The A-Space

Saturday, August 7 4:30-7:30pm A-Space 4722 Baltimore Ave Free—donations appreciated Lessons of the Tekel workers’ struggle in Turkey: How to struggle from below? Last winter, workers in the state-owned tobacco enterprise in Turkey (TEKEL) were presented with a new law called 4-C which was to include a massive pay-cut, take away benefits, and completely eliminate any job security whatsoever, reducing them to little more than indentured servants.  The question was not about privatizations but about dramatic cuts in the workers’ standard of living.  In the face of all this, a mass movement throughout the whole country began to form, led by the Tekel workers for a general strike to unite the whole Turkish working class in struggle against the new law (which is planned for more government employees in the future) and in defense of workers’ futures.  Workers from all over the country traveled to the capital to demonstrate day and night, sent letters to other workers under attack to join their struggle, built a tent city in the centre of the town where they could stay together, discuss and learn from each other, and even occupied the national union headquarters when it became clear that the union was only trying to slow the struggle down and buy time to secure a deal work out a deal with the Turkish state to secure the workers’ acquiensence.  After four long months of stuggle, the movement was eventually defeated and the workers dispersed, but there are still many lessons from this struggle to be discussed and understood better.  How can workers stand up to the bosses, the state, and the unions, overcome divisions within their ranks, and push for the solidarity of the whole working class and spread the struggle?  These are all burning questions for workers today, who are under attack all over the world in the face of the world economic collapse.  We think the Tekel struggle has demonstrated the way forward for the working class and also shown that despite what the ruling class would hope, workers’ struggles have the potential not only to spread and push back the bosses, but to build to the point where they can get rid of the whole system of exploitation, and build a new society where production is geared toward satisfying human needs and not profit—a world human community.

Dissent is not Patriotic/ Give up Nationalism An exhibition of medals and decorations from the Civil War to the War in Afghanistan (the longest official war is U.S. history).  The awards chronicle events such as naval sabotage during the Vietnam War, death by friendly fire, and embalming. Reception: Sunday August 8th, 3-5pm Exhibition: Sunday August 1st - Saturday August 17th

Breaking with the Bourgeoisie: Class politics in the 21st century. Breaking with the Bourgeoisie is a four-part workshop that will address the nature of class in the 21st century It will combine short readings, presentations, discussion, and participatory brainstorming to explain the concept of class, the ideologies around it, and its relation to other social categories.Breaking with the Bourgeoisie will attempt to address the follow questions:What is class, and what does it mean in the 21st century?

 Art of Apollo Cush  Opening Saturday, August 21, 7:30pm A-Space 4722 Baltimore Ave, West Philly Free! Donations for Apollo greatly appreciated  Apollo Cush is a self-taught artist, jailhouse lawyer, and death row prisoner at SCI Graterford who is currently working for his freedom by representing himself in a series of appeals. We will be showing some of his watercolor works as well as hearing music from Brenna Sahatjian of the Riotfolk collective, his friend, ally, and collaborator. She will be followed by a performance by Philadelphia's own Oubliette Ensemble. Members of Apollo's family will join us to celebrate his art and hear about his case.

JOIN THE CURB COLLECTIVE !!! So, What is the Curb Collective ? The Curb Collective is a new organization forming in Philadelphia which seeks to collect the perfectly good items that are thrown out to the curbs of this city on a daily basis by its more affluent wasteful residents and then to redistribute these items through the use of free markets and request based programs to communities throughout the city. The Curb Collective is a Non-hierarchical group (No bosses / Leaders, everyone is equal and has a say] which uses the process of consensus to make decisions.

Saturday, Aug 28th 11am-1pm *mantras*mudras* meditation* Please join us as we explore ancient healing practices to experience inner peace and deep relaxation.  These techniques may help with coping in stressful environments, managing work related stress as well as building a strong spiritual foundation.