Morello Backs Grocery Strike
Audioslave’s Tom Morello and System of a Down’s Serj Tankian will
perform at a Thursday night benefit for striking Southern
California grocery store workers at Los Angeles’ Roxy Theater.
Morello and Tankian’s non-profit political organization Axis of
Justice is sponsoring the event.
“The proceeds will go to the workers to help them buy presents
for their kids at the holidays,” Morello says, “and to help them
win the strike.”
Workers from supermarket chains Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons in
California walked off their jobs on October 11th when negotiations
over pay, healthcare and pension benefits broke down. The stores
are open, but the employees are walking picket lines outside.
“The companies are trying to roll back grocery workers’
healthcare coverage despite the fact that grocery store profits
have gone up ninety-one percent since 1998, and the operating
profits for employers has increased ten times faster than
healthcare costs,” Morello says. “This is the largest strike in
California in fifty years. There are currently 70,000 grocery
workers out on strike, taking a stand against corporate greed.”
Also on the bill are Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk,
Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor, Phantom Planet, Boots
Riley of the Coup, Lester Chambers and host Janeane Garafalo. “It’s
a lot of acoustic sets,” says Morello, who will be billed as the
Night Watchman. “My set is solo acoustic and then Brad Wilk and I
will be backing up Serj Tankian. He’ll be doing some really
interesting spoken word stuff.”
Morello says Axis of Justice plans to stage more benefits for
the supermarket workers in the future. “This came together very
quickly,” he says. “We wanted to do something before the holidays
to help publicize the strike, but to also let people know what they
can do. The first thing is not to cross the picket line and
encourage people not to work in the stores as ‘replacement’
workers.”
More information about the cause is available at
axisofjustice.org.