to track down and return men who were evading military service. One of those Special Constables was Dan Campbell. Campbell tracked OEF evaders on Vancouver Island with a team of two other constables. On July 27, 1918, as the three Special Constables fanned out in the brush outside of Cumberland, Campbell happened upon Ginger Goodwin. One shot rang out. Ginger Goodwin was dead. He was 31.

Goodwin's slaying sparked spontaneous outrage amongst the labour and working-class community of British Columbia, and even sparked a series of protest strikes in Vancouver. The miners of Cumberland threw a large ceremonial parade and funeral for Ginger Goodwin. Meanwhile, Dan Campbell was charged with manslaughter. He claimed self-defense. The case never went to trial.

For more information, anecdote, analysis, and detail visit here, here, here, and here.

If you can't be at Cumberland this weekend, here's a glimpse of last year's Memorial. And by the way, love 'em or hate 'em, or anything in between, you've got to admit that the 'old school' labour movement still has the greatest folk song culture.



So, for those who are descending on Cumberland, B.C., this weekend, from the Jack of Hearts: Enjoy your weekend. Hope the weather cooperates.